6530/A Tall Tale Curse

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A Tall Tale Curse
Date of Scene: 16 February 2019
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Black Cat, Doctor Strange




Black Cat has posed:
Some time has passed since the infamous Black Cat, mistress-thief and possessor of one rather spectacular star-sapphire, had topsy-turvy tea with one very interesting man with a very interesting offer. After successfully stealing back some priceless items for the sake of one country (and from the embassy of another entirely), Felicia finds herself feeling more...catty than usual. She's well aware of her personal habits, but suddenly smacking at reflected winkling of light on her kitchen table is not normal -- nor is the sudden itching sensation at the tips of her ears and the base of her spine. Not normal, any of it, and she comes to a ridiculous conclusion, at least in her own world-view: she's been the subject of magic, surely. But how...and what...and WHY?! Why her?! The self-pity is strong with this one. It's when she picks up the star-sapphire so recently procured that her fingertips tingle and zing.

"...that man," she hisses, itching behind her ear with a frustrated grunt. One doesn't show up on someone's doorstep in pajamas, so she's in her walk-in closet when her reflection in the mirror catches her eye.

Cue shriek.

Thus, there is a sharp and insistent and rather angry-sounding KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK on the door of the brownstone manor in Greenwich Village. Felicia's in leggings and knee-high boots beneath a warmly-knitted ruched black sweater dress and all that beneath a wine-red peacoat, long enough to reach the back of her thighs. She has a black beanie pulled over her pale-blonde hair and again: POUND POUND POUND she does on the front door with a black-gloved hand.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    The last POUND seems to break something loose as the door swings inward freely. There is only the dark candle lit foyer of the Sanctum Sanctorum and the musueum like layout of the house before Felicia. There's no one behind the doors, no person to actually greet her. Yet aagin.

    This time however, she's entering the front door and Stephen Strange is once again, not to be located immediately, nor is Wong, the helpful servant to the title of the Sorcerer Supreme.

Black Cat has posed:
Shaking her hand out in an irritated little flicker of black fabric, Felicia then strides into the Sanctum like she means business. Truly, she does, with the sapphire in her coat pocket and her voice raised to carry.

"Excuse me! Hey! Whatever your name is! Copperfield! Houdini! I'd like a word with you!" She stomps into the foyer fearlessly, leaving little clumps of snow in her wake from her boots. "Hello...?" As she reaches the center of the foyer, she stops and looks around, her nose scrunched in frustration. "...stupid magic," Felicia then grumbles as she reaches up under the hem of the beanie to itch at her ear again. The feeling of a point in cartilage as well as soft fur -- not like what decorates her cat-suit -- is enough to garner another growl...this one sounding almost like a 'murrrr'.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    The door slams with a heavy THWOOOM behind Felicia, and should she turn to look at it, Stephen would appear behind her, with a book in his hand and a lifted eyebrow as he doesn't remove his eyes from the book. Stephen wears his famous, or hated, sorcerer's gi, with the flowing quilt like cloak at his back, and his scared hand hovering over the words of his book. "Miss Hardy. You took longer than expected." He says, finally looking up towards the cat burglar.

Black Cat has posed:
Spinning in place even as she launches from the foyer's glossy wooden floor, Felicia lands with hands up before her person. Finger curl in visible defense towards the Sorcerer and despite herself, Felicia makes a soft spitting hiss. Then she covers her mouth with fingertips, staring at the man, as he addresses her by name. A swallow and she finds her voice.

"How'd you know my name? And I don't remember any text from you, buster," she then adds, remembering that he -- in her mind -- is the source of her current woes. A finger is pointed in his direction as she puts her other fisted hand on her hip, her stance aggressive and ready for a spat. "You said you'd send a text. But first, you know what? We're going to resolve my problem."

Whipping off her beanie, she then points at her ear. It is indeed becoming quite pointed and covered in a fine white fur. She doesn't know that, at this point, her pupils have even shifted shape, going oblong rather than normal human-round. "I didn't ask for ironic magic when I had tea with you."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen snaps his book shut with one hand, a echoing thwack of the pages as he puts it away in the library with a whisp of magic. "You involuntarily hiss at me and your first question is, 'how do I know your name'?" Stephen says, giving Felicia a once over with a sidelong eye before his face says without speaking, 'seriously?'

