Modern Magic

[Lemming]

Lancaster

I thought of anything I might have left out. "Well, the cat said that if I ever needed her, she'd be there." I shook my head a little. "It all seems kind of strange now, a cat talking to me, possibly the ancient goddess Bastet. They don't teach you how to handle these things in class..." I couldn't help but think what else they hadn't taught me, like how to stop myself from thinking of what Catrina would look like naked. I took a sip of the cold soda to try and calm my thoughts, though outwardly I seemed very relaxed.

 

[Song]

Jessica

Jessica gave some thought to David's "little project." It was going to take some coordination--finding a time when everyone was free, finding a safe place, managing to get everyone together... She had told him that she'd do what she could to help--maybe she could go and talk to Gabriel and start making some concrete arrangements.

She hoped David wouldn't mind her taking the initiative like this, but she'd always been a terribly take-control type of person, and she really did like him. He seemed the type of person she could really fall for, if she let herself--mature, handsome, kind, not to mention a *damned* fine fuck!

Jessica looked up Gabriel's address in the campus directory and headed over. As she knocked on the door, she wondered what type of person would open it...

 

[Vivid]

David

The head of security looked after Dea as she gathered her things. He started arrangig in his mind all of the items he would need for the "ritual". Even her old-fashioned term for it gave him goosebumps.

He pondered about her comment concerning "... not positive..." energy concerning this. Hmmm.... That's a risk, regardless, but the "conduit" must be warned. Those thoughts brought him back to this Catrina.

He paused a moment to access her dwellings address from the Security database. He set a mental reminder to go there later this afternoon. For now he was going to await this Robert Phoenix outside his next class. He was sure the grad student would have some insight into Jessica's emotive block.

 

[Firegirl976]

Catrina

I was listening to Lancaster talk and was about to comment on the situation when my kitty Cleo jumped up onto my lap demanding attention. I absently stroked her fur mulling over the situation I was now in when she suddenly jumped over to Lancaster and started playing with his pendant. "Lancaster meet Cleo.", I said this with a smile as Cleo meowed up at Lancaster demandign the same attention from him that she had jsut recieved from me.

 

[Vivid]

OOC

I'm going out of town til the end of this week. Posting will be sporadic.
Thread's looking good though.

-Vivid

 

[Violet_J]

Gabriel

A knock at my door dragged me from my book. I slowly rose from my chair and closed the book. I slide the book onto the desk listening to the soft hiss as the leather slide over the wood.

I had no idea who would be bothering me at this hour, but I wasn't doing much else, company would be welcome.

As my bare feet padded softly across the hardwood floor I straightened my robes, enjoying the feeling of the heavy cloth against my bare skin. My fingers played over one of the glyphs inlaid in the broad leather collar of the robes. My mind repeated the chant silently, calling on the power. The spell answered as a feeling of safety came over me.

Who ever was on the other side of the door, did not mean me harm.

I smiled and opened the door.

"Evening."

She introduced herself and her relation to Warden Greys.

"Ah, well, as you know, I am Gabriel Winter." I bow with a warm smile. "Please, come in. Becareful the door." I nod to the sign in the arcaic Dragonic tongue announcing that the door way dispells anything that passes through it.

I offer a seat and a drink of tea as the door closes behind us.

 

[Song]

Jessica

"Thanks, I'd love some tea. Do you read leaves? I hope I'm not disturbing you."

Jessica came into the room and noted the comfortable furnishings. She sat on an overstuffed chair indicated by Gabriel as being quite cozy. She sipped the tea and started a conversation about the "project".

"I know that David has asked you to help him out in bringing his wife back. I'm wondering if he's told you anything about her--regarding her talents or her...interests?"

 

[Lemming]

Lancaster

OOC
Sorry for my little absence... things have been busy.

IC

I looked down at the cat with a smile and began petting it, paying special attention to scratching behind it's ears. I was glad for this little distraction, it gave me some time to gather myself mentally. I took another sip of my soda and glanced down at the cat. Jokingly I asked, "So, do you talk too, or is that an avatar-only sort of thing?"

 

[Violet_J]

Gabriel Winter

"David has told me little about this project so far. I've charged him with finding a willing subject for the channeling. I don't know anything about her or his wife."

I sit on the couch near the chair, holding my tea and looking over the rim.

