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That would be a rather elegant way of asking it - was he, like, normal? - but what would even count? It's not like Hermione ever got the baseline of Stephen Strange, and from the way that he acted - acts - outside and removed from his original world, she has a suspicion he's got a bit of a complex. (It's Sorceror, actually.)
Still, see her eyebrows climb up her forehead nevertheless.
"No, I didn't see him - you - there was no destroying the world," here she does a little air-quote to add, "or anything." And sets her hands down - wasn't she here to get orientated?
"If anything, I saw him try to salvage or save it more often than not, and you..." She bites the inside of her cheek. Not you, Hermione, the two men are not the same. Clearly, otherwise it would be a cruel realisation that she's forgettable. "He was helpful, also - fundamental, really - in me training to not rely on my wand for some of the more offensive and defensive spells so much."
So there you have it, to top it all off: a mage.
Still, see her eyebrows climb up her forehead nevertheless.
"No, I didn't see him - you - there was no destroying the world," here she does a little air-quote to add, "or anything." And sets her hands down - wasn't she here to get orientated?
"If anything, I saw him try to salvage or save it more often than not, and you..." She bites the inside of her cheek. Not you, Hermione, the two men are not the same. Clearly, otherwise it would be a cruel realisation that she's forgettable. "He was helpful, also - fundamental, really - in me training to not rely on my wand for some of the more offensive and defensive spells so much."
So there you have it, to top it all off: a mage.
[ How do people of her world greet each other? She'd done the clasped hands and bow thing so often in the past that she might be adept at it, so perhaps with the proper instruction...
Not that it matters. Hermione notices books being shifted to another hand, the wrong hand for a handshake, and rather than point out the misstep she switches her own hand quickly. Shakes Ness' hand twice and lets it go, so she can go back to carrying the books. ]
Is that what you'd like to be called, or what I'm fine to call you if I find the full name a mouthful? Because I will, but also - [ She lets out a little self-deprecating huff of laughter. ] I'm one to talk about long names.
Not that it matters. Hermione notices books being shifted to another hand, the wrong hand for a handshake, and rather than point out the misstep she switches her own hand quickly. Shakes Ness' hand twice and lets it go, so she can go back to carrying the books. ]
Is that what you'd like to be called, or what I'm fine to call you if I find the full name a mouthful? Because I will, but also - [ She lets out a little self-deprecating huff of laughter. ] I'm one to talk about long names.
[from here.]
Horses are unsettling and harpies are dinner - we come from very different worlds, you and I. Do I dare ask why they horses unsettle you? They're so pretty. [ she hasn't seen the bog unicorn yet. and taking note of the halla being sacred. taking note of all bestiary being classified into 'food' and 'not food' over here.
notes - they are being taken. ]
Are they out and about that it would be easy to meet them, or are they in the wild?
Horses are unsettling and harpies are dinner - we come from very different worlds, you and I. Do I dare ask why they horses unsettle you? They're so pretty. [ she hasn't seen the bog unicorn yet. and taking note of the halla being sacred. taking note of all bestiary being classified into 'food' and 'not food' over here.
notes - they are being taken. ]
Are they out and about that it would be easy to meet them, or are they in the wild?
Have you centaurs in your world? If so, horses look like malformed versions of them. Where you expect to see a torso, there is only a head.
The dragons live out in the wild. Wise of them, as there are fools who would hunt them for mere sport.
As I understand it, they were nearly extinct before the turning of this century.
The dragons live out in the wild. Wise of them, as there are fools who would hunt them for mere sport.
As I understand it, they were nearly extinct before the turning of this century.
I've been here only a few month so I am unsure of the specifics. Someone in Orlais studies them - perhaps they may also be responsible for their rise in numbers.
I am Vlast. What are you called?
I am Vlast. What are you called?
Why? Because you drew a line in the sand? That you will not be cowed into subservience? Let them ruffle and squawk. It is only noise.
Whether or not I am is irrelevant. Be it Tevinter mages or southern Templars, I have no intention of being bridled and collared like some pet.
And from your own words, neither do you.
If people find that unreasonable, that is their own failing.
And from your own words, neither do you.
If people find that unreasonable, that is their own failing.
Categorically and emphatically no, I am not going to tolerate either of those.
[ Once upon a time in Akhuras, a friend of hers used a similar language, his booming voice declared he would not be caged. It's funny that she's thinking about it right now, since Wrathion's reaction had been motivated by her mentioning the dragons in her world being kept on a reservation.
Very funny. Moving on. ]
Thank you for all your replies, Vlast.
