See the past, see the present, predict the future. We all do it, some of us are just better at it then others. Some people get an unexpected helping hand in that department though apparently, whether they want it or not? Events unfold including but not limited to: Eris admitting that she likes her current incarnation. John trying to apologise (after having a long 'talk' about his not-so-recent behavior) and Hannah finds some new things to focus on for her sanity's sake if nothing else.

 

“I think she’s coming back to us.”

I don’t recognise that voice?
My first instinct was to panic.

My arms started moving but I quickly managed to clamp down on that urge in order to focus on everything around me.

“Hannah.. Hannah can you hear me?”
John?

My head hurts.
It’s bloody cold too!

Slowly I squinted my eyes open and blinked uncertainly in the dark.
My hands moved up slightly but stopped short when they came into contact with something really cold?

“What’s going on?”
No-one answered for a second.
Eventually there were some footsteps and John spoke up again, his voice sounding a lot closer this time.

“You fell asleep again in the truck, about half an hour later you started having convulsions.”
..oh.. that’s not good..
“We managed to get you here and secured. The expert I was taking you to see, she checked you over and confirmed my suspicions..”

Well?.. What ‘suspicions’?
I’m dying aren’t I?!
Brain tumor or something!

“You’re a seer Hannah.”
For a long moment I paused but as the words finally sunk in I couldn’t help but snort loudly in amusement.

While I’ll admit there may have been a bit of ‘future prediction’ POSSIBLY happening in that latest set of dreams I’m NOT a seer by any definition of the word!
Edith said it, I’ve got the gift but not the stomach for.. it..

Wait!
What.. what if Edith wasn’t just mocking me for my weakness at the time?..
What if she was being literal?!

..Theodora?..

When Theodora took over me after I revived John my stomach got really cold just before my core got hot..
These messed up ‘not-quite-memories-but-close-enough’ dreams started happening after that too!

Have I..
I’ve.. I’ve integrated Theodora?..

“..oh crap..”
John’s feet shifted uncomfortably on the other side of whatever’s between us.
His magic rolled with worry but I can’t see his face in the darkness.
“oh crap, I’ve integrated Theodora..”
It makes too much sense to not be true.
‘Greatest Oracle of her line’ my ASS!

That last burst of dreams weren’t like the others, the others were clear cut, certain.
The new ones had a soft unfocused quality to them.. less like memories, less solid then the other ones.

Seer’s don’t just see the future, they can see anything!
The past, the present AND the future.

The other dreams.. the powers been building?
The first time it happened I lost myself in memories of my past incarnations with Eris.
The second time I BECAME the people I was dreaming about, progressively getting closer to present day.
The third time.. the third time I had some sort of control over it and ended up focusing on people I know?

I’m a seer.
Holy CRAP I’m a SEER!
This.. this is life changing?!

I’ve got enough problems without adding THAT to my list!!
Why the hell does everything have to happen to me?!
This isn’t FAIR, I don’t want to be mentally handicapped on top of everything else!

Oh sure, seeing the future SOUNDS good at first but it’s a curse!

I’ve never heard of a seer who hasn’t suffered with the gift.
It’s like what Mum said about that Aunt of ours.. I can’t remember her name, it was a weird one I think, but she had her driving licence taken away and her husband’s classified as her ‘carer’ because she can’t be trusted on her own!

“John.. John, I’m..”
My breath wouldn’t come out properly.
I’m far too cold!

I need to get out of here!
I WANT OUT!
LET ME OUT!

Frantically my hands came up in tight fists to strike at whatever was boxing me in so tightly.
I can’t breathe!
LET ME OUT!!

A rush of uncontrolled magic flew from my core and poured out of my fists the moment they struck the surface around me.
The magic left my body and stretched out across the surface like a spider’s web.
I don’t know how but I could FEEL it as it moved, practically SEE it through the darkness as it shot along a roughly dome shape above me.

All at once the magic contracted back inwards and without any more warning the object shattered into a million heavy pieces.

I lay there on the floor panting as chunks of ice fell all around me and the light came back in.
My chest still felt tight but it was a lot better for having fresh air and clear space above me.

“Hannah?”
I almost jumped out of my skin when John just seemed to APPEAR at my side.
He was trying to help me sit up and I let him.
I’m in no state to move on my own.

When he finally had me at least partly sat up I rolled to the side and planted my face into his warm chest.
He wrapped me up in his arms and rocked us while my breathing slowly calmed down.

“..I don’t like tight spaces..”
John snorted as if I’d said something funny.
Without a thought I growled lightly and swung a limp fist at his shoulder to shut him up.

It’s NOT funny.
It’s bloody TERRIFYING!
I’ve had irrational fears before, even to this day I can’t STAND rats, but this is different?

I don’t like being caged.
Something deep down within me just can’t handle being held in a tight space without any form of control over it.

“Maybe next time you won’t wall yourself off in solid ice so badly then huh?”
I wanted to hit him again for that comment but his body’s so warm.