    "We shared a perfectly normal cup of tea Black Cat, nothing more, nothingless. I did not put this..." Stephen then motions towards her ears and then her eyes and her throat, "Upon you." The man explains.

Black Cat has posed:
Despite the reassurance, Felicia continues giving the Sorcerer a flat look, red-inked mouth pulled aside in an unamused slash. Her now-folded arms do their best to accent her curvature despite the bulk of the wine-hued peacoat.

"Well, then make it go away. Also, you still haven't given me //your// name. What, you want me to keep calling you Copperfield? The man's got a better look anyways." Her own jade-green eyes return that once-over with far more impertinence; it lacks the professionalism of the doctor. "You're going for...what, bathrobe meets kiddie black belt meets drapes? Anyways," and she gestures aside with one hand, as if dismissing her own insult not seconds ago. "Look. If we're going to do business, two things: your name and getting rid of this...magical mess." One and then two fingers accent her demands.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "I gave you a card miss Hardy." Stephen says with a roll of his grey eyes, making note to look away when she tries to accent her feminimity, not exactly a man of the flesh, or that's what he tells himself. "My name is on the card." He notes finally, his hands dropping to his hips with the elbows cocked out greatly before he looks down and takes a small handful of his cloak in his hand and frowns at it, "You don't look like drapes, she's just jealous." He tells the cape, before it slides off his shoulders and looms in close to Felicia as if threatening her before darting away and up to the second floor out of sight. "You should apologize." Stephen recommends, or warns.

Black Cat has posed:
Gone whey-faced at the sudden and shocking life imbued in the crimson cloak and its reaction, Felicia stands there and stares up at where the garment has disappeared. She gives the Sorcerer an owlish look before letting out a soft confused sound (that is reminescent to a 'mew', let's be honest here).

"You...your...the drapes..." Her voice is hollow. She bites hard at her lower lip briefly before letting out a shaky sigh. "I...apologize?" she whispers, giving a wary look again towards the second floor.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Don't apologize to me. -I mean you should, but that's not what I was refering to." The wizard says with his hands still on his hips but he sighs softly and lowers his hands before he starts to walk towards the stair case. He places his hand upon the banister and looks back to Felicia, "Come. It gets really upset over things like that." Stephen says, waiting to lead Felicia.

Black Cat has posed:
Nodding in uncharacteristic silence, Felicia falls into step beside and slightly behind the wizard with his odd gi and supernatural fabrics. She doesn't pipe up again until after they've reached the second floor.

"Sooooo...it has feelings?" she asks, feeling very, very silly for it even as it leaves her mouth softly, lacking all of her earlier bluster. Her gloved hands are twisted up before her sternum and her green eyes are guileless as she glances over at Stephen. "...and magic is real? All of this is real?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "You didn't look closely at the card I gave you at all, did you?" Stephen asks as his own answer with a glance over his shoulder at Felicia with his grey eyes.

    On the second floor, the glass enshrined artifacts loom for a long distance in several directions, but there is one piece, free and moving with a sort of faux stealth. It's observing the two 'humans' and shyly waiting. Stephen calls it out and towards them where it hovers on a pair of invisible shoulders, looking from Strange to Felicia and it waits, looking at the thief.

Black Cat has posed:
The mistress-thief rolls her eyes off to one side, her lips pursed again in more mild frustration. "...no," she mutters in regards to the business card. "'Copperfield' has a nice ring to it though, doesn't it?" Felicia tries in awkward humor and smiles, almost a grimace, as she chuckles weakly.

She does, however, step nearly half-behind Stephen at the approach of the cloak sans body. Her eyes roam over it, gone wide again, and she then squints as her bolder nature encourages her to take a step towards it. "It really is...floating," she says aloud, mostly to herself, as her eyes finally look towards where a head should be -- at least, in theory.

