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Post by Maeve on Feb 13, 2011 13:46:47 GMT -5
He didn’t have time to answer her. Someone was coming in. As she turned her head towards the door, she wasn’t even able to fully process the thought that it could have been Kalani back already, because the features of a familiar face flashed in front of her eyes in a split of seconds, a flash that had the effect of yet another slap in the face.
Everything seemed to freeze for a moment.
Her breath caught in her throat and the smile that had previously been dancing on her lips faded away as utter shock plastered itself on her face. Unable to speak, unable to think, all she could do was stare back, her world shattering once again.
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Post by Mala on Feb 13, 2011 14:35:06 GMT -5
It was there all of a sudden. Magic of such a powerful kind that Mala felt her senses focus on it in an instant. For a moment she did not know where it belonged to though, but when right after the elder lady entered the building, she understood.
The ghost then moved to get a better view on the newcomer; but at the same time she felt herself shy away from her a little. The powers of this woman were pure and revealed that their owner had long used them for good - but they also meant that the sorceress held the might to receive the spirit if only she opened up her mind to it. To her relief Mala soon had to realize though that the latter seemed to be unlikely for the moment the stranger entered this building, her gaze was drawn to Maeve - her eyes showing recognition and above all a deep and utter suprise. And as she turned Mala saw that the redhead's features spoke of the same.
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Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174 
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Post by Ziad on Feb 16, 2011 0:54:51 GMT -5
When Caipra entered the room, Ziad had been about to do what he had planned to do. Walk towards her, take her by the arm and take her to one of the side rooms where he could have a private - and very serious - word with her, because even though he knew nothing of magic and it was unlikely that Caipra had caused this he still needed someone to blame for this in a way and well, Caipra was obviously connected to it. But it didn´t come to this and he remained where he was when he saw the look that was exchanged, his reaction turning from bewilderment and confusion into relief. "You know her?" He asked. He hoped so, because as much as he felt sorry for the red head´s confusion and feeling of being lost, there was not much he could do for her. All the better if her and Caipra had crossed paths before.
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Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
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Post by Caipra on Feb 18, 2011 7:42:45 GMT -5
The glance between the two sorceresses was so intense that none of them dared to move, or even to speak.
Caipra didn't even know what to think. She couldn't beleive what she was seeing. In centuries, all the people that had disappeared in the hidden realm never came back...until today.
Something happened. The veil had been broken, and the Protectors couldn't do anything about it.
And now Maeve was standing in front of her. She was not a spirit, for sure, as Ziad and the others were able to see her. No, she was real, and she was back, safe.
It seemed like ages had passed before Ziad's voice broke the silence. Caipra answered him, still watching the redhead, afraid that she could vanish again in an instant, if she looked away
"Yes I do." She said.
And then, finally, a wide smile appeared on her face.
"It's Maeve." she added before approaching the young sorceress.
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Post by Maeve on Feb 18, 2011 20:03:39 GMT -5
When Ziad spoke up, everything still seemed to remain firmly frozen in place, his voice only barely reaching her ears in a distant blurry echo. How much time had passed exactly? Two seconds? Five seconds? No, it had to be more than that. Much more than that. Her mind had had enough time to sink into some sort of paralyzing bubble inhibiting all of its practical capacities, and it was so stiff and fuzzy right now that it couldn't even function. Where was she again?
She kept on staring. And staring. Her eyes apparently the only thing still properly working in her body.
What really did the trick in knocking her out of shock was Caipra’s reaction. The sorceress said her name out loud (in a way that indicated she was replying to the distant blurry echo of what Ziad had said earlier) and suddenly a wide, warm smile was lighting her wise face.
She was smiling. At her. She was real. She was there.
That’s when she snapped out.
Well, kind of.
Her lungs began working again and as Caipra approached her she was able—how exactly she’d never know—to stand up from the bench and meet her halfway, her voice something close to a whisper, coloured with something close to relief, and tinted with something close to confusion as well. “Caipra!”
But with her mind still in slow motion, emerging progressively from the void of bewilderment, thoughts bumping into each other and having trouble organizing themselves, the only thing she was able to do at the moment was to kick herself mentally for her extraordinarily outstanding lack of common sense.
Why the hell hadn’t she thought of Caipra before?!
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Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
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Post by Caipra on Feb 24, 2011 11:08:33 GMT -5
When Maeve reached Caipra, the old sorceress took her in her arms, slowly, as if she was holding something very fragile that she was afraid to break. At this moment, there was only the two sorceresses in this place, enjoying this moment. They had even forgotten Ziad, who was probably waiting for some answers, but the wise lady would deal with him in a moment.
Caipra stepped back and put her hand on the redhead's cheek.
So many thoughts were going through Caipra's mind. She didn't know where to start.
"I can't believe it...How is that possible?" she finally asked, not only to Maeve, but to herself as well.
There was a lot of emotion in Caipra's voice. First because Maeve was back, of course, but also because she had never thought that she would see the powerful magic of the hidden realm being broken one day.
