Small, clawed hands worked quickly as they brought a minuscule creature towards the fire escape. Using the front door was far too practical, one might add, but also, quite visible. Nello was not the best hero in New York at hiding and going unseen, but his small size did participate in aiding the endeavor, for sure. He proceeded to pull himself over the metal railing, and gracefully landed on a pair of converse-clad feet. It would not be far fetched to mistake the boy for a girl of a similar age, considering his dainty, and petite features. However, it would be a lie to claim that Nello did not find it quite hilarious, as a punch for the demonic lad in no way translated to his appearance, in the slightest.
"This is a dumb idea," came a voice, before it was embodied by a shape manifesting in front of Nello. A mirror image, one might say, with crossed arms and a less than amused expression on its reptilian face.
"A dumb, dumb idea."Pausing for a moment, Nello tilted his head. A small, clawed finger rose to scratch the tip of his snout, two large, circular ruby orbs meeting their reflection as Nocturne and Nello shared a gaze.
"You know any other witches?""Yes, and they're all assholes!" Nocturne exclaimed,
"she'll sell you out, trust me."Managing a soft smirk, Nello leaned closer and playfully rubbed the tip of his snout against Nocturne's,
"Makaya is good people. Relax," the boy finished, moving past his shadowy reflection, before a gentle knock was made against Clio Delphine's window.
Clio, sprawled out on her bed, jumped at the sound of a knock on her window. She lifted herself up from the mattress, and shuffled across the floor to the window. Her abdomen and stomach howled their protest, but she ignored them, forcing herself to throw open the curtains. Wincing at the sudden light, she blinked against it for a moment before her gaze settled on Nello. A small grin managed to light up her features. It met her eyes, genuine.
Unlocking the latch, she slid the window opened and beckoned Nello to come inside. Her bedroom smelled like cookies, to distract from the scents of her curse materials that were hiding in the closet.
"What brings you here, Nello?" She narrowed her eyes at Nocturne. Not out of spite, but because she simply couldn't see him all that well. When she was using her magic, it was a different story.
"How're you, Nocturne? Oh...um, keep it down a hair, I have a guest over."
It felt wonderful to be away from the sun, a lingering frustration which kept nagging at the exposed parts of Nello's body. His pale, snake-like scales glistened softly beneath the slight, and he was able to pull his hood down once he was freed from the sun's unforgiving rays. Shaking his messy, black hair free, the boy managed to exhale a relieved sigh.
"A guest?" The demonic teenager blinked, squinting at the room. He did enjoy the scent, indeed, however. It was quick to claim his attention, cookies caressing his nose with their essence. Though Nello could not partake in eating the sweet, sugary treat, he enjoyed the lingering aroma, as much as anyone.
"Oh, uhm, there's a magic show.., thing.., in town," he continued, thumbing over his shoulder.
"Eh, Nello thinks we need your help," Nocturne frowned, a hand falling to his hip.
"And fine, we don't really get all the magic shit, so, yeah.., here we are."Nudging Nocturne's side, Nello turned his attention back to Clio.
"If you have guests over, we don't want to bother."
Clio shrugged, she wasn't against going back to sleep and letting herself heal up a bit more....but, then again, a magic show could be nice. It would be a distraction. Maybe it would take care of her itch, just a smidge.
"She's a bit...different. I'm sure she'll be fine on her own." In her own form of a joke, Clio lifted her loose shirt up just past her bellybutton to show off the bruise left from her fight with Starfire. She forced a smirk.
"She really packs a punch...uh, knee?"
With his eyes widening at the bruises, Nello paused, and looked towards Nocturne who simply sighed, in response.
"Want us to fuck a bitch up?" Slapping a hand against the demonic spirits side, Nello shook his head.
"Why are you always so aggressive?" The boy asked. It had been a conversation they had been in the midst of several times, and this exchange was nothing new. It been repeated time, and time again.
"But uh..," Nello raised a hand, scratching the back of his head.
"Does.., a bitch need to be fucked up..?""Hah!" Nocturne exclaimed, punching Nello's shoulder.
