[Wingardia] No. 921

[Stephen Pact]

"Nothing personal, you understand," said Graymalk to the winged girl. "It's just that I've had a certain amount of trouble with humans who know I can speak before. I'm sure, as a winged human, you can understand."

Turning to the desk, Graymalk took out a pen and some paper. In a surprisingly neat handwriting considering he was using his mouth, he wrote a quick note:

"I hearby authorize the bearer of this note to pick up a letter addressed to me. It was sent cirtified mail from Gettysburg on November 6th, has the serial number 0034526, and is addressed to Graymalk. The signatures, as you will see, match. Graymalk."

"That should do it. Thank you again, Rachel."Added Graymalk, finishing.  

[Misao]

Rachel nodded back at Amorella, holding out her hand to gently accept the lock of hair and feather that she'd removed for Graymalk's use. She waved her other hand in the air, trying to calm her fears about the situation.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "I'm sure it's nothing like that. At the most, probably just a spell to prevent you from talking about him to anyone else but the two of us." She thought to herself for a moment, smiling wryly. "At least, that's how it usually works in the fantasy stories. In any case, it's probably nothing to worry about."

She made her way over to the desk, taking the letter Graymalk had written and reading it over. "Hmm... surprisingly good penmanship, y'know." Nodding, she placed it in her pocket. "All right, then. I'll head out soon."

(Just as a note, Graymalk's player is only able to get online at the local library a few nights a week, so he probably won't be able to continue posting with us for a while. Keeping that in mind, we probably shouldn't post too much between the two of us in the meantime. I feel bad asking you to wrap up the stuff with Amorella soon, but the situation's just a little awkward with Graymalk's player not being able to be online much, and I don't want him to miss the better portion of the RP.

Also, don't take Rachel's attitude personally. I don't mind that you came in, but she's... well, kind of a private person, and doesn't know how to talk to new people too well, especially in unexpected situations.)  

[Ko Miyabi]

"I am not human!" Amorella said indignantly, "I am an angel, not a mortal!" She cautiously handed him the hair and feathers, "If anything happens to me, I will personally make sure that everyone on the planet finds out your little secret."  

[Ko Miyabi]

((thats fine. i have a few other RPs to go to. if you need me and im not in her, just pm me. oh, and Rachel's personality's fine. Amorella's used to it.))  

[Misao]

((Well, eventually you can just have Amorella see that the coast is clear and head on out on her own, too.))  

[Stephen Pact]

"Excuse me for not recognizing a member of the Heavenly Host of God while she's cowering in a random girl's dorm room." Said Graymalk dryly. "Angel, huh? In that case, if we can get a candle, a pen knife, and some paper or something we can conclude this business as simply and painlessly as possible." Graymalk cocked his head at the winged girl.

"I propose a contract." he continued. "Plain, simple, binding. Say, the usual Year-and-a-day number. Everyone knows exactly what their obligations are, there are no surprises, and a contract signed with a quill made of an angel's feather with ink containing the ashes of the signator's own body should hold up in even, shall we say, the very Highest courts. Don't get me wrong, I could curse you I suppose, but honestly I don't like the things. You people have beaurocracy for this sort of thing; I see no reason not to use it." he concluded.

"...Oh, and I'll keep the quill, if you don't mind. It's no use as a tool for curses while consecrated as a pen, so you needn't fear that, but a pen like that could be useful" Graymalk gave a cat's grin, which was probably lost on the humans. "in case any trouble of the flaming sword variety should crop up, if you take my meaning. Is this acceptable to you?"  

[Misao]

((Hey Amorella, Graymalk and I have skipped ahead of this RP for the time being to finish out what we were setting up here. Please post back when you can, and we'll try to finish out this scene to catch things back up to the present.))  

[Misao]

Later in the evening, Rachel walked into her room, freshly back from the magical contract formation ceremony with Graymalk in the school's tool shed in the courtyard. Opening the door and allowing him to walk in first, she closed it behind her, this time making a point to lock it so they would not be interrupted. Taking off her shoes, she set them next to the door and then walked over to her bed, removing the two cards from her pocket and setting them on top of her pillow as she plopped down herself, legs folded.

"So..." she asked. "What exactly are these cards for, then? What was that we did back there? You said I'm going to get some sort of magical benefit out of this, right?" She patted the bed, inviting Graymalk to jump up and examine the cards with her as they discussed their new partnership.  

[Stephen Pact]

Graymalk hopped onto the bed and curled his legs under him, poking his head up in what he considered his "regal" pose. "I'll be happy to tell you all about it," he said, "but first, let's see that cream, shall we? A cat's gotta eat, you know!"

Graymalk gave his cat-smile again. He was only half-joking, as he really did want somthing to eat.

"OK, where to begin? Let's start with the cards. If you look closely, you'll see that they're nearly identical. Assuming - and I think we can - that the the spell went correctly, one should have the words "Charta Ministralis" on the top, and the other the words "Charta Magistralis". The first thing you need to know is that the cards are a set, representing a contract between us. The first copy's yours, the second mine. The assorted heraldry on the card represents things about you, but we can get into that later.

