13463/A dangerous experiment!

A dangerous experiment!
Date of Scene:	08 June 2021
Location:	Roof Tower - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Illyana catches Megan attempting a dangerous ritual and decides to continue her magic lessons.
Cast of Characters:	Pixie, Magik

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Pixie has posed:
It's a nice sunny day outside, and fairly peaceful. Actually it's kinda boring, and a rather restless Megan got ahold of an unusual book in the library - a magic book no less.

In the hands of one lacking magical talents such a book would be fairly harmless. In the hands of a young half faerie girl who possesses such talents but little in the way of experience it can be deadly!

"I don't care what they say, I don't care how dangerous it is, I'm gonna summon my dad, cuz I miss him! If no one will teach me magic then I'll teach myself!"

She is sitting on the rooftop,flipping through the pages of an old book as she searches for the proper spell to summon a spirit.

"Aha, here it is, I've seen this before, just need to draw a summoning circle, light some candles and utter these magic words.." she's got the candies and chalk and begins by drawing a pentagram..

Magik has posed:
    Illyana is at the school today. It's too nice of a day to spend in a "hell dimension" like Limbo. And she's been spending plenty of time in Limbo lately. Things haven't been as stable as she'd like. Nothing to really concern herself too much. Nobody's been close to taking an advantage in the magical realm. But the fact that some have been trying has been annoying enough that she's had to put in the effort in maintaining her hold.
    So today is a relaxation day. A day away from the responsibiities. And so she's at the school today. Almost nothing magical ever happens here. And when it does, at least it's got a lighter feel to it. At the moment though, she's taking a walk in the woods. Alone. Enjoying the quiet.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn doesn't expect anyone to come up here. It's not like there's a lot of exciting things to do on a rooftop on a hot day. Most people are down below in the gardens, in the pool or playing sports in the front yard. Which is just fine by her.

She finishes drawing the magic circle, having absolutely nooooo idea what she is doing mind, and starts lighting the candles. Megan has not had a lot of practice in..Well any sort of magic aside from her teleportation spell and sleep spell. It seems like every time she finds a new tutor, they do little more than prompt her to meditate, and then they abruptly vanish before even teaching her the fundamentals.

Soo, there's a very good chance that this could go very, very wrong. Once all the candles are lit, six candles in total, one for each point of the pentagram nestled in the middle of her circle, one in the very center, she clears her throat and begins:

"Oh, goddess of the underworld, I beseech thee. Here my pleas. Come to my call...." There's a whole long big speech, and she's only just beginning, trying to pronounce every word slowly, carefully. Ooh. What's this? Some of these words aren't even in English. "Uh..Sanc..Sancortus, no wait..Um..." she bites her lip, pausing on a particular word..Oh dear, she wasn't expecting this. Her personal aura starts to flicker a bit, her skin prickling as she calls upon her own magical reserves, even though she's no idea what she is doing or how to manage it.

Magik has posed:
    Wasn't Illyana just thinking that one of he highlights of the school was that there was so rarely any extreme magic? So then why does something bothersome catch up with her out of the blue? Of course, being up on the roof of the school, it's not obvious what's happening at first. Illyana can really just tell that something is happening off in the direction of the school itself. And then as she looks at the school for a moment, she can tell that it's coming from... the roof?
    Megan's spell isn't something she can see from where Illyana is, but her magical senses read the ritual as more of a 'shout across the campus'. Summoning isn't exactly beginner stuff, so it's a lout shout. And there's only a handful of residents or occasional guests of the school that could even attempt it. With a sigh, Illyana summons a stepping disc and aims as close as she can to the source of the magic.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn frowns as she stares down at the incomprehensible words. "Why...Dont they make sense? I dont..Understand..Ugh..Cant read it.." some of the words are simply faded, some of them she cant even pronounce properly. She's getting nervous and hesitant, starting to wonder if this was a really, *really* bad idea.

And that's a very dangerous thing, because you should never stop a ritual spell in the middle. Things tend to go wrong. Very wrong. "Ummm...Err...Sacritum mobius callibrein..Uh.. Dammit, I can't do this!"

