[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/UWGCWGx.png?1[/img][/center][hr][hr][center][h3][color=F7976A]Teldi, Verdi 28, Dami-Zept 54, 1:45 HS[/color][/h3][/center][hr][center][b]Location:[/b] Zeno Afraval's Townhome ~ [b]Interactions:[/b] Linah Aranda [@SilverPaw] ~ [b]Referenced:[/b] Anesin Bjelke [@Noxious][/center] 
[hider=1. Penny Pellegrin Isn't as Smart as She Thinks She Is]Penny felt the sting of consciousness. Abruptly, it invaded her dreams and they were gone. The youth lay there in bed for a moment, head heavy and throbbing. She'd had too much to drink. That had been irresponsible with her first day of classes about to start. Big hazel eyes fluttered open and were accompanied by an almost inaudible groan. She was going to spend the day hungover and, on top of that, her monthly visit from Auntie Eshiran had started yesterday. There was something else, though, too: almost... a hunger. She stared at the ceiling. The early morning sun was starting to brighten her curtains. Reaching up and rubbing tired hands over her face, Penny forced herself to sit up. With years of practiced habit, she reached out blindly for the crutch leaning against her nightstand and then...

She felt the sickeningly sweet magic rush of an aberration. In horror, the Perrenchwoman recoiled, stumbling out of bed and ending up on the floor with a thump, but its energy had latched onto her. It poured into her. Her head screamed. Her temples throbbed. She pressed her palms against them and her vision blurred, but it was so good, too. It burned away the hangover, it soothed the period cramps. It filled her with so much power that she felt as if she could fly all of the way to classes, she could take Atomic Magic and Blood Magic and every magic and scream everything that she had ever wanted to scream at her cursed mother. 

Then it was over and the aberration on her night table was gone: a part of her now. It was like she had drawn to nearly full capacity. She was strong and full of power - as she stood, her nightgown fluttered about her and the air hummed with energy - but she felt heavy,too: big, [i]weighty.[/i] The headache was different now, and her eyes seized with predatory hunger on another pair of aberrations in the room: one on Anesin's nightstand and one, closer, on Linah's. The craving was so intense that she was unsure if she could fight it, unsure if she [i]wanted[/i] to. That's when she noticed that Linah was awake... [i]very[/i] awake.

The transition between sleep and wakefulness was a swift one, as ever. One moment, Linah was deeply asleep, the next, she was aware - though her eyelids remained down, breath as even as it had been. At the sounds of an unexpected commotion nearby, however, she grabbed a dagger under her pillow and rolled out of bed and into a fighting crouch in record time. What she saw was...not at all what she'd expected. Penny stumbling right into aberration, then her pupils widening as much as any addict's she'd ever seen. [color=875f9a][b]"The [i]one[/i] time you wake before me,"[/b][/color] she grumbled quietly, almost to herself. Then she stood up, though her stance was still tense, her dagger barely lowered. She stared at Penny hard, and waving her free hand, put kinetic barriers around the other two aberrations the girl'd been eyeing. [color=875f9a][b]"Don't even think about going after the others,"[/b][/color] she said quietly, intently. She remained watchful, to discern if the Perrenchwoman would return to her senses, or if she'd have to be incapacitated.

[color=F7976A][b]"Sacre merde,"[/b][/color] Penny hissed, chest heaving, eyes bugged out. She pried them away. [color=F7976A][b]"Do not fight me, Linah. Please, do not."[/b][/color] Her voice rose into a snarl. Her hands were shaking. It was like when Arcel had absorbed that aberration on the road, only [i]she[/i] was Arcel this time. She wanted those aberrations. She [i]wanted[/i] them. She [b][i]wanted[/i][/b] them. They would be so damned [i]delicious.[/i] They could make her so incredibly [i]powerful.[/i] She knew that she could obliterate those barriers. She could sweep Linah aside and have them and... that was crazy. Linah was... well, maybe not quite a friend yet, but more than an acquaintance. Penny took a couple of deep, unsteady breaths. An apple and a melon. They were right there and they looked so warm and delicious and inviting. Linah had a dagger out. Her face was hard and her eyes flinty. A fear welled up inside of the Perrenchwoman then: a fear of being hated. She didn't want Linah to hate her. It had been an accident, a stupid accident! She twisted and glanced at her crutch, still leaning against her nightstand in its usual, unassuming way. The aberration had been right by it. Trembling, she hopped back a step and sat on her bed. [color=F7976A][b]"Please,"[/b][/color] she said, a bit more calmly, [color=F7976A][b]"put the stupid knife down. I'm alright now."[/b][/color] She paused and knitted her fingers in front of her. [color=F7976A][b]"Well, in control, anyways."[/b][/color] She shook her head. [color=F7976A][b]"I was reaching for my crutch. I didn't even look. That.. [i]thing[/i] just latched onto me and there was no stopping it."[/b][/color] For a split second, her eyes flashed in the direction of the other two aberrations. She quickly averted them.

