Wishing you were somehow here again... [OPEN]

[dust_of_life]

((OOC: Figure she's going through this routine every night this month. Feel free to forward-date or back-date tag-ins.))

Growing up among the Cainites of the Order, Fatima had picked up on mechanisms for coping with stress from all across the world and across time. But not a single one of them was making it easier for her to deal with the emptiness of the space next to her in her bed. She'd been stuck on this flying Hilton for months now. But sleep still didn't come easily. After knowing what it was like to hear someone breathing beside her on the pillow, Fatima was having more than a little difficulty letting go.

Fortunately, growing up among the Cainites of the Order had also provided Fatima with a few extra outlets she could use.

It was usually after midnight when she would slip into the leotard Beverly had given her. The halls were quieter at night. Fewer people. Fewer judgmental crew members staring after her like the invader that she was. And the training facility was usually empty.

First, she'd start with a few yoga stretches. Some aggressive chin-ups. Knuckle push-ups. And then the real work would begin.

Somehow, her iPod had managed to survive her ordeal in Zelien. Fatima had doubted very much that she'd ever be able to coax any music out of it, but it was working now. All of her songs were there. Well, they weren't exactly her songs. The classical music was from Liam. The rock-and-roll was from Denise. And the oldies were from Auntie Diana. Didn't matter though. She always listened to the same song anyway. Survivor's Eye of the Tiger on repeat, the earbuds shoved deep into her ears, like she wanted to block out the rest of the world.

The punches she threw against the punching bag were precise and powerful. Fatima had fused the martial arts styles she'd studied with street boxing. And despite the work-out clothes, she always trained in her high-heeled boots. As she used to argue to Arty, you never knew what you were going to be wearing when someone attacked you. Better to be prepared for anything.

If only her loneliness could be punched in the bag.

Comments

[dust_of_life]

"I can't say I'm familiar with that aspect of the scientific method," Fatima said, sitting down on a rolled-up tumbling mat. "Maybe you could explain how a cat is a control for a drone?"

Whatever the explanation ended up being, no doubt it would be entertaining.

[engineermage]

"Trever can use Veena as his eyes and ears which gives him an advantage in the game. After all, she can alert him to things that he might not be able to sense. So, if I can get my drone to do the same thing at the same rate as Veena does, then the experiment is a success."

He's watching the drone buzz around as he talks.

[dust_of_life]

So she'd been right. In a very strange sort of way. The drone was, in essence, his familiar. It was the age-old battle of magic versus technology. At one point in her life, Fatima had actually enjoyed reading stories on the debate. She just hadn't thought about it in a long time.

A very, very long time.

"Interesting," she said. And she actually meant it, too. "Have you tried this kind of thing before?"

[engineermage]

It was more a tool, in Kale and Trever's opinion. Currently they were just testing the programming. Admittedly some of the programming was done with Kale's technomancy, but once they got the kinks worked out anyone would be able to use it.

"We were working on it back home before we showed up here," he said. "Rhys thought it'd be useful to have something other than a cat to act as a spy because wards will sometimes go off if a life form goes through it but not a machine."

Again, the way he talks makes it sound like wards are just another part of a security system.

Kale started to edge off towards a side of the room, holding his gun at the ready.

Not the same side that Trever vanished off to.

[dust_of_life]

For some odd reason, Fatima felt a stronger sense of loyalty to Trever than to Kale. Probably because she'd met him first.

And she liked cats.

Either way, she saw Kale heading over to where he was hiding and spoke up, largely without thinking. It happened on occasion.

"I can draw wards," she said. Other than Beverly, no one else on board knew about that little trick. "I'd be curious to see if your drone could get through any of mine."

[engineermage]

Kale does stop to consider her question. It is an interesting one - one that he and Trever had talked about. How would their magic interact with other people's magic?

"Do your wards normally take technology into account?" he asked.

[dust_of_life]

"I can't really say for certain," Fatima admitted. "I can ward a door so that no one can go through it. But I've never seen anyone try to slip something technological through before."

But she could imagine what some of the Cainites might be able to dream up.

It was no surprise that they'd never tested it before. The Cainites so rarely took technology into consideration. Most of them had been born long before the advent of something even as commonplace as the mini-van.

[reincarnshaman]

Trever stands up at this point, holding his hands up in the air and then making a quick gesture with them. It's not an apparently meaningful gesture, but one that he clearly expects Kale to understand.

[dust_of_life]

Fatima decided to step away from both of them. If they were going to open fire, she was determined not to get hit.

She was all for fun and games, but no one messed with her clothes.

Or her boots.

[engineermage]

There's some signaling from Kale to Trever and then he lowered his squirt gun.

"We've called a temporary truce in the name of not hitting innocent bystanders and the fact that it's exceptionally difficult to discuss magical theory while worrying about getting shot. Though, we'll do that another day."

