To Mega Therion

“OTHERS TAKE THE PASSING OF A WORLD WITHOUT A BLINK OF AN EYE, BUT THOU OFFEREST CONDOLENCES… HOW ADMIRABLE.“ It was morbid how the deaths of many were such a little pebble on the side way now. To him the detachment was natural to reason: Yaga had little ability to feel sorrow for others to begin with. But once a human, he knew this wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Maybe the workings of this city had a similar effect on those that resided here for long? He didn’t know yet. Only one person unrelated to Chaldea in his time here had been shaken by the idea of an earth and human civilization lost. His initial reaction of the hatted stranger changed some, like his judgment was truly a balance tipping one way or the other through each chat.

A tired sigh led passage into the next topic. With a listener this polite, he didn’t mind continuing the chat. “WE BOTH HAVE NOT INTRODUCED TO ANOTHER PROPERLY YET, SO LET US CORRECT THIS. I AM THEIR KING, THE ONLY AND FINAL TZAR. MY SUBJECTS HAD TAKEN TO CALLING ME THUNDER EMPEROR IVAN. TO THAT I REPLY.” He could always pour pride over his title, elevating himself above all others no matter the reality surrounding himself. The crown wasn’t just for show. Sinister but dignified, dramatic in wording but at the same time sounding like he was just stating matters of fact. 

He tilted the wooden staff towards her. “NOW I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR A NAME IN RETURN.”

The sorcerer nodded toward the staff pointed towards her, the brim of her wide hat casting a shadow over her beaming eyes. Royalty. Always royalty. She had a fifty percent chance of making a favorable impression on royalty, but that was by and large because of her general distaste for them. If nothing else, the Thunder Emperor was someone she felt she enjoyed talking to, so she raised her head.

“My name is Aleister Crowley, and forgive me; my aim is not to be admired by the powerful, but to inspire the weak. However, my sentiments are sincere.”

There were those who may never muster up the courage to speak to the tzar as she had, and frankly she felt it was a waste. She was having an excellent time talking to him, and she had only just started.

*Note: Rapid fire “tourism” is bad for time management

@solomonsbane

“NO, NO, AND AGAIN, NO.” Three strikes to her guesses and a sigh to punctuate it. Drawing in a cold breath, he shook his head at the young woman. Come to think of it, this city had a suspiciously high number of them willing to approach him? 

Fingers closed around the wooden staff, he corrected this headed figure one by one. “I AM MAGICAL IN NATURE, BUT NOT A MAGE. THIS STAFF IS NOT USED FOR BLACK MAGIC.“ Or at least, he didn’t consider his power spells. “AND I AM CALLED A YAGA, AND FURTHERMORE I AM ONE OF A KIND… THOU COULDST SAY, BARRING I MYSELF, THAT WE ARE EXTINCT. MY WORLD CEASED EXISTING. THUS THERE IS NO WAY THOU WOULDST HAVE KNOWN OF US.“

“Three strikes then...I’m off my game it seems.”

Three fingers coiled down with each guess shot down. There was a tinge of disappointment in getting her guesses wrong, but it utterly paled in comparison to her building excitement. A pout lingered on her face for just a moment as she reflected on her question, but it was swept away but the grin forming on her lips in response to the man’s(yaga’s?) answers.

“Another world that ceased existing before I could see it for myself...you have my condolences. I’d love to hear about this world of yours someday if you have the time to kill.”

She gave a bow of her head to offer her respects to the stranger, but hiding her curiosity was never something she was good at, or fond of. Swinging her legs back and forth as she looked over him, her mind shifted once more to another line of questioning.

Aleister “Al” Crowley / Original Character

5′2″, 19 years old, and will eat your snacks if you aren’t paying attention

Not quite THAT Crowley. She claims she’s much cuter for starters.

She’s technically a clone based on her ‘father’ but details.

Her mother was an alchemist that taught her everything she knows and Al promptly threw it out to learn how to summon demons instead

A summoner with lots of little demon and god friends cause making normal friends is impossible for her

Spends most of her free time being a tourist when she’s supposed to be chasing down her piece of shit dad

Would kill to hear about whatever home world you came from, even if it’s 3AM and she broke in to ‘borrow’ some sugar

“Huh, am I that easy to read? Well… I have plenty of friends to buy things for. Not to mention all the clearance stock in the post-Valentine sales! Unless you mean specifically… as in a Valentine… Then no.”

