Vestigial Self [Closed - Miharu]

She merely blinked as Liseran had her sudden reaction of Kassandra mentioning the Expiate. She looked at her with an expression of unamusement as she waited for her to continue, thought her eye squinted slightly in disdain at the mention of 'our kind'. It took a lot for Kassandra to not interrupt her, as Liseran also clarified that she wasn't doing this for some big scheme, but rather because there was someone else in danger. And in fact, when she said she failed to contain this creature, Kassandra's ire only increased.

"You failed to contain this creature and now someone is in danger?" She said, sounding offended by the statement, and would have continued, if it weren't for Liseran walking away and voicing her hurry. "Halt." She quickly said, raising her voice to call for her attention. "... You clearly cannot do this alone. If this is as urgent as you make it out to be, then you are going to need help." There was a strange tone of reluctance in her voice, despite not being prompted to actually help her by Liseran herself, almost as if something in Liseran's words has touched her.

Liseran winced when Kassandra basically scolded her for letting Mephis free. This was feeling a little too familiar the last time she explained the situation, and like the previous situation, this person didn't want to leave her alone to do it either.

Liseran stared at the ground, ashamed, and touched her arm nervously.

"You really don't have to," she said. "This is my responsibility and--"

"Hey, do you hear something over here?"

The voice came from the other side of the attic, followed by footsteps and a beam of light heading their way.

Without warning, Liseran jumped in front of Kassandra, casting several marks. As the light flashed over to them, Kassandra would see two Expiate officers with one casting a starlight to brighten the area. Despite being right in front of them, they didn't seem to see the two.

"Nothing here," one of the officers said. "Must have been a stray dog."

When they disappeared, Liseran sighed in relief.

"Alright, if you're going to help me, I'm gonna have to brief you in more on the situation. But first, we should get to safety."

She would offer a hand to Kassandra, her eyes a little hesitant and worried she'd reject her.

"Will you trust me on this?"

Staring at her like a disappointed mother, Kassandra waited to hear Liseran's reply to her  request to help her, when suddenly voices from outside the alley were heard. "Huh?" She didn't know who it was, but before she could find out, Liseran quickly bolted towards her, casting some sort of cartic spell. She was very surprised by the move, and was about to scream at her, when she noticed the people calling out were Expiate officers.

Great.

She quickly noticed that despite being in front of them, the officers didn't notice their presence at all, almost as if they were invisible to them. Another of Liseran's spells? Still, she glared at the officers until they made their faulty assessment, and walked away. "Mmph." A noise came from her once the danger was away, her sights returning to Liseran. Seems that she had seconds thought and decided to accept her help, something that didn't seem to move Kassandra either way. "... I can trust, yes. As long as this is as urgent as you make it out to be. I wouldn't want your sob story to turn out false." She warned her, crossing her arms. "Though, come to think about it... there was something in the conversation you had with that fiend that stood out to me."

"What is this 'gray' magic you mentioned? I would like that to be explained too." Could it be she wasn't completely doing this out of the kindness of her heart?

Liseran stiffened when Kassandra pointed out she had heard her and Mephistopheles talking about grey magic. To this, Liseran stroked the ends of her hair nervously.

"I-I see," she said. "I'll explain as we get out of here, then. Please follow me."

She'd mention for Kassandra to follow her out of the alleyway. As they reached the streets, she would look at both directions before pulling up her hood.

"I suggest you do the same," she pointed to Kassandra's cloak.

From there, they'd reach the lamp lit streets of the village. Unlike the other portions of town, this quarter was full of cramp and uneven areas. Buildings stuck close together and only had thin cobble pathways to keep the ones across them apart. No one seemed to really be out and the only areas with lights were some taverns and hostels.

"Grey magic," Liseran murmured as they crossed into territory with barely any lights on at all. "It's not really mentioned in Cartic magic now and is mostly associated with religion, but it's basically a form of magic that's not really practiced anymore."

She'd raise a hand and motion for Kassandra to stop walking for a moment. Gesturing, she'd pull her into another alleyway as a pair of Expiate officers started to walk along the path. Once they did, the two would resume walking and Liseran would continue speaking.

"Do you know how Expiate members can cancel out Cantus and bind them?" she asked. "It's very similar to what grey magic can do. It's just that it's not just Cantic magic it can cancel."

She'd then look at Kassandra, her deep blue eyes serious.

"It's all magic."

Once Liseran decided to explain, she motioned Kassandra to follow her out of the alleyway, and even tell her to cover herself up. Matching and Understanding her need to not draw attention, she wordlessly complies by putting her hoodie over her, as well as fixing her cloak so that it covered her figure; Kassandra was now a mystery literally wrapped in blue.

She wasn't traverse this part of the city before, as Kassandra would seldom get deeper in any town she would visit, and thus remained close to Liseran when she guided towards the rather cramped slums. When she made mention about what Grey magic was, Kassandra raised one eyebrow in skepticism. "Associated with religion? Why haven't I heard about it?" It didn't sound like something common if Liseran said it wasn't practiced anymore.

Obediently, she followed her instructions to hold off and reroute herself whenever Liseran needed to, as she kept listening to the woman regarding this arcane mysticism. She was about to mention something about the effects of cancelling Cartic Magic, but then Liseran dropped the bomb: Grey Magic could cancel all magic. This made her eye widen a bit, even if it was hard to look under her good. "'Cancel' magic? In a similar vein to what Enkidus could do?" She said, remember tidbits about the Enkidu's Roar ability.

