The World Of Curses (Lehanna)

After her recent success against the Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf, Medeia was in an incredibly good mood and she had decided to celebrate by taking a trip to one of her favourite spots in Fiore. She had always adored Oak Town because of its link to the past. There was so much history to be learned here, a treasure trove of knowledge that the angel could not help but be captivated by. There were few human traits that remained within her but her love for the past was one that did. Her desire for information was insatiable and time and again, she had returned to the enormous building that she was approaching now although no one would believe that it was actually her.

For today, she was travelling as her alter ego named Madeline. Her usual black coloured hair a gentle touch of brown, her purple eyes a shade of green and a gentle smile across her features instead of the lustful smirk that she usually bore. She was a creature of serenity today, a sweet soul that would not hurt a fly. Her goal was simply to spend a day in the library, burying herself into a book or two. The library was always bringing in new material and she was desperately curious as to whether they had discovered anything worth her time. She had quite the library of her own back home although a fair few of her books were not ones that you would find on your standard shelf, not at all.

She could not help but remember the last time she had encountered another mage here either. A lovely Sabertooth member named Terumi who had fought her using fire. Unfortunately for her opponent, that was hopeless against Medeia and the Warlord had won without a scratch due to her slayer powers. They had parted on good terms though and the dark mage hoped that she was doing well. Was it strange that she wished good will to a mage on the other side of the spectrum? Perhaps but when had Medeia ever been a normal mage? She was a contradictory character, one moment motherly and the next a lustful romance driven maniac. That was how she was and would always be, until the world ended and only she remained.

After entering the building, she would make her way towards the shelves and begin to peruse them, looking for something that would capture her interest. She could not help but smile, feeling quite at home among the books.

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It was a bit of a mixed bag trying to get used to being in public like this. Trying to hide her curse from the world and at times even herself was a troublesome issue for her. In some ways, Lehanna had come to like it for some of the more… unique features, but several of those also being a curse in it of itself. Being one who couldn’t express her emotions was quite fortunate for her really. Being driven by them more than she really wanted to admit to was a big thorn in her side, but she felt her mind was much more open to examining situations before acting on them— at least most of the time. She still sometimes acted on immediate reactions than using her logic, but she just chalked that up to being human.

Burdening Elara with having to hide this from others was also a taxing thought on her mind. It wasn’t something that she felt comfortable with, but knowing she had someone to fall back on for anything was probably what had kept her going all this time since it all began for her. Though at times she thought it was more of a burden than it was helping. It was times like this she felt she had to step away from their apartment and spend some time by herself and give her partner a break. Not that she wouldn’t be reachable of course and always checking in via text messaging. She didn’t do it to be spiteful or ignorant of the help, but it didn’t help her to make Ela worry about her all the time… though in hindsight maybe she’d be worried more without her there considering this is almost the reason she was cursed in the first place. But also at that point they hadn’t been together either.

However, when there was a need for a way to ease her mind, she could always count on books to help her escape the troubles of her life. The one consistent, factual thing in which she could rely on to center herself and give her some form of direction. On top of that, it gave her a chance to deep dive into researching curses and see if she could find some alternative to her own plight to fight through without having to deal with Kalama until she could get the opportunity to kill her some day, though it wasn’t her first option if she could help it.

Being on day three of marathoning the library, Lehanna had moved from an occult section into several other sections to find something to help her out. She had a table nearby with countless other books, notebooks and writing utensils used to take notes. Trying to compare the facts with fiction and experimental ideas, she had detailed things all about the table, but for now the cursed girl simply moved by for her next round of book collecting. She’d search through aisle after aisle until she paused at a section just next to a woman. Caramel brown colored hair and eyes colored like emeralds had seems to be surveying the same section of the books she began looking over.

”…Sorry, I don’t mean to disturb you, I was just looking through for a couple books.” She said in a soft tone, trying to convey her need to be albeit looking the woman over. Though even Lehanna was a bit overdressed for a casual out in some respects; a cheongsam dress that primarily had been made in a color similar to the same shade of skin her lower arms and hands had and a good colored trim shaped around the top of her chest in a arcing fashion to separate the black color from the rest. Long, ebony black hair framing a gentle shade of red eyes and cascading down her back while two antler like horns protruded from her head, similarly framed around the bangs of her hair like her eyes. A look that Ela helped shape for her to help try and improve her self image of this form at all, it didn’t honestly help, but thinking it made her happy made it much more worth the try to learn to like at the very least.

”I.. can come back in a moment if you’re in the middle of looking. I don’t mean to disturb you. I’m not far away anyway. Pardon me, ma’am.” Lehanna made her way around the back of the stranger, trying to excuse herself from this and moving back to her table and taking a seat, which indeed had been but 3-5 meters from the area she just was before seating herself before three stacks of books sitting 4 to 5 high from the table and several notebooks open and sprawled out. Thankfully, the library was albeit empty right now.

Emerald eyes turned as the young woman spoke to her, a soft smile crossing the features of the witch as she did so. The girl before her was certainly exotic in appearance and Medeia could not help but ponder about just what her story was. It was the start of what would no doubt turn into more than just idle curiosity but for the time being, that was all it was. She could detect a scent of something too, an aura that tickled the slayer’s enhanced senses. There was something peculiar about this girl and she was not talking about her appearance. Medeia could feel a tingle of something as the girl passed her by, a type of magic that the Warlord knew a great deal about. This young woman had been touched by something dark, something deliciously evil and that more than anything, was what caused Medeia to pause from what she was doing and approach the table that the girl was sitting at. It was covered in books and notes, detailing a variety of occult themes. Just what was all that about? She wished to know and if there was one thing about the brunette woman, it was that once she wanted to know something, she would not stop until she did.

Eyeing the various books with a look of interest in her eyes, Medeia would politely ask the young woman. “May I take a seat? I cannot help but notice your interest in the occult and that is a passion of mine as well, one that I dabble in quite a bit. My name is Madeline, by the way, a pleasure to meet you Miss…?”

The cogs in her mind were already starting to whir, as she attempted to piece together the girl’s intentions. Was she looking to increase her strength? Summon a beast of Hell? Bring back a loved one? There were many powers that such dark magic could access although most of them had a horrible price attached that had to be made. From the looks of it, the young woman had already dabbled, judging from her appearance and Medeia had to admit that she had never seen a visage quite like hers before. That only increased her curiosity though and the scent of the power that surrounded her was intriguing indeed. What was such a young flower doing with such a twisted form of magic?

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Being ignored or given frank and little gesture like replies was not foreign to Lehanna at this point in her life. She had to deal with it in a myriad of situations and locations in her short lifetime so far. At this point, being the norm for it was what she had come to expect and simply brushed it off. Though she did tend to study the kind of expressions those people made in doing the response or lack there of to gauge whether she needed to worry about someone mentioning something a little out of pocket. Few karen's have made commentary of a lone child in a library back during her days as a foster child and while she tried to simply enjoy her time studying and doing work in silence, someone tended to come and ruin it for one reason or another. You would think someone would like seeing kids learning, but some people you just can't please no matter how hard you try.

After the cursed teen had taken her seat and cracked open another book, she had immediately pulled her seat into the table and dove straight into the book. She had hardly got into the second page through trying to speed read her way through when a feminine voice caught her pointed ears. Her eyes had changed their focus off of the black text print and she turned to look to the direction of the voice only to see the same woman who was in the spot of the location of books she was searching near. She seemed to have caught her attention and honestly it was a worrisome thought whether she was going to keep a façade or if she were genuinely sweet. Looking to the seat in front of the woman, she simply looked back up toward the brunette and gestured to her to take up the seat. She had no real control over where someone sat, but she did appreciate the courtesy she showed.