"I've never tried to read tea leaves. I don't put much stock into the future telling arts."

 

[Song]

Jessica

Jessica proceeded to tell Gabriel about David's wife's empathy and sexual drive, and what it would mean to anyone involved in the "experiment".

"He does have someone in mind for the subject, but he said he doesn't know if she's willing. I offered to be the second choice," Jessica said with a grin.

"Do you mind if I try to read your leaves? It's something my granny taught me--I'm not very good at it, but I get a kick out of it."

Jessica got up from her chair to sit on the couch next to Gabriel. She looked questioningly at Gabriel's almost-finished cup of tea.

 

[Violet_J]

Gabriel Winter

I finish my tea, and hold my cup in my cradled hands infront of Jessica.

"Sure."

"So he wants to bring is wife back for a last night of passion? Wow, that was not something he told me about. Well... you don't mind? Will you two want some privacy?

"Sorry to ask so many questions, but.. I don't know how much of this you will remember. You may see then entire thing from within your own body, but be unable to do anything."

 

[Song]

"Privacy? From what he described, I don't think it's going to be able to work that way... I mean, everyone involved--everyone who is helping or contributing--is going to be affected. Sounds exciting to me," Jessica said with a very naughty look on her face. "I can't believe he asked you to get involved without warning you, though."

Jessica leaned over and gently put her hands around Gabriel's, the teacup being held by both of them. "Like I said, I'm not very good at this." Jessica shrugged. She looked at the leaves for a minute and then raised her gaze to Gabriel, smiling. "They say good things about your future. Good career, love, comfort. I can't read well enough to give details, but you have a lovely life ahead of you."

Her hands hadn't yet left Gabriel's. She noted how soft and cared for they were--this was a woman who earned her living with her mind, not her hands. An intelligent woman. The leaves said that Gabriel was confident and sure of herself--heck just common sense said that someone willing to go back to school had to be that way.

"Your hands are very soft," Jessica commented.

 

[Firegirl976]

Catrina

I smiled a bit at Lancsters comment to Cleo, she looked at me as if for permission and sent me a mental "?". I nodded at her and she sent a timid mental caress of thanks to Lancster for the attention as well as a soft purr in his mind. It was different from what I had sent him I knew but it was a form of speaking none the less. I looked up to gauge his reaction and without my meaning them to I knew my eyes had softened a bit at his affection for Cleo. She was truly a dear and had helped me alot over the years. "She is a sweetheart isn't she, and she is unique in her talents.", I catch Lancasters gaze and take a deep breath. "She can channel energy to me", I hold his gaze letting him figure out what I just acknowledged. His eyes widened slightly and I knew I had his attention. "That is why I never dismissed the probability to the students of animals having similar intelligence to us." I suddenly realized that while we were both petting cleo our hands were touching quite a bit, "You have a gentle touch" comes out of my mouth before I can stop it and I look up at him to see his reaction.......

 

[Violet_J]

Gabriel Winter

I leaned over the cradled cup, looking into it aswell, my face hovering near Jessica's as she tried to read the leaves.

I smiled as she told my fortune, as vague as it was. I glanced at her face as she studied the leaves, trying to see what she was thinking. I refrained from using magic to pry.

To keep my mind from wondering and wandering too much, I spoke to change the subject.

"He hadn't warned me." I said as I straighten my back, pulling my head away from the tea cup. "I really wasn't expecting to be but so involved. I figured I would set up the rig, begin the channel and let who ever he got as an illusionist to dress the focus. After it starts, all I would need to do is fix myself some dinner and make sure the spell doesn't...

"crash." My last words trailed off as Jessica looked up from the leaves. Our eyes caught and I stuttered for a moment, distracted.

"Your hands are very soft," she said after looking up.

"Yours are very warm," I responded after a pause.

When my sense returned I felt myself get warm. I smiled nervously and pulled a single hand out from hers to pull my hair back. It was a purely nervous reaction. And I chided myself for it. Here I was, feeling like a little school girl just because this... this girl... she had to be nearly five years younger than me... she was paying me a compliment.

I could swear she was flirting, but I thought it must be in my mind.

 

[Song]

Jessica

Jessica noticed that Gabriel seemed a bit flustered. Jessica put her hands on her lap, and Gabriel set the teacup on the table, trying to regain her composure.

