[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/hS06bsh.png[/img]    [img]https://i.imgur.com/rCd1NjG.png[/img] [/center][right][b][code]East Aaraminta - Construction Site[/code][/b][/right][hr]

[i]“I don’t know.”[/i]

Tansy scoffed, amplified by a few dozen other sounds of derision. The ring of light behind her brightened ever so slightly as the bony wine connoisseur immediately proceeded to insult her father after, she supposed tongue-in-cheekily (although could that phrase bet used for a skeleton?), insisted that he would never insult James. Yet with each “bastard” that came out of the skeleton, Tansy felt the light behind her increase like a bulb being hit with a power surge. She heard the distant beating of wings that heralded a desire within her, urging her to subjugate the skeleton here and now to serve as an example for all of those who go against her wishes. 

Except the skeleton was right. She hadn’t the foggiest idea how any of this worked, why she could call upon it, or what she was actually even calling upon. Her siblings had spotted off some mumbo jumbo before that didn’t quite go over her head so much as it dented against her skull and fell down at her feet so she could kick it under a table where it would easily be forgotten about and never acknowledged. The spotlight on Tansy snapped off as she closed herself off from Dominion and pulled her hands to her heart. She bit her lip and swallowed her pride, choking on it briefly as she turned her head and gave the snow a look so hateful it could’ve melted. She had dealt with men who’d hated her father before. This would be no different except for how she could confirm that this stranger, unlike those rich banquet backbiters, actually had a spine.

[color=springgreen]“You’re right. We are inexperienced with magic. I will admit that we might even look like a bunch of sheep who have lost their shepherd,”[/color] said Tansy, thinking about how they’d all been incapable of getting a young woman out of a house. The shake in her voice firmed up as she continued, glancing back at Tuyen. [color=springgreen]“However, I’m used to dealing with charlatans. It's quite easy to claim expertise over a subject when those you are speaking with know so little about it. And didn’t you mention that your memories might not even be your own? I suppose what I’m trying to say is that if you’re really a master…”[/color]

She put her finger up to her lips and waited in a mockery of his own dramatic pause, flourishing her arms in a similar welcoming display as punctuation. 

[color=springgreen]“...then prove it.”[/color]

[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/pBVhYT8.png?1[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/Aj0PAHt.png[/img][/center][right][b][code]Outside the Sunrise Resort[/code][/b][/right][hr]

[color=804061] “Is that, uh, enough?”[/color]

[color=darkgray]“Should be, right Blu?”[/color] said Ezra, hiding the mild tinge of guilt he felt after Arabelle described an almost total stranger better than he could’ve described his ex-wife. 

When Justin confirmed that he saw the healer Ezra felt a wave of relief, happy to know that this little hike hadn’t been a wasted excursion. The faster they were done with this the faster they could reconvene with the others, get out of the woods, get out of the cold, and, most importantly, get out of his father’s ridiculous hunting coat that smelled like a mix of deer musk and stagnant cologne. Ezra huffed quietly to himself as Justin pointed out that the Wiccans were all under a sprinkler. He’d hoped for something a little grander, but the kid apparently still had to itch his urge for school boy pranks. Maybe after they pulled the fire alarm they’d try and recruit some of the Wiccans to join their pen fifteen club.  

[color=darkgray]“Fixated on that idea, are we? Well considering the water damage they did to our dining room, I do feel like it’s deserved,”[/color] said Ezra. He could hear in his own voice that he sounded a bit tired, perhaps even annoyed. He blamed it on having channeled his Abstraction for so long, but didn’t bother to justify it to the others. [color=darkgray]“So, trigger the sprinkler, let ‘em scamper, and Blu draws out the healer? It’s not a perfect shot but it is a shot. It’s better to take it now than wait for one that never comes.”[/color]