She shuts the book, staring at the candles, still burning brightly in the mid afternoon sun. Wasn't the timing all important too in magic? Maybe she should have tried this at might night, in a quiet dark basement. There's a bit of wind up here too, and it blows one of the candles, right out. She holds her breath, wondering if that might trigger a dangerous chain reaction in the spell..But hey, she didn't even finish the chant, soooo...In theory, it shouldn't do anything more than simply..Not work, right? Right?

Magik has posed:
    Illyana appears a few meters away just in time to see the book snap shut, not saying anything immediately, looking at Megan's circle, tilting her head to one side and then slowly to the other side, watching expectantly. She's not sure /what's/ going to happen. She knows a few things though. 1) There was some kind of real magic being performed up here, 2) That magic wasn't for beginners, and 3) Slamming a book closed is not the traditional... or ever used way of finishing up a spell. Which means whatever happens now could be anything from nothing at all to really bad. But nowhere in the "perfect casting" zone.
    Eventually, she speaks up. "You meant to close that book?"

Pixie has posed:
Well, it's a good thing that she hadn't actually started the ritual to begin with, as that last candle hadn't stayed lit for long enough for the summoning circle to begin drawing power from her.

Even so, that sort of power does not come without a price. And for Megan, that price comes in the form of some sort of backlash. She yelps as she feels some sort of spark, almost as if she touched an electrical plug, and she jumps, stumbling back a few feet. "Yikes! That was...Geez.."

Oh, there's Illy. She laughs nervously, "Hi, Illy! Uh, how's it going? I was just...Um....reading..?" meep? Oh yeah, the other candles are still alight, though with this wind, likely to blow out any minute. And then there's the pentagram drawn into the ground in chalk.

Magik has posed:
    Watching Megan get that small amount of feedback, gives Illyana a moment of pause. Tilting her head again to try to make out the title on the book in Megan's hands. "You're reading magical books on summoning now? You must have come a long way from where you were", she says dryly. Okay, she doesn't believe that. But she /did/ promise to help train Megan at one point a while ago. Or at least she agreed to do so.
    She makes a few wiggles of her fingers and she extinguishes the candles simultaneously with a small spell. "You do know that what you were doing could have been somewhat dangerous?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn sighs, staring down at the book. It's old and missing lots of pages. It probably shouldn't even be in the library. How'd it even get there? "Umm, well see...NO one would teach me magic, and I really really just wanted to see my dad..Cuz I miss him.." She sighs, shaking her head sadly.

"Can you even imagine what that's like? To lose someone you care about?" she's always believed that Illyana is cold as ice, is incapable of feeling, or caring about anything or anyone, afterall. How could she understand?

Magik has posed:
    Illyana raises an eyebrow and there's a momentary glare that disappears almost as quickly as it appears. "And you thought that trying out something that clearly is above your skill level would get someone to teach you? You should understand that magic needs discipline. Above everything else. If you're not patient enough for it, you won't find many who will teach you." She pauses to let that sink in before she adds, "And to answer your question, yes, along with many others, I've lost my self. To magic. So you should understand why I might be disappointed here."
    She sighs, "But I did say at one point that I would teach you. So maybe we need to start that." And with a gesture, she opens a stepping disc a few steps away.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn pouts and nods slowly. "I know, I know...It's dangerous, but..the last few people who promised to teach me stuff all kinda let me down, they vanished, became too busy when I needed them the most.."

She'd point out that even Illy had once promised herself then taken off - presumably to deal with important Limbo matters or something, who knows? Her own life has been fairly busy anyway.

She does light up a bit at mention of teaching her again. "Ooh, do you really mean it this time? I'd really like to learn..I suppose I don't want to have magic blow up in my face, but maybe one day I can learn something like this.." she steps away from the book, not wanting to touch it again after that little spark. Scary!

"How'd you learn so many spells so quickly anyway? How long exactly *were* you in limbo and who taught you?" she's heard snippets, Illy has given her vague explanations, but she still cant grasp just how exactly Limbo works. Maybe she ndeds to spend more time there?

