It may be nothing.... [Selina] on Crotalus Commons

Giselle Duell

March 21, 2021 4:11 PM

It may be nothing.... [Selina] by Giselle Duell

Giselle hesitated in front of the door. Did she really want to do this? More importantly, did she not want to do this? Once again, for the hundredth time, she weighed her options again. What were the worst things that could happen? If it didn't mean anything, and she didn't say anything, everything would go on as normal. If it didn't mean anything and she did say something, she would lose what little credibility she had at the moment. If it did mean something and she said something, maybe they could be ready? If it meant something and she said nothing… that could be very bad indeed. That was why she was already standing in front of the door. What were the chances it meant anything? She was gambling her little bit of remaining credibility against..? She wasn't even sure what, but it sounded bad.

She knew she was a terrible person for even thinking about not saying anything. Her meager bit of respectability was nothing compared to the alternative… and yet it was all she had. If she was wrong, if she put the school into some sort of alert for nothing, she was sure she would be out the door. 'Thanks for nothing, we wasted piles of resources. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.' She leaned against the wall. Then what? She'd be a laughing stock. She couldn't go back to mooching off of Marissa and Andrew. Maybe she could find some traveling circus in need of a fortune teller?

If she didn't say anything? Then what? Who knows, maybe the school would blow up with all of them in it. Maybe some great evil would sweep over them and engulf them in darkness? If they made it through, she would have to live with knowing she could have done something. Maybe she wouldn't make it through.

A thought struck her then, could this be some new threat from Greece? Some missed loose end looking for her? Merlin she hoped not. Still, that didn't change the basic equation. She sighed and came to the same conclusion yet again. Something deep down rebelled, but she turned and knocked on Professor Skies' door. She would sacrifice herself if need be. It was only her future on the line, and who knew what the future held?

"It is Giselle, Professor." She identified herself, "Do you have a few minutes?"

2 Giselle Duell It may be nothing.... [Selina] 1517 1 5

Selina Skies

March 21, 2021 9:53 PM

Better safe than enveloped in darkness by Selina Skies

Selina always had a lot to do at the start of term. There were all kinds of things to get set in motion, or updated. Not that there was really ever such a thing as a 'quiet' part of the term. Still, she tried to keep her schedule open, or at least flexible, during those early days, so that any unexpected things could easily come and announce themselves to her. She had considered for a while whether booking herself solid with meetings or hiding under her desk would be a better way of dealing with such things, and whether having an open door (metaphorically speaking) invited them to exist or to become her problems. She didn't think it totally worked like that. She had the feeling that problems were problems, and that most of them, if ignored or hidden from, would only get bigger, and as her schedule got busier, it would become harder and harder to fit dealing with them comfortably into it.

Therefore, she was not exactly displeased by the arrival of her staff member, nor was she too busy to speak with them. In fact, other than the fact it indicated a potential issue, she was quite pleased. Especially when the person on the other side of the door turned out to be Giselle. She had got the impression during their end of term review that Giselle had been keen to get out of there as soon as possible. It was always hard to tell with Divination professors who, as a rule, were all a bit odd, but she felt like Giselle was very much still settling into her role - and probably into herself and adulthood as well, given how young she was. Selina hoped it was a good sign, therefore, that she was seeking her out voluntarily.

"Nice to see you, Giselle. Come in," she said, hoping the smile carried into her voice, or showed in any sweeps of the room Giselle cared to make with her wand. "I just got a pot of coffee. Would you like one?" she offered. "And yes, I have time," she said, pretty sure she would have had to have been actively reviving a collapsed student whilst fending off a dragon and completing some paperwork to tell Giselle anything else. And even then, it would probably be 'Just give me five minutes...' "What can I do for you?"

13 Selina Skies Better safe than enveloped in darkness 26 0 5

Giselle Duell

March 22, 2021 6:55 PM

Darkness isn't always all bad.... by Giselle Duell

Giselle could hear the smile in Selina's voice as she was welcomed into the office. She thought that was hopefully a good sign. She scanned the office with her wand as subtlety as she could. That really was the key, she didn't want to make a show of her deficiency, it made people uncomfortable. It was best if she could function as close to everyone else as possible. Everything seemed fine.