Hearing her mention her interest in the occult, there was a twinge look in her gaze. A careful observer would definitely point out that she piqued curiosity, however the lack of any other change in expression had shrouded the conclusion of if that had been one of weariness and caution or one of surprise and a pursuit to wonder more of it. Without skipping more of a beat than she had, she pointed to the piles of books on the table and shrugged a bit. "If you needed a book I may have picked up, those two stacks on the right I've read through already, so you can help yourself." She replied, not so much picking up on the idea that she may have been placing out feelers of what her intention with the books may have been. "And my name is..." For a moment, Lehanna paused. She was unsure if she could feel comfortable with giving her real name or if she should acquire a pen name to go by while she looked like this.

Her pause was noted with just the shaking in her eyes from worrying of her internal debate of choices. Ultimately, the dark haired teen sighed softly to herself and cleared her throat. She had to push herself whether she liked it or not. She couldn't keep hiding... "Sorry, my name is Lehanna Seraph." The only issue now was whether to declare her guild as well. Then again, it seemed to magically rise over even the cursed artistry of colors on her left wrist in a pink color, so perhaps it would be noticed at some point. She had pride for being a member, however this was still hard for even her to accept and the last thing she would want to do is make people think they associated themselves with a monster like herself. "I'm not so much a fan of occult. Generally, I am doing research into the history and practices for intentions of reversing the effects of them. However, different books skew others research and histories, so I've begun taking notes to compare. I've been here for a couple of days and have compiled two full notebooks of notes, working towards the third and I do not know where the end will come with it. Until then, I'll keep searching and working to narrow it down." Sitting back a bit in her chair, Lehanna would tuck her hair behind her ear, gently whipping her tail around to rest itself on her lap to keep from being in other peoples way.

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Behind the kindly, almost motherly gaze of the brunette, there was a great deal of thought going on. She was examining every flicker of body language that Lehanna gave away, every moment of doubt behind those lovely eyes and swish of her unusual tail. Medeia was searching for something, a hook that she could use as bait to manipulate the girl before her. Yet, to her amusement, it appeared that she might already have found that bait. Was that intrigue that she saw in the girl’s eyes at the mention of her own interest in the occult and dark arts? If so, then that was all that she required to begin to formulate a plan. Lehanna’s words made it painfully clear that the reason for her research was in order to undo whatever curse she had been inflicted with and it just so happened that of all the mages that the girl could have run into, it had been the one with power to do something about it. For curses were Medeia’s bread and butter, so to speak and her command of them was great.

With all that in mind, she would play her hand. “What you need is someone who is experienced in the field and I apologise if I appear to be arrogant by saying this but you will not find another who is more experienced than I am. I can smell the curse that lies within you, Lehanna, I am a slayer of them, a God slayer if you wish to know. When you passed me just now, I saw just the briefest glimpse of what lurks within. What you want is to get rid of what lurks inside and it just so happens that I have the power to do it. I can devour it like I can any other element that my lacrima’s grant me control over. Is that of interest to you?”

It was the perfect hook or at least the Warlord thought so although she was not so conceited that she believed that Lehanna would just bite her hand off. Someone with notable power must have cursed the girl to begin with and the experience must have been a painful one. Curses always were and even if cured, they could leave behind memories that would never fade. Those who had been cursed by the witch herself certainly never forgot them but being turned into insects tended to have that effect. She could not help but feel a sense of curiosity as to just who had cast such an unusual curse on the girl. It was not common by any stretch of the imagination and if Medeia did not know better, she would have said that perhaps it was not entirely successful. The work of someone whose ambition was greater than their talent perhaps.

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What Lehanna had not expected was the type of response she had gotten from the woman. Not only did it not drive her away thinking she was probably some kind of demon lying to avoid suspicion and looking to probably summon the devil itself to corrupt her little cherub hellspawns --which was a true story by the way! it seemed that the woman was much more in tune with her expertise all in one swing of the bat. At first, she had seemed to look a bit curious as to Madeline's expression of her expertise in the manner of curses, but she had revealed that she had lacrima somewhere inside of her body in which her abilities granted her abilities of a god slayer. A kind in fact that let her deal with curses in different ways. There was a shift in her gaze though, one of avoidance after a moment of learning the woman was a god slayer. A title she had grown to love herself, but when that was stripped from her being for this curse and all that came with it, honestly she was glad the curse afflicted her emotions like this. It would be hard to tell if she would be upset and angry or upset nearly crying by this point.

"A god slayer, you say? I am of the abilities lacrimas can grant people to imbue those types of magics into them as a sort of phylactery. However, I don't think you really expect me to believe you can 'cure' a curse like mine." The teen would turn her body towards the woman, holding out one arm and with her other, she'd taken a firm but gentle grip on her hair and pulled it over her right shoulder. "The curse is not just inside, it BECAME part of me. It's latched onto parts of me that things cannot begin to believe or comprehend without experiencing it themselves. My hair, my arms, the tail, the horns, ears, eyes... you get the picture." Trying to expel the anger she felt over it, Lehanna just released the hold on her hair and let it lay over her shoulder for a moment while trying to center her volume. It had barely gone up in volume since they spoke, but they were still in a library after all.

With a loud expelling of air, the teen leaned back in her seat once again and fixed herself upright in the chair before she fixed her attention to the woman and in the same breath closed her currently open notebook with a pen inside to play as a makeshift bookmark for her. "I am not asking you to exactly prove you have the magic. I can sense somewhat an odd.. twinge, if you will of similarity, for a lack of a better term. What I AM asking is that you don't brush me off simply because I am a little skeptical of a woman approaching me wishing to solve my issues when I appear like an exotic circus act with free will and rights." Clearly, she had come to devalue herself quite a bit in the last moment. But something in the back of her mind kept trying to push some form of pride while she figured out exactly what inspired the look of this curse and what was to come from it.

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The girl had suffered. That was the one truth that seemed to burst forth from every word she said, every movement of her eyes and body. Lehanna was wracked with torment and the Warlord surmised that whatever or whoever had cursed her had done so with the intention of instilling it. It was the work of a cruel creature, one who cared little for the sanity or health of the victim. Was it similar to Medeia’s own? No, it was not. It did not have the nuance and subtlety of her own handiwork and was instead rather raw and blunt. The work of a barbarian rather than an artist such as herself. That was not to say that it was not powerful nor easy to remove but it was the work of a different kind of monster nonetheless. The brunette was somewhat curious to know the circumstances of the girl being cursed but for the moment, she refrained from asking it.

Lehanna’s words were passionate and Medeia was under no illusion that they were anything other than the honest truth but there was just one aspect that the young woman was unaware of. For Medeia did know what it was like to be completely fused with another being, having bonded with Priya and becoming the creature she was today. The angel would not call it a curse as such but perhaps in the eyes of another it maybe. She could understand the principle of what the cursed woman was saying and in no way did she look down upon her nor ignore her feelings. A part of her wished to bring her own situation to the girl’s attention but knowing that it might blow her cover, she had to reluctantly decline that option.

It was only after she had carefully pondered Lehanna’s words that she replied with her own. “I do not expect you to simply believe me and I most definitely am not going to brush you off because you are doubting my abilities. I am not so immature as to behave like that and if you wish for an example of my powers then so be it nor am I going to judge you based solely on your appearance. You are not a circus freak nor an abomination, you are the victim of a curse, forced upon you by a being of darkness. What I propose is to undo what was done, should you come to accept that my powers are genuine.” Her tone was neither angry nor disappointed, instead perfectly neutral, almost casual.

