The Mortal Instruments {Roleplay} discussion
New York
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High Warlock's HQ, Brooklyn
Emily walked up to the door, her hood pulled over her head and an umbrella in hand. She was trying to keep the light rain from her skin but with the way the wind was blowing it was difficult. She knew it was late, nine o'clock at night wasn't really a time to be making social visits but she needed help, well information to be precise. Information that only the High Warlock could give her, and she was determined to do whatever she had to in order to get it.She walked up the couple of steps and pounded on the door, she had heard that he wasn't taking visitors for some reason or another, she wasn't really one to listen to rumors that weren't from credible sources. She waited patiently for him to answer at first and then got a little irritated.
In the confines of his bedroom, Magnus lay trying desperately to put himself in a coma by sheer force of will. He'd convinced himself that if he slept for twenty-one hours strait he might never wake up again for another two hundred years--no, seven hundred, he didn't want to meet his grandchildren. The phone kept ringing but he'd set it on a certain ringing that, like long distance calls, categorized exactly who was trying to contact him. There were two kinds of people in the world. Him and everyone else.
Magnus realized how pathetic this was and had been lucky to erase all the obvious songs from his I-Pod previous to their brake up, keeping only dance music and Rise Against.
A party, yes, that's a good idea, one part of his mind whispered. The more intelligent but pessimistic part of his mind shot that idea to death with an automatic weapon. Parties meant a bunch of people grinding, alcoholism and repetitive loops. All these things were really, really low on his list of needs right now.
Somewhere, outside his mind, someone pounded on the door...
____________________________________________________________________
A little girl and her mother opened the door to see Emily. They were mundanes and the little girl couldn't have been more than six. She was straddled to her mother's hip, blinking greatly at the outdoor sunlight.
Tucking a lock of brown hair behind her ear, the mother said, "Can I help you?"
Emily smiled kindly at the child. She had a thing for children, they were innocent, most of the time, and only wanted attention from loved ones, which means they were easily pleased. Unlike adult mundanes who never knew what in the world it was that they truly wanted.Her eyes flicked to the mother and she smiled. "Yes I would like to speak with Magnus Bane please, it's very important that I see him as quickly as possible" she informed the woman in a kind yet confident tone.
"Magnus Bane," the mother frowned and bit her lip, trying in vain to remember who she knew with that name, her eyes became hazy. To see the Shadoworld or not to see, that was the question.
The little girl rounded her eyes to the size of dinner plates and detached herself from her mother, tottering up to Emily.
"I did a presentation about him," she said, "He's a magician. He's very tall too and he sparkles, like a vampire!" She gushed.
Her mother looked to the ceiling, running a tired hand through her hair.
"Oh yes, I remember now. My daughter has a strange obsession with our neighbour. She'd leave me for him if she could."
The little girl grinned, ignoring her mother's comment and thrust out a hand, "I'm Cameron."
"I'm Emily." She smiled and shook the girls hand. "I'll tell you a secret if you want to hear it" she offered knowing that getting on the good girls graces would get her in the door more often, especially when she needed it."So would you like to hear my secret. I promise its a good one" she smiled encouragingly.
The mother stepped away a bit and let her daughter speak to this strange lady."Tell me, really quiet," said Cameron, whispering, unable to keep the eagerness from her voice.
Emily lowered her voice and looked the girl dead in the eyes. "Vampires can't come outside in the sun. So they don't sparkle, and you can take that to the bank" Emily whispered, in a playful tone. "Was that good enough?" she asked smiling.
She nodded mutely, crossing her heart with her finger and said,"Momma, can I bring Emily upstairs to his door?"
Her mother was going to say that Emily should just buzz in but her daughter, strangely buzzed by the imaginary world she loved to go into was exhilarated to see him again (especially ever since he came to her class and presented some magic tricks as local talent).
"Please mom? Pleeeeeeeeeease?"
Her mother made a 'go' motion.
"Just don't enter the apartment," she warned. "Leave that to Emily."
He was a stranger after all and what Emily was doing at their doorstep wasn't completely certain. His crowd didn't usually look so put together.
"Thank you ma'am. I'll make sure she comes back down." Emily smiled and made an extravagant bow. "Lead the way my friend" she said to Cameron and then followed her knocking on Magnus' door. "Thanks for bringing me here." she said it as a kind way of saying get going.
