<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: Courier;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 16pt;"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/45/fd/83/45fd837de75c9249a1eafcd08bc314f0.jpg) </div><strong>Dramatis Personae:</strong>Alice, Alethea, Aurelia<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>As Pictured (All)<br/><br/><strong>Time:</strong><em> 3:00 PM XST</em><br/><strong>Location:</strong><em></em>Triumvirat Villa, Echeveau<br/><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong>Prospective Crystelia Coven Members |<br/><strong>Notes:</strong>Witches are becoming aware of their Sixth Sense<br/><hr/>As they watch the young women come to terms with their situation, there is just a perpetual grin on Alethea’s face. A look that is distracted from by the various bone charms, and the way she sways, rather than standing still.<br/><br/>“Are you?” It’s just a simple, honest, direct question, but it’s used on Mugi, not as a knife to wound, but more like a mirror; an encouragement to reflect and consider what she is, rather than an assault on her self-perception.<br/><br/>As they move and mill about, Alethea notes how quickly Melody moves to help Mugi, and her immediate formation of a bond of commonality. While the grin never breaks, never offers a deeper look into the shaman’s mind, she can not help but be pleased, as unspoken concerns are eased.<br/><br/>“We call our world Gelegenheit.” Alethea responds promptly and directly. “You’re not breaking down, dear. Nor are you sick; I am no fever dream.”<br/><br/>Bridgette’s small outburst of giggles earns her no admonition or judgment, merely a look of curiosity from the pallid woman.<br/><br/>In the brief moments when Fennu is looking away from the wands, her eyes take in a courtyard. There are walls surrounding them, but within those walls lies a pond, a small vegetable and herb garden, a few trees (including a particularly large one that she feels an inexplicable aversion towards), a larger building, and two smaller ones. It feels a lot like a Chinese siheyuan; except there are three buildings instead of four, and the actual style of the place feels more Mediterranean inspired, with white and blue colors being quite prominent.<br/><br/>There are also a handful of animals meandering about. Most are birds–a whole murder’s worth of crows in the big tree, actually–but also some sort of cat-rabbit looking thing that is watching from afar.<br/><br/>When her attention returns to the wands, there it is again. The wand still calls to her. The wand finds its way into her hands; and Alethea’s grin breaks into a more authentic smile. “Stick with it, and one day, you may burn as bright and hot as the sun itself.” The shaman offers encouragingly.<br/><br/>When Bridgette comes forth to claim her wand, Alethea’s fingers briefly run along the back of the girl’s hand. “Shadow and smoke.” The words are purred out, as if coming from a great big cat, rather than the thin woman. “They will serve you well.”<br/><br/>In turns, the girls come, and soon enough, Alexis has her wand. When she takes it, Alethea’s tongue flicks out from her mouth, in a manner reminiscent of a serpent; tasting the air. “Hmm,” The shaman leaned in closer, her azure eyes sparkling with mischief, “Do you feel it? All that energy, trapped, wanting to burst free? Storms were never meant to be contained.”<br/><br/>Melody’s happiness is reciprocated with musical laughter from the shaman, which abruptly stops, with a: “Yours is a heavy legacy. What will you do with it?” But, before Melody can offer any sort of answer, she is ushered aside so the next girl can take her wand. This is a question she is meant to carry with her, to ponder over.<br/><br/>Mugi’s meek, wordless response to the wand–to simply snatch it and clutch at it–sees Alethea similarly offering no words. Instead, she cants her head to the side, like a dog that’s heard something in the distance and is curious about the noise. During her acquisition of the wand, Mugi can briefly see a flicker of a ghostly person right behind Alethea; but it’s only there for a fraction of a second.<br/><hr/>The wands thus distributed, Alethea seems to just ‘fade’ from view, appearing about ten feet away, but still within sight of the girls. She twirls her staff around, which produces a sound like rattling chains (though no chains are visible). She thrusts the staff into the ground with far more force than such a frail thing ought to have; and leans on it. From beneath her veil, the shaman stares at the girls.<br/><br/>“You all feel it, yes?” A pause, a prompt. An answer is expected. “Focus, now, on the feeling. Let everything else slide off you, like droplets of rain. Breathe in; hold it; breathe out. Focus. Let your fears and anxiety drain away; do not let them shackle you. Breathe in; hold it; breathe out. Focus. Do not think of the world beyond; look inward; see the worlds inside yourselves. Search, with your mind’s eye, for the thread that connects you to your wands.”<br/><br/>This process will require the newly minted magical girls to experiment and reflect on themselves. Those who have practice with introspection will find this easier than those who have never looked within themselves.<br/><br/>“Breathe in; hold it; breathe out. Now, look outside yourselves; but with your mind’s eye, not your physical ones.” It is not nearly as simple as Alethea makes it sound, but she makes a best effort to guide them through the awakening of their sixth senses.<br/><br/>Alexis feels it first. She becomes nigh-painfully aware of the fact that the candies she has in her hands are stolen property. She becomes aware that, whether she wanted to be one or not, she is a thief; she has committed a theft.<br/><br/>For Fennu, it comes quite easily. She knows it in her mind, feels it in her soul; the crystallized flame within her wand, a spark of the first flame. She feels its ability to create, to transform, but also its capacity for destruction.<br/><br/>For Bridgette, she intuitively understands that Mugi is carrying around numerous fears within her. She can, metaphorically speaking, examine these fears, and understand them–but only in an abstract way. It may occur to her that, in time, she could understand these feelings in greater detail; but that knowledge will only come in time.<br/><br/>For Melody, her thoughts are drawn back towards the argument that Aurelia and Alice are having. “If you burn down another one of our sanctuaries, you’re responsible for purchasing the next one.” “That’s fine! I can turn rocks into gold.” “N-no! No no, you’ll ruin the economy!” “Have you seen the price of bread? The economy is already in ruins!”<br/><br/>She knows nothing of the economy in this world, yet one thing seems undeniably clear to her: the local price of bread is ridiculous. There is, literally, no good reason for bread to be that expensive! It is a bad deal; a terrible deal!<br/><br/>Mugi’s senses are almost immediately overwhelmed. Mana flows everywhere; it’s in her, it’s in the women around her, Alethea might as well be looking at the freakin’ sun. It twists, churns, undulates all around them. Mana is in the wind; it is in the grass; the rocks; and the trees. When the initial pain of being overwhelmed passes by, she becomes aware that it is not all chaos and madness. There is a flow. As she acclimates to her mana-sense, she begins the long journey of understanding the Flow. And she knows, deep in her soul, that the large tree in the courtyard plays a great role in the Flow of Mana around them. However, the “why” is elusive; like all the others, she must work on honing her senses, refining them, and understanding the world.<br/><br/>In turns, Alethea indicates each girl, and prompts them with the same question: “Tell us what your mind’s eye perceives.”<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">For Alexis, Melody, &amp; Bridgette</div><div class="spoiler_body">Each of you also sense a life force somewhere in the vicinity of the villa. It is not precise, but you feel certain that if you explore, you will find something important when needed. There is no urgent need to follow this trail.<br/></div></div>