"I appeciate it...but that really isn't necessary. She's just, a long way from home. So she's staying here for the time being. Besides...If I ever needed to 'fuck a bitch up' I have some of her hair." Clio snapped, and her Makaya jacket was suddenly in hand. She dug into the pocket, pulling out a clump of bright auburn hair. Shoving it back in the pouch, she tossed the jacket across the room. It would be there when she needed it. She felt a burst of energy from using her magic, but it faded all too rapidly.
"Anyways, I'm ready to go when you are."
Nello did not fully understand how Makaya's, or Clio's, magic worked. However, he was well aware of its lethality, and of how potent it was. Indeed, the boy had seen the magical forces in action, and they were not left wanting. For Makaya, a single strand of hair could very well be sharper than Calamity's edge.
"Roommate, huh..?" Nello smirked, looking to his side,
"yeah, I know how that feels." He finished, feeling an elbow making its way to his side, as Nocturne nudged him. With a soft chuckle, the demonic boy nodded his head,
"yeah, I am ready to go."
"Alright, just give me a second." Before they departed, Clio crept into the living room. If Starfire was still sleeping, she'd simply write a note for the girl. She was surprised to find her up and awake.
"Star, I'm going to head out with a friend. In the upper right cabinet, behind the oats, is some cash." Curse suppliers usually didn't take debit.
"Go out and have some fun, alright? Try to stay out of trouble."Starfire was standing on two pillows. Looking over at her friend, she smiled.
”Very well, Clio. I will find the cash and keep it safe.” Perhaps Clio was right and it was time for Starfire to get out there and explore.
”Have fun with your friend!” Starfire said, picking up the pillows and placing them back on the couch.
"I'll try. Hey...there's a concert later, we should be able to get in for free if we get there early. Try to get back to the apartment at four thirty...if you want to go of course." It was a Karen concert. While Clio had danced to the girl's music in the privacy of her home before, she'd never gotten the chance to attend a live show. It would be...nice. Clio walked to the door, grabbing her set of spare keys. She handed them over to Starfire.
"This is so you don't have to go in through the fire escape."Starfire accepted the keys solemnly, cupping them in her hands.
”I will keep the keys and the cash safe. And yes, Clio, I would like to go to this concert with you. How many hours away is it from happening? I have yet to learn human time-keeping.”Clio glanced at the time, it was about eleven o'clock.
"Er, about...five hours and thirty minutes." With that, she approached her bedroom and gave Starfire a final wave. It was time to go, they had to make it to the magic show.
”I will return to your home in five hours and thirty minutes.” Starfire waved back and watched her friend leave, standing in the middle of the room with keys to the house in her hand.
Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock... The old grandfather clock that stood against the wall swung out a constant rhythm, a metronome made of wood and brass.
Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...
The regular beat of the clock contrasted the quiet murmur of the fire in the hearth, interrupted by erratic pops and hisses from the wood that burned merrily and filled the room with warmth and light. The room was richly furnished with lovingly painted artwork adorning the walls of the master bedroom. A four-poster bed made of mahogany and dressed in fine scarlet sheets sat opposite the hardwood floor from the fireplace, it's curtains drawn aside as Tobias carefully made his bed, tucking in each corner by hand and smoothing the velvet comforter. He stood, wearing silk slacks and a white collared shirt under a black vest with his blood red tie, crisp and immaculate, at his throat. A moment later, his work was done and he stood straight to his full height. The room was dark save for the fire in the hearth, and the house was large and empty. He looked over to his dresser, the large mirror that rose from the top of the piece reflected his face. He felt his years heavily this day and he could see it in the lines of his face, the bags under his eyes. He frowned and stepped up to the mirror, reaching into a drawer and extracting a slender wooden object. He tapped his face with the tip of the wand and he watched his reflection's features relax, the lines and signs of fatigue fading as they were covered by a semblance of stage makeup. Satisfied, he turned his attention to the carved runes on the wood of the mirror's frame. He set the wand down on the dresser and waved a gloved hand before the polished glass of the mirror.
"
Smotret."
The runes on the sides of the mirror blazed to life as the mirror's reflection shifted and distored. Tobias' reflection warped as the mirror seemed to twist around its center, and for the briefest moment there seemed to be a glint of scarlet in Tobias' dark eyes. The mirror's surface grew brighter as the image of a large auditorium came into view. Men and women dressed for the theater were milling into balcony boxes even as more casually dressed patrons found seats on the show floor.
"
Another full house." Tobias thought, watching as the crowd filed into the venue for his next show. Despite himself, a pleased grin crept up onto the young man's face. Pride swelled in his chest for this reaffirmation of his success in this new world, and with a
snap of his fingers he dispelled the image. The runes faded even as the reflection returned to his room and the young man stretched his hand out towards the coat and hat that hung next to the open door.
"
Prikhodit." He declared with confidence, feeling the familiar sensation of nervousness and excitement building behind his widening grin even as the coat and hat threw themselves from their resting place towards him. With fluid, practiced grace Tobias turned as his arm slid into the coat's sleeve and reached his other arm through the sleeve that remained. In the same motion, he caught the hat as it reached him and without interrupting its momentum twirled the brim in his fingers and brought it down on his head. He came out of his turn fully dressed and took a step towards the door, snapping his fingers in the direction of the door. A silver headed cane lept up from beside the coathook and into his waiting hand, which lifted the cane and tapped its head against the doorframe as he entered it with a single spoken word, "
Vorota.".
The doorway darkened around him, and he had the distinctly unpleasant impression of falling from a great height for a moment before his next step came down into the green room in the theater. A small sigil above the door glowed for a moment more before fading out of sight once more as Tobias closed the door behind him. Seemingly mere seconds later there was a knock at the door, followed by the voice of a stage hand:
"Showtime in five minutes Mr. Davenstar!"
Tobias took a bottle of water from the tray on the table in the room and took a drink, stretching his hands out in front of him and flexing his fingers. Practiced gestures and flourishes were quickly pantomimed as small illusory objects popped in and out of existence in and around his hands. A deck of cards that shuffled themsleves. A rabbit that twitched its nose. A set of rings that linked and unlinked themselves. Tobias smiled and clapped his hands together, cringing as the lightbulbs in the room burnt out in the same instant as the illusions all manifested and vanished in unison. His momentary frown quickly gave way to his smile again as he heard the hype man getting his crowd ready above.
He took up his position in the center of the room and turned to face his back to the crowd. He took his cane and felt the final surge of nervousness swell to the breaking point as he heard the man give the cue. He turned on the spot and brought his cane down with force on the concrete floor of the green room, appearing in a flash of smoke and the crack of a whip on the stage with arms outstretched and face turned up towards the spotlights.
Showtime!
With his hood moved back in place, Nello made his way through the crowd with Makaya, or rather Clio, close behind. It was quite a gathering, to be sure, of both humans and species of other kinds, as well. Of course, as much as Nello was indifferent towards the term Monster, and even enjoyed it to a certain extent, others were not quite so inclined. It was a slur, after all, one most creatures considered rude and mean-spirited. As for Nello, he owned it. Becoming a 'Monster', for that was what he considered himself, saved his life. When he put that bracelet on and bonded with Nocturne, an early death had been traded for infinity, and nigh immortality. Indeed, to claim that a person could be proud of what species they were was quite misguided, as most could not choose. However, for Nello, a choice was exactly what it was.
Lowering himself to a seat, the boy felt relieved to be out of the sun, its bright rays as always, ruthless against his exposed shape. One could argue that it was purity shining down on wickedness, as two opposing forced clashed on the surface of Nello's soft scales. Quite the extravagant way of expressing discomfort for the celestial layer of light which came flowing down from a bright, blue sky. As a pair of large, red orbs looked towards the stage, Nello could not help but feel a soft smile make its way to his reptilian snout. He had always enjoyed watching spectacles such as these, and the magician on stage appeared professional, to say the least.
"Wanna' bet that this will end in a demon infestation that we'll be forced to deal with?"Nello's smile shifted to a grin, before he turned to the shape only he could see, among the spectators.
"As if you'd have anything against that." The boy finished.
Clio shuffled past Nello and sank into a seat, the hypeman had been toying with the crowd when they arrived, but almost as soon as Clio sat down the Magician appeared from beneath the stage. A wry smile lit up Clio's face. She had always wanted to go to a magic show, one where the magician used cheap tricks to impress the audience. She wanted to be amazed by normalcy. There was nothing better than that, in her mind. It helped to convince her that her own life was fine without magic.