“When my mom asked, he said he was a magician. My mom thinks he’s too young to live alone. I think he makes up for it in his tallness. I used to hear visitors come every day! Sometimes in the middle of the night when it’s dark. Sometimes I’m angry because his parties are too loud but when I told him this he said the sound keeps the monsters away,” the little girl said, dimples showing, pigtails sliding to one shoulder.Another few knocks, no answer.
"Cameron!"
"Okay!" said Cameron and she bolted down the stairs.
Terrible screeching sounds of old technology wafted through the air. There couldn't be a more ugly audio pollution. The mother had simultaneously pressed the buzzer from downstairs before heading out with her daughter.
Finally, a voice broke through from the other side of the door, "DON'T MY HOURS SAY TWELVE T'LL TWO?--Of course they don't, I haven't put that sign up yet," Magnus said regretfully. There was a great shuffling and then the voice smoothened to a pleasant, fake business tone, "I mean, good afternoon, who is it? Please understand that I'm out of business right now and really don't want to see your face whoever you are."
"Magnus open the door or I'll kick it in" Emily threatened meaning every word of it. She was completely prepared to kick his door in if he didn't open it for her."You have to stop wallowing long enough to help me with clave business" she told him. "If you don't open the door I'll continue to announce you" she continued to threaten him.
"Kick it in and I'll turn you into a lawn ornament," grumbled Magnus but he opened as she requested. He stood over her, wearing not a hint as much colour as she'd seen before. His eyeliner was thick and racoonish, like oil in water, it separated his eyes from his otherwise human figure, the little pupils vase shaped. No other makeup peppered Magnus' face, making his cheekbones stand out and his hair messy on its own accord, no longer gelled or played with. He looked at her boldly unresponsive to her now childish seeming threat, "Blackmail never works. Try that again, and this time," he let his sentence fall, the old Magnus would have probably smirked and asked her to dance for his help. "I don't do favours."
He didn't care if she was the Queen of France. No one walked up to Magnus Bane's apartment at nine in the morning without something in it for him.
He's tortured werwolves three times her size for using those exact same words. Nearly slaughtered them with a yoyo. The magical properties of good party favours never left him. He hadn't even needed to open the door.
What made her any different?
"I guess it's a good thing I don't do favors either." Emily told him noticing that he looked worse for wear than she thought he ever could have."Look I understand that you don't do favors being the high warlock and all which is why I came to offer my services as well. Just hear me out, that's all I'm asking for.right now. I just need for you to.listen to what I need, what I'm offering and then you can decide whether or not I would look good as a lawn ornament" she told him, her voice level and controlled the entire time.
She wasn't going to beg and sound all needy, if he turned her down then it wold just make her life a little more difficult, but there were other warlocks that she could getahold of. It was just that he was closest and pretty much the best. She had pulled her hood off when she was talking so her curly hair fraimed her face and made her look less dangerous than she was because it made her look soft and girly, nothing like the disciplined shadow hunter that she was.
"Offer your services?" A prim eyebrow arched. He knotted his arms and leaned on the wood of the door, clearly having no intention of letting her inside. It would be so easy, so easy to grab the pulsing magic in her, like the kinetic energy and pull it mightily until she was nothing but a stiff freeze with beautiful hair and a baby face. This was, after all, like re-writing history. Isabelle had once come to give him the shovel talk and she'd acted none as sweet as Emily. She'd even went so far as to pin him to a wall with a kinai--frightening little firecracker, she was.
Emily, however, had something much more subdued. It set danger bells all over.
"Well, go on."
"I need information on a ... well a certain species of Downworlder that I have been tracking for a little while. You are the most powerful warlock that I have come across, so I know you would have the appropriate information. As for my services, well I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement on the things I could do to benefit you" she told him. She hoped that would be enough to get her in the door. She hated standing out here in this dismal hallway like some reject, but she really did need his help because he really was the best. She didn't have the time or resources right now to track down another warlock, and there was no way they were as good as Magnus.She could also see something dancing in his eyes, some thought that had drawn his attention away for a fleeting moment. She wondered what he had been thinking about and subconsciously swept her hair behind her ear, revealing the tattoo on the inside of her wrist.
