Opposed Goals

As per her contract with Aidan, a former guild mage's spirit, Zincarla was bound to assist mages in need. It didn't much matter who she helped, but the more hopeless cases or desperate causes had made Aidan more apt to be agreeable. Zincarla had peered around the job boards and found little to spark interest. It wasn't until she entered the phenomenal and famous library of Oak Town that she overheard an anxiety ridden mage unburdening himself in a way that would ultimately benefit her.

"They think I have stolen the Book of Light! I didn't have anything to do with it!"

Zincarla peeked around a book case, her magenta eyes aglow with curiosity. A tall thin man stood pacing, whispering in hushed words upon his iLac phone. He was scrawny, and something about him was clumsy, but that didn't mean he couldn't be affable. The witch watched on as the pause in the call ended and it was the man's turn to speak again.

"Well, I could lose my job here for even the suspicion. At worst, maybe they'll send me to prison!"

He paused again and he spun around facing her. Zincarla ducked, worried he had seen her, but she needn't have been. The man was clearly too frantic. His blue eyes were wide, the wrinkles in his face putting him at middle age even through his distress. He wore slacks, a crisp white shirt and a rumpled blue tie. At his breast pocket was a clipped ID naming him "Alabaster Proustain - Head Librarian". He had a serious job then for such a prestigious library. Gone was the expected soft, gentleness of a youthful librarian, or the strict matronly voice of a senior book keeper. This man was in a position of power with all these magical and non magical tomes around him.

"I really didn't take it," He insisted, "But it is a valuable original copy. We kept it behind glass and those who want to study it have to sign a logbook. The last person who signed it used MY NAME!"

He paced around some more and Zincarla poked her head back out from hiding, seeing a bead of sweat trickle from his brow. He dabbed it with a small cloth and let out a sigh.

"Fine. Find me someone and I'll meet them on my lunch. I guess who ends up being my lawyer is the least of my worries if they pass your check, at the least. Yes. Yes," He nodded looking somewhat relieved. "Thank you." He hung up the phone and braced himself against a broad study table. Given that this section was sectioned off as a magical archive, it was guaranteed to be quiet and without anyone else listening. Normally, that is; Zincarla was the exception to this assumption. She stepped out and cleared her throat, causing Alabaster's back to straighten tensely. He snapped around, trying to look serious and professional but Zincarla caught the guilty glint in his eye. She wondered if maybe he did steal this book after all, but she supposed the truth didn't much matter. His job was at risk unless the book was found, but all mages benefited from the library. Finding the Book of Light was bound to impress Aidan.

"You're not supposed to be back here," Alabaster declared before crossing his arms.

Zincarla cut straight to the point, "You're going to be fired without that book." There was no sense in playing games with him. Time was clearly of the essence here.

He struck out a finger at her and almost shouted, at the last second taking a deep breath to lower his volume. "You!? You stole the book?! Where is it? What do you have against me? I demand you return it!" Alabaster babbled on, shaking his finger at her. Zincarla couldn't tell if he was a good liar or genuinely believed what he was saying at this point.

"Idiot. I just overheard you on the phone. The Book of Light sounds real important. I could help you to find it," Zincarla suggested, gesturing with her arm and placing it on her hip. She wore her usual pink fitted garb which accentuated her curvy body. The man scowled at her and before he could ask she answered his obvious question, "For free. Sounds like you need the help and you're not really in a position to say no, are you Alabaster?"

Zincarla took a step forward and flicked his name badge. His face shifted from indignation to rage and then settled on a desperate calm. "Just Bast, please. The full name is so formal and pretentious and it would seem we are already past that. How do I know I can trust you?"

The dark haired woman flashed him her guild tattoo and smiled, "I'm Zincarla and I am a legal mage. Breaking the law isn't really my thing." She felt the shadows inside creep over her heart and tinge her smile, transforming it from genuine into a fake mask. It was true that she followed most of the laws, but she had never gotten a real chance to try anything different. She had no childhood pranks or bad teenage streaks or even an occasional theft to dot or speckle her perfect record. Once a murder was burned into your papers, true or not, you were stuck to following every law in order to avoid re-entering prison, like in her case. She knew what it was like to be wrongfully detained and if this mage librarian was innocent, it suited her well to help him past keeping the favor of her spirit contract.

She exchanged iLac numbers with Bast and left him in the library with a promise to meet up around dinner time for a real discussion. Given that it was still morning, that gave her all day to poke her nose around and try to locate the Book of Light, or at least the rumor of what had happened to it.

