( Lydia Martin is no stranger to happenings that leave others in the psych ward. She's seen a lot of things. She's been bitten by an Alpha, survived, and become a Banshee. She's seen her best friend die. She's seen her boyfriend turn into a homicidal lizard, and a rebound boyfriend die later, and she's watched her entire world tip onto its side. Everything has flipped upside down and tumbled into madness, and she's pretty powerless to stop it. So she's started to go with the flow, do what she can to learn more about who she is, what she's capable of. She's learned a lot. She's lived through a lot.
This, though? This is unlike anything she's ever seen. It's not a messy bite like an Alpha's. It's very bloody, of course, but when she stumbles across the body and she takes a closer look in the haze of Banshee moth-to-flame fatal attraction, she notes that there are two puncture wounds in a very specific artery of the neck. The word flashes through her mind, an image she hates to consider acknowledging, before she can even stop herself.
[Vampire indeed. This vampire hears her scream two miles down the road, supernatural and disgusting to his ears. A jarring thing, immediately not just setting his teeth on edge - Kol hisses, fangs out, even as he bends forward cringing. Good thing he's still out in the middle of nowhere, which, honestly, seems to be much of Beacon Hills and its vicinity. Werewolves he knew he'd run into. Hunters, he practically expected. Witches are everywhere anyway, but this? What the hell is this?
And, the quite likely bigger issue, why specifically does it come from the direction he dumped that girl's body?
Kol sighs, but smiles anyway, straightening as the pain in his head subsides. At least something interesting is happening for a change. Time to backtrack.
That "girl", meanwhile, is more of a woman in her early twenties. Should Lydia choose to investigate rather than running the hell away, she'll find the body isn't entirely cold yet. She was definitely dressed for a party, but if she made it there or not is hard to tell. So far as Lydia can see, there aren't any injuries other than the one on the neck - really, though, that should be enough cause for alarm.]
[While her roommates (read: Elena and Caroline) were off investigating some doppelganger drama, Bonnie had opted to take the day off and finish an upcoming sociology assignment. The world may end tomorrow, but her professor wouldn't accept it as a proper excuse for skipping class. If anything, it would be an automatic failure - and what kind of college experience would she have, if she failed her first semester? (Answer: a terrible one, with her cousin Lucy sending her angry-faced emojis for a solid hour, because Bennett witches didn't fail college.)
So as she heads over to the study lounge, chai latte in hand, she can't help feeling a shiver down her spine. They'd technically vanquished their enemies at Whitmore. Professor Maxfield was dead (thanks, Damon); Shane was long out of the picture; and Silas was stuck on the Other Side. Most of them were interested in Elena, not Bonnie, so technically, she should've been okay. Technically, because she's almost certain this is an Other Side thing.
The lounge is empty too - which is weird for this hour, considering it's still midterms season. Maybe everyone was super hungover this weekend?] Hello? Anyone there...?
[Yes. Yes there is. Sauntering into view with his hands in his pockets, literally nobody's favourite Original. He seems relaxed. Downright chipper, really, like it's not his side of the world that's falling apart, like he hadn't pleaded with Matt to just DO something. All confidence. He finds a computer table to half sit on, half lean against, a comfortable spot to scoff at her from.]
That's awfully dutiful of you, studying when you're due to go down with the Other Side. But I suppose that's just you all over, isn't it.
[Of course. The one person she could've lived (existed?) without seeing. Bonnie folds her arms at him, setting her drink aside.]
Who said I can't study and figure a way out at the same time? [Still, he's hit a nerve, precisely because there's nothing she can do to prevent its inevitable collapse. She's tried just about EVERYTHING, only to run into obstacles she can't overcome.] Nice to see you too, Kol.
I suppose it's too much to ask that your friends devote as much time to saving you as they do to saving... well, anyone else, really. Or did you skip telling them, again?
I didn't want to burden them. There hasn't been a lot of good news regarding the Other Side, so... ["So I thought I'd save them the pain."] But then again, you'd know that, wouldn't you?
