New York by Night MtA (IC thread)

[beastman1]

Bethany attempts a Focused Mage Sight attempt with Revelation of the Scarf's magical nature (or lack thereof) as her goal. The magic path she utilizes for all of this is Force.

[Bennosuke]

Bethany scrunches up her brow, and exhales slowly through her nose. Though this is a trick she has done before, she has no memory of ever learning how to warp her perception this way. She gathers her focus to allow her to the "shadows hanging over the world". It was a term she had made up, but wasn't sure what it meant.

Spoiler: OOC

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In the OOC thread, please roll Bethany's Gnosis (1) + Dots in Arcanum of Focus (dont have your character sheet with me at work to reference)

[Bennosuke]

Peering through the shadows which seem to cast over Bethany's perception of the world around her, she can see that the scarf has no magical properties. This is her scarf. However, there is a whisp of dark green magical ash that dusts the scarf, implying that some sort of magic has been cast on the scarf, likely a summoning spell.

[beastman1]

Bethany surmises that this was a test of some sort. If she passed, she wasn't very sure if she should've been happy about that. She could tell, without much uncertainty, that he could tell she saw through the veil and into the summoning spell attached to the scarf.

It was her turn now.

Listen, Steve. I don't know who you are, but I want to make this clear: Bethany put on her serious face and serious Liam Neeson Taken voice, I don't want to see you or your tricks around me or my friends.

Bethany gives a slight pause, staring down the man in the eyes before turning to the door and walking two steps up the stairs. She gives a quick turn and does one of two things.

She either turns around, Steve is still there and she throws it at him, telling him to keep it. If she turns around and he's gone, then she takes the scarf down the street to a trash can and throws it away before heading back inside.

Without giving anyone a chance to ask who he was or who her new "boyfriend" was, Bethany quickly exclaims he was a creep and dismisses any questions about the scarf as trivial or stupid.

[Bennosuke]

As Bethany turns away from Steve, to start walking towards the door, she sees her friends are already gone, having likely gone up the steps. She realizes suddenly, that she is alone on this street with this strange man.

She turns back, and he is still standing there, looking slightly twitchy, as if he were in a duel at high noon. Bethany tosses the scarf back at him, but he sidesteps the hunk of cloth, which flutters limply to the wet ground in a heep. Steve looks down at it for a second, as if studying a strange bug.

The muscles of Steve's jaw tighten and bulge again, then go slack. He nods his head in dissappointment, "What? Who are you?" he says, but the question almost sounds like an accusation, "are you a Seer?" He reaches one open hand out to Bethany, but she can't tell if it is to attack Bethany or to defend Steve from her.

[beastman1]

Immediately freaked out by the sudden bleeding of unreality into reality, Bethany races to get inside and slam the door shut.

She locks the door and yells for her friends while making her way to her bedroom.

[Bennosuke]

Bethany slams the door shut and locks it. She takes several steps into the hallway, and calls for her friends, but they must already be upstairs. Turning around, Bethany half expects the door to explode open, but nothing seems to happen, and through the stained glass siding on either side of the door, she does not perceive Steve's shadow.

Bethany runs upstairs to her apartment, and finds the others rushing out the door towards her. "What is it?" Hannah asks, reaching Bethany first. The others follow suit with similar questions, trying to calm Bethany.

[beastman1]

Realizing that she is breaking her golden rule of keeping up appearances when this sort of thing would occur, Bethany tries to calm herself down and respond in a normal, rational way.

I'm... I'm fine guys, sorry. It was nothing. Can we just forget about it?

[Bennosuke]

The others look concerned, but unfortunately have probably gotten used to Bethany's peculiar fragility and anxiety. They try to comfort her, leading her back into the room, but it's not long before the four go their separate ways.

When Bethany returns to her room, she walks in and practically collapses into her bed. However, her attention is drawn back the way she came, when she hears her bedroom door shut. Looking up her sense of reality is blurred by the interference of the many symbolled and multicolored unreality of magic. Standing in front of the doorway, is the fuzzy half existant image of Steve. Now his is very stern, almost threatening.

He points a finger at Bethany and before she can speak says, "Don't speak, don't yell! You and I need to talk. I am trying to help you, because if someone else like me finds you, there could be a lot of problems. Now tell me, who are you, and how do you know magic?". His image seems to become stronger as he says this, and crackles with energy.

[beastman1]

Bethany, realizing how serious this is, and knowing she can no longer run lest she put her friends at risk, answers the questions.

Look, please... just. Okay! Lower your ****ing voice! Oh, jeez... I must be losing my mind. Bethany approaches the figure very very slowly, apprehensive about what may come next. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes before opening and exhaling. She answers.

I don't know. I don't know who I am and I don't know what these... powers are... I don't know you and I don't have any idea what the hell you're talking about. Honestly. Heck, this is all probably a dream.