Clio glanced at Nello as the show continued, watching his face to make sure he was enjoying things. This was another important aspect. Having a friend around, even if that friend was far younger and it was slightly strange for them to be hanging out.
"How're you two enjoying the show?"
The crowd erupted with cheers as Tobias appeared in a flash of light and smoke on the stage, his coat billowing majestically behind him. "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the most enchanted night of your lives!" He declared, pointing the tip of his cane into the air above the crowd as another bang accompanied another flash of light and smoke. The theater suddenly was alive with the sound of bird song as vibrant birds of paradise flew out into the air above the gasping crowd. The birds sang joyously as they performed a synchronized lap around the room before returning to the stage, where Tobias lifted his hat from his head and the songbirds seemingly vanished into the void. A twirl of the hat shook nothing loose, and with a twist and a hop Tobias flings the hat into the air where it tumbled and caught the full attention of the spotlight. The hat flipped over and fell back to the stage where the magician waited, landing rightside up with a quiet thud. Tobias grabbed the brim, and quickly lifted the hat, revealing nothing but air under the tall silk hat. He took a bow as the room applauded the sudden appearance and equally swift vanishing of the birds, setting the hat down on a small table that stood off to the side of the stage.
"Hello and welcome to fans of magic and mystery of all ages! You may call me Tobias Davenstar, and I have the incredible honor of performing for you all tonight. I have studied the arcane and mysterious arts of magic for my entire life, and here I stand before you poised to show you the fruits of my efforts!" With a tap of his cane against the floor the rod stood still as a statue even after Tobias stepped away from the tool, which brought with it a small smattering of applause. The illusionist returned to the table on the stage and picked up a plain deck of cards, shuffling them in the air with flourishes and seemingly impossible feats; sending them cascading through the air from one hand to the other, before suddenly going rigid like a sheet of plywood between his hands.
"Tonight you will experience a transformation in the way you understand the world!" He exclaimed, turning the cards to face the audience as a single large whole of intermixed reds and blacks, before turning the stack over again and the cards were all red. Another turn of the stack and all the cards were black. Finally a turn of the cards and they were entirely blank.
"You will see things that defy logic and explanation!" He shouted as he took the rigid board of blank cards and twirled in place. The cards separated from each other and remained floating in a ring around the illusionist, twirling and spinning as though hanging from thin thread. A wave of his hand and the cards began to rotate, slowly orbiting the performer even as they twirled in place like so many planets orbiting a star. A flick of his wrist and the cards suddenly flashed out and flew over the crowd like fifty-two small birds, coming to rest above a small group of the audience in the theater.
"But I will need help from my audience! After all, how could you believe what happens here on stage without the word of a complete stranger that could easily have been paid off before the show started?" He asked, the crowd laughing in response to his joke even as the the cards continued their slow spin above the heads of some of the attendants.
"Those of you who had the luck to have a card come to you, reach your hand above your head and if the card responds to you, you're the lucky winner!" Tobias declared as he scanned the crowd quietly, observing as those who had received a card began obeying his instructions, and silently making notes of which of the guests looked like they would be the most entertaining to play with. An older businessman who looked skeptical of the whole ordeal. A young couple that seemed starstruck and eager. A familiar looking journalist, notepad in hand. A young, hooded demihuman with a reptillian face that served to hide his features from the guests around him. A shadowy being next to the boy. "
Wait what?"
Tobias' attention locked onto the shade that seemed to be clinging closely to the young man, like a particularly needy pet or a halo of smoke. As he held his gaze, he could begin to make out more details of the being, and he felt a shiver of cold run up his spine.
"
A demon?" He thought, already feeling the familiar surge of fury that he often tapped for his evocations. "
I can't open my Sight here. Too many people and things in the hall that would make it too hard on me right now. I'll just keep an eye on that one."
His smile tightened, his gaze having lingered on the shadowy figure for merely an instant more than it had on the others in the crowd, as he turned his attentions to the person next to the pair: a young woman dressed in comfortable clothes. Tobias could see the pair whispering to each other, and what better way to investigate the spirit that seemed itself to be reacting to her presence and words? The spotlights had been moving around the audience erratically, highlighting each card in the crowd before one finally shot down into the waiting hand of the young woman.