WC: 1000
@Cetus

Gabriel whistled happily as he cleaned off the W.E.A.R. He'd received another mission. A book needed to disappear. Apparently the Book of Light had the possibility of changing the future to an nth degree that the TSA did not find falling within acceptable limits. The Pestilence armor already covered his body. As he pushed the gun behind his back, Gabriel pulled on the Daemonclaw. Two magic books were in his belt. It could be a tiny bit of over kill to bring all of his gear but Gabriel didn't want to take chances. Since arriving in this Earthland, Gabriel had run into surprise after surprise. If he thought it wouldn't hurt, he'd bring his stolen airship as well. The Lightning Strike hadn't been on a real mission in a while. He sighed happily remembering the attack.

"Agent, are you listening to me?" A voice came from his official TSA communicator. Gabriel had forgotten his handler had been speaking to him while he prepared for the mission. "Yes, yes, I heard every word." "So in other words, you were lost in your own mind again." She sighed. Gabriel could imagine her sipping a coffee or rubbing her forehead. Such a cute nose that one had. "Darling, what did you expect? I haven't had a mission in forever!" "Alright. I'll go over everything one more time. You must retrieve the Book of Light from the thief, eliminate the gang who was intended to receive it - if not killed, they'll create a Rift within four years - and persuade the librarian attempting to recover it not to. "Is the thief needing elimination or..." Gabriel tries not to sound too eager to kill another person. He was obviously a loyal servant of the TSA. "Gabe..."

"Got it, off I go!" Gabriel said clicking the communicator off. His magic swirled around him. He called up windows in time to peek in on the librarian, the thief and the gang. The librarian had a dinner date from the looks of it. The thief and the gang wouldn't exchange the book for another few days. Gabriel shrugged, wiping his hand across the air. The windows in time vanished. If Gabriel attacked the dinner, the thief might get spooked when the librarian turned up dead. He smiled wickedly. That would move things up and remove any wait time. Perfect!

Gabriel used his magic to move into the town area. As he arrived, his sense of time tingled dangerously. He frowned, pulling on the feeling. Someone was messing with his intended timeline! Who would dare to do so? Gabriel flicked his fingers to make his gear disappear, leaving him in only black jeans, sneakers and a tee-shirt. He followed the errant thread toward the library. A female held the other end of the strand that Gabriel was following. The time slayer tapped his chin, wondering. He could attack her now... or he could follow her and see why she was messing with things. That option sounded like fun. He'd have to wait around for hours otherwise.

The bluette skipped over to the woman, hands in his pockets. "Hi there miss. I can see the future and I think that you have something to do with mine. You wouldn't have just made some kind of a discovery would you? Are you looking for something? Maybe I can help!"

WC: 560

@Zincarla

Zincarla normally would have purchased Darjeeling, the champagne of tea, but there was no time to savor and sit back with the cup. On an ordinary day, she might have just observed the living shuffle around the busy square in Oak Town but today she was on a mission. It was one of those increasingly common times where Zincarla was better off focusing on the dead than the living- many being reliable sources of information and perpetual witnesses to the ongoings of the square. The downside, she knew in advance, would be that the day to day was so busy that understanding the lapse of time itself would be their challenge. Ghosts might recount stories from a year prior before she realized what a waste of time it was. So, nixing the craving for Darjeeling, Zincarla paid for a cup of refreshing and spicy cup of peppermint tea. It was perfect to keep her warm and focused as she walked absentmindedly through the crowds.

Her boots moved her along, flowing with the people as if she were one of them, well practiced in blending into a group now. It was lucky it came as second nature as her mind was far away. She was trying to seek out a spirit that may be willing to help, and one that was bright enough to actually do so; someone who might have really seen something useful as her eyes sifted through the invisible faces of the dead on the street corners and benches. She stopped near an alley, hearing a little voice calling her in, tugging her in, like a street urchin who knew she could be convinced to lend a penny for some prime intel. "Miss? Come closer, miss.."

Zincarla cradled her cup of tea and leaned against the wall, her back to the flow of people and she peered her magenta eyes into the darkness. If she concentrated, she could hold her tea even while shifting form. Nobody was paying her much mind when the dark haired woman became incorporeal, a faint pale blue version of herself, so soft in color she was nearly invisible. Nearly. The little voice came again. "It's a fine trick you have there, miss. Can you really see me?"

