neriumoleander (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
neriumoleander) wrote2014-09-24 07:52 pm
neriumoleander) wrote2014-09-24 07:52 pm
Entry tags:
On the Pond (Joel, Open)
About a half mile from Grimhilde Manor, beyond the land and in a thicket of overgrown trees, there lies a deep pond. It teems with life. Shimmers with magic and the surface is particularly exquisite under the full moon. It has been Nerium's place, since she was a child. Lonely and wandering her woods, she found the fish and frogs there not to be potion ingredients, but charming companions. Today there is another world there. Ruled by a family of mischievous water nymphs borne of a spell of Nerium's long ago. Magic breeds magic and soon the pond was home to grindylows, ashrays, bunyip, and kappas - even miniature hippocamps. They regard Nerium as a goddess. For her, they are her closest friends - along with the ravens and other creatures of the manor.
She often floats a canoe to the center to think or reflect on a new spell. Today she is there with a book in hand, and several others resting at the floor of the canoe. She is a bookseller now, during Rose's occasional stints at The Quill, and she must make her role believable. So she's gathered an assortment of books, those highly recommended and sought after. Others considered classics.
Nerium is unsure how she feels about this boy wizard. He who survived a curse from the the great dark lord.
"It is in poor taste to attack a child. But his wrong is seeking power for purely selfish gain. One will always be corrupted by the great dark forces if they are not dealt with accordingly. Sacrifice and worship." The water nymphs lean against the side of her boat, ever a captive audience. "Though this so-called hero is insufferable. Who cares of sport when there is magic to learn? Certainly all his brilliance comes from his female friend."
Perhaps Nerium likes the bushy-haired girl. Even if she was born of humans. Her power is the same.
She often floats a canoe to the center to think or reflect on a new spell. Today she is there with a book in hand, and several others resting at the floor of the canoe. She is a bookseller now, during Rose's occasional stints at The Quill, and she must make her role believable. So she's gathered an assortment of books, those highly recommended and sought after. Others considered classics.
Nerium is unsure how she feels about this boy wizard. He who survived a curse from the the great dark lord.
"It is in poor taste to attack a child. But his wrong is seeking power for purely selfish gain. One will always be corrupted by the great dark forces if they are not dealt with accordingly. Sacrifice and worship." The water nymphs lean against the side of her boat, ever a captive audience. "Though this so-called hero is insufferable. Who cares of sport when there is magic to learn? Certainly all his brilliance comes from his female friend."
Perhaps Nerium likes the bushy-haired girl. Even if she was born of humans. Her power is the same.
no subject
"I didn't care for most of the characters in the book, really. Then again, I'm not exactly the target audience."
no subject
Nerium feels Robert's presence long before he arrives. The man practically oozes it, in a way that is both sickening and impressive, and that would have had her grandmother turning him into a rat if he'd ever crossed her path the way he is Nerium's now.
Of course, she felt his presence long before this. Another figure in the shifting tides and balance in Siren Cove. Bringing with him new figures, angers and betrayal. It all makes for a delightful added charge to her spells for now, but the implications are less welcome. Another threat to the town as it stands in such fragile currents.
"Robert Flynn. You dare venture to my wood?" She stands in her canoe, placing the book down and allowing the small craft to levitate in the air and a cloud of fog. "Even a fool would think twice about such courage."
no subject
"I never could resist the lure of a beautiful woman," he said, flashing her a smile. Not that he expected his charm to work on her. Not that he'd be unhappy if it did. "But only a fool would come without a gift. And you don't have to come to me, I can swim over if you give permission. It feels wrong to be in human form here anyway, this is a place of magic. I feel like I'm offending it."
no subject
"Your sweet talk is unwelcome here. Mind your tongue if you hope for safe passage."
She crosses her arms and sits back in the canoe, calling upon the fog of the forest to shield them. "Your true form is more welcome." His request for permission, his acknowledgement of gift and respect is appreciated, and a formality all too forgotten these days, though his inherent charm leaves her wary of any such efforts.
"The creatures will appreciate your display, no doubt. But you are a visitor here and safe passage can be easily revoked."
no subject
"I promise, I'll behave," he said with a bit of a chuckle as he stripped out of his clothes. Any modesty he had was lost long ago and the other creatures here probably wouldn't see nudity the same way a human would and he doubted Nerium cared. His scales rippled over his skin, dark grey and metalic looking. The last several years he felt more comfortable like this than he did as a human so he was grateful that she allowed him to change.
Slipping into the water he made sure not to make any sudden movements, swimming slowly toward Nerium, not wanting to spook any of the creatures that so obviously revered her.
"I come with a gift and to ask a favor of you. Even if refuse the favor, the gift is yours."
no subject
"I am sure you are aware of the dangers of breaking a promise in the presence of magic, so I will take your word." Nerium is not a prude, by any means, nor tied to society's conceptions of social standards. But she has never seen a grown man fully disrobed, at least not who was otherwise a diety or demon which is quite a different situation, and her eyes cannot help but flicker from his display.