Standing up, she would walk behind the girl’s chair and gently lift her hair, before draping it over the same shoulder that Lehanna had done previously herself. “Keep your eyes on your hair.” She would then gently request, preparing herself for what was to come.

With that, she would then lower her head so that it was inches away from Lehanna’s scalp and open her mouth, attempting to draw the curse from the girl’s body. It was not an instant process and rather slow in all honesty but sooner or later, the curse would start to change into a mass of black magic, which would travel from the girl’s head and into Medeia’s mouth. The taste was intriguing to say the least but what was more important was the change that should begin to occur in Lehanna. If successful, she would start to see her lovely locks begin to change to their natural hue.

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Lehanna had grown silent after she had worked to demean herself in the same breath as her simply accusing the woman of trying to push into a category of wanting something from the teen without having to put in any effort aside from some smooth words and a gentle smile. For all she knew, this could be someone who wanted to collect strange humanoids and cage them like a collection. A person looking to auction off others in order to make a Buck and using the appearance as a way to increase her pricing. They were fearfully growing thoughts since her curse had been afflicted to her. Instead, she seemed to simply reflect upon things she’d seen in articles, books, and a few shows and movies she’d watched with Elara. It wasn’t her first thought any time someone spoke to her, but something about this woman made her guard go up and she couldn’t put her finger on the reason why.

Normally, people seemed to be deflective of her appearance… or so she assumed that was the case. Very rarely did she go in public like she had in the last couple of days, but maybe the curse wove the tales of misfortunate thoughts and paranoid ideas into her mind. It sucked, to say the least. A lot of them were unshakable thoughts that she tried to suppress from being around Elara and having her taking her mind off of things. It was one of the more thankful parts of having her there and honestly she would repay that in leagues of ways if it meant she could protect her like she had essentially saved her after she was let go of being Kalama’s prisoner.

She tried to gauge the older woman’s response of her seemingly dismissive thoughts of her abilities to remove curses or general abilities with them. She had come to think the only way to relieve her curse was to kill Kalama once and for all… but something kept telling her if anything, she wasn’t the original source and the old theme of the original one to curse beings would need to be killed in order for everything to revert. And yet… something didn’t seem logical to that excuse, but at the same time it seemed completely logical in others. It was one of those scenarios that made her realize why conspiracy theorists exist.

Lehanna kept herself quiet while Madeline was giving her own little speech. She seemed to have quite a bit experience in needing to explain herself to others or at least practicing the charade enough to make it feel natural to those she were speaking to. Still, she seemed to be adamant on the idea of reinforcing the idea that Lehanna was the victim and that she simply wanted to help. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to believe her, however her mind screamed doubts while it tried to seek an approval with an adult figure. Despite having Kita as her adopted mother, it didn’t seem to stop her from still feeling this unnatural need to seek for further approval as though needing to fill the void of years of not having it at all.

Before she had a moment to say anything, Madeline stood up and walked off behind her. She thought at first perhaps she scared the woman off by her casted doubts, but the cursed teen soon felt her hair being shifted and moved over her shoulder. Her body began to tremble with a desire to spin around and make sure she wasn’t trying any fast moves. The former slayer wanted so badly to do so, however she had to power through the influence of the curse. With the woman’s direction, she had begun to do just that. Her eyes kept locked to her hair, her hand even began to gently slide through some of it while waiting for something to happen. At first, nothing did… until suddenly she felt something strange through her body. Her tolerable, yet constant slight sensation of pain felt like it was receding. The voices whispering in her head the dark thoughts that plagued her mind had begun to soften as well. Both of those paled in comparison to the sight of the ebony color in her hair shifting before her eyes. The color returning slowly down from her roots to her ends to the former color of red it used to be.

Sure, the color of her hair would easily be something of an illusion from magic cast to make her believe it, but she couldn’t deny the abilities to affect the curse internally like this. She reached over to her freshly changed hair color with her hands, seeing even the change in her arms slowly receding momentarily. After a few seconds, a wave of pain cascaded over her body and in her head. The curse seemed to push itself back and punishing the body for its attempt to rid itself from her. The host of this curse however tried her best to control herself knowing she had to keep quiet inside the library and while her mind focused on that task, the curse would rapidly return her body to its former, fully afflicted state. Once there, the pain would abruptly stop and her body could relax once again.

”Sheesh… that.. that really hurt.” She muttered, huffing and letting out a breath of air while letting the sore sensation wear down. ”If it weren’t for the fact I felt multiple other sensations happening at the same time as I had seen my hair shifting back to its red hue, I wouldn’t be believing you much. Anyone can claim it and simply mask it with some form of an illusion. Since this curse and frankly even before it… I haven’t had the best trust in adults that have crossed me.” With a light sigh, she would brush her hair back behind her, peeking over her shoulder to the brunette. ”I apologize for being skeptical. I don’t do it to be rude or inconsiderate to good intentions. It’s primarily out of a very fractured trust. But, thankfully for me it’s only a fracture that’s healing than it being fully broken. My life experiences have at least shown me not every adult in my life is as careless and callous as others.” With that said, Lehanna turned her head back and let off a small sigh, being thankful she could have let Kita, Leona, and many others in her guild to be trusted, so perhaps some others might not turn out badly…

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There was no answer from the witch at first but it was not because Medeia was annoyed but due to the fact that she had started to cough as soon as her demonstration was over, turning her head from the girl’s lovely locks. The curse was indeed a potent one and even a slayer of her calibre had a little difficulty in devouring it. In order to exorcise the girl fully, it would require a great deal of time and energy, from both herself and Lehanna. For now though, she had proven her skill and that was enough to satisfy the brunette haired woman. Lehanna seemed convinced anyway, which was the main goal of her exercise.

“There is no need to be sorry, my dear, I never expected you to trust a perfect stranger without seeing a demonstration first.” Medeia replied, taking the high ground, so to speak. “I am the one who should be apologising for causing you pain. That was not my intention and I have clearly underestimated just how entwined you are with this curse. It will not be easy to remove although I am certain that it is possible, however, whether you will return to exactly who you were before is another question. Some curses leave scars behind and I reckon that you are carrying more than your fair share already.”

Returning to her seat, she would briefly glance at Lehanna’s note, before looking back at the young woman. “If that is what you wish to happen then you will need to reveal to me the tale of how you were cursed. There are many forms of curse in this world, as I am sure you have learned from your research and some are more deadly than others. Depending on the type, it may be more dangerous to remove than it is to keep.”

Medeia did not push the topic any further at that point and gave the young woman time to ponder things over. The Warlord was still figuring out the taste of the curse, as it were, trying to pinpoint if she recognised it or not. She had devoured so many and the differences were so subtle that it was difficult to tell on occasion. In the meantime, she would help herself to one of the books that Lehanna had already looked through, giving the impression that she was reading. The truth of course was that her attention was anything but focused upon the book. She was trying to get a read of the girl. There was a fire to her and she had a snarky kind of sass to her but it was impossible for Medeia to not continue to notice the trust issues that this cherub had. The signs of a troubled past, as well as present. How many mages had the Warlord met who had been the same upon meeting her? Dozens, if not more and her intrigue in the teenager was growing. Just what had gone in this girl’s life that made her so reluctant to trust adults?

The irony being that of all the adults in the world, the brunette was the last one that anyone should trust.

