ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ (mysticism) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-03-16 15:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: rosalind walker, ₴ inactive: stephen strange |
WHO: Stephen & Rosalind (plus Phoebe!)
WHAT: Roz accidentally touches the Arch of Nihility, there's tea to help her feel better and a good talk after
WHERE: New York Sanctum
WHEN: Backdated to last week sometime
WARNINGS: Pretty much no
STATUS: Complete
Her time at work was a time she had really come to enjoy. Back in her own world, Roz didn’t have a real part time job. She didn’t really have the time. Between school, cheerleading, student council, work with her church, band practice, and occasionally saving the world, her schedule was booked. Her parents were okay with that, because she was so heavily involved in her school and volunteering, they didn’t try to force her to give any of it up to go. That was something Roz had been grateful for. But things were different here, she had to make her own money, and this was a good set up for someone who was still in school. She’d come after class, usually Phoebe would be waiting for her off school grounds, and she’d follow Roz into the Sanctum. While Roz worked to reself books, put things away (while paying attention to some of them longer than she really had to), Phoebe would usually curl up on a chair and nap. Everything in this place was magic, it seemed. At this point she was used to getting feelings, or sometimes seeing things from pretty much everything around her. Some of it she understood, some of it was nonsensical to her experience, even though it was probably something important to someone else. She was getting the hang of how things were organized here, but she still made sure to be very careful she was putting things back where Dr. Strange would want them. Roz had finished one stack, and was going back for what was still waiting for her, when an old radio caught her eye. Or she assumed it was a radio. Some things could just be what they looked like, right? Everyone liked music. She almost pushed it from her mind and returned to the books, but instead she turned to examining it a bit closer. It looked like something she would find her own town, which seemed to permanently live in the aesthetic of decades passed compared to the rest of the world. In other places, it would be considered old. Maybe it still worked though, if she kept it down, maybe Dr. Strange wouldn’t be bothered by any noise. She reached out to touch the radio, and suddenly the room was gone. She was falling, just falling, and everything around her was nothing. No room, not ground, no sky. She couldn’t hear or see anything or anyone else, and she didn’t hear Phoebe jump off the chair with a fearful howl, knocking over the stack of books she had left to put away, before running out of the room to find Dr. Strange. Dr. Strange wasn’t one to mind music - he often listened to his favorite tunes while meditating, or studying, or attempting to reason with the fridge demon. In this case it was Running Up That Hill, the Meg Myers cover, as his astral form hovered in the air - sitting there, cross-legged while flipping through an old book he’d taken from the library earlier; he wanted to read up on chaos magic as much as he could, if he was meant to help Wanda. The physical form was making a cup of tea in the kitchen, however, that was interrupted when Phoebe the fluffball came zooming in like some Lassie on a mission. The astral and physical forms merged, cloak whooshing around him in a ripple of heavy red fabric - he opened a portal to the library right away, just a quick jump, since Rosalind was clearly in some kind of trouble and avoiding the stairs just cut out corners. He hadn’t been expecting trouble associated with the Arch of Nihility - but here they were. So no, while he didn’t mind music - one wouldn’t be able to listen to it from the gateway to darkness disguised as a radio anyway because it was broken. A shame. His hands elegantly swept Eldritch symbols into creation, sparking orange energy - it was a whip, which grabbed the radio and dragged it away from Rosalind before he covered it with a Mandala shield. That should drag her out of the darkness, which was a whooshing tide - a veil covering everything and a fall into nothingness. Nothing like soft embers of the day saying goodnight - a bit more empty than that. “Are you okay, Rosalind?” he asked, once he’d cut off the effect of touching the radio. Part of mind rationalized that she was only seeing this, and not experiencing it. But it felt real, and she couldn’t be sure how long it felt like she was there. But it suddenly stopped just as fast as it started, and Roz nearly fell over with a yell when she was suddenly back in the Sanctum. She caught herself on the wall, though nearly yanked her hand back just in case she touched something that was pinned there. She didn’t answer right away, instead she focused on slowing her breathing, while blinking back any tears that came from the shock. It wasn’t until she heard Phoebe in her head demanding the same answer that she snapped out of it, looking down first to the bobcat, and then at Dr. Strange. “Yeah, I’m-Yes.” she did her best to sound sort of confident in that answer. “I’m okay, I think.” The absolute nothing had not been a welcome experience, but at least it had only been in her head. “What is that?” she looked back to where the radio was, and then scanned the room to find it in its new location. “It’s the Arch of Nihility,” Stephen replied, opening a smaller portal with the sling ring and shoving the artifact through. Out of sight, out of mind - though he’d handle it later, in terms of finding a better spot for it. “Usually it opens a gateway to darkness, but not in this world.” In Vallo, he could reach the Mirror Dimension and the Astral Dimension just fine - they both existed right next to the Material Plane so it wasn’t a long trek through the multiverse to hop to other dimensions, unlike what would happen if he were in Greenwich Village. “Anyway, the radio wasn’t supposed to be here - the Sanctum shifts and changes but regardless. I’ll tighten things up, stabilize the place a little more.” Could be that the Sanctum was in fact still settling in its new location - it wasn’t perched upon that network of ley lines anymore, and likely felt disgruntled deep within its old bones about the prickly new mystical energy vibe. Either way, he didn’t want to send his part-time library assistant packing because of a persnickety building. Stephen wasn’t the friendliest person, maybe, but he liked Rosalind and in general he wasn’t out to hurt people anyway. Quite the opposite, in fact. “Can I make you some tea?” he asked. “I’ve got a few calming blends, if that would help.” The Arch of what now? That explained the never ending nothing of what she was seeing. She almost asked how one ended up in the Arch for real, but then ultimately decided she absolutely did not want or need to know at this point in time. Maybe later, when she wasn’t concerned about what nightmares that was going to trigger. She’d noticed the shift in the Sanctum. She thought it was kind of neat, actually. It changed, but she could still manage to find her way around. Dr. Strange has a way about him, but she didn’t find him scary or off-putting. In some ways he kind of reminded her of Sabrina’s aunt Zelda. He seemed harsh, but she figured her cared more than he liked to show. Case in point, tea. He didn’t have to do that. She nodded her head, “Please.” confirming her interested in the tea. She could use it. Her attention dropped down to Phoebe, still at her legs. Roz scooped her up, which was probably a mistake, she wouldn’t be able to do that for much longer. But for now she could still handle the size of the baby bobcat. “I’d appreciate it. I wasn’t trying to cause any trouble.” she tried to assure him. “It caught my attention because it reminds me of home.” Maybe portaling down to the kitchen wouldn’t be the best idea after an experience with never ending emptiness (ah, nihilism - nothing mattered) - so Stephen just took the stairs, Rosalind and Phoebe with him. Would be interesting when the bobcat was fully grown, but he certainly wasn’t going to dissuade Rosalind from bringing her familiar to the Sanctum. As long as Phoebe did her business outside - granted, if a bobcat-sized accident happened the Sanctum often cleaned up messes on its own. He started the tea prep, fetching the kettle and filling it with water. The fridge grumbled at him, not wanting to be disturbed. “I don’t need you right now anyway,” Stephen insisted to the inner workings. Then it was silent, for the most part. For its part, the Cloak of Levitation fluttered and reached out to pat Rosalind’s shoulder consolingly and Stephen didn’t bat it back. For once. “It’s okay - I know you weren’t trying to cause trouble,” he assured. “You still listen to old-fashioned radios at home?” Huh. He would have thought it was all smart phones and iPods (or those were probably obsolete these days now anyway). She followed him to the kitchen, scratching behind Phoebe’s ears as she went. It seemed her familiar figured paying attention to her would help calm Roz down a little. She wasn’t wrong, but it was some slick manipulation. The appliances that communicated with people still threw her off, but it was pretty cool. She was glad that didn’t happen at the Mortuary