aneth ara.

||  █ ▌— satan frowns at the thing, and her word choice, and indeed her ears once he finally takes in that little detail. she’s certainly not what he’s grown to expect from a witch ( who tend to be normal-looking human women, mostly, but he supposes there must always be exceptions to such general rules ), but he can’t fathom what else she might be, especially with such easy talk of magic.

❝ so your powers are limited here as well? ❞ he asks, because he can’t not wonder. it seems a strange precaution by the city. why summon a demon or call up a magic-user if not to make use of them, right? ❝ and you know what? i’ll take it. it might make a nice gift for someone… ❞

she seems not to know what to do with herself once the wand is taken from her; her hands waver in place for a moment, then settle for picking at the edge of the scarf hung around her neck. a little nervous, maybe--but that’s only to be expected, given the circumstances.

“it seems that way! i haven’t been able to do any of my usual things, but maybe i just need a better wand...” the thought of blood magic skips across her mind, sending ripples down into the depths, and she does her best to ignore it. it isn’t the time. “oh! how rude of me--i forgot to introduce myself!”

@redpariahs ❤︎’d !!

Not long after leaving her apartment, Yuffie decides she’s best off making the best of a crummy situation. No materia, no shuriken, but in such a crowded place, it should be easy to snatch a thing or two. The best bet would be to pick an easy mark, someone who looks like they have some cash to spare, but not so much speed or skill. And just her luck, it doesn’t take much searching to find the perfect target.

“Hey, you!” Pointing is rude, but then… so is shouting in public. “I challenge you to a duel! If I win, I get to take all your stuff!”

merrill stops, wide-eyed in confusion; she turns to see if the woman could possibly be pointing at anyone else, turns back, turns around again, and then finally points to her own chest. honestly, she’s more surprised by the fact that someone’s talking to her at all than by the threat of violence.

     “It’s… not that,” the girl sighed out, turning her head to face the worried stranger. So much effort for one simple motion… If Hikari didn’t recharge soon, how long would she be stuck this way? Forever, probably.

     “I need to see… Jellyfish. There’s not enough,” she explained, completely leaving out any important details. At least she’s trying.

she’s no less confused than she was thirty seconds ago, but she’s going to do her best to help either way. 80% compassion, 10% curiosity, 10% stubbornness.

“eh?” a blink of an eye at the rather strange greeting from the stranger. A Poor soul indeed, he was cured after all for looking like this and he was rather surprised the stranger did reply back to him and is willing to help his cause. Most of the folks he was were too busy trying to avoid him. 

“Wait– you’re really willing to help me out, hu?? Aren’t you like… Weird out by me? Most of these stupid magic users are busy trying to avoid me.” Well, that was also the reason where he bit someone’s head, but he wasn’t going to explain that. Although, he did appreciate the food, “I’m mean. It’s not Gyoza, but this would do it, thanks.” 

the only thing she seems to be actually weirded out by is that question; merrill looks him over again, then shrugs and beams just as brightly as before. “you seem fine to me!” she counts the points in his favor off on her fingers. “very good manners, not trying to attack anyone... oh, other things too, probably...”

Hand-sewn, as he’d expected. There was just enough of personal taste thrown in that it couldn’t have been machine-made. Still, it was certainly a bit more unique than most handmade clothing he’d ever seen. Definitely not Japanese clothing, that was for sure. He was about to remark on the quality of the fabric when Merrill showed him the hand-stitched seam, and his tailor’s heart wanted to scream.

That said, her reaction to his question about the ears gave him pause- and just in time, as he bit back a snarky comment about the threading. She seemed oddly fixated on those ears being real, even going so far as to worriedly check that they were still attached. “Real…? Wait, like. You’re an elf? The fuck’re you on about, elves don’t exist. They’re just in stories an’ books an’ stuff. Though, I guess plastic surgery could do some weird shit. Hell if I know.”

and as immune to most insults as she is, having heard more than her fair share over her years, the dismissive way he’s talking about her and her people is enough to get her riled up. maybe she’s just sensitive what with the whole world-hopping thing.

“of course i’m an elf! do you really think i would just--pretend to be something i’m not? i have not lived this life for nearly thirty summers for you to say my people don’t even exist!” small as she is, she’s still trying to present an imposing figure, with her hands clenched into fists at her sides and a Very Cross look on her face.

||  █ ▌— what a truly strange sight, satan reflects, as he watches the peculiar young woman attempt to–is she trying to cast a spell? with a toy? well, that’s something, isn’t it? he’s never seen such a thing, but he supposes that he doesn’t spend enough time with witches to know what can and can’t be a conduit for their natural magical talents.

she is a witch, right? or perhaps just delusional, if she thinks trying again will get her anywhere. he frowns, brows furrowed as he looks at the toy, then at her. it sort of looks like a gag gift he’d get for solomon, if he’s honest.