“If we’re categorizing you on how easy you are to read, good doctor, rather than a tome, you’re a street sign made for the nearsighted.” she said with all sincerity.

She did enjoy the doctor’s puzzled expressions and comical reactions, but not nearly as much as she enjoyed thinking about how much wearing his heart on his sleeve must have gotten him into trouble.

“Something told me you weren’t the type to spend Valentine’s feeling lonesome, but that must mean the title of Chaldea’s Most Eligible Bachelor belongs to someone else. Fascinating.”

Francesca burst out laughing at her quip. Al had a nice, dry sense of humor that she really enjoyed. 

“You know me, Al! I just love learning, so there’s no way I’d get classes cancelled or anything! But since we’re going for coffee anyway, why don’t we start by grabbing some cake pops while we’re there?” 

“It’s times like this that I appreciate your sweet tooth the most. A little sugar might be the magic spell I need to not leave classes earlier than usual.”

     Anastasia blinks at the girl, clearly non-plussed – even more so now that she’s laid out her plan. 

     “You talk too much… Whatever happened to saying things simply?” The princess grunts, going over the strange girl’s words in her head. The way she was dressed, one might have likened her to a witch in a fairy tale. But witches were never so cute, only evil… 

     “Target… practice… Are you saying you… want me to act as bait so you can get closer to that monster?”

     – Evil! Yes, evil! She was definitely evil, never mind her cute button nose and pretty blue eyes. She hated guns, oh yes, how she despised them. Sure, she was able to break through the walls of fear and take a bullet meant for her sullen Master, but that was different… This is a complete stranger, a freak at that.

     “I refuse. This is not my quarrel to meddle in… For even suggesting such a thing, I might finish you off mys——” Another gunshot cuts off her royal tirade, Anastasia’s body moves before her mind can register. Fingers find themselves once again clinging to the stranger as if for dear life, but only for a moment before they slack and return quickly. A beat of silence passes before the princess deigns to speak once again, a low, muttered sort of statement.

     “…I don’t like guns.” 

“No...No I’m sure you of all people wouldn’t. I apologize...”

A hand moved to comfort the princess, placing a hand over the one that clung to her as another shot rang out. Al knew the scare tactic. Nandaleh would fire off several blank shots that signaled a false distance to guide her target before picking them off when they least expected it. Al herself was a fan of it, she had fallen for it once, but had since turned it into a game.

One most civilians wouldn’t dare get caught in the middle of. 

“You won’t have to worry about Nonnie. She likes pretty girls like you and nobles tend to like her as well despite her being their antithesis. Basically, don’t get hit by a stray bullet or we’ll both feel terrible.”

Despite the offer, placed upon a silver platter, she was quick to turn it down. Arrogant, some would claim. Self sufficient, was what came to Qin’s mind. Humans weren’t entirely hopeless here, it seemed. “Hmm, smart. We’ll give you that, at least. However, appearances are deceiving. You should not judge Us, or that girl, on looks alone.” 

Never mind the mention of her language; they had no clue what it even meant. Besides, the current situation was far more interesting (for the time being). Debts were another thing, however. “A gift? Mm, are you often so kind to strangers who give you refuge in their hair? But, very well, you may call Us Qin Shi Huang.” Giving out their class name seemed trite and bothersome. Better to let the young girl know who she was dealing with, and what was expected of her.

Gifts, though. A thought came to mind, followed by a slow-crawling smile across Qin’s face. “If you are to give us something in payment for Our assistance, then allow us to observe your confrontation of this girl. We will not intervene, that We will swear.”

“Qin...? Qin....Qin- ah. I’m always drawn to nobles when it comes to that girl. It’s like you’re all fatally attracted to your own anathema.”

Al sighed, her surprise mixing with her exasperation. She’d love to pick the stranger’s brain, poking and prodding about the world they came from. She had heard the name, but the figure before her couldn’t have been more different than the image she had learned about. However, her tourism would have to wait.

Her benefactor had a proposal in regards to her offer, so she had no reason to turn them down. Her own apprehensions aside, she knew how clumsy she could be without proper company. There were certainly worse ways to travel in desperate situations.