[She returns the smile, although it doesn't reach her eyes. Frankly, she's tired of pretending that she has the solution, because this time, she doesn't. Not beyond bringing everyone to the land of the living at her own expense.] Third time's supposed to be the charm, right? If the spell works, maybe there's a way. And if there isn't... at least there wasn't false hope.
The Bonnie I knew defied the immortal Silas. You're giving up now?
[Not that he was in a very different place. With no hope for anything, asking and nearly begging for help. Afraid, unlike what he's seeing from her now. But he's definitely throwing her own words back at her, back from the first time he found out that she had sacrificed her life for something.]
[It's a bit ironic that they're echoing this conversation, considering that this time, she has no intention - or idea - on how to make things go away.] Giving up would imply that a solution existed, wouldn't it?
Maybe I could defy Silas, but a whole dimension... [She takes a breath. There's no way she's going to show Kol, of all people, actual weakness.] That's gonna take time we don't have, if even such a solution's out there.
Well, there is. Nobody said you had to be the Anchor until the bitter end, but then - I suppose perhaps you don't want to live quite that badly. Unless there's someone you wouldn't mind throwing under the bus?
[Jeremy and Elena managed, after all. All these glorious heroes need is be convinced someone truly is the bad guy, isn't that how it goes?]
[Except she's not the Gilberts. This burden's hers, and hers alone, because she can't think of a single person who deserves this.]
Not really. Even if I passed on the burden to someone else - which I won't - the Other Side would still collapse with us in it. Plus, there's no guarantee that I'd have my powers back, or if they'd even come back to me...
[Okay, maybe she's showing actual weakness now. Dangit.] What else could the others do, then?
[Screw the distance - though some part of her will feel better later, because thank GOD that they care so little for her hometown now. Esther somehow managed to achieve the impossible? (Using Bennett magic, probably. It always boiled down to Bennett magic.)
Forget her self-vowed interest in keeping her distance from Kol, she's marching over and placing her hands around his shoulders.] That's your big plan? To just go along with whatever she says?
[He pulls back, far enough to feign surprise but not far enough to remove himself. Being touched is a feeling that's practically novel after all that solitude. There's mischief in his eyes when he smiles at her.]
When have I ever gone along with what people expected me to do? Even you know me better than that darling.
[Indeed, she does (and honestly, she could've asked a better question, if she weren't still reeling from the idea that Esther were strong enough to pull people from the Other Side). Bonnie presses her lips together, mostly to keep from grumbling even more at him.
There's not much she can do, and it's starting to wear her down. A lot. Even so, she doesn't quite pull back from him either.]
Since never. [She laughs, despite her frustration.] I should've guessed - you just came here to gloat?
[Busted! Kol huffs a laugh, his smile giving way to a grin that's just barely touching on apologetic.]
Well- yes, but I did also want to see you again.
[And that is true. There's not much harm they can do each other now, and there aren't many witches who have left quite this much of an impression on him, even in the centuries he's been through.]
[If someone had told Bonnie a few months ago that she would be working alongside the famed Kol Mikaelson, she would've laughed straight in their face. Bonnie technically doesn't deal with Heartless - she'd rather pummel them to the ground with her magic and set them ablaze before they have the chance to react. It's harder when she doesn't have someone like Tyler or Jeremy to cover for her, but it's still feasible.
Problem is, Yen Sid? The guy she admires more than anyone else in the whole universe? Yeah, he just assigned her to work with him. (Did Yen Sid have a death wish? Or was he just finally going senile?) Bonnie may have to grit her teeth and smile, but that doesn't mean she's going to be happy about it.
She could tolerate him for the first few hours, but at this point, she feels as if she's going to snap.] Could you pass me the grimoire? Without magic?
[Yen Sid has a way of noticing when Kol gets bored. And many long years of finding out that when Kol stays bored for too long, unexpected things happen, and they're not always good. So instead, here they are. He hasn't decided if he likes Bonnie yet, but he's definitely trying to find out how far he can push her before she tries to set him on fire.]