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As curious as she had been to wonder what happened upon the end of the woman's demonstration, Lehanna tried to pay it no mind and try to keep her focus on the pain of her curse "fixing" itself. That kind of knowledge honestly helped in her research as she had no real knowledge of that happening until this very moment and the idea to let that kind of information pass was nothing shy of idiotic. Almost as though she didn't have someone she was engaging in a conversation with, the teen flipped open her notebook which had been riddled in detailed notes written in several languages over the course of her skimming through her notes. She couldn't honestly remember if she had read this phenomenon before in another book and her note taking had been extremely precise in how she did it to assure people could not plagiarize all of her work.

She perfected this over the course of her schooling when bullies would try and steal and proclaim her work for their own. Something that used to drive the girl up a wall, but when teachers would notice that some work or some projects had more than one language written on them and no ability for that thief to take rightful claim, she would make a fool of them in front of everyone before exposing them. Taking the high route after a while did show that she wouldn't let bullies get in her way of learning more and keeping accurate notes. So as no doubt Madeline had been keeping her eye on the notes, she would see pages written in Minstrellan, Pergrandian, Midian, and some in Fiorian as well. Bullet pointed information and even the asterisked information had been included in that same language. This helped her narrow down the information she had yet to procure for herself from the other nations to see what in the entire world had information and calculate her best plan from then on. And after Minstrellan had been her first set of notes from the front, Pergrande language notes covered the next bit yet brief considering they didn't keep much left without trying to reach possibly hidden away information. Something she couldn't reach any time soon if it even existed at all.

Once the cursed teen was sure her notes contained nothing about it, she quickly jotted down the notation of her experience in her notes and then closed the book once more. Given that the topic of her curses origin had to come to light, she decided to refocus herself even if temporarily. "As if I can forget that day... and some days I truly wish it never happened..." The ebony haired teen pushed away her notes and fixed herself up in the chair and the look in her eyes spoke much differently than the blank expression she wore. "I had been carrying different demons in my mind prior to that day to a point I would simply disappear for days at a time and sleep and live as though I were homeless. Just to keep myself isolated. During one of these, I had been hiding away down an alleyway when I heard a series of explosions. I went out to check and this woman was murdering people without a lack of care or consideration. Leveling and ending anything she saw. Without thinking of myself, I just jumped in and tried to fight her. With only really one good hit, she shrugged it off and brutally beat me probably within an inch of my life... Instead of killing me, she decided to take my magic from me which I had no idea was possible before replacing it with this curse. Well, it took time to root itself inside, but she kept me prisoner for several weeks while she waited to see if the curse would consume me or I would live from it. Eventually, she had decided to let me go and honestly, I think she's waiting to see if I give in to it like she did and join her like some sick psychopath in training... And I won't let it happen." With the determination oozing in her voice, the shift from the regret and pain in her eyes shifted to anger and determination, solidifying that her goal was set right there.

Lehanna would close her eyes and quickly inhale and exhale before opening them again and looking over to her overall research and then back to her brunette conversation partner. "That's why I am here studying and researching. Looking to gather and analyze as much information on this as I can in hopes to find a way to break it before I potentially lose my mind to this thing. If what you said is true, then it makes my researching all the more prudent and necessary. I won't fret over my scars afterward. If I have lasted this long with the ones I have bore and wear still, I won't let it get to me so long as I have people to fall back on." Taking a pause, she had taken a moment to size up the woman for a moment in thought of what she could do with the woman's need to be around a cursed individual like herself. What was in it for her? Nobody ever does anything in her life without something coming to themselves in return. Her left arm would reach up to the table and set the pen she had held since jotting her notes in down on top and continued to look over the brunette, not caring much over her guild tattoo becoming visible once again. "So what is it you want from me, now? What are you looking to gain in the end result of this conversation? Because I am not being a lab rat for you to try and feed on my curse again since it seemed like all it gave you was a little heartburn." Now her arms were folded under her chest, wanting to stop beating around the bush since she was either more naive or cunning than she let on.

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The emerald eyes of the witch remained unreadable, seemingly unbothered by the girl’s attempt at trying to get a read in return. She would lower the book and turn to face Lehanna, pondering over the information that she had given her. The girl had not given her an awful lot about the curse itself but plenty about the one who had performed the deed. A bruiser, by the sounds of her, quite similar to her maid and if this woman had the same IQ as Armina then she probably could not have been that intelligent. Still, the fact that she had been able to steal Lehanna’s magic was eyebrow raising and the brunette mused that perhaps there was more to this woman than met the eye.

Lehanna certainly had a lot of spunk though, convinced that she could handle not only the curse but the cure as well. She was a tough little cherub and Medeia’s mind was already drifting beyond the curse, instead dwelling on the possibility of perhaps taking the girl, in order to find out what made her tick. The teenager was only young but apparently she had gone through enough already to fill a book. The Warlord was becoming more intrigued by the minute and that was never something that could be considered good.

Her gaze briefly fell upon the girl’s left arm, a tattoo placed there that the angel instantly recognised. That was what truly set the witch’s plan in motion for she had a rival of sorts who just happened to be in that guild. The blonde haired powerhouse who Medeia had recently had bound and gagged in her guild quarters. The angel had let go in the end, she always did but it had started something between the two women, as one would expect. The Warlord loved such rivalries, never taking them too seriously and always thinking of them as more of a game. What were the odds that Lehanna was from the same guild as Leona? Fate had a funny way of doing things.

“If you want me to remove your curse then you are going to have to let me devour it. That is how slayer magic works, Lehanna, I will take the curse inside myself and use it to increase my strength. A winning scenario for both, yes? I receive a boost and you have a chance to return to normal. I doubt you will receive a better one any time soon. Think about it.”

She paused for a moment and then added. “Of course, there is another option. You could choose to learn how to master the curse and use it to defeat the woman who cast it upon you. A curse of this caliber must have secrets to be learned, abilities and powers that you have yet to discover. Perhaps what this woman has given you is a gift, one that you can turn against her.”

Revenge was such a delightful concept, one that Medeia had delved in more than once.

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There was a lot to think about with this offer given to her. She could potentially have it removed entirely from her by this woman. Someone who no doubt had proven her ability to at least begin removing it just in a moments time... but was it worth it? Sure, she wouldn't have this disposition of her appearance, the fear of people rejecting her because of it, people running and avoiding her in fear of it. All of it could be behind her if she chose to go that route. In return, the woman would gain some amount of power boosted from eating such amount of power locked in there. There was only one remaining question in that case; What would be left of her magical abilities, if any? It's true she never sought the ability to use magic or even be within a guild. She aspired to be a successful scientific or mathematical doctor running businesses to improve the lives of everyone. She could do that worry free with the loss of this curse! The only issues had been if Kalama found it out, would she not try again? Would she not just kill Lea just on that premise? And most importantly had been how could she not protect Elara anymore? Curse or not, she would do what she had to in order to keep that one person who centered her the most.

Without saying a word, another proposal was given to the teen. A potential mentorship to control and master the curse in order to seek revenge. Not something that didn't cross her mind, in fact she could plainly recall declaring such a thing to Kalama when they had interacted post infection of the curse. "It's.. not that I haven't thought of either option honestly. Either choice has it's major consequences and neither I can see having enough benefits to consider more." She replied to both, unsure honestly of what she really wanted. She craved the need for vengeance, but her fear was that she would just turn into another Kalama and that was the last thing that she wanted to do. She could never be like her and she swore to her partner should that happen, she'd never stop trying to knock sense back into her or kill her altogether. The cycle would have to end somewhere, after all.

