mystic 1

[14:08:51] No matter how much Quinn scratches, it only gets worse. It's as if the rash spreads through contact - when she scratches her arm it begins to turn red and the rust's reach expands, creeping further and further up her body.

On usual days, Quinn is able to wrap up her arms and ignore the stinging itch, but now she scratches furiously with some overtaking frustration. She bears an obvious symbol labeling her a magi, but does she deserve it?

She can barely talk to strangers, nonetheless summon magic. Her cursed blood had tainted her with the rust, leaving her even weaker than before.

She's sitting on the ground, and now Quinn moves to plunge her hands in the nearby moat. The water soothes the stinging, but only for a moment. She sits there, staring at her blistered hands as if she expected them to magically heal...

...but there was nothing particularly magical about Quinn at all.
(Quinn)
[14:13:07] Janus travels like it's more than just a hobby.

Which, in a way, it is.

A missionary of the Goddess Sareen, the young Neries fulfilled her 'duties' (self-assigned, naturally) as if she'd been ordered to do them by the Lich King himself! When, in reality, it was merely what Janus considered to be helpful for the mimic she considered her deity. Whatever the case, it didn't change the results: once again had the paper-white creature found itself in the depths of the walled city of Nostvale, her last venture within having brought her face-to-face with one of the most infected humans she'd seen yet.

The Chimera Virus acted in strange and unfortunate ways-- and in ways that pushed Janus away from the subject of devouring any victim's mana.

Despite being a mere ten years old, Janus strolled as if she was twenty or thirty or more - confidence borne from every step, and a wicked sort of 'suction' aura following thereafter. Wherever the Neries went, a vacuum was left, like her figure was some sort of hole in reality! It wasn't, of course, but the metaphysical nature of Janus' race certainly allowed for that mistake to occur. "Hello, friend!" she proclaimed aloud, widening her arms slightly as if to embrace the much-older girl. "I am Janus. Who might you be?"

She spoke eloquently, but slowly and with an accent-- it obviously wasn't easy for the young girl. Anyone could surely see that her voice was an effort to uphold the pride of her Goddess.
(Janus)
[14:19:05] Quinn is shaken from her thought. The voice freezes her, her shoulders raised stiffly. She pushed herself from the water's edge and looked around, her stare resting on the Neries.

Her face was unreadable, save for a twinge of confusion that twisted her brows.

"Hi, friend," she began with a wary tongue, "I'm Quinn."

She moved to wipe her wet, red hands on her cloak, but her eyes do not leave Janus. It was very obvious that Quinn wasn't well exposed to the Neries - she took in every feature of the pale girl.
(Quinn)
[14:23:21] It was likely difficult to determine the Neries as anything other than particularly strange.

All around her, the world was made weirder as a result of her presence there-- and despite the fact that Quinn and Janus had never met before, there was nonetheless an incessant glee surrounding the pallid-masked humanoid. Sure, her facial expressions were hidden behind the aforementioned mask, but it was impossible to say that at least something didn't tip off the outside world to Janus' mannerisms and behavior and attitude. Perhaps it was the body language that gave her emotion away, or perhaps Quinn was just a particularly notable empath!

Whatever the case, Janus wasn't great at hiding such things - if that was her goal, anyway.

"Hello, Quinn!" Janus parroted, mimicking the tone and the voice of the ginger briefly. "I am Janus, like I said before. I am the servant of our Goddess and I lead Her church, primarily!" A few short nods followed duly as quicksilver-laced irises traced along Quinn's figure, 'scanning' and combing for notes of interest. When barely any skin was shown, however, did Janus find it remarkably difficult to gain a sense of mana signatures. She was no adept, that much was for sure - and by no means could she see through cloth at range for the sake of said mana-knowledge.

"You are dressed heavily. Why?"
(Janus)
[14:28:28] Janus would definitely find something emnating from Quinn, but whatever it was wasn't strong. Potent blood runs through her veins but it remains untapped, and yet the dark curse still taints her body.

It was like karma was playing a sick joke on her.

"Because this tends to gross people out."

She moves to unclip the collar of her cloak, and it falls down to cradle her shoulders. The rust covers her visible chest and runs from her wrists to the inside of her elbows. Creeping patches reach up her neck, threatening to grab hold of her face.

Not only had the rust permeated on her body, it ravaged it as well. It has left her skinny and frail, and what skin is untouched is pale and sallow. Her dirty fingernails have grown brittle and her red hair has grown dull, mimicing a more faint brown.
(Quinn)
[14:34:27] While the otherwise-impenetrable layer of glee is not outright broken, Janus does not ignore Quinn's change and revelation by any means. She doesn't immediately droop to despair, sure, but the way the young Neries leans in and adjusts her mask for a better look from afar definitely indicates some degree of intrigue at the very least. A few steps forwards are taken, and the mercury-esque eyes of Janus fixate themselves upon the particularly harsh case of rust set before her. Most magi were afflicted only with patches - Janus had some herself - but as was obvious here, extremes were starting to be reached with the prolonged existence of the Imperfect in Loranthis.