Which one would you like love?
[There's a whole shelf full on the side, and five on the desk in front of him. All of them are starting to levitate while he gives her his best insufferable grin.]
[She can't set him on fire on her first day. That would be a terrible, terrible precedent, and one she can't afford to have, and yet... She can't help imagining it anyways. Sure, he wouldn't be on fire long, with the brooms hovering protectively nearby (they'd douse him before he was really done for). Maybe she could afford to on the second or third day. Maybe.]
The green one, please. [Holding out her hand expectantly, she resists the urge to sigh.] Come on, do you have to levitate all of them?
[Not that he can't handle a little fire being thrown his way, but he doesn't really want the collateral damage. Too many grimoires that would take too much effort to find another copy of, some of them he's written himself. The remaining grimoires slam right back into place as he picks up the green one and brings it over, all without magic this time just to make a point.]
No, but I can and don't see why I shouldn't. By the way: impressive restraint on your part.
[There's a reason those brooms are hanging back there after all.]
[She steps forward to take the grimoire, glancing through its pages quickly to make sure it's indeed the one she wants.] "Impressive?"
There's a time and a place for magic, and using it for every little thing isn't it. [Even if they're in the middle of a magic workshop, where they're encouraged to practice spells however they please.]
It's only the first day. I can't afford to get fired yet.
[She twitches as she realizes that he's hovering, but she can't exactly elbow him out of her way. Not unless she wants to use him as a living guinea pig for her own research on Cure spells.
Her notes in her own grimoire are scattered, mainly asking questions about techniques like Group Cure and spells such as 'Dispel' or 'Esuna' - while she has a dangerous tendency to set people ablaze, she's equally quick to cure them as well.] Hey, don't you have your own stuff to get back to...?
[Now she's kind of embarrassed. Bonnie had always known of Kol's talent, but actually working with him had been a different story.] Um, you mean like my necklace? I could just enchant it and it'll keep my health up, for example?
[Huh. Maybe working with him wouldn't be so bad after all.]
Yes, for instance. But it depends. It needs to be a material that can contain reasonably strong magic without degrading, or it might just blow up in your face while you're making it. But it could still be something small to be worn like jewelry.
[He's made his fair share of things like it. Enchantments aren't like spells, not as useful for immediate attack or defense, but very useful all the same.]
[Now there's an idea! Bonnie sets aside her stuff to look at him better - and also to see if there's anything in this workshop she could enchant.]
Okay, so how would I go about that? I'd use something like... [She trails off, rummaging in her bag for a necklace she can spare. After a few seconds, she pulls out a silver star-shaped amulet.] Like this?
I'm just making this up as I go along don't mind me
[He glances at the amulet. Well. He can't quite tell how much magic the material can stand from a look, but it's Bonnie's, so it should at least be sturdy in that regard.]
It should work. Now there's three ways to do this. [He holds up one finger.] One. Find out what magic materials have properties you want, track down enough of each, and transfer the combined properties over to your pendant. [Giving an exaggerated shrug,] Very straight-forward, but takes time and effort, or money, or both.
Two. [Goes with the gesture.] A series of circles and arrays drawn in something related to your spell or element, charged with magic. Mostly a lot to memorize. It's a hassle, but it's the first method created that I've found that doesn't rely on borrowing magic that already exists. Leaves you more freedom to make something entirely new.
Three. [Yup.] Is the easiest. No Materials, no arrays, but you need two mages to do it. One provides knowledge, both provide power. Of course... you'd have to trust me if we wanted to pull that off.
[As succinct as he could make it. But at least he's said more than two sentences without going out of his way to irritate her, which is probably a start.]
[Had she stepped into a parallel dimension? Bonnie hesitates, glancing at Kol, then at her necklace again. While the second option sounds far more appealing than blindly trusting a guy that's been irritating her most of the day, he didn't have to explain this to her. He didn't have to offer his assistance.
But he is, and he's not even trying to annoy her now, so that has to count for something. So she musters a smile, holding out her necklace to him.]