Linah didn't relax until Penny retreated onto her bad. [color=875f9a][b]"Alright,"[/b][/color] she said calmly. Yet, instead of putting her weapon back into its previous place, she merely blunted its edges magically, then stashed it on the inside of the bottom part of her nightgown, where a strip of fabric had been attached obscurely for exactly such a purpose. Her body language and expression were no longer quite so predatory, but tension still coiled in her belly. There was a seriousness about her that indicated she could easily return to her previous state. [color=875f9a][b]"Let's get you out of here, first."[/b][/color] She drummed her fingers against her legs, considering. [color=875f9a][b]"I realize you might not wish to, but it would best to inform the Zeno about those,"[/b][/color] she tilted her head at the remaining aberrations. [color=875f9a][b]"If you wish to conceal your accident, I'll back you up, though. As long as your symptoms don't get out of control,"[/b][/color] Linah informed the seemingly cowed girl.

[color=F7976A][b]"Oh gods."[/b][/color] Penny breathed. She stared down at her foot and then up again at Linah, wrapping her arms around herself. [color=F7976A][b]"That thing is... potent,"[/b][/color] she warned. She stood and used a tiny fraction of the energy that burned inside of her to call her crutch over and tuck it under her armpit. [color=F7976A][b]"You don't think I took it on purpose, right?"[/b][/color] She gulped. [color=F7976A][b]"I didn't, Linah, truly. I just didn't even look and then..."[/b][/color] She trailed off, feeling tears welling up. How badly she wanted to explain why her reaction had been so extreme, how her brother had persuaded her into helping him absorb one before, how it was supposedly the duty of high nobility to protect others from these things, how it filled her with such power and she'd been told it could be done responsibly. She couldn't say any of it, though. This evening, she was going to meet with father, secretly. She couldn't share that either. Secrets grew up around her like weeds, blocking out the sunlight she so desperately needed to grow. She breathed. [color=F7976A][b]"Then what happened happened, I guess."[/b][/color] She shook her head tightly and looked between Linah and the door. [color=F7976A][b]"But you're right, I should be away from the remaining two, and you with me."[/b][/color] She took a step and blinked. [color=F7976A][b]"What about Anesin, though?"[/b][/color]

[color=875f9a][b]"I saw you fall into it,"[/b][/color] Linah didn't sigh, but it was a near thing. Her tone was friendlier ever since this whole event had occurred, though not quite to her usual levels of casuality. [color=875f9a][b]"If you'd wished to take it on purpose, you'd have hidden it, not made a scene. In that regard, I do trust you. But wilfull or not, aberrations are dangerous, thus my caution,"[/b][/color] she explained. She'd thought there was no need to do so, but Penny was so shaken up, she might appreciate her nearly-calm reasoning. [color=875f9a][b]"As for Anesin, we must wake her up, of course,"[/b][/color] she shrugged lightly. Just in case, she put two more barriers around the abberations, the third spaced away from the first two and rigged to sound an obnoxious alarm if it was messed with. [color=875f9a][b]"Then...we hope the masters here have a safe way to remove these,"[/b][/color] she drawled the last sarcastically. Honestly, if she'd been the first to wake and notice the aberrations, things could have gone much differently. What was, was, though.