[Bennosuke]

As Bethany starts to break down, the man's voice softens, though it is still strained with the effort of his magic, "I'm going to come in, okay?" The fizzling image of Steve fills out, and the unreal spectrum of colors around his outline normalize. There is a soft popping noise as Steve finishes materializing.

"Sorry, I... I don't mean to scare you." He takes a step towards Bethany, but then thinks better of trying to get too close to a young girl who is scared of him. "My name IS Steve, and I promise you this is not a dream. I am real. I am the real Steve." He puts his hands up to show Bethany that he means her no harm.

"I don't mean to barge in like this. Look, you... you know about magic, right? You're Aura betrays you, I know you aren't a sleeper. It's just... these are dangerous times to be a Mage." His eyes narrow one more time, though his voice stays low and comforting, "You promise you aren't a Seer, right?"

[beastman1]

That's close enough. Bethany barks at the stranger who has now just materialized into her room.

Stay right where you are. Bethany puts her hand on the handle of her arrowhead stone dagger, a parcel she kept close on a loop of her belt.

There is no such thing as mage and magic... you're lying. I had a bit to drink today and I don't know... maybe something was slipped into it... sounds kinda stupid saying it aloud now.

Realizing that there might be more to the situation she gives Steve a look up and down to access him.

The REAL Steve, huh? Bethany says with a scowl, "okay magic man. Prove it. Do some magic for me if this is all real."

[Bennosuke]

"Seriously? And here I was worried that you were with those Seer sons of bitches" Steve asks with surprise and a hint of sarcasm, "No such thing as magic? You have an impressive ability in self delusion!" He half chuckles, but it is almost at Bethany's expense. "I literally just materialized into your room from where you left me outside; what more proof do you need?"

Steve takes one step closer, folding his arms across his chest. "And besides," he says, "I'm pretty confident you know exactly what i mean by magic."

[beastman1]

Bethany, still unnerved by this stranger in her room, draws her dagger out in a menacing gesture in response to Steve's step forward.

I said stay where you are. Bethany barked, I can't say much to your claims of magic, but I can tell you all about steel. Bethany knew her blade wasn't made of steel, but thought it sounded appropriately intimidating anyways.

Bethany makes an intimidation roll in order to get Steve to backoff and show him who he's dealing with.

[Bennosuke]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Bethany gets two successes

Steve takes a hurried step back, "Okay, okay!", he says with hands raised again. A little sheepish, he says, "Are you seriously telling me you don't know what it means to be a Mage?"

He awaits Bethany's affirmative before continuing, "Look. The majority of people around us are asleep. They are unaware of magic completely. Even when shown proof of real magic, they forget about it, or perform mental acrobatics to write it off. But some people Awaken. They become aware of magic and it's potential." Steve looks at Bethany expectantly, hoping to see a look of recognition; receiving none, he continues, "[B]But, there are two factions of Mages in New York. The Seers of the Throne, who believe in subjugating the sleeping to gather power for their gods, and those of the Pentacle, who believe in trying to help show The Sleepers the truth."

He looks at Bethany, his eyes cold and serious, despite the ludicrous words coming out of his mouth. "Christ, there is a war going on in this city. Mages are killing each other every day, and you are completely unaware of it?"

[beastman1]

There lingers a long pause between the two. Bethany, frozen, with her arm and blade pointed rigid and trembling, keeping an invisible buffer between them. Steve, frozen with his hands raised and a little annoyed.

This was all just too much. All of her doubts, here anxieties and recurring dreams were now manifesting into her literal reality and reading her lines about "mages" and "wars". If it was all bubkis, it all seemed like pretty convincing bubkis, what with the teleporting and whatnot. At the crossroads of life, Bethany had a choice to make. Send him away or hear him out...

Like all things Bethany was faced with, she would chart her own path, she would go with option C. She'd play it clever for once; Bethany was going to play along... at least until she could figure out what the hell was going on.

Bethany says the following and makes a manipulation roll to try and convince Steve to leave Bethany and her friends.

Very good Steve. I was just testing you, fellow brother. I know all about the ages old war between our people. But my work for the cause requires I remain amongst the sleepers, as I am deep undercover for a vital mission. I can't be seen with you or any other mages. Tell the others that if they want me to succeed I and the sleepers I walk among must not be disturbed. Pray I cannot tell you anymore for fear of drawing unwanted attention to myself from the Seers. Now leave. You will know when it is safe when I reach out to you. Hurry and be gone.

[Bennosuke]

Bethany finishes her bluff, struggling to keep her voice steady as she navigated through her lie. But as she spoke longer and longer, she could see the look of disbelief spread across Steve's face. He had a queer grin, half amused and half concern.