Alright. Option three it is. [A pause.] Thank you. But in exchange, I want to help with your research if I can.
[He takes the necklace, turning the pendant over in his hand. It should hold, he thinks. Of course there were plenty of less healthy enchantments he could work into it if he wanted, that she might not even notice until it's too late. But he's actually rather fond of Bonnie.]
I certainly won't stop you. But come along, now. We'll do this elsewhere just to be safe.
[He isn't quite sure of her power levels yet, nor does he really have a good read on if the chemistry will work between people who barely know one another. That, and she doesn't actually trust him yet, no matter what she's agreeing to. Kol keeps chatting as he waves her along toward a staircase half hidden by a bookshelf. It leads up. The attic ought to be empty enough.]
What I'm doing at the moment is researching how Light and Dark magic react to one another. If they could be woven together, that might make for exceptionally powerful magic.
[She nods, following him up towards the attic - even though she's still distracted by the odds and ends surrounding them. For the first time in... well, her life, she's somewhere where magic is not only acceptable, it's used willy-nilly. No matter how much casual use may grate on her, she can't help staring in slight awe of it all.]
You mean... like making a new element? [It's a strange thought. Typically, those elements are incompatible with one another, so weaving them together - she thinks - would be like creating several, mini explosions.] Or just seeing how they might work together if cast a certain way?
[There are so many things. Dangerous objects and plain old herbs and ingredients. While there is an order to it, it's nearly impossible to tell what's what or what might be where without asking. Which suits Kol perfectly well, all things considered. He gives a laugh at her suggestion.]
One step at a time, love. A new element would be marvellous, but first I need a way for them to not cancel each other out completely. They do tend to clash instantly when cast as usual, after all.
[And then there's the attic. It's clean instead of dusty as one might expect, and empty. But there are marks here that speak of things having happened, scorchmarks and half-erased symbols, splatter stains of liquid. It's as clean as it's going to get, on the whole, and smelling slightly of soot and sage.
The windows, the walls, the beams of the roof, everything is magically reinforced - and Kol activates the runes with a snap of his fingers as he walks in. Thin lines of carved symbols glow pale green in response along the edges of every surface as they're activated.]
[Her cheeks flush. Right, of course he needs them to not cancel each other out - they can't exactly work "in tandem" if they're too busy fighting with one another to exist. She may openly abhor how easily Kol uses magic, and yet, she can't help staring in awe at the activated runes.
There's so much magic in here - in this earthy, green space - that she can't quite hide her own enthusiasm. Bonnie wishes she were more familiar with the ritual that Kol wanted them to perform, though she suspects it has quite a bit to do with the runes on every surface. Did they reinforce his (and her) magic?
Bonnie holds out her own hand hesitantly, silently asking if she needs to cast a spell now. The runes in the center of the room look stronger (mostly because they're cleaner, sharper lines), so if that's where they'll focus their magic... maybe that's where they have to go?]
[Kol wouldn't want to miss his magic for all the light in all the worlds. He loves the thrumming in the air and how it flows through him as much as blood and breath and life, so there's really no hope of him working magic with more care.
There's a few things being reinforced. The building, for instance - so as to withstand their combined power if something should go wrong. Still, there is visibly an array on the floor that has a center, the lines thicker and brighter than the others, feeling more alive than the rest. Where the other marks fade after a few moments, these continue to glow, several concentric circles and intricate patterns connecting them, lines of foreign languages between them, symbols from different worlds. Some of it is for effect, but more serves to make their mutual trust less of a prerequisite.
Kol steps into the center, and indicates for her to stand by him.]
[Logically, she knows she should accept his hand, and yet she can't stop staring at it as if it's a foreign object. Taking a breath, she then rests her hand on top of his (and dangit, his hand feels warm and kind of nice).
She's not supposed to think that, especially since she was about to lodge a fireball at his face a few minutes ago. Kol's a strange guy, she finally settles on thinking, as she focuses her attention on him and the amulet, rather than the array in the center. He knows what he's doing, and she knows she has to trust in that, even if she doesn't fully trust him yet.
