[COMPLETE] It has been, and always will be

[shibrogane]

Minerva took her hands back, and held them close to her chest for a moment. Mr. Bitterberry and America, looking at her, saw a spark of something green and growing there beneath her hands, until she moved them. The budding magic disintegrated before appearing.

Jeremiah's power flowed from him, a straight beam until it hit Minerva. Then her anxiety flooded out through everyone present--anxiety and a hint of something else, something darker--and she was signing to Kaleb, I'm alright, through Jeremiah as a translator. I'm not a dog! You're not going to spook me.

To Shiloh: I believe you, she signed. But why all these others? I have no magic; what can I do to resist you?

It was odd. America could see through Mister Bitterberry's eyes that there was indeed some kind of magic swirling around Minerva. It sparked whenever she pressed her hands together, greenery looping through her fingers, and vanished whenever she pulled them apart.

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Melancholies

Grey Dragon

azuredreams

lizbot

demon_pachabel

saedusk

The Semblance of Unity

 

[azuredreams]

The moment that something darker hit, Jeremiah stopped- The anxiety he had expected but the darker tinge- His fingers curled tightly around his cane, a few steps back as he spoke what she signed to Kaleb. (There might have been a twitch to his lips as he spoke as well but it quickly faded.)

(Never mind that he still, at this point, did not realize he could broadcast. Mostly he was quiet, processing and watching for the time being.)  

[lizbot]

Even a whiff of untruth had America tensing, making the sense of anxiety worse. Anxiety that wasn't hers which woke the seething feeling of rage she'd tried to put aside for the Charter business.

"Don't bullshit us," she drawled without taking Mr B's eyes off Minerva. "Magic of some sort is flaring 'round your hands."  

[shibrogane]

Minerva signed quickly, What? You mean--I don't even know what it does, it only came to me last night, I assumed it hadn't worked!

Her emotions shifted to anxiety with a certain pleased surprise at the knowledge of the magic that had returned to her. As the group around them continued to feel her emotions through Jeremiah's magic, continued to be exposed to that dark undercurrent, the more aware among them would name it for what it was: resentment.  

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah's eyes followed Minerva's hands quickly in response to America's call-out, speaking her response aloud to America. The moment it was deciphered as resentment, he truly stopped. Cut himself off from feeling, his eyes - the same color as Minerva's obvious without the glow - watching her. His expression was still, as ever, neutral.

"You assumed what hadn't worked?" he asked of Minerva.

Why resentment? Though he thought, again, of her being tired. Of people being judgemental when they did not, in the least bit, understand. Jeremiah looked to Shiloh, a breath escaping. She's resentful, his mental voice was clear, though apologetic for the intrusion, and anxious. I can feel it from her. Will explain later. Shiloh was, after all, the only other person he trusted when it came to Minerva.

"Lord Ezra has access to our magic," Jeremiah continued on, "and with that is planning to do something that will, potentially, kill us."

Quote:

emotiopath trip over

Melancho1ies

 

[Grey Dragon]

Kaleb was caught off guard by the unfamiliar feeling of someone else's anxiety, although he was deeply familiar with his own, it was not entirely the same. Especially that undercurrent, which was subtly hostile. It was a relief when the sensation went away and he was left to feel his own fears.

With America's observation, he too directed his attention towards looking specifically for magic around Minerva, and then around their own group. This time he didn't say anything, still unnerved by the transfer of emotions. For now he was just going to observe.  

[Melancholies]

Shiloh's head was suddenly overwhelmed with a number of things; the only emotions he was used to feeling (that weren't his, mind you) were Jamie's, and with their mind link compromised he was pretty goddamn sure the sudden rush of anxiety didn't belong to him. It just didn't feel like him. And then there was the sudden wave of resentment that settled into his gut and fed into his already overbearing guilt. The weights on his metaphorical shoulders was staring to bend and break him. Atlas holding the world up on his shoulders was crumbling under the weight of being nineteen.

