( mila's still smiling, faintly. not because she thinks 'someone's about to go on an uncontrollable killing spree' is unlikely - seems annoyingly plausible - but because her issue is so far in the other direction as to be almost embarrassing in contrast. if she were inclined to be embarrassed, instead of just aggravated. )
I'm being very cautious, ( after a pause ) with any further casting or experimentation, but attempts to use fairly straightforward abilities that I'm accustomed to relying on resulted in problems that I would, in a different context, take to medical.
I lost an hour, trying to discern how long I'd been here. When I tried to examine the time during which I was unconscious, I nearly lost breakfast and spent some time laying in the dark while various other parts of my life played at random, breakneck speed through my mind.
( she isn't going to say verbena. it's a compromise on secrecy, even as it makes sense to be more forthcoming with a sorcerer, who already knows that this sort of thing is perfectly possible. she's aware, through the network, that secrecy here is... different, but she's only now arrived.
she needs to settle in, before she makes any decisions about how forthcoming she will or will not be. )
My foci is typically blood. Fire or sex work equally well, but blood is the most expedient and what I typically rely on. ( the dry, professional way that she discusses this makes it sound a lot less racy than it can probably get. ) I'd work with a coven on anything - significantly ambitious, but I have three spheres of specialty of my own, and apparently at least one of them is all but unusably migraine-inducing.
If I were to react instinctively under pressure, that could be... ( a gesture. ) Dangerous.
[ Severus is patient, because as noted in dozens of other places, he's used to magic users being unwilling to discuss their nature to outsiders. (It's the one good thing being bigoted has done for him. He's fine with lording his magic over all these muggle peasants.) ]
All right. [ He understands foci and traditions of learning, knowing them as cults, mostly, but magic is magic. ]
It should be effortless. ( a trace of irritation - she's easy to read, just understated by nature rather than any desire to control herself for anyone else. ) Take a moment to think of how much time has passed from a given moment, and know it.
( instead, she lost an hour and she isn't sure how. )
It's-- ( she tilts her head, wrinkles her nose for a moment in thought, gestures. ) Yes, that's so - I've reached a point where I only need to think of it, but it's water running through worn grooves.
( the groove had to be worn in, etcetera. she follows what he's getting at. )
It's...it's an additional sense, that I've cultivated the having of. Time sight is the other; I see through time. I should be able to, by rights, examine any moment previous to this one.
( any, not limited to her own moments-- which it is, here, but she can't make it work well enough to even grasp that that limitation is there in the first place. she was a little preoccupied with the effects of the backfire to spend time ruminating on why it was only her own life she was witnessing again. )
I've experienced the backlash of vulgar magic before, and I've experienced the effects of overextending myself. This is neither.
I haven't heard of anything happening like that before, but it doesn't surprise me. [ There's a worn tone to his voice, like he's used to dealing with magical fuckups induced by this place. He is. ] We are in all likelihood outside of proper time, here. There's no concrete proof, but while we're in stasis, we don't know how much time passes. A young woman who is no longer here shapeshifted into bodies that would not be destroyed by the jump and stayed out, twice. Once she said one month had passed. And then a year.
I've had some issues overall, but I don't-- require a foci. [ Nor does he have spheres. Expertise, sure, but Severus is... well, anyway. ] Trying to do anything with a wide influence is difficult or impossible, finite work can be more challenging. If you can Apparate, or teleport, you'll find that out of order in different circumstances.
( even in her own world and context, the practise of magic differs sometimes so drastically between traditions that she doesn't raise an eyebrow at the difference here - more concerned with the details he can give her about generalities than side-eyeing somebody else's practise.
hers has changed substantially enough that she'd be a little bit of an asshole to do so. )
I can't, presently, but I suspect it'll impact the smaller scale power I do have. ( uuuuugh. )
My advice is to go slowly and trust your instincts carefully. [ Which might sound very watered-down and pointless as advice, but to people who use magic in daily life, going back to babysteps can be sketchy as hell. ]
I'd like to get a reference guide set up for magic users who arrive, but I've had difficulty getting contributions. I assume most people are used to hiding what they can do.
Mm. Discretion is a matter of physical necessity, where I'm from. When I talk about 'vulgar' magic, I'm referring to performing obvious feats in front of the unawakened - the backlash from altering their perceived reality so drastically is violent.
( bleeding from the eyes sucks. )
That said. I had to go back to basics when I changed traditions-- useful experience, I take it. ( because yeah, it's hard to go backwards. ) I'm happy to help in whatever way I can.
[ Severus just lifts an eyebrow. Merlin forbid the Ministry ever get notions in their head like that.
But anyway. ]
If you'd like to keep a record on your experiences, it could be compiled later. And, of course, if you ever need assistance in the event something goes wrong, that is effectively what I'm here for.
... anyway. mila inclines her head, a relaxed sort of nod. )
I'll make my notes available to you, and I hope you'll need them more than I'll need you. ( a dry smile. ) But as I was saying to Dr Tam, I'm not laboring under the idea the dangers here have been exaggerated.
( thus promptly showing up, detailing her issues and cooperating fully with any ways of avoiding future ones for herself or anyone else. preparedness is key, even - especially - when how prepared you are may not fucking matter. )
They aren't exaggerated, but staying alert and not actively doing anything stupid will do for keeping most everyone out of mortal peril. Quite a lot of stupid people are persistently still alive after years, in fact.