So far, she much preferred working under Selina than she had under Lia. Unless Professor Skies was playing a longer game her previous Deputy-Headmistress had bothered with, She seemed like a genuinely nice person. However she wasn't sure why Selina thought she would want a coffee pot. Was it some sort of test? She was reviewing the image she had scanned into her mind, trying to locate the coffee pot. Her ingrained, programmed response was to seek out the pot and fix the Deputy-Headmistress the beverage she had requested. It took Giselle a moment to recognize the impulse and force herself to stop. She was pretty sure that would be the wrong response.

Was it a simple gift? Something professors could get for their office after making it through their first year? But then why would Professor Skies have just gotten hers? Perhaps they were a new feature of the school this year and she was giving them out to those professors that wanted one? If that was the case, did she want one? As far as she was concerned, coffee was a drinkable but mediocre beverage at best. She may not use it very often, yet to refuse a gift might seem rude. She certainly didn't want to offend Professor Skies, but at the same time if there were a limited supply of them she didn't want to look greedy and take one then never use it when another would have made better use of it.

Without realizing it Giselle had put her free hand into the small pouch on her hip that held her tarot cards. She refrained from pulling one out at random, but she could still feel the identifying charms on it letting her know she had found the Two of Swords, in the reversed position. She sighed inwardly. Indecision, confusion, information overload, stalemate? Thanks. Very helpful. "I bow to your expertise in the matter." She finally responded to the coffee pot inquiry. The response had generally served her well in the past. Lia had usually liked it.

"Thank-you," Giselle responded quicker to the older woman giving her some time to explain things. "I am not entirely sure though if there is anything. I..." she paused for a moment as she realized that she had apparently removed the deck of cards from the pouch, put her wand away and was shuffling it. She wasn't entirely surprised, it was an occasional nervous habit she had and as such stopped paying attention to it. "Sorry. I just... I was doing some divining over the summer. After last year..." her voice dropped off embarrassed to admit again that she hadn't been any help at all in solving the problem. "Well, I got hints of... some new dark, bad power?" This sounded ridiculous. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. "I don't know what it means," her card shuffling speed increased a bit, as her voice seemed to resonate with both worry and frustration. "I've tried looking into it more, but I get nothing more than 'dark'." She shook her head and stopped her hands by grasping the cards tightly.

"I don't know if it has anything to do with the school, or if it's anything to be worried about." Her shoulders slumped, "I just thought maybe you should know... just in case." The last phrase was nearly a whisper. She was supposed to be good at this, yet she had nothing more to give. Yet again she wondered what she was doing here. A careful observer might notice that the top card of her deck was the Seven of Swords in the reversed direction.

2 Giselle Duell Darkness isn't always all bad.... 1517 0 5

Selina Skies

March 24, 2021 4:51 AM

It's good for sleeping by Selina Skies

Giselle seemed to freeze in indecision, and then told Selina it was up to her judgement whether or not Giselle wanted coffee. Right then. They probably still had a way to go with building trust and comfort. She suspected that meant that Giselle disliked coffee but was too polite to say so. She made a mental note to get the elves to report back what kinds of dirty cups they collected from Giselle's office. Though she suspected tea would feature prominently, whether Giselle liked it or not. She wondered whether everyone in Giselle's line of work acquired a taste for tea, whatever their previous inclinations. Maybe coffee was evil and clouded the inner eye.

"Well, I'm going to pour myself a cup. There are both coffee and water on my desk if you feel you want some at any stage," she prodded gently. "Let me know if you need any-thing," she thought the fact that she had switched word abruptly was painfully obvious. She had been going to say 'help' because she didn't like the thought that Giselle might go thirsty because she was too scared to ask for it, but as she started saying it, it felt patronising, so she changed tack.

She waited patiently as Giselle explained things, with a few hesitations and restarts, but they got to the main point quickly enough. As much as there was one, anyway. New dark power. Or perhaps just 'darkness.' It wasn't clear whether the former was Giselle's interpretation of a single word she had encountered, or whether the latter was a summary. If it was just 'darkness' perhaps they should check the lighting infrastructure. Still, she didn't ask these questions, or make any suggestion which could sound flippant. The information itself may not have been particularly useful, but the fact that Giselle was bringing it to her was. After the coffee conversation, she thought it might well be a sense of duty rather than one of trust, but still - Giselle was here, voluntarily sharing something she regarded as important with Selina.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," she said. "I'll do my best to be extra vigilent and to give it some thought.