"What are you talking about?" Steve taking another step towards Bethany. The movement again brought Bethany's knife up in quivering defense, pointed at him. "How can you be undercover? Your Nimbus is so loud, so visible; that's how I knew you were a Mage. I've never seen anyone with a Nimbus like yours."

He takes another step towards Bethany, and now he was just out of arms reach. Bethany could see a fray at the lapel of his dark blue blazer. She could almost smell his breath. Bethany could feel her heart thudding hard in her chest, the blood rushing in time in her ears. The hand clutching the obsidian knife was shaking so hard. Steve now looked sad, his eye brows drawn together but his eyes seeming far away. "Don't lie to me please," he says with a hint of contempt, "What are you?"

He took one more step, and without meaning to Bethany yelled, "No, don't come closer". But the knife had plunged deep into his gut. It had gone in just so easily, like pushing your hand into wet mud.

Steve let out a grunt. His eyes were wide, the whites showing almost a full circle, and his mouth was frozen in the shape of an O. There was wet warm blood spilling over Bethany's hand and staining his white dress shirt a bright red. The room smelled coppery.

"Sorry," Bethany said stupidly, pulling the knife from his abdomen causing another gush of blood. "You..." Steve's voice started strong but trailed off. Steve took another step forward, causing Bethany to stumble back. "Why?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Bethany gains one beat. Steve takes 3 points of lethal damage

[beastman1]

Steve's body crumpled to the floor and Bethany froze like a tack on the spot. The knife dropped from her grip and rattled once hitting the floor.

Numerous shouting voices were making themselves heard as her hands trembled and her heart raced faster and faster.

Time was running out and Bethany knew she had to do something but was too afraid to know what it was.

Then out of the chorus of narratives vying for attention in her mind, a singular voice shouted loud and clear and her feet were the first to act before her head.

MOVE!

Bethany lunged to Steve's side and began her mantra, chanting the words she had practiced and would attempt a specific move to use her discipline spell mend to specifically close the wound and stop the bleeding.

[Bennosuke]

Bethany focuses on the image of Steve's gut closing, the contents of his bowels returning to their proper place, but she can't see to concentrate. Steve is groaning. Blood and an off yellow material that may be partly digested feces pushes up from his heaving abdomen with each moan. When Bethany attempts to release the spell, nothing happens. Steve's clothing is slick with sweat, and Bethany realizes his eyes are no longer open, though he still breathes labored heavy gasps.

Bethany brings her hand back to wipe away the moisture that is gathering around her eyebrows and threatening to sting and blur her eyes. Rubbing the back of her hand across her forehead, Bethany leaves a hot and wretched smelling smear that sticks to the bangs of her hair.

She almost brings up the contents of brunch. But Steve moans again, and when she looks down at him, his skin is still slick with sweat and is now an ashen off-green color. Having no other choice, Bethany re-attempts the spell. She concentrates again on the image of the wound closing, while she chants to herself and repeats the intricate series of hand gestures. This time she can feel the power welling up inside her hands, and when she releases the Imago, pushing her palms across the wound, there is a burst of smokey coppery blood scent which accompanies all Bethany's spells.

Steve's abdomen is healed, and the feverish sweat begins to clear as his breathing normalizes. But Steve does not wake up. He lies on the floor, panting heavily, unresponsive to any of Bethany's attempts to wake him.

Spoiler: OOC

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So you/I failed the first roll attempt. There was nothing keeping Bethany from re-attempting the spell. On the second attempt she had three successes. Bethany succeeds, but Steve gains the tilt Unconscious. He will be out for the rest of the scene, and now she must figure out what to do with him while he sleeps.

[beastman1]

Bethany was exhausted... exhausted and afraid.

Now what? Bethany muttered to herself in a fearful tone, her gaze shifting all across the room to associate potential objects and doorways with ways to remedy this situation without alerting any of her friends.

Bethany had an idea.

*See the OCC Thread*

[beastman1]

Despite the risk, as she cannot be found with an injured stranger in her room as it would be very incriminating and awkward for her friend(s), Bethany will attempt to use an improvised spell, based on the Control Life spell, to shrink Steve, put him in an empty mason jar with a lid (with holes in the top) and hide said jar in a box under her bed.

This all with the understanding that she would find the quickest opportunity to transport the box with the mason jar in it to a secure location where she could properly restore his original size and go back to business.

[Bennosuke]

Bethany draws her obsidian knife, and lays the flat of the blade over Steve's belly button, where his white linen shirt is still stained with slowly drying blood. She closes her eyes and concentrates on the image of Steve's body shrinking and shrinking till he is only a few inches tall. It takes only a few moments to prepare the Imago, and when she lets go, giving a short sharp exhalation, almost on instinct, she opens her eyes to Steve's body warping and inverting, till he is about the size of Bethany's pointer finger.