And then ******** Mercer's voice was being shoved into his head too, and he couldn't help but grimace. Are you doing this? He wanted to ask, but Shiloh didn't have crazy mind powers like some people... Why the resentment though? The anxiety was palpable already without the use of the magic; why the resentment?

"Silk mentioned something about..." He trailed off as he spoke to Minerva, "The people who signed their thumbprints to Ezra all manifested new abilities or the like, like Mercer said, 'cause he can access your powers or whatever." He scratched the back of his head. "But um, if you didn't..."

Shiloh looked around the group, but when he turned back to Minerva again, his face was screwed up in concentration. BSL wasn't something he was fluent in by any stretch, but he'd spent long enough of a hell with Noeh in Court to know a lick or two, and while he was definitely way more adapt at reading it rather than signing it himself... Won't ask... voice, he paused, Phone, the sign for it was more or less just him pretending to use a phone, and then after a moment he spelled out M-E-L-A-N-Y, how?

The only other person who would understand would be Jeremiah. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to sign it out though.

azuredreams

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Temperance stayed still and listened. She had frowned when the anxiety flooded her, closing her eyes against it. (That, of course, hadn't worked.) It wasn't her own anxiety, that much she knew - it had a certain flavor to it. Temperance didn't like it.

"Can you tell us where Ezra went?" she asked Minerva If not, perhaps it was time to go. While she recognized that there were mysteries surrounding the woman, there was also two others they needed to check up on.

Quote:

Temperance is ready to go.

 

[shibrogane]

He said I was the last one, said Minerva to Temperance. That he couldn't tell me where he was going because you'd all come looking, and if you knew I was cooperating, you'd kill me. I've heard what you do to those who oppose you. I don't want to join that list.

But there were more people speaking to her than just Temperance.

To Jeremiah: I assumed I had no magic to draw off of! While the Spinel Lady had me under her thrall I wasn't capable of performing any magic, not even that granted to me by another noble. How was I to know that this lack was different?

Kaleb could see light washes of green tracing the air after Minerva's hands. Not enough to clue anyone in as to what the power did, but it was definitely there.

To Shiloh: She didn't sign anything. She nodded, and turned to block her sign to him from Jeremiah, and in that little private space she signed the old colloquialism from the time when he'd been tithed: later. It was definitely not standard BSL. No one would know the meaning except Shiloh, and that was deliberate.

Quote:

Temperance is ready to go.

 

[demon_pachabel]

Frustration was starting to edge in around her senses as she squinted through the conversation. It was less frustration at the situation, and more that the more that revealed itself, the less she knew. Cassandra was feeling particularly useless. It took a great amount of self control to hold in the feeling, keeping a low growl of discomfort trapped in her throat. She didn't know any sign language - and Cass had beat her head against language barriers before.

All she could do was look between everybody as they spoke to Minerva, folding her arms and trying to take everything in. What she had was a lot of nothing.

While contributing a grand total of nothing to the conversation, maybe she'd feel like she had more to work with as they moved on.

Quote:

Cass is ready to go.

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah was tempted to shake his head but did not (as in, have your secrets, Minerva, he did not care, if you wanted him to know you would tell and that he understood quite clearly). Instead, he understood something else - or, at least that the Spinel Lady was responsible for some lack of magic. The loss of her mental voice? That was something to do with the changing of worlds, or so he assumed.

For a moment he thought to question her, to state that she knew contract magic, she had to know what it meant for giving away consent to use of your magic but this was neither the time or the place.

"Your magic is there, clearly, just out of your reach, save for whatever boon granted to you by Lord Ezra. Which makes me think that we may be able to return your magic to you another way but we'll revisit that later." His head tilted and then he straightened as he spoke to Minerva, studying her. "If you were the last ..." A breath, his fingers flicked and a list of names, the ones who's thumbprints had been identified, appeared that was held out towards her to take. There was even a pen clipped to it.