She squinted and then she could see him: a boy around the age of maybe ten, a spirit she had no intention of speaking about death with. It was far too tragic even if it was real. The best way to handle this would be to treat him like any other little boy. "I can see you, child," Zincarla answered.

The spirit child grinned widely and clapped his hands once, "I knew it! You looked like you were lost or maybe looking for something. Did you need help, miss?" He had a mischievous smile and Zincarla moved one hand into her pockets to draw out a coin and toss it to him. It passed through his body and clattered on the ground by his feet, sparkling in the single ray of afternoon sun that split into the alley. The spirit didn't seem fazed by the fact that he couldn't actually hold the coin, admiring its glint just the same.

"I am. I heard a thief stole a book from the library, sometime yesterday. Did you see anyone running hastily from that building there?" The witch pointed at the massive library across the street. The boy looked at the building and cocked his head to the side, looking genuinely perplexed. He had shaggy shoulder length hair that moved when he shook his head finally.

"I've seen lots of people running in and out of that building, stacks of books and bags in their arms. I don't know if I can help you."

"Just narrow it down to yesterday, please," Zincarla prompted. The boy turned from her and squinted back at the building. When he didn't answer, she added, "The person would have only been holding one book, a large old one. It had a golden spine, but it might have been in a bag."

The boy's face lit up, "Oh yes! I saw a gold book! I loved the way it shined. They put it in a bag but not before I saw it!" Zincarla beamed at the spirit as he rushed on, "Whoever it was wore a flat sort of hat and a scarf. They went into that place over there, where the people dance at night under the lights." Zincarla made a confused face and then turned to look over her shoulder. A place where people danced under lights at night? Could he mean the tavern? She supposed a drunk might look like a dancer to a young boy. With a shrug she turned back to the spirit.

"Perfect, thank you. You helped me so much! Keep an eye out for that person and I might return with another coin for you." The boy saluted and Zincarla returned to the tide of working, flowing travelers and keepers in the streets. She headed back towards the library and stood up at the building curiously remarking the detailed overhang, the pillars besides the big front doors and the enormous steps meant for perhaps a horse to climb, not a normal sized person. She gazed at the building and right as she turned around, sipping at her hot tea to review the area from the position, a blue haired stranger appeared besides her.

Zincarla, known for her faraway looks and absentminded gaze, had instilled in her very few friends never to sneak up on her. This stranger lacked the courtesy and she leapt back into a half stumble, spilling her tea down the front of her top and then screeching with the way it scalded her skin. She dropped the cup next and it shattered upon the stairs while she lifted the long edge of her skirt to try to pat away the hot liquid and hopped from one foot to the next... cursing the man out.

When she finished her long winded careless word-flinging, Zincarla took a deep breath and finally looked at the person who had surprised her so. Her eyes shifted from pain, to annoyance and then to suspicion as he asked about if she had discovered something. He could see the future and surmised that she was looking for something? That seemed a rare ability, but considering her own she couldn't slough his words off so easily. His golden eyes stuck on her magenta hues and she found herself staring. Had he followed her around the whole morning? Had he been able to see her interaction with the ghost boy? Could he read minds or maybe, was her expression just so obvious at the moment? Zincarla's brows knit together and she had one final thought before speaking. Was he the thief?

"Who're you? What do you want? Besides the fact that you owe me a cuppa," Zincarla's voice was tense, laced with the suspicion to match her gaze. "I don't think I should tell you a thing about nothing unless I know that much. Were you following me?" She demanded, the anger fading from her voice leaving only curiosity and wariness in her tone.

WC: 1201 + 1000 = 2201
@Cetus

Gabriel smiled, an amused cock of his eyebrow as the woman cursed him out. He waited until she was talking. The cursing rather amused him greatly. Then he snapped his fingers, reversing the time flow of the cup and the liquid. He held out the repaired - or rather the cup of the past - out to the woman. Gabriel's smile grew widely before he bowed elegantly.

"My apologies, pretty lady. I forget that my demeanor can be rather frightening to people." Gabriel straightened, still smiling. "I was not following you though, I saw you in my future and thought I would introduce myself. I think you, my dear, hold my thread of fate currently." The bluette steps back. A wave of his hand creates a window in time. It shows Zincarla clearly but everything around her is blurry.

"My name is Gabriel. May I know your name?"