[He shifts his hand so he's clasping her wrist, while with the other hand he holds out the pendant.]
Now hold on to this. You know the material better than I do, so I'll be relying on you for that.
And don't worry, I've reinforced the building so we won't blow the roof off the house if something goes wrong.
[Flippant as always. He does not, in fact, expect this to work perfectly on the first try. ... kind of doubts there'll be more after the first, but on the other hand, Bonnie has proven pretty persistent.]
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This, though? This is unlike anything she's ever seen. It's not a messy bite like an Alpha's. It's very bloody, of course, but when she stumbles across the body and she takes a closer look in the haze of Banshee moth-to-flame fatal attraction, she notes that there are two puncture wounds in a very specific artery of the neck. The word flashes through her mind, an image she hates to consider acknowledging, before she can even stop herself.
Vampire.
And then? Then, she screams. )
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And, the quite likely bigger issue, why specifically does it come from the direction he dumped that girl's body?
Kol sighs, but smiles anyway, straightening as the pain in his head subsides. At least something interesting is happening for a change. Time to backtrack.
That "girl", meanwhile, is more of a woman in her early twenties. Should Lydia choose to investigate rather than running the hell away, she'll find the body isn't entirely cold yet. She was definitely dressed for a party, but if she made it there or not is hard to tell. So far as Lydia can see, there aren't any injuries other than the one on the neck - really, though, that should be enough cause for alarm.]
❤?
So as she heads over to the study lounge, chai latte in hand, she can't help feeling a shiver down her spine. They'd technically vanquished their enemies at Whitmore. Professor Maxfield was dead (thanks, Damon); Shane was long out of the picture; and Silas was stuck on the Other Side. Most of them were interested in Elena, not Bonnie, so technically, she should've been okay. Technically, because she's almost certain this is an Other Side thing.
The lounge is empty too - which is weird for this hour, considering it's still midterms season. Maybe everyone was super hungover this weekend?] Hello? Anyone there...?
❤!
That's awfully dutiful of you, studying when you're due to go down with the Other Side. But I suppose that's just you all over, isn't it.
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Who said I can't study and figure a way out at the same time? [Still, he's hit a nerve, precisely because there's nothing she can do to prevent its inevitable collapse. She's tried just about EVERYTHING, only to run into obstacles she can't overcome.] Nice to see you too, Kol.
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[He looks her over for a moment.]
I suppose it's too much to ask that your friends devote as much time to saving you as they do to saving... well, anyone else, really. Or did you skip telling them, again?
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I didn't want to burden them. There hasn't been a lot of good news regarding the Other Side, so... ["So I thought I'd save them the pain."] But then again, you'd know that, wouldn't you?
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[But he smiles. Like it doesn't matter, doesn't concern him. Like he's not about to be ripped away into some kind of oblivion.]
You don't imagine it'll be as much of a burden when they find out you've let yourself die? Again?
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[She returns the smile, although it doesn't reach her eyes. Frankly, she's tired of pretending that she has the solution, because this time, she doesn't. Not beyond bringing everyone to the land of the living at her own expense.] Third time's supposed to be the charm, right? If the spell works, maybe there's a way. And if there isn't... at least there wasn't false hope.
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The Bonnie I knew defied the immortal Silas. You're giving up now?
[Not that he was in a very different place. With no hope for anything, asking and nearly begging for help. Afraid, unlike what he's seeing from her now. But he's definitely throwing her own words back at her, back from the first time he found out that she had sacrificed her life for something.]
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Maybe I could defy Silas, but a whole dimension... [She takes a breath. There's no way she's going to show Kol, of all people, actual weakness.] That's gonna take time we don't have, if even such a solution's out there.
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[Jeremy and Elena managed, after all. All these glorious heroes need is be convinced someone truly is the bad guy, isn't that how it goes?]
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Not really. Even if I passed on the burden to someone else - which I won't - the Other Side would still collapse with us in it. Plus, there's no guarantee that I'd have my powers back, or if they'd even come back to me...
