dust_of_life: (Default)
Fatima Merali ([personal profile] dust_of_life) wrote in [community profile] ten_fwd2015-08-20 09:08 pm

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

((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.
engineermage: (chin rubbing mischief)

[personal profile] engineermage 2015-08-27 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
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."
engineermage: (chin rubbing mischief)

[personal profile] engineermage 2015-08-27 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)
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."
reincarnshaman: (Hands together praying like)

[personal profile] reincarnshaman 2015-08-27 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"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.

engineermage: (Oh Wow!)

[personal profile] engineermage 2015-08-30 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
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?"
reincarnshaman: (Hands together praying like)

[personal profile] reincarnshaman 2015-08-30 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
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."

reincarnshaman: (Plain blank face)

[personal profile] reincarnshaman 2015-09-01 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
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."
engineermage: (Hands together praying like)

[personal profile] engineermage 2015-09-01 03:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"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.
engineermage: (Default)

[personal profile] engineermage 2015-09-01 04:12 pm (UTC)(link)
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."
reincarnshaman: (Oh Wow!)

[personal profile] reincarnshaman 2015-09-02 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
"One of the more popular romance writers in our world is a dragon. She likes writing historical romances."

From the way Trever says it, the romance stories are a bit... odd.

While he's not surprised that there are people who hunt "supernatural" creatures - after all that's what his mother's family does - but it sounds like... "They hunt down every magical creature? Even benign ones?"

Because Trever's friends with some very benign magical creatures.
reincarnshaman: (Getting angry)

[personal profile] reincarnshaman 2015-09-02 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
The twins would counter with anyone was potentially dangerous, powers or not.

Though what she says is clearly disturbing. But really, when your five year old's cousin's best friend for ever and ever is a little goblin girl who likes wearing pink sparkly bows in her spines, root beer jelly beans, is the size of a rabbit and very shy... and that someone would just kill her because she was different...

"It sounds like those people are more monstrous than some supposed monsters I know." From the sound of his voice, Trever would quite happily hunt down those bastards. And with something more lethal than a squirt gun.
engineermage: (Oh Wow!)

[personal profile] engineermage 2015-09-02 07:47 pm (UTC)(link)
"But isn't that murder? They won't get in trouble from the authorities by doing that?" Kale's forgotten - and it's not blamable - that normal people and thus authorities would have a say in it.
engineermage: (Oh Wow!)

[personal profile] engineermage 2015-09-02 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Still a disturbed look on Kale's face. "That's not right."

He shook his head. "Your world is... strange."
reincarnshaman: (Hands together praying like)

[personal profile] reincarnshaman 2015-09-03 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
Well, it's nice to know they can make her laugh a normal laugh.

"Sure. Yeah. And I mean, we're not saying our world isn't messed up in some ways, but it's home and it's just... different that an lot of people's here." Trever gave her a bit of a bemused look.

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