"It seems we have our volunteer!" Tobias exclaimed as the crowd cheered and applauded, "Miss, would you care to join me on stage?"
For Nello, the relationship he shared with Clio was somewhat endearing. The two heroes had only known one another for a short while, but it was enough to cause a certain desire within the boy to cling tightly. The pursuit for a maternal presence. Yes, indeed, he would shyly claim that this was, in fact, not the case, but that would be a lie. Nello's mother had passed away, and his attraction, and indeed affection for Clio was found in a certain emotional journey which painted her an older sister for the teenager.
As she turned to look at her younger friend, Clio came into view of a soft smile which eventually developed into a more excited expression once the show proceeded as a bombastic spectacle. Nello was a unique teen, to say the least, but one would be foolish to discard the notion of his yet young age. Though he stared into the abyss of infinity every day, he was still a mere and tender sixteen years old. Like any boy his disposition, a magic show did manage to impress. Whether it was merely a string of smokes and mirrors, Nello could not for the life of him figure the secrets poured into this mysterious art.
Every motion of the magician caused his spectators to cheer in awe, and Nello was no different, a bright and impressed expression making its way to his face as a row of shark like teeth revealed themselves within his reptilian mouth.
"It's awesome," Nello responded,
"thanks for coming with us, Clio." The boy finished, offering the woman a tender smile, beneath his hood. This was only moments before Nello noted the card which had made its way to Clio's hand, his eyes widening with a grin.
"Looks like you're the lucky one.""Just don't out-magic the mage, eh?" Nocturne pitched in,
"I hear magic users are really fucking pet-..,"" the demon tried, before Nello nudged him, causing the creature to sigh, and start over.
"Good luck," he finished.
Throughout the magic show, Clio grew increasingly anxious. These tricks, as amazing as they were, seemed more or less impossible for a mere human to accomplish. She tried to tell herself that it was all an act, that this was the result of modern technology. When the cards began flying over the audience, she glanced up at them, looking for strings that could be an explanation as to how they soared above the crowd. None that she could notice. Her gaze shifted to the magician. Even from here, she could feel his gaze on them. Her hand shot up, and the card above reacted almost instantly. What a surprise.
An offer to come up to the stage. She shifted and looked at Nello, wanting to tell him that the magician was, in fact, bogus. Instead, she wore a small smile and said,
"Looks like I got called to the stage." Turning, she accepted the invitation in a monotone. As soon as she did so, all the cards surrounding the audience flew to her seat. They wrapped around her, spinning in a pattern that was dizzying. Clio's body felt light, like nothing. For an instant, it was like she wasn't a part of the world at all. Moments later, the cards shot to the stage and spun around in the same dizzying pattern, and there she appeared.
Teleportation.
Clio's fists clenched at her sides. The shadows on stage reacted, creeping towards the Magician. She willed them away, at the expense of her rapid burst of energy and clarity. Her head began to throb.
"Let's get this over with." She muttered, almost inaudibly, though the disappointment was clear.
Applause and gasps rippled through the crowd as the young woman appeared in a flurry of cards that rushed back towards Tobias, landing one after another in his hand until he held the full deck of cards again. Beaming, he turned back towards the young woman who had been brought to the stage and gestured over her shoulder towards the stagehand behind the curtain. The young man shoved a chair across the waxed floor to Tobias, who with a gesture and a smile redirected the chair towards his new assistant. The chair came to rest behind her legs, and Tobias reached behind him, where a stagehand threw a microphone to him.
"Welcome, welcome! Thank you so much for volunteering to help! Now, since this is the first time we're meeting and have never encountered each other before, would you give me your name?" He asked, offering her the microphone with which to speak.
"Clio," She said, leaning into the microphone but not taking it. She tried to make her voice sound a bit enthusiastic, if only for Nello and Nocturne. Leaning away from the microphone, she asked him the question on her mind.
"What's the trick?"
"Straight to the point then! I like it!" Tobias said, his grin not wavering for even a moment.
"Tonight I would like to perform one of the classics of stage magic, the levitating woman!" He declared as stagehands rolled a table with a pair of rings resting upon it behind the pair.
"You're not afraid of heights are you?" He asks, as the crowd chuckles.
