Fooling around with Magic (closed for brigid_fitch)

[Finadien]

After the postman had departed Ralph put the parcel he just had received on the table and sat down. His uncle in Germany had died and the only possession of any worth had been send to him since he was the next of kin. His parents had come over from Germany before he had been born but as far as he knew his mother was a single child and his father only had this one brother. Since both his parents had died in a car accident 5 years ago he was the only who could lay claim to the heirloom of "Mad Martin" as his father had called his brother.

Uncle Martin apparently had dabbled in magic, or so his father had told him, and had been considered everything from a bit odd to utterly mad. When the phone call told him about the demise of his uncle he couldn't feel any grief, because he hadn't known that man at all. What he did feel was surprise that he did inherit something. Today his "heirloom" had arrived and he was a bit underwhelmed but that changed after he opened the packet.

It was a book, but the book looked very old and very expensive. Perhaps he could sell it to a museum? It had a leather binding with wooden clasps and very elaborate decorations all over. There was not writing on the cover at all and so he very gently opened it to see what was inside. He expected some kind of bible or other historical writings but what he saw was something entirely different.

It was a spellbook. That much he could discern from just flipping though it. All the spells where in German and after some browsing he saw that there where spells for every thinkable situation.

He closed the book and leaned back on the chair. What do do now? Try some of those spells? Sure why not. He could always sell this book later. He reopened it and decided at first to try a simple spell that would light a candle but then decided against it. If something went wrong he could set the whole apartment on fire and that was something he really didn't want, even if he didn't believe anything would happen anyway.

Then a spell caught his attention that offered much potential. It was called "Verführung" which meant something like seduction and immediately the cute girl living next door came to his mind. She was really gorgeous, had a nice laugh and was easygoing but she had resisted all his attempts to go on a date with him. Perhaps a little magic could change that?

He put a sheet of paper in the book where the spell was, closed it and put it under one arm. Then he went outside, closed and locked his door and knocked on hers.


--------------


Ralph is 27, 6'2" and you can see his german heritage. He has blonde hair and blue eyes, not quite as blonde and blue as you see in the movies but enough to make him handsome.

I'm looking for a female writer to play his neighbor. He will try out the book and have a little fun with her and perhaps with some more people later on. You should be able to write some longer posts. Doesn't need to be 5 paragraphs but should be more then just one or two sentences per post. PM me with character ideas.

 

[brigid_fitch]

Mercedes Gregg

Ralph's neighbor:
Name: Mercedes Gregg
Age: 26
Appearance: Mercedes is of average height and build--5'7", 140 lbs. Her blonde hair and hazel eyes are her most striking features, but she usually keeps her hair up and out of the way and rarely looks at anyone directly while she's busy about town. She just wants to keep a low profile and blend in, but the neighborhood busybodies think she's a snob.

History: Although Mercedes moved into the neighborhood 6 months ago, she hasn't really made any friends. She's personable enough, but remains aloof. No one really knows much about her other than what they can glean from watching her go about her errands. She is a real estate agent (Iris across the street has seen her put "Open House" signs in her trunk almost every weekend), drives a nice conservative car (dark blue Toyota Camry), gets her nails and hair done regularly at a salon in the city, and prefers to shop at the gourmet supermarket where she buys exotic foods like chai tea and salmon burgers (while jogging by, Joanna noticed her carrying the shopping bags into the house one day and those items were on top). Oh, and she owns at least one cat, a siamese that can frequently be seen sunning itself in the bay window.

Her neighbors are polite and the Welcome Wagon Committee was helpful, if a bit nosy. And Mercedes wasn't the snob Katherine liked to tell all the ladies at the coffee shop she was. No, she was just trying to start her life over after her bitter divorce and wanted some space right now. She had gotten married young at 19, despite her parents' and friends' advice, and after six years of trying to make it work, finally decided that everyone else had been right. So now it was just her and her cat, Pyewacket.

-----------------------------------------------
Pyewacket let out a soft "miaow" when he heard the knock on the door. Well, soft, that is, for a Siamese cat who had just been awoken from snoozing in the living room's big bay window. In this case, soft meant something just short of sounding like a small animal being strangled. Mercedes certainly hoped whoever was at her door hadn't heard the cat and thought that she was preparing it for dinner or something.

"Just a minute," she called, scooping up the cat as she went to answer the door. On some level, Mercedes wanted to assure her visitor that the cat was alive and well. She looked out the window on her way to the foyer and saw that it was Ralph, her next-door neighbor. The guy was friendly enough, and had even asked her out a couple of times, but Mercedes hadn't thought she was ready for the dating scene yet. It was still too soon since the divorce--six years of marriage twisted into a cruel and hateful showdown at the end. It had almost ripped her heart out to hear Douglas talk about her like that to the divorce mediator after she had already endured so much. The thought of dating all over again, meeting new people, awkward pauses in conversations, pretending to be amused by someone's lame jokes, the leers and come-ons at bars--no, just not right now, she thought. I just don't feel like dealing with it.

