Jadis rarely likes children - but perhaps her time here has mellowed her. We will never know! But, she hasn't turned him into stone. This is good. (Not that she could anyway, just in case anyone is worried).
"I see," she says, still completely serious. "Are these other pirates invisible, or are you practising so that you can keep us safe when the inevitable day of the invasion comes?"
"Well," Momiji replies, sounding rather calm and reasonable as he leaps forward, piercing the heart of one of his incorporeal opponents with a thrust of his toy sword that would make anyone familiar with a real one laugh outloud.
"They're imaginary! But I've only met one real pirate, around here, and I don't think he'd want to fight."
Also, if he did, Momiji would totally end up losing, which would mute the fun a bit.
Jadis chuckles. "Imaginary opponents are sometimes the most satisfying," she agrees with him. Then, she has an idea. She draws her wand from her sleeve and points it at the lake-side, muttering. A haze of mist rises from the water, and drifts towards them, coalescing as it does so into a vaguely humanoid form, wearing a hat with a ridiculously long feather, and brandishing a cutlass. His left arm ends in a hook instead of a hand.
It is entirely possible that, at some point in the last two years, Jadis has seen Disney's 'Peter Pan'.
"Oh...!" The rabbit-boy notices the mist starting to form over the lake, first, and, as if that weren't suprise enough, he gets to watch as it transforms into a mist-pirate!
The mist-Hook's lips move, forming the phrase 'en guarde!' as he lunges towards the boy. His cutlass, being made of mist, can't do any harm, although it might be slightly damp and cold.
"I do," she says. "It's a useful shortcut." Doing stuff without it is all well and good, but it's hard work. And she's lazy.
Momiji finds himself quickly distracted by the mist-pirate attacking him, of course. He has to turn around, and he barely manages to put his wooden sword out to block the blow from the gaseous sword, before it hits him. He sort of stumbles in the process, barely staying on balance, so that the return swipe he aims at the thing is more than a little fumbling and off-guard.
Fencing isn't one of his strong points, surprisingly enough.
Jadis chuckles, and watches the boy. He's clumsy - obviously, he's had no martial training, which once would have surprised her in a boy of his age. but not any more - she knows that there are lots of worlds that don't school their children in the sword.
Mist-Hook is not very fast, being made of vapour, and the swipe passes neatly through the arm holding the cutlass, which separates from the rest of the figure and floats off. Mist-Hook watches it go, looking astonished, his mouth shaped into a comical 'O!' of surprise.
One-armed mist-Hook is an amusing creature, especially with the look of shock on his smoky face.
"Aww," Momiji intones, watching the arm float off and away, leaving him cutlass-less. For his own part, the small teen just slips his sword back into one of his pockets, looking contently triumphant.
"Well, you shouldn't challenge a real pirate, anyway!"
"Congratulations," Jadis says, clapping her hands at him. "But he's not vanquished. Go like this," and she purses her lips and blows, "at him, as hard as you can." She could do it, but he looks like he'd find it fun.
"Okay!" The young mana agrees cherily, taking a skipping step forward, so that his lips are just a bit away from Cpt. Mist-Hook, as he blows dramatically at him.
And, equally dramatically, he dissipates into tendrils of mist, floating back out over the lake and disappearing - as if Momiji's blow had been much, much harder than it was.
Momiji beams as he watches the gaseous pirate disappear back to the lake that he had come from, giggling and bouncing up and down just a little in his excitement.
...All in a very mature, piratical way, of course.
"Fair Sir," she says to him, solemnly, "what foul beast do you battle with?"
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Still, he stops his shadow-fencing for a second, spinning around dramatically and smiling at the witch.
"Uhm - other pirates! Bad ones that make people walk the plank and stuff.
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"I see," she says, still completely serious. "Are these other pirates invisible, or are you practising so that you can keep us safe when the inevitable day of the invasion comes?"
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"They're imaginary! But I've only met one real pirate, around here, and I don't think he'd want to fight."
Also, if he did, Momiji would totally end up losing, which would mute the fun a bit.
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It is entirely possible that, at some point in the last two years, Jadis has seen Disney's 'Peter Pan'.
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...Too cool.
"That's neat - you have a magic wand!"
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"I do," she says. "It's a useful shortcut." Doing stuff without it is all well and good, but it's hard work. And she's lazy.
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Fencing isn't one of his strong points, surprisingly enough.
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Mist-Hook is not very fast, being made of vapour, and the swipe passes neatly through the arm holding the cutlass, which separates from the rest of the figure and floats off. Mist-Hook watches it go, looking astonished, his mouth shaped into a comical 'O!' of surprise.
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"Aww," Momiji intones, watching the arm float off and away, leaving him cutlass-less. For his own part, the small teen just slips his sword back into one of his pockets, looking contently triumphant.
"Well, you shouldn't challenge a real pirate, anyway!"
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"Nicely done!" She says, approvingly.
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Momiji beams as he watches the gaseous pirate disappear back to the lake that he had come from, giggling and bouncing up and down just a little in his excitement.
...All in a very mature, piratical way, of course.
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"I am Jadis," the witch says to him. "I don't think we have met?"
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"I'm Momiji Sohma!"
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