[Sunday] [RP] Wake Up in an Unusual Place

[pallor_m0rtis]

[Corbin needs a tag, Mod-types. As apparently I won't just have Kori here. >.> *Peer-pressure!* Haha.
Entirely for the random factor, not his storyline. Or, maybe, I'll decide after.
Blood/Gore warning for the sensitive sorts.]

It might have been a lie to say that Corbin always woke up somewhere he was familiar with; some nights he woke up with

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[pallor_m0rtis]

Corbin's gaze shifted towards the door, broken from his contemplation of the camera when Hector returned, and with some kid that looked about the same pale as death shade as himself but the obvious fact that the newcomer had a pulse and the subtle cues of life convinced Corbin it was more because of the view in the room than a natural tone

I am amused at Lacroix's plight. So amused.

[hector_styles]

Lacroix’s absolute disgust was quite different for Hector; everyone else in his cabal was desensitized to the point of being unaffected at all by human remains. But Lacroix had newly been invited in, hadn’t yet had the time to become accustomed to the more gruesome aspects of death. Hector decided in retrospect that perhaps he shouldn’t have thrown Lacroix into the situation so suddenly. But then again, how would Lacroix learn and grow if he was never exposed? It was a fine line, truly.

“If it’s that intolerable, do feel free to leave.” But his voice had that but I’ll be very disappointed in you if you leave tone about it; it was no secret that he had high expectations for his apprentice

[I don't doubt it, you're evil!]

[lacroix_styles]

See, he hated that, when Hector told him that he could do one thing and then said it in that tone. Because they both knew when Hector said it that way hell would freeze over before Lacroix would retreat because in spite of all the disgusting, messed up things that went with being what he was stuck with in life; he still refused to go back to feeling like a loser with his head in the sand all the time

Yes! Come to the dark side. We have zombies.

[hector_styles]

Hector was quite pleased that Lacroix was asking more questions; if giving demonstrations was what would pique Lacroix’s curiosity, then Hector would have to give live demonstrations like this more often. But unfortunately the younger mage did not have the ability to manage spells this complicated; it had taken Hector twenty years of practice to get to this point. But then again, his studies on matter had always taken a backseat to his death magic.

“Until you can learn to identify the workings of an object, there is no chance that you will be able to transform it into something else entirely,” Hector explained, returning to the task of turning gore into sand. “A progression must be made. My work with matter spanned years before I could accomplish this. You must try to remain patient and focus on learning the most basic skills first.”

But now that they were on the subject, Hector mentioned again the item that he’d left outside Lacroix’s door; if anything, talking about this would perhaps distract the young man from the gratuitous

[And -that- is supposed to convince the boy? There are flaws to that logic! D:]

[lacroix_styles]

"Years?" Lacroix didn't find that too promising when it came right down to it; years was a long time to wait to be able to do anything but being annoyed by ghosts bugging him all the time. "S'funny, you don't look years and years older than me. Act it though." Odd things were abounding around the Batcave, oh yes; and one exceptionally determined mage-in-training was going to stick his nose where it didn't belong as often as possible to learn all these interesting little secrets

Lizards. Cookery. Zombies. Such a perfect combination!

[hector_styles]

Oh, of course Hector was much older than he looked, but that was a little secret that was going to remain hidden for now. If Lacroix was squeamish now about gore, Hector couldn’t imagine the reaction he’d get from mentioning soul-stealing. He needed more time to desensitize Lacroix before he ever even considered revealing his true age. And in that same light, he just ignored that ‘maybe you were just slow’ comment; he couldn’t exactly defend himself without giving his real age away.

But then again, he wouldn’t have vehemently defended himself anyway; his calm demeanor made it difficult for him to get up in arms about anything, really.

Even though Lacroix hadn’t figured out that the little box was in fact an antique burglar alarm, Hector was quite pleased that his apprentice had deduced that it was broken. Hector had removed the clapper from the bell inside to make the device silent. “I did modify it; you are correct. If I hadn’t, its purpose would have been far too obvious.” But this conversation made him feel confident that

[Or the worst Food Network show ever. >.>]

[lacroix_styles]

"Sneaky," Lacroix muttered, but he was rather proud of himself for figuring something out. It wasn't exactly what Hector wanted, but it was still something, and it could only get better from there, hopefully

[hector_styles]

Hector was using a lot of spells all at once, but there was not too much of a threat of it backfiring on him because there were no Sleepers around to ruin it with their disbelief; casting spells in front of non-mages could inadvertently cause damage to Hector. But he and Lacroix were Awakened; a mentor teaching his protégé within the privacy of their sanctum wasn’t too much cause for Paradox

[lacroix_styles]

"Nothing sounds very happy around this place; death this and grim that," Lacroix opted to offer his opinion on the matter while he drug that broom around

[hector_styles]

Hector paused his cleaning to take a moment to really look at Lacroix with his mage sight so that he could give his apprentice an accurate answer. Because Lacroix didn’t use a lot of magic yet, what stood out most to Hector now was the level at which death had affected the young man.

“Death hangs heavy on you. Someone close to you has died.” There was no way for Hector to tell just who related to Lacroix had died; while he could sense the energies of death around a person, he still was not a mind-reader

[lacroix_styles]

The entire conversation settled uneasy on Lacroix, he had expected something of the sort but it was still unnerving to consider that the way he looked to other people who could see beyond simple physics viewed him with such a thick air of death and loss

[hector_styles]

"You already possess the ability,” Hector informed, though of course it was much easier to interact with ghosts while in Twilight. This was a bit of a difficult concept to explain, but he tried his best because he wanted Lacroix to understand. “You are merely not in the correct... state of being, shall we say, to best interact with them. Soon I will show you how to achieve that.” Hector would have to be there with Lacroix; it would have been difficult for the young mage -- and dangerous -- to attempt interacting with ghosts in Twilight alone.

But he had something that could help Lacroix in the meantime, and he wanted to give that to him now.

“Let’s pause for a while.” He wanted to usher Lacroix out so that he could finish the room himself; he figured he’d subjected Lacroix to enough horror for one day. He walked to the door, then slipped his shoes off so that he wouldn’t be dragging sand and leftover gore through the library. “I have a gift for you.”

[lacroix_styles]

"There's never a simple answer to anything, is there?" He didn't need an answer to that question, he already knew it; no wonder Hector was so stoic if he had been spending all his time learning all the weird rules to magic.
Harry Potter, clearly, was a lie.

"I'm almost afraid," Lacroix commented with a lift of his brow at Hector's sudden good will. But, damn curiosity, he couldn't resist wanting to know. Besides, he was still sticky and gross and dragging sand around the place; and that would just mean he'd have to clean up the other rooms too. "Can I take a shower first, seriously; I have eyeball slime in my hair."
And that was just unacceptable.

[hector_styles]

“That would be a wise idea,” Hector replied; he too wanted to rid his hair of the sand. He wasn’t quite as bothered by everything that had happened as Lacroix clearly was; he wanted to give the other man a break from the sight of the room, even though yes, it was less grotesque now than it had been at the start. Hector would finish cleaning the room himself later.

“I will see you later, then.” He still had something to give Lacroix, but it could wait just a little longer.