❝ i’m not sure it is supposed to work. isn’t that just a toy? ❞ he asks, tilting his head. ❝ just what are you trying to do with it? ❞

“a toy? is it?” the elf squints at the wand in her hands, as if she can puzzle out all its secrets just by looking hard enough. “i haven’t seen a toy like this before, but maybe... a dwarven craft?” the wand is lifted up to barely an inch from her face, her eyes almost crossing.

“well... i was hoping i could maybe do a little magic with it... you know. make a flower bloom, mend a wound...” her scrutiny continues in silence for a moment--and then she sighs, shrugs, offers the wand to the man. “well! i suppose i shall just have to look for something else. did you want this? the way it glitters is delightful.”

     “…Jellyfish… Not… Enough jellyfish…” Laying flat on the ground, the stage girl groans haggardly. Ma’am, you are right in the middle of the pathway. Someone please come move her.

aneth ara, fellow vraelgardians! so far as i can tell merrill’s blog is all set up and ready for action, so i may as well do a starter call; i’ll cap at 5, tentatively, but i’ll let you know if that changes. like this post for a sweet girl just a sweet baby girl just a darling little girl who never did blood magic in all her life

redpariahs liked your post:Starter call! Fuck me up fam.

Of all the things he’d expected to see, this wasn’t anywhere near the top of his list. The woman was slender and, admittedly, attractive. But what drew him to her were two things: Her unique style of dress and the ears that stuck out a good two-to-three inches from her head. In that order, incidentally. He hurried over to her with a pleasant gait in his step, greeting her with a customarily loud, gruff Tatsumi hello.

“Yo, sick outfit! You make it yourself or didja buy it? An’ where’d you get those ears?! They look so real. I bet all the other cosplayers at Akihabara are mad jealous.”

she really doesn’t know why people seem so fascinated with her ears. and the clothes--well, she just hasn’t had time to pick out a new outfit, that’s all! well... okay, maybe she just bought a little too much of everything else before she could get to the clothing section of the market. that’s beside the point--currently merrill has flushed red right to the tips of those long elven ears, and she doesn’t seem to know where to look.

@redpariahs

“ughhhh— Hungry. I think i’m gonna pass out.” with the right timing his stomach began to let out the biggest growl, Kaiman took the time to sit down on the ground, letting out a groan. His attention soon turns to a stranger, “Hey! Hey!! You don’t happen to have food on you, do you????” Even though he already ate.

it says a lot about the kind of life merrill leads that she barely even flinches at the sight of... whoever this guy is. surprise melts away quick into bright curiosity, and she doesn’t even try to tamp it down. “oh, you poor soul!” she’s quick to rush to his side, at least, already rummaging through her bag.

“i don’t suppose you ever learned how to crochet?”

being in an entirely different world doesn’t seem to have dampened her determination to make friends of everyone who’ll let her. the more people she meets, the better chance she might have of getting home... or at least of having a not-completely-terrible time here.

which is why she’d spotted the woman sitting alone outside the cafe and sat herself down in the chair opposite, chirping out a ‘do you mind?’ and not waiting for an answer. she hasn’t been chased away yet, though, so everything seems to be going well!

the market is a masterpiece. she doesn’t know what half of these things are and every other storefront takes her breath away and she’s been in the winding web of streets for all of twenty minutes and already spent most of the money they gave her. there’s a cloth bag (new) slung over her shoulder, filled with fresh pastry (new) and bright-coloured wool (new) and at least one novelty shirt (new, and ill-advised).

the plant shop is the one that stops her shopping spree in its tracks, if only because she only has two hands, but she wants one of everything.

it’s silly, really, seeing her peering through the window, bouncing from foot to foot as if the indecision is pulling her this way and that. “maybe if i just... do they have a tray? could i borrow a cart from someone? oh, dear...”

“and... now!” a pause. “what about... now!” silence. the kind of silence that comes from complete and utter bemusement.

“well, i suppose it just doesn’t work... maybe i should just give up--NOW!” the light-up wand is thrust forward in a desperate attempt to just sort of... surprise the magic into casting a spell. nothing. well, the head of the wand glitters, but that’s about it.

she had sworn off the whole... magical teleportation thing. well--more or less. if her eluvian decided to suddenly spirit her away to worlds unknown, then of course she wouldn’t say no, but as it stands it’s just a mirror. certainly not a portal. certainly not a portal to here.

wherever here is?

but perhaps it does work after all. and if there’s a mirror on the other side, there should be one here, too. that’s probably how it works. and that’s what has merrill hunting around on temple grounds, sticking her nose into sage business, so on and so forth.