7452/Lakeside Magic

Lakeside Magic
Date of Scene:	09 May 2019
Location:	Xavier's Grounds
Synopsis:	Loki, as his student alias, chats with Wolfsbane.
Cast of Characters:	Loki, Wolfsbane

---

Loki has posed:
A scent of a far-off place stings the air, as shrapnel pieces of those far flung odors linger unnaturally. A circle of light, purple and blue, hung in the air amidst the cover of the trees near the lake, a coil of beautiful magic.

With a darting motion, a little bird flicks through, landing neatly on a low limb of a tree. His tail wiggles a little, sharp eyes skimming the immediate vicinity, while the portal still hangs open, and the area is given a once-over by the magical arrival.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Another nice day for a stroll, in and out of the woods. Most days, Wolfsbane makes time for at least a little trek into the forest, a place where she feels at peace more often than not. It also gives her a chance to spend some time in her fully wolfen form without eyes on her.

At the moment, Rahne is close to being on her way out past the treeline back to the grounds near the lake, a bit of humidity in the air with the water close by. Just another day, some of the more troubling issues briefly forgotten...until something odd pops up not far away, heralded by a colorful bit of light, drawing her attention toward the portal. Brows scrunch together, and she steps silently in that direction.

Loki has posed:
It doesn't appear to be secret, other than that it isn't out in plain sight. A few moments later a student appears, dissolving out of the bird to land neatly on the grass and leaves under the tree he'd been in. This particular student, Jeremy Larkin, hasn't been around the school lately: not since the winter holiday, but those who would miss him are on a very short list: he isn't, technically, enrolled in anything at all.

Still, the young man clearly appears to be a student, he even has a shoulder bookbag. He's a relatively decent looking teen, with a fluff of light brown hair in disarray, comfortable dark blue zipper hoodie, jeans, sneakers, and a few bits of forgettable personal flair: necklace of silver and black beads, a watch. He gestures idly in the loose direction of the portal, sending it closed, and fishes around in his bag.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Green and yellow eyes grow wider based on what the wolfen mutant sees. A bird becoming a boy, looking of an age that would probably place him as a student here, then doing something with that portal to make it go away. A claw-tipped hand curls around the side of a tree trunk she's partly behind as she stares, a glance taken back toward the more open area of the grounds.

Then, she steps into view and clears her throat. "Ah, excuse me, but who are ye an' whit was all tha' about?" she asks, gesturing toward the location the portal had been. Best to be direct and up front about this, she decides.

Loki has posed:
The boy appears to jump a little, to startle; if he's actually surprised? Well, he looks it. "Oh! I didn't know someone was here," he replies, and then blinks at her, slowly, twice. He didn't expect a clawed girl, perhaps, but his smile appears after a natural little pause, warm enough.

"I'm Jeremy. Hey," he identifies himself, letting the flap of his bag close. "I use that to travel," he explains. "I'm a mage. Sort of. It's complicated, but that's the better way to say it," he says, approaching her with a curious, thoughtful expression in his hazel eyes. There's a sense of him alertly studying her, but no real judgement. Interest? Perhaps. His age is hard to determine, he could be anywhere from fifteen to maybe nineteen.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane wears a look of scrutiny as 'Jeremy' introduces himself and at least explains the magical side of things, but there's something she's still not sure of. "I come oot here quite a bit, but I've never seen ye around before tha' I can remember, an' I dinna recognize yuir scent." So she has that going for her as a way of identifying someone, and as she doesn't outright ask him what he's doing here she leaves it on him to fill that blank in or not.

The bag is given a glance, then she adds, "Muh name's Rahne." The studying is returned, the two at a bit of a standoff in that regard. She also looks to be on the younger side, given her small stature, though the wolfen features - no more than just the fur, fangs, and claws at this point to go with pointed ears and a human face - may make her age tougher to discern.

Loki has posed:
"Do I smell bad?" Jeremy asks, alarmed. "Just a second," he says, brightly, and draws out a notebook from his bag. He flips through a few pages, seems to find what he wants, and makes a few little gestures. Abruptly, a flood of scent erupts around him: like getting axe body spray full in the face. It's a bit overpowering.

"Let's pretend I was going for that, instead of clean new rain," suggests the young mage. "Do you go to school here?" he wonders. "I asked about it, but that was a while ago. I thought I'd follow up, now that things are more calm. I was trying to help with them, um, students that were asleep from the Black Sleep pandemic," he explains. He looks over her fur and fangs with what might be a sort of subtle interest. He's not put off by her, at least.