His magic feels light and so full of care directed at me..
‘I love you.. Hannah’
Is this, this warmth and care, is this what love feels like through someone’s magic?

..it’s really nice..

“We’re working on a way to suppress your seer talent, until we manage it you probably shouldn’t sleep again but you can if you want to?”
It’s nice of him to offer.

I’m sorely tempted to just leave it to him and this ‘expert’.
As long as I can stay like this, with his warmth, then I’m fine with that for now.. BUT they will probably have better results if I lend a hand?
I’m the runes expert here.

Aside from some kind of compulsion charm or strange powerful mind magic I don’t understand in the slightest, runes are our best bet for controlling this somehow..

Hell, I might even be able integrate whatever we come up with into those magic inhibitors I was working on back at the farm?!
I need those inhibitors more than ever now, Theodora took CONTROL of my body.. she didn’t just influence me like the last integrations did.
..it’s getting worse..

I need to be proactive and stop this before it becomes uncontrollable!

“Can you help me to a workshop? You’ll need my help if we’re going to manage this before I pass out from exhaustion again.”
John smiled at me and I found myself marvelling at the shear warmth on his face, in his body and magic.. all at once.

When did he start being like this?
I’m.. I’m kind of glad he has..
..it’s really nice..

“Come on then little rabbit, let’s go see the mad brain doctor shall we.”
In a smooth move John scooped me into his arms and carried me out of the mess of melting ice around us.
A glance backwards showed the shattered remains of a bed surrounded by a lot of mess.

My magic did that?
..oops?..

My bad, I’ll have to offer to fix it at some point.
I can’t even remember what set me off so badly?

Whatever it was it really was frightening at the time?!

I don’t just let off that defensive ice dome thing for nothing.
The last time I managed it instinctively was under the very real threat of being killed by an angry Fena!

I snuggled my cheek against John’s chest rather than dwell on it too much.

‘You’re always cuter when you’re short.. Daddy likes it better too ‘cause he can pick you up easier if you start arguing about silly things’
I winced and pushed my cheek into John’s warmth a little more.

Does he really like that I’m short?
Does he like picking me up and carrying me like this..

I kind of hope he does?.. I like it a bit too honestly.
Not that I’d ever tell HIM that but there’s no point in lying to myself about what I like and I definitely like this.

“Mind your head on the doorframe.”
John swung us around quickly and only just managed to miss hitting my head on the aforementioned doorframe.

“..asshole..”

He smirked a little and his magic rolled lightly with suppressed amusement.
Sure, laugh it up!

Rather than snap at him verbally I grumbled under my breath and kicked my legs a little from their dangling position over the edge of his right arm instead.
It would take way too much energy to start arguing with him at this point.. he might even end up putting me down if I argue too much?

Much better to just let it go for now.
..he’s really warm..

======

“Ah, looks like she’s settled down at least. I knew you could do it Johnny.”

I heard her voice before John turned so I could see the face to go with it.
While she sounded a bit different from the last time I heard her, it wasn’t hard to recognise her in the slightest, especially when her slightly older looking face was added to the mix.

“Mrs Turpin?”
The words came out as a confused mutter but both of them heard me clearly from the look of it.

John’s Mum, Mrs Turpin, turned her eyes down to me and her mouth slipped into a gentle smile.

“Hello Ari dear, it’s been a while hasn’t it? It’s ‘Jones’ though, I remarried a while ago.”
She scanned me with her eyes as I lay sprawled out in John’s arms in shock.

“The last time I saw you Max had snatched you from that awful boarding school in your nighty and cotton socks.”
Her lips pulled into that same sharp smirk I’m so used to seeing on Max’s face.
“It seems that every time we meet he’s managed to get you more exposed.”

Exposed?
What does she mean ex-

A cold breeze decided to pass by us at that exact moment from somewhere making me shiver and my pocket thermometers pop up in alarm.
I flinched a few seconds later when it became obvious at a glance that I was, for all intents and purposes NAKED in John’s arms!

I’ve still got the frilly black lace undies on at least so that’s something but no bra and worst of all NO DRESS!

Wh..why?.. where..
CRAP!

I conjured the dirndlgwand dresses in a rush without a strong mental image!

Not enough focus, not enough power, not a strong enough mental image or symbolic connection to the item being crafted.
It faded away while I was asleep!

THIS is why I don’t conjure stuff normally!!

My arms came up to cover my belly, crotch and breasts as best I could with only two arms.
My eyes landed on John’s amused face for a moment causing me to flush bright red and growl at him angrily.

HE KNEW!
The bastard knew and he didn’t say anything!

“Pervert!”
John’s face flushed a little too and he shifted his feet uncomfortably but he didn’t answer to that accusation.
“Put. Me. DOWN!”

I kicked my legs a few times before he managed to get me safely on my feet.
Despite the fact that Mrs Turp- Mrs JONES was watching my actions with far too much amusement for my comfort’s sake I still practically dived behind her.