A faint blush touches her cheeks as she grimace-smiles again and says, to the cloak, "I'm...sorry...? You're not...drapery. You're...a lot more than that," she says on a breath, still very taken aback by its mystical abilities and sentience. "We square?" Then, feeling again very silly but somehow obligated, she holds out a hand as if to offer a shake. And continues holding it out. Feeling her cheeks heat more upon realizing that she's...trying to shake hands with a garment with no person in which to return the handshake.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    The cloak doesn't have a hand to shake, but it does do what it was made to do, and it quickly wraps around Felicia's shoulders and gives the girl what could be called a 'hug' only it's more full bodied than that. And just as quickly as it was there, it's gone and down one of the hallways.

    "There, all friends now?" Stephen says almost sarcastically. "IF you'd have looked at the card, you'd know more than my address, that I have a phone number, an email address, and believe it or not, a name that isn't Copperfield." Stephen looks back at Felicia, "It's Strange. Doctor, Strange."

Black Cat has posed:
Left on her toes in silent surprise after the cloak's hug and disappearance, Felicia gives the wizard the umpteeth wide-eyed look since her arrival even as she relaxes back down to the soles of her boots. Rubbing at her outer arms, she then laughs airily and tries to assume a guise of composure.

"Ah, that's right. Doctor Strange. Pardon me, Doctor." She puts a little spin of a purr on his title. Already, the familiar mask of coquette is flooding through her stance and smile. "You really don't like 'Copperfield', though? It does have a ring to it, doesn't it?" A little tilt of her head and her platinum-blonde waves fall to one side as if practiced.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Doctor Strange, or simply Doctor is fine." Stephen says his tone a serious, and not exactly playful. Stephen's arms cross softly as he looks at the woman still and squints his eyes a brief moment, "Did you come to my house to mock my name or did you have some pressing issue you wished to discuss?" The wizard asks, as he leans against one of the countless displays of artifacts in the Sanctum.

Black Cat has posed:
A subtle pout of her lower lip accompanies the drop of Felicia's eyes to the floor. She sighs, lifting her ribcage noticeably before letting it fall, before she glances up at Stephen again.

"No...none of that, Doctor. My ears." Manicured fingers reach up to brush aside her tumble of pale-blonde tresses to showcase the pointier tips covered in a fine fur of the same color. "That, and..." The thief has the decency to blush rather comely as she reaches behind her. A little wince and from under the wine-hued peacoat, she pulls out...a tail. It's short still, having not grown long enough to escape past the hem of the coat, and the same shade as her hair. She makes a soft weeble of distress at seeing it again. "...I don't want to be a cat."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen's hand quickly goes to his own mouth as he lowers his chin at the seriousness of the transformation. "The coincidence is astronomical." Stephen notes to himself as he takes a step closer to Felicia to clinically examine the woman's ears if she'll allow. "Can you tell me when this all started?" The wizard asks curtly.

Black Cat has posed:
That plump lower lip trembles again as Felicia stands still, allowing her hair to be moved aside and her ear to be looked over. Up this close, she smells of her perfume: a light, almost-caramel sweetness containing vanilla and jasmine. One must be within this short distance to catch it for how delicate it is. Her hands wring at her sternum as she replies quietly,

"After I had tea with you. If you didn't do it, I don't know what else it could be." A significant pause and her green eyes (sporting their near-vertical pupils) slide to one side. "...well...maybe I have an idea," she mumbles, her brows then meeting in a frustrated little moue.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen's hand reaches up to her chin and pushes on the side softly to turn her face to look the other way so he can examine her other ear. This time he does lift his hand to brush against the fine white hairs on her ear. "I didn't poison your tea, if that's what you're thinking." Stephen says, taking a step back and then looking closer into Felicia's pupils now. "What color are your eyes? And go on, what is your idea?" The doctor asks softly as he waits with a raised black eyebrow.

Black Cat has posed:
Her shoulder nearly jumpts up to smack into his forearm. A little titter escapes Felicia despite her mercurial shifts in composure. "That tickles," she whispers and rubs at the ear once the good Doctor has stepped out of her space.

