Gift Exchange

[genpcs_a]

[OOC: So this here post can be used for quick 'Character X got Character Y a new pair of _______________ for the holidays' lists, or play out the giving, or whatever. You can RP it out, just make note of it, or even post your own thing outside of this list if you prefer! HOORAY FOR PRESENTS!]

Comments

[crowning_glory]

[Drunk or not, Milla notices his movements. He's disabling wards so that she might enter - not that wards would work on her... And when he opens the door and enters with her, he lights every candle with what is no doubt magic. Not a single electronic device, it seems... Honestly Milla wasn't used to things like televisions and the like, so Harry's bare place is cozy to her.]

Harry Dresden, I do believe you are a magician of a sort. You must be a talented spirit channeler. [She looks to him with a sort of interested smile. Now that she's inside, she sees fit to remove his heavy duster and return it to him.] Though... upon arriving here I've noticed things about people... I don't think you perform magic in the same capacity that I do.

[She gestures to her head.] I have a mana lobe! [She almost sounds proud. That's the drunk talking.] A good one, too. Though that is to be expected as my form has been designed to be very efficient.

[no_love_potions]

What gave me away? Was it that magic? I bet it was the magic.

[He chuckles though, taking the coat back and tossing it onto a hook while guiding her over toward the couch.

He's not even going to ask about the mana lobe comment while she's still in this shape. He's also not going to comment on anything about her form. Which does look... pretty... efficient.

....

WHOAH OKAY NEW TRAIN OF THOUGHT PLEASE.]

A wizard, actually. Think a jack of all trades. Give me enough time and resources and I could probably manage most of the tricks you could pull off. Probably not as easily or naturally as you could though.

[crowning_glory]

[Harry, are you watching how her legs move as you guide her to the couch? You dirty old man!]

[Settling down on the couch, she sat proper as one would expect a lady to. She's an eloquent sort, and he's noticed that... though perhaps a little less refined when properly intoxicated.]

Well, yes... As Maxwell's human form, I am very gifted in the art of spirit channeling. Spirits answer my calls quite readily, you'd find. Why, I was even raised by the four Great Spirits - the four prime elementals that help maintain my world. They're... interesting creatures. They have a lot of... character.

[She lifts a hand to stifle her laughter.] Why, Efreet gets so worked up that Undine often douses his flames with water, and then the arguments they would get into... They almost never cease!

[She laughs a little more, and then calms with a sigh.] I realize all my talk does nothing to assure you of my abilities, but my... magic is mostly for combat use. I wouldn't want to damage your home, especially after you've been so generous.

[no_love_potions]

[Of course not. Nope, not him. Not no way, not no how. Definitely no-- wow, that skirt is just barely there at all, huh?]

[It's been awhile. Shut up.]

[He's already starting to head to the kitchen to get her a glass of water to ward off the hangover in the morning, when she's already going off on another story. He stops and leans against the doorway to the kitchen, hands in his pockets while he listens. A few things catch his attention, namely the line about being the human form of whatever a Maxwell is and... well, everything about "four Great Spirits." He could almost peg her as some kind of religious icon, but the way she's talking about them doesn't sound like worship or belief.

It sounds like family.]

Sounds like quite a group. I wouldn't mind seeing some of this spirit stuff in action, but I think demonstrations can wait until another time.

[crowning_glory]

[It's okay, Harry. She finds her body is particularly effective against male adversaries. It's not like she doesn't know it - she just doesn't KNOW it.]

[Family is just how she sees The Four. She's never had to articulate it into words before though, so if he asks he probably wouldn't get an explanation like that. They were her care-givers, overseeing her development from birth until recently.]

Oh yes, another time indeed. Fireball, Arrivederci, Thunderblade... There are many I could show you, certainly. Another time though... It's not something I'd want to use if I didn't have to, of course.

[no_love_potions]

[Effective against male adversaries, huh? You don't say.]

[He can't help but chuckle a little bit. Partly because, wow, what a naming scheme for those spells. Arrivederci. What were the odds that a different world would stumble across a single word of Italian? ... Actually, probably about as good as English being the same spoken language across the cosmos apparently. Huh. Weird.

But the rest of his amusement came from just watching her. They'd spoken over the communicators briefly and at the time, she definitely hadn't seem like the type to gush away about family and better times.]

[Booze and homesickness. A winning combination if ever there was one.]

I'd appreciate it, I don't think the building could take it. [He pushes away from the wall, heading toward the kitchen.] Hold that thought, I'll get you some water.

[crowning_glory]

[Water... was water really important? She doesn't understand that drinking water would help combat the unfavourable events of the morning following excessive indulgence of alcohol. She's just never encountered it.]

Yes, water. Very well, I won't be going anywhere.

[So she sits and waits... She waits for a bit longer. Then she finds herself leaning aside and thumbing over the texts Harry seems to have all over the place. She wasn't even sure when she started looking through them, she just... was. Surely if he has so many, he must have interesting books.]

[no_love_potions]

[Boy was she ever in for a treat tomorrow morning.]

[Harry comes back a minute or so later, blinking at seeing Milla flipping through his copy of Salem's Lot.]

Horror fan?

[He sets a glass of water down on the table in front of her before backing off a bit to sit in one of the big chairs.]

[crowning_glory]

Reading fan.

[Since harry's kind enough to get that water, she's going to drink it. She's none too delicate with it either, no dainty sips.]

I've read a number of books. I find it a most useful tool for understanding the world around me. Literature, be it fact, or fiction like this book appears to be, is a window into the habits and culture of any race.

[She used books to study the interactions between humans - from their social habits and group mentalities to even the science and theory behind their intimate relationships and bonds.]

I've spent days at a time reading before. Have you read all of these books?

[no_love_potions]

Ah.

[He cracks open a Coke he'd grabbed for himself, taking a gulp of his own and setting it on the coffee table. It was true what she said. Literature and writings were a great peek at the culture that produced it.]

It's fun too.

[He grinned a little and then turned his attention to the packed bookshelves around the apartment.]

Just about. I usually pick up a bunch at a time and work keeps me busy so there's a lot of stuff here I haven't gotten to look at yet.

[And then he nodded toward the book in her hands.]

Actually, since you mentioned it. If you want to get a good grasp of a culture through literature, horror's a good place to start.

[crowning_glory]

[And her water's already finished. Harry's comment about horror being a particularly insightful genre catches her interest though.] The horror style of novellas have almost always been about fictitious creatures born of the human subconscious, or so I've gathered. It certainly is a look into what humans are afraid of.