"There is something inside of me that this curse unlocked... I can feel it." In that moment of her continuing, she pointed to her chest, roughly near her heart but not directly there. "I have been trying to figure out how to figure out what it is if it had to do with the look this curse afflicted me with, but if it did... I want to know. It doesn't matter if this inner feeling brings me down her path or down the one I truly want, but I am willing to die to find out. She might never forgive me if I went too far, but I don't- don't think I could stomach the idea this turns out to come out and hurt her or someone else I love." Her hand would clench into a fist, held in front of her and tightening more and more nearly to a point that her nails could break skin and begin to bleed.

"I won't let the burden fall solely to her, so my decision is I will master this curse. Whether this means I have to make a deal with a devil or two. Whether I lose a piece of myself again, but I will make sure I don't hurt anyone."

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Almost instinctively, Medeia’s left hand would reach out and gently cover Lehanna’s clenched fist in a soothing manner, the look in her eyes rather soft and motherly. “You will not hurt anyone because we are going to sort this out. What we are going to do is explore your curse, discover its potential and have it serve you rather than the other way around. The woman who cursed you made an error, Lehanna, she has completely underestimated your spirit and truly believes that she has broken you. That is the only reason that I can come up with for why she let you go. If she did not believe that then I do not think that we would be here talking. Mages of darkness are obsessed with control, they desire it, crave it, over not only themselves but everyone else around them. She would not let you go unless she thought you were hers.” It might have just sounded like the words of an experienced mage but it actually was a window into Medeia’s own mind.

“I believe that you may have just stated what the first step is.” She continued after a moment of pause. “You said that you could feel the curse's power within, yes? What I think needs to happen is for you to simply close your eyes and focus inwards. To shut out everything else and to follow this feeling of yours to its core. The only way that you can master the curse is to understand it, only then can you make it yours, to use it as a shield to protect the ones you love.”

Medeia would let go of Lehanna’s hand then and stand up. “I think that such a conversation should take place outside the library though for I doubt the Mistress over there is going to be too happy if we end up making a lot of noise. There are plenty of lovely spots in town, let us find a nice hill or something and you can try to communicate with your curse there. I will wait while you pack up your things.”

To be honest, Lehanna’s curse did not sound all that different from Medeia’s takeover although stating that the Warlord’s was like any other was rather dismissive of her own abilities. Her understanding of the magic transcended any other and she had reached a level of kinship with Priya that no other mage had developed with their own takeover. Whether Lehanna’s journey would be similar was a complete mystery and there was no guarantee that the teenager would learn anything through meditation but sometimes, looking inside oneself was the key to drawing out their power.

She could not help but smile and add, a chuckle escaping her lips. “What is her name? Your girlfriend, I mean, I find it rather sweet that at such a young age you have already found your rock, so to speak.” The question sounded innocent enough but as always with the Warlord, appearances could be deceiving.

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Listening to the words the spilled out of the brunette woman’s mouth was a bit more than she had thought would make a bit of sense but also not seemingly make sense what so ever… Some form of the logic in her thought that made sense was one that was still grasping the use and understanding of how the magical part of the world worked. Harder and harder was it to do so when she had learned of new ways one could obtain it, have it forced upon them, be cursed with abilities they didn’t want. Even some that could warp their mind and being all at once in order to serve them. A similar concept to necromancy without having to reanimate the dead. In the end, it all still didn’t make the kind of logical sense that Lehanna had and was used to herself.

Her hand retracted a bit the second Madeline tried to place her hand on top in a gentle manner. It was a long standing habit that she had from the numerous bad foster homes and even with Elara sometimes her body made the instinctive reflex without her mind really catching on until after it happened. It was guilt riddling to her every time it happened, whether it was with Elara or with Kitalpha, but they both were the only ones she really ever got close to in a way where they could get that far to do so in a more casual manner. What she didn’t expect was for this woman to seem to try and push her way through like she were attempting to be motherly and gain more of a standing with her over it.

The teen made no comment or word as she thought over all the information in her head. She offered no apology for the hand that placed itself on her own. But her hand trembled slightly while her mind was elsewhere until the reality snapped back and it stopped about as quickly as it began. With the woman trying to reinforce the idea they could begin a path to overtake and curve the curses effect into her favor, there felt an inkling of doubt. One for her ability to do so… but also for this woman’s intentions. She couldn’t let the idea go that something wasn’t right, but at the same time she couldn’t let her own paranoia consume her either.

”H-huh!?” For the first time in a while, she felt her face fluster from the comment that was made. In retrospect, maybe she should have specified her adopted mother as well, but she was a very capable person on her own as well. ”I-It umm.. it’s Elara. She and I were uh… in a sorcerer’s magazine article a little ways back in the year. B-But I don’t mean I don’t like boys just because I’m with Ela. I-I just.. we got closer and I didn’t think I could find someone who was there for me like her and-” She stopped, her eyes widening before they began to water a little bit. ”That sounded… really selfish… I-I…” Despite feeling like she could crawl into a ball and sob until she fell asleep in this library, her body would not allow itself to wallow. No tears fell, body shaking with raw feelings of guilt and self hating anger. No, she just stood up and exhaled, trying to control herself while she began to pack her items up. ”She and I used to be foster siblings. But… we weren’t close what so ever. Her family was very umm ‘dismissive’ of me because of my last name. But I guess you can’t help Pergrandian scum. Thankfully for Ela, she grew to be a different person who was lashing out at her parents veil of perfection. The person she truly is… I know deep down I don’t deserve, but I never doubt what feels happy or normal. And yet, I don’t know if I am doing anything wrong or right anymore. I’m sort of winging it and it’s like walking through a minefield. Each step I take I just can’t help but think I’m going to trip on a mine and like that she’ll be out of my life and maybe drive her away from our guild too…”

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The more she heard, the more invested that Medeia felt herself becoming in the young girl before her. There was a great deal to unpack about what Lehanna was saying and the angel found herself with multiple options as to how to proceed. She could follow her original plan, swipe the girl, hold her for a short time and then send her back to her guild or she could get in contact with her allies in Pergrande, where she was sure that someone would be interested in the girl’s story. Medeia fought for them and while she did not particularly care for their politics, they had paid her rather well for her services so far, not to mention providing her with a beautiful prisoner or two for her to entertain herself with from time to time. The relationship was a beneficial one for her.

“I think that it is up to her to decide whether you are worth her affections and from what I have been hearing, she believes you are. The fact that she has stuck by you throughout all your troubles and self doubt is a sign of how much she loves you. If your curse has not driven away then what else possibly could? It is rare in this world to find someone who will stay with you no matter what but I believe that this Elara of yours will do whatever it takes to be with you. Do not push her away, Lehanna, let her in. You are lucky to have her.” Medeia replied gently, briefly thinking about her own circumstances. She had been with many women in her time but none had ever been there for the long term. They had always vanished into the shadow and although the pain had somewhat dulled, the immortal being still desired companionship, even if it was fleeting. The life of a creature such as her was oh so long. “Wandering blindly is what everyone who walks this Earth does, Lehanna. No one knows what tomorrow will bring or what is around the corner but if you spend your time worrying about that then you will waste precious time that could be spent with those you love.”

