The bandage seemed to be holding well for the time being, and even as she inspected it, the man with her signaled for one of the Shinya who had been keeping civilians away from the scene. It was a young woman, of course older than Gemma, but everyone was older than Gemma. She came quickly, but clearly hesitated as she neared Fran's partially dismembered body. That made Gemma smile in understanding and hope. It was an odd reaction, but seeing a woman who was strong enough to be in the Shinya hesitate when approaching something Gemma had rushed into... It made her feel proud of herself. Then she remembered the first moment she had seen Fran's leg and her smile turned into a grimace. Nope, she was just like everyone else. And it was probably worse in her case because she saw things like this all the time.
The woman hesitated for just a tick, and before Gemma knew it, she was helping to lift Fran off the ground. And as they carried her away, the strange film still covering Fran's body, the leader led Gemma over to Sally, who was now accompanied by a young gi- wait. Was she transparent? Gemma could definitely see through her. But she was there and interracting with Sally. Was she... a ghost? That was dumb, though. Why would a ghost be here, and crying into Sally's dress? Maybe it was an illuson, but to what end? She looked to the Ilam and those in the vacinity to gague their reactions, but throughout it all her eyes kept going back to the little ghost girl.
"What-?" Gemma whispered under her breath. She didn't even know how to ask the question. But there was definitely a question there.
Gemma just wanted to sit down and process everything that had just happened, but they weren't done just yet. She wanted to make sure Sally got checked right away, what with her pregnancy and all. Gemma was deposited next to Sally and Ilam went off to talk with the Shinya who had been with Sally. Probably to compare notes.
Gemma didn't really have anywhere else to look. She tried to look at Sally, but her eyes kept going down to the translucent girl in her skirts. Her look was a clash of confusion, curiocity, and wonder. There was no horror. The ghost was clearly not harmful. She was just... new. Unknown. But even as the question started to form on Gemma's lips again, she realized that Sally was talking to her, thanking her for helping out. Gemma chuckled at that.
"And thank you for not shooting me." She said. "That would have been awkward." She paused to learn Sally's-no, Madeira Craven's name. She nodded and took the hand, bowing and shaking the hand in an awkward double greeting. Madeira's rings caught Gemma off guard, and she adjusted her grip so as not to risk impaling herself. That would also have been awkward.
As she straightened from the bow, she finally took the time to look Madeira in the eyes. She definitely looked... eccentric. Like there was something not quite... right... about her. She was almost as interesting as the ghost girl still crying at her waist. She saw that the woman was not much older than herself, but Gemma's juvenile Konti features accentuated the difference, as always.
"Miss Craven. The pleasure is all mine." She said, trying to be polite, but probably coming across as way too formal. She tried to correct herself as she took back her hand and absent-mindedly wiped her hands on her dress. "It's nice to meet you. Sorry, I forgot my hands were still bloody." She looked down at her hands, seeing both the blood and her own exposed gnosis mark. She dug into her satchel and pulled out her wrist warmers, pulling them on self-conciously. "Sorry about that." She said.
Medeira asked if Gemma was all right, and Gemma didn't know what to say. "I guess I'm as all right as can be expected after... that..." She said, gesturing to the carnage before them.
"I've never really seen magic before, other than gnosis magic, and that's not at all the same." She said, still looking at the scene. She chuckled. "You know, several days ago I went to the Dusk Tower to try to study Auristics. I thought it could help me diagnose my patients and be more efficient. At the time I felt cheated and upset when they turned me down, but this... I don't know, maybe it was for the best that they turned me down. I never imagined that one person could cause so much distruction. If you two hadn't stepped in she would have killed someone."
"I mean I was there too, but I can't take any credit." She said, holding up her now covered right hand. "I took an oath to protect and heal. But you guys didn't have to step in, especially not you with your baby bump. If it wasn't for my duty I probably would have run and hid somewhere. I was terrified the whole time. I'm still pretty shaken." She said, crossing her arms across her chest and rubbing her arms as if to warm herself.
"She wasn't a bad person." She said, looking back to Madeira, almost pleading for her to agree. Maybe she was trying to justify her efforts to save the woman even though she was clearly putting others in danger. "You could see it in those moments of clarity. She didn't want any of this..." She paused, looking away. "I guess even good people can be corrupted and end up hurting people if they get mixed up with stuff like that."