"I know you said you don't know anything more at this stage, and it's fine if that's the case, but there may be things you intuitively understand about your field that I do not. For example, if the fates draw something to your attention, it must be important," she stated absolutely sincerely - she didn't doubt that this happened, she just was never sure what use they could usually make of the cyrptic messages, or how much of that could be taught to other people. "Important can mean a lot of things... Something that happens at Sonora might be important to us, but not on a national scale. But something dark on a national scale would be important to everyone. Are there any clues like that, in how you phrased the question or... Or just any other thoughts or feelings you have about it. Sorry, I probably don't know what's a useful question to ask," she admitted.

"Does the card you have out now, the seven of swords, mean anything?" she asked.

13 Selina Skies It's good for sleeping 26 0 5

Giselle Duell

March 24, 2021 7:29 PM

So I have heard, but can't confirm. by Giselle Duell

Giselle wanted to smack herself in the head. She barely restrained herself from doing so. Echos of 'Stupid girl' reverberated through her mind. Two of Swords indeed. Professor Skies had been offering her a cup of coffee from the pot she had aquired. Like normal people do for conversations... or at least so she'd heard. How was she qualified to teach? If she couldn't even figure out that much, maybe it would be best for everyone if she resigned here on the spot. No, she couldn't do that. She had commitments to fulfill... if she could and Val would be devastated. Marissa would be disappointed as well, and she couldn't... the image of the traveling circus floated through her mind again. No. She had to try.

These thoughts of realization, failure, hopelessness and resigned determination played out across Giselle's face as plainly for anyone to see. Not being one to pick up on visual cues herself, she had never realized how others could perceive them. Also, being educated by a manipulative and unpleasant person who encouraged this display of inner thoughts for her own benefit did not help matters.

Unsure of what else to say, she replied to Selina's beverage directions with something of a resigned, "Thank-you." Did she want coffee? Maybe if it was that horrible bitter kind.. that might go well with her feelings right now. But after that whole debacle... maybe not? What would Professor Skies think after an answer like 'you tell me if I want a cup of coffee'. She could try and explain the confusion, but that would just make her look terribly incompetent... or more so anyway. Maybe later, who knew how this would go.

Professor Skies listened to her terribly rambling explanation of what brought her to this office. She seemed to be taking her nonsense with some level of seriousness. That was probably good.. unless she went to extremes and it turned out to be nothing and... her train of thought was cut off as Professor Skies continued talking. Her questions all were perfectly rational, made sense and Giselle didn't want to answer. She had to though.

"I..." This was going to sound terrible. "In light of last year, I was trying to find out if I should try to find out anything about this year. Maybe head off some trouble before it got..." She suddenly realized that the 'problems' that had occurred last year had happened because of Professor Skies' actions, and even she had realized that Selina hadn't taken that well. Unfortunately the words that had been planned, came tumbling out anyway but at a diminished volume and filled with apology, "...out of hand." Her face clearly showed cringing realization she had made. "I'm sorry," She whispered, "I.. I just wanted to try and help." Not that she'd done much of that. Maybe she could redirect things.

"My brother interrupted and was being..." she paused again, reconsidering the next word she used in front of her boss, "...annoying. So while shuffling the cards I just asked the fates directly to 'Tell me what this next year brings.'" Then she sighed, "I don't know what happened after that. It happens occasionally. Andrew had be back in my seat and said that I..." Oh. Was she going to tell Professor Skies that she wasn't just a diviner, that she was a proper Seer? Delphi had always been very, very careful with that information. Divining was one thing, but being a conduit of the Fates themselves? That changed people's perspective... assuming they knew the difference and cared.

Well... it may be to late now. She wasn't sure how else to spin the narrative. Selina had been nothing but nice and helpful and understanding. Even now as she sat with piles of other things to do, she was listening and trying to understand. Giselle took a deep breath. "I am a true Seer, ever since I was little the Fates have at times given me more than cards and tea leaves." Her voice dropped to a near whisper, "They told me how my parents had died when no one else wanted to." She shook her head clearing that rather terrible memory which still haunted her. "Sometimes I remember what they say and sometimes I don't. This time I didn't, I spoke with their voice to Andrew." A hint of anger came into her voice, "He only caught those few words."

She examined the cards in her hands that Professor Skies had mentioned. Seven of Swords? It usually indicated Imposter syndrome, self-deceit, or keeping secrets. As far as she could tell, it didn't have anything to do with this new dark power situation. "They all mean something," she said with the hint of a smile, "But I don't think this one has anything to do with this situation. I can keep looking into it as well. Sometimes time changes the perspective on things." Like when it all makes perfect sense after everything has happened. "Another person can give new perspectives as well. I thought that you should know, and maybe might see something I couldn't."

