Completed Just Before Departure.

Oliviana did not comment on anything else as she held the shirt out with a look that said just take it you idiot. She wouldn't call herself kind per say. She just didn't want him to get an infection or some shit.

"Just take it so you don't get any shit in the wound. It's bad," she said.

"So lightning magic?" Oliviana asked as she stood back up and looked down at Raphael.

Magic had always fascinated her especially since she did not have any. She was normal and boring but she was a trained killer, spy, and fighter. Diplomacy was one of those skills she had definitely failed at. She could at least try with him though. At least for now.

She was starting to feel bad about lying to him about the little job she needed done. Only a little.
 
He begrudgingly took her shirt. Unsure of how to smile at a situation like this, he mostly just avoided eye contact. He felt so much guilt.

Why?

The change of topic was welcomed and he smirked a bit from it.

“That’s what my teacher called it, at least.” He joked. “But yeah, earth magic as well but I’m not as good at it. Imagine how disastrous that would have been.”

He filled the air with words so he didn’t have to hear the thoughts that ruffled his mind. That he was talentless. Failure wasn’t an option in the life he’d had.
 
Oliviana could tell that he did not want to talk about his failure but he seemed to be okay with the light joking.

"Hmmmm...I think you need a better teacher," she said as she tapped a finger to her lips in contemplation.

She reached a hand down to help him up if he would let her. Honestly, she was pretty sure he would tell her fuck off but she was being nice at the moment. It was not something that happened often.
 
He stifled a laugh at the comment. He knew it went awry from his own issues but he’d admitted that enough. He wanted to move passed it; forget it. Raphael wasn’t supposed to be this weak and definitely not so in front of the first person to give him a job. Her response made him think she was second guessing her decision.

“Don’t worry, this was a fluke. I’m good as hell at this lightning shit. Sometimes I just go too hard, yknow?”

He stood up and hid his pain with a smile. The original one. The arrogant one. It was monumentally excruciating but she needed to see he could withstand it, even if he was dying inside.

“Still need to hit that crafts store, right? Map ain’t gonna make itself.“
 
"Sure," she agreed half-heartedly.

She nodded to his question about the crafts store and started to walk in the direction they had been going previously.

"Honestly...I don't know," she said slowly. "I do not have any magic. I am nothing special in that way so I do not really, truly understand how magic works."

That was a big confession for her. Oliviana Al'Vere did not share her insecurities. As far as anyone was concerned, she didn't have any.
 
Miss scale mail was letting her armor down, it seemed. Didn’t seem the type to really want to converse if she didn’t have to. Especially if that conversation was about what she did and didn’t know. He could try to explain it while they walked.

“So, like…” Oh Gods he wasn’t good at this whole brainiac thing. ”There’s like some energies that I can’t explain. Magic like.“ Oh Gods please stop saying like. ”So some people can alter shadow and make it tangible or they can use stuff from other planes and I don’t really know how to explain all that stuff. But, like, with lightning.”

He removed the shirt she’d given him for a moment.

“It’s just like real lightning. So positive and negative particles react in certain parts of the cloud. When those particles like, are out of wack, like uhhh fuck whats it called.“

He snapped his fingers on his good hand until he figured out what he was trying to say.

“Imbalanced! That’s it. Imbalanced. Theres a discharge of that energy that converts to a burst of energy. That’s lightning. Now when you like have it in your arm its a matter of learning where those particles are and how to move them around. Then you have to create the imbalance yourself and somehow maintain it in order to keep a steady current of lightning.“
 
Maybe it was the fact that her and Raphael had ripped into each other so thoroughly that she now had a small respect and like for him. That or she had lost her mind since leaving Ragash. Probably the latter. She would try not to share anything else with him.

Oliviana was a more than a little surprised when Raphael actually explained it to her in a way that was helpful and made sense. He really did like his magic a lot and he was even a little cute as he stammered over the details.

"That sounds difficult," she said with full sincerity. "I am pretty sure I would've killed myself and burnt down the city trying to use that."
 
He smiled. If he’d been attentive to anything it was the abilities he’d learned. Didn’t know why he couldn’t move earth as well. Also;

“Well, honestly... Most mages don’t have to think about it. I have to remember it every time. So I’m really not like the Elbion folks. I’m good at it but only if I really, really focus. The best can do it off the cuff.“

They pulled up to the front of the store and he stopped a moment.

”I should apologize though.” He scratched the back of his head as he turned towards her.