She checked herself in the mirror quickly and thought she looked acceptable. Blonde hair in a loose ponytail, a blue t-shirt, pair of jeans--her typical Saturday morning outfit when she didn't have an Open House to run. Pyewacket purred against her shoulder as she opened the door with her free hand.

"Morning, Ralph. Um, I was just getting ready to go out for a drive--a little real estate homework." She let Pyewacket down and the cat sat on the rug in the foyer, looking blandly at the visitor. Mercedes made no attempt to invite Ralph in. "So, what brings you by this morning?"

 

[Finadien]

He thought he heard a strange, strangled sound but couldn't quite put it down so he ignored it. Then he heard a "Just a minute", some steps, a pause, some more steps and then the door opened to show him Mercedes with her cat in one arm. She greeted him and told him that she was on her way out. He nearly lost his nerve right there and then and said goodbye again but no, he had made up his mind and now he would try it.

She sat down the cat and asked him what had brought him over and so he tried to talk his way into her flat.

"Uhm, hi, I won't take long," he lied of course, or at least he hoped that it would take long what he planed to do. "I've got this book with, ah, german poems from my uncle and I wanted to see how they sounded to a female ear."

He knew that this was pretty lame, but he hoped she would fall for it, at least for a minute or so. Besides if this whole magic thing was not true this was the safest way to keep his face.

 

[brigid_fitch]

"I've got this book with, ah, German poems from my uncle and I wanted to see how they sounded to a female ear."

Mercedes tried not to roll her eyes. German poems...female ear. Well, that was a new one, she thought. Pyewacket let out a sound that could either be a sneeze or a hairball, but sounded suspiciously like a snort. It thankfully distracted Ralph from seeing the expression on her face before she had a chance to plaster her sales agent smile to it.

"Wow, that's really sweet of you to think of me, Ralph," she lied. How can I get out of this? "But I really do have to get going. If I'm going to get any new listings, I have to canvass for some Fisbo's--uh, sorry. Occupational hazard. I meant, 'For Sale By Owner' homes. Maybe when I get back?" With that, she reached out to close the door. "Besides," she said, looking down at the cat, "Pyewacket here sounds like he might be coming down with something. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can get back to make sure it's nothing serious.

"Thanks for coming by, Ralph." And she shut the door before he had a chance to get more than a syllable out. She felt a little guilty--Ralph was a nice guy and all he wanted was a date. Not too much to ask. And she had to give him points for inventiveness. But it was just too soon. She didn't think she could bear sitting through a dinner trying to make small talk. Not with a neighbor. If they dated and it didn't work, it would be awkward whenever they saw each other, which would be daily. No, better to just stay out of it. She reached down for the cat and plopped him on his pillow back in the bay window.

"And you behave yourself, young man. No more outbursts." She chided him as though he could understand her. She went back into the kitchen to grab her purse and jacket. Since she had told Ralph she was about to leave, it wouldn't look very nice if she hung around the house. She grabbed her things off the back of the kitchen chair and headed for the front door, hoping Ralph wouldn't still be there.

 

[Finadien]

Stupid, Stupid, stupid. He thought as he stared at the door that had nearly slammed into his nose. Did he really think that anyone would fall for this? What now? He could head back into his flat and forget all this or he could try someone different, but no, Mercedes had looked so fine, even in her everyday clothes and his interest into her had always been there.

Hadn't she said that she was about to leave? He went back to his own door, sat down on the mat in front of it and opened the book. The spell he had choosen required for her to hear the spell and for him to see her. It was rather short and he was sure he could get it off in the time she needed walk from her flat to the main door.

He readjusted his seat, put the book into his lap and read the spell in his mind again and again to familiarize himself with it. Then he waited for her to leave her flat.

 

[brigid_fitch]

As Mercedes approached the front door, Pyewacket let out a questioning purr and she looked towards the cat. He had moved to the far side of the window and his tail lazily moved from one side of him to the other. A very odd reaction, even for him. She went over to investigate, expecting to find him focusing on a squirrel or bird outside the window, but saw instead Adam sitting on his front porch, German poem book on his lap.