It took me a moment to reach into my lines and get myself organised.

Screw secrecy!
If my ice dome earlier didn’t tell everyone on earth who cares EXACTLY where I am then they must have some kind of wards up to hide magical signatures around here, and even if they don’t I’m bloody NAKED!

A few lines and a thought later I had a thick wad of cloth in my hands.
A shuffle and a few wiggles after that I was wearing a nice basic black training robe that I’d conjured and pulled down over my head.

For a second I was tempted to just stay where I was, hiding behind Mrs ‘Jones’, but I’ll have to face the pair of them again at some point if we’re going to sort this ‘seer’ mess out together.
If John says ONE word though I’m going to hex him into oblivion!

With a deep breath and a bright blush I moved back around to face them both.
John looked a bit surprised but mostly amused.
Mrs Jones had her hand over her mouth to hide her giggles.

“Better?”
I almost snapped at John before I realised that it wasn’t him asking.

“uh.. yeah, sorry Mrs T.. Jones?”
It felt like I couldn’t blush any more but somehow I managed it.
My ears are burning!

“We’ll have none of that Ari dear, my current name is Natasha but you can call me Hel if you feel more comfortable with it.”

What kind of name is ‘Hel’?
Is that her true mage name or something?

How can she be a mage anyway?!
I knew her for years!
She was really nice, a bit distant at times but still nice in general.

I didn’t even have a HINT that she was anything but a bloody housewife!

When things went down with John going all ‘psycho-Max’ his family just pulled up sticks and disappeared.
I never really thought about it, being so overwhelmed with my awakening at the time, but it’s kind of weird no-one ever seemed to bring their disappearance up at all?

Mum was friends with her but didn’t seem to notice at all when she disappeared.

Mum.. Mum never picked up on John’s connection to ‘Al’ me when he turned up either?
Despite the fact that she’d BABYSAT him a load of times as a kid and he’d stayed over our house loads of times when we were in school!

Mum.. could it be more left over mess from the memory tampering?
How the hell can you just FORGET a whole family of people that were so close to you for so long?!

“Hannah?”
I jumped and got half way through throwing a punch before I clocked what was going on.

“Sorry, I spaced again.”
It was better than admitting I had a bit of a panic attack for a moment there honestly, but not by much.

“I see what you mean now John. She must be a pretty powerful seer to ‘space out’ that easily..”

What does she mean by that?
What’s John been telling her exactly?

I turned to glare at John.
He shrunk away from me slightly and let off a nervous laugh.

“I’ll just.. go see if Eris is awake?..”
In seconds he’d practically broke into a sprint to leave the room.
Pretty dirty trick, using Eris as an excuse to ditch me with his Mum of all people!

“Would you like some tea Ari? I’ve got some more of that lovely Charlton Earl Grey left still, I know you like that one.”

I kind of stalled uncertainly for a moment.
Mrs T..Nat.. uh.. ‘Hel’?..

John’s Mum, that’s better!
Anyway, she sounds strange at the moment?
She’s treating me weirdly and she keeps calling me ‘Ari’ too..

“My, you really ARE out of sorts aren’t you dear? Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll put the kettle on.”
Her bright sunny smile had me smiling back awkwardly out of instinct more than anything else.

She never seemed particularly interested in me when I was John’s friend Al but apparently she’s got enough history with the ‘Ari’ side of Arista’s weird split personality to treat her like an old friend, maybe even a daughter judging from the way she’s acting honestly..
“You gave us quite a scare young lady, John was frantic when you turned up. Do you remember much from your visions? From what I understand a seer’s first few times are distorted and can be rather confusing in general.”

I blushed deeply and sunk down into the offered chair instead of answering.

While distorted and confusing could definitely be applied to the ‘visions’ in my opinion, that’s more from the way they seemed to change so much between.. sessions, I guess?.. and the lack of consistency or context to things in them.
To be honest the actual dream/vision/memory stuff from the initial Eris ones through the horrible ‘Ari,Arista’ ones and the latest set of messy practically underwater ‘future predicting’ ones were all about as clear as possible in my mind, even if I kind of wish they weren’t.

There’s something that feels a bit off, everything’s kind of a blur from the vision where I faced the ‘imposter’ version of me?
I’m not sure what it is but it must have been connected to the freak-out I had when I woke up or something I guess.

“I didn’t know that you were a mage..”
I’m not really firing on all cylinders yet.
Normally I’d never have said something so stupid out loud.
“I mean.. in Klamath Falls you were so.. ya know, normal?..”

John’s Mum paused half way through adding the tea leaves to an ornate little teapot she’s using.
Slowly she turned around and stared at me as though seeing me for the first time.

“Sarah?.. he was right, oh god you poor girl..”

Uh.. what?..
Why is she-

Oh!

“Not quite, I’m.. well I WAS, Al?.. Alistor Cooper, yo-”
She let off a startled little shriek, her hand coming up to cover her mouth instantly in shock and horror.

