ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ (mysticism) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-09-07 19:32:00 |
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Following the notifications from earlier, Roz was the last remaining Outlander at the Geliara school. Which sucked, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. At the end of the day she had gone to the head mistresses office to submit her name for the running of Head Girl, and then had promptly headed to the library to first brush up on the history of the student government, then grab some books she needed for homework. School had been out for an hour and it was getting close to dinner when she left the grounds and headed back to the Sanctum, books in hand. Phoebe met her at the steps of the building, most people walking by not paying any attention to the lynx lounging in the sun. “Hey Phoebs.” Roz greeted, reaching down to scratch behind her ears, before heading up the steps, Phoebe following her. Roz headed straight to the library, she had work there to do before starting on homework, but she had everything down to a system now and it likely wouldn’t take her too long. Roz placed her school books on a table in the library that she would sit down at later to work. Phoebe jumped up as well, choosing to make Roz’s bad her pillow as Roz disappeared into the stack to get started. The wards shimmered like a haze of heat over a sun-parched lawn, when Roz walked into the Sanctum with Phoebe - they were both well known to the structure itself by now and whenever they did enter after some time away it was as if the entire building exuded a warmth that was all home and hearth and a summer’s day. Clearly it was projecting the guardian’s own feelings, all of that wrapped up in the mystical energy threaded together; Stephen was one with the Sanctum, in a sense, and that meant being cut off from it during that comatose period had been extra devastating. But he was a lot better now - everything else was better too, and he fell back into something resembling a routine. Work and an actual lunch break and then back home, with errands somewhere in between if necessary and remembering to keep in touch with friends - remembering to come home and figure out what to do about dinner too. A lot of the time the residents were on their own since they all had different work and school schedules, but he liked to make sure Roz had something substantial regardless. Sensing her presence in the library, he teleported in - the Cloak was lacking from his ensemble, for once. It was just him in a hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants, carrying a wooden spoonful of some kind of sauce. “Taste this?” he requested, once he found her blending in with one of the large stacks of books. “I just made it.” It should be good. Probably because it was from a jar. But he’d added olive oil, fresh garlic, and red pepper flakes so that counted for something, okay? By now she was entirely used to people coming and going in a way that was immediate and instant. So when she felt someone appear beside her, she was not surprised that Dr. Strange’s voice soon followed. The smell of the sauce hit her just as soon as she turned to face him, a book on transmutation in her hand. “What is it?” she asked, though she didn’t hesitate or actually wait for an answer to lean forward and try the offered substance. It wasn’t like he was about to poison her and it didn’t smell like anything she had to avoid. “That’s good.” she said with a nod, “I can taste the garlic. Did you make that?” Wanda was, hands down, the top chef under the roof, but this was pretty tasty. She could taste a hint of chili too, she might add more. “Yeah. Definitely,” Stephen smirked, sending the spoon away with a quick twist of fingers and a flash of magic - just a brief one, a miniature firework within the confines of the library. “Or maybe Prego did but I just added a few things.” It was simmering on the stove and pasta water was boiling, so he had a few moments to spare - he meant to come in here and ask Rosalind about her day anyway. Plus, she had just gone back to Geliara so he may have something special planned for dessert - kind of like a celebration and a ‘good luck’ to kick off her new year and hopefully successful bid for Head Girl? Double chocolate cake with a black velvet icing - though he didn’t make that either. He just knew she’d like the flavor. Dr. Strange had many talents. But cooking and baking - those were...he tried. He could manage. He put a lot of love into things (not that he’d admit it without making a pinched face). And he was satisfied with that. “How was school?” She knew he was lying the second he said ‘yeah,’ Roz leveled him with a look that was typical of a teenager asking an adult figure ‘why are you like this?’ She turned back to the bookshelf, sliding the book back into its proper place before she forgot its exact location. “My compliments to Prego for doing most of the world.” Though she did appreciate taking the time to doctor up the premade sauce. They were never outstanding. “What are you making it for?” She assumed whatever it was would still be found cooking in the kitchen. “Good. I guess. The only other Outlander student there disappeared today.” She really wished she knew where they were going. Was it for sure home? On to another reality? It seemed like it was a gamble. “I submitted by name for the Head Girl candidacy. Then I went to the library to do a deeper dive into the rules and regulations around student government before one of the Vorerra teachers could pull something sketchy. Plus I needed some books. They don’t believe in easing into the first week.” She already had several pieces of homework and some long term assignments.” Which reminded her, she hadn’t told him about what had happened at the hotel. “Speaking of Vorerra.” she continued, turning to face Dr. Strange again. The look on her face was slightly guilty mixed with trying to find the right words to make it not sound bad. Because it wasn’t, she wasn't getting involved. “I had a vision over the weekend, after I ran into someone who I think was a member of Vorerra. Like literally ran into them. Collision, he was a big guy. I think they’re going to try and steal a Phoenix from The Sanctuary.” She was speaking quickly now, trying to get it all out while making it seem like not at all a big deal. “So I told Atreus about it and he’s going to deal with it, whenever it is.” What? That was a whiplash of a segue from jarred sauce (“pasta, dinner, something like that,” Stephen replied absently) to Vorerra, of all things. It was true that their whole aura smelled suspicious, a basement door you didn’t want to open yet it was the door every horror movie heroine went into regardless. Stephen had dealt with them and was fairly cordial with Avelina - but she was only one of the heads, and Vorerra was a coven that boasted three. Heads, that is - like some kind of beast. He was never intimidated by them because he knew he possessed the capabilities to wipe the floor with the entirety of their mafia should he feel so inclined - but that wasn’t really his style. “And we’re sure that the brick house you ran into doesn’t know you had a vision?” he asked cautiously, because this was a mind reading coven and if Vorerra was going to steal a Phoenix, and were making plans to put into action, it was clearly important to them in some way. And Stephen didn’t trust that this wasn’t going to go sideways somehow. Trust him to ask the questions she didn’t have answers to. Damn. “...no.” she said with a wince. “We’re not really sure.” There was no way to know if the guy she had ran into had any kind of telepathic powers of his own, or maybe he had visions himself. That was the thing about Vorerra. You never really knew who had what capabilities or how far those powers really went. “It’s probably fine?” The questioning sound at the end did not make it convincing. “I let Atreus know. His dad is a god, they can deal with any attempted theft. I’m not getting involved.” Hopefully she hadn’t already accidentally involved herself to a point that she couldn’t get out of it. Roz picked up another book off the cart she was working off of, and kept talking as she walked down the aisle to find its proper location. “I haven’t heard anything from them. If Vorerra does know then maybe they’ll be discouraged.” It wasn’t like she could stop the visions. Gods and Eldritch Terrors hadn’t been able to block her sight, visions were going to keep coming when she was meant to see them. Stephen’s expression was the equivalent of a straight-faced line emoji at the current moment - because he didn’t like this at all. “I’m not really concerned about them,” he said - meaning, the Sanctuary people. Presumably, Vorerra would go after them anyway if the Phoenix was there - but if their attempt to steal the creature was thwarted, or if it seemed like the Sanctuary was tipped off, he was afraid that Rosalind would then become a target. Vorerra knew what she could do - plus, they weren’t stupid. They’d put two and two together. Damn it all, he all of a sudden felt like worry was crushing all of his organs - perhaps a tad overdramatic, but he’d signed all the paperwork to be Rosalind’s guardian (guardian of the Sanctum, of these magical artifacts, of a minor - that last one was probably more daunting than something like the Cauldron of the Cosmos ever could be) and he was all in on this. When he did something, he did it all the way. With ferocity - and he loved with ferocity too. He scooted down the aisle to join her with the books and the cart. “I’m concerned about you - they don’t play fairly, and they’ll take a vision as a personal slight. Especially if they can’t get their bird.” At least she told him - he would have flipped a table if all of this came to a head and he had no idea what was going on. “But - I guess we can’t jump the gun and freak out either.” Roz’s eyebrows arched as she put another book away on the shelf. “They never do.” She said with a sigh. Roz was all too used to dealing with things and people that did not play fair. School