Sighing, she retreated back from the window. Why in the world was he sitting on his porch, she wondered. No doubt waiting for me to go to the car and find another way to ask me out. Another deep sigh as she tried to think of a way to avoid rejecting him again. He really was nice enough, and she had to give him points for persistence, but how was she going to let him down easily this time? There was no way to avoid him--he'd be practically right next to her once she moved to the driver's side of her car parked in the driveway. She couldn't exactly ignore him--or could she..?

She ran back into the room that served as her office and grabbed her iPod from the desk. Shrugging on her denim jacket and shouldering her purse, she confidently strode to the front door, affixing the earphones as she did. That oughtta do it, she thought, as she hit the Play button on the iPod and cranked the volume. The Foo Fighters sang about there being nowhere back from here as she opened the door and walked to her car.

 

[Finadien]

He heard the door open and saw Mercedes leave her flat and closing the door. He just wanted to start his spell when he saw that she apparently had some kind of earplugs..he nearly slapped himself against the forehead. She was listening to her iPod and from the bits of sound he could hear apparently in a volume that would prevent her from hearing his spell.

He didn't had much time to think and somehow he was desperate. He got up, took a step towards her and reached out as if to hold her by the shoulder. He still could pretend that he just wanted to ask her out for later or something. His hand brushed against the phone from her left ear and as soon as it was out he rattle off the spell.

Then he stood perfectly still, waiting for her to slap him or something.

 

[brigid_fitch]

Mercedes felt a hand on her shoulder and thought she heard a voice, perhaps...Ralph's? It was certainly no longer Dave Grohl's, but she couldn't be sure of anything. The gutteral sounds she heard were some unfamiliar language. They echoed in her brain for a moment before settling in. She felt faint, unsteady on her feet. Her purse dropped from her shoulder, but she was too dizzy to catch it.

Before she herself crumpled, strong arms caught her. She looked at the person with unfocused eyes, happy to not have ended up on the ground next to her purse. What had happened to her? She blinked a couple of times, trying to clear her head and her vision. Finally, Ralph's face came into focus.

"Ralph..? I..I'm sorry. I guess I must have had a dizzy spell." She slowly pushed back from him, righting herself and standing under her own power. Had she noticed before what such incredibly blue eyes he had? "Good thing you were close at hand, though."

 

[Finadien]

Ralph looked her in the eyes and was really surprised. Somehow deep in him he hadn't believed that this "spell" would work and by know he should have been laughed at or worse. But this was not the case. Apparently his uncled hadn't been so mad after all.

He took a step back and needed some seconds to decide what to do know. It seemed that she liked him better now, or perhaps even more?

"I think it is best if you don't drive right away, perhaps we should go back into your flat?" He framed it as a questions but with just enough emphasis to make it a strong suggestion.

This could get interesting he thought.

 

[Finadien]

*bump*

 

[brigid_fitch]

"I think it is best if you don't drive right away, perhaps we should go back into your flat?"

Mercedes looked at her car. The thought of driving and possibly having another of those dizzy spells was sobering. Ralph's idea was sound--there was no reason she had to rush off right now. She had all day to look for houses; going back inside and having a cup of tea was probably all she needed. And perhaps some breakfast. Maybe that was the problem--she hadn't eaten yet, figuring she'd just grab something at Starbuck's along her route.

Nodding weakly, she reached out a hand and put it against Ralph's arm for support. "You know, I think that's a good idea. Maybe I should go back inside and sit down for a bit."

She turned back to him and again she was struck by his eyes. They were full of concern, but why was he smiling?

 

[Finadien]

The first thought that crossed his mind was It worked, it really worked. The fact that she had fainted could have been some really strange happenstance but now the look she gave him clearly showed that she was under his control. Her whole body language had changed and he wondered why he hadn't realized her body language before? Perhaps her body had distracted him?
Up until the spell her whole body had nearly screamed to him to get lost but now it talked about quite the opposite.
What now? he asked himself a bit unsure of what to do next. The idea to try out the book had been not more then a sudden impulse that he didn't quite understand himself but now, after it had worked he began to be unsure of himself.
Get her naked! another voice inside his head told him. Get her into her apartment, get her naked and ... but he interrupted this train of thought right away, This isn't right, I have to reverse the spell. But then he slowly realized that he didn't know how to do that. He hadn't seen any counterspell or any indication that the spell would wear off. This is bad. the reasonable Ralph told him You have to get her back to normal. but this voice was slowly getting muted and the other voice whispered: Just to her underwear, you always wanted to see her in her underwear.. He nodded and looked at her with a slight smile on his face and slowly guided her back inside. Her hand on his arm felt warm and smooth and he really liked that feeling.

As they reached her door he waited for her to open it and wondered what the inside of her apartment would look like. Especially the bedroom. the voice in his head told him but he ignored it....for now.