though. It would probably scare the crap out of her at night when she went down for water. His cloak was by far the coolest she had ever seen though. She smiled at its concern. “I’m okay, I think. Thank you.” she told it, before answering the Doctors question. “It’s what we have.” she explained. “It’s just how Greendale is. Frozen in the past in some ways, I guess. The radios are old fashioned, so are the TVs. Most houses still have phones with cords on the walls, even rotary phones. You won’t find a lot of computers or internet use. We use books for research, and spend our free time face to face with other people.” Her town just hadn’t evolved with technology like the vast majority of places. She didn’t think she could link it to being close to hell. The advanced technology here wasn’t necessarily a shock, she knew it existed, it just wasn't something she had to actively use until this place. Rotary phones. Wow, that was a blast from the past. “That actually doesn’t sound bad?” Stephen mused, rummaging for one of the best teas for calming and stress relieving - it was cinnamon and apple tea, something that maybe tasted of autumn but was good all year round, in his opinion. Because the taste was also reminiscent of a slice of apple pie, and that was comforting too. “In New York, electronics were kind of sticky in the Sanctum - I had to figure out to use magic as the main power source because things would short out.” They’d be fried, basically, a surge of too much energy. He found the spells that took the Sanctum off the grid and changed things around - now the wires attached to the fridge, the television, the lights all led to nothing. Pipes disappeared into dry ground. With magic as the main power source then, hey, all systems go - no more blown fuses. There were still things to figure out here in Vallo, as previously demonstrated, but he was getting there. “You miss home?” he asked, tone a bit softer. That he understood. “It’s not.” she confirmed. “I get the appeal of technology, but I’m not mad that I don’t spend most of my time in front of a screen.” Even in this place, her screen time had increased dramatically. It was just a bigger part of life. There was a thought. “There’s a lot of magic in Greendale as well, though most people don’t know it. Maybe that’s why technology hasn’t taken over.” If it didn’t work properly, what was the point? Roz shrugged her shoulders, “Kind of.” She had mixed feelings. “If I was home, I wouldn’t have Phoebe, and I’d be in the middle of dealing with Eldritch Terrors trying to destroy the world.” But that was just the bad things, there were a lot of great things. “But most people I care about are at home. I have Nick and Sabrina here, plus Sabrina’s cousin. But Nick and Sabrina are happy because they have each other. Back home is where my parents, boyfriend -” maybe ex boyfriend now “and the rest of my friends are.” He probably didn’t want to hear about teenage angst though. “Sorry, rambling.” Maybe she was still pretty shook up. “The Nihility shook me up.” “Eldritch Terrors - never a fun time,” was Stephen’s observation. The kettle whistled at them and he moved to get it, holding it steady enough (with hands that always shook even minutely - it was an accomplishment) so as not to splash hot water everywhere. And poured tea for the both of them, into two clay mugs. These particular mugs had a pocket on the side to act as a hand warmer, which he appreciated when he was enjoying a cup of tea in rainy weather - the heat helped his hands; they tended to ache when it was pouring outside or even with that change in barometric pressure sans the rain. He offered one of the mugs to Rosalind. “I don’t mind the ramble. It’s okay to miss people from home, and to talk about them when the feeling is particularly strong. I don’t have a lot of friends back home but the ones I do have, I miss.” Christine. Wong. And he missed the Ancient One too - her guidance, her wisdom, her well of never ending patience. Difference was, she wouldn’t be coming back. Ever. “Was it serious, with the boyfriend?” Never a fun time felt like a bit of an understatement. “They’re terrible. I’m not looking forward to having to deal with them again.” assuming at some point she would have to if and when she got sent back home. “Thank you.” she said with a small smile while accepting the mug of tea. She took a moment to hold the mug close, enjoying the heat on her hands, and the fragrance wafting up from the liquid. The smell alone was enough to make her relax her shoulders just a bit. It reminded her of autumn at home, when Halloween was just people pretending to be monsters for a night. Roz nodded once at his question. “It was, yeah.” she had been concerned that the discovery of