"You have it very bad," Janus remarked, restating the obvious as she saw it.

Another step forward is taken - such that there's still about a yard of space between the two - as the Neries looks on, curious as to the fullest extent of Dumuzid Balaraq's machinations. "I am very amazed!" she proclaimed in an unfitting and inappropriate declaration of her, well-- amazement! It wasn't every day you got to see something everyone had but in such terrible conditions. "You must not be a very strong magi, yes? The stronger you are, the more resistant you are. I only have a few small patches..!"

"So - you hide this, then? What for? Everyone has the touch of rust."
(Janus)
[14:40:25] "As far as I'm aware, I'm not a magi at all."

Quinn moves to pull her cloak back over her shoulders, wrapping her arms around each other inside of it. Her state is almost pitiful - any potential she has is overlooked for the need for food and shelter. Once must survive before they can flourish.

"I cover it because if I see it, I scratch at it. I can't help it."

She didn't really seem to mind Janus' awe at her affliction. If anything, it was a welcome change - anything was better than that sympathetic stare so often cast upon Quinn.

"It's for my own comfort, I suppose..."
(Quinn)
[14:40:25] Quinn: sorry if im being slow, im a bit...... rusty)
[14:41:16] Janus: (( bnice ))
[14:41:16] Janus: (( and its ok ))
[14:41:16] Janus: (( i haven't slept in more than a day so i'm ))
[14:41:16] Janus: (( lying down between posts and teasing myself with blankets ))
[14:41:16] Quinn: are u ok omg)
[14:41:16] Quinn: you should rest)
[14:41:16] Janus: (( there is no rest ))
[14:41:16] Janus: (( there is only a need to fulfill the wishes of the bird ))
[14:42:08] Quinn: arent you getting close to finals week? u need ta GET UR REST)
[14:42:08] Janus: (( it's okay i only have 3 classes ))
[14:42:08] Quinn: ic)
[14:42:08] Quinn: yeah i have 4 study halls tomorrow)
[14:42:59] Janus: (( jesus ))
[14:42:59] Janus: (( that's painful ))
[14:43:50] Quinn: ye)
[14:43:50] Quinn: i also only have 4 classes every day so..)
[14:43:50] Quinn: dead)
[14:48:06] "We are all magi in some way or another, my friend."

In reality, that was a lie--

But to Janus, it was a truth! Everyone had mana to give. Everyone had some sort of latent magical potency to sap from. She'd learned that a dozen times over! To the Neries who cared only about what one had to offer in the form of donations of energy, as one might expect, all she considered in terms of worth was indeed.. energy! Careful eyes watched the cloak of Quinn as it opened and closed, spying the mana circuitry underlined throughout. By no means was it mana sight - or if it was, it certainly wasn't very good.

Janus merely understood the presence of energy there.

"We are all magi in the face of our Goddess, that is!" Janus continued with a curt, short nod, bobbing her head downwards in a brief motion thereafter. Her porcelain mask bonked against her nose every time she made too-harsh movements, though never did Janus truly flinch as a result of said happenings. "She enjoys all of our mana. I don't think She would refuse what you call a non-magi just because they're not very good at using their mana themselves! That's why I exist."

Janus stepped closer, extending a hand.

"Do you know what I mean? You have energy stores, even if you might not be able to make use of them."
(Janus)
[14:52:22] "Yes, I understand. I know I have mana, everyone does... and mine has potential, I guess. But I'm just not good at it, I suppose."

Quinn was quick to change the subject from her failures. She looked down at Janus' hand, and although she was unsure what she was offering, Quinn moved to accept it. Her skin is rough and calloused, and her hands are frail and bony.

"I'd have to admit, I don't know a lot about your Goddess. Would you tell me about her?"

Her curiosity was genuine, and Quinn was ready to listen if it meant that she didn't have to talk about herself.
(Quinn)
[15:00:54] Janus would always be willing to hear about another, surely!

However, at the same time, Janus would also always be willing to speak about her Goddess... and that took precedence over all else. Informing the world of Sareen's machinations and Her will was the Neries' self-proclaimed purpose! Her end-goal, her beginning-goal, and everything else inbetween. "She is the most benevolent of all of the deities," Janus remarked, her eyes going momentarily dreamy as if she was being taken into one of her nightly hallucinations in the middle of daytime.

She murmured something or another under her breath about a prayer or otherwise, but the fact that it wasn't restated in a more pronounced tone did much to indicate that said murmur wasn't particularly important. Maybe just a personal way to pay respects?