Before I could do more than blink she’d crossed the space between us and pulled me in to a tight hug.

“Alistor?!.. but your.. he..”
She didn’t seem to quite know what to say or do all of a sudden.

The kettle’s loud whistle broke her out of her loop of confused half-mutterings after a rather awkward few seconds of hugging.
With a heavy huff she let me go, much to my relief, and turned back to counter.
Her movements seemed oddly tense and stilted for some reason though?

“I’m so sorry Alistor, I thought you were Ari, you look just like her?..what’s that son of mine been up to?!”

She REALLY doesn’t want me to answer that question.. right?..
It’s all kind of embarrassing and still a little confusing to explain honestly.
I’d feel a lot better if John was here to add in his side of things better than my initial ‘John went Max-Psycho and turned me into a girl’ breakdown of events could at least.

“It’s.. uh.. okay?.. Mrs Jones, John didn’t mean to.. well he kinda did, but not like REALLY mean to.. sort of.. um..”

HELP! What do I say?
My fumbled attempt at an explanation did little aside from upset her even more!

..the truth?..
Well, it’s worked before I guess?.. sort of..

“Um.. how about you finish the tea and I start from the beginning?”
I think she appreciated having something to do honestly.
She quickly focused entirely on making the tea and setting everything up on the table for a ‘traditional’ English tea.

Despite myself I couldn’t resist the urge to sit up a bit straighter as she put the cups and saucers down gently.
With the amount of old English and Victorian incarnations I have in my head it’s practically second nature for me to play along with the ‘ceremony’ involved in a proper afternoon tea setup.

When she’d finished putting things JUST right she sat down opposite me and started to pour from the teapot with delicate precision.
Eventually everything was done and the steam began to rise softly allowing her to finally look back up at me with a heavy sigh.

“Okay, tell me what he’s been up to..”

I cringed a little and slumped my shoulders slightly.
At least I’m getting better at this sort of thing, I’ve had enough practice lately if nothing else.

“Well.. it started when we we’re kids-”

======

“-and then he stepped forward to follow me into the house and walked head first into my wards which bounced his arrogant ass half way across the street! I kind of lit into him pretty badly, I was frustrated with him being an idiot and honestly a little hurt he couldn’t tell the difference between me and ‘Arista’ still. The look on his face was-”

The door creaked a little making us both pause and turn to look at it curiously.
It pushed open slowly to unveil John, his hand holding onto Eris’s little one as he shot an awkward look between us.

Eris squealed happily and broke free of his hold to rush over to me.
It was practically instinctive for me to lean forward and scoop her into my arms at this point.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t notice the way moving her onto my lap was practically muscle memory already, I just didn’t resist the instinctive reaction involved for once.

Mrs Jones’s face shifted from the pained wince she’d held pretty regularly for the last half an hour into a soft approving look as she took in my ‘motherly’ reaction to Eris’s presence.
No doubt she’s seeing a bit more of ‘Ari’ in me then I’d like at the moment, not that I’m ever likely to be able to completely climb out from either version of my core awakened personality’s shadows for a lot of people sadly?

With one more wince Mrs Jones’s face shifted into open hostility and she turned to face John.
He cringed back from the look, which was honestly pretty intimidating even when it wasn’t directed at me.

In a few short angry strides she reached his side.
Her hand came up and she grabbed his ear tightly between two sharp nailed fingers.
With a solid yank she pulled a now whimpering John along in her wake as they left the room.

Maybe I should have focused more on the nice things he’s done for me and the way he’s been reacting since our little poolside chat rather than going into the full detail of his Psycho-Max binge of stupidity?..

Na! He’s a big boy and it’s about time someone pulled him up on it all, I don’t really have the heart to do his stupidity justice, punishment wise.

“Is daddy in trouble?”
Eris’s quiet little question drew me out of my musings on John’s existence and the often times annoying effect he’s had on my life as of late with a jarring jolt.

I peered down at her for a second curiously.
She didn’t look worried?
Honestly I’d have to peg her expression as mildly interested and amused over anything else.

“More then he knows but less then he deserves..”
She giggled a little and hugged into my chest a bit more.
Despite myself I cuddled her a bit tighter before reaching out for my cup.

I’m sure John’s Mum won’t mind me ‘playing mother’ as they say.

Eris seemed strangely interested as she watched me lift the teapot and pour myself another cup of the simply AMAZING Earl Grey tea she’d provided.
A quick blow on it with just a touch of ice magic in my breath cooled it to perfection so I could go straight on to sipping.

My first sip felt a little gritty and it took me a moment to realise that I’d forgotten to use the strainer when pouring.
..Oh well, no harm no foul..
A few tea leaves aren’t going to hurt me right?
Hell, one of my past incarnations developed a nasty habit of chewing tea leaves because tobacco was far too expensive and she could swipe the leaves from work pretty easily!

I’ve said it before but I really do have some WEIRD people in this poor abused head of mine..