"I'm not sure if it's the same as Enkidu roars, if that's what you mean," Liseran admitted. "But the way gray magic works, one cannot cast magic at all when it's done, yes. It's rumored to do other things, too, like reverse effects."

The two would eventually make it out of the slum areas, they'd reach a much more scenic area with wider stone paths going downhill. Stone houses occupied the slopes, filling the view with moonlit terraces made out of brick and concrete.
"As for why it's not well-known is because it's more ancient religion," Liseran explained. "Most of the people who know about it are devout clerics or scholars who study magic history. People treat it like a lost craft, but the truth is, it's a lot closer to us than we think."

Eventually, Liseran would direct Kassandra to the left where there was an alleyway between two buildings. She'd lead Kassandra through and as they reached a brick wall, Liseran would take out her silver bell and summon several marks. The marks would float towards the wall, creating a glyph and as it glowed, the wall would shimmer, turning gradually transparent and revealing a large open square where there was a fountain. It was close to empty save for an open stall that seemed to be a soup kitchen for some late night workers. There were entrances into buildings surrounding them and it seemed many people were turning in for the day.

"A Haven," she explained. "I'm not sure if you're familiar with them, but places like these are off grid and a place for a lot of Cantus users to stay hidden. If you don't mind, I just need to get a few materials. Or perhaps you'd like to rest a bit before we head out? I have a bed you can use, if that's the case."

Given the way Liseran spoke, it definitely sounded like the Enkidu's ability, but Kassandra mulled over that very briefly as she then mentioned Gray magic being able to do other things, like 'reversing' effects. "Reverse...?" She said, as the two stepped into a different area of the city, with Kassandra noting the rather quaint scenery around them. "But basically nothing is stopping others from practicing this magic, outside of ignorance?"

And then, Liseran took Kassandra to what appeared to be a secret location, in Liseran's own words, for Cantus users. There was an initial look of confusion when they reached the brick wall, but her doubts would dissipate as Liseran's magics exposed her to an area unknown to her. She looked around her, looking a bit surprised despite still showing a stoic expression, before hearing the woman speak again. "Huh... I haven't heard of these, rather useful." She commented, her eye on the fountain. "A bed, you say? I thought you were in a hurry."

"In a way, yes," she said when Kassandra asked about learning gray magic. "But you can't just chalk it up to ignorance. It requires heavy understanding of the Cantic and Cartic language, and even then learning how to use it requires having someone with the said knowledge."

Liseran had to learn that the hard way. She could, however, tell that Kassandra seemed rather interested in what potential gray magic had. This...concerned Liseran at the very most, and decided not to divulge too much on it as she couldn't allow the ability to use such magic just be given to anyone.

With that said, Kassandra pointed out the inconsistency for Liseran's suggestion she rest. The violet-haired girl flushed.

"Err...no you're right," she said. "It was my weak attempt to stop you from joining me. I still don't want to put you in any danger. I'm sorry..."

She looked hard at the ground bashfully, her stoic guise from earlier disappearing. Tucking a hair behind her head, she sighed.

"That said, I do need a bit of equipment before we go. If you can just follow me, I'm going to replenish my charges."

Through the quiet streets, Liseran would reach a small door leading to one of the buildings. It led to a small wooden loft. It was rather poor in furnishings. On the ground floor there was a hearth and a table and a makeshift stove. A few bookshelves and an armchair. A chest on the side and a dresser seemed to be the only storage. The loft on the higher floor was connected only by a ladder which led to a series of beds.

No one else seemed to be here though the hearth was burning.

"Is there anything you'd like before we go?" she said. "There are a few healing potions lying about here if you need them."

"Do they?" She asked curiosly, as Liseran mentioned that one needed a lot of Cantus and Cartic knowledge to utilize, which already removed Kassandra as a candidate. "Mmmh... that makes sense. If it's a magic that can affect all magic, it would require being able to use both types effectively." She mused, before looking disappointed. "It doesn't sound very reassuring though. Never in my life did I touch Cartic magic."

And when Liseran was caught redhanded in her attempt at bedding Kassandra, the woman squinted her eye at her. "I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not like the person you are endangering by letting this monster remain free." She barked back, throwing a bit of shade on purpose for trying to trick her like that.

However, Liseran did need to stop to replenish her provisions, something Kassandra wouldn't stop her for. They stopped at one of the houses, leading her to see the shelter Liseran took, one which seemed rather small and lacking, but serviceable enough. With no sense of obstenticity, Kassandra merely nodded and went to the nearest chair to relax. "No, thanks. The battle didn't take a lot from me, relaxing for a moment will work. You get ready."

Liseran puffed her cheeks when Kassandra made another jab at her letting Mephistopheles remain free.

"I-it's not like it's easy catching him, you know," she said with a small pout. An then, turning her nose away, "But fine. I'll gear up."

Liseran would move over to some chests, placing a few different Cartic stores away and replacing them with new ones. In particular, she chose a set of smooth stones and placed them in her satchel. From their colors, they appeared to be a few topazes, jades, and turquoise. She'd also take another stone and place her bells next to it.

Kassandra would see a flow of light go from the stones to the bells, causing inscriptions on the bells to glow brightly.

"This will take awhile," she said. "Feel free to eat any of the food on the table. While you're at it, I guess we should talk skills. What are you capable of?"

On the table, Kassandra would notice some sausages, cheese, bread, and a series of fruits. They didn't looked touched and were probably safe to eat.