Medeia would help the girl put away the books that she had finished with, examining the library codes and swiftly returning the books to where they should be. The reason for her doing so was to simply give the teenager a little time to think. The curse might have been the reason for her to be drawn to the girl at first but it was Lehanna’s personal troubles that were now of more interest to the witch. It was the tale of a person that was always the most effective hook for the angel. She desired to know the entirety of this unfortunate girl’s past. Just how cruel had these foster parents been? Who were her true parents? How had she escaped from her torment and travelled to Fiore? Who was the woman who had cursed her? Her woman’s mind was buzzing with interest.

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The woman's words left her speechless for a moment thinking about each sentence. Remembering all the things both serious and trivial that she had been fortunate enough to have Elara by her side. Surely it meant something or maybe she wouldn't have held onto her for so long. And while she thought through those thoughts, she wondered just how much longer did she have in her before she snapped and walked out? Would she even blame her for it? Certainly she didn't think that when she first got cursed. She had to spend weeks perfecting disguising herself in her normal appearance to keep up a charade, but something about being in Elara vicinity made her unable to bottle anything up.

When the woman stepped away with a stack of her books, seemingly to put them away, Lehanna packed the last couple books away into her bag and flipped over the top to her messenger bag. By the time that Madeline would return, Lehanna would have her bag rested over her shoulder and ready to go, meanwhile her mind would be locked on the idea if she was right about things. "Sometimes.. I wonder if that luck is its' own curse..." She muttered, sighing softly and pushing both the chairs to their table in while waiting for the brunette's return. "Can I really afford to lose her though? Or Mama Kita? All of Silver Wolf? After all I've put them through since I joined, do I really have any right to carry on burdening any of them?" She didn't bother thinking them, just simply carrying a solo, soft spoken conversation with herself until the woman would come into sight to her.

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While she was returning the books, Medeia would begin to create her plan, both for teaching the girl about her curse, as well as what she would do when the time came to claim her. The thought of allowing Lehanna to simply walk away was not an option that the witch considered. Her lessons always came with a price and since she would no longer be receiving the girl’s curse, the witch instead mused that taking her hostage would be a fair consolation. What she would do with her next was a question that she was still considering. Keep her, sell her to Pergrande or return her with a message for her Guild Mistress. All possibilities and all of which had their risks. What would she do? What would give her the most pleasure and benefit her the most? Decisions, decisions.

After about five minutes, she would return to the girl, having returned all of the books she had taken, ready to leave. She could see that Lehanna appeared to be ready as well and with a smile she would speak. “Are you ready to go? There are plenty of nice spots around here for us to work and I am sure that we will be able to make some progress today. Just remember what your goal is and who you want to protect. Those are the two things that will keep you grounded, regardless of whether your curse likes being bothered or not. Keep Elara and everyone else you love close to your heart.”

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Her eyes trailed around the library walls. Her mind lost in a myriad of places between her own paranoid delusions of bad situations hitting just the absolute worst outcomes to simple flashbacks of herself sitting at this and other tables around the library reading and studying. Different times, different atmospheres as well. If only she could go back to being that younger self blindly studying and ignoring the rest of the world once again. Unfortunately now, Lehanna could not afford the idea of being so ignorant to the world outside of her own head. The experiences and traumas placed on her since then had robbed her of that ability and though she would kill to have it back, she had to adjust and adapt if she wished to prevent another incident from happening.

Adjusting the strap of her back on her shoulder, she placed an ovular shaped cushion fixed to the strap to help with comfort of using the bag as it was intended when the brunette would approach her once again. She started right off asking if she was ready to go, to which she received a nod in return. She wasn’t so comfortable talking at the moment while she thought about the words she spoke. It was a bit hard to really grasp the idea with the way the curse had plagued her mind and how it functioned. At the very least, it didn’t change how she thought or acted so it wasn’t exactly so bad. Still, the lack of emotional outlet was a little troublesome as much as it was a blessing to her.

Generally, Lehanna seemed to speak more than she had to. It was a bit of a struggle when she wanted the facts out and in place, however she didn’t much care this time. She had the impression that a little information and public at that was no real harm to the situation at all. Anyone that found her name could trace it back to the magazine article and place Elara together to being close with her. That rid her of feeling guilt over bringing the other teen into this… at least for now. But if anything were to happen to her or to Kitalpha because of this or anything after… well, she didn’t want to think of that scenario, but she would probably do things she never wanted to do. Still, the teen said not a word and simply followed the brunette out of the library, hopefully towards somewhere much more isolated from people for both her mental clarity and the chance of discovering abilities that might harm innocent people too.

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With Lehanna seemingly ready, Medeia would lead the teenager out of the library, heading for a particular spot that she and Terumi had visited after their fight. Normally, the angel would have just flown off with the fire mage but she was just so sweet that the witch had agreed to simply spending some hours together in the town. It was her only encounter with a mage of Sabertooth and that was mainly why the dark mage did not have the same affinity with that guild as she did with either Silver Wolf or Luminous Rose. Medeia needed to form a connection or two before taking an interest in a certain group.

The area of her choice was a little way outside the town, far enough that it would be safe should Lehanna have some kind of reaction to the training but close enough to be in easy reach should it be needed. Medeia was confident that would not be the case though, as she was more than powerful enough to deal with whatever the curse could throw. She truly did not wish to hurt the girl but accidents could happen during training, especially when an unknown factor was involved.

Reaching the top of a hill after about fifteen minutes of walking or so, Medeia would make a hand gesture to the girl to come to a stop, with the witch taking a seat under a large apple tree that was close by. “This should do the trick.” She would say with a smile. “Take a seat and we can get started with the training.”

She was rather curious about whether the girl was capable of mastering her curse and the dark mage could not help but wonder about just what secrets it possessed. Was the girl’s appearance a window into the powers that it could bring? Lehanna did look rather like a takeover come to life and Medeia pondered if that had anything to do with it. Anyway, she would find out soon enough.

“If you have any questions for me before we start then it would probably be best to ask them now.” The brunette then remarked. “Curses are a strange form of magic and once you start interacting with yours, it may be a while before you get another chance to ask. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe but we are treading into the unknown a little here.”

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The trek that they had taken towards the location that Madeline wanted to use for an area of training was something untold to her. Yet as she had her eye on the exit of the city towards the hillside outskirts of the town, it became clear she decided it was better to be away from the people of the town than it was to be cautious from her being too close to people should their attempts at playing with the curse sour in the wrong ways. That was her real worry with trying to master this curse would be that experimenting with it would cause the curse to adversely affect her --and certainly not for the better.

Once they cleared the towns exit and climbed the hills, Madeline seemed to decide this to be the best spot for them to set up shop, so to speak. While they had come upon a bit of an interesting choice, the teen peered up to the apples hanging in the trees before she returned her attention to the woman before her. With directions to take a seat, Lehanna removed her bag from her shoulder and set it down before turning to the trunk of the tree and silently looking at it. This particular tree had a few light indents lower down in the trunks length, though by now it had been raised a slight bit from the trees growth. Did she pick this one on purpose or was this just merely coincidence?

"You know, I used to sit up here quite often when I moved to Fiore." She said, running her hand along the impressions in the trunk. Swiftly, her hand collected into a fist and hit the tree, cracking the trunks bark some. The tree rustled and with it, a pair of apples fell right into the ebony haired girls hands. Turning around, she wiped one apple against her dress before biting into it with a loud crunch and then setting the other onto her bag. "Coming to this country with no money was a tough chore and I often had to make due with what I could, but I didn't eat much at all either. So, this tree was often a haven for many reasons. Feel free to have the other apple, by the way. They're very juicy and sweet." She offered, seating herself beside the bag and then taking another bite of the apple.

