Room 322, Wednesday Afternoon

[not_every_mage]

This was something new for Anders.

This very clean side of the room (not that he had much to be messy with, truth be told), this fussed-over hair and carefully selected shirt -- he'd never had to do any of it in the Circle. In the Circle things like this went faster, and much more direct. Move too slow, and Templars were more likely to notice and intervene.

All this fussing was silly, he realized. He wasn't even completely certain this was about more than friendship. But that didn't stop him from letting down his ponytail, tying it back up,and then changing his mind and brushing it over his neck again as he waited for Kathy to arrive and put into motion their movie plans.

[OOC: For one, please!]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, it would be entirely my fault if you ended up locked away," Kathy said, offering him a warm smile. "Since I clearly hadn't worked hard enough to make sure you could pass the patriotism test."

[not_every_mage]

"That just means you're going to have to show me lots more movies, doesn't it?" Anders asked, looking pleased to see her smile. "And ... whatever else is on the citizenship test. Books?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy snorted. "Books? I hate to admit it, but that's not likely to happen. Reading isn't exactly one of our national pastimes."

She shrugged. "One more reason I'm considered a nerd back--"

She stopped. Looked at Anders. Started grinning.

"Oh my goodness. You have books, don't you? Books from home! Books no one here has ever read yet. Books you can loan to me!"

[not_every_mage]

She looked so excited that Anders hated to let her down. If only books were easier to conjure.

If only Anders was better at conjuring to begin with.

"I don't, really," he apologized. "Unless you want a pocket encyclopedia of spell ingredients. But I didn't think to grab books when I left. Not that I had many to start with."

He bit his lip. "I could ask my friend Karl to try to mail some."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh." Kathy looked crestfallen for a minute, before perking herself back up again. "No worries about that. I mean, the school library has books from all over the multiverse! It's not really a hardship sticking to those, you know?"

After all, it wasn't fair to expect Anders to cater to her book whims.

"How'd you hear about Fandom in...Thedas? Is that where you said you were from?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders resolved he'd get some books from home soon anyhow. He hated seeing Kathy sad.

"It is," he nodded. "If you want to be specific, I'm Ferelden -- Thedas is a continent -- but that hardly matters."

"And the funny thing is," he said, leaning back, "I hadn't heard of this place. I'd gotten shut up for running away, again, and Karl managed to scrounge up a teleportation potion. I had no idea where it'd take me, but I figured it would be better than where I was. Turned out I was right."

[spin_kick_snap]

"They shut you up for running away?!" Kathy asked. Between that and the law that said he couldn't be paid for the work he did, Kathy was beginning to draw a very unsavory picture of what life had been like for Anders before he came here. "...Can I ask why you're even planning on going home once you graduate? I mean, I don't want to sound like I'm judging your home--" which she was, just a tiny bit "--but it sounds like you're awfully mistreated there."

Which, you know, contrasted sharply with the lavish and irresponsible lifestyle being shown on the screen right now.

[not_every_mage]

"All mages are awfully mistreated," Anders said, tone going strident. "I had it better than some. You don't want to know what they do if they're really angry at you."

He frowned at the TV screen. "What would I do if I didn't go home?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Become a doctor known for miracle cures?" Kathy suggested. "Vegas's most popular illusionist? Goodness, I don't even know all of what you can do, but being a mage in a world where no one believes in magic? It would seem to me like the possibilities are endless."

She tentatively reached for his arm. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories or make you think about this stuff if you don't want to. I mean, I showed up so we could just watch silly movies and have a good time. Not to make you talk about anything that makes you uncomfortable."

[not_every_mage]

"The only doctor I've met here loves leeches and has us dig things out of the mud for class," Anders whined, but settled against her arm. "Don't worry about it, Kathy, I know I'm not the easiest company sometimes. I have years to work out what happens after I graduate, anyhow. We could talk about something else -- kittens, or nail polish, or who that blonde woman is who keeps telling Ferrite Guy what to do."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh no, nothing like that!" Kathy assured him. "And she's the only one who can talk sense into Ferrite Guy. He needs to be pushed around a little so he doesn't forget to occasionally act like a person."

That little segue aside, she continued, "I don't think you're hard to her along with at all. It sounds like you were in a really awful situation. I just don't want to be nosy or make you talk about it if you'd rather not. That's all."

She inched a bit closer, too. "For what it's worth, while I don't think that anyone should be treated the way it sounds like your home treats mages, but that goes extra for you, okay?"