"A whole species?" said Magnus, "You can't expect me to lead you to your death wish while you try to run a genocide campaign," he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Hmm, what do we have here?" Her bare wrist turned up, he tried to make head to toe on such an unfamiliar symbol.
"Huh? Oh it's just a regular tattoo, no Shadowhunter properties or anything" she told him sticking her wrist out and pulling her jacket sleep up a little bit so he could see it better."I'm not after the entire species, just a small sublet of that species. Plus it isn't genocide if it is only a few who deserve it because of the horrible murderous things that they have done" she reasoned.
"Vampires, then," he said.
"Yeah" she nodded and pulled her wrist back to herself pulling her sleeve back down.
A self-satisfied grin flashed across his face but only for a moment. Oh, I'm good, he gloated. "Well that settles it!" said Magnus, clapping, "I can't do anything about your petty problem. Vampires are a culture I would rather never have to submerge myself in," He pressed his knuckles to his mouth, suddenly looking confused and thoughtful, "Again. I would never want to..." The wiring in his mind was almost audible, that was to which depth he was thinking.
"Oh... Oh~! No, I like this," he glared in dastardly anticipation, chuckling to himself which sounded much alike to TV cartoon villain.
Emily watched his mood switch so quickly it was a little scary to be honest. "You like what?" she finally asked him.
Snapping to himself and turning on his heel, he threw the door open with one yawning arm, trotting off into the dark, light-less apartment. "Come in Shadowhunter!" Magnus exclaimed without ever turning back to look her in the eye.
The room was positively strewn with empty food packets of take out. It was where fast food takeout out went to die. Despite colour speckling walls and cushions on either side, everything felt dusty and grey like in an attic. Clusters of sparkles didn't glimmer as brightly. It was half between the cavern of a hibernating bear, cold, empty and full of bones. A melted radio sat in the corner, charred everywhere and two cat food bowls were filled but uneaten.
He tapped them with his foot, thumbs in his pockets.
Turning to her Magnus explained, "I sent Chairman Meow to a new parent for a while. I was making him fat and I haven't bothered to clean since."
Upon realizing that she was a Shadowhunter, high up with the conclave and this could be a test, Magnus sighed in a 'I suppose I should clean' manner and waved a hand over his whole floor, making a great tidal wave movement that looked a little flimsy. However, it had the desired effect. All the food packets and messiness popped out of existence.
Emily had been looking over the place n amazement wondering hoe anyone could live in such disorder. When it all disappeared she let out s small inaudible sigh, her OCD had been about to break out, but she had it under control again. She glanced over at Magnus and gave him a quizzical look. "Your plAce didn't feel lived in" she told him. It felt strangely empty, lacking any real feeling of being someone's home. "You didn't have to clean on my account either." she assured him
"Sweetie, if your eye twitched anymore, it would have jumped out of your socket. Don't tell me it wasn't bothering you."
"Oh. Sorry, but still this is your home" she told him one feeling a little badly.
"My home?" said Magnus like it was a foreign concept. "Now, where would you like to sit? I don't recommend the chair near the radio, there's still a little radiation emitting from that one."
Emily sat down right where she had been standing, she wasn't picky about where she sat. "Why ate we sitting dow?" she asked him her face guarded because she didn't know what it wad that he was going to do next. There were to many possibilities for her to be comfortable with.
Her attempt to sound tough was sort of endearing in the same way hyena puppies were adorable until they hooked their jaw into your wrist and refused to take those slimy, dog teeth from your flesh. They could hold their whole body weight by just their jaw."Suit yourself," he said.
"You can stop thinking to going to attack you" Emily finally told him getting tired of his slightly cagey actions. "You haven't given me a reason to want ti hurt you so I wont" she assured him.
"That was both a threat and a promise," he said, feeling particularly catty, "There's no wonder most Downworlders hate you."
"They hate ne because they feel threatened." she shrugged. "I don't mean to be threatening, its just the way I was raised made it a natural reaction to be self preserving." she explained to him. She didn't know why she was telling him this, probably because he was the first person in a long time that she actually felt comfortable around.
"What's this vampire problem you have? And quick, I'm going to regret this in the morning."