"My eyes are green." She holds his gaze for as long as she can before dropping hers demurely, her hands having returned to clasp before her stomach. "...I thought it might be because -- wait." Her eyes lift to Stephen's face again, gone wide. "Are my eyes changed?!" Hands clap to her mouth. "No!" she squeaks.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "You're eyes are a bit more yellow green, and slitted vertically. Much as a cat's might be." Stephen says rather calmly as if he'd seen this a thousand times before. He lifts his hand to place on Felicia's shoulder as a doctor would with a patient to try and comfort her. "You will be okay. You're not in any pain or discomfort are you?" Stephen says, rather nonplussed or concerned.

Black Cat has posed:
"Nooooooo, but it's not right!" Her oddly off-colored eyes suddenly appear to gloss over with tears and she steps into his personal space to bury her face into his chest. Her shoulders tremble as she inhales shakily and then lets out another very, very sad weeble. With her hands trapped at her sternum, Felicia sniffles behind the curtain of her loosely-curled hair. "Make it stop...please," she whispers against the blue material of his tunic-shirt.

The small weight of the star-sapphire continues to hang in her coat-pocket. She hasn't yet divulged that she suspects it's the stone causing all of this chaos about her person.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen's arms go out as the girl steps into his chest and starts to weep. "Um... Yeah. I will do what I can." Stephen says, as he slowly, slides his arms around Felicia's shoulders, trying to comfort the girl. "I don't think you're in any sort of danger anyways. As most spells can simply be undone with the right counter-spell." Stephen explains as he looks straight ahead, not trying to be too familiar with the woman. "So what is the theory of yours?" Stephen inquires further.

Black Cat has posed:
A shuddering inhale against the planes of his chest and Felicia then reaches up into the curtain of her hair to wipe at her face. She times her backstep just so, as her fingers brush aside one of the big crocodile tears slowly running down her face in plain view of his gaze.

"I don't think my theory's going to help," she says, sniffling as fetchingly as she can manage. Those big, limpid eyes, lined with their clumped dark lashes, look up into Stephen's face again. "Can't you just make it go away...?" Oh, how she asks so quietly, so beseechingly, attempting her very best to look utterly pitiful. A blink and another large tear begins to runnel down her opposite cheek untouched.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen crosses his arms, not trying to fight Felicia in any way, just being honest about magic and how it works. "So, I can make it go away, but if I miscalculate a single piece of the curse, turning into a cat might be the best thing that's happened to you this week." Stephen says his lips curling into a frown as he shrugs.

    Stephen whisks the two of them away to a simple room with a chair and a chaise lounge, with Felicia laying back on it already, and Strange resumes his thought as if the scenery didn't just change on a whim. "Is there anything else you can think of to tell me about what you're feeling, what happened since we last talked, any clue could be key Felicia."

Black Cat has posed:
The thief blinks, very surprised to hear about the potential for disaster. "Oh, but -- "

The startled chirrup she makes comes after she goes from standing to reclining on the chaise lounge is most definitely feline. Felicia sits up almost immediately on the piece of furniture and...

Tink...tick-tack-tick-tick-tick whirring-rattle. Out falls the star-sapphire from her coat pocket at its angle half-caught beneath her own hand. It rolls just about to bump against Stephen's boots before coming to a stop on the floor in plain sight.

The thief blinks at it and back at the Doctor and then assays a weak smile. "I, um..." Wiping at her face, she pulls a strand of her hair between her fingers and begins fussing with it. "...that," she finally mutters, glaring at it in tired irritation.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen picks up the gem and frowns at Felicia. "I know what you do for a living. I'm not even going to ask where you got it from, nor am I going to judge you." Stephen says and gives the blue stone back to Felicia with a slight toss.

Black Cat has posed:
Felicia catches it her lap as it's tossed back to her. With wide eyes, she then really does bobble it as if it's hot before basically throwing it back in the direction of the Doctor.

"No! No, I think it's that gemstone!" says she, startled into truthfulness. "I too -- borrowed it! From you. When I was here...for tea." Oh, how she deflates to admit this to the man. Her entire mein melts into wistful disappointment. "I'm very sorry," she adds sotto-voce, looking up at him through her dark lashes again with those lambent eyes of hers.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen catches it and frowns as he holds the gem and eyeballs Felicia. "You stole from me?" Stephen asks, sounding almost offended but then he furrows his eyebrows and stands up from the chair, seeming to loom over the whole room as he does so. Then with a turn of his head they're both at the musuem once more. "I saw you try to take the replicators yes, but you are telling me you stole something else as well?" Stephen asks with a frown before he looks around and motions for Felicia to start moving. "Show me where you got this gem from. Immediately." He's curt, and he sounds offended even.

