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Post by Echo Ashaelyr on Sept 27, 2011 0:05:59 GMT -5
With a loud WHOOSH a green burst of flame roared in the fireplace, and was gone just as quickly. A tall woman with mismatched eyes, long dark duster and gloves ducked under the mantel and into the room. Her hands were in her pockets, and her left hand loosely fingered her wand. Green and gold eyes scanned the room before she stepped entirely into the room.
"Cain? You home? Curse sent me here." She called into the shadows of the London flat. No one was present in the room, but Curse had assured her that Cain could often be found in this apartment, one he shared with Alex. If Alex were here, he could at least vouch for Echo.
But either way, she wasn't leaving until she got an answer, one way or another. The scarred witch doubted that Cain could do anything to help, but if Curse recommended him, then she'd at least check him out.
Leaning against the mantel, Echo waited for someone to appear.
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Post by Cain on Sept 27, 2011 22:01:07 GMT -5
“RRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.” The noise started deep in the throat, the rumble continuing and growing in timbre. A large dog stood from the shadows by the couch, his hackles raised as he drew closer, cautiously watching the newcomer to the flat.
“What, what! Who’s there?”
Cain came out of the back room, peering through the dim light he waved his hand at the light, it flashed on, momentarily blinding those accustomed to the dimmer light. He blinked stars out of his sight, finally recognizing his visitor. “Ah, Echo. Rasp! Sit!” He made a sharp downward motion with his hand and the dog sat, still eying the visitor warily. His rumble subsided, but did not cease.
“Finally need help with that arm?” He asked, watching her almost as warily as the dog. It’d been a raw few weeks for him, doing more research on the Shadowstealer than he had ever dared while Scarlet was in his mind. And it hurt, still, denying it access to him. It raked across his mind, refusing to let the scars heal.
“What cat did you piss off?” He passed her on his way into the kitchen, ruffling the dog’s ears as he passed. The shepherd stood and trotted after him.
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Post by Echo Ashaelyr on Sept 28, 2011 1:17:20 GMT -5
When the dog started growling, Echo just looked at it with a bored expression, not moving from where she stood. She still fingered her wand, in case the dog lunged, but was saved from deciding when a light flashed on, revealing Cain's youthful but strained face.
"Finally need help with that arm?
"You could say that. Curse said you might be able to help. If you know things about dark magic and infections. It's not a curse, so anti-curse things won't help." Echo followed the young man into his kitchen, gold and green eyes scanning it, taking inventory, measuring escape routes and all of the usual things she picked up about a place within twenty seconds of entering it.
Finding a counter to lean casually against, Echo lifted her right gloved hand to touch the scratches on her face. "A demon, if you'd believe it. And a weak one at that. Embarrassing really." The witch shook her head. "I hope I'm not bothering you. But if you could look at my arm and see if you know anything that'll slow the infection, I'd appreciate it."
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Post by Cain on Sept 28, 2011 19:46:04 GMT -5
Cain sighed, rubbing his eyes as he filled a teapot with water. “Sorry I can’t offer you anything-- Alex’s the cook-- don’t laugh, he’s really much better at it than you’d think, and he’s been gone a while. Want tea?” The pot overflowed, the Cursebreaker poured out some of the excess water before dropping it on the stove and flicking it on.
"You could say that. Curse said you might be able to help. If you know things about dark magic and infections. It's not a curse, so anti-curse things won't help."
“You sure about that? Just a demon bite? He didn’t swear at you in demon-ese or whatever it is they speak?” Cain stood on tiptoe to reach the highest shelf. The usual occupant of this kitchen had five inches on him, and always insisted that things go back in their proper place. Why that mattered when Cain was the only one here for the last week and a half escaped him, however.
“I wasn’t intending on throwing anti-curse items at you anyway.” Blue eyes regarded her with a bit of tired sarcasm. “Try and give me a little, credit, please. I know Curse doesn’t make recommendations lightly. Whole bloody family likes to be able to do things themselves.”