"They killed my parents. I've tracked them all over from one kill to the next. They like killing patents, mainly mundanes now with two or more children, leaving them alone to suffer" she told him.
He examined her slumped figure from under his lashes, prompting her to continue.
"The trail has gone cold, i can't find anything on them, nothing is out of place. That's why I need your help" she told him
"And in payment for what?"
"What?" she asked not understanding what he meant.
"Ha! In payment for what!" He began pacing in long, ambling strides. Casting his hand out, a pipe materialized with multicolored smoke, smelling of spiced incense and citrus, "I'm not about to give you services for absolutely nothing. It would make sense to demand an incentive, a normal bill or a truck-full of mundane cash because you're about to go kill yourself and if you don't find them since another Nephilim has went full vendetta first, you won't be back here."
"Wait what?" Emily asked jumping to her feet and getting in front of him so that he had to stop and acknowledge her. "What do you mean someone got them first?" she asked him her brow furrowing
The counter clean enough from disuse was where he propped himself, perched. Magnus didn't think someone such as her could have eliminated the possibility.
"Are you going to answer me? Did you say that someone else beat me to destroying them?" she asked him.((It's cool))
"The chances are always open," Was his only reply. Meanwhile he scrubbed the back of his hand with the dishcloth.
"But you would know. That's why I came to you, because you would know this kind of information. This is important Magnus, please" she finally broke down and begged him, full on begged him. Her face showed that she was serious about needing his help and doing anything he wanted to get it.
Nothing she could offer would ever fulfil what Magnus wanted. What he truly wanted has unattainable until he faced himself. Somewhere in the background, the phone rang.
It didn't matter if she was serious, she wasn't thinking of anything past her hair brained attack plan.
It wasn't in his place to give her 'the speech' the 'there's no way your parents are ever coming back, you're fighting old grudges now' because that was a tender topic and was liable to get Magnus lynched.
Look, the vampires won. They made a killing machine just like they broke my trust to someone I never trusted with my past in the first place. Lovely how these things work.
"Look please I'll pay you in whatever you want. You name it and it's yours" she told him her voice still pleading, him just standing there brooding to himself was making her loose her confidence that she could find them again. 'Maybe that's not a bad thing' she thought and then immediately squashed the thought. You are avenging your parent's, of course it is fine.
Magnus propped himself on his elbow and leaned across the counter, looking at her with laughing eyes, "I want your soul."
"I can't give you that" she shook her head and sighed. "Something reasonable. Like money, or slavery for a week or like a date. Easy things." she told him putting her hands on her hips, her hair falling in her face so she blew on it trying to move it.
He rolled to his back and began examining the salt shaker, his legs crossed. "Do you have a piece of material that belongs to them? Or a name?"
"Vladimir Zaslavsky" Emily replied. "He was turned in the early 1800's after his family passed away and he went on a murder spree. I don't know who turned him but Vlad turned one person every year and that was how his coven was made." Emily went on telling him. "He has traveled all over the America's, Europe, Australia and God knows where else" she sighed and rubbed her face.((I totally made that up too :P)))
- Page 216 and 218 of City of Bones,
Written by Cassandra Clare.
During the night like the day, no light entered one apartment on the second floor. The windows were either hidden by thick curtains or painted darkly as if expecting enemy aircrafts to drop missiles upon this quiet, empty seeming neighbourhood.
A dog chased by, nipping playfully at the mailman. The roots of trees were undertow, deeply buried in their own warm sheddings. Surely there was some dark metaphor concerning fall and New York's underworld corruption but no matter, Rorschach wasn't here to note it. In fact, other than the wind and those mentioned above, most of the neighbourhood had went to their most compelling lovers: Their jobs. Only the elderly and those who worked at home remained. And one of which owned the second floor black out.
Beyond the doorstep jack-o-lantern, New York's most savvy magicians answered house calls.
((Do you have money? Do you need healing? Have you been turned into a horse? Is your mother speaking in demon tongues again? Step right up to and ring that doorbell. Just make sure you have means to pay first. Drachmas are permitted. We are not responsible for any broken noses due to the door slamming in your face. We cannot guarantee that you won't catch on fire during the day in these premises. Please approach hair with caution.))