Penny had calmed down considerably. Such was her nature of emotional peaks and valleys. In fact, she had calmed enough to start analyzing the situation, even though she still craved that sweetness. She had grown up around masks and... perhaps she was imagining it. Perhaps it was the temporary aberration madness. [color=F7976A][i]She is wearing a mask,[/i][/color] the youth thought. [color=F7976A][i]Sure as father, mother, Reldine, and Arcel wear them, so is Linah.[/i][/color] Penny wasn't completely sure, however. She forced a thankful smile and made her way towards the door. Anesin had stirred but was not yet awake. The Perrenchwoman turned on her heel and her eyes darted about. [color=F7976A][b]"Yes,"[/b][/color] she agreed, lowering her voice, [color=F7976A][b]"They are dangerous, and we need to be careful, but do not worry so much, my friend. As you can see, I took one but am quite well now. In fact, I have much energy to burn off and some that I daresay will stay with me permanently. I think I shall go burn it off on my own ahead of you."[/b][/color] With another smile and a significant look, she curtsied briefly and exited the room.[/hider]
[hr][center][h3][color=F7976A]Teldi, Verdi 28, Dami-Zept 54, 4:35 HO[/color][/h3][/center][hr][center][b]Location:[/b] Giacomo Giarrone's Binding Class ~ [b]Interactions:[/b] Yvette Chamonix ~ [b]Referenced:[/b] Carmillia Carbonneau [@Animus][/center] 
[hider=2. Penny Pellegrin Makes a Friend]Penny sat behind a desk, swinging her foot idly back and forth and munching on a quite delicious macaroon. A day that had started so eventfully had quickly died down in terms of its excitement. One of the tradeoffs of being a blueblood was that her prodigiously high capacity came with a far lesser ability to actually contain what she'd drawn for extended periods. Most of the aberration's energy had dissipated quietly into the girl's surroundings as she'd gone about her morning routines. What was left, she'd used to lighten her steps as she walked to campus. She still retained a mild headache, however, and had found herself thinking of that sweet, warm feeling more than once. Penny scowled and let her foot fall for a moment. [color=F7976A][i]You're on a precipice, you stupid girl,[/i][/color] she warned herself. She hadn't meant to absorb it this morning, but now that was two sizable ones in the past week. She would have to resist temptation. She did not want to lose her reason. Unbidden, the Perrenchwoman wrapped her arms around herself. 

Zeno Giarrone was nice - grandfatherly. She remembered so little of her own grandfather - he had died when she'd been just a toddler - only his beard: greyish brown and prickly on her little hands. She wished she could've known him, or that he'd become king like he was supposed to have been. Then father wouldn't have so much pressure. He wouldn't be so busy and anxious and imperious, for she'd known him all her life and she knew that wasn't his nature. It was what circumstance and position demanded of him. [b][color=f49ac2]"Hey Penny,"[/color][/b] whispered one of the other girls in the class, pulling her from her reverie. It was Yvette. They'd sat together, four Perrenchwomen, all ostensibly merchants - Penny, Yvette, Carmille (or was it Carmillia?), and Madeleine - in the plaza the other day. Yvette had a bit of a mean side, though. She was gossipy. Best not to get in her bad books. [color=F7976A][b]"Hey Yvette!"[/b][/color] she whispered back.

The blonde chatterbox held up a key. [color=f49ac2][b]"What room are you? I'm 106. Carmille's 108. Maddy's 107."[/b][/color] Penny blinked. [color=F7976A][b]"I'm..."[/b][/color] she fished around in her bag for a moment and pulled her key out. [color=F7976A][b]"105,"[/b][/color] she replied. [color=F7976A][b]"Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other."[/b][/color]

Yvette smirked. [b][color=f49ac2]"Yes indeed. Us Perrench girls are gathering tonight. You're going to be there, right?"[/color][/b]

Penny was supposed to meet with father tonight. It likely wouldn't be for long, but she'd probably be late for this meeting. [color=F7976A][i]How much truth can I actually tell?[/i][/color] She wondered for a moment, getting the sense that, with Yvette, the answer was 'not much'. [color=F7976A][b]"Of course,"[/b][/color] she replied slightly belatedly. [color=F7976A][b]"I have some business in town around dinnertime, but I shall be there as soon as I can, cross my heart."[/b][/color]

[color=f49ac2][b]"Business in town?"[/b][/color] Yvette inquired conspiratorially and it became clear to Penny that she had just appetized the beast. [color=f49ac2][b]"What [i]sort [/i]of business, pray tell?"[/b][/color] 