Abruptly he left the room, not returning for long minutes as the water began to bubble in the pot. Finally he returned, a stack of books in his arms. It was a small stack, just three books, but they were thick and heavy and old, though without dust. They were well cared for.
“I don’t expect to find the answer right away.” He told her, settling them with a gentle thump on the counter, as far away from the tea as possible. “They should be good starts, though.”
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Post by Echo Ashaelyr on Sept 29, 2011 5:49:18 GMT -5
While Cain was out of the room, Echo busied herself by pouring the tea to let it steep. She arched an eyebrow at the books, intrigued.
"Actually, before the demon died, it did say something at me in demon. It sounded like a curse." Echo sat down on a stool, removing her glove as she spoke. "I was fighting it, then it bit my hand. That's how I got infected. Then when it was dying, it cursed me. At least, I think that's what it did." She flexed the hand in question, long twisted claws shining under the kitchen lights.
"You're right about the Kamerens. I guess that's why I went out on a limb to ask you for help, since he recommended you. But you'll have to pardon me," she grimaced. "My experience with cursebreakers hasn't been very good. Most often they take one look at me and then slam the door in my face."
She scanned the titles embossed on the spines. "So where do you think you'll start?"
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Post by Cain on Oct 4, 2011 21:06:49 GMT -5
Rasputin stayed in the room, sitting in a corner and watching Echo suspiciously. She was a stranger, and he didn’t take very quickly to strangers, but there was the sense of wrongness about her too. He didn’t trust her. But one of his humans, not his[/I] or the female, but the other male who lived with his seemed to trust her enough to leave her alone. Rasputin wasn’t sure about that, so he watched.
"Actually, before the demon died, it did say something at me in demon. It sounded like a curse." Echo sat down on a stool, removing her glove as she spoke. "I was fighting it, then it bit my hand. That's how I got infected. Then when it was dying, it cursed me. At least, I think that's what it did."
“Demon bites can be nasty.” Cain said as Rasp renewed his growling as the hand was uncovered. Cain inspected the way the curse was eating away at her sleeve, ignoring the dog. “Is there a reason your glove is intact but your sleeve isn’t? Have you used spells on it? Runes?”
He took a sip of tea and opened Darc Magik and You: A Compleat Guide to the Workings of Curses and Banes. “Alberich the Tormented was more than a little crazy by the time he completed this, but he definitely knew what he was talking about…”
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Post by Echo Ashaelyr on Oct 9, 2011 2:13:15 GMT -5
“Is there a reason your glove is intact but your sleeve isn’t? Have you used spells on it? Runes?”
Echo flexed the distorted hand, distracted by the way it seemed to leach the light around it. "Yes, the leather's been stamped with runes, and these silver bands," she pointed to the five metal bands encircling sections of her arm and wrist. "They've been spelled and also have these binding runes in them. So far they've been able to contain the infection, but can't stop it from spreading inside."
She winced, pressing her fingers to her forehead for a moment as a headache appeared and then vanished just as quickly. "It's not the external taint that worries me so much as the internal infection. It's spread much further than what you can see."
Echo's eyes brushed over the tome that Cain was perusing. "I've heard of other books by him, but this must be his last one. It sounds helpful."
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Post by Cain on Oct 15, 2011 16:27:21 GMT -5
"It's not the external taint that worries me so much as the internal infection. It's spread much further than what you can see."
Cain nodded, looking thoughtfully at Echo as she explained her symptoms. Demon taints could be nasty and unfortunately, he didn’t have much experience with them. Curses and black magic of all sorts, but he’d only been able to study demons. It wasn’t as if demon-tainted people waltzed into his flat and asked for help.
Oh wait, one just had.
“How comfortable are you with people looking in your mind?” He tapped his fingers on the mug, considering. Runes… If the taint was inside her mind and spreading… “Have you ever met Arianna Blackthorn?” He might need a runes expert, and if Ari couldn’t do it, she might know who could.
Echo's eyes brushed over the tome that Cain was perusing. "I've heard of other books by him, but this must be his last one. It sounds helpful."
“Yeah, he tried to fly off a tower after he wrote this… but he didn’t take his broom.”
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