[Okay, maybe she's showing actual weakness now. Dangit.] What else could the others do, then?
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Anyone who's not a witch won't be able to do much, love. It's hard to get creative with vampire powers.
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Could've fooled me. ["Even if you're an Original?"] You're not even the tiniest bit worried about oblivion? Or what that'll be like?
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[And there it is.]
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Sure you are. [Yet he's so confident that he may actually be telling the truth too?] And who's going to bring you back, exactly?
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[Otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have made the short list. Not even when she's going to try to strongarm him into doing what she wants.]
But don't worry. It's not anywhere close to Mystic Falls.
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[Screw the distance - though some part of her will feel better later, because thank GOD that they care so little for her hometown now. Esther somehow managed to achieve the impossible? (Using Bennett magic, probably. It always boiled down to Bennett magic.)
Forget her self-vowed interest in keeping her distance from Kol, she's marching over and placing her hands around his shoulders.] That's your big plan? To just go along with whatever she says?
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When have I ever gone along with what people expected me to do? Even you know me better than that darling.
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There's not much she can do, and it's starting to wear her down. A lot. Even so, she doesn't quite pull back from him either.]
Since never. [She laughs, despite her frustration.] I should've guessed - you just came here to gloat?
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Well- yes, but I did also want to see you again.
[And that is true. There's not much harm they can do each other now, and there aren't many witches who have left quite this much of an impression on him, even in the centuries he's been through.]
aw yeah KH AU
Problem is, Yen Sid? The guy she admires more than anyone else in the whole universe? Yeah, he just assigned her to work with him. (Did Yen Sid have a death wish? Or was he just finally going senile?) Bonnie may have to grit her teeth and smile, but that doesn't mean she's going to be happy about it.
She could tolerate him for the first few hours, but at this point, she feels as if she's going to snap.] Could you pass me the grimoire? Without magic?
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Which one would you like love?
[There's a whole shelf full on the side, and five on the desk in front of him. All of them are starting to levitate while he gives her his best insufferable grin.]
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The green one, please. [Holding out her hand expectantly, she resists the urge to sigh.] Come on, do you have to levitate all of them?
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The remaining grimoires slam right back into place as he picks up the green one and brings it over, all without magic this time just to make a point.]
No, but I can and don't see why I shouldn't. By the way: impressive restraint on your part.
[There's a reason those brooms are hanging back there after all.]
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There's a time and a place for magic, and using it for every little thing isn't it. [Even if they're in the middle of a magic workshop, where they're encouraged to practice spells however they please.]
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[And he's just going to hover close by and see what it is she's looking up, because he's curious and too stuck on his research anyway.]
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[She twitches as she realizes that he's hovering, but she can't exactly elbow him out of her way. Not unless she wants to use him as a living guinea pig for her own research on Cure spells.
Her notes in her own grimoire are scattered, mainly asking questions about techniques like Group Cure and spells such as 'Dispel' or 'Esuna' - while she has a dangerous tendency to set people ablaze, she's equally quick to cure them as well.] Hey, don't you have your own stuff to get back to...?
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[If they're going to be working together, if she's here to learn, he might as well pick up in an area she's interested in.]
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[Now she's kind of embarrassed. Bonnie had always known of Kol's talent, but actually working with him had been a different story.] Um, you mean like my necklace? I could just enchant it and it'll keep my health up, for example?
[Huh. Maybe working with him wouldn't be so bad after all.]
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[He's made his fair share of things like it. Enchantments aren't like spells, not as useful for immediate attack or defense, but very useful all the same.]
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Okay, so how would I go about that? I'd use something like... [She trails off, rummaging in her bag for a necklace she can spare. After a few seconds, she pulls out a silver star-shaped amulet.] Like this?
I'm just making this up as I go along don't mind me
It should work. Now there's three ways to do this. [He holds up one finger.] One. Find out what magic materials have properties you want, track down enough of each, and transfer the combined properties over to your pendant. [Giving an exaggerated shrug,] Very straight-forward, but takes time and effort, or money, or both.