"There were two left thumbprints we were never able to figure out, everyone else is either accounted for or the previous Principals, who came up as unknowns. Would you tell us who they are? If only because there may be two more people we need to be searching for." A glance went towards Cass, Jeremiah stepping towards her. He could see the frustration in her (and was carefully hiding his own).  

[lizbot]

"Ezra's been taken over by something else," America explained, the resentment was at least partially her own, now. "And the list you are on right now is the list of folks who might die because of whatever secret project he's go going. But congratulations on avoiding whatever you heard we do."

Returning to her own eyes, America blinked at Minerva and then added, a little grudging, "Whatever magic you got in return for cooperation, it starts perking up when you put your hands together. Maybe think green thoughts to get it to say hello."

Quote:

America is ready to go

 

[saedusk]

With enough anxiety for himself and then some, Jamie certainly wasn't pleased with the sudden, unexpected intrusion of even more of it. The sensation was enough that in his worry, he pursed his lips and stepped forward to press his hand to Shiloh's back right between his shoulder blades. He didn't intrude on the conversation—and couldn't have read any signs, private or not, even if he had seen them—but he couldn't help himself from wanting to be near.

Eventually the feeling faded, but he stayed by Shiloh's side. "I don't think," he muttered, despite knowing full well he couldn't really speak for anyone else, "that anyone here is out to kill anyone."

America had already mentioned many of them were set to die if they failed in stopping whatever was going on, at least according to Silk. He assumed none of them had known that little detail originally. "So if he, um, left out that part about all of us and you potentially dying when he asked you to cooperate, isn't he just as bad...?" he asked Minerva.

"Sorry, that's kinda mean, I guess. I'm... not trying to start a fight, I'm just saying who knows who is telling the truth anymore." Jamie shrugged.

Melancholies

 

[shibrogane]

Minerva laughed. It was an ugly sound with no tongue to shape it, like a cracked bell ringing. You could hear the beautiful tone it might have had once. Time and mutilation had shattered it away. I don't care about dying! I don't want to but it's not enough to make me sign a contract I don't know all the terms to. No, she-- Minerva pointed at Temperance --steals people's voices. You think I don't know when nobles are geased? I can't use it, but I can still read the magic here!

She did give America a respectful little nod, though she didn't press her hands together except as necessary to communicate.

The same geas she uses to get you to be silent she could use to get me to talk, and there are things I don't want to revisit. Any of you could do that to me. And I'm finally free again...

The two unaccounted for fingerprints?... Minerva paused. She scanned the group. The fetch Odal. Silk was too long-dead to give consent for the fetches. She wouldn't have, anyway. Odal volunteered on the terms that we protect the fetches, and give them a path back to humanity if they wanted it. I think he wanted it, too, but not... in the form we gave him.

The last fingerprint... She's dead, signed Minerva. She's dead and she's not coming back.

Quote:

Temperance is ready to go
Cass is ready to go
America is ready to go

 

[Melancholies]

Okaaaaaaaaaay then. The atmosphere was getting a little too tense with Temperance being here apparently. Odal being on the list was surprising. He hoped Noeh was being serious about talking with him later, although he couldn't fault her for not wanting to talk about it here. Later, he repeated, seemingly placated for the moment.

"It's kinda true though..." He looked a little upset as Jamie rubbed his back, "I just want to figure out who's telling the truth and who isn't. I just want to fix this stupid awful ********' mess." He sighed. It was looking like people were getting rapidly fed up and they had two other triplets to check on.

"We should probably check on Pride and Pax." He told the rest of them. To Minerva he asked, "But just to make sure—your status as one of the triplets, being one of the filters. You wanna give that up, right? You don't wanna be a part of that bullshit?" His brow furrowed.

God he wanted to ask about the last fingerprint, but he figured there was a reason why a name wasn't thrown out. It could be brought up in the 'later' conversation.

Quote:

Shiloh is ready to go