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A Dead Man's Intuition



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Sun May 31, 2020 1:54 pm
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Mageheart says...



Asmira looked unconvinced.

I finally was able to take control of Nathaniel's mouth.

"He's a friend," I helpfully said. I went over to James and slung my arm over his shoulder to emphasize my point, but my movements were sluggish. I was, after all, fighting against Nathaniel for control.

Asmira looked at my body.

She looked at where I was.

Then she let out a sigh and lowered her knife.

"Skull?" she asked.

I grinned. Nathaniel, realizing there wasn't a threat, made his shadows go away - my grin was actually visible. "In Natty boy's flesh."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Sun May 31, 2020 1:57 pm
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soundofmind says...



James stiffened the moment "Natty boy's" arm went around his shoulders, and he leaned away. Friends, yes, but he didn't trust whoever Skull was possessing, even if Skull was mostly in control. He side-stepped out of Skull's grasp.

"These are your friends?" James asked Skull, looking over at the girl with the knife.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Sun May 31, 2020 2:05 pm
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Mageheart says...



I froze.

Nathaniel took the opportunity to go over to my body - and, with a look of disgust on his face - lift up my arm. I must have smelled terrible to him. It had been at least a week since I had last taken any kind of bath. For someone like him, it would have been horrible.

I switched back and sat up.

"Yes they're my..." I faltered. "...friends."

Asmira and Nathaniel did that thing where they exchanged a look as if I wasn't paying attention - I was, but I just decided to ignore it.

I got to my feet.

"They're safe," I said. "Asmira is the one with the knife, and Natty boy is the one I possessed-"

"It's Nathaniel," Nathaniel corrected, wincing a little as he felt the effect of James's kick.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Sun May 31, 2020 2:10 pm
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soundofmind says...



James nodded and hummed as names were exchanged. He turned to Nathaniel.

"James," he said. "And sorry, Nathaniel. For kicking you. I'm still getting a grasp on Skull's abilities. I don't always know when he's possessing someone."
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Sun May 31, 2020 2:15 pm
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Mageheart says...



"It's alright," Nathaniel said, suddenly much more cordial than when he had been talking with me earlier. "We don't always know, either."

Part of me was a little surprised that James was so open with his name, but maybe it was because he expected that we'd be gone in the relatively near future - after all, we weren't even from his world.

"It's nice to meet you," Asmira said.

She glanced over at me.

"...Is there where you've been for the past week?" she asked.

I faltered.

"It's, er, a little complicated," I said.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Sun May 31, 2020 2:18 pm
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soundofmind says...



In that moment, it dawned on James that Skull might be prodded to explain what had happened in the past week. James had only just started coming to terms with it all himself, but he was not ready to divulge the details of his life's drama with two strangers, even if they were Skull's friends from another world.

His eyes flicked to Skull.

"You two just got here?" he asked, half-faking disbelief.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Sun May 31, 2020 2:21 pm
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Mageheart says...



Nathaniel nodded.

"It's hard finding ways to other worlds," he said. "We weren't even sure Skull had left ours."

Asmira leaned down and picked up the firewood. It was wet, unsurprisingly, but she still brought it over to the fireplace anyways. "We found the cabin right after we got here. The storm was starting up, so we thought it would be best to stay here until it was over."

She placed the wood in the fireplace.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Sun May 31, 2020 2:27 pm
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soundofmind says...



James watched as Asmira went to the fireplace. He tried not to relive what happened in front of it a week ago, but it felt like the memory was lingering in the back of his mind - distant and inaccessible, hovering over him like a heavy shadow.

The burn on his lower back had been one of many pains that came and went, but he felt like it was crawling and stretching up his back, like a fiery spider.

He took a small step back, away from everyone. He didn't need to draw attention to it. He wasn't going to say anything about it. It was fine.

"That's wise," he said. "So - how did you get to this world, exactly?"
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Tue Jun 02, 2020 11:17 am
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Mageheart says...



"We found an old artifact," Asmira said. She stared at the wood in the fire, almost like she hoped she could will it to dry off and burn when she took out the lighter a few seconds later. Only the side that had been up against her was dry - it would be a miracle if she could get even a little flame going.

"Let me guess," I said, watching as she tried - and failed - to get the fire going. "It's one of those one time deals. You were able to come here and can bring us back, but that's it."

There was a moment of silence.

"...Actually," Nathaniel said, "we think it can do multiple trips."

"Oh."

I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"...So," I finally started, "how soon can we go back, then?"

"We can go back in a little bit," Asmira said. "It just needs to charge."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:25 pm
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soundofmind says...



An artifact. James wasn't even entirely sure what that meant for them, from their world, but he understood that it had to be some old, ancient object with magical capabilities. That was the only thing that made sense, anyway - how could something non-magical bring them to his world? There were no other means that he knew of.

He drifted to a crate sitting against the wall and sat down.

That meant Skull would be leaving soon, however soon "a little bit" was. He didn't know what it meant for an artifact to charge, but he didn't feel like asking questions anymore.

Skull would be leaving and now regretfully, he'd gotten attached. That was his mistake. Mentioning that to the others would only ever be unhelpful and hurt Skull more. He decided to keep that quiet.

Even friends from other worlds didn't last forever. No friends would last forever for him. He had to remember that. Everything and everyone was temporary, and very few were to be fully trusted.

He looked down at the floor and held his hands in his lap.

"How long do you think it will be? If you had to estimate," he asked.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Mon Jun 08, 2020 11:24 am
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Mageheart says...



Asmira thought for a moment.

"Maybe half an hour," she guessed. From the look on Nathaniel's face, it seemed like he agreed with her assessment.

I glanced over at James.

"It looks like you're not getting rid of me that quickly," I said, smirking. "You'll have to wait a bit before then."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Mon Jun 08, 2020 12:41 pm
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soundofmind says...



James looked at Skull, masking his sadness with an eye roll.

"It's been a week. I can wait another 30 minutes," he said dryly, though he didn't really mean it. But if he could play along with the quips, no one would be able to tell, and it would be fine.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Mon Jun 08, 2020 12:43 pm
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Mageheart says...



For some reason, hearing him imply that he really did want to get rid of me gave me a feeling in my chest that I couldn't quite describe.

I pushed the feeling away.

"So," I said, crossing my arms, "what are you planning on doing once I'm gone?"
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Mon Jun 08, 2020 12:46 pm
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soundofmind says...



James stared blankly at Skull for a solid second. He blinked.

"Get as far away from here as possible." His answer came out far more grim than he'd anticipated.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Mon Jun 08, 2020 12:55 pm
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Mageheart says...



Well, that was a way to dampen the conversation.

We stood around in silence for a bit. We tried talking, but we never far with our newest topics - the rain, the darkness, and the limited time I had left with James just made everything seem depressing.

At least, thankfully, the artifact had recharged.

I knew it even before anyone verabally confirmed it - Nathaniel and her had just been sharing looks again.

"It looks like it's time for us to go," I guessed. I turned to James. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to say after everything we had been through together. Did a simple "bye" really cover it?

I thought for a moment.

"I better not see you on my world someday," I said. "And if I do, it better not be because you opened your injuries again."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.








Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face.
— Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief