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The Infinite Consortium, Thursday Afternoon

Liliana was able to appreciate the festive lights on the rickshaw today, as she had quite the haul to bring to the shop with her. There were the gifts she needed to drop off at the Photo Hut today before Prompto and Liz decamped to...was it New Jersey? Well, wherever they were going for the holiday. And then Steven and Marc's gifts as well. And after last night's realization of how vulnerable the mansion was, she'd gotten Planeswalked to several of her various homes around the Multiverse and then Portalocity'd back with various tomes of magic. Wards and enchantments in general were not her specialty, so it was time to hit the books.

...Which she was outwardly grumbling about, of course, but she couldn't pretend like she didn't enjoy this aspect of being a magic user. Studying old spells, putting together new ones, experimenting until you discovered the perfect balance of lethality and mana cost...Most of the useful tomes she had for this were for blue mana, not black, so there was the additional complexity of having to adapt whatever base spell she chose...

Yeah, okay, secretly Liliana was having a great time and before she'd been at work an hour, she'd already filled a whole page with jotted notes, half-solved equations, odd runes and geometric shapes, and a list of pages and titles for future reference.

As pretty as the lights were on the rickshaws, Liliana would have preferred another snacky day. Chunks of gingerbread wall or bits of a giant jelly donut couch would go perfectly with an afternoon of pouring over magic texts.

Hmm...if she combined a spell from The Tome of the Infinite to allow her to substitute black mana for blue and then cast the wards from Sarevok's - or, wait, was the one she was thinking of in that old wizard's spellbook - but find a way to integrate it with the spell from the book she'd 'borrowed' from that tedious one-eyed lich and had never gotten around to returning...

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Well, luckily for Liliana, if the island was not going to indulge her sweet tooth, then Ignis would happily step up to the task. Which is why he came over to the shop that afternoon, bearing treats, cookies, this time, and perhaps some hot cocoa to go with it.

Not from the Perk, though, of course. Hello, had you met him? Naturally, he'd just made his own.

"Liliana," he said, not announcing his entrance but rather greeting her as he made his way to the counter, "I know it'll be quite the difficult task, but I've come to attempt to entice you into taking a break."

Of course he did. Nobody here is even surprised.

"Oooh!" Liliana said, looking up and giving Ignis a happy grin. "You do know how I love being enticed, my darling." Though she did pause to tuck a scrap of paper into her current spellbook; she'd hate to lose her page and end up reading about evocation spells instead of abjuration.

"You are quite delightfully susceptible to enticement, I've noticed," Ignis agreed, rather fondly, and not just because that made it all the easier for him, "and I hope these will be sufficient to that end." He set one of the insulated mugs down on the counter for her, before the box of cookies followed, and then his grip could adjust to hold his own exclusively. "It should still be quite warm," he assured her, and lifted his mug. "Cheers, darling."

"Cheers," she said, gently clinking their mugs together before taking a cautious sip. "Mmmm!" she said, delighted, as warm, rich chocolate flavored by sweet toasted marshmallows flowed over her tongue. "Oh, my darling, that's delicious," she declared.

And clearly had to prove it by offering him a kiss immediately following.

As delicious as Liliana may have found the hot chocolate,Ignis was quite sure he got the better of it with getting to taste it enhanced by whatever lingers there on her lips with that kiss, and he had to smile.

"Well, I wouldn't have wanted to leave you bereft of holiday sweetness merely because of the island decided to withhold it this particular day. Everything been alright, though, in the meantime?"

He had a feeling today's whimsy must have been very visual or perhaps very subtle to have missed it, and there were also some other....shall we say lurking concerns drifting about, as well...

"Pretty as the lights are on the rickshaws - and I think the birds?- are, I do prefer being piled with treats much more," Liliana said with a soft laugh. She tugged him closer, an arm snaking around his waist. "Fortunately, you ensure I am never left wanting." Her smile had a distinctly minx-like cast to it. "Not for too long, anyway."

"But even without sweets, it's been a very quiet day. I've managed to get through some of my research and also give gifts!"

Equally exciting prospects, honestly.

"Sounds like you've been quite productive, then," Ignis noted, with, naturally, a note of approval, as his arm slipped around Liliana in kind. "Perhaps a nice, relaxing evening to unwind might be in order...

"Has the research garnered any illuminating results?" he wondered. "And to whom have you been bestowing both presents and your presence today?"

"That sounds lovely," Liliana said, leaning against him in a way that wasn't huggy in the slightest. "It's the longest night of the year, I believe - a night meant for lots of light and warmth to remember the promise of spring."

It remained a surprise to her that Christmas didn't fall on the 21st, especially since everything she'd heard about the holiday this far suggested that great liberties had been taken with much of the reporting.

"I have some interesting leads on my wards, though nothing solid yet, and I visited the Photo Hut to drop off Prompto, Liz, and Noctra's gifts and then over to the museum to deliver Steven and Marc's." It was true she didn't know Marc well, but he'd saved her life, so a bottle of good booze seemed only fitting. "Liz gave us a pair of lovely wine glasses and Prompto gave me the gift of stories." She dimpled up at him.

Surely, that leaning was no more huggy that the small squeeze Ignis' arm happened to give Liliana's, just as that fact that the squeeze occurred right as the words gave us a pair of was pure coincidence and not at all related.

"Should we give the wine glasses a try this evening, then?" he asked. "Put them to good use? And should I be worried," a lit of his brow, face turning toward Liliana to angle it her way, "about these stories?"

If they were coming from Prompto, he felt he already had his answer.

This all seemed correct and accurate and above board! Liliana could see no way that anyone could interpret anything otherwise!