Magik has posed:
    Illyana isn't smiling when she's asked those questions. "Time doesn't work the same way in Limbo. So how long I was there really doesn't apply. You won't learn the same way that I did." Which would be pretty impossible anyway, considering how Illyana learned. As the book is put down, she reaches down to pick it up. "But first, please don't leave these lying around. They're not for playing with." And considering it was found on the school grounds, there's a good chance that this is one of Illyana's books anyway.
    Once she's gotten that point across, she continues, "But yes, if you want to learn, there are things I can probably teach you." Though she's starting to have reservations. Megan's got the power. And maybe even the talent. But does she have the discipline?
    Then again, when she started, she herself was basically a child. So maybe there's a chance.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn pouts some more. "Ooh, I'm sorry, I guess you could have spent like, a million years there, and you still have really good skin. That's kinda...Creepy!" she laughs. A lot. Rather nervously. Yeaah, she should reaaaaaly shut up now.

Megan clears her throat. "Umm, well yeah I guess I dun wanna spend a million years in limbo to learn magic. I mean that last time was super scary. But even learning magic fundamentals would be nice, you know? If you have the time? I'll study really hard? And I can totally help around the..Err..Limbo?"

Magik has posed:
    Illyana can usually hide her feelings about her original time in Limbo because the people who knew her then know not to really ask about it. Even her closest friends really don't talk about it. So Megan's discussing it would probably be offputting if not for the fact that Megan seems to be clueless about what actually happened. Though she's familiar with Illyana's dark side. She actually met that dark side.
    "I'm not a million years old. Time still happens there. Just not at the same speed. And there were other factors involved. As for learning...". She gestures to the portal. Megan may not have been expecting things to start now, but this at least seems to be what Illyana is implying.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn remembers how frightening Limbo was. She'd rather not go back there again if she can help it. But if that's where Illy learned all her magic and became super powerful, maybe there's something to be learned there?

"Oh....Right, I guess you're probably not *that* old, I mean you look so young, but.." she shrugs helplessly. Really, someone aught to shut her up.

And then when she seems to imply that lessons are starting now, she blniks. "Uh..Now?"

Magik has posed:
    Illyana feels like she should be laughing at some of these things that Megan is saying. Yet there's something that makes her not want to look away as Megan keeps saying more and more things that would force most people to shut their mouths. "If not now, when?", she asks. "You say you want to learn. And if left to your own devices, there's a good chance you'll end up dead or killing someone else around the school by accident. So we'll go to Limbo and we can start learning."

Pixie has posed:
Aha, she's right of course. Megan is pretty impulsive, stubborn and determined. All dangerous ingredients and a recipe for trouble. She nods slowly, glancing towards the stepping disc, clenching her fists. "Right. I'm not scared. Not at all. Soo what are we waiting for? Let's go!" who knows what Illy has in store for her, but this is what she wanted, someone to teach her magic, right?

Magik has posed:
    Does Illyana question whether Megan will go through with this? Only a little. But then again, she's also been a little vague on what she'd be teaching Pixie in Limbo. And that was deliberate. "After you", she says, once again gesturing to the glowing portal. Should be probably be letting someone know that she's taking Megan across dimensional lines? Probably. But this teaching part is probably going to work a lot better if she can work without the red tape that the school would almost definitely require.

Pixie has posed:
Oh nooo, she's making her go in first. This could be a trap! Last time Illy offered to help her rescue her friends, she pretty much Tortured her (Well, as far as Megan is concerned anyway, with the whole ripping soul bit).

But she's not about to back down now, or show weakness. She's an Xman afterall, right? And she's known to be brave, reckless sure, but brave and determined too. "Fine, let's go!"

with a grin, she steps in, vanishing from view, if only briefly. Hey, she's an alumni now, and no longer a minor. Even if she's still not allowed to legally drink. Pfft.

Magik has posed:
    Illyana smiles as Megan enters the stepping disc. She has to at least give her some credit for going that far. Most people don't willingly step into Limbo. Not knowing what's on the other side. Not while knowing full well that they won't be leaving immediately after they arrive. Limbo isn't a place that people usually willingly go. So if Megan is willing to overcome her past experiences with Limbo, that at least earns her a little potential in Illyana's eyes. Potential that Illyana can work with.
    Making one last gesture, she dissipates the symbols drawn on the room for Megan's ritual, leaving just a stack of candles as the only evidence that she was up here at all. Taking one last glance over the field behind the mansion, she shrugs. It /was/ going to be a quiet day. Smiling to herself, she follows Pixie through the shimmering portal, she shape disappearing behind her, leaving the roof of the mansion once again quiet and empty.