“Who is that lady? Is daddy going to be okay with her?”
Ah.. I guess it just took a while for Eris to work around things before she could jump into her usual ‘worrying’ faze that seems to be her default reaction when one of us leaves her line of sight.

“Don’t worry sweetie, she’s your Grandma.”
She squinted at me in disbelief.
“Your OTHER Grandma, she’s HIS Mum.”

Slowly her face shifted through a few recognisable stages as she processed the idea and weighed it against some kind of internal chart only she could understand.
Eventually she nodded imperiously and settled her head back on my chest in her favourite position.

I managed another few sips of my tea before she decided to speak up again.

“I like this incarnation, I’ve never had a Grandma before and now I’ve got two..”
My lips twitched up a little in amusement.
I’m sure my Mum would be happy to hear that if nothing else, she’s taken a shine to Eris surprisingly quickly.
“Tee-Vee is fun and your nice’n’squishy too.”

My mouth dropped open in both offence and surprise.

Cheeky little brat!
I’m NOT ‘squishy’.

I’m perfectly well proportioned.. except for my chubby cheeks.. and my squinty little eyes.. and my complete lack of muscle tone..

Oh powers, I’m FAT aren’t I?..
I’ve never been fat in my life!
Stupid Arista and her stupid body an.. and stupid.. stupid.. UGHH!

“I’m not fat. If anything I’m underweight for my size, the doctor’s said so!”
Eris twisted her head a little so she could stare up at me in confusion.
“Look at me! I’m NOT fat.. why the hell do I care anyway?!”

I don’t care.
I shouldn’t care!

This isn’t really my body and at some point I’ll work out how to turn back into myself.

I’m getting far too comfortable with all of this, it’s got to be the insidious ‘integrated past-incarnation’ memories playing tricks on me!
They always HAVE been annoying, slipping little stupid idea’s into my head behind my back.
It’s so much harder to tell when they are having an influence on me or not since I started properly integrating them..

“Don’t frown, you’ll get wrinkles.”
I jumped so hard when Eris’s little hand came up to rub at the spot between my eyebrows softly that we almost ended up in a pile on the floor!

“Sorry sweetie.. do you want a drink or something?”
It was a weak attempt at covering for my twitchy-ness but she didn’t seem to mind.
Her face lit up with interest and she gave me her best big grin.

“Juice?”

She really seems to like juice for some reason?
I guess she probably didn’t have many chances to have any back in New Avalon..

“Sure, sit here and I’ll see what they have.”
She eased off my lap onto the chair at my side and watched closely as I made my way over to the fridge.

A bit of searching came up with some orange juice and some ‘prune’ juice of all things..
Bleh!.. nasty..

“Orange Juice okay sweetie?”
Eris nodded almost frantically and smiled brightly for me.
I smiled back at her absentmindedly but focused on pouring out a little glass for her instead.

She practically downed the glass as soon as it was put in front of her.
She’s making a bit of a habit of doing that lately?

With a heavy sigh I settled back in my seat and rested my head on my palm with my elbow on the table.
My eyes cut across to the doorway thoughtfully.

I can feel John’s magic still.
He’s nearby, maybe a room or two away judging from the strength of what I can sense?
His magic’s rolling around a fair bit with some mixed emotions, the most prevalent of them being guilt, frustration and shame.

I think his Mum’s reading him the riot act honestly?
I’m not going to defend his past actions or anything, even if he IS proving himself as a friend again ever so slightly the longer we get to hang out together.. but I feel a little sorry for him at the moment too?..

I’ve been on the other side of FAR too many one-sided Mum-based third degree arguments in my life to take enjoyment from knowing someone else is going through it too.. even if it IS just John!

“Can you show me how to do that ice-dome thingy Mommy?”
She’s really got to work on a new ‘innocent pleading’ act, I’m not falling for it anymore.

“Maybe when you’re older..”
Watching Eris slump a little in her chair was both worrying and kind of cute at the same time.
“I could teach you a few other cool things though if you like?”
She perked up instantly.

Oh boy, what am I getting myself into now?!

======

“-when you have a solid grip on that bit of magic feed it into the line leading into your palm and-”
Before I could finish she did just that and then let off a quiet little frightened yelp when a puddle’s worth of water formed in her palm.
“Well DONE Eris! I can’t believe you managed that so quickly, it took me weeks to get that far..”

She blushed brightly at my praise and shifted over to give me a hug.
I couldn’t help but smile proudly down at her while lightly hugging her back.

I’m honestly pretty impressed?
We’ve only been going for about fifteen minutes but she’s managed to feel her lines, at least partly map out the more important ones I’ve told her about and then she finished it off by just about managing a little blast of her element as well!
She’s got no control at all and it will probably be a while before she’s ready to cast actual spells with her lines but it’s still a pretty impressive first step for her to cover so quickly.

I’m not particularly surprised that she’s a water mage at least.
They tend to crop up in Mediterranean areas, which her supposed ‘original’ native land of Greece falls neatly into of course.