[dust_of_life]

Okay. A secret twin language. It wasn't unheard of. Emily had been a twin. She'd even taught Fatima some of the codes and signals she and her sister used to use before their lives had been ruined--unsurprisingly--by vampires.

Fatima smiled warmly, nodding her head in gratitude. "I appreciate that," she said.

[engineermage]

Perhaps one of the more interesting things about their particular code is that they don't need to say anything. Which meant they could communicate with no one hearing them. Of course this was intentional. Their older brother and youngest aunt and uncle picked up some of the code, but they've never taught it to anyone.

They do need their secrets.

"It is temporary," Kale said with a grin, "But sometimes there are things more interesting than a gun fight."

[dust_of_life]

"Like magic theory?"

And for the first time since...way before Zelien, actually...Fatima almost felt comfortable. This was her ballpark, precisely. The boys could have been dhampir refugees living on the compound.

Fatima tried hard not to think about her compatriots. It was impossible to forget Emily, of course. But some of the others, especially the boys, could creep in when she least expected it.

But for once, she was smiling a genuine smile.

[reincarnshaman]

"Yeah, like magic theory," Trever said, coming out of his hiding. "We've been talking about the different sorts of magic people have around here. And wondering how they interact with each other."

From the previous bits of conversation, their desire to know how the magic interacts with each other might be not so academic.

Veena appears from ... somewhere...and sits down close enough to hint that if Fatima would like to, she could continue petting her.

[dust_of_life]

"I saw some interesting combinations in Zelien," she said. "Tried to form a coven, in fact. But the turnover rate was way higher than it is here. Morgs and I were the only ones who stuck around to even consider the possibility."

...and that was a name she hadn't meant to drop.

She cleared her throat. "I had a friend in Zelien named Morgana. She was a witch. Pretty powerful one tool."

[engineermage]

Fortunately, perhaps, the name "Morgs" or "Morgana" doesn't appear to mean anything to Kale. It's just a name.

Nor does the word 'coven' because he asks, "What is a coven?"

[dust_of_life]

Huh. That was a little bit surprising. These two were definitely going to be an interesting mystery to unravel.

"Traditionally speaking," she said, "a coven is a collection of witches who combine their powers and abilities to cast bigger spells than they could as individuals. But since there's no such thing as witches where I come from, the term generally applies to just a large gathering of magical individuals who work together toward a common goal."

[reincarnshaman]

Trever, who had the same unknowing look on his face at least got a bit of recognition when she explained what a coven did. But Trever knows more about ritual magic than Kale does.

"Really? There's rumors - found in the ancient texts written by the Old Gods and you can't really trust those - that humanity used to be able to do joint rituals but it's just bits and pieces and libraries worth of speculation. Most modern scholars of ritual magic will laugh you right out of academia if you suggest that," he said. "Every few years you get a group of people who blow themselves up or something for trying a group ritual, trying to prove it could happen."

He scratched his nose briefly with the tip of his squirt gun. "If we could do it, we can't do it any more. And haven't been able to do it in... recorded human history."

[dust_of_life]

"Where I come form, 'recorded human history' is a little bit of a trick," Fatima replied. "Particularly the 'recorded' part. It isn't with humans that you find most of the real story. Most humans are intentionally kept in the dark about things."

Which she said unapologetically. As unfair as the Masquerade could be, it meant a lot more people stayed alive.

[reincarnshaman]

Which is something that is completely foreign to the two of them.

"Ah. I've always wondered how that worked," Trever said. "We both have."

[dust_of_life]

It wasn't the reaction that Fatima had been expecting, exactly. She was still pretty new to breaking the Masquerade, though. Maybe it was better not to have expectations at all. They were in the multiverse.

But even that understanding didn't stop her forehead from furrowing a little.

"What do you mean?"

[engineermage]

"How do you keep people from knowing about magic?" Kale answered.

It's something that's so integral to and entwined in their daily lives that it'd be like trying to prevent people from knowing about... water.

[dust_of_life]

"You don't use it in front of people who don't have it," she replied, still a little uncertain. It was, after all, common sense to her. Or rather, common practice. "You don't talk about it. And everyone who has it just agrees to pass for human."

Well, not everyone. Anarchs and the Sabbat existed. But even they understood that in terms of raw numbers, they were outmatched.

Most of the time...

[engineermage]

The uncertain look is reflected back to such an alien world view. "I honestly can't imagine a god or dragon trying to pass as human... I mean they might look human. But you can tell they're not. There's just... not human. Or even why they would want to? I mean dragons do just because of convenience sake... but you know they're not."

[dust_of_life]

Fatima's eyebrows shot up a bit. "I'm pretty sure we don't actually have dragons in my world."

Although it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. Demons existed, after all. But the thing about demons was that, unless they inhabited a human body, it was kind of hard for them to be in sync with the world. As it were. They were in the veil.

"Mileage may vary, but there's some social Darwinism at play. Supernaturals who aren't good at passing for human are easy targets for hunters. Or each other."