2 Giselle Duell So I have heard, but can't confirm. 1517 0 5

Selina Skies

March 29, 2021 9:32 PM

In chocolate, too by Selina Skies

Giselle’s anxieties played out very clearly across her face, and Selina felt like wrapping in her hug. She suspected that would go down about as well as a lead Quaffle though, and she couldn’t think of anything to say that didn’t draw more attention or make it more awkward. It would have to be one of those long-term things, trying to make Giselle be more comfortable with her. You couldn’t force someone to relax, and attempting it usually only made them tense further. Her own face remained calm, in spite of what she was feeling on the inside, and in spite of the fact that it possibly didn’t matter much right now, but years of habit were hard to break.

“I find that’s the best thing to do with problems,” she agreed amicably, not sure why Giselle had lost her confidence half way through her sentence. Whilst she certainly did not enjoy last year’s events, nor had she completely forgiven herself for them, her skin was thicker than mere mention of them setting her off into a shame spiral, and it didn’t really occur to her that anyone would worry about mentioning them to her – about blaming her, or casting some kind of opinion, certainly, those would have been touchier topics, but the fact of the thing existing was… well, just a fact. “It also sounds like that does narrow it down a bit – you asked about this year. So, we have a time frame, at least.” That would save them from being on tenterhooks forever, hopefully.

She smiled a little at the mention of Andrew being annoying. Given his hat at the concert last year, she imagined that he and Giselle were rather different people. It was sweetly human, like seeing a colleague outside of work, to hear about something as every day as Giselle being annoyed by her brother.

Giselle’s revelation was a little lost on Selina. The way Giselle stated it suggested Selina did not already know that, when she was fairly sure she had done… At least, Giselle had come highly recommended with excellent grades from a school that specialised in that sort of magic, so… Perhaps there were subtleties at play here she didn’t really understand. The thing she didn’t know was that Giselle’s parents had died, or how it had come to pass, even though Giselle threw those things out like they were matter of fact. They also were stated in such a way that they didn’t exactly invite comment, though Selina felt rude ignoring them.

“Thank you for telling me these things,” she said again. “I appreciate it. And I’m sorry about your parents, even if that was a long time ago,” she added. Giselle was younger than her own daughters, and she still couldn’t imagine the idea of them losing her. They’d manage, they were both perfectly capable. It just felt far too soon to think about stepping out and missing what they did with the rest of their lives.

She almost smiled at Giselle’s comment that all the cards meant something. It seemed almost sassy, even though she was sure she didn’t mean it that way. Between working with non-native speakers and having Theo Spurn in class for the last three years, Selina was starting to be aware of the perils of being taken too literally – or at least that it was a pitfall for a lot of people. Giselle might have been a native English speaker, but she sometimes seemed more comfortable in her other language. Selina would have to try to choose her words carefully, though being aware of a problem and being able to self-correct were different skills.

“We can both keep thinking about it, and keep sharing our thoughts. That seems to me like as much as we can do right now,” she stated agreeably. “But I feel better for being well prepared, and for us having that as a plan,” she added. She was not sure she wanted to sit around talking about the myriad ways they could interpret ‘darkness’ or worrying themselves with problems that might not exist – she was sure Giselle’s Seeing meant something she just wasn’t confident of their ability to do more than scare themselves with it – but if it was a way for Giselle to feel like she was trusted, and that Selina was trustworthy, she’d have as many conversations about it as needed.

OOC: If Giselle had any major reaction to her parents being mentioned that would take the conversation off in a major different direction, I can move the closing comments/save them for later.

13 Selina Skies In chocolate, too 26 0 5

Giselle Duell

March 31, 2021 6:19 PM

I haven't tried sleeping in chocolate, sounds... interesting? by Giselle Duell

Ugh.. Giselle thought to herself. Why was talking to people so hard? She'd never been a 'people' person, never. She just didn't understand them most of the time. As terrible as she could now see that Lia had been, Lia had always been perfectly clear with what she wanted and expected. In contrast Selina was being very nice and she seemed to be taking things in... but she was being so very calm about it all. Was she upset? Was she afraid? Was she happy? Selina sound a bit like Lia had when she wasn't happy, but there were other people around. There weren't other people around at the moment though. Other than her. Was...?