It didn't take her but a moment before she unhooked the flap of her bag and removed a completely empty notebook. Placing it upon her lap, she retrieved a pen as well and then placed it on top. Slipping the top back on, she simply held the pair up towards the brunette while taking one more large chunk of her apple and swallowing it before she would answer her. "Please just take notes and put them in this book for me? I want to be able to study the notes in my free time and learn from this lesson to only better my chances the next time I experiment in my free time. If I don't recall anything I've done, it will help me to know what may need to be noted or excluded from future experimentations in this ongoing venture. And feel free to make a copy for your own records if you want. The more research is out there, the more we can help those afflicted in the future to prevent this from happening to others. Without education, we're all just fabric wearing cavemen." She noted, expressing her desire and necessity of taking and keeping her notes as much as she could.

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Listening with interest as Lehanna spoke about her past, Medeia would take the offered apple and take a bite, appreciating the sweet taste. The coincidence could have been seen as something more but that is all it actually was, just a place that the brunette had spent some time at and come to to enjoy. The view was lovely and she and Terumi had spent a happy hour here or so. Medeia wondered where the slayer was now, not having heard anything about her for quite some time. The odds were high that she had just vanished into the abyss like so many other of her friends add, much to the unhappiness of the witch. Those she met were considered to be ‘her girl’s’ and Medeia was incredibly fond of them although their views of her were all across the board. Some loved her and some could not stand her. Did it make any difference to her? No. “I hope that once we have finished for the day, you will be willing to tell me a little more about your past. It is rare to find someone so young to have travelled quite as far as you have. You must have been through a lot, even before the curse came into the picture.”

Medeia raised an eyebrow when Lehanna offered her a pen and an empty notebook but after listening to the explanation, it made perfect sense to her. Taking the items in hand, she would flip open the notebook and turn to the first page, prepared to take notes. “I will be as thorough as I can and I promise that I will not let anything important pass me by. You will get a full record of what takes place here. You have my word on that.” It was a sound suggestion and Medeia had spent enough time during her own studies to know the importance of accurate information. Her topic of interest was actually history and even before she had become the being she was today, Medeia had spent many a day exploring the mysteries of Desierto. Now, the world was her historical site.

Turning towards the business at hand, she would shift her position a little so that she was comfortable and then turn to the girl again. “Right. What I would like for you to do is to close your eyes and focus inwards. You told me before that you felt something had been unlocked, yes? Try and find the source of that feeling and pull it to the surface. I am not saying that this will be painless or if you will even be successful the first time but try it out and see. I will be right here in any case.”

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Lehanna simply stared without saying a word when she heard the comment from the brunette’s mouth about wanting to hear more about her past. She said no words, but her eyes glared without any real expression over her face either. It was as though she expressed all of her emotions through them now, conveyed with the mask of the curse blinding the world from her emotions. This wasn’t a glaring look of anger as though she wished to tell her off and seem defensive. She just hated retelling the tale of her childhood and her lack of enjoying it in any way shape or form except the sparse fortunes of a peaceful time in some foster homes. Falling through for one reason or another, she had come to be tossed into the pit of hell that was another horrid environment.

”That… is honestly none of your business. And though I am grateful for everything you have done and are doing, I am afraid I’m going to decline that from you. If I keep retelling my past demons, I can’t move past them and work towards the future that I want.” She replied, having swallowed the last bit and then tossing the core of the apple against the tree root. ”I will not be shackled by my childhood. When my goals are achieved in my life, I am going to be sure to do whatever I can to keep others from suffering the same issues. So I am going to ask you not bring it back up again or I will get up and leave.” It wasn’t her intention that she be blunt and abrasive over it, however Lehanna couldn’t really sound different. The curse robbed her of sounding like most emotional inflections of her voice.

Giving a nod towards her assurance of her notes on the upcoming experiment, Lehanna turned to her own goals and took in a deep breath of air, then exhaled. Relaxing herself and trying to focus now, she would close her eyes and breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth. She tried to follow the woman’s words like a medium, trying to reach inside of herself in a sea of darkness in search of the light. But, as she did so, she could only see what looked to be the faint glow of the moonlight. Casting out to show the a single path among the darkness, black roots much like that from dozens of old and dead trees protruded from the darkness and yet none dared touch this pathway.

The ebony haired teen began to walk through the path, her eyes scanning from side-to-side while she tried to see something ready to jump from the shadows at her. Her body in the meantime had remained calm and still, as though she were in a trance-like state of deep meditation. Though what Madeline would see would be a small black dragon form of shadows beneath Lehanna’s body that were no larger than her arm in overall size. It simply floated around, semi-ethereal and examining the teen before catching the attendance of the witch. The shadow like being would circle around its hosts body and glare at Madeline like a spectral guard dog.

Lehanna soon arrived at the entrance to a large church. The building was run down and infested with ancient, black tree roots and vines breaking through the walls, cracking in other areas. The doors that once looked of sturdy oak now stained with rot and rust. One door cracked open while the other day off of one hinge. Slowly, the door was pushed open and leaving a loud creaking sound before the other hinge would snap. A loud crash of the door rang throughout the church, but what caught her eye was a dark, glowing light in the nearby distance. Sitting up by the alter was an orb sitting on a pedestal. While she made her way through, trying to get to the source of this light, her eyes continued to watch her surroundings as though she would be attacked at any moment.

Each step getting closer and closer made her body slowly growing with slight trembling. Her mind racing with the curiosity and fear of what resided inside this. ”I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.” A voice called out. Her hand immediately stopped and she looked all around. Nothing could be seen or heard, but a cocky chuckle that echoed through the churches interior. ”And what would you know about this? Or do you plan to hide in the shadows like a coward. Tch. It reminds me of that pathetic blonde bimbo that afflicted me with this curse.” When she finished those words, a figure appeared before her. Glowing red eyes peering right into her own, her features similar to her own except the green colored features of her body were as black as the shadows. Her hair stark white and a crazed scowl on her face. [color:6597=ccff00]”Now now, no need to talk to our master like that. What you see before you is the chamber of your powers, but a little brainiac like you had probably figured that out by now, haven’t you~” She chuckled, backing away from the teens face and beginning to circle around her slowly.

”So this is what’s been here the whole time, huh? So I take it my actual lineage is lost within the corruption of the curse, I take it? Well, why don’t you educate me a little bit. After all, you seem like you have a good head on your shoulders, except for the fact you look like a cheap knockoff look of myself. I mean, seriously. You would think that ugly prick could come up with at least a half decent evil persona to you with my mind.” A coy smirk came from the teens mouth, her eyes focusing at her curse manifested counterpart, seeing it visibly getting angered. ”You watch your tongue, brat! The master does not care for looks! It’s just about the POWER! The power she GAVE YOU! The gift she bestowed on you in place of that pathetic little magic!” This variant of her seemed extremely unhinged and driven wild with her emotions. Maybe this had been where her leftover emotions were stowed away.

A swift jump forward forced the shadow incarnate to the wall, one hand of Lehanna’s gripped tightly around her throat, squeezing it tight while her eyes conveyed the most anger she had ever displayed since getting cursed. ”Your ‘master’ is a pathetic coward. Look at you, you’re so high strung on your emotions more than I did before being afflicted. Did you know if you apply the right torque, you can snap the human neck with one hand? Wouldn’t that be quite unfortunate? But, I’m no idiot. You’re not real and therefore would simply respawn from the shadows and the curse to make you good as new. However, do not misconstrue this for mercy. I’m simply saving energy on you. Now be a good mutt and sit and wait for your master to call on you like the dog you are.” She would release her grip, letting the other version of herself fall onto the floor before moving back towards the orb at the alter.

