goddamngrenades | RP Open Post

"They really should." A little more sketching out on his schedule, underlining some things before he moves his alarms and notifications on his phone around. That question has him blinking. "Well. Matriarch of the family. And she kind of did say that I shouldn't play with magic or, well. Study up on it. She probably wouldn't approve of- this. Or the channel."

"Ah." Her head lolls back on the pillows, a faint smirk forming. "Or consorting with demons." Even if she is merely assistant and teacher both; he has yet to make any sort of taxing request of her, though how she might carry such out when bound within the apartment remained to be seen. "Do you believe she finds your power a threat?"

"I don't know if she KNOWS I have any, really. Um...I remember having an imaginary friend as a kid that kinda- well he wasn't as thorough as you've been with teaching me stuff since it was less teaching and more 'this shit will kill you kid'. It made sleeping hard. I thought there were actual monsters in the forest behind her house and in my closet and under my bed." It's been YEARS since he thought of Delta but- he kind of misses that green little bastard. Warnings like that would've helped a lot while he was deployed. "But yeah I never really talked about it around her or mom or anything. And they didn't seem all that strange to me except Great Aunt Rose so..."

Her brow furrows. "What made him imaginary?" She need not comment on monsters; the tales to scare young children had an origin in truth, after all. She has her theories, on his own power, but thus far not enough evidence to piece things together. "What was so different about Great Aunt Rose to the rest of your family?"

"Little glowing green people don't...exist...I say now living with a demon." He sits and stares at the far wall for a long moment, eyes narrowed. "Sonovabitch he WASN'T Imaginary!"

The cat on her lap starts purring. There's a faint snort from Carolina as she reaches over to scritch between the feline's ears. "Young humans seem most prone to see between the veil. It only lasts with those who possess the gift. But I ask again, what made him imaginary? The word of your parents?" Perhaps due to the games played by children...but it was hard to say.

"Gran said he was imaginary and not to worry about it, but that was as healthy for a kid my age to have one. Even if I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be something that makes life fun not horrifying for a kid." He scrubs at his eyes, thinking back to the other question. "Always smelled like herbs, braided things into her hair, lived in a tiny ass cottage in the middle of nowhere. Animals all over the place but like, they were always pretty chill? Till I was ten I didn't know it was weird to have a pet fox."

"Perhaps in America." Europe didn't have such concerns, save for them getting in the hen houses. ..Though that was a time long ago, compared to now. "Is she still alive? Or is longevity not a gift of your bloodline?"

"My great grandmother is still alive. My great grandfather is too. Everyone on mom's side ages STUPID well. S'why it's easy for me to get around here, I still look like I'm any other twenty something." Instead of pushing a little closer to thirty.

Her left hand moves away from the cat, even as her left wing shifts about, claws curling into a fist that she can rest her cheek against even as hand proceeds to gesture. "It makes very little sense. Why would they keep this from you?" It is clearly evident to her that they have denied him this knowledge.

And almost thirty is still a twenty-something! ~~don't even think about asking her age either~~

"Maybe cuz my dad's a muggle?" All that side of the family is very tech based. Very logic and sciences.

"Muggle?" A blank look.

She hasn't gotten to the ebook copies of Harry Potter, yet, clearly.

"Harry Potter books, look 'em up. Kind of entertaining, I think I actually have all of them and the supplemental material in your room. But yeah, muggle. Not magic user. Not magic anything. Unaware of the weirding world." Him, basically, till a few months ago.

There's a faintly disbelieving look. When there's that much magic running through one side of the family, it always shows true in those that have it. Wedding bonds rarely lasted where such details were concealed. "All right. Supposing that's true. What purpose would sealing your power away have?"

Unless he'd been especially strong? Her nose wrinkles slightly. ...No. She didn't get that sense from him. But that didn't mean she couldn't be wrong.

Burdgeoning power could only be kept contained so long, particularly without renewal spells. Would summoning her have been the final crack on an already fragmenting seal?

"Dunno. I stopped spending as much time around Grandma and that side of the family- we used to spend whole summers at their place- when I was about...I wanna say nine? Ten? Round them. Still go in for christmas every year- except when I was deployed, but it's kind of a thing. Everyone comes in, we eat, drink, swap stories, that kinda shit." Some of the punch is always a little weird tasting but Gran insists and, well. Gran is gran.

You don't argue with her.

"Maybe dad got tired of it?"

To her credit, she doesn't transfer herself across the room in a whirl of dust, or teleport to his side unexpectedly since he made it a rule, but that doesn't stop Carolina from rising from her seat in a swift fluid motion, approaching him with quick strides. Not many, mind - he's not seated that far away. The cat is neatly deposited and confused a minute later that she's no longer on a lap.

Personal space is, well. Still something of an issue, given how she looms over him, leaning close to murmur into his like -- well, the devil on his shoulder. "And when you were nine or ten, you stopped being afraid of the things lurking in the dark."

"Stopped seeing your imaginary friend, too. Am I right?"

He won't ever get used to how FAST she can be when she wants. It's not as sudden as the dust or the smoke, he sees her coming, he always does since that first time, so there's no reason for him to tense up. By now? he's quit. It's just- a little weird how intense she's being about this.

Something he doesn't know about himself? About his family?

"...yes. What aren't you telling me?" Something's up and he'd rather have it figured out before he has to go to Grandma's for christmas this year.

Green eyes meet blue, intently measuring...something. But it's clear, so very clear, that whatever it is, he doesn't know. Or better to say, he doesn't remember. That isn't due to spells. Due to trauma, perhaps?

"..Family shouldn't keep things from each other," she says at last, reluctantly. Her tail is too still. "I can choose to judge them for what they have done, but I am outsider, not human. You should have a care to consider why they might choose to bind your magic rather than allow you to grow into it."

"And what they might do once they realise their seal is gone."

"..." Well shit that's ominous. Very ominous. What didn't he remmeber from being nine? He'd liked Delta, he'd kept him safe, told him stories, helped him keep away from the scary shit in the forest. He'd been happy to help, he'd said, and even now he remembers the crisp little voice and almost birdlike tilt of his head when he spoke.

It'd been nice.

Now, though, he wonders. He worries.

"Basically you're telling me shit is gonna go down by the punchbowl when Gran gets a good look at me." That'll be fun.

"If not from the moment you step through the door." He's learning control, and now she knows there's a deadline, she'll step that up, consider shielding techniques..

..And none of this is something she'd ever done for other summoners. Her so-called masters could live or die by the merits of their own training and stupidity. Pretty as this one was, that was hardly a qualification to have her extend so much effort and attention.

She wonderd. Then sets those thoughts aside. For now. "It may be that nothing will happen." It's a careless additional comment, but the shrug is dismissive for a reason.

"You have not met my grandmother." The woman is kind, compassionate, and exacting. There's a reason he found the military to be an agreeable profession up till it blew up in his face. "Yeah I'm gonna get yelled at. Shit."

A verbal dressing down from Gran is why being bitched at by drill sergeants was a cake walk, really.

"At least you have many months until Yule?" Time to shore up some of that confidence you've been slowly gaining there.

"Yeah. There's that. Think you can teach me how to make myself invisible before then? Teleporting would be a good trick too."

"No," and while there's sympathy, she can't help derive a little amusement from his situation. "You are not a demon. Though you may have the skill for at least one of those spells by next year at the earliest."

"Killjoy." He snorts a soft laugh. "I'll take what I can get."

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