Black Cat has posed:
"You hired me?!" It's an incredulous-sounding snark in dismay at his sudden ire. Felicia lets out another 'eeep' as reclining becomes standing again and she stumbles in place, having to catch herself on the nearest display. Her palm splays on the glass and she places the other against her head, making a soft sound.

"Please, no more of that," she whimpers before pointing towards the golden buckler still on display towards the center of the museum-like room. "It came from there." She gulps as she straightens, licking at her red-inked lips. How her makeup has managed to remain pristine through this affair is her own brand of magic.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Strange steps up to the buckler and frowns. "Is this a joke? Felicia?" Stephen asks as he holds up the gem in his hand and waits for the burglar to walk around to the front of the ornamental shield.

    The thing to Felicia's (maybe) surprise is completely intact, the gem is still within the buckler, and the glass case shows no signs of being cut or even repaired. It's all there and yet, in Stephen's left hand he holds the gem she has carried since she left the Sanctum the first time. Stephen taps his finger against the protective glass, waiting for Felicia's response.

Black Cat has posed:
By the way he's staring at the far side of the golden shield, something funny is going on. Felicia can already feel her stomach twisting as she approaches and then walks around the front of the display.

She freezes, staring owlishly at the identical star-sapphire embedded in the artifact. "I -- " She starts. "B-b-b-b-but there was -- " Hands fly up in front of her lips again. The thief gives Stephen another wide-eyed glance. "I broke into that! No! I cut the glass open and reached in and pulled //that// out!" A pointed finger accuses the gem in the Doctor's hand of being the very stone in question.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen rolls his eyes as he takes the gem and slides it into the pocket of his robes and shakes his head, "Okay, if you say so. I'll hold onto this, though I don't want to be in some sort of trouble for burglary if I get caught with it." Stephen says with a stern look to Felicia. "Now, about this curse..." Stephen frowns even deeper.

Black Cat has posed:
"No, Doc, I swear! That's the same gem I pulled out of that shield! I was professional about it!" Felicia gestures towards the pristine glass casing once more. "I even put the glass back into place after I'd cut it and pulled the stone!" Now, embarrassment is replacing the earlier trepidation and she folds her arms tightly under her chest again. Of course that accentuates it.

"You can't be calling me a liar. I'm turning into a cat. The ears! The tail?!" A hiss escapes her again and this time, she's so riled up that she ignores it. "That sapphire cursed me! It's magic. You're supposed to be able to undo it! Right?" A breathless pause and she juts out her bottom lip again. "Right?" she asks again, this time sounding a little more strained.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "I'm not calling you a liar, but the evidence is." Strange says with a hmm escaping his throat as he looks closer to the still encased buckler. "I already said I could undo it Felicia, but if you'd recall I did say it would take some time. You don't want me to get things wrong and have you turn into some sort of eldrich nightmare that Lovecraft couldn't even fathom." Strange says with a look back to Felicia. His face is deadly serious as he places the stone on top of the glass, just to set it down. "You don't want six heads. Do you?" Stephen says, trying to really get his point across.

Black Cat has posed:
Those pert red lips do an excellent mimicry of a goldfish while Felicia finally realizes what the good Doctor is implying. She swallows and really does appear to crumple in place without actually melting to a puddle on the Sanctum's shined flooring.

"Oh." A very quiet little acknowledgement slips from her lips. Rather than the tremulous set of earlier, her mouth holds firm, and this is excellent proof that she was definitely doing her best to side-swipe Stephen with those big tears and luminous (cat-like) eyes. "I, um...okay. So..." She pulls her black beanie out of her coat pocket and up over her platinum-blonde hair to hide away the ears, like doing this would solve the problem immediately. "I'm...stuck like this for now?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen frowns and steps over to help Felicia off the cold tile. "While I can't stop the curse this very moment, there are a couple things I can do." Stephen says with a hopeful smirk on his lips. "I can slow down the rate of time for you specifically. The ramifications are -" Stephen cuts himself off and doesn't allow that thought to resume. "It will slow down local time for you alone, meaning that you will literally age slower than everyone else on the planet but so will the curse. And if I can't solve the problem by then, we can find an artifact to mask your transformation." Stephen explains.

