six_word_stories | (no subject)

You--

Know what? Sorry, I think I'm... missing half the conversation, here. Uh.

That's alright, honey. And I know that you're hungry. You a pie or strudel kinda guy?

[ Oh. That's a relief; it shows in his shoulders, pushing a smile out as he smooths over his thighs subtly. ]

Honestly, a coffee would hold me over. Something strong. Not sure I could stomach sugar this late.

[She pulls out her wand and begins to make some strong, black, New York coffee. She sees the tension in his shoulders leave and merely smiles a bit more gently.]

Ya gotta eat something, honey. You can't live off coffee, though I do admit I make one of the best cup a joes you're ever gonna have.

You've got a point. Pretty sure I wouldn't fair much longer on pie, either.

[ Openly watching with interest, intrigued even though he is well aware magic is as much a science as anything, something he might be able to develop with effort... but he's not comfortable with the notion. Even his natural skills unnerve him. That doesn't make it any less incredible. ]

You're kind.

Edited 2017-09-27 07:59 (UTC)

Depends on the pie, didn't say it had to be a sweet one. [She teased as she let the cup of coffee fly over to Sam.] How about a chicken pot pie, honey? Sound good to you?

Everyone needs a bit of kindness in their life.

Y-yeah. [ Reflexively, he reaches to snatch the cup from mid-air, shifting his hands when he feels a sharp bite from the heat and-- yeah. Blows over it lightly. ] That sounds great. -- I'd offer to help but...

[ Self-deprecating huff, shifting the cup in his hands once and dipping for a tentative sip that ends with his tongue scouring the roof of his mouth. ]

Can you turn it off? At will, I mean.

It's okay. You've had a long day. [She begins to flick her wand to make a chicken pot pie, the chicken, dough, flour, vegetables, and everything else churning and roasting and baking in the air before landing in a ramekin right in front of him.

She glances into his eyes and then a fork and knife appear next to the ramekin.]

Why would I turn off my kindness.

[ Surely, that will never become less impressive, holding his coffee throughout the unintentional performance and... oh. Stirs from his amazement, blinking because he doesn't really understand the question, vaguely distracted by the pull of the warm aroma already filling the small room.

Swallows it back and forces the second sip, letting it pleasantly scald the back of his throat, head shaking simply. ]

That's not what I was talking about. You know too much. I'm not that, uh, famous. I guess notorious is a better word.

[ Light chuckle. ]

I know. [She was just trying to avoid that particular conversation.]

Sorry about that. [She grabs her own cup of coffee and moves to sit across from him, smiling.]

I can't help it, honestly. I don't mean ta pry it just happens.

Right. No, of course, I'm not angry. --a little unnerved, maybe. It's not the first time, uh. Usually, it's not out of the control of the user, so it wasn't exactly pleasant. Even now, it makes you kind of self conscious, you know.

[ Palming around the mug awkwardly, he glances up in delay, not quite holding direct eye contact. ]

Sorry. That, it'd be difficult. If you couldn't block it out.

Well, it is and isn't out of my control. But the ones who are hurtin' are always the easiest to read.

You ain't hungry, honey? [She blew the steam on her coffee before adding cream and sugar, stirring it and then taking a sip.

It's okay, most guys think the way you do when they see me.

[Blink, blink. Quiet:]

You're not mad?

You've had a rough day, huh honey? Have a seat and you can tell me all about it.

[But the short answer is "no, she ain't" very little makes her mad.]

[The little girl climbs up onto one of the chairs. But if she knows, like she said, why ask her to tell her about it? What if she's only guessing? What if-

Her mind's a jumble of nervousness, briefly forgetting to focus like she learned to do not all that long ago, but she hugged her stuffed toy up to her and looked back up at the nice lady again, hesitant.]

Well..... What part do you want me to start with?

Talkin' about it and knowin' about it aren't the same thing, honey. Sometimes talkin' about it is the best way to help get over it. It's called gettin' it off your chest.

So why don't you just start where you feel most comfortable.

[Another jumble as she tries to figure out how to reply: adoration for momma, uncertainty, self-doubt.... fear. She wanted to be good, wanted momma to be happy with her, wanted everyone to like her......

She wasn't guarding her thoughts at the moment, too upset to rein herself in very well. The day had really thrown her off. Something about fearing that momma was getting suspicious about her good behavior, when Layla had been such a heartless brat before. Something about having said thank you to the guy who'd served her ice cream at the mall, when they'd visited it not long ago.]

But then that wouldn't be anywhere.

[She buries her face in her doll. Oddly enough, the doll seems to be emoting a little too, a faint discontent.]

[She doesn't hesitate any further and instead just moves to gather Layla up in a hug. She can see it all; of course, she doesn't mean to see it all, but the ones hurting are the easiest to read. She strokes Layla's hair and murmurs softly.]

Then you don't have to, it's alright. I ain't going anywhere.

[She doesn't protest being hugged up, she moves to settle into it, her doll on her lap.]

How do you know, anyway?

[K̢̈́ń̻ő̦w̡̒ ̛̣w̮̾h̰̕à̜t̟͌ ̰͂s̡̉h͖̔e̩̎ ̤͗d̠̽ȉ͎d̫̆,̖͛ ̬̑w̩͂h̆͜e̜͌r̯͗e̝͝ ̤̌L̗͋a͖͗y̼̎l̲̈́a͔͋ ̼́w̢̎ã̯s̫͠,̼̓ ̲̍w̳̏h̫͐á̟t͒͜ ̈́͜h̞̽ä̙́p̟̒p̈́ͅḛ͑n̙͝e̺͠d͚̆ ̮͂e̟͐a͇̒r̨̚l̬͊ḯ̫é͔ṙ͍ ̢͂t̞̕h͍̅ä͓́t͓͒ ̭̋d̳̉à̖y̤͋

But she's trying to listen to the lady: there's a warmth there that reminds her of momma, and she doesn't seem upset. Either she doesn't really know, or.....