systems, bullies, pagans, witches, demons, cosmic beings. At least people in Vorerra weren’t cosmic beings of darkness. “There’s nothing I can do about my visions. I can’t always stop them from triggering if there’s something I’m supposed to see. If it keeps that Phoenix safe, I’ll deal with it.” For Roz, it was the principle of the matter. She hated bullies, repressive systems, things that treated others poorly. She grabbed another book off the cart, continuing down the island but slowly walking backwards so she could face Dr. Strange while she talked. “You can’t say anything to Sabrina and Nick either. They’re finally getting on with their lives, I won’t drag them into this mess. If it even becomes a mess.” She knew it was probably going to become a mess. She just wanted to hold onto some shred of positivity that maybe this would end without any great drama. “No, there’s nothing you can do about your visions - they know that too. I doubt it’ll change much though,” Stephen rumbled in annoyance - not at Rosalind, but rather the whole situation. All of this was churning wildly, a storm, a myriad of seashells caught in a powerful undertow - and he doubted that it would end peacefully. Something was going to happen and he didn’t even need to consult the time stone to be able to suss that out. He wouldn’t look either. He wouldn’t - he could just hear the Ancient One’s admonishments now, despite how if it was in his power to do something (and it was - he could wipe out Vorerra in one fell swoop) he usually found a way to do it. Granted, he’d gotten better about that - there wasn’t anything he could have done about the Snap and Thanos besides let everything unfurl, and that had been one humbling lesson. A hard one to grasp. Though he was wrenched from his gloomy thoughts about control and how he’d lay down in traffic if it meant keeping Rosalind safe from Vorerra when she mentioned Sabrina and Nick. “I won’t say anything,” he assured. “If they find out, it won’t be because of me. I promise.” He could see why she wanted to distance them from whatever this turned into - it had the potential to escalate very quickly, and they all needed to be careful. It wasn’t that she wasn’t as annoyed as he sounded, because she was. Incredibly so. People like the Vorerra members who would do this were the kind of people who made her blood boil. They were the kind of people who needed to be stood up to, even if it wasn’t going to be easy. “We could sit here and guess all day at what their move might be, other than stealing the Phoenix. They’ll try, and given the occupants of the Sanctuary, they’ll lose. Especially with a warning.” They would be ready for any kind of psychic attack now, which meant the Phoenix was safe. For the time being. “The rest, I don’t know. I imagine I can expect something at school, since I’ll be sharing classes with members.” That would be a start, anyway. For now, she was more worried about Nick and Sabrina getting word of anything. The last thing Roz wanted was to give them anything to stress over that wasn’t university, or the club. She didn’t think anyone else would say anything, but hopefully this didn’t get out of hand so they found out anyway. It seemed like there had been enough trouble at school - what with the whole kerfuffle with Nick and everything. Stephen didn’t necessarily like how it was handled, by the teachers or the students (and maybe if the teachers had gone about things differently, the students wouldn’t feel as if they needed to take justice into their own hands and thus curses could have been avoided) but regardless. He was attempting to keep an open mind and also not interfere too much - since he knew that attending Geliara was important to Rosalind. And when everything went wrong during the last dramatic episode, he had asked her to just talk to him next time she had a problem - so as long as she did that, with this Phoenix thing, then they’d stomp their way through whatever muck this was together. “If it gets complicated then - we’ll decide what to do about it. I know you have plans for the school year and I don’t want to pre-emptively ruin those,” he said before he stepped forward and rested one red-lined, Frankenstein-mottled hand on her shoulder, just for a gentle sort of reassuring squeeze. Soft. So stupidly soft and what and why. “Come downstairs soon? I’ll have fancy pasta ready.” Prego wasn’t that fancy, as discussed - but he added garlic, alright? Give him some credit. She did have plans. Carefully laid plans to keep her occupied, to move her life forward, to give her a goal to achieve for herself. She needed all of these things to deal with everything else. First things first, win the student council election. Vorerra would come second. “Just let me finish this row.” she was almost done now, just a few more stacks to go before moving on. It would only take her a few minutes. “I’ll be you down there after that for yours and Prego’s hard work.” She could use some pasta anyway. She didn’t know if she should be stressing over this Vorerra thing or not, so pasta seemed like an excellent decision. |