"Sounds like a delightful evening," Liliana said. "A pity we're all out of that wine you brought back from New Zealand, it would be perfect for a night like tonight. And of course not, my darling, how could you even suggest your darling friend Prompto would do anything of the sort."

She was being, like, extra believable right now.

"He simply gave us a lovely photo album full of pictures that he had laying around." Gee, from whence could they have come from? "So you can tell me all about what's happening in them. A wonderful opportunity to regale me with stories from your youth! With all your...youthful...choices!"

Your hair, Ignis. She was already laughing at your hair. (Again. Possibly still.)

Oh, no. She was talking about his hair back then, wasn't she? Ignis fought down the urge to move his hand to give his current coiffure a bit of a defensive pat. "I would say that I could suggest that of my darling friend Prompto," he drawled, "because I know my darling friend Prompto. But that..."

There was a moment, a tug, a memory, sitting around a campfire as a meal settled in their stomachs and they went through the reel of photographs Prompto had captured throughout the day, half of them odd shots of the ground or an outcropping of bushes, but some of them, actually, quite dynamic and magnificent...

"...is a very thoughtful gift."

And he was instantly curious to hear what pictures had been included, which he supposed was all part of the genius of it, too. He shook his head a little. Once again, as always, he really did not give Prompto nearly enough credit...

Yes, darling, she absolutely was.

"Isn't it?" she asked. "Perfect, one might say, for an evening such as this? With wine and a fire, curled up together, me looking through old pictures and you telling me about them. Places like...the Vesperpool...Altissia...the windy swamps of Duscae, near the chocobo ranch..."

Liliana, you were a mean person.

It had taken some time, there was a lot to see even for such a small island, but Humphrey eventually made it over to see Liliana like he had said he would. He paused outside for a moment to take in the appearance of the building then considered the sign before walking in. Despite his best efforts, Humphrey's mouth did hang open a little as he gazed around from where he stood in the doorway.

"Wow..." was all he managed to get out at first, but it was a very impressed 'wow' to be sure!

Liliana laughed at the response. "Wow indeed," she said, smugly. "Welcome to the Infinite Consortium, Humphrey. Do you have a magical artifact in mind or are you looking to be surprised?"

"Oh ummm... I guess looking to be surprised?" he said with a somewhat awkward grin. "I wouldn't know one from another honestly... bit out of my element here." But he was here and he was keeping an open mind about the whole 'magic' thing so... props to him for that right?

More like he didn't lose points for being so inflexible he refused to acknowledge reality when the island was doing something new and magical every day.

"Well come in, darling, and we can see what we've got in stock for you. How do you feel about flying? I got some lovely boots in last week that are great for flying."

"Oh, I... am not much a fan of flying really. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground as much as I can" he admitted. "Got something a little more basic for someone who is very much unfamiliar with all this magic business?"

He started to look at the nearest shelf and something caught his eye. "Oh, what about this?" he asked as he started to reach out towards the item.

"Wait no!" Liliana said, bolting out of her seat, reaching out like that might stop him. "Those are very fragile!"

And she had met you, Humphrey. And your so-called hand-eye coordination.

Edited 2023-12-21 19:06 (UTC)

Humphrey froze, hand a bit too close to the fragile artifact for comfort. "Oh right... I'll just..." he stammered as he let his hand fall back to his side. "I'll just look then, shall I?" he said with an apologetic look as he glanced at Liliana and then back to the item on the shelf. "It is quite exquisite looking though."

Edited 2023-12-21 19:24 (UTC)

"Yes please," Liliana said, pinching the bridge of her nose - a habit she picked up from somewhere, who could say? "Even if you hadn't broken them, they're attack creatures and I can't swear they're devoid enough of mana not to have harmed you."

She crossed over to the shelf and gently took one of the little clockwork dragonflies down, letting it rest on her fingers and holding it up for Humphrey's inspection. It was a beautiful little creation, inset with small gems and stones and curls of metal. "These are weapons, actually."

Humphrey would have been lying if he had said he wasn't fascinated and he leaned in closer for a look, a little wary after the warning. "They almost look too beautiful to be dangerous.." he said as he admired the craftsmanship. "And mana you said? Is that what... what magic is called in your, ummmm realm I guess is the right word for that?" He was still trying to suss it all out, he couldn't deny what he saw with his own eyes but his logical brain was still scrambling for an actual explanation for what he was seeing...

Liliana's smile was sharp. "Oh darling, I assure you, most beautiful things are often dangerous. Be careful or I'll end up feeling insulted."

Because Liliana was both very beautiful and quite, quite dangerous. On a number of axes, really.

"Right of course. A...apologies. That was not my intent, to be insulting. You are quite beautiful, and I'm sure more than capable of fending for yourself... and I... I'm not saying... well I mean...." Humphrey fumbled to a stop realizing he was probably just making it worse the more he was talking.

Liliana was openly laughing, patting him on the arm. "Don't worry, darling, I'm teasing. I am quite confident in both my own beauty and general lethality--which isn't, of course, to say that I don't appreciate compliments on either, of course."

Liliana don't harass the poor man, it's just mean. Even if you're good at it and he makes it fun.

"But, to answer your questions, mana is the energy required to cast magic. It's hard to say whether it is the magic or not - what is inherently more magical, the energy that fuels the spell or the spell that shapes it?"

This was some Silverquill philosophy right here.

"And, no, realm isn't quite the word I'd use. I am from a multi-planar Multiverse, though whether this is a distinct section of that Multiverse that is not guided along the same magical principles - which seems unlikely though remains possible, especially since my principles do work here - or a wholly new Multiverse untethered to my own remains a mystery.

"So... another version of reality, another universe? A place where the earth as I know it may or may not exist?" He was getting there, slowly. His brain might be smoking a little but he was getting there. "That's why there are things like... magic... where you are from but not necessarily for me back home."

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