Regardless, Janus bowed her head before raising it once again, the quicksilver shades of silver that plagued the young girl's irises gleaming with awe and amazement even beyond what had been experienced as a result of Quinn's exacerbated rust. "Every night, I am visited in my dreams by Her," Janus continued with a further nod or two. "She provides all kinds of advice and information and She guides me on how I should act! It's like I always have a helping hand." Given that she didn't really have friends, having an always-present deity around was a nice comfort.

The hands of the Neries clasped themselves shut around one of Quinn's, almost like it had been something of a trap - the speech a method to distract! But, alas, it wasn't going to be any kind of deadly explosion or arrow-borne volley or... anything else, truthfully. Instead, it was a potent thrum of suction that tugged at the ginger's very core-- like her heart or her center was being pulled towards each atom in her palm contacting one of Janus' own. Mana, presuming she had not managed to wriggle free somehow, would be greedily absorbed through skin-on-skin contact, the rusty patches ignored outright in favor of energy!

And while it wasn't harmful in the slightest, there'd certainly be a strong ache and a drowsiness, even if it was just a sip or two.

"Aahh," she groaned. "That's much better. Thank you, my friend Quinn."
(Janus)
[15:09:26] Quinn's stare is fixated on Janus as she speaks. She's curious, but skepticism glimmers behind those brown eyes - and then shock.

Her whole body lurches, and Quinn shudders under Janus' touch. The girl's entire being was stretched from its core, and it showed on her face. Her expression twisted to something unreadable, a mixture of confusion and discomfort and amazement, for Quinn had just felt something that she had never felt before.

Her complexion grows pale and, for a moment, it looks as if Quinn might faint... but when she looks back up from her nauseating episode, she locks eyes with Janus. Quinn is sporting a grin that seems almost giddy, and a laugh falls from her lips.

"I can feel it!" Her free hand moves to clasp one of Janus', and she laughs again. "That movement inside of me, that had to be it!"

It's as if Janus had jogged Quinn's disconnection from her mana circuit. She was elated, and her emotions were hightened by the rush of shock and drowsiness that clouded her head.

"Do that again, please," Quinn began to beg, "help me, Janus!"
(Quinn)
[15:15:24] Ciel: (oh i would have wanted to ask if I can join
[15:17:07] Janus frowned slightly, her smile downturning - not that anyone would know, of course, behind that mask of hers.

"You must be careful, my friend," the Neries remarked. She was malicious with her desires to absorb mana and energy, of course, but by no means was she going to willfully push someone into near-death situations just to sate her hunger. Hell, it'd already been sated, relatively. To take more would be greedy to the core!-- But Janus couldn't refuse, could she? Another 'sip' or 'tasting' of mana would do little to an actual magi. Knock a non-magi out, sure; but a real mage, as Quinn had just proven herself to be (provided her energetic attitude)?

Janus was certain they could manage something further for a donation.

Fingers clasp into fingers once again, and the mana circuitry of Quinn contorts and becomes misshapen. In just a few seconds, Janus' contact realizes itself as the same suction from prior, distorting the ginger's innermost core and dragging the most potent and the most condensed portions of her mana-stores down through her fingertips. Of course, Janus had already stated she did not intend to overdo it, and shortly removed herself from the appendages of Quinn! Energy was nice, but being arrested for killing a teenager on the streets of Nostvale was less nice.

"Do you feel it again?" Janus murmured in inquiry. It was clear that the Neries was very obviously 'feeling it' - her pupils had dilated, her irises maintaining the rest of her sclera... and, frankly, Janus didn't seem all that together either. Her gaze was hazy as all hell, and she wasn't particularly responsive to stimulus either. She could fight, sure! But reality was only a distant buzz to the mana-drowned Neries. "I.. this is the largest amount of mana I have had yet," she explained shortly.
(Janus)
[15:26:30] Quinn shudders. Her entire body aches, burns, resists - it's as if every fiber of her being is trying to pull away from Janus' pull, but Quinn is caught in her gravity, and she stares into the Neries' eyes with a foggy gaze.

She floats in a haze, and she's walking the line between one world and the other. Quinn's lifeforce is straggling to hold on. Barely above critical levels, Quinn feels an emptiness now of something that she wasn't even aware of moments before.

It's hard to realize that you're breathing until you begin to drown.

Quinn's eyes close for a moment and the water surrounds her. The rust washes from her skin, floating like particles of fungus drifting in the current. Her hands reach to grasp around her, but there's nothing but empty space in a world beyond her. Her feet kick at nothing, her lips part but nothing comes out.

And then her eyes open. She's grasping at Janus as if for dear life, her nails digging in tight. Sweat coats Quinn's forehead and her pallor complexion has grown sallow with weakness.

But she smiles. She can feel it there, the last remaining droplets of her lifeforce holding on. Near death, Quinn suddenly feels more alive than she ever had before.
(Quinn)