“Eh? Aleister? Don’t tell me you don’t have a calendar! But, hm. From the looks of things, you’ve got at least 7 days before the Valentine’s day rush.”

“Oh, Dr. Archaman...Al works just fine, you know.”

Francesca’s eyes lit up as she accepted the book, and turned it over in her hands. Everyone at the school amused her to some extent, but her friendship with Al was a collaborative sort of fun. 

She shoved the book back in her bag, and nodded. 

“That sounds absolutely divine! Wow, it must be some kind of banner day if I get to run into you this early! We’ve got to celebrate! So what did you think? Discover any hidden truths of the universe? Learn any forbidden spells?” 

“Yes I learned the forbidden art of losing a full night’s sleep. Absolutely demonic, I think I’ll grow horns any second now.”

She slung her bag over her shoulder, half wondering if going to school that day would even be worth it, but she figured if Francesca could stand being there then Al could manage a few yawns in between classes. 

Francesca Prelati left for school early, skirt rolled short, and mischief on her lips. She’d walked the same path every day for the past three years, but it never hurt to be cautious. Now, a full hour before classes began, there usually weren’t other students on the road.

The other teens at the high school had a tendency to pick on her- even going so far as to wake up early to catch her alone. Apparently she was “unsettling.” There was nothing she could do to fix it, so she’d leaned in, draping herself in skulls and devouring books on the occult. 

When she arrived at the intersection across from the school, Francesca found herself next to someone she recognized, waiting for the light. 

“Oh, wow! Look who the early-bird dragged in! What are you doing here so early?” 

“Sometimes you have early mornings after all-nighters...” the girl yawned, reaching into her bag.

Despite the many rumors surrounding the girl and persisting advice from her friends not to get close, Al never held any doubts that the two were in a similar boat. They simply had different fashion choices. Their hobbies, on the other hand, weren’t all that different. 

She’d spent a long time herself reading books on figures like Alessandro Cagliostro and Aleister Crowley, but on the surface Al Mathers was more than capable of passing as a normal student. At least until she started talking.

“I was up all night reading this one you let me borrow. You can have it back, but I’m holding on to the other two.”

“If Our hair was capable of such a feat, it would have been sealed along the rest of Our abilities. For the time being, you’ll make do with your legs like the rest.” Despite the audacity of it, the quip regarding their hair earns the slightest hint of a smile. Not enough to elevate her from subject to human in Qin’s eyes (as of yet), but it sparked idle curiosity in their chest. With their interest provoked, it was going to be a very long day.

“An acceptable answer.” Thoughtfully, their fingers curl around their. “Aah, presents. Indeed, it seems that the entire populace was coerced with such gifts. Though many were given something heartwarming, a number have received the exact opposite. You,” they add, a glance down at Al’s form, “seem to be one of them.”

A similar present had sat upon their table the day before, foreboding in its very existence. Though they remained curious regarding its contents, they had ultimately set it outside. Return to send seemed to be, in this case, the best path. Unfortunately, greed lay within the hearts of Pan-human history, dooming them to suffer via the hands of their own twisted wish. What an ironic turn of events. 

“From what We gather, this is no mere accident. The arrogance of the rulers here is plain to Us, though their intent remains shrouded.” Despite such a declaration, Qin remained curious. Why preceded their every thought; a lingering query in the back of their mind. As with the young girl at their feet, their interest blossomed. Speaking of which–

“And you? Given you’re currently stalked by one you care for, what shall you do? Continue to run? Raise your arms to defend yourself? Or, will you plead for Our help?”

“Well then, you’ve already told me that you can’t fly like a kite, so I’m not entirely certain how much help you’d be if I asked you for it. I’m already in your debt as is and I’m not exactly fond of that fact.”

She sighed, cracking a smile with whatever bravado she could muster in the face of the stranger. Their almost unintentional condescension was a relief to her more than she’d like to admit. In times when Al herself barely knew what to do, the last thing she wanted was to run into someone as panicked as her.

Having someone talk as if they had themselves sorted out made her want to at least pretend to do the same. ‘A sorcerer is nothing if not arrogant’, was what she so often heard from her mother. Though recounting her advice did nothing but make her shoulders slump in this situation.