The still unconscious Steve continues to breath deeply, completely unaware to the gigantic change his body just underwent.

Bethany grabs an old mason jar from the stand by her bed. It had been filled with tap water, and the inside was still a little damp. Gingerly, Bethany picks Steve up into the palm of her hand, and slides him into the Mason jar. Next she grabs a paper towel and a hair tie, sealing the top. Lastly, she pokes a few holes into the paper towel with the obsidian knife.

[beastman1]

The deed was done. Daylight was loosening its grips on the world and Bethany knew she didn't have much time before it would be dark out.

She prayed this would be the end of her dealings with magic signatures, mage scents, mages, dreamers, power struggles and all the other rubbish that tried to invade her comfortable life.

She raced down the stairs of the apartment, ignoring a voice call out to her from across the hall and exited the building.

She didn't have much time so she briskly made her way to the nearest park, found a tree with a short bush surrounding the basin of the trunk. She had to step over a small metal barrier to reach over.

Knowing that the man's size would eventually conflict with the jar he was inside and perhaps be disastrous upon his return to normal size- she opened the jar, gently laid the mini-man inside the foliage on his back and then turned around.

At first she started walking but after a minute or two she found herself sprinting to get home.

[Bennosuke]

Bethany gets about two blocks away from her apartment when she realizes she does not remember the block. The the cold grasp of panic squeezes Bethany's chest, and she remembers back to the first time she recognized that the streets of Manhattan seemed to shift every time she left her apartment. Her brain raced as she tried to remember the path to the nearest park, Chelsea park, or anything!

Spoiler

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Please roll Wits + Streetwise= 3d10. I'm gonna make you roll this one.

[Bennosuke]

Bethany focuses on her breathing, forcing her mind and body to settle. After a few moments, she tries to orient herself, and chooses a direction. It takes her about four blocks till she comes across a small 2x1 block, fenced in dog park. It is little more than a grassy field with a water fountain in one corner.

There is now a fair amount of street traffic, with cars and cabs navigating the wide city streets, and pedestrians lazily taking in the chilly Saturday morning. Bethany lets herself into the dog park.

Spoiler: OOC

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So Bethany succeeds in her roll and finds the park. Please describe where she leaves the glass, and if she tries to hide the jar, and if she tries to deposit the jar without being seen. If she tries hide the jar, I'd like Wits + Larceny or Wits + Subterfuge roll

[beastman1]

*Bethany is only leaving the mini-Steve in the brush surrounding a tree, not the jar itself. If anyone bothers her or asks her what she's doing she'll just claim that she's picking up a perfectly good mason jar someone left as trash. To leave Steve in the jar in the park would be potentially dangerous as it might mean damaging him as he reverts back to his normal size while still inside an enclosed space.*

[beastman1]

Bethany will try to hail a cab to Central Park in order to find a secluded part of the park to deposit Steve in some bushes by a tree.

[Bennosuke]

After waving at every yellow car that drives by, Bethany manages to hail a cab outside of the park. The car, a yellow Ford Sedan, slides up, and a tinted window rolls down, exhausting the stench of sweat and cigar. A grimy faced man smiles in all gold caps. "Where to?", he asks with interest, while his eyes enjoy their time lingering over Bethany's young body.

A thought occurs to her, perhaps she should try to hide Steve in the jar. That would be pretty hard to explain!

[beastman1]

Bethany gets quick chill down her spine as she shudders at the unexpected thought of having brain cancer. The idea of hiding Steve in a jar is quickly shot down by the fact that Steve is already hidden in a mason jar in her purse bag... she thinks that perhaps voices shouldn't narrate what she thinks as it's kind of weird and not appreciated.

In any case, Bethany ignores the cab drivers cartoonish lecherousness and tells him to get to Central Park, and to "step on it."

[Bennosuke]

The cab driver opens his mouth to ask a question, then shrugs and says, "You got it". The smell of ashed tobacco and body odor surrounds Bethany as she steps into the car. She can almost feel it seeping into her hair and her clothes, and stinging her eyes.

The cab driver asks her some sort of conversation starting question, but Bethany is too distracted by the tangled ant's march of New York City traffic, and the gnawing ball of anxiety in her gut. Bethany is left with the uncomfortable glances from the cab driver, stolen through his rear view mirror.

Stopping across from the corner of where Central Park South and East meet, the cab driver is forced to yell at Bethany to remind her to pay as she steps out of the cab. After paying, she escapes the cab and steps out into the fresh city air. Bethany is standing across from the corner entrance to he park. A line of emaciated and raggedy haired horses with their garishly colored carriages line the other side of the street. As she crosses, there is the dry smell of horse manure and a few uncomfortable offers from carriage drivers.

The sidewalk path leading into The Park winds out of site from the street corner, diving into a forest of foliage.