Black Cat has posed:
On her feet again, the thief looks up through her dark lashes as the man with his goatee and odd tunic and sentient drapery and the sudden influx of weirdness that has turned her life upside-down -- literally, in some instances.

"Slow time around me? Me alone? But..." By her frown, it's a concept that needs some consideration. Her regard slides off to one side as she tucks her hands up under her chest once more. "Wouldn't that make everyone else around me move faster?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "No. It's not that grand of a spell. It's just going to affect your cells and their aging. And likely your metabolism, you wont be as hungry." Stephen explains and then turns his palms upside down. "It's magic." He says with a wink before shrugging and then looking down at his wrist. "Good thing you came by so early, a few more days and you likely wouldn't have been able to talk, or maybe you could, I am not sure what curse you're under. But I still have work for you to do if you want to keep busy?"

Black Cat has posed:
Licking at her upper lip in passing, Felicia then nods her head slowly once. "I didn't want to be a cat," she says in a near-whisper. Her lashes flutter before she pulls a kunckle beneath her eyes once more, finally assuming a sense of normal poise again. "It's too ironic." A stressed titter escapes again as she looks to Stephen once more, her teeth inset to her bottom lip in passing, as if she sincerely can't help but attempt to flirt herself to the winning side of any conversation.

"It's fair to help you, since you're helping me." She eyes the star-sapphire set upon the glass case with a quick and furious frown. "I'm going to guess you need me to...acquire something." How delicately she phrases it as a knowing twinkle reappears in her eyes when she looks to the Doctor again.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Would be a waste of time and talent to hire you to do the cleaning around here, wouldn't it?" Stephen says with a lift of his eyebrow to the young woman and a smirk as he starts to wander off.

    As casually as can be Stephen is changing the subjet and asking quesitons about the thing he needs and wants. "Are you familiar with SHIELD?"

Black Cat has posed:
His quip is enough to make Felicia return the smirk and tuck her chin in a coquettish shake of her head. 'Of course not', she soundlessly seems to imply.

"The government agency?" Felicia follows in his wake, certain to move up beside him to walk as an equal might. "I know of them. They try to stay out of the newspaper, but they bankroll some big names. Word travels quickly through the grapevine of the underbelly of this city," she demures with a lift of her nose that implies herself above it, despite her 'hobby'. "You want me to borrow something from them?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "No, I don't. I want you to beat them and others to a location. There's a quartet of devices that are quietly being sought after. I would get them myself, but my position prevents me from interfering in this matter. That is why I am hiring you to act as my proxie. Can you aquire passage to Nepal?" Stephen asks then without warning to the cat-like cat burglar.

Black Cat has posed:
"Nepal." That brings the thief up short, literally, and she gives Stephen a startled blink in her pause. "Those backwaters of Asia? Oh. Um..." A tap-tap of a pristine nail to her teeth with soft sound before she spreads the hand out before herself. "Yes?"

She frowns to herself, now reassessing her own statement. "Yes," she then repeats much more firmly. A winning smile, true enough given it reflects in her eyes and dimples her cheeks, is flashed. "These items are all in Nepal? Seems easy enough."

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "There is one in Nepal. The three others are accounted for, and relatively safe." Stephen says, the hint of a snarl tugging at his lips, as he did just lie to the woman, he knows exactly where they are, but he can not act on that knowledge. If he is offended by Felicia's opinion he does a good job of hiding it, or he outright ignored her thought on the location and resumes his briefing. "The sphere is housed in a special room in one of the most ancient and forgotten temples in the hardest reachable places in the country. If you cant make it, then I fear I've hired the wrong thief and am sending you to your death..." Stephen trails off, meaning he needs her to be sure and be on her a game if she is going to go through with this task.