Or.....

Her mind couldn't come up with anything else. Was she bluffing about knowing?]

I'm somethin' called a Legilimens. It... well, not that I mean to honey, but it means I can read minds. [It wasn't how it actually worked, but for the sake of simplifying, it did the trick.]

You poor thing...

[Oh.

Her thoughts caught for a moment at that as her breath did. It wasn't a swear word that passed through her mind then, so much as a kind of cringe. Maybe if she'd been an adult, she would've, but instead, she simply sank down into the hug more.

After a moment, quiet, tears threatening in those big dark eyes of hers as she peeked up again:]

You won't tell anyone?

[She merely gathers up Layla in a much tighter hug, stroking her hair and rocking her back and forth.]

It ain't your fault honey, and it's not for me ta tell. But I won't go anywhere.

[She hugs back tighter]

But it is my fault. I'm the one that made Layla be quiet. And... I'm not telling momma.

And I know it's lying, and that's bad... but I'm not a bad monster, I promise....

But... what if momma figures it out and gets upset?

What if she wants the first Layla back?

I think honey, you need to realize a mother will always want to protect her baby, and if you made her baby sleep, then she's gonna get mad. I know it's sad, but you need to give Layla back her body, honey. We'll get you a new one, but Layla deserves a life.

Even if she's a bad monster?

She doesn't love momma. Or anyone. I think I only got in because she was empty.....

Wait, a new one? [She looks up again, trying to wrap her mind around this.] So.... so someone else?

Edited 2017-09-28 01:53 (UTC)

[that's magic she has never seen before, hence the response of sheer amazement]

Did you learn how to do that at Royal Prep?

Oh no honey, I learned it at Ilvermorny, only the best school for witchcraft and wizardry.

But I think it's amazing you're learnin' from fairies.

[her eyes have lit up] I've never heard of that school. What kingdom is it in?

Oh it ain't in any kingdom, honey. It's in the United States of America, we don't have a king or queen, we elect our president.

Oooh. That sounds exciting! Is it a pretty place? [she's intrigued] What's elect mean?

Well honey, to elect means to choose. So let's say you're with a group of your friends and your brother and sister and you want to play a game. You come up with freeze tag but your sister Amber might want to play hide and seek. To elect the game you want to play, you might hold a vote asking the rest what they would rather do and the majority wins.

It's kinda the same with our leaders. Two ta three, sometimes even more political figures talk about how they would help solve problems. We listen to what they have ta say about important issues and how they would deal with those issues: things liiiike how they would treat other magical creatures, or who wizards and witches can marry, or how magical laws might be handled, and then the whoooole country decides who they want to be in charge for a few years based on the ideas and concepts those political figures talked about.

Does that make sense?

[Sofia listens intently, nodding as her explanation makes sense] Yup! I like to learn new words for the things I already know. But.. [her eyes narrow] how did you know my sister's name? [her eyes widen] Can you read minds? Wait! [she glances down, having just realized what her new friend said] You have laws about who can get married? That's not very nice!

Well, if you can tell even half of what's going on in this old brain, that's impressive...

Well, it's a bit easier than that. You'd be surprised how it all seems.

[He can't imagine how muddled a very active mind that's been acquiring new knowledge and experience for so long must seem to a psychic, but he suspects it must come across as rather noisy. At best. Still, he's curious.]

Why don't you tell me, then?

(ooc: are we setting this in the 20s when the movie takes place, or in the modern era? James was alive and kicking in both times, just younger and more optimistic in the 20s)

[Minds, regardless of how smart, dumb, old, or young someone is, function all the same to her. The memories are layers to be peeled back and gazed upon at her leisure, whether he wants her to or not, she can navigate them. Though, depending on the memories she pulls upon, he can likely feel her in her mind. But how the day went is always at the surface and she needs to dive deeper if necessary.]

What do you wanna know, honey?

((ooc: We can have this set in the 1920s if you want or whatever, I can work with anything)

[He smiles faintly, studying her thoughtfully.]

Would you mind if we start simple? Just to be certain you're authentic before I go putting too much stock in anything else you say?

Can you tell me the name of the woman I most admire?

[And, since Helen is always at the forefront of his thoughts, it should, indeed, be an easy one.]

(ooc: the 20s work :) especially since, her being a wizard and therefore very long-lived, that won't preclude them hanging out in any other decades at some point if you ever want to do future threads)

Of course we can honey, although it's not very usual people tend to ask me stuff like that. But that Helen lady must be quite the gal to leave such an impression on you.

[He chuckles and nods.]

Fair enough. I'll take that to mean you are, in fact, the real thing. And you're right. Helen Magnus is like no other woman.

James Watson, by the way. It's a pleasure.

[He offers his hand to shake.]

Queen Goldstein, pleasure to meet you Dr. Watson.

[She shakes his hand and yes, she realizes belatedly he didn't mention the doctor part.]

Oh... sorry about that. I mean I can and I can't control it. I try not to pry too much.

[He chuckles and shakes his head.]

It's quite all right, lass. I have very little to hide.

[Blatant lies, that. He's trying very hard to hide a previous physical and romantic relationship that obviously caused a lot of people a lot of pain. But it really is the only memory he's making any kind of concerted effort to hide.]

So you're from England too, huh? Newt's from there, he's a writer and magizoologist. Where in England ya from?

Wales, originally, although I spent much of my childhood away at school, and most of my adult life was divided between London and Oxford. Wales is only for special occasions these days. I visit the estate on holidays and such...