[ Once upon a time in Akhuras, a friend of hers used a similar language, his booming voice declared he would not be caged. It's funny that she's thinking about it right now, since Wrathion's reaction had been motivated by her mentioning the dragons in her world being kept on a reservation.
Very funny. Moving on. ]
Thank you for all your replies, Vlast.
Something unclenches in his ribcage; some loosening in his jaw, a relief. Salvaging, saving. Helpful, fundamental. It’s good to hear, a validation that their first impression isn’t already hopelessly polluted.
“One of the better ones, then,” Strange says, a proclamation like he’s vetting different car models. This one guzzles too much gasoline; this other one has a tendency to murder its alternate selves.
He exhales and shuffles the papers on the table, a reflexive tic, keeping busy. “So you’re a magic user too. Good. I won’t know what your syllabus was like,” dry humour, “but if you catch me up, we can get on the same page.”
He doesn’t want to automatic assume that she’d want to resume any sort of magic training right off the bat, but he dangles the implicit suggestion there regardless. (Fundamental. That’s one way to stroke a sorcerer’s ego.)
“How long did you know him?”
“One of the better ones, then,” Strange says, a proclamation like he’s vetting different car models. This one guzzles too much gasoline; this other one has a tendency to murder its alternate selves.
He exhales and shuffles the papers on the table, a reflexive tic, keeping busy. “So you’re a magic user too. Good. I won’t know what your syllabus was like,” dry humour, “but if you catch me up, we can get on the same page.”
He doesn’t want to automatic assume that she’d want to resume any sort of magic training right off the bat, but he dangles the implicit suggestion there regardless. (Fundamental. That’s one way to stroke a sorcerer’s ego.)
“How long did you know him?”
Good. We are well met then, Hermione.
A strange thing to thank someone for though.
A strange thing to thank someone for though.
[ ah-she got it wrong. she'll have to make a note of that (and dwell on it endlessly as a source of embarrassment and anxiety for many a sleepless night to come, but that'll be later.) rather than go back to carrying the books, ness holds them out to hermione—she said she'd bring her notes and references, didn't she? ]
Whichever you like, I'll answer to. [ easily deflecting the probe for preference, but, you know, ] Hermione isn't that long, really.
[ only one more syllable than ennaris! ]
Anyway, I brought my notes, like I said. Paper is a bit of a difficult resource to acquire at the moment, but at least you can read them, and the references, and we can see if we can scrounge you up something suitable for writing your own notes on.
[ If it helps, although it does bother her when her name gets abbreviated unnecessarily, outside of people familiar with the Greek myths or Shakespeare's works are unlikely to know how to say it flatout, and she doesn't hold that against them.
She's already moved on. Notices the pile of books being held out to her and picks them up almost reverentially. ] Are these all for me?! [ That's so much reading she can get done. The way history and politics intertwine, the flora and fauna, the languages - anything and everything.
She's getting teared up here. ] Ennaris, this is incredible, and you've already given me so much! Thank you - I can write on parchment as well, if there's that.
She's already moved on. Notices the pile of books being held out to her and picks them up almost reverentially. ] Are these all for me?! [ That's so much reading she can get done. The way history and politics intertwine, the flora and fauna, the languages - anything and everything.
She's getting teared up here. ] Ennaris, this is incredible, and you've already given me so much! Thank you - I can write on parchment as well, if there's that.
Must be a bit wild, to have so much experience in the multiverse and travelling through it that you think of alternative versions of yourself as good ones and murderous ones.
It would give her a severe headache to think of herself in those terms. (On the other hand, which one is the murderous Hermione Granger? None.)
"A year," she answers. "We were travelling together, plus a lot more people. Many times, but not always, the travelling group was split into factions - had to do with cover stories, presumably, but who knows? I guess what is important is we didn't always coincide in the same place.
"It was nice to, though." She makes this little gesture, drawing a circle with her hand. "He showed me the portals thing you can do. I showed," off, "how it compares to Apparition."
She has a very extensive syllabus, Stephen. "I can write it down if you want to, but Ennaris mentioned paper is hard to come by. Some of my magic is...limited. Currently."
It would give her a severe headache to think of herself in those terms. (On the other hand, which one is the murderous Hermione Granger? None.)
"A year," she answers. "We were travelling together, plus a lot more people. Many times, but not always, the travelling group was split into factions - had to do with cover stories, presumably, but who knows? I guess what is important is we didn't always coincide in the same place.
"It was nice to, though." She makes this little gesture, drawing a circle with her hand. "He showed me the portals thing you can do. I showed," off, "how it compares to Apparition."
She has a very extensive syllabus, Stephen. "I can write it down if you want to, but Ennaris mentioned paper is hard to come by. Some of my magic is...limited. Currently."