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Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
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Post by Ziad on Feb 24, 2011 14:57:38 GMT -5
Ziad didn´t know what exactly he had expected but it appeared to him that these two women actually knowing each other was quite a coincidence. Not necessarily a bad one since at leats that meant that maybe issues would be resolved easier than he would have deemed possible. His suspicion that they were acquainted and apparently friends, deepend, taking a weight off his shoulders.
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Post by Maeve on Mar 5, 2011 16:55:16 GMT -5
As Caipra took her in her arms, she returned the tender embrace instantly, although still a little shaken up by the circumstances. Closing her eyes for a moment to let the situation sink in, and still basking in the brilliance of her stupidity for not having gone to the wise sorceress sooner (how she had failed to connect the dots between Basra and Caipra was truly beyond her, and she was ashamed of it), the relief she had felt only seconds ago was suddenly clouded by a familiar pang in her chest.
He should’ve been here with her. He should’ve been the one in her arms right now. Not her. If only she had-
The soothing warmth of Caipra’s hand on her cheek somehow stopped her from sinking any deeper in her guilty and angry conscience. She was still dangerously unstable inwardly, but as she glanced back at the wise woman, seeing in her eyes a mix of joy and also utter bewilderment, she forced herself to swallow back the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. She had to say something. Anything. She couldn’t let herself break down. Not again. Not in front of her. Not in front of anybody. “I don’t know, I…I don’t understand what happened.”
She took a step back and tried to focus, and also battled to keep her composure, bringing a hand to her forehead as her dark, shadowy brown eyes randomly came to rest upon Ziad, whom she had completely forgotten about during the previous seconds. “I just...popped in.” With her thoughts still too tangled with her emotions at the moment, she wasn’t able to say anything more specific and explicit.
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Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
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Post by Caipra on Mar 8, 2011 18:57:20 GMT -5
Nobody knew what happened in fact. And it was a very weird moment for Caipra. The old sorceress never showed her emotions in front of people. She usually kept a kind of neutral mask on her face. She had to...People used to relied in her so much that she had to remain strong for them.
But today, the shock had been so intense that this mask had fallen down in a second.
He would be laughing right now if he was here...if...
Of course, Caipra knew that DimDim wasn't here, otherwise she would have felt his power from miles away. That's what brought her to ask Maeve.
"What about my husband? Is he...?"
Was he what? Fine? Still out there? Dead? She didn't even dare to make any supposition. She just hoped that she would not hear what she was most scared of.
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Post by Maeve on Mar 8, 2011 21:57:39 GMT -5
Caipra’s question felt like a dagger stab. A sharp, powerful ache that tore her chest apart. For a moment her composure almost slipped, and as a knot formed at the back of her throat, she bit on her lower lip, hard. Hard enough to mask the burning pain spreading inside her mercilessly. As she fought to control the tears threatening to blur her vision, she looked at the wise sorceress and swallowed carefully, eyes wavering nonetheless as waves of guilt angrily washed over her.
What was she supposed to say? How could she bring herself to say anything without breaking Caipra’s fragile hopes? How could she tell her that her husband was still trapped in that suffocating prison? How could she tell her that it was because of her foolish curiosity if he was waking up alone in the realm this very minute? That it was because of her if she couldn’t hold him in her arms right now. That it was her fault if he had been denied the taste of freedom. That it was her who had left him behind. Merely an hour ago…
She had never hated herself so badly since the day Dermott had been turned into a hawk because of her arrogance. And she suddenly felt as if she was made out of layers of culpability; thousands of layers peeling over each other, from way deep down inside her, all the way to the silk of her skin. So many mistakes, so many regrets…
Looking at Caipra, at everything she would be crushing inside her the minute she answered her question, she prayed that her voice wouldn’t give up on her. Sure, she wasn’t going to announce he was dead, but the predicament he was still hemmed in seemed to be equally fatal to her. She personally knew how the realm drained its prisoners’ energy. Slowly. Piece by piece. Day after day…
“He’s alright...” Her voice was closer to a whisper than an actual tone, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak any louder, and that way she could mask whatever traces of unsteadiness her emotions might cause.
She wasn’t lying to her. But she wasn’t telling her the whole truth either. And how could she? He had become so weak during the past two years…That was a notion she simply refused to inflict upon the wise sorceress. If she asked, then she’d oblige, but otherwise, her lips would be sealed, for her sake.
“He’s still back there. In the realm.” She remained completely still, simply staring at Caipra. She should have taken her hand, or touched her shoulder, any kind of gesture one would have made to offer comfort, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. She was frozen in place, barely able to breathe.
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Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
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Post by Ziad on Mar 11, 2011 2:54:28 GMT -5
Ziad kept listening to the two women´s exchange, still keeping decently in the background of things since whatever was going on here, it was the reunion of friends, as little as he could explain the coincidence but he figured that this was one more proof that it had been Caipra´s tampering with the man´s memory earlier that night which had caused the red haired women to more or less "just pop up" as she had just called it herself.