"I hope you won't back out of the project, now that you know more about it? He's really going to need your help, and it'll definitely be nice to have someone like you there--I mean, only having met you a few minutes ago, I can already tell you're gentle, refined." Glancing at the thick, soft wizard's robes, Jessica said, "You obviously have a taste for quality. And comfort," she continued, looking around the room at the furnishings.

"But you can't seem to keep your hair in place," Jessica said with a shrug of the shoulders and a playful smile. The strand of hair that Gabriel had just pushed behind her ear had fallen back onto her face. Trying to keep Gabriel's gaze, Jessica reached up, gently touched her cheek, and tucked the errant lock back where it belonged.

 

[Violet_J]

Gabriel Winter

I freeze as she reaches up to brush my hair back, holding my breath, looking deep into her eyes. As her hand touches my cheek, I exhale. I reach up, taking her hand in mine, slowly, gingerly, smiling ever so softly.

I whisper, "I don't guess I can get out of this now."

[OOC] I'm very new at this. Please be gentle with me.

 

[Song]

Jessica

{OOC: I usually am, with women... <G> }

Gabriel kept Jessica's gaze. That was very nice--it showed confidence, even in the face of uncertainty. It didn't take her blocked empathy sense for Jessica to know that Gabriel was nervous--both about the channeling, as well as about the light amount of interest Jessica was allowing herself to show right then.

Jessica looked down at their hands, barely touching, resting between them on the couch. She took her free hand and lightly ran her fingernails along the back of Gabriel's.

"You've never done this sort of thing before, have you?" Jessica left the question vague, not really specifying whether she was talking about what would happen during the channeling, or if she was talking about what might happen between the two of them that evening.

 

[Violet_J]

Gabriel Winter

I took her hands in mine own as I felt her finger nails play over my skin. I followed her glance down to our hands. I gentle squeezed them, smiling to myself. With more confidence I slowly lean over to her, feeling my hair fall down around my face again.

"No... I can't say as I have."

I linger as she looks back up. I glance down at her lips, seeing them parted ever so slightly, ever so subconciously. I look back into her eyes, leaning slowly closer.

"I just hope something doesn't go wrong."

I close the space, slowly, pausing as I feel her breath on my lips. Feeling her fingers tighten slightly around mine, I let my body relax, my eyes closing, my lips gently touching hers.

[OOC] Uhm... not to kill a mood, but reading over this, it feels so cliché.

 

[Song]

Jessica

{OOC: Cliche or not, hon, I'm getting chills just reading it... *I* happen to think you're doing quite a lovely job.}

Kissing a woman was so different than kissing a man. Women tended to be slower, more gentle, more concerned about the details, less interested in "getting somewhere" rather than just savoring the moment, willing to take the time to examine every nuance and feeling.

Gabriel's lips were soft and full, moist and warm. Jessica's tongue traced the inside of the upper lip, then the lower, gradually moving inward to touch the edges of Gabriel's teeth. Almost tentatively, tongue touched tongue, just the tips, lips still brushing one another.

Jessica pulled away, gazed into Gabriel's eyes, smiled warmly, happily. "If it's within my power to make it happen, nothing will go wrong."

She reached up and again touched Gabriel's cheek, brushed her hair back into place. Her hand moved to the back of Gabriel's neck, started playing with her hair, rubbing her tense muscles.

"I just want you to know that I didn't invite myself over here, just so that this would happen. Mind you, I'm *not* complaining--even if we weren't going to be 'involved' with each other during the channeling, I'd still find you very...soft. Very pretty. Confident. Appealing." Jessica gave Gabriel an intimate smile--one that said that Gabriel was free to stop if she got uncomfortable--but Jessica couldn't say she wouldn't be disappointed.

Jessica's hand moved along Gabriel's shoulders, tracing her collarbones. Then it moved to the front of her neck, one finger lightly running up her chin and back to her cheek. She took Gabriel's hand, brought it to her mouth, and, one finger at a time, lightly kissed the tips, with just the barest touch from her tongue.