His scales, on the otherhand, are magnificent to behold and she makes no attempt to hide her gaze at his transformation. Siren magic has great power in itself, and his is well-practiced and refined.
"You are adept at making deals, are you not?" Her lips curl to something of a smile as he swims nearer. She thinks her mother, the great seductress she was, might have liked this man. She wonders if they'd known each other.
The nymphs follow behind him, trailing in a train on the surface of the water until the youngest swim forward to poke and prod with curiosity at his scales.
"He is a Siren. I have given him safe passage, so let him be." The nymphs' appear something close to crestfallen and so she offers them assurances. "But you may stay and watch him. The scales are more impressive from afar, I dare say."
She turns back to Robert, angling the canoe toward him and nodding an invitation to board.
"Your gift is welcome. But if I am to grant your favor, the terms will be my own."
no subject
Robert didn't mind the prodding so much, it wasn't aggressive, more curious than anything else, and he trusted Nerium's word that he'd have safe passage. Not that he was worried about the other creatures attacking so much as he was about Nerium cursing him if he didn't behave.
He pulled himself up easily into the boat, taking a moment to study Nerium. The urge to reach out with his magic to study her too was difficult to resist. It was as much one of his senses as his sight was, but people tended to be uneasy when siren's used their power on them.
"This is the blood of a matriarch," he said, mouth and teeth shifting just a bit to better accommodate human speech as he held out an ornate vial to her. "Not the blood of the matriarch here, but it should be a valuable spell component all the same."
no subject
Nerium takes the vial with some care, calling upon its energy to test that the blood is truly as he says. It shines gold and silver as the scarlet catches, crackling with deep magic so unlike that of witches. Valuable is an understatement. A siren matriarch's blood is typically spilt in betrayal or mutiny. It can turn a simple spell of passion into something raging and furious. Not to mention it is exceedingly rare. She is impressed, to say the least.
"How did you procure this? A matriarch' blood is not shed - or given - lightly." With a wave of her hands, the vial disappears. "I will accept your gift. Now allow me to hear your request."
no subject
"I'm afraid I'm bringing trouble to town. Normally I wouldn't bother you with this but the trouble might come to you for help. I stole something very valuable from a family of dark witches. They used to be powerful be centuries of... let's call it 'keeping the bloodline pure' have left them with less power and influence than they used to. The latest generation is small and could care less about their magic and more about their Euro-trash lifestyle. They were selling their grimiore and it was the sort of book that, in a moment of altruism, I decided would be better off if no one had it. Grimiores like that are passed down through families for a reason. So I took it and the family would really like it back. Once they come here I'm sure they'll ask you for help getting it back. I would appreciate it if you didn't help them."
no subject
Nerium stands in the canoe, seemingly growing in height as she does so. "You are a fool Robert Flynn." She calls a lightning bolt and it crashes into a tree just behind him with a loud crack. "The tides and currents of Siren Cove are shifting under great unbalances. Its very future is under threat. And you - you anger a family of dark witches and risk leading them here? Did you think you might find assistance? Safe haven? From the family who despises you or the home you left behind? The chaos in your wake crackles through this town like a flames." She makes herself grow further, levitating in front of him, calling forth gusts of wind and another lightning strike, this time just missing the canoe. "It propels the very forces I call around you"
"There is no allegiance among witches of that kind. They do not care of the great dark forces they serve, only corrupted power and excess like the Lord in this book." She brings herself closer to natural size again. "I will promise no aid to you, nor these foreign witches. Let the chaos reign, you've brought it on to yourself. I shall intervene only if this town is brought under threat, and my aid will come then to whomever I see fit."
no subject
"Nerium," he said once she was finally done. "Do I strike you as the sort of person that needs to be further impressed by what it is that you can do? I've come to you precisely because of your power and reputation. The display of power and theatrics is completely unnecessary. I've met a lot of very powerful and very scary people in my lifetime. None of them have ever done anything like that before."
no subject
"You strike me as a person who needs be reminded of the ramifications of his actions, yes." She returns the atmosphere around them to normal form and sits casually in the seat of her canoe, resting her hands in her lap, a smug smile at his compliment. "I take it you understand the terms then?"
no subject
"Nerium, let me help you," Robert offered. He wasn't entirely sure why he was offering other than no one had really done the same for him when he was starting out. There was more than one mistake he could have avoided if someone had mentored him.
"Eventually you will be the powerful, commanding presence you want to and are meant to be. Even more so than you are now. I know all about how to present yourself to others. I'm not in town long, but I'd love to meet and have coffee a few times and give you some pointers. If you'd be open to it."
no subject
She crosses her arms. "Despite some recent misconception that has spread through the men of this town, I am not prone to making social calls for coffee or wine."
no subject
Robert shook his head. Either she couldn't see it or she didn't want to. Whatever the reason she was too close to her own situation and too enamored with herself. The arrogance of youth could be exceptionally frustrating at times. Fortunately, Robert didn't have to deal with hers if he didn't want to.
"Very well, I'll leave you to your reading then and thank you for your time."
no subject