He remained where he was, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms across his chest lightly as he watched the two of them.
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Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
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Post by Caipra on Mar 11, 2011 7:32:32 GMT -5
As soon as Maeve had had said that DimDim was alright, Caipra had breathed deeply, already relieved. She had a twinge of regret, knowing that he was still in the Realm, but at least he was still part of this world, if she could say so.
She had never planned to make the redhead feel guilty by asking that, and seeing how uncomfortable she seemed to be, The old sorceress couldn't help but make everything to reassure her...being the strongest one once again.
"You, telling me that he's alright is already a better news that I could have expected. You don't have to feel uncomfortable for anything." She smiled to the young sorceress and added. "I know my husband, he doesn't give up so easily, he always find a way to get himself out of the worst situations, and I'm sure he already knows that the veil has been broken, which give him more hope knowing that he can surely be broken again, just like I think it. Nobody had been prepared to it today when..."
Caipra suddenly stopped in the middle of her speech. Something she hadn't realized before had just popped up in her mind. The tear in the veil had happened precisely at the same moment she had cast a spell to the men, a few hours ago. Did the strange feeling she had felt back then could have a connection with it?
That would then mean that....
Caipra, turned to look at Ziad, hoping he could help her in any way. He had been here since the beginning, he had seen everything, and Maeve had appeared in his office.
"When it happened" she whispered, as if she was finishing her previous sentence before adding in the same tone. "Could that be possible?"
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Post by Maeve on Mar 12, 2011 11:45:38 GMT -5
Covering up how she truly felt inside, she lowered her head at Caipra’s reassuring words and nodded quietly. She simply found herself unable to meet the other sorceress’ gaze, afraid she might see through her mask. Even if what she said about Dim-Dim’s strength was true, it still failed to appease her worries over his current weakened condition.
She had always known her beloved mentor was very powerful and very strong, heart, head, body and soul, but the realm was simply stronger. And she couldn’t help but feel that time was somehow running out. Maybe not alarmingly, but she knew that the clock would start ticking eventually. No one could stay trapped in that awful realm forever. In fact, now that she thought about it, if they had been condemned to stay imprisoned in their little bubbled island forever, Dim-Dim would have outlived her. She was sure of it.
As Caipra’s voice trailed off strangely, she raised her eyes up to look at her. The wise sorceress seemed to have realized something and was now looking at Ziad as if waiting for a key information. Maeve frowned slightly, wondering what was going on inside the lady’s mind at the moment. Could that be possible? What did she mean by that? She knew it was somehow connected to the realm’s boundaries being breached since that’s when her voice had trailed off, but how could Ziad possibly be involved?
She didn’t know what to think. Glancing at the two puzzlingly, she decided to remain quiet and listen carefully, taking the opportunity to strengthen her unsteady composure at the same time.
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Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
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Post by Ziad on Mar 12, 2011 15:34:45 GMT -5
The red head seemed to be just as confused and emotionally upset as she had been before and just as litttle sense as Caipra´s question to him might make to her now, just as little sense had Ziad himself been able to get from their talk before. He had not know that Caipra had a husband - or rather, that she had had one. All this talk about where he seemingly was right now was strange talk to him, he knew of no other realm let alone of the deeper workings of magic.
But at her question, he saw his earlier suggestions confirmed. "She just showed up," he said to her. "all of sudden, in the middle of this room and out of nowehere. I was thinking there could be a connection."
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Post by Mala on Mar 17, 2011 16:19:16 GMT -5
They were friends.
Mala listened intently to every word that was being spoken, and she watched with interest what took place and how the two sorceresses treated each other - both being oblivious of their silent observer. When the elder woman took Maeve in her arms, the ghost was able to perceive a deep bond that connected both their hearts, and their lives. It was a shared past, a shared knowledge. and a shared burden, that emitted from both their souls and for only a moment Mala wondered just what they might have encountered once, when suddenly the two of them spoke about a third person who seemed to be of so much importance.
At the mentioning of Caipra's husband the redhead cringed, and the intense pain which seemed to run through her veins that very moment didn't go unnoticed by the spirit. Curiously Mala turned to the powerful sorceress whose features spoke of a motherly love for this Maeve, and she frowned in surprise when she heard that this woman's husband obviously was at the same place where her son's friend had been up till a few moments ago.
But how could it be that two earthly souls had lived in that place that was so far away from the laws of this world? How had they gotten there, and why? Had it been a punishment? Or a curse?
Faintly, Mala shook her head as she wanted to still the questioning voice in her head. It didn't matter for now just how they had gotten there. Far more important was how the redhead was able to get back. A most powerful source of magic would have been needed to break the seal between the two worlds - and an extraordinarily powerful had it been. Only seldomly before had the ghost felt such an echo as she had today, but as the old sorceress looked at the guard with questioning eyes, Mala had to realize that maybe the trace in the ripple and the one of her magic were the same... .
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