The taller girl nodded, trying to cover her annoyance with an air of nonchalance. [color=F7976A][b]"Oh, just meeting with some business partner of my father's. Boring stuff."[/b][/color] 
 
[color=f49ac2][b]"Not boring,"[/b][/color] Yvette scolded. [color=f49ac2][b]"Take it seriously. Perhaps he is grooming you to take over the family business. You know it is hard enough for us women."
[/b][/color]

Penny flicked at the empty side of her dress and raised a skeptical eyebrow. [b][color=F7976A]"Unlikely,"[/color][/b] she replied, [color=F7976A][b]"but a nice thought." [/b][/color]She sighed, liking Yvette just a little better now. [color=F7976A][b]"I shall give it my best."[/b][/color]

Yvette nodded. [b][color=f49ac2]"Just so. Know that you are an inspiration to us all for doing what you do even as you are."[/color][/b] Then, the Arch-Zeno's eyes turned their way and both girls snapped to attention, good students that they were.[/hider]
[hr][center][h3][color=F7976A]Teldi, Verdi 28, Dami-Zept 54, 4:05 HE[/color][/h3][/center][hr][center][b]Location:[/b] Private courtyard in the Cathedral District ~ [b]Interactions:[/b] Rouis XI of Perrence ~ [b]Referenced:[/b] Prospero Malatesta [/center] 
[hider=3. Penny Pellegrin, Papa, and a Plan]The sun had just dipped below the line of rooftops and city walls and the air was ripe with the chirp of crickets and swarms of midge flies that swirled in the dying light. Those things mattered little to her, however, when her father stepped out from the carriage. It was a nondescript one and he was dressed down - in clothing more appropriate for a lower noble or prosperous merchant - but he was unmistakably father to her nonetheless. 

[color=F7976A][b]"Papa."[/b][/color] She curtsied and kept her voice even and formal, forcing herself not to run to him.

He flipped back his cloak and the moonlight shone on his face. His hair, long, dark, and wavy, shot through with a few streaks of silver, still looked just like it did on all of the portraits on the walls. He took a couple of steps towards her before enfolding his daughter in an embrace. [color=0054a6][b]"Ma petite poulette."[/b][/color] He squeezed a bit tighter and Pénélope nestled into his warmth. He kissed her on the top of the head, for father was just tall enough to do so, and they broke apart to arms' length. [color=0054a6][b]"Look at you."[/b][/color] His eyes took her in and he smiled. [color=0054a6][b]"So much a woman grown, so much your own person. You look well, ma bichette. Are you?"[/b][/color] 

She nodded quickly, to reassure him. [color=F7976A][b]"Better than ever, Papa. Better than I've ever been cooped up in that room."[/b][/color] She clasped her hands in front of her and glanced down for a split second before looking him in the eyes. [color=F7976A][b]"It's been scary,"[/b][/color] she admitted, [color=F7976A][b]"being on my own."[/b][/color] She breathed, in and out of the cool dusky air. [color=F7976A][b]"I was not certain I could do it, but I have, and I've made friends, and learned, and seen and done!"[/b][/color] Her voice rose perhaps a bit too much on the last couple of words. She bowed her head slightly. [color=F7976A][b]"I am sorry for my excitement."[/b][/color]

His eyes studied her and he squeezed her shoulder gently. [color=0054a6][b]"No need, precious one. 'Tis the flame of youth that burns inside of you. Kindle it while it lasts."[/b][/color] The skin was soft and smooth for she was still as much a girl as a woman, but there was a taut firmness - muscle and strength - and he knew she had been walking in the only way that she could all day long. How it was a struggle for her, he knew, feeling a flash of anger at the Gods - at [i]himself [/i]- for having made his child this way. 

[color=F7976A][b]"I will show everyone,"[/b][/color] she continued, [color=F7976A][b]"even mother, that I am not a disappointment, that I am not a liability. You will see, Papa, even if I can't do it using our real name."[/b][/color]

In truth, he knew that Mathilde despised Pénélope. The girl stood perhaps two feet from him in the moonlight, in the same private courtyard where her mother had once stood, the same way, across from him, only the context had been vastly different. He found it the greatest irony that, of all four of their daughters, Pénélope looked the most like her mother. Curse aside, she was a near mirror-image of Mathilde at the same age. Perhaps, he ruminated, that was part of the reason for his wife's strong reaction. In any event, he could see by the suppressed bitterness in his daughter's eyes that the hatred was now mutual. Mathilde would never love Penny and the girl had stopped seeking her mother's love. [color=0054a6][b]"You will never be a disappointment to me, little one,"[/b][/color] he assured her.