I’m kind of worried though at this point.
Water mages tend to gravitate towards ‘healing’ as a profession which I’ve got pretty much zero experience in aside for a mild wound sealing hex.. and my diversion obviously, but that’s a bit of a cheat technique..

“So, how does it feel to know you’re never going to need to a pay a water-bill again in your life?”
Eris gave me a confused look.
Really?.. not even a slight giggle?..

Well I thought it was funny!
It’s true too, you wouldn’t believe how many bills you can skip out on paying when you’re a mage.

Add a little application of physics and you can start getting REALLY fun with it.
Now I know a real-life Lightning mage, in the form of Gran, I’ll have to see if it’s actually possible to recharge a battery with lightning at some point I guess?
I’d completely forgotten about that until now.

When I run out of ‘magic’ related things to research I tend to branch out a bit and at one point I designed a rune-set that, if it works, would convert pure lightning magic into DC electricity with a bit of buffering in place to stop it from just exploding the battery or whatever the powers being dumped into.

Compared to Lightning magic, water isn’t quite as useful for the fun science-y magic stuff but at least it’s better than ice, fire or earth!

Wind’s got some potentially big bonus’s to it as well, if nothing else some mage in Europe runs an ‘alternative energy’ company where he basically generates more power than a nuclear power plant daily by just sitting on his roof and shifting the air currents to maximise the power generated by a massive field of wind turbines stacked next to each other virtually blade to blade.

There’s not really an official name for the fun science-y magic sort of stuff yet, it’s pretty new honestly and even now most awakened mages that could potentially power a lot of really interesting things by mixing science and magic together don’t bother because they think the idea is ‘stupid’.

Mage’s are set in their ways sadly, it comes with age apparently and no-one does age related problems like a mage who can live for hundreds of years per incarnation!

======

“Mum?”
Eris’s little hand waving in front of my face brought me back to the real world again with a bump.

..stupid drifting off thing..
Of all my ‘quirks’, that was the one I was the happiest about losing before it decided to come back again!

“Sorry Sweetie, did I miss anything?”
She squinted at me for a second but reluctantly shook her head anyway.
I’m not sure if that means I didn’t miss anything or she doesn’t think it’s worth repeating if I did.
..kids are confusing sometimes..

“What were you thinking abo-”
She cut herself short when the door creaked again.

Mrs Jones made her way in, looking slightly flustered and agitated.
John followed behind her with his eyes downcast.
His magic was stuck pretty heavily into ‘guilt’ and ‘self-loathing’ territory.

“Sorry about that girls, I think someone has something to say..”
Mrs Jones shot a sharp look over at John and he cringed slightly before reluctantly turning to face me properly.

I honestly felt sorry for him at this point.

He’s practically been a different person lately, it feels wrong to blame him for his actions as ‘Max’?
I know it’s not that simple and I have more right than anyone else to enjoy his suffering but that’s just kinda.. not the sort of person I am?..

John’s my friend.
He’s an asshole, he’s self-centered and twisted in general but he’s still my friend!

“Hannah. I want to-”
I lifted my hand up between us making him stall instantly in confusion.

“You’ve already apologised once John. I get that you have problems sorting things out in your head at times but I’m just as messed up as you are and you’ve put up with my insanity pretty well so far..”
He seemed completely lost now.
The look would be kind of cute if his magic wasn’t going haywire at the same time.

“We get each other John, we always have. I’m not going to put you through some long drawn out punishment over it all.. yes, you were wrong.. yes, I hated you for what you were doing, I hated myself for LETTING you do it too? You used our friendship and your knowledge of me to abuse my trust..”
He’d practically sunk away from me at this point.

Almost instinctively I slipped off my chair and stepped closer to him, sliding a thumb under his chin to push his face upwards so our eyes could meet again.

A few weeks ago I could never have done this.
A few weeks ago I wouldn’t DARE give ‘Max’ a chance to stare directly into my eyes with that damned hypnosis of his just a thought away from being used!

A few weeks ago.. a few weeks ago we wouldn’t have been in this situation at all?

A lot has changed over a pretty short period of time.
We’re practically different people at this point.
We’re not Ari and her Max.. or Arista and her Maxarimus..
We’re not Al and his mate John either?

We’re something new.
A new, fresh start to a repeatedly long-lasting ‘relationship’?

I decided back in New Avalon to take people by their actions, not their history.

I refused to judge Eris for her actions however many incarnations ago.
I refused to hold myself accountable for the evils ‘Arista’ committed, even if I can’t forget them entirely.

Why can’t I do the same for him?

Despite what he says, despite what he said in the truck about not really ‘controlling’ his Max side, I know he’s changed.
I can FEEL it!
I can SEE it!

He’s not Max.. and honestly.. I don’t think he’s really ‘my’ John anymore either?

He’s like me.
He’s ALWAYS been like me.
He’s not quite the same as he used to be, something’s changed him completely?