"Not at all, in fact, I jumped off a building earlier today." Clio declared with a small chuckle. The smile that followed didn't reach her eyes, as she was still rather upset. Luckily, she wasn't talking into the microphone. She was certain that joke wouldn't have gone over well with most of the crowd.
She had seen this trick before, and with the magic of levitation she knew it would be easy. So, she walked over to the table and laid down on it. Her shirt rode up slightly, and she tugged it down, hoping no one on stage saw her large bruise. As Theo-no, Tobias...how could she forget that? Now wasn't the time. As he walked over to her, she stared up at him, eyes sparking with disdain.
"I'd like to talk to you, after the show." She spoke in hushed tones. She would get a conversation with him, even if it meant ripping the guards a new one in her Makaya outfit.
"
Ominous... Tobias thought, slightly unnerved by the intensity of her gaze, though he didn't skip a beat as he led the crowd in a round of applause for her eagerness to finish.
"Once again, right to the point! Isn't she great ladies and gentlemen?" He declared over the cheering voices.
"Now, just relax and let me do all the work." He says, winking at the crowd as he stretched his hand towards his cane, which leapt from its position and into his waiting hand.
"Behold! The laws of nature are mine to command!
Vsplyt'!"
Tobias leapt back from the table as he gestured towards the ceiling with his cane, and a feeling of lightness overcame the young woman upon his table. A heartbeat passed and she began to slowly rise from the table towards the ceiling, accompanied by the rings that had been brought out with the table. As she rose into the air to the startled gasps of the crowd, Tobias laughed and took a step up towards the table, lifting his foot as though taking a first tenative step onto a staircase. He mocked instability and waved his arms in a pantomime of trying to stablize himself. He took another, surer step onto the next phantom stair, further into the air behind her as Clio rose ever higher, the spotlights focused on her's and Tobias' ascent. A wave of his free hand and the rings drifted languidly around the young woman, demonstrating she wasn't attached to any wires or lifts, even while the crowd cheered the duo's impossible journey towards the roof.
Faster Tobias ran, like an excited child taking stairs two steps at a time until he reached her, standing on thin air as surely as he would on a platform.
"How do you like the view from up here, Clio?" He asked, extending his arm out towards the crowd and laughing with glee.
Clio and her family were not practiced levitators. They hadn't branched much out of curses, necromancy and shadowmancy. So, this was new to say the least. She could feel her braids dangling beneath her, twisting as she tilted her head. Despite the fact that she was confident the magician had her covered, she didn't move another inch.
As he laughed, she found herself growing less spiteful. The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves, and so was he. Was it really all that wrong of him to profit off of his gift? She felt conflicted. Perhaps the reason why she had been so upset in the first place was because
she couldn't do the same. Only terrible people wanted to place curses on others, only the grieving wished to raise the dead. She was useless, and her powers were dark.
Frowning, she forced herself out of her head. She had forgotten to take her medication in the morning after breakfast, her mind was becoming grim. Looking out into the crowd, she waved at Nocturne and Nello. Seeing them reminded her of why she had come here, to enjoy herself.
"It's...it's nice." She replied to Tobias. For the rest of the trick, she allowed herself to be amazed. At the end, after they had floated back to the stage, she gave him another look. This one was lighter, though she still intended to speak with him. If only to get an understanding of why he wasted his time on these shows. He could be very helpful as a hero.
Once she was teleported back to her seat, she turned her attention back to Nello and Noct.
"Interesting trick, huh?"
"Yeah! That was so cool!" Nello offered with a bright smile. Despite being fused with a demon, and being a very part of the chaotic world that was Chaos Magic by virtue of his existence alone, Nello had no knowledge of the art, or how it was weaved into the world. Where Nocturne, the ancient creature within Nello was less than impressed, their symbiotic relationship was not entirely equal with every aspect. Nocturne possessed all of Nello's memories, but the other way around was not the case. The teenager had not seen the countless years of fantastical battles and warfare which Nocturne had lived through, which painted a simple magic trick an impressive spectacle for the young teen. With his small fist gently nudging the woman at his side, Nello grinned at his friend with sharp teeth revealed within his mouth,
"it's nothing compared to your magic, though."
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