She blinked, looking at him, and glanced away, hand closing around her crutch handle again. [color=F7976A][b]"Thank you,"[/b][/color] she replied softly, and he released her. [color=F7976A][b]"And how have you been? I know the approach of the conclave must be weighing on you."[/b][/color]

He took his hands back, clasping them behind his back, and motioned for her to walk alongside him. [color=0054a6][b]"Heavy is the head that wears the crown,"[/b][/color] he sighed, smiling wanly. 

[color=F7976A][b]"Your neck is strong, Papa,"[/b][/color] she replied, and he let out a snort of laughter. That someday she might wear that crown had never really crossed Pénélope's mind. There was no reasonable chance, nor did she particularly crave it as her brothers did. 

[color=0054a6][b]"That it is, daughter."[/b][/color] He flashed her a smile. [color=0054a6][b]"The vipers will be out tomorrow. I am sure they have prepared their poison for me."[/b][/color]

[color=F7976A][b]"It's that ghastly anguille,"[/b][/color] she replied matter-of-factly, lips twisting in a sneer at the mere mention of the man.

[color=0054a6][b]"The same."[/b][/color] He paused, and it took her a moment to do so as well. [color=0054a6][b]"He will make his big move,"[/b][/color] continued Rouis XI, [color=0054a6][b]"as I have been goading him into doing for years now. He thinks me a fool."[/b][/color]

[color=F7976A][b]"[i]He[/i] is the fool."[/b][/color]

Rouis began walking again, and he shook his head. [color=0054a6][b]"No, my precious, he is no fool. He is cunning, cruel, and greedy, but he is a man the same as me, and he will fall into my trap just the same."[/b][/color]

[color=F7976A][b]"But he will thrash in it,"[/b][/color] she concluded. [color=F7976A][b]"Mightily."[/b][/color]

Father nodded. [color=0054a6][b]"I may fail,"[/b][/color] he admitted, [color=0054a6][b]"and if I fail, [i]we[/i] will fail. I am sorry that the gods have tied your fate to mine, but that is the way of family and nobility."[/b][/color] Anxiety nibbled away at the confidence of his expression as he regarded her and it occurred to Pénélope that her father - the King of Perrence - felt as much of a disappointment as she sometimes did. [color=F7976A][b]"There is nobody else I would rather be tied to,"[/b][/color] she assured him, and it drew a slight smile. [color=0054a6][b]"Nobody, hmm?"[/b][/color] he replied.

The youth pursed her lips. [color=F7976A][b]"Save perhaps a handsome boy with wit and wealth to spare."[/b][/color] She bit her lower lip. [color=F7976A][b]"I could be... persuaded."[/b][/color]

[color=0054a6][b]"Well, you're in the right place to find one,"[/b][/color] Rouis replied. He marveled at how much she had grown into herself in only a week. [color=0054a6][b]"But anyhow, I think I should succeed. I think I have caught him blind, for once. So many years of playing the blunt instrument to his dagger and now it is [i]he [/i]who has dulled somewhat."[/b][/color]

[color=F7976A][b]"I truly hope so,"[/b][/color] she replied. [color=F7976A][b]"It will be quite a performance."[/b][/color]

[color=0054a6][b]"And I will play my part well."[/b][/color] There was a twinkle in his eye and she smiled at that. It was good to see father looking forward to something once. She had not understood it at the time for she had been so young, but he had been broken in so many ways during her early childhood. [color=0054a6][b]"Now, let us move onto some lighter fare,"[/b][/color] he recommended, [color=0054a6][b]"hmm?"[/b][/color]

[color=F7976A][b]"Oh, this wasn't the hors d'ouevres?"[/b][/color] she chirped. He laughed and asked her about the parade, her classes, her Zeno, and any friends she'd made. She avoided any mention of the aberration this morning. She would stay away from those and there was no need to worry father. He had enough to worry about as it was. They sat under the gazebo and chatted for the next twenty minutes, easier in each other's company than they had ever been back home - easier now that Pénélope was maybe a bit her own person and less a shadow around the palace. 