"Before I go on, do you have any other questions?" Graymalk finished. His tail twitched; he hoped that cream was coming soon!  

[Misao]

Rachel smiled, laughing a little bit as she stood up and headed over to the refrigerator. She had gone shopping a few days earlier, recognizing that she would probably have to buy some cat-related consumables, so she had some heavy cream all ready to go. Taking out a small bowl from her storage, she set it on the ground in front of the bed, pouring it about half full for Graymalk.

"All right, here you go," she said. "You'll have to eat it down here, though. No food on the bed."

Walking back over to where she was sitting before, she sat back down at the edge of the bed, her legs dangling over the side as she scooped up the cards to have another look at them. Examining the various symbols on the card, she nodded, recognizing a few of the phrases from odds and ends she'd read over the years.

"Okay, so, this stylized representation of me on the card..." she said, trying to hide her slight unease at the picture, "...what exactly is that all about?"  

[Stephen Pact]

Graymalk hopped to the floor. No food on the bed, indeed he thought. She'll be treating me like some dumb pet at this rate. Still, free food's free food I guess... anyway, the card!

"Ah yes, the picture. That." Graymalk gave a catty cuckle. "You may not know this, but you've actually hit upon the hardest to interpret part of the card. Most of the other symbology - the colors, astrological signs, and latin stuff - has some pretty explicit meaning, once you know how to interpret it. The picture, though, is pretty open to interpretation."

Graymalk quickly lapped up some cream, then took a closer look at the picture. "Hmmm. Now THIS is interesting. These images are usually a stylized image of you "in action", so to speak. The traditional role of a Minister - that's what you are, technically - is one of a warrior who defends his or her mage from physical threats while the mage deals with the magical ones. You tend to see a lot of samurai, ninjas, knights - that sort of thing. The latin descriptor under the name usually also gives a clue. This, on the other hand, looks not so much like a warrior as like - well, frankly, if it weren't for these hands coming from the top and bottom I'd say it looks like the Hindu goddess Kali. She's a death and destruction goddess, if memory serves, but that's about all I know about her. The Latin here says something like "beautiful hundred-handed girl", which doesn't really tell me all that much either. Gorgons are also sometimes depicted somewhat like this, and chimeara and centaurs are similar in the sense of having extraneous limbs, but short of suggesting great beauty and destructive potential, I can't honestly say what this picture is symbolic of."

Graymalk walked back to his cream and looked at Rachel. "Unless you have some idea, I guess time will tell; just don't go leveling any cities, OK?" he finished with a wink. He didn't THINK his magic could have awakened anything that powerful in this relatively ordinary girl, but you never could be too sure with a spell as open-ended as the pactio. He'd just have to trust Rachel, it would seem, but then, trust and loyalty were exactly what the pact was all about.  

[Misao]

Rachel watched Graymalk as he hopped off the bed, sensing a bit of resentment at being forced to eat on the floor. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she smiled down at him as she folded her legs underneath her, changing positions on the bed.

"It's not because you're a cat, you know," she said. "I don't let anyone eat while they're sitting on the bed. Crumbs and spills and things. I like to keep everything in its place." Folding her arms, she shook her head a little - that was one thing she'd inherited from her father, at the very least.

Picking up the card again and looking at it, she closed her eyes and began shaking her head again, sighing a little. "Don't worry, I know exactly what that part of the card is referencing. I usually don't show this to people, but I suppose we're sort of obligated to share secrets with each other at this point..."

Without saying another word, Rachel crossed her arms in front of her, concentrating a little. As she did so, two arms sprouted up from the floor in front of Graymalk. She sat there on the bed watching them as one of them waved, the other simply extending itself toward her feline companion, palm open and waiting.

"That would explain that part..." she said quietly, flopping backward and onto the bed. The arms continued what they were doing before, as Rachel waited for Graymalk to examine them and come to terms with what he was seeing. "As for the rest of it, your guess is probably better than mine."

She stared up at the ceiling, wondering how he was going to react.  

[Stephen Pact]

Graymalk's immediate, instinctive reaction was a short hop back from the suddenly sprouting - were they hands? This was unexpected, to say the least. They didn't seem... dangerous, to be sure; certainly not if they were controled by Rachel, as she seemed to imply. She approached them cautiously.

Graymalk circled the hand. He eyed it. He sniffed it - it smelled like Rachel, by all accounts a thoroughly pleasant smell. He touched it; it seemed real enough. He gave it a light scratch and watched it recoil. Interesting.