She circled the alter several times, examining the scene and implanting the look into her mind. Making sure to go back with extra information, her hand finally found itself reaching towards it. Before she could touch the orb, something caught her eye. Pergrandian text inscribed on the alter itself had made her hand trail down and brush away the shadow roots without any effort. Her hand slid along the alter itself, reading out each word like it were an ancient scripture. Partially torn papers showing fractured statements of which included “divine dragon” and “Azur knight”. It had been that moment of reaching towards part of the notes that her hand brushed against the orb and a bright light flashed from it.

Her eyes suddenly shot open from her relaxed state, seemingly shocked and surprised by what happened and that she had come to from her meditative state. ”What in the world…” She muttered, looking down at her hands and then up to the woman. It was then she realized the floating ethereal dragon looking to her and her hand reached up to gingerly touch it with her index finger. But not of pure curiosity. No, this was a familiar thing a pet owner would do with their small animal. ”I have… many more questions than answers, but certainly didn’t leave without a couple of them. What did you happen to see while I was in that state?”

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On that occasion, Medeia would nod her head in response to the girl’s request, willing to rein in her curiosity in the girl’s past for the time being. The next time she asked, the situation would be rather different and the Warlord would not be quite so accommodating then. She had to admit that she somewhat respected the teenager’s candour and spirit though. There was a fire to her that few youngsters her age seemed to have. She had the aura of someone far older and more experienced in the ways of the world, which only caused Medeia’s interest to rise.

Once the girl had followed her instructions, Medeia would focus on the notebook and soon enough began to scribble, noting down every muttered word that occasionally escaped the girl. That was all that she was able to discern at first, leaving the Warlord slightly frustrated at the seemingly lack of reaction but she soon enough smothered that feeling. Such things took time and as she had stated herself, it sometimes took more than one attempt. Her patience would soon enough pay off though and an eyebrow raised as she watched the girl.

For Lehanna would start to emit an aura from her person, dark and intense, her reptile-like features briefly becoming more pronounced. It was most certainly unusual and Medeia would quickly flip to a new page and start to sketch the girl, her artistic skills being put to the test. It was a purely academic piece and the Warlord was able to fight off the temptation to take liberties. Lehanna wanted an accurate portrayal and that was what she would get. It honestly did look a bit like a takeover but there was more to it than that. It was as if the girl was becoming a dragon rather than just having certain parts of her body transform. The witch momentarily thought that she would find herself fighting with a fully grown dragon which was certainly not something she had done for quite some time.

It was just as Medeia was finishing her sketch that Lehanna started to revert back to her base form, if you will, her features become more as they were when the witch had met her. The girl was still muttering though and there was not a word that escaped her that the emerald eyed woman missed, another blank page soon covered in the handwriting of the ancient being.

It did not appear as though Lehanna was done with her meditation though, as a small creature would then form beside the girl. It looked rather like Lehanna had previously and as Medeia moved to make a quick sketch of the dragon, the girl would awaken and start to speak. The angel would wait until she was finished before answering, flicking back to her picture of Lehanna, she would hand the notebook over to the girl. “You started to release an aura, one that was rather dark and heavy. The most striking moments were the moments afterwards though, when your body actually started to change."

The sketch would speak a thousand words.

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For a moment, Lehanna took in the peace and quiet of the chirping birds and not the eerie darkness of her own infected inner world. When one thought of inner silence, there was a zen way of seeing it, then there was purely deafness among the darkness and frankly that was not something she thought to even enjoy at all. With her attention temporarily focused on the spectral form coiled around her, she seemed at bit at ease and readjusting back to the reality outside of her inner self. Though what Madeline didn’t know had been the kind of clarity that she had discovered that frankly Lehanna had not had about this creature that she discovered in that time. It became clear this was no enemy, but another suffering soul of herself looking out for her. Something stronger than Kalama’s influence.

Directing her attention to the notebook being presented to her, Lehanna took it gently from the woman’s hands and began to go over her notes. Flipping through the couple pages she used for notes, she was quite impressed with her penmanship and her note taking. Nothing written was overly complicated or vague. It seemed to be made direct and placed appropriately as someone witnessing real time and trying to keep full account. Though the experience in the notes she had seen from others outside of published books were nothing short of being very particular to the person. It was then that she flipped the next page to see the sketch that was made. She almost didn’t recognize it at first glance until she began to look over the image more closely and it seemed to come to her after that.

”That’s quite the talent you have there. Though a little exaggerated in my opinion.” The teen picked her head up from the book and sighed, having blanked out despite hearing the words and still spoke as though she didn’t hear her at all. ”Sorry, I got a little caught up comparing. You said this happened while I was meditating?” Lehanna paused, skimming back through the notes and then back up to her observational companion. ”I take it there were no color changes? I seeee there are some muttered words- huh…” Her eyes stumbled on some of the words written down and pieced them to the teens own conversation with that maniacal version of afflicted self. That devoted mutt she nearly snapped the neck of just to shut her up. Thankfully that part wasn’t there…

”I appreciate the note keeping. I can’t say for sure there was any comparison I feel between what you saw and what I experienced, however that might take some time as well. But, I have some headway, so there is progress that I don’t plan to step backwards from. Nothing related to the curse itself though, unfortunately.” Even Lehanna shoved her hand right to her bag for a spare pen and then jotted down a couple extra notes. Reminders in Pergrandian of things she saw, even more ancient text she had remembered but had no idea what it could be. Something for research material or to ask around at a later point when she felt she had the opportunity.

”Do you have any more ideas in mind? I’m aware that pushing myself might hinder the progress, but I am also not looking to do another meditation session. I don’t really feel different either, but it wasn’t something that I could think would only end there.”

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The cursed girl seemed relatively satisfied with the progress they had made and so Medeia saw no reason to not simply call it a day there. She did not want to overly push the teenager and the Warlord believed that there was at least something for Lehanna to look into. As far as the witch was concerned, that was enough for her to feel that she had already done her part and the time to claim her pay, so to speak, was close at hand. She was not going to give the girl any more than the minimum and so Medeia merely followed through on her previous thought and ended things there, allowing the girl to take her notes. The dark mage was unconcerned that the teenager knew her handwriting, as that was easy for her to change on a whim, such was her mastery of the deceptive arts. So, the two would part, after Medeia had told Lehanna what she wished to know and the witch would watch as the young girl walked away, every step she took being carefully examined.

It would not be long before Medeia was watching her again either, for no sooner had Lehanna vanished out of sight, the brunette would transform herself completely. Her soft and gentle appearance would change to that of a cold assassin, her face scarred and body more physically capable than her previous form. Honestly, she had just invented it on a whim but as she glanced down and looked herself over, she was quite happy with the look. Before pursuing the girl, she would find a nearby mirror and vainly stare and the woman staring back at her caused her to smile. Crimson red hair, with a powerful and icy blue gaze. Naturally, her figure was still relatively curvy, for there was no way her ego was going to accept anything else than that, even if the form was only going to be used for a short space of time.

Once she was satisfied, the woman would raise the hood of her cloak over her head and quietly start to follow the girl. She did not look all that different from some of the other wanderers, so did not stand out too much but using her enhanced sense of smell, she could certainly detect Lehanna, her curse having that unusual scent about it. Her curiosity in the girl was at an all time high and while she had yet to decide what she wished to do with the teenager, her goal was clear. To take her from here and back to the guild prison, where she could satiate her thirst for knowledge, as well as figure the final step.

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