Too soon, however, it was time for goodbyes. They both stood, the girl only now starting to take note of the aches that a day on foot had wrought upon her. How much she had called upon binding, kinetic, and chemical to help. [color=0054a6][b]"My precious one,"[/b][/color] father said, hands clasped around her shoulders. [color=0054a6][b]"Know that I am so very proud of you and the person you are becoming. Know that I love you with all of the filial regard Ipte has given me."[/b][/color]

Penny blushed, feeling her eyes well up. It occurred to her that it might be a very long time before they could meet each other again like this, as father and daughter. [color=F7976A][b]"Know that I, too, am proud to have you for a father and also a king, for you have a heart, unlike so many others who wear crowns upon their heads. I mean it, Papa, I truly do."[/b][/color] They enfolded each other in another embrace and Pénélope squeezed as much as she could, as if trying to imprint some sort of memory of him into herself. That this was no normal goodbye she was certain. [color=F7976A][b]"I love you,"[/b][/color] she sniffed into his shoulder before they broke apart. It was the light of the moon that made his face shine that way and not tears, the youth knew. Kings did not cry, of course. Only [i]she [/i]had struggled to contain her emotions. They both took a couple of steps back, the girl's left arm aching acutely after a day of walking. Rouis half-turned, but then he paused, reached out, and rested a hand atop her head. He let it slide down the side of her face before drawing it back. [color=0054a6][b]"Goodbye, Penny Pellegrin."[/b][/color] They turned and went their separate ways.[/hider][hr][hr]
[hider=Penny Pellegrin Summarizes the Day]
[b]Le Matin (The Morning):[/b] As if waking up with a hangover and your period isn't bad enough, I swiped straight into the aberration on my nightstand this morning and almost went insane. Linah was a gem and brought me down gently, but she was hiding a reaction. I could tell. Maybe she wanted to absorb her aberration. I don't know, but I left her to do what she would. I may have to watch out for her as much as myself. I'm craving. It's too much. I'll have to tread lightly and yet... I wonder. This is two aberrations now. I would keep a journal about this, but then I'd risk having someone uncover it. If I can regulate my intake so that the cravings and aggression subside completely before the next, can I boost my capacity indefinitely this way, or does elapsed time not matter. This is dangerous ground. I'm well aware. Yet... there has to be somebody else out there who's trod it. Perhaps I should endeavour to find them.

[b]Le Jour (The Day):[/b] Classes were... an experience. It was intimidating being around that many people. They all acted nicely enough, but there was no missing the stares and not a murmur or two. Perhaps I shall be less of a novelty in a couple weeks' time. I seem to have made a friend of Yvette Chamonix, quite accidentally. There is rather more to her than there had appeared to be and I should accept her invitation to join her, Madeleine Marchand, and possibly Carmille Carbonneau tonight. I also rather like most of my instructors and their approaches, but the work already strikes me as simple - far too simple. I shall seek out challenges on my own or from [s]Sienna[/s] my master, Zeno Afraval. Perhaps the unlisted course that I signed up for with Anesin will hold more interest, though I'm wary of something so... shadowy and dark. I do not trust... [i]that [/i]type of magic.

[b]Le Soir (The Evening):[/b] I met with father and cried like an infant. I've been so caught up in the whirlwind of my journey, arrival, and then settling in that I'd forgotten how much I missed my familiar people... well, some more than others. Papa was... Papa, always juggling the crown with the rest of his life, switching between those two hats as best he could. For the first time, today, I got a sense of him that I hadn't before: he is just like me. He feels people's eyes upon him every day, judging him harshly for matters beyond his control and he is quietly determined to prove them wrong. Dare I say that my regard for my father has increased. He also has his plan in place. He's been goading the Doge for years, acting week and predictable, and he hopes that tomorrow will be the day that Prospero l'Angulla springs his trap, only to realize that he is the one being fooled. I can only pray to the Pentad tonight that it will come off as planned, for those arrogant Revidians and Kerremans have taken pleasure in humiliating my people and my family ever since I was a child. Rarely have I been much for patriotism, but tomorrow, I shall wear my fleur de lis pin. Vive la Perrence![/hider]