There was a war of emotion going on inside the young Konti. Part of her was thinking about how cool it was that she had actually been able to help. Objectively, she knew that she had saved lives. She might even be able to take credit for all five (six once they made sure the baby was ok) of the people involved making it out in one piece. That was a profoundly good thing, and she should be proud of having upheld her oath. She imagined Rak'keli was proud of her, too. Maybe her mom would even be a little impressed. Couldn't she do more good with magic at her disposal? And if that was true, wasn't this whole episode a blessing in disguise? Here were the Shinya, who were listed as potential referrals for her to enter the Dusk Tower. She had been told that nothing was guaranteed, but it was better than what she had now.
But then, there was Fran. She didn't know why Fran started to study magic, but she was sure it wasn't with this end in mind. Where had she gone astray? Was this the fate of all who tried to use magic? Would this be her fate if she dared to breach that barrier? And then there was that trickle of doubt, always at the back of her head, that made her wonder if all the good things she did were really just to get her mom's approval, and therefore selfish. Was that why Rak'keli had yet to give her a second healing mark even after all her studying and healing at The Catholicon? Were her motives, at the core, already corrupt? How far would she go to make her mom proud? Could she become like Fran?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Ilam's return. She introduced herself and bowed to the man now that they were being fully introduced. "Gemma. Parker." She added her last name after a tick. She had thought to just give her first name, but in the end she followed Madeira's example. But now as she looked at the ever stoic Ilam, she began to reevalute him. He was so strong, much stronger than Fran. And he had used magic to stop her. Could he be corrupted, too? Could any magic user, no matter how good they seemed, be trusted? These thoughts clashed with her natural inborn and strongly cultivated healing instincts, the same instincts that had led her to save Fran.
Gemma heard Madeira introduce the little ghost girl as Emma. She had almost forgotten about the child, but as she watched, the girl disappeared and Gemma took a step back, recoiling in surprise before casting an apologetic look at Madeira and trying to return to her former posture. But now that the ghost girl was gone, the whole area was so... quiet. The city was never quiet like this, especially not here. It made Gemma hug herself tighter.
Ilam began to explain what happened. He said it was a case of extreme overgiving, and that it was very rare. Gemma wanted to be comforted by that, she really did. But she as already doubting Ilam. He was extremely effective at neutralizing the crazy overgiving mage, and he wasn't even fazed by it. In fact, he almost seemed bored to be here. How many others had he caught before they got this far? How many cases had been kept out of the public eye?
He said that Fran's name was really Ponrose Ruhi. Gemma made it a point to write that name down in her journal so as not to forget it.
He explained that Ponrose studied voiding and hypnotism, and little details began to click into place for Gemma. 'Voiding. That must have been the scary black disks. And hypnotism. Was that why Madeira and Savis were fighting earlier? But then why...?' The revelation brought more questions than answers, but now was not the time. She also heard the name "Elena" mentioned a few times and made it a point to ask who she was, too. She felt very ignorant in the face of the whole thing. Was she a tower teacher?
The female Shinya cleared her throat and offered to pay for any medical expenses due to the event. It snapped Gemma out her her pondering for just long enough to realize that they had been standing there yacking away while a pregnant woman who had just experienced stress and trauma needed to get checked and treated. Her eyes shot open at the realization. She put up a finger to interject, but Madeira surprised her by answering the Shinya's comment about Savis quite forcefully.
They mentioned that Savis was something called a Nuit, but Gemma had no idea what that was, and couldn't guess from the name. Maybe it was another way of saying she was new in town? She added it to the list of things to ask. She also heard mention of the Infinity Manor, whatever that was. Maybe it was where Savis lived? Whatever it was, it was on Zintila, so she could always look into that one on her own.
She was about to speak again when Ilam asked if they had any questions, and again just as she was inhaling once more, Madeira began talking. She felt like a child being ignored, but that didn't bother her as much as the fact that they were all still standing there without getting Madeira to The Catholicon. The woman clearly knew a lot about magic, and Gemma probably had more questions for her than the Shinya at this point, but before Ilam could answer Madeira's questions, Gemma finally raised her voice and made herself heard.
"I'M SURE the answers are very interesting, but can we please at least talk while we walk?" She pleaded, waving her arms from the group up the hill in the classic exaggerated sign language for "let's go". After this little outburst, she shrunk a little and brought her hands up to her chest, making herself small. "Please?" She asked, looking at Ilam.
Once they were moving, Gemma felt better about asking her questions, and was even able to enjoy some of the answers. After all, she had wanted to ask similar questions to what Madeira had asked. Gemma tried to make sure they walked slowly to make sure Madeira didn't overexhert herself, and she walked with Madeira, extending her hands to be there if she needed her, but not touching the woman.