“That was dumb and dangerous.“
 
"No need to apologize, Raphael. I asked. I am sure if I had magic, I would've done the same shit."

She was known to show off her abilities with the sword, daggers, and her hands but she didn't mention that.

"Why don't you go study at Elbion?" Oliviana asked as she pushed open the door to the shop and stepped in. "I am sure they'd take you if you wanted to go," she added as she started to browse the shelves.
 
Raphael put his hand on the door to hold it the rest of the way as they entered. The shop was much more open than the previous. Tapestry cut into thin, whimsical shapes littered the ceiling and hanged down from it like flowing strands of hair. The shapes were abstract but intended to look pretty. They did okay at that.

His smile dropped at the question but he tried to stay behind her as the walked so not to give it away. Raphael was finding a fondness for the warrior. Even still, he couldn’t bring himself to answer that truthfully.

“I uh. I never really considered it. Maybe I’ll check it out.”
 
No. No. I do not feel guilty. I will not tell him the truth. Hush.

Oliviana was well known for having arguments with herself. She was feeling guilty though. She was sending this poor boy off to certain death for something that did not exist.

A low growling sigh came from Oliviana as she turned to look at Raphael.

"I lied to you. There is no package at a manor. There is a manor that I was going to send you to but it is owned by a very old vampire who is known for her dislike of humans."

What the hell, Liv? Why did you tell him the truth?

Her brain really needed to get its shit together.
 
Raphael first didn’t really react. As he didn’t really process immediately what she had said.

“Wha-“

He took a step back from her and waved his hands in front of him in disbelief and half heartedly laughed.

“So wait, you were gonna send me out to a vampire‘s house without telling me? What the fuck, I could’ve been killed!”
 
"You insulted me," Oliviana said with a sweet smile as she walked past him and back out the door. She had a feeling that they may start yelling and there was no reason to subject the poor shopkeeper to that.

"While not many people can keep up with me and I do appreciate it, I am a petty woman, Raphael."

She shrugged.

"And I really couldn't think of anything else to make you do. I really am not from here," she chuckled.
 
There was a part of him that felt pretty stupid for having believed her in the first place but that was downright cruelty!

“I mean couldn’t you have started with something a bit more tame, for fucks sake!”

She‘d had the right idea. He was definitely going to start getting louder. He followed her back outside as his face scrunched up.

”Like, I don’t know. Maybe an escort mission, or just have me wander around a bit. That seems a bit more harmless a prank than just sending me to certain doom right out the fucking gate, don’t you think?”

Visibly angry now he pulled out the brooch from his pocket that he had definitely stolen and pointed it at her.

”Besides let’s not forget that you insulted me first over this god damned brooch!”
 
She had been correct, he was getting louder which meant she would also have to get louder.

"First off, I really didn't plan on being here if you got back since, you know, I have an actual life outside of this city and away from my parents."

A little bit louder now.

"Second, the brooch looked terrible on you! I couldn't lie!"

She started walking away from him now. She had no idea where she was going but it was somewhere, damnit.
 
He walked by her side, facing her so he wasn’t looking where he was going.

”Is that supposed to be better? That you wouldn’t be around to see my body get dragged passed the city walls? And as a matter of fact, pink looks incredible with my hair but you took one glance and didn’t even consider that as a possibility, did you? Honestly, I could have turned to anyone and asked but I thought hey, maybe this pret-“

But before he could finish, his poor reasoning caught up with him. His side stepping through the crowd led him to run straight into someone and send both of them tumbling. The grisly man he’d knocked over shoved him quickly off the top of him before hopping back to his feet.

The man’s eyes were wild and he looked towards Oliviana.

“This yours?!” The man asked in anger as he pointed to a tumbled Raphael.
 
Oliviana should've known him walking like that would not end well but she was too entertained by his anger. Was it bad that she was entertained by his anger? Nah, it was fine. She also thought it was funny that he thought the pink looked incredible with his hair. It may have looked alright and he may have just caught her in a mood but she would never admit that now.

"but I thought hey, maybe this pret-"

She never found out if that last word was pretty or not because he collided with a surly looking man who was none to pleased to have the irritating Raphael on top of him.

"This yours?!"

Oliviana cringed at the angry question. She really wanted to say no or define mine but she refrained.

"Unfortunately," was all she responded as she held out a hand to help her companion up. "Should you find you have an injury, my cousin Tal down at the docks will be able to help you..."

