justonetruth | (no subject)

Entry tags:

*au,
hakuba saguru

(no subject)

[Here again. Thankfully, he's human today, much more convenient than his seal form.

The mansion seems less crowded than before, or at least he's running into fewer people than last time. Just his luck. In a form where he can easily interact with humans, but none around to talk to.]

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[her grip only tightens when he tries to pull away, nails biting into the cloth of his jacket, and she feels that pull the instant it begins—the surge and rush of water, the oceans, the tide.

Akako holds on despite his struggling and the threatening groan of the pipes, eyes narrowed as she seeks a more definitive answer. Too strong for a pond or lake dweller. The wrong flavour for a spirit or demon of Japan. Too animistic for a merperson. She wracks her brain for what other western water beings she knows. Kelpie, or...]

...Selkie.

[the pronouncement is quiet, perfectly pronounced English, devoid of power or claim—more a confirmation to herself than anything. Even so, it hangs in the magicked air like a piece clicking into place, confirming her assumption.

She lets go the moment she feels that click, moving fast in case he decides to lash out. Her hair falls back to its normal hang as she withdraws]

There now, that wasn't so difficult, was it?

[His eyes turn dark, flicking from human to other, and he finally pulls the water out from the pies, drags a wave, a wall between himself and the witch. He does not want to be here, but he is not quite ready to run yet. He needs to know what the witch will do next.]

[she clutches her necklace in readiness, her own eyes dark but steady, measuring him, unafraid. Too late she realizes that she may have invited a threat where there was none before, but she can't bring herself to care. He doesn't know about the others and she's convinced that he can't hold a candle to her own powers. All she has to do is make sure that no one ventures down to the beach.

She's done what she needed to do, but the waves confirm that he isn't weak enough for her to turn her back on him. So she watches, magic ready but not drawn, and says, calmly,]

That's all.

Don't ever do that again. [It's more the panic of a cornered animal than any real maliciousness. He's afraid of her. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, especially not using his powers, because there is such a risk associated with discovery.

The water recedes, though it keeps flowing through the pipes and out onto the floor.]

All the legends about us... every single one, involve the enslavement of selkies by humans. You can understand why I might want to avoid letting people know what I am.

...I suppose that would be a concern.

[the people who have begged her for protection are bad enough, but beyond that she remembers, dimly, a time when she too could absolutely not afford to reveal her powers to the public.

How long ago was that, now?

She looks tired again, for a moment]

Rest assured, no one will hear about it from me.

Forgive me, witch, if I do not trust you.

[the words sting unexpectedly, and her expression flickers with surprise before she's able to retreat inside detachment. It means nothing, he's a stranger. You know that]

You're welcome to believe what you want, but you're greatly overestimating your importance to me. I have what I wanted.

[she turns to go]

You have what you wanted. [What Hakuba wants is to be left alone. What this version of the witch wants might just be information, but he doesn't trust her half as far as he can throw her.]

What I want to know is why you decided you had to force the information out of me.

You weren't forthcoming with it.

[as if that explained everything. Not stopping as she answers, either]

You had no right. [He follows behind her, pulled in her wake as she walks away.]

Rights fall far behind necessity, I'm afraid.

It was not a necessity.

You were a potential threat. If you were anything other than what you are, you wouldn't be able to walk away right now.

[It's a strong hint. You should be walking away now, we're both finished here.

But she's missed her slip-up. She did, after all, mention that he wasn't a threat to her either way.]

Edited 2014-07-07 05:36 (UTC)

A threat to who? Not you, certainly.

[her lips press together into a tight, thin line as she stops dead, her eyes narrowing at him]

Answer me. [The water pooled on the floor ripples and starts to flow toward him, puddles around his feet as he readies for another surge of power.]

[Her hand flies up to her necklace, much more quickly this time]

Do not test me.

[She says it in a tone cold enough to freeze water, an aural wind swirling about her feet]

[He shudders, steps back, and runs away.

There's no way that he's going to stay anywhere she can find him.]

[Watches him flee until he's gone from sight... then relaxes, releasing her magic and letting her breath out in a soft sigh.

She finds herself relieved that he didn't call her bluff. She can continue to tell herself that he's a stranger, but she still isn't at all sure what would have happened if he'd pressed her. She isn't sure she wants to find out.

A few more moments pass while she makes sure he's left the area, and then she turns on her heel to take a circuitous route back to the bunker. After that she wants to confirm with her own eyes that everyone is fine, and spending time with Kaito and Aoko should take her mind off things.

She hopes.]

Edited 2014-09-15 03:35 (UTC)

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