[ oh—oh, goodness, that's not at all the reaction she was expecting. ness blinks, and shifts a little, unsure. ]
I haven't done that much, really. [ just gotten hermione upbraided in public and made her feel badly about herself, if we're honest. ] And I said I would bring them. The only reason I know as much as I do is I read all throughout quarantine, so...
[ helping!! not quite used to it being acknowledged with this level of gratitude, though. the sentiment opens her up a little, has her smiling shyly, eager, a puppy that performed its first trick and got praise for it. ]
I think we're low on just about all writing surfaces, to be honest, but we'll do our best. I'm sure someone here has a stash they're hoarding.
[ new mission: get hermione paper, for more effusive gratitude. ]
“It will be for a while; possibly forever. I don’t know what sort of spells you’re accustomed to, but if your world was anything like mine, there’s an irritating capability gap here. Magic is harder to execute, and it drains you faster.”
Is there a faint pang of jealousy over this other Stephen Strange she knew, who presumably wasn’t limited in the same way? Maybe. Besides the Sling Ring, Strange finds that he misses the telekinesis most: fine control, handwriting, being able to tie his own tie.
But he’s gotten in the habit of stubbornly reminding himself not to think about it, not to disappear down that spiral of imagining these other worlds. He is what he is and it is what it is. Looking too far afield in envy leads to—
(to living alone in an empty universe, a sallow haggard face and unshaven beard and unkempt hair, searching for a version of himself who might be happy, and who has Christine)
So. Don’t look too far.
“You don’t have to literally write it down; I’ll remember. What’s Apparition? Can you still do it here?” he asks, genuine interest piquing his voice. This wasn’t actually the point of the intake visit, the Head Healer does have other topics he needs to go over with her, but— first, magic. The man’s got priorities.
Is there a faint pang of jealousy over this other Stephen Strange she knew, who presumably wasn’t limited in the same way? Maybe. Besides the Sling Ring, Strange finds that he misses the telekinesis most: fine control, handwriting, being able to tie his own tie.
But he’s gotten in the habit of stubbornly reminding himself not to think about it, not to disappear down that spiral of imagining these other worlds. He is what he is and it is what it is. Looking too far afield in envy leads to—
(to living alone in an empty universe, a sallow haggard face and unshaven beard and unkempt hair, searching for a version of himself who might be happy, and who has Christine)
So. Don’t look too far.
“You don’t have to literally write it down; I’ll remember. What’s Apparition? Can you still do it here?” he asks, genuine interest piquing his voice. This wasn’t actually the point of the intake visit, the Head Healer does have other topics he needs to go over with her, but— first, magic. The man’s got priorities.
On one hand, yes - magic is harder to execute and drains her faster. Not everything does, but she hasn't set to experimenting with spells and endurance, or effectiveness of each spell - but this is early days, so give her time.
What she does know is that Apparition is limited, likely because she doesn't know this world. Doesn't know where to Apparate, so of course she's limited to line of sights.
On the other hand, it's also just easier to show him than tell him. So she takes a hold of her wand, and as easily as breathing - practice makes perfect, after all - she Apparates. To Stephen, it will look like a folding into nothingness, of sorts, and then a reappearance on the other side of the room in one piece.
"That is." She walks back to her seat. "But it's severely limited at the moment. I was able to do that from London to the Forest of Dean once, with people tagging along for the ride. I suspect a lot of it has to do with my newness here."
What she does know is that Apparition is limited, likely because she doesn't know this world. Doesn't know where to Apparate, so of course she's limited to line of sights.
On the other hand, it's also just easier to show him than tell him. So she takes a hold of her wand, and as easily as breathing - practice makes perfect, after all - she Apparates. To Stephen, it will look like a folding into nothingness, of sorts, and then a reappearance on the other side of the room in one piece.
"That is." She walks back to her seat. "But it's severely limited at the moment. I was able to do that from London to the Forest of Dean once, with people tagging along for the ride. I suspect a lot of it has to do with my newness here."
[ Give her time to develop some self-awareness about her own need for validation, and she would think the light that shines in Ennaris' eyes is a particularly familiar one. ]
Reading is all I've got going for me, currently, so... [ She's still quarantined to the Gallows, reading up on history where she can, and trying to understand a whole world's worth of political and socio-economical turmoils just to get her feet on solid ground.
The notes are... ] These will be such a huge head-start, because you're written by a fellow Rifter. I imagine the focus of your notes will differ from mine, but maybe with time we could compare and complete each other's notes?