 

[Lemming]

Lancaster

This was too much... I stalled a little replying to her first questions and instead just stroked the cat some more, and found that our hands would occasionally 'bump' into each other while petting the cat. I felt the little wave of encouragement from the cat, but wasn't sure how to tell her. Then I heard her say that I had a gentle touch, and was about to respond in kind before I realized what I was about to say and blushed a bit.
I tried to smooth over the awkward moment with giving her a way out, "Must be that familiar-magus connection I've heard so much about?" I kind of smiled nervously, knowing if my thoughts were a book right now it would have to be placed in the adult section.

 

[Vivid]

OOC

Violet_J, you and Song are doing marvelously. It's a joy to read. Thank you for sharing your creativity with all of us. That goes for everyone in this thread.

-Vivid

 

[Violet_J]

Gabriel Winter

I smiled softly, looking into Jessica's warm eyes as her fingers slowly moved over my neck, caressed my cheek. I watched as she touched my fingertips to her lips, sweetly kissing each in turn.

I pushed my fingers past her lips, over her check, slowly, covering her soft skin with the palm of my hand. I still couldn't figure out why I was doing this, why I wanted to do this. My body was on fire underneath my robes. I squeezed my bare thighs together under the heavy fabric as I leaned closer, drawn to this young co-ed.

I gently pulled her closer, closing my eyes as our lips met. Our second kiss was full and warm. I lost myself against her, tasting her lips, hearing her soft moans caught in her throat.

As our kiss broke, I smiled, feeling her lips slip away. "I don't guess anything has gone wrong so far." It was more of a question than a statement, but I didn't wait for an answer.

"Can I get you anything, anything to make you more comfortable?"

 

[Song]

Jessica

"Mind if I light a fire?" Jessica indicated the logs laid out in the fireplace. At Gabriel's acquiescence, she murmured a short spell, and bright, dancing flames appeared.

Jessica stood up, taking Gabriel's hand, and led her over to sit on the thick, soft rug in front of the hearth. "Now *this* is much better, don't you think?"

Basking in the heat from the fireplace, Jessica felt warm all the way through. This encounter was very different from the one earlier with David. That had been raw, fast, hard. They had pleasured each other and then they were done. With Gabriel, Jessica felt more of an emotional closeness--here was a beautiful woman, trusting herself to a virtual stranger, trusting that she would be safe and happy in the end. While there was certainly something to be said for the power and dominance that was usually only seen with a man, there was also something to be said for the gentleness and concern that women tended to show.

Jessica leaned over and kissed Gabriel's cheek. With her lips almost-but-not-quite touching Gabriel's skin, she brushed past her lips, to the other cheek. Then she moved to her ear, making delicate, tiny touches with her tongue. She traced the outside edge of the ear, around the lobe, up the side, to the top. She felt Gabriel shiver in pleasure. Then she slowly moved inward, in ever tightening circles, until she was teasing the very center of the ear. Then, back out, stronger touches with her tongue, tracing the path in reverse. She ended by taking the earlobe fully into her mouth, caressing it with her lips, and then giving a bite, so tiny that it couldn't have hurt--but enough to make Gabriel jump in surprise.

Her lips moved back across Gabriel's cheek, until they were again mouth to mouth, not kissing, just breathing each other's breath, feeling each other's presence, basking in each other's warmth.

 

[Vivid]

David

David made his rounds swiftly, his thoughts preoccupied. It was getting late in the day, close to the time he was going to head over to Catrina's apartment. But he had a stop to make first. Being unsuccessful at finding Mr. Phoenix he accessed the security database concerning Jessica's past classes. Perhaps a prior instructor of hers would be willing to remove or supress the limiting enchantment on her if reminded how well she did in other mental focusing classes.

Professor Draconis was relatively new to the school, taking over classes in Shapeshifting and Telepathy (though really his talents seemed to be in comtrol rather than communication).

In TLP250, Mental Clarity and Communication, Jessica had excelled, pushing herself harder than any other student. Now David knew what had driven the young lady.

He set about to find Prof. Draconis and chat with him about Jessica.

 

[Firegirl976]

Catrina

I looked up at Lancaster seeing his obvious discomfort and grinned at bit at it, then he suddenly looked up and met my gaze. The electricity that flashed was magnetic and I flushed a bit at the emotion that emonated off of him. I refused to look away though, time to test the waters I thought. I slowly went from petting cleo to running a lazy finger over the top of his hand then up and down his arm. As I did this I watched his face carefully for any sign of reaction or repulsion. What does he really think of me?? I asked myself.........