her status as a witch would end them, but she’d never been more thankful to be wrong. “My parents don’t know I’m a witch, they probably never will. He was my main support system.” Someone that was hers, and she missed having that. She missed Harvey. He’d seen her at her worst, and stuck by her through it all. “Do you have anyone from home here at all?” Ah, teenage love. Stephen couldn’t say he knew much about such a concept - he was beginning to think he was allergic to relationships, but maybe it wasn’t that. His own journey had been marked by personal pain and then transformation - even if he was a ‘hero’ he hadn’t asked to be one and by all accounts he was an outsider anyway. An outsider after his accident, an outsider installed in his new role; he was fated to remain isolated from the world and the people within it he protected. Seemed depressing, when you thought about it that way. But that was just an aside. “There are people here from the same world as me,” he said, testing the tea to make sure it was cool enough to sip on without burning his tongue. All systems go. “I’m not particularly close to any of them. Except Wanda, I suppose.” She was living here, he was teaching her about chaos magic and helping her get a feel for it, and he would consider them friends. Probably. “It’s good to have a support system no matter what though. There’s only so much someone can handle on their own.” “Nick was always closer to Sabrina. Then we both ended up in Dark Vallo, and we got close there. But it’s still not quite the same. Harvey has been with me through a lot.” she said, looking down at her tea, and then finally drinking some when it was cool enough for her. There was something soothing about a good cup of tea. After a moment, she looked back up at Dr. Strange, squaring her shoulders slightly. “I was blind.” she stated, “For a while. I went blind. The women in my family were cursed by witches to go blind. Harvey supported me through that until I got my sight back. And just now, with the not-radio, and everything going to nothing again….” Apparently the idea of still going blind was a lot for her. She had gone to a very dark place, and that wasn't a lack of vision joke. Hm. Well, that made more sense then - meaning, why Rosalind was so shaken by encountering the Arch of Nihility. It didn’t open a portal, but all you saw was endless nothingness - for someone who had a bout with blindness, it definitely had to be unsettling. “We all have our fears, things that bring us back to dark places,” he said, not so gruff - softer, somehow, because he related to that sort of thing. There was plenty he sought to avoid - places he no longer wanted to go, things he buried so deeply and resting under figurative pounds of sand miles and miles beneath a stormy sea. “I’ll make sure the radio never bothers you again. Do you need to take the rest of the day or are you good to stay?” He didn’t mind either way - if Rosalind wanted to be alone, that was fine. Sometimes after you were rattled, some quiet time in peace helped fix the balance. She wasn’t about to let a vision of nothing scare her off, she was only going to let it scare her a little. She shook her head before finishing off the tea cup of tea he had provided. “No, I’ll be fine. It wasn’t real.” she saw things all the time. “It’s hard the first thing I’ve picked up something from, it’s just the first time it was something like that.” and if that was going to be locked up, she’d be fine. “Now I know not to touch the radio.” Rosalind stood up, and offered a hang to take his tea cup if he was done. He was nice enough to make the tea, she could clean it up. “Besides, I’m almost done for the day. It won’t take me much longer.” “Alright, if you’re sure.” Stephen handed over the mug - and the Cloak of Levitation rippled, lifting itself on one end to pat Rosalind on the shoulder once more. It was good at comforting people, even if it was picky about who it bonded with - but it tended to be more empathetic to the people Stephen himself liked, since the cloak had chosen him as its partner. “And if you - need anything else, anytime? Just to talk, or not talk. I’m here. Sometimes another perspective helps - or even just listening, when someone hears you.” He wasn’t a touchy-feely type but he could listen if someone wanted to get things off their chest - listen without interrupting or offering an opinion, or advice. Sometimes a person didn’t want advice or a solution. They just wanted to let go of it. “I’ll be by the Seal of the Vishanti,” he added, then opened another portal to head upstairs, disappearing through it a moment later. It had been a nice break, at least - because true, sometimes a cup of tea was just what you needed to feel better. |