[ Wouldn't it have been awesome if Shepard and Javik had lived and the ship had eaten someone useless. Like Black, or whatever vampire is running around scaring people. ]
God loves fools and children, ( ... dryly. her nanny used to say that, years ago, and agnosticism followed by awakening never broke her of the habit of repeating it. ) But that's nothing new.
( rather familiar, in fact. she can work with this, she thinks. )
If there's anything else I can offer your department, in future-- let me know. Blending magic and the scientific method isn't new to me.
( she's already expected to farm herself out to agriculture. may as well offer her services to something that interests her a bit more, as well, although frankly she anticipates being kept plenty busy by medical. )
[ His expression is neutral - he's just never going to like bastardizing magic by forcing it to comply with these awful muggle notions - but he nods. Having that sort of insight is noteworthy, if mildly repulsive on principle. ]
Of course. And if you come across any trouble, I'm always available.
( sons of ether like to pretend what they do is not magic. milagros finds this slightly tiresome, in retrospect, but that is a conversation for another day. )
Thank you.
( she rises; smalltalk is not a particular gift of hers, and they've - at least for now - exhausted the possibilities of her purpose. time to make a polite exit. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
I'm being very cautious, ( after a pause ) with any further casting or experimentation, but attempts to use fairly straightforward abilities that I'm accustomed to relying on resulted in problems that I would, in a different context, take to medical.
I lost an hour, trying to discern how long I'd been here. When I tried to examine the time during which I was unconscious, I nearly lost breakfast and spent some time laying in the dark while various other parts of my life played at random, breakneck speed through my mind.
no subject
Can you explain how you were doing these things? Witchcraft?
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( she isn't going to say verbena. it's a compromise on secrecy, even as it makes sense to be more forthcoming with a sorcerer, who already knows that this sort of thing is perfectly possible. she's aware, through the network, that secrecy here is... different, but she's only now arrived.
she needs to settle in, before she makes any decisions about how forthcoming she will or will not be. )
My foci is typically blood. Fire or sex work equally well, but blood is the most expedient and what I typically rely on. ( the dry, professional way that she discusses this makes it sound a lot less racy than it can probably get. ) I'd work with a coven on anything - significantly ambitious, but I have three spheres of specialty of my own, and apparently at least one of them is all but unusably migraine-inducing.
If I were to react instinctively under pressure, that could be... ( a gesture. ) Dangerous.
no subject
All right. [ He understands foci and traditions of learning, knowing them as cults, mostly, but magic is magic. ]
You said it involved judging time.
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( instead, she lost an hour and she isn't sure how. )
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no subject
( the groove had to be worn in, etcetera. she follows what he's getting at. )
It's...it's an additional sense, that I've cultivated the having of. Time sight is the other; I see through time. I should be able to, by rights, examine any moment previous to this one.
( any, not limited to her own moments-- which it is, here, but she can't make it work well enough to even grasp that that limitation is there in the first place. she was a little preoccupied with the effects of the backfire to spend time ruminating on why it was only her own life she was witnessing again. )
I've experienced the backlash of vulgar magic before, and I've experienced the effects of overextending myself. This is neither.
no subject
I haven't heard of anything happening like that before, but it doesn't surprise me. [ There's a worn tone to his voice, like he's used to dealing with magical fuckups induced by this place. He is. ] We are in all likelihood outside of proper time, here. There's no concrete proof, but while we're in stasis, we don't know how much time passes. A young woman who is no longer here shapeshifted into bodies that would not be destroyed by the jump and stayed out, twice. Once she said one month had passed. And then a year.
no subject
( as if this place lacked for ways to inconvenience them, time itself no longer behaves as it ought. )
At least that bodes well for fewer issues with my primary sphere.
( but it does suggest she might want to be damned careful with the third. )
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hers has changed substantially enough that she'd be a little bit of an asshole to do so. )
I can't, presently, but I suspect it'll impact the smaller scale power I do have. ( uuuuugh. )
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I'd like to get a reference guide set up for magic users who arrive, but I've had difficulty getting contributions. I assume most people are used to hiding what they can do.
no subject
( bleeding from the eyes sucks. )
That said. I had to go back to basics when I changed traditions-- useful experience, I take it. ( because yeah, it's hard to go backwards. ) I'm happy to help in whatever way I can.
no subject
But anyway. ]
If you'd like to keep a record on your experiences, it could be compiled later. And, of course, if you ever need assistance in the event something goes wrong, that is effectively what I'm here for.
no subject
... anyway. mila inclines her head, a relaxed sort of nod. )
I'll make my notes available to you, and I hope you'll need them more than I'll need you. ( a dry smile. ) But as I was saying to Dr Tam, I'm not laboring under the idea the dangers here have been exaggerated.
( thus promptly showing up, detailing her issues and cooperating fully with any ways of avoiding future ones for herself or anyone else. preparedness is key, even - especially - when how prepared you are may not fucking matter. )
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[ Wouldn't it have been awesome if Shepard and Javik had lived and the ship had eaten someone useless. Like Black, or whatever vampire is running around scaring people. ]
no subject
( rather familiar, in fact. she can work with this, she thinks. )
If there's anything else I can offer your department, in future-- let me know. Blending magic and the scientific method isn't new to me.
( she's already expected to farm herself out to agriculture. may as well offer her services to something that interests her a bit more, as well, although frankly she anticipates being kept plenty busy by medical. )
no subject
Of course. And if you come across any trouble, I'm always available.
no subject
Thank you.
( she rises; smalltalk is not a particular gift of hers, and they've - at least for now - exhausted the possibilities of her purpose. time to make a polite exit. )