[ It's a normal thing for intelligent wizards to do, thanks. She used to do it all the time, with Wrathion, and his contributions to her notes were always helpful because they offered additional perspectives to the people - usually politicians, they all played to their strengths there. ]
If you'd like, that is. And given the availability of paper.
Reading is all I've got going for me, currently, so... [ She's still quarantined to the Gallows, reading up on history where she can, and trying to understand a whole world's worth of political and socio-economical turmoils just to get her feet on solid ground.
The notes are... ] These will be such a huge head-start, because you're written by a fellow Rifter. I imagine the focus of your notes will differ from mine, but maybe with time we could compare and complete each other's notes?
[ It's a normal thing for intelligent wizards to do, thanks. She used to do it all the time, with Wrathion, and his contributions to her notes were always helpful because they offered additional perspectives to the people - usually politicians, they all played to their strengths there. ]
If you'd like, that is. And given the availability of paper.
Strange doesn’t make a noise, or jolt, or yelp, but he immediately straightens up in his seat and leans forward in fascination. Locked in. “Oh, that’s— I’m jealous, I used to be able to— but of course you knew that already. I don’t have a Sling Ring here, so no portals for me.”
London to the Forest of Dean. Rueful: He used to be able to take people off-planet.
“What you just did looks similar to the way local mages step through the Fade for short distances, which might be exactly what you’re doing— fascinating, I’d like to watch you practice that sometime, if you don’t mind.” Later, he will run Hermione through Apparition drills, watching her technique over and over, trying to piece it together. That hook lodging on the Fade. The way reality folds around her.
How to reproduce it himself, someday.
“That said, sorry to break it to you, but I don’t know of any mage here at all who can do anything cross-continental. It’s like… our will directly warps reality using the Fade. But that means needing to be physically present to do it. Your weight and exertion on the Fade, pulling on it, to make your intentions real. The further away you are, the harder or near-impossible it is. Regretfully.”
It’s not to get her to stop trying or to quash her hopes; it’s to realistically temper expectations.
London to the Forest of Dean. Rueful: He used to be able to take people off-planet.
“What you just did looks similar to the way local mages step through the Fade for short distances, which might be exactly what you’re doing— fascinating, I’d like to watch you practice that sometime, if you don’t mind.” Later, he will run Hermione through Apparition drills, watching her technique over and over, trying to piece it together. That hook lodging on the Fade. The way reality folds around her.
How to reproduce it himself, someday.
“That said, sorry to break it to you, but I don’t know of any mage here at all who can do anything cross-continental. It’s like… our will directly warps reality using the Fade. But that means needing to be physically present to do it. Your weight and exertion on the Fade, pulling on it, to make your intentions real. The further away you are, the harder or near-impossible it is. Regretfully.”
It’s not to get her to stop trying or to quash her hopes; it’s to realistically temper expectations.
Of course he doesn't jolt or yelp, she's seen the portals - if anything, he's probably interested in figuring out how her Apparition works and how it differs from whatever it is that he can do, because he's a curious man.
She will be able to appreciate being correct in guessing his reaction, when he leans forward.
"I have been locked in short-distance Apparition for some years now, Dr Stranger, I've grown more than used to it," she admits, with a small shrug. "One learns to deal with one's circumstances, even when they're dire. Especially if one is really stubborn about being skilled at magic." Here, a tiny smile, self-deprecating. She's giving him a truth, one she won't likely give anyone else.
"That said, you are more than welcome to observe." And study her, and train her, mentor her, whatever he would like. She's going to be hungry for progression.
That will be in the future. For now, "But what...um. This induction, what is it?"
She will be able to appreciate being correct in guessing his reaction, when he leans forward.
"I have been locked in short-distance Apparition for some years now, Dr Stranger, I've grown more than used to it," she admits, with a small shrug. "One learns to deal with one's circumstances, even when they're dire. Especially if one is really stubborn about being skilled at magic." Here, a tiny smile, self-deprecating. She's giving him a truth, one she won't likely give anyone else.
"That said, you are more than welcome to observe." And study her, and train her, mentor her, whatever he would like. She's going to be hungry for progression.
That will be in the future. For now, "But what...um. This induction, what is it?"
I would like, absolutely!
[ she says it nearly overtop of hermione's statement, eager—both to exchange notes and to make sure hermione knows just how enthusiastic she is about such an offer. ness holds her hands behind her back to refrain from gesturing excitedly, but she can't keep herself from rocking onto her toes and bouncing just a little. ]
It's always best to have multiple perspectives—you may find something relevant that I totally overlooked, for one reason or another. I'd be happy to compare notes when you're finished!
[ from the way hermione was talking—could it be? has she really found a kindred spirit?? ]
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