The words hung in the air between her and the angry man as she watched him deflate a little. Dropping Tal's name usually worked for any trouble she got into. The Syndicate was huge and feared. Tal was only one Underboss in the organization. He was the second in command of one of the three branches of the Syndicate.

"There's no trouble here, right?" She asked with a sweet smile now on her face.
 
Raphael took her hand to learn her grip was far firmer than his own. A bit embarrassing but he wouldn’t bring it if she didn’t! He stood up and listened to her talk the man down.

The man himself, hearing the name, shot his eyes wide open. His hand had been on his blade but lifted it away after she’d said what she did.

“Sorry to bother you two.” He said swiftly before departing back into the crowd.

Raphael looked a bit worriedly at her but was more so thankful for the intrusion.

“Well, I guess that makes up for trying to have me killed.“
 
Oliviana looked up at the man and shrugged.

"That seems fair," she agreed with Raphael.

"So I guess that makes us even then? I should probably say some shit about starting over? Tell you how I want to be your friend and we can braid each others hair?"

There was obvious sarcasm dripping off every question she asked.

"So I don't have a mission or anything for you but you clearly want to leave the city. Do you have anything in mind?"
 
He chuckled at the sarcasm in her voice. Starting over but making zero changes, that seemed healthy! Not like he was much better. Just a bit more okay with being around her.

Raphael wiped himself before he contemplated the question. He definitely had considered the what but never the how. If she was still open to helping him then it would be in his best interest to not squander that opportunity.

"I don't know. How do adventurers get their start? Am I supposed to just start cutting off heads and then the respect starts flowing?"
 
Oliviana cringed at his crassness. "Oh sweetie," she said in her sickly sweet and obviously pitying voice.

"You need to have a reason, I suppose. My adventure started after my sister was murdered in the Empire and I was determined to find the killer."

She did not add in anything about the infiltration of the Hands or any other details of her life in the past eight years. That little bit was quite enough.

"Why do you want to leave?"
 
A reason. Did this reason need to be meaningful? Was boredom a legitimate reason? It certainly wasn’t right now after she’d explained that her sister had been killed.

Raphael knew he had really no room to talk when it came to struggle. He never had. If things went south, he’d have a huge safety net.


“I guess I…“ He sighed loudly.

”Want to be something else? I don’t know. Make real changes in the world. Not just sit at galas and dinners pretending that I care about how much my family’s businesses makes.“
 
"So a thief is that something else?"

There was no judgement in Oliviana's tone. It was matter of fact. His family was well off and he wanted to make a change in the world but he would steal? For the thrill, she supposed.

"Maybe I should just take you back to the Empire with me," she mused to herself. That would be an adventure for sure.
 
Raphael sighed and looked up to the sky, ruffling his hair as she spoke.

“Look, yeah, I mean,” He was unable to make eye contact with her.

“I don’t get the chance to feel alive. Ever. My days are planned. My meals are planned. I’m at zero risk of anything happening to me. I don’t want to dive head first into fucking vampire manors but.”

He crouched down, putting his face between his hands as if he his head was hurting. Which wasn’t inaccurate, really. He was wracking his brain to find some line of truth and what she’d want to hear. Going too far either way may just tilt her the same, and create a sense of distrust.

“I don’t want all this. And that’s selfish, right? Like I was blessed. I keep getting told I’m fucking blessed but it’s so boring. I could have killed that guy I ran into. Just, killed him dead in the streets. Would I have? No, of course not. But there’d have been zero risk. My parents would pay it off. I‘d get acquitted. It’d be so consequence-less.“

Finally he looked up at her. Because he’d say something truthful. He’d be one hundred percent honest hear.

”I’m fucking sick of being invincible. It’s fucking boring. I stole and you called me out. That’s the biggest consequence I’ve faced in fourteen years.“
 
Oliviana actually understood what he meant quite well. Before she left on her vendetta, she was the niece of a King and from a very wealthy family in her own right. She never had to worry about money or anything else come to think of it. She had a charmed life in which she was meant to marry and have children. She had left all that behind (money included) when her sister went missing. Nothing mattered more than her family at that point.

But she got it. She knew that particular boredom well.

”I’m fucking sick of being invincible. It’s fucking boring. I stole and you called me out. That’s the biggest consequence I’ve faced in fourteen years.“

He was sick of being invincible? Well she could help with that. Easily.

She just needed him to stand up first.

"Well what do you find fun?" She asked as she waited for her time to strike.
 
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