WC: 148
TWC: 708
@Zincarla

Zincarla stared with wide bright eyes at the cup. What in all worlds neither here nor there just happened? The tea replaced in the cup was even still steaming a little. She reached out tentatively to take the cup and sniffed it, eyeing it suspiciously. There wasn't a smell of soil or a single lingering grain of dirt in the drink either. Zincarla held it in her hands, feeling the warmth slip into her fingers which trembled just slightly in befuddlement and nervousness. She wasn't so sure she wanted to drink this particular cup of tea anymore, but she supposed her clothes were no longer wet and her skin, too, was dry. There was no real sense in staying annoyed about it either. Not when such a fascinating magic had appeared before her.

The man in front of her still grinned at her, bemused by her reaction she assumed, though this didn't really bother her. She wanted to talk to him and find out how he just did that. She wanted to find out if the tea was safe to drink. She wanted to drop more tea on the ground just to witness him reuniting it wholly with another cup once more. Why was she here in front of the library, again? Zincarla glanced at the building and back at the man when he started to address her.

Zincarla didn't know what he meant by thread of fate or seeing her in his future, but she was relieved to know that she hadn't missed this guy trailing her around. She looked up at his unusual blue hair and considered touching it, just out of curiosity, and because it looked so soft. She let out a little reluctant sigh, trying to figure out what her train of thought was in the back of her mind while she followed the words of this mage. With a wave of his hand a strange blurred image appeared before her, like a crack in reality somehow, and there in the picture stood her. She waved a hand once, just to see if it was like a mirror and then cleared her throat when the Zincarla in the window didn't copy her.

"Gabriel, huh. You're.. strange. But, I suppose I forgive you." Zincarla let out an airy laugh and added, "I am Zincarla Kekkanshi, not that anyone would ever recognize my name, but if I don't start saying the whole thing, I guess nobody ever will, right?" Zincarla squinted at the tea and back up at him. "I am kind of in the middle of something, a private job, in fact. I think though, if you need my help with something, maybe I can assist with that, too." The book was stolen already, and that was a fact. She already had a lead on the book so it wasn't like she was neglecting the job if she didn't do much else before meeting Bast, the librarian, for dinner. Zincarla could help this enticing and fascinating mage out if there was time to do both, and considering her power, Zincarla didn't doubt that she could make the time.

WC: 522+2201= 2723
@Cetus

"Dear sweet Zincarla, I am hurt." Gabriel says with a touch to his heart and a wounded expression. His eyes still twinkle with a mischievous light. "It is not so much what you can do for me but what I can do for you. After all, there are few people that can resist the charms of a time mage. We can come in quite handy." He chose that moment to wave his hand through the time window. It vanished like a wink.

"I must admit, my magic pulls me to nexus points where important events take place. Whatever your private job is, it has reverberating repercussions for time itself. So, please miss Zincarla, allow me to help. Free of charge, of course. Gazing upon your pretty face is all the payment I need." Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows trying to bring some levity to the situation.

The bluette waves a finger through the air. It was time to sweeten the deal a little more. The streams of time briefly became visible. Tiny people danced, sang and moved across the threads that Gabriel revealed. Nothing was clearly defined in any of the streams but it did make for a pretty display. He smiled at the detective, private investigator, beat cop with an itch girl, hoping the display had impressed.

WC: 217
TWC: 925
@Zincarla

Zincarla observed the man before her and decided to chance a sip of her tea. It was still hot, and quite delicious. It didn't taste like magic or any sort of bitter plant (she always was a bit suspicious of poisonings after her time in the prison). A time mage was highly unusual as far as she knew and it seemed that he could alter time in small singular moments or items. She wondered if he could speed up time as well, killing a foe with his own old age or crippling buildings and walls through natural erosion. As charming as he was, and amusingly enough self-admitted, she didn't want to underestimate a mage that could affect the world around them so dramatically. If he was a force for evil or even for himself, he might truly be a danger to them all.

It was believable, she supposed, that her private job might affect time or society on a larger scale. The Book of Light had been in a special glass case and with a golden binding must have been both ancient and powerful for a magical tome. Its loss might very well be detrimental to time or the world, depending on who stole it or where the book had gone off to. Zincarla listened to his convincing tale and his compliment with a grain of concern but then gave a slow nod.

"At the very least, you do seem useful to have around, in case I stumble and drop my tea again," She joked. Zincarla watched the light blue streams of magic play around in the air and though she was knowledgeable enough with magic, power never failed to really impress her. It was just about the only thing that did. Her magenta eyes lit up with desire or envy, something about the power speaking to her on a deep level. She gave him another confirming nod.