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Nae, ye.." Wolfsbane begins, only to pause at the show of going through the notebook to apparently find a particular spell that leads to the strong blast of that kind of scent sent her way. Body sprays, perfumes, colognes, things like that? Not always the most enjoyable thing for someone with enhanced senses to deal with, and it leads to her making a face before waving her hand in front of her nose, moving back a few steps. Not enjoyed, that!

Amid a cough, she says, "Ye could..tone tha' down a wee bit, ye think? I've..been around off an' on." She sounds like she's trying to be careful of what she says, because she still doesn't know exactly what his involvement is with anything around here. "I think I was overseas while all tha' was going on." Suspicion lingers, and some confusion.

Loki has posed:
A grin flashes onto his features. "Safety first around here, I'm a stranger to you, I get that. Ask Ms. Grey about me if you're concerned?" suggests the boy. "Or Ms. Munroe." There's a relaxed, smooth note to Jeremy's voice, that leads that he might be a little on the older end of his appearance. Or he's just a smart kid, with good social skills.

"Tone it? Maybe let's just move out of the cloud," he suggests, and starts to head towards the lake. The scent doesn't follow them: the 'cloud' of illusory scent stays put.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what's going on with what you've got going on here? If I can ask without insulting you," asks Jeremy, gesturing to the whole of her. "Well, the whole of the world nearly collapsed into sleep, but you could have been in a lucky pocket that wasn't touched. Lucky you. Pretty scary for most of the rest of us."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane is more than happy to get away from the 'cloud' of scent that threatens to make her cough further. Not the most pleasant thing around, and an affront to the nicer foresty smells! The mention of names she's familiar with suggests to her this Jeremy kid might be more on the up and up than she initially suspected, if he knows them. "I'll have tae check wi' them," she answers, leaving that part of her answer simple for the moment.

Moving along, closer to the edge of the trees, the lake comes into greater view. Blue waters, blue skies, a nice clear day. "Whit do ye mean, whit's going on wi' me? I heard about whit was going on, but I dinna recall it hitting th' place I was a'."

Loki has posed:
"I meant the wolf thing," Jeremy clarifies more pointedly. He splays one hand towards her a little bit, a few shimmers of magic flickering softly along his wrist and down his fingers. They're colorful, non-threatening, and just visual. Jeremy made sparklies of magic that are doing something or other.

"And you have a trace of something else magical on you. A goddess, maybe," Jeremy says, with mock surprise. "But it's very old. So not recently."

Wolfsbane has posed:
The show, which is just that even if the Scottish mutant doesn't understand it, draws Wolfsbane's attention, her eyes focused on the gesture of the hand and what appears around it. Sparkles! She met someone else once who had sparkly magic, someone who just happens to be from where Jeremy is in truth, but the connection is not made right now. There's no real reason for it to be.

"It's whit I can do. I'm a shapeshifter around tha'," she explains, though the latter mention of the magic and goddess gets her to hold a breath for a moment, long enough for him to notice, but she adds faster than would be expected, "I'm no' sure whit ye're getting a'."

Loki has posed:
"In theory I can become animals. I'm good at birds," Jeremy says, in proper teenage boy bragging tone, with a little bit of posturing, as well, a slight toss of head and smile. Normal behavior to put on in front of a teenage girl, really: almost specifically normal. "I could try wolf, maybe, but it's probably not like a real one."

"Hey, don't worry about it, I'll drop it. I didn't mean to alarm you," Jeremy says. "It might be nothing, a brush in your past."

Wolfsbane has posed:
"In theory? Are ye saying ye've no' really tried it beyond birds?" Wolfsbane wonders, leading to a certain tilt of her head that expresses curiosity, wonder. It's a small hook that has her attention. "I can become a full wolf if I want tae. A real one," she reveals after he mentions the animal.

As far as the other thing goes...does he somehow know about Hela? That's the only thing she can think of that it'd relate to with the magical side, and she has to ask, "Why did ye mention tha', about the magic an' all?" she queries, rubbing an elbow with a hand.

Loki has posed:
"Okay okay, I've tried a few others. I was a cat before," Jeremy laughs, embarrassed, as if she coaxed the information out of him. "I like birds, I like flying," he says, as if that were enough of a reason to stick to birds. "They feel right to me." He smiles. "I'd like to see your wolf shape, if you want. Do you lose your clothes? My magic takes care of my clothes, at least," he asides conspiratorially.

"I was just seeing if you were magical, and I saw that you have a trace on you. I didn't scry more about it. It could be a way to track you," Jeremy says, lowering his voice. "I can look closer, but I wouldn't want to do that if you didn't want me to."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane doesn't give a reaction one way or another to the mention of cats. She's got a sort-of friend who has a feline side to her, whether that person's been seen lately or not. "Flying sounds cool, but I'm a wee bit more comfortable on th' ground. Whit if I fell somehow?" she asks, gesturing with her hands out. Going splat? Not a fun thought.

"I do have some clothes tha' change wi' me. Maybe I can show ye." She considers the idea, but before that she says, "There's nae magic about me," even if he says there's a trace of some kind. Hela had no problem finding her regardless, and she says doubtfully, "I dinna think ye'd find anything, but if ye want tae try...go ahead."

Loki has posed:
"Self note, don't cause Miss Rahne to levitate. No problem," smiles the teasing mage, with a slight wrinkle of nose that betrays a great deal of playfulness, under whatever other personality he's projecting. He is fun, even if he's muting it.

"Okay. I'll try. It won't do anything if it fails," he assures her, approaching more closely. He takes a little time to steady himself, and then spreads his hands into a triangle shape, sparks of purple and blue magic stretching between them, and then slowly pulls his fingers apart, as if he were parting a web to see beyond ,to see through curtains.

"A death goddess? That's alarming," he says, gently, and jerks his hands back. He gives her a worried look. "Does this really not ring a bell?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
A few inches would probably be okay, not that Wolfsbane is volunteering that information right now. His playful nature borders on infectuous in ways, but hers is a more serious demeanor that doesn't crack that easily, especially when the next few moments play out the way they do.

She keeps a watchful eye on 'Jeremy' and his gestures, and whether the colorful magic is really necessary or not it lays the foundation for getting her to believe that's what it takes for him to 'find' what he does. "Hela.." Of course it rings a bell, but it's not something she really wanted to get into judging by the glance away.

Loki has posed:
Jeremy doesn't really seem to react either way. Maybe it was information he expected, or it just doesn't mean anything to him. He sets one hand against the strap of his shoulder bag, and the other at his side. He doesn't press, he just gives her time. Either she wants to talk about it, or she doesn't. He seems to have decided to wait and let her determine which direction to go in.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane decides, for the time being, that there's nothing more for her to say about it. She doesn't seem quite ready to open up about the encounter, and she told enough people around the school about it after it happened. So, it leads to an extra few moments of silence from both of them as they observe each other, then she rubs the same elbow again along with a pointed ear.

"Anyway, this is th' way I can look." She goes through a seamless shift, fluid and apparently pain-free because there's no cracking of bones, reorganizing of body parts or anything like that. It's just a case of her standing the way she is one moment, and within about a second later the clothing has apparently disappeared (it's actually shrunken down into a small, almost invisible band) and a reddish-furred wolf now looks up at him.

Loki has posed:
That's fine: there can be a long game about that. And seeing the reaction did a lot, anyway, for what 'Jeremy' can now glean and use in the future, if necessary. Should there be more later, he has a good 'in'.

"Great!" Jeremy says, enthusiastic, as she turns into a reddish wolf. "---Can you still talk?" he asks, immediately, as if that were important. He moves to a side to try to see her more, but isn't making any aggressive moves to try to touch her.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Just knowing that Wolfsbane knows who Hela is and what threat she can pose may be enough for Jeremy. The shift to wolf is a clear indicator she isn't all that interested in going into further detail right now, for it soon becomes obvious she cannot speak like this. In fact, it's a more human shake of the head that gives the answer, rather than any sound she makes.

Other than that, everything about her appearance would be enough to give someone reason to believe that's all she is, from the way her eyes look, the proportions, the paws, brush-like tail, everything. Just a wolf, watching attentively, attention focused on the mage as she lets him get more toward one side without fully facing him.

Loki has posed:
"Okay. Don't judge me, now," Jeremy says, extending his hands some in a 'hold on' motion. He retreats from her a distance, as if he didn't want to explode on her at all. He tries a spell once, but it seems to do nothing. He flushes, and tries again, with a strong flux of white flashy magic coursing through from hands down to his feet.

He shapeshifts, magic flooding over his body, wolf legs, tail, body, all forming smoothly. Except that he has three wolf heads. He's a dark wolf: not red, but black toned with silver accents. The three headed part is probably the more distracting thing, though. He orients on her, pleased with himself, and then pauses. Hmm.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane would ask why, but..well, the lack of speech thing. Instead, there's a sort of questioning 'whuf' if anything, and with some space created between them, and the apparent failure the first time, her eyes squint as if wondering what he's up to. When the shift follows, leaving the dark wolf behind, her eyes go wider. Not so much because he pulled it off, but because..why would a wolf have /three/ heads? The body language suggests a startled wolf, one not sure what to make of this.