The ‘Max’ of a month ago would have declared his undying love for me while secretly using my reaction to his advantage.
The ‘John’ of a few weeks ago would have been more likely to laugh at me than admit that he even LIKED me.

I can’t be sure what did it but I can guess at least?
Dying apparently has an effect on you no matter who you are..

There’s something inherently human in confessing your feelings on your death bed.
I don’t feel the same way about him, I’m not even sure if HE really meant it at the time or if he was just saying it because he could.. because he thought he was going to die..

I can’t accept even the idea of being ‘in love’ with my best friend as a possibility.

It’s too soon, wounds are too fresh and trust is still being built on both sides.
I’m not even sure if I CAN fall for someone while living in this body?
It feels wrong to even consider it when I’m not really female, not deep down.

UGH! This is getting too complicated and confusing!

Instincts!
I’ll just go with my instincts, they rarely lead me wrong.

“You’re my best friend John, in your own stupid way you’re trying to help now and you HAVE helped, more than you can ever know.. I forgive you.. you big goofy idiot..”

It took a few seconds for my words to sink in.
It was obvious when they did though because his whole face lit up in a strange mix of confusion and Joy.

We slid into a mutual hug easily.
It’s awkward that my face now barely reaches his armpit but I can overlook that annoyance for now.
That’s what friends do after all.

He’s so warm, his magic is rolling across my skin as his infectious happiness and warm contented vibes practically sink into me!
..they probably are in a way, sympathetic magic and all..
SHUT UP BRAIN! You’re ruining the moment!

When we finally broke contact he continued to stare at me with something close to awe on his face but we didn’t say another word.
We didn’t need to.

He understands me and, powers help me, I understand him too.. just like we always have..
He’s still an asshole but he’s MY asshole and I’m not going to lose him again out of some stupid petty need for ‘retribution’ against who he was.

He’s trying?
That’s more than I would have hoped for from him even a few days ago honestly..

“So, who wants another cup of tea?”
I broke the silence at last, neatly bringing us all out of the strange solemn mood that had fallen over the room.

Mrs Jones didn’t seem quite as comfortable with letting John off so easily for his past stupidities but she just doesn’t get it?
No-one who doesn’t LIVE our messed up lives.. lives that are practically counted in millennia more than hours, could possibly understand the connection John and I have.

Did we strain it pretty badly through his stupidity and madness?
Yes.
Did we reach breaking point and go beyond it?
Yes.
Did he hurt me badly?
..yes..

He’s John though.
He’s always been an insensitive git, even when he’s trying to be nice and understanding.
I’m not sure I’d be able to survive if he changed THAT much so quickly..

“Should we get down to business and sort out this whole ‘I’m a seer’ thing then? I’ve got a few ideas already and-”

======

“Can I have some more paper?”

John sighed heavily and with a flick of his wrist he conjured another piece for me.
I really need to work on that one!

When I summon paper it always comes out too thick and fades after a day or two, honestly, how can you get a ‘good mental image’ of paper?!
It’s bloody PAPER!

The tea and discussions went well.
We’re going to sort out my little Theodora instigated ‘seer’ problem tomorrow.
John wasn’t kidding, his Mum’s SCARY good at mind-magic!

I only have a novices understanding of it all and that left me with just enough knowledge to see that I was completely out of my depth trying to breakdown her work into something I can even ATTEMPT to say I ‘comprehend’ with any degree of certainty.
She sounds confident at least, I can take that for what it is if nothing else?

In the meantime I filled John in on what he missed of my ‘selective suppressors’ that he helped check the math on back at the farm.

Luckily it only took a few pages to cover the actual design for him.
Once I’d finished doing my ‘final’ design work most of the math was pretty much useless, who cares about the fifty odd pages of calculations needed to reach the result when you have the result in itself.

Naturally John had to be himself about it all though.
He nit-picked everything I did, with a ‘why did I add this cluster?’ here and a ‘why didn’t I add this enchantment?’ there.
I’m kind of grateful for it?
His questions and arguments got my brain going.

We’ve spent the last few hours adding ‘improvements’ to the overall package.
If I’m going to be packing a practically full-body suite of enchantments into the form of two bracelets, two anklets, a necklace, choker, and a belt, then we might as well pack in every possible thing we can think of right?!

It’s not like I’m limited for space, the only reason it’s going to be in so many different pieces is because they are closer to prime locations needed along my lines.
It’s practically like planning out a major construction project at this point.
You can’t put this turning on that road because it will cause a backlog but if you put it on the left leg ‘road’ instead of both of them then you create a release valve of sorts.

Magic’s complicated.
Enchanting is even worse.

Enchanting in runes using sympathetic magic to bond several items that look like ordinary jewellery on the wearer, so you can stop any kind of overpowering ‘take over’ attempt by any one of a seemingly endless swarm of personified ‘past-life’ memory clusters inside the wearers head, while ALSO adding in basic functions such as climate control runes, a ‘danger sense’ ward and several minor external diversions to allow me to cast with multiple elements easily..

yeahh.. as I said.. Magic’s complicated..
Even when you’re the one designing with it and you technically know what you’re doing it’s still a complete mess when you’re working on something THIS big and THIS powerful!