[not_every_mage]

"I appreciate that," Anders said, and brought up a hand to brush it over Kathy's hair. "And I don't mind talking about mage oppression at all."

Rather the contrary, in fact.

"I just honestly don't know what I'll do after graduation. For that matter, I don't even know if I can go home if I want to, so the entire discussion may be moot."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Whether you can or not, there's nothing wrong with thinking about it anyway," Kathy pointed out. "You might feel less, like, stuck if you have a plan in mind when you find out you can't."

She smiled, running a hand through her hair. "I mean, nothing says you have to decide this minute or anything. But it might not be a bad idea for you to think about while you're here."

[not_every_mage]

"And again you have an excellent point," Anders conceded. He let his fingers brush hers before he withdrew his hand, smiling in a way that might uncharitably be described as doofy. "What's it like here? I mean, off the island. Does anyone have magic where you're from?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Doofy was pretty accurate--but at least he wasn't alone. Kathy's answering smile was fairly high on the 'shyly dorky' scale as it was.

"No," Kathy said, shaking her head. And then she reconsidered. "Not exactly? I mean, I don't think so. Except sorta?"

That cleared things right up.

"The easiest answer is no, I guess. Most people don't believe in magic. It exists strictly in movies, fantasy novels, and stage magicians which is all sleight of hand and misdirection anyway. And most people who do believe in magic are New Age-y Wiccan types, who believe in, like, old gods and Mother Earth and stuff. I can't really say for sure about them, but..." Her expression was dubious. Politely dubious, because Wicca was a religion and Kathy tried to be accepting of all non-cult, non-hater religions (she lived in LA, so she did have a special distaste to Scientology, but that was neither here nor there), but still dubious.

"However, my version of the world, people with powers have started showing up. It's more meta, Y-People stuff than proper magic, but stuff like being able to fly and breathe fire is just as fantastical to the people of my world as the idea of slinging spells and mixing up potions."

[not_every_mage]

Old gods and Mother Earth: Anders had read a bit about those things at the Magic Box. It all seemed slightly daft to him, and he was glad to see from Kathy's expression that his reaction was the common one.

But that wasn't the most interesting thing she'd said.

"They just started showing up?" Anders asked, leaning back on an elbow. "How does that work? Are they slipping through from some other dimension, or something equally fantastic?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"No one's entirely sure. And the answer might be different for everyone," Kathy said before shyly admitting, "I'm definitely from this dimension, though."

She lowered her eyes and smiled. "So that's at least one who isn't."

[not_every_mage]

"You?" Anders squinted at her, trying to gauge what she meant for a moment before his smile broke into one of delight. "You've been holding out on me, haven't you? I know you said in apocalypse class that you were fast, but I didn't know you meant -- what exactly do you mean?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I...I have powers," Kathy said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "I wouldn't say I have magic or anything like that. But, like you said, I'm fast. I can run about a mile in over a little more than a minute. And I, well, bounce."

She had yet to figure out a way to make that sound intimidating.

[not_every_mage]

"You bounce," Anders repeated, halfway between mocking and astonished. "So if I pushed you off a roof -- not that I'm going to -- you'd rebound?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm not sure," Kathy admitted. "I'm a little wary of just flinging myself off of something high, but probably? It's more...I'm a perpetual motion machine. Enhanced agility, flexibility, stamina, and reflexes. So it's more like if you pushed me off the roof, I'd find four or five things to catch and fling myself back up into the air to land behind you so we can discuss why you think it's okay to go around shoving people."

She gave it a little more thought. "I could probably fall, like, if I were knocked off of something, but I don't think I've tripped or lost my balance since I developed."

[not_every_mage]

"I'd trade magic for that," Anders aid admiringly. "Or -- well, I wouldn't, but I'd have to think about it. That's impressive."

[spin_kick_snap]

"It's fun," Kathy said with a small laugh. "And sometimes it makes me wish I were slightly less decent as a person. Do you know how many gymnastics tournaments I could win like this, Anders? All of them."

[not_every_mage]

"Probably a lot of bar bets, too," Anders speculated. "I'm sure there are better uses, but you have to have some fun with it."

[spin_kick_snap]

"How many bar bets could be made over stuff I can do?" Kathy asked, thus proving she'd never been in a bar in her life. "You mean, like, a race? Or whether or not I can wrap my leg around my head?"