She tried to prioritize her questions, doing her best to order them in her mind in case she only got to ask one or two. She imagined that Ilam would leave as soon as they were checked into the Catholicon, so her question should be something that only he could answer. She could probably use her employment at The Catholicon to ensure that she had time for a few more words with Madeira. In the end, when she had a moment to ask, she asked,
"What did you do to her? To Ponrose, I mean. And how- how can something like that be prevented?"
The woman hesitated for just a tick, and before Gemma knew it, she was helping to lift Fran off the ground. And as they carried her away, the strange film still covering Fran's body, the leader led Gemma over to Sally, who was now accompanied by a young gi- wait. Was she transparent? Gemma could definitely see through her. But she was there and interracting with Sally. Was she... a ghost? That was dumb, though. Why would a ghost be here, and crying into Sally's dress? Maybe it was an illuson, but to what end? She looked to the Ilam and those in the vacinity to gague their reactions, but throughout it all her eyes kept going back to the little ghost girl.
"What-?" Gemma whispered under her breath. She didn't even know how to ask the question. But there was definitely a question there.
Gemma just wanted to sit down and process everything that had just happened, but they weren't done just yet. She wanted to make sure Sally got checked right away, what with her pregnancy and all. Gemma was deposited next to Sally and Ilam went off to talk with the Shinya who had been with Sally. Probably to compare notes.
Gemma didn't really have anywhere else to look. She tried to look at Sally, but her eyes kept going down to the translucent girl in her skirts. Her look was a clash of confusion, curiocity, and wonder. There was no horror. The ghost was clearly not harmful. She was just... new. Unknown. But even as the question started to form on Gemma's lips again, she realized that Sally was talking to her, thanking her for helping out. Gemma chuckled at that.
"And thank you for not shooting me." She said. "That would have been awkward." She paused to learn Sally's-no, Madeira Craven's name. She nodded and took the hand, bowing and shaking the hand in an awkward double greeting. Madeira's rings caught Gemma off guard, and she adjusted her grip so as not to risk impaling herself. That would also have been awkward.
As she straightened from the bow, she finally took the time to look Madeira in the eyes. She definitely looked... eccentric. Like there was something not quite... right... about her. She was almost as interesting as the ghost girl still crying at her waist. She saw that the woman was not much older than herself, but Gemma's juvenile Konti features accentuated the difference, as always.
"Miss Craven. The pleasure is all mine." She said, trying to be polite, but probably coming across as way too formal. She tried to correct herself as she took back her hand and absent-mindedly wiped her hands on her dress. "It's nice to meet you. Sorry, I forgot my hands were still bloody." She looked down at her hands, seeing both the blood and her own exposed gnosis mark. She dug into her satchel and pulled out her wrist warmers, pulling them on self-conciously. "Sorry about that." She said.
Medeira asked if Gemma was all right, and Gemma didn't know what to say. "I guess I'm as all right as can be expected after... that..." She said, gesturing to the carnage before them.
"I've never really seen magic before, other than gnosis magic, and that's not at all the same." She said, still looking at the scene. She chuckled. "You know, several days ago I went to the Dusk Tower to try to study Auristics. I thought it could help me diagnose my patients and be more efficient. At the time I felt cheated and upset when they turned me down, but this... I don't know, maybe it was for the best that they turned me down. I never imagined that one person could cause so much distruction. If you two hadn't stepped in she would have killed someone."
"I mean I was there too, but I can't take any credit." She said, holding up her now covered right hand. "I took an oath to protect and heal. But you guys didn't have to step in, especially not you with your baby bump. If it wasn't for my duty I probably would have run and hid somewhere. I was terrified the whole time. I'm still pretty shaken." She said, crossing her arms across her chest and rubbing her arms as if to warm herself.
"She wasn't a bad person." She said, looking back to Madeira, almost pleading for her to agree. Maybe she was trying to justify her efforts to save the woman even though she was clearly putting others in danger. "You could see it in those moments of clarity. She didn't want any of this..." She paused, looking away. "I guess even good people can be corrupted and end up hurting people if they get mixed up with stuff like that."
There was a war of emotion going on inside the young Konti. Part of her was thinking about how cool it was that she had actually been able to help. Objectively, she knew that she had saved lives. She might even be able to take credit for all five (six once they made sure the baby was ok) of the people involved making it out in one piece. That was a profoundly good thing, and she should be proud of having upheld her oath. She imagined Rak'keli was proud of her, too. Maybe her mom would even be a little impressed. Couldn't she do more good with magic at her disposal? And if that was true, wasn't this whole episode a blessing in disguise? Here were the Shinya, who were listed as potential referrals for her to enter the Dusk Tower. She had been told that nothing was guaranteed, but it was better than what she had now.