Zincarla normally kept details of her jobs quite private but for this mage, she would have to spill some of her secrets in an effort to track the book down. Maybe he could even reverse time enough to bring back the thief to this very spot on the stairs outside of the massive library. "I will keep my client's details out of this, but all right. I can accept your help and tell you a bit of what I am seeking. There is an important magical tome which was stolen from this library, either sometime last night or this morning. The person who stole it was likely a man and wore a flat cap and a scarf, carrying the book in a satchel of some sort." The mage narrowed her eyes on him, "I'm still investigating, Gabriel, and I would be fine on my own. But what could you do to help, here? Can you reverse time and bring the thief back to this spot?"

The disclaimer might have seemed rude, but the woman hated looking weak. Above all else, she wanted to flex and had to do so somehow responsibly in front of Gabriel so the message would be clear. She might not show off the way he did, but there was no way he wouldn't feel her own great power and think less of her for only making it this far in the investigation.

WC: 2723 + 554 = 3277
@Cetus

Gabriel's smile becomes a bit brittle at Zincarla's joke. The people at the TSA usually belittled his abilities. Even while his work for the Agency had been often lauded, they usually chalked it up to using his abilities to try again and again. It didn't matter that his file said reversing time on a large scale was potentially life threatening to him with severe consequences. They all thought he had a reset spell to get things done right.

"I can see that you are not an easy lass to impress! I respect that." Gabriel said with a sweeping of his arm. Magic played at the tips of his fingers. How best to show he could be useful? Many tricks hid up both of his sleeves but he didn't think it would be a good idea to unveil them all. It seldom was now that he thought about it. "I could provide you with a temporal trail up to a point. Since a specific book was taken, one I presume has quite the magical signature and hasn't been moved about a lot, it will punch through the veil of time. I can provide what will be essentially a trail from the past."

Gabriel brushes imaginary dirt from his shoulder. He figures one additional card form his deck of spells should be clarified with her as well. A slight gesture indicates the cup. "I cannot pull the thief back here by reversing time. No matter the particulates, reversing time on such a grand scale is similar to trying to reverse the course of a raging river back on itself. All of the strain of forcing things to turn back would be applied to my body. Even should I grab the thief alone and reverse only his time, it would still be like trying to pull a whale upstream. Things that only recently happened are much much easier to reverse." Gabriel buffed his nails on his coat. "That isn't to say I couldn't pull the thief back here. I would simply suffer greatly as a result."

The bluette looked Zincarla over, a slow appreciative smile spreading across his face. His head cocks to the left. "Of course, should the pretty lady ask it of me, I would gladly do so. Sweet Zincarla, should such a plea drop like pearls from your lips, my magic will be a slave to your will." Gabriel says in a grandiose tone. He seems entirely sincere, holding a pose of subservience as he waits for the request to fall.

WC: 421
TWC: 1146
@Zincarla

Zincarla watched him both curiously and cautiously; his abilities were both unique and remarkable, but his flourishes were over the top. He didn't seem naturally arrogant so Zin had to wonder what the show was for. Was he flirting? She shifted a bit awkwardly and then gave him a nod and a smile.

"I appreciate the attempt, I didn't realize it would be so hard on you. I would never ask anyone to risk themselves like that." Zincarla looked uneasy when he used the word slave. A prisoner wasn't much better and she hate the connotation. "There has to be an easier way to find book though. Can you just view moments in time? I still have some contacts I can reach out to," She wet her lips and then pursed them tightly. "Your... flowery language is a bit formal for me though. If you don't mind, just call me Zin. We can be... well, we can work together." The word friends was right on the tip of her tongue but she didn't, she couldn't use the word lightly. Somehow, the blue haired mage made her want to. That feeling in and of itself was uncomfortable.

Zincarla looked around while she waited for his answer. She could see a few streets leading off from this main area in front of the library. If the suspect was looking to use the tome he might want to hunker down in an inn quietly. If the suspect was trying to sell the tome then he would head toward the markets. If he was paid to steal it, he might be more likely to go to the lower streets and the dirtier market area- it was actually mostly just an area of residences and bars and construction that always seemed to draw the worst lowlifes towards it. Her eyes were drawn back to Gabriel waiting for his reply.

WC: 3277+314= 3591
@Cetus