Black Cat has posed:
"Oooooooh..." The sound peters off into a purr that is decidedly feline rather than an insinuation of delight alone. Felicia's eyes almost light up. "Gee, Copperfield -- I mean, Doctor," she amends with a deliberate delay in her correction and sharper quirk of a smile. Someone's enjoying teasing the stoic wizard. "That sounds right up my alley. Also a little bit Indiana Jones-y. I like it." A hand dares to reach out and give the man's upper arm a gentle and almost fond pat-pat.

"...any chance that there might be other things I can borrow?" she then asks in mock-shyness. "Shiny things, maybe?"

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Return with the Orb of Spring and then we will talk about rewards. Do try to not use the artifact, It would be bad for the whole planet and I would know." Stephen taps his nose and smirks to the woman before leading her to the library once more, but this time it one be by falling through the doorway. "I would like to enchant you with the temporal spell now if you'd like, unless you want to have a three foot tail by the time you land in India." Stephen note with a motion towards Felicia's appendage.

Black Cat has posed:
"I feel like you don't trust me, Doc," the cat-burglar banters back lightly with a flick of her hand to her hair to move it behind her shoulders rather than flowing over the front of her coat. She follows him yet and recognizes the room she first entered when she broke into the Sanctum -- or rather, the Sanctum allowed her to break in.

Her eyes travel around the area yet again, marking the piles of books and walls covered with the spines of tomes tucked safely away into shelving. His gesture towards the tip of the silvery-white tail peeking from beneath the hem of her peacoat makes her frown down at it.

"Yes, please. It tickles, like my ears, and I'm going to have to hide it somehow or people are going to notice." It's not the type of attention she wishes in the end. Undoing the buttons of her coat, she then shrugs it off and slings it over the back of a nearby chair. The sweaterdress beneath it clings to her every curve in its forgiving weave and she takes up a subtle hips-akimbo stance with her hands held up at her sides.

"Hit me with the magic, Doc." Another bright and teasing grin for him, knowing she's a proper sight.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Are you... bracing?" Stephen asks as he shakes his head and stifles a chortle. "It's magic, not a rock Felicia." Stephen says as he steps up and with a harsh motion a green circle appears on the ground beneath Felicia, a six foot circle that somehow lifts up and becomes a semisphere with Felicia inside though she can easily see through it.

    The sphere is a 3d mandala and yet all over it smaller and smaller circles and runes take shape as Stephen's hands dance through motions quickly, though if she looks close enough, he has four extra hands, two off his shoulders and two from under his arms. The extra hands needed for such a complex spell.

    "You might have a dryness in your mouth. Wait it out." Stephen reports over the sounds of reality being warped and adjusted to the wizard's whim all for this young woman.

Black Cat has posed:
The mistress-thief barely avoids backstepping out of the intial encircling of the neon-green magic about her feet. She makes another soft 'eeep!' of surprise and tucks her hands up before her chest again as she swivels her head to look around her person. Mentally, she reminds herself that this is okay -- it's just magic -- it's cool -- he means well -- ...she thinks? He has to mean well.

"My mouth does feel funny," Felicia reports from within the confines of the shifting reality around herself. She smacks her lips a few times. "Is it supposed to taste like pennies? It tastes funny too." Her nose wrinkles pertly.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Pennies are okay. Honey is what we want to avoid." Stephen explains as he steps closer and pulls all his hands on the shell of the spell and then it all folds down as his hands merge back down into two and he clasps his hands together like a child would around a marble. The green sphere shrinking fast and through Felicia .

    Stephen steps up to Felicia and opens his palms with a single marble sized green glowing speck in his hand. He holds it before Felicia who's likely starving for a cup of water. Quickly Strange holds the spell up before Felicia's lips. "Here, eat this. It will ease the discomfort." Strange explains.

Black Cat has posed:
One last 'eeep!' sound as she feels the spell brush //through// her and leave the fine hairs of her body standing. Felicia stands perfectly still and blinks a few times as she does a quick once-over of her body. Nothing feels...really different...except for this case of cotton-tongue on steroids.