She immediately returns to the half-wolf form from before, though the features are a little more sharply angled toward wolfen than human this time in the sense there are more paw-like feet and a partial muzzle instead of none at all. "Whit in th' world is /tha'?/" she blurts, the clothing also having returned.

Loki has posed:
The three-headed wolf considers the question, taking stock of it all. He shrugs a little bit and sits down, with a wag of thick tail. Hey, he got close enough, really. The heads all act in tandem, looking at her keenly, though they are different: different eye colors and markings on the muzzles. It's something of a fantasy creature, really: something impossible. Magic.

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Neat trick, but tha's no' gaunae allow ye tae pass for normal anywhere I can think o'," Wolfsbane remarks, her voice not completely steady in the wake of the surprise appearance. She keeps her distance, though. There's enough uncertainty about this for her to stay back, not knowing just what he'll do.

Loki has posed:
The mage comes back out of the form with a flux of magic, sitting on the ground, in the same position. Even the smells were real. "Hey, that's an 'almost', I'll take it," laughs the young man. He tries again, with a press of magic, and gets it 'right' this time, a dark silver wolf with just the one head. He checks himself over, and then looks to her as if for approval, with vibrant gold eyes.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane remarks, "It'll take some work," leaving it at that. Then, the effort seems to pay off as far as what she sees next is concerned, and for a moment there's a flash of...something within her, as if recalling a memory in the way her eyes widen and a hand briefly goes up toward her chest. Something familiar about this silvery wolf? Then..no, not exactly. It's not the same, not quite right, but it's something the 'boy' might catch. "Och.."

Loki has posed:
Being magic, the silver wolf doesn't have to follow the requirements of physical speech. He's a big cheater. Because a moment later, a disembodied version of his voice projects from roughly near his wolf-form. "Too sexy?" his voice teases, and then laughs a little, followed with a chuff of amusement from the dark pewter colored young wolf himself. He stands up, and walks in a circle, sniffing here and there, as if distracted by being a wolf for the moment. It's supposedly a new form (not that it is).

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane's eyes slide away from the darker silvery wolf now before her, leaving her to rub the back of her neck. "Just made me think o' someone else for a moment, tha's all," she murmurs, and there's a sense of her looking and sounding flustered as part of it, especially at what he asks her.

Loki has posed:
Jeremy-wolf stares at her a little bit, keenly, and then trots away a little distance, towards the lake's edge, looking around, ears alert, tail lifted in a natural display of semi-dominance over the local area and situation. For a new form, he's brave, and willing to go wander about without fear or concern. "Somebody great, obviously," decides the disembodied voice, cheeky.

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Aye.." comes a near-immediate response, all too quick to confirm that, even while part of her marvels at his ability to speak like this. Maybe it's part of that magical side, something she lacks. She still watches from her place, not leaving it right now. "Just..someone I met once, in another place," she adds, rather distracted by thinking of whoever it is.

Loki has posed:
The wolf-boy wanders back, and returns to his previous shape, in the same time as he's picking his bag back up from where he'd set it. "Vague should be your middle name," he teases her, smiling. He points a little towards the school area. "Reminded me, though; I need to go up to the school to leave my message for Ms. Grey. Maybe we'll meet again, though?" Jeremy suggests. "I should be around a little more. Just depends."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane flashes Jeremy a frown at the teasing, someone who takes it to heart more than others might. "Sorry, I just hardly know ye an' I'm no' th' most open person around here," she explains, but she nods slowly to the idea of parting for now. "Aye, dinna let me hold ye up." She likely has questions, but she also isn't feeling sure enough about this encounter to ask them just yet. "I dinna usually go verra far from here all tha' much, here or around Salem Center."

But, once Jeremy is walking off, she says more to herself prior to delving deeper into the woods, "Ahh, Hrimhari, I wish I could see ye again someday." Perhaps she wasn't quiet enough in expressing that hope.

Loki has posed:
Jeremy shrugs some at her not sharing. "Hey, that's fine. I'm too chatty. I'm working on it," laughs the mage. He lifts a hand to her in farewell. Starting to walk off through the trees.

Not that he actually left. An illusion did. Another version of Jeremy - or rather, Loki - stuck around a little bit to watch her, an invisible smile on his cloaked face. The game has begun.