“I suppose I have no choice but to deal with the matter of my dearest myself. First I need to track her, redirect her, then confront her without getting shot. All much harder than I’m making it sound and, pardon my language, fucking sucks if we’re being frank.”

     Anastasia raises her brows in a dangerous gesture of ‘what is that supposed to mean?’  But the girl rapid-fire continues her prattle before she could even think about getting a word in.

     Upon the strange girl pointing out her vice grip, the princess looks down and swiftly releases. She could hardly keep the sourness out of her face, being dragged along into gunfire by a stranger was NOT how she wanted to go about her day.

     “No.” Anastasia peeks over her shoulder briefly, hugging the doll once called Viy closer to her chest. “…You can do it after you explain to me how you plan to remedy this situation, and quickly.”

“Well then...yes, I am terribly sorry to drag you into my lover’s quarrel.”

She shook off any embarrassment at her own words with a dismissive wave of the hand as she spoke. The truth of the matter was that she didn’t like pulling people into her personal matters because she’d much rather stick her nose into someone else’s affairs. And a Russian princess of all things! The potential was nigh limitless for entertainment, but it meant nothing if the girl wound up dead.

Again.

“Personally, and I mean this with all sincerity and honesty, I would love nothing more than to completely ignore the situation until this curse runs its course and those guiding the city tire of this mischief.”

     The power of a simple touch was not to be underestimated. It can transport another person into a dream by the warmth alone, or drag them into a nightmare. Anastasia would soon notice that this case was the latter. When a strange girl with a large hat and a thick curtain of raven hair runs and quickly grabs her hand, the Princess’ world instantly transforms.

     Gunshots, bullets and angry shouting that could only rival to the sound of her rapidly increasing heartrate. It seemed like it would never end, until it did, and the strange girl is apologizing into Anastasia’s ringing ears.

      “What…” She can sputter out finally between shaking breaths, unaware of just how hard she’s squeezing the other girl’s hand. She refuses to let go.

     “What’s going on…!? I demand an answer IMMEDIATELY, as Princess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov!”

“Oh a full name...it’s usually never that easy. Of course you’re a Russian noble...Why wouldn’t you be?”

“Well, I was being shot at by the girl I adore because she thinks I’m a mage that abducted her. I panicked, and...well I suppose it looks like I abducted you soon after.”

She had been in worse situations, technically speaking. Her life had been on the line before and her very existence had been threatened in the past. However, at the moment, it was very hard for her to think of a situation of explaining to the girl she loved why she ran away from her and immediately grabbed another girl’s hand. There were bigger issues, but priorities are a funny thing for a girl who can seemingly go anywhere.

What a curious and chaotic place this was, so removed from Pan-human history. Rife with spectacles for every sense; the chilling grasp of winter, the sound of footfalls and gunfire in the distance. Well, the latter was likely rare, but interesting all the same. They could do little but watch as the girl, clad in such an enormous hat, fled down the street as if her life depended on it.

She paused, anxiety clear, then did the unexpected: she hid behind Qin. Or, to be more exact, hid within their hair. The source of the gunfire appeared soon after, her face flushed with rage. Generously, they pointed her in another direction.

After a long moment, silence returned. “She seems to have gone. Hm, not very observant, but being in Our presence is certainly blinding. Now,” they turned and removed their newly acquired subject, “you will repay Our kindness by explaining yourself.”

@solomonsbane

Al gasped for air as if she had come above water after nearly drowning, almost immediately collapsing to her knees as the stranger eyed her with a very familiar curiosity. Not the same curiosity as one who had nearly been caught in a crossfire, but a strange downward search for entertainment from above that almost reminded her of someone she’d rather not think about. 

Still present company was better than her waking nightmare, and she did owe them for the cover. Al didn’t think much about whether or not she could trust them, she simply took in the scent of magic and went with her gut instinct.

“That girl is much more shrewd than she looks, but anger always gets the better of her in the end.” she sighed, not bothering to stand to her feet as she spoke offhandedly about the other girl.

“I must say, your hair is terribly convenient though. No chance you can use it to fly like some sort of kite is there? I’d appreciate a way out of here as quickly as possible.”

She realized she was dodging the question, and she’d have done much more than that if she had the means, but she was far too tired. Instead, she simply adjusted her hat so it didn’t cover her face.