No. A contradictory thought forced it's way through that thought process. Selina was not Lia. Selina has been nothing but a proper and understanding person. But then why...? Because she doesn't understand. This is what Delphi warned you about, divinations is not something that nearly all witches and wizards take seriously. Professor Skies is still here, listening and willing to try and understand. How? I don't know anymore than I've already told her. Merlin, what happened to the woman who crossed the planet to practically storm her brother's house on a near whim? Work with her. Do your job. Gather information and research.

That woman's world and life was shattered by destruction of the web of lies and deceit that had supported it. She was still picking up the pieces, trying to see where they all fit now. She smiled faintly as Selina suggested they keep thinking about the problem and sharing thoughts. Giselle hoped that some of those pieces would fit in here. Even if she would have to learn how to interact with people, when necessary. She sat up a little straighter and put her cards away. "Sometimes these things focus around more significant events. Is there anything planned for this year out of the ordinary? The bonfire?" She considered that a moment, darkness or power at the bonfire? Maybe? "Any new way that I could approach the question might shed more light upon it."

2 Giselle Duell I haven't tried sleeping in chocolate, sounds... interesting? 1517 0 5

Selina Skies

April 01, 2021 11:09 PM

Now you're just being silly by Selina Skies

“The bonfire’s the only real event planned,” Selina confirmed, “I’m not sure it counts as big or unusual, there’s nothing especially significant planned for it. But it makes sense as a place to focus our attention.

“Hmmm… Is it happening this year, or starting this year?” she asked. The idea of darkness coming, darkness significant enough to require a warning, hardly sounded like a small, one off occurrence. “Is this our chance to head off something worse? Who does it affect? What exactly is it?” she added a verbal smile to the last question. “I’m not saying I expect answers on all of those, but off the top of my head, those are the things it occurs to me to ask,” she clarified, hoping it was clear she was just thinking out loud here. “All the who, what, why, wheres, I suppose… Which I doubt the fates will be very willing to answer.

“You said Andrew only caught a few words… Would there be any way of accessing what you said, or getting at it again? Are there other Seers you can compare notes with to see if they’re predicting anything similar?” she asked, suspecting that almost all Seers had some kind of sense that darkness was on the horizon. Unless they were being paid to make happy predictions. “That might let us know whether it centres more on us or is some kind of wide-reaching event.”

13 Selina Skies Now you're just being silly 26 0 5

Giselle Duell

April 03, 2021 10:58 AM

No I... okay, maybe a bit, yes. by Giselle Duell

Giselle balked a but at the slew of question that came from Professor Skies. Some of these she had tried, and failed to get any more sensible of an answer. However whether it would happen this year, or simply start this year was not one that had occurred to her to ask. Thankfully Selina stated that these were just questions to ask, and not ones to be answered immediately.

She responded with what she hoped was a reasonable amount of competence and deference. "I have tried asking the who and when type of questions, but hadn't thought about whether it may only be starting rather than fully occurring this year." She paused to think for a moment before continuing to reason out loud, "If that is the case, it may account for some of the trouble in isolating the chronal aspect. By shifting focus to merely the emergence of the event, we may be able to tell if is ongoing or not."

Now that she was back at school again, Giselle also had access to her astrolabe again. "I can also check if the celestial alignments reveal anything. Etheric harmonics may reveal disturbances in the coming year that could help narrow down our investigation." She just had to smile at Selina's comment on the Fates. "Answer in a straight forward manner? No, that isn't how they operate. At best we get vague hints and patterns and are left to find the rest on our own."

Giselle shook her head, "Unfortunately not... if the situation had been better, it could have perhaps been caught in Phrophecy record, but..." a thought occurred to her and she stopped. Then she started again a bit slower. "The only place it resides at the moment is in Andrew's memory..." She wondered if Professor Skies knew where that line of thought was going, "If you still have access to a pensieve?"

As for the rest of Selina's question. She didn't know any other Seers. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She'd spent quite a few years literally surrounded by diviners and Seers alike. Her face wrinkled up into an unpleasant reaction. She couldn't think of a single one of them that hadn't gone out of their way to make her life a living nightmare. Still if it was talk to one of them, or the destruction of everything around here, which was worse? "I'm not sure," she answered on that front rather non-noncommittally.

2 Giselle Duell No I... okay, maybe a bit, yes. 1517 0 5