“Dinner will be ready in a minute.”
I glanced up from my paper and offered John’s Mum a smile which she returned easily.
“Johnny, remember the rules, no glamor spells at the dinner table.”

..huh?..
I shifted my eyes over to John’s face.
He looks like someone has just fed him half a raw onion!

“What glamor spell?”
He cringed and seemed to be trying to avoid my eyes as best he could.

Not having any of it I dropped my shoulders and practically flopped across the chairs we were sitting on so my head was in his lap staring up at him from below.
I’m running on a bit of a crafting high at the moment, that’s all I can think of to blame for my silliness honestly.

“It’s nothing..”
Oh no, you don’t John-boy!
It’s got to be something good or at least funny as all hell if your sudden blush is anything to go by?!

“Just tell me, I’ll find out eventually and it can’t be that bad. You got to laugh at me with the ‘school uniform’ stuff, it’s only fair I get to laugh at your zit’s or whatever you’re covering with a glamor of all things!”

With a long heavy sigh he reached a hand up and tapped it gently on a necklace I can’t actually remember BEING there a few seconds ago?
Was he always wearing that?

I SWEAR he wasn’t?!

The little metal necklace with its strange metal symbol hanging from it flashed slightly as whatever magic was built into it died out.
He winced slightly as my eyes got progressively wider.
Right there on his face, etched into his cheek in an ink-like burn mark, was his BRAND!

How?.. when?..
WHAT THE HELL?!!

He managed to cover his bloody brand up!
Not just that, whatever glamor he’s got in place on that necklace didn’t just hide the big nasty looking brand left on his check as punishment by the old magic of the temple but it practically DELETED it’s existence from my memory?!

I mean.. I knew he was branded still, I knew he wasn’t a direct threat to me because of it..
I just kinda forgot he had a big old tribal tattoo on his face because of me!

The necklace too?!
He’s got to have been wearing that for a while but I can’t remember him ever wearing jewellery before so it must hide its own existence somehow too?

That.. that’s..
THAT’S GENIUS!

My face split into an almost predatory grin.
He flinched slightly when my hand came up to rub against his now visible brand, just to check it was still real, the moment my fingers made contact with the dark black mark a trail of warm magic started flickering along my fingertips and followed down my lines, ending at my core directly.

I wish I’d been able to remember this brand was a ‘thing’ back when I was hunting for John a few days ago!

It’s so EASY to feel the connection on this one.
WE’RE connected!

It’s practically a physical rope between our cores from this side of things.
No wonder he managed to find me so much easier than I could him!

Slowly my hand moved down his neck making him shudder for some reason.
With delicate fingers I traced the few visible runes awkwardly marked into the necklace’s thick chain, the ornamental little metal symbol at the bottom held a few too but they were all almost painfully basic.
He must have mixed long-lasting charms with the runes to maintain them better somehow?

That’s a charging rune there.. and a storage one over here..
This whole thing is amazing!
It’s so simple but so EFFECTIVE!

It’s.. it’s got POTENTIAL?!

“We should hurry down to dinner, before your Mum gets annoyed.. when we get back up afterwards we’re going to have a nice LONG talk where you explain to me with many numbers and sketches just HOW in the HELL you pulled this glamor necklace off under my nose John-boy!”

He didn’t look very pleased about that idea but he also didn’t resist when I rolled to my feet and offered him a hand up.
A huge grin was plastered on my face that I doubt I could remove even if I wanted to.

I LOVE magic!
Real magic, NEW magic!

John’s been casually wearing every Rune master’s DREAM enchantment around his neck to hide a slightly embarrassing binding mark!!

Invisible runes!
Self-sustaining glamors!
Spells and runes blended perfectly together into one working unit?!

I take back what I said before.
It turns out you CAN break magic!
John’s done it right here and he doesn’t seem to even realise what he’s DONE!!

Just think of all the fun I can have with THIS little trick-set under my belt, both figuratively AND literally!

For some reason it feels like I should let off some kind of maniacal laughter at the moment?
I settled for a happy giggle and gave John’s arm a sharp tug to speed him up a bit more.
The faster we get dinner finished the faster we can get to work!

..I hope Eris wasn’t too bored this afternoon?..
I think she was hanging out with Mrs Jones at one point?

======

We turned the last corner and came into Mrs Jones’s kitchen area.

Judging by the adorable splashes of flower on her little nose and cheeks, along with the white powder covered apron she had on and the proud grin she sent our way before she turned excitedly back to mixing.. something in a bowl?.. I’ll guess Eris didn’t mind us disappearing to work in the slightest?

Why do I suddenly feel a bit upset that she got to play ‘chef’ without me?
It’s not like I’m much of a cook or that I’d have thought to show her how to make something in general like some happy little housewi-

GAH! Stupid past-incarnation mothering instincts!!