But then, there was Fran. She didn't know why Fran started to study magic, but she was sure it wasn't with this end in mind. Where had she gone astray? Was this the fate of all who tried to use magic? Would this be her fate if she dared to breach that barrier? And then there was that trickle of doubt, always at the back of her head, that made her wonder if all the good things she did were really just to get her mom's approval, and therefore selfish. Was that why Rak'keli had yet to give her a second healing mark even after all her studying and healing at The Catholicon? Were her motives, at the core, already corrupt? How far would she go to make her mom proud? Could she become like Fran?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Ilam's return. She introduced herself and bowed to the man now that they were being fully introduced. "Gemma. Parker." She added her last name after a tick. She had thought to just give her first name, but in the end she followed Madeira's example. But now as she looked at the ever stoic Ilam, she began to reevalute him. He was so strong, much stronger than Fran. And he had used magic to stop her. Could he be corrupted, too? Could any magic user, no matter how good they seemed, be trusted? These thoughts clashed with her natural inborn and strongly cultivated healing instincts, the same instincts that had led her to save Fran.
Gemma heard Madeira introduce the little ghost girl as Emma. She had almost forgotten about the child, but as she watched, the girl disappeared and Gemma took a step back, recoiling in surprise before casting an apologetic look at Madeira and trying to return to her former posture. But now that the ghost girl was gone, the whole area was so... quiet. The city was never quiet like this, especially not here. It made Gemma hug herself tighter.
Ilam began to explain what happened. He said it was a case of extreme overgiving, and that it was very rare. Gemma wanted to be comforted by that, she really did. But she as already doubting Ilam. He was extremely effective at neutralizing the crazy overgiving mage, and he wasn't even fazed by it. In fact, he almost seemed bored to be here. How many others had he caught before they got this far? How many cases had been kept out of the public eye?
He said that Fran's name was really Ponrose Ruhi. Gemma made it a point to write that name down in her journal so as not to forget it.
He explained that Ponrose studied voiding and hypnotism, and little details began to click into place for Gemma. 'Voiding. That must have been the scary black disks. And hypnotism. Was that why Madeira and Savis were fighting earlier? But then why...?' The revelation brought more questions than answers, but now was not the time. She also heard the name "Elena" mentioned a few times and made it a point to ask who she was, too. She felt very ignorant in the face of the whole thing. Was she a tower teacher?
The female Shinya cleared her throat and offered to pay for any medical expenses due to the event. It snapped Gemma out her her pondering for just long enough to realize that they had been standing there yacking away while a pregnant woman who had just experienced stress and trauma needed to get checked and treated. Her eyes shot open at the realization. She put up a finger to interject, but Madeira surprised her by answering the Shinya's comment about Savis quite forcefully.
They mentioned that Savis was something called a Nuit, but Gemma had no idea what that was, and couldn't guess from the name. Maybe it was another way of saying she was new in town? She added it to the list of things to ask. She also heard mention of the Infinity Manor, whatever that was. Maybe it was where Savis lived? Whatever it was, it was on Zintila, so she could always look into that one on her own.
She was about to speak again when Ilam asked if they had any questions, and again just as she was inhaling once more, Madeira began talking. She felt like a child being ignored, but that didn't bother her as much as the fact that they were all still standing there without getting Madeira to The Catholicon. The woman clearly knew a lot about magic, and Gemma probably had more questions for her than the Shinya at this point, but before Ilam could answer Madeira's questions, Gemma finally raised her voice and made herself heard.
"I'M SURE the answers are very interesting, but can we please at least talk while we walk?" She pleaded, waving her arms from the group up the hill in the classic exaggerated sign language for "let's go". After this little outburst, she shrunk a little and brought her hands up to her chest, making herself small. "Please?" She asked, looking at Ilam.
Once they were moving, Gemma felt better about asking her questions, and was even able to enjoy some of the answers. After all, she had wanted to ask similar questions to what Madeira had asked. Gemma tried to make sure they walked slowly to make sure Madeira didn't overexhert herself, and she walked with Madeira, extending her hands to be there if she needed her, but not touching the woman.
She tried to prioritize her questions, doing her best to order them in her mind in case she only got to ask one or two. She imagined that Ilam would leave as soon as they were checked into the Catholicon, so her question should be something that only he could answer. She could probably use her employment at The Catholicon to ensure that she had time for a few more words with Madeira. In the end, when she had a moment to ask, she asked,
"What did you do to her? To Ponrose, I mean. And how- how can something like that be prevented?"