A soft cough escapes her and she grimaces, licking at her lips once more. "Blugh, you weren't kidding. Do you have a glass -- " Even as she asks, she realizes he's approaching her with a small orblet of what appears to be magic taken physical form. Cautiously, the thief reaches out with her black-gloved fingers to pluck the spell from his palm.

It tingles at her fingers and feels solid if with a small amount of give to it, counter-intuitive to its appearance of pure verdant light. "Oooooookay," she mutters before putting the spell into her mouth. She holds it on her tongue before swallowing it in a hard gullup. It goes down like an unchewed gummy bear. She then stares at Stephen questioningly.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "There. All done." Stephen says as he hunches over as the spell hits Felicia's stomach and spreads through her quietly. The cotton mouth sensation fades rather quickly as the moment has passed and the wizard is doubled over and reaching out for one of the chair stools he has littered around the library. That seems to have taken a huge toll on Stephen as he has huge streams of sweat pouring down his face and he gasps heavily as if he'd just ran a marathon.

Black Cat has posed:
The pink of her tongue flicks at her upper lip again and Felicia sighs happily to feel the momentary discomfort disappear. It's extremely soothing. Then the poor man is definitely showcasing what appears to be a troublesome reaction to his efforts. With her brows quirked in a small show of genuine concern, Felicia slinks over to him.

"You...um. You don't look so hot, Doc. Want me to get //you// a glass of water?" she asks, attempting to rest a palm lightly on the rounding of one of his broad shoulders.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "No, I'm fine." Stephen says as he plops down right on the floor. "Just need- to- catch my- breath." He looks up to Felicia and frowns before he adds, "Sorry I couldn't do much more for you now, but it will help."

    Stephen sits on the cool carpet and lays his hands behind him to prop his upper half up as he watches Felicia, "You are free to go do whatever you need or what. Nepal isn't going anywhere, but I would feel better the sooner you complete your task."

Black Cat has posed:
The palm on his shoulder is warm and gentle with the pat-pat of commiseration at discomfort. For all she might pull selfish Fast and Furious turns of emotion and consider herself above the hoi-polloi, Felicia isn't without her more human moments -- even with a cat tail.

"Nepal's at the top of my to-do list now," she tells him with a growing smile. "Seems only fair. You putting yourself down like this...I can't push it to one side. I might be a thief, but we keep our promises." A black-gloved hand is extended towards him as she continues primly leaning forwards. The sweaterdress, well...it has a specific cutline to the neck. "You have a deal, Doc. I'll get that Orb of Spring for you, come hell or high water." The thief's nimble fingers are offered either as handshake or aid to his feet, whatever he so chooses to interpret.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    Stephen takes the hand and gives her a kiss to her knuckle as though she were some form of royalty. Then he places his hand back on the ground behind himself as support once more. "You're good people Felicia, but you wont be alone in the search for the Orb. Keep your head on a swivel, and it's more important that you come back alive than not at all. Understood?"

Black Cat has posed:
"Oh, shucks, Doc." Is that a bit of a blush on her cheeks? Nay, it can't be, she's far too aware of herself to allow it. Or is she? Standing up and folding her arms lightly beneath her chest again, Felicia grins down at him. "Concerned for little old me? Thanks, I appreciate that. I don't know if I'm good people, but..."

She pauses to walk over and grab her peacoat, slipping into it once more. "It's nice to hear every now and then. I'll get back to you, Doc, sooner than later." She pulls her phone out of her pocket. With a little frown, she gets to swiping at it. Some quiet sounds of keys ticking and a chime of completion.

"That text you sent? Saved the number. It's under 'Copperfield'," she informs him with a wink. "Figured you'd want to keep this between us..."

With that, she begins to sashay from the library room, intending to leave via the front doors of the Sanctum downstairs. "Don't work too hard, Doc," she singsongs on her way out into the hall.

Doctor Strange has posed:
    "Two words I wouldn't use to describe you Felicia. Little or Old." Stephen says with a wink towards the blonde girl before she leaves. "Thanks, I love it. I'll save you as ... Felicia would be appropriate." The wizard notes then gives her a soft wave as she leaves the library with Stephen still on the floor.