Two. [Goes with the gesture.] A series of circles and arrays drawn in something related to your spell or element, charged with magic. Mostly a lot to memorize. It's a hassle, but it's the first method created that I've found that doesn't rely on borrowing magic that already exists. Leaves you more freedom to make something entirely new.
Three. [Yup.] Is the easiest. No Materials, no arrays, but you need two mages to do it. One provides knowledge, both provide power. Of course... you'd have to trust me if we wanted to pull that off.
[As succinct as he could make it. But at least he's said more than two sentences without going out of his way to irritate her, which is probably a start.]
works for me! ❤
But he is, and he's not even trying to annoy her now, so that has to count for something. So she musters a smile, holding out her necklace to him.]
Alright. Option three it is. [A pause.] Thank you. But in exchange, I want to help with your research if I can.
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I certainly won't stop you. But come along, now. We'll do this elsewhere just to be safe.
[He isn't quite sure of her power levels yet, nor does he really have a good read on if the chemistry will work between people who barely know one another. That, and she doesn't actually trust him yet, no matter what she's agreeing to. Kol keeps chatting as he waves her along toward a staircase half hidden by a bookshelf. It leads up. The attic ought to be empty enough.]
What I'm doing at the moment is researching how Light and Dark magic react to one another. If they could be woven together, that might make for exceptionally powerful magic.
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You mean... like making a new element? [It's a strange thought. Typically, those elements are incompatible with one another, so weaving them together - she thinks - would be like creating several, mini explosions.] Or just seeing how they might work together if cast a certain way?
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One step at a time, love. A new element would be marvellous, but first I need a way for them to not cancel each other out completely. They do tend to clash instantly when cast as usual, after all.
[And then there's the attic. It's clean instead of dusty as one might expect, and empty. But there are marks here that speak of things having happened, scorchmarks and half-erased symbols, splatter stains of liquid. It's as clean as it's going to get, on the whole, and smelling slightly of soot and sage.
The windows, the walls, the beams of the roof, everything is magically reinforced - and Kol activates the runes with a snap of his fingers as he walks in. Thin lines of carved symbols glow pale green in response along the edges of every surface as they're activated.]
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There's so much magic in here - in this earthy, green space - that she can't quite hide her own enthusiasm. Bonnie wishes she were more familiar with the ritual that Kol wanted them to perform, though she suspects it has quite a bit to do with the runes on every surface. Did they reinforce his (and her) magic?
Bonnie holds out her own hand hesitantly, silently asking if she needs to cast a spell now. The runes in the center of the room look stronger (mostly because they're cleaner, sharper lines), so if that's where they'll focus their magic... maybe that's where they have to go?]
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There's a few things being reinforced. The building, for instance - so as to withstand their combined power if something should go wrong. Still, there is visibly an array on the floor that has a center, the lines thicker and brighter than the others, feeling more alive than the rest. Where the other marks fade after a few moments, these continue to glow, several concentric circles and intricate patterns connecting them, lines of foreign languages between them, symbols from different worlds. Some of it is for effect, but more serves to make their mutual trust less of a prerequisite.
Kol steps into the center, and indicates for her to stand by him.]
Come on, then.
[He offers his hand.]
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She's not supposed to think that, especially since she was about to lodge a fireball at his face a few minutes ago. Kol's a strange guy, she finally settles on thinking, as she focuses her attention on him and the amulet, rather than the array in the center. He knows what he's doing, and she knows she has to trust in that, even if she doesn't fully trust him yet.
(Is that possible? It has to be.)] Like this?
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Now hold on to this. You know the material better than I do, so I'll be relying on you for that.
And don't worry, I've reinforced the building so we won't blow the roof off the house if something goes wrong.
[Flippant as always. He does not, in fact, expect this to work perfectly on the first try. ... kind of doubts there'll be more after the first, but on the other hand, Bonnie has proven pretty persistent.]