"Well... huh. This is unexpected, I must admit. Those are really... yours, eh? And you've been able to do this the whole time? Remarkable... simply remarkable"

Graymalk turned to Rachel. "Why do you keep this hidden? Don't get me wrong, I know we all have secrets, but this is really something special, and it's not like you're in any real danger of rejection, much less being locked away for study like, say, a talking cat might be. The way most humans look at you, I'll bet you'd have to seriously injure most of them to upset them overly much. Something like this - it's just so useful! Are you afraid of being exploited or hunted like the human mages are or something? I guess I could see that, but..." Graymalk petered out, clearly lost in thought for the moment.

Suddenly, he laughed. "A helping hand! When I said - and then you said you could definately provide - pfft, this is what you were talking about! Yes, I think we can definately give a "hand" to one another from now on! Congratulations! You've successfully shown me something I've never seen. Truly unique. I bow to you." At this, Graymalk gave a stylized bow, accidentaly getting the whiskers of his chin moist in his cream. He shook his face comically, conscious that he looked rediculous and not caring. He was impressed, but he also was relieved. A small part of him had been afraid he'd have a destroyer goddess on his conscience, and he had enough there as it was. Rachel was opening up to him, and was seemingly more useful than he ever could have imagined. Things were actually looking up for a change!  

[Misao]

Rachel waved a hand from her bed, not actually bothering to sit back up and look at Graymalk. As impressed as he sounded over the whole thing, she was still rather embarrassed at having to show him her power. Granted, it was nice that he didn't have the usual creeped out reaction that most people typically display when they see the power in use, but that was only a small consolation for Rachel - she still mostly hated using it. As her hand waved through the air, the cloned arms shrank back into the floor, disappearing completely.

"Yeah, so that's my power..." she said in a rather unamused flat monotone. "I don't really like using it, because it's so damn creepy. Whenever people see it, they're usually either afraid of it or they start making fun of me and calling me a freak." She rolled onto her side, staring at nothing in particular. "I just wish I had something more... normal-looking. Like mom, or dad - hell, even Joey's power is less unnerving than this."

Sighing, she lifted her legs in the air and kicked them forward sharply, using the momentum to propel herself back into a sitting position on the bed. "But that's my power. For better or worse. I guess I'll have to start getting used to it, since apparently this card works with it somehow..." Shrugging her shoulders, she looked back at Graymalk, hoping he would have some sort of forthcoming explanation of how to use the card or what kind of synergistic effect he thought it would have with her existing abilities.  

[Stephen Pact]

"Freak, huh? I think perhaps you underestimate your own charms. Believe me, when you've seen the things that come through the angles in the walls, a little thing like a hand from the floor isn't too disturbing. Surprising, yes, disturbing, no.

As to how to use the card, I guess we can start that now. First off, I'll take my own copy." Graymalk walked over to the Magistar card. "Adeat" he intoned, at which utterance the card seemed to disolve and a new crystal appeared on Graymalk's collar. "First off," he began, "You're going to want to remember that word. Adeat. It's latin, and it's the word you'll use to turn your copy of the contract into your personal magical item. We'll get to that in a minute, but first I'd like to tell you a little about what the cards themselves can do.

"Like I said, the cards represent a magical link between us. In a very real sense, the magic links us by our triune nature - that is, by our minds, bodies, and souls. The soul link is the one whereby the magic is transmitted, allowing me to send you magical power or you to request it in time of need. The mental link, if you'll be so kind as to continue holding your copy of the card," Graymalk waited a moment. allows us to communicate telepathically. The link works over virtually any distance, including across dimensions as you know by now, and is extremely hard to intercept or disrupt by conventional telepathy or most types of magic. It's voice-only most of the time, though if there's a serious need astral images and even concepts and tactile sensations can be transmitted. at this Graymalk projected a soft, warm, comforting sensation with the associated emotion, sending Rachel an image of herself as a kitten in a litter with Graymalk as the kitten next to her. It was a safe, pleasant feeling, one he generally used to try to comfort and give succor to Jill, and he was loathe to give it up. Moments later, he stopped projecting and continued.

"The physical link" Graymalk finished "allows me to transmit magic into your body directly. It's a direct link of power from my own body to yours, and in theory it should be able to boost your mental and physical abilities like concentration, intuition, manual dexterity, brute strength, and natural healing, by a factor of about ten. I have to give you a few fair warnings about this one: first off, you'll feel a sensation similar to the one you felt when the contract was first established. It feels good, but don't get too used to it; psychological addictions have been known to result from over-using it. Also, remember that for all the power you aren't invulnerable. I can only sustain the effect for maybe 15 minutes, and that's if I'm at my peak and not doing anything else. After that you're on your own, as I won't be in any shape to help with much of anything, and even during that you can still be hurt if you're careless. I'm gonna want a little rest before letting you try the physical link, but give me a little time and we'll see how it suits you, OK?

"Now, how about it: let's see what your magical artefact is. The artifact is keyed to your specific abilities and proclivities, so I can't begin to tell you what it is or what it does, but you'll come to master it with practice. Remeber, adeat, OK? When you want to turn it back into the card, just say abeat while focusing on what you want. As for the rest, it should take care of itself, so let's see it!"