10936/Round in Circles

Round in Circles
Date of Scene:	27 April 2022
Location:	Wayne Estate - Bristol Township
Synopsis:	Phoebe attempts a scrying canticle she'd picked up in a bar after finding Cassandra Cain hasn't checked in among the Bats and Donna Troy is missing from the Titans via Jon Sims. Julia Pennyworth finds using ritual knives gauche, Damian shows concern for Phoebe when the scrying circle goes awry, and Austin remains the relatively unflappy bird of the group. Phoebe lets the three in on the most important magic lesson she was ever taught: It's OK to puke.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Julia Pennyworth, Damian Wayne, Austin Reese

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Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It was a cloudy, gray day over Bristol Township, threatening an early evening rain, cooler temperatures coming up the coast from the sea. The grounds that Phoebe had picked out to test a theory were at the edges of the recorded property and a little more into the woods, near a massive beech tree that had partially grown over a large rock. Here, Phoebe had marked out a complex looking circle on the ground, a good fifteen feet across. THere was a brassy-gold looking bowl in the middle of the circle, and the place smelled a little bit like burning juniper and cypress and the sweet smell of citrusy frakensense.

    Phoebe herself was there, with her leather go-bag recognizable by those who'd seen her at work with the occult. Her hair has been bleached, and is braided back in wandering lines, the tips faded to a light pinkish orange as a pair of orange acetate glasses hang on her nose as she reviews the spell in a leather book.

    She has a green-handled knife in one hand, and has rolled the left sleeve of a button-up shirt to her elbow.

Julia Pennyworth has posed:
While not one of the bats themselves, Julia had been familiarizing herself with the grounds and the family themselves. Even so she wasn't a butler like her father, and doing such things as cleaning and cooking weren't her forte. Still in the military mindset, sitting still for too long was something that was driving her quite batty, to borrow a pun. Precisely why she's out jogging through the grounds. Partially for the exercise, partially to learn the literal lay of the land. Already she'd spotted several cameras and motion sensors that would have been very well hidden to the untrained eye.

It's sheer chance that she happens toward the area where Phoebe is. Chance, and the smell of perfumed smoke wafting on the wind. Curious she heads closer... and closer... Until she spots the source of such scents.

It's while Phoebe has that knife in hand with such a suspiciously rolled sleeve that she announces her presence with a very curt, "Are you supposed to be doing that, young lady?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Damian is...well, he's always patrolling the grounds and seeing what's going on. Plus he knows this is one of Phoebe's hideouts. His favorite thing in the world these days is pretending he dislikes his sister, who seems to be one of his favorite people around the manor ironically. Just don't tell her that. Or tell Damian that you tell her that.

    The odd scent rides the breeze to Damian's sharp nose. He frowns and moves more quickly in that direction. As he rounds a tighter copse of trees he says, "Who's smoking weed out here? Father is going to be furious."

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin was actually about to head into the city proper, and had been looking for Phoebe to see if she wanted to go with him and hang out. So he was wandering around looking for her. When he hadn't found her in any of her usual haunts, he had wandered out onto the grounds. He never really got over how big this place was.

It was chance that when he wandered out into the grounds he spotted Damian, if only for a second. But it was enough to make him curious. So he headed that way, working his way towards the outer edge of the grounds, before finally spotting the gathering through the trees. He emerges from the trees, not too far from Damian, "Actually it's legal in this state now if you're old enough. Though I can still understand why he wouldn't want us doing it."

But when he spots Phoebe, he assumes it's not actually weed, "What the hell is goin' on?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "If I'm going to continue any sort of occult study while I live here -- yes?" Phoebe replies, without looking at Julia. She's not the World's Best Liar, but it's clear that Bruce might *not* approve of what's going on.

    Damian and Austin's voices come then, and Phoebe appears to let her shoulders down a moment as she looks at her magic circle around her, and then gives a puff of air upwards.

    "It's certainly *not* weed. What do I look like?" she asks, looking at Damian in particular and raising her eyebrow. "Don't you know the smell of Frankincense?" she questions Damian as if she's moderately surprised.

    And Austin gets A Look, and she breathes out.

    "I'm testing a scrying canticle I picked up off a scouse wizard in a bar one night."

Julia Pennyworth has posed:
"There are far cleaner and safer ways to extract blood than with a ritual knife though," Julia points out. Crossing her arms over her chest, one hand lifts to gesture at Phoebe with a quick two-fingered tap to the inside of her elbow. It was a gesture suggesting she could just *draw* blood. It wasn't as if the manor didn't have such supplies readily available.

A tip of her head is given in greeting toward the others as they both come along. "Austin. Wayne." Since Damian called her by her last name she was doing the same for him. Really though it was a bit familiar a habit for her to do as it was.

Damian Wayne has posed:
    "Pennyworth," Damian greets the person whom he basically assumes is the auxiliary butler.

    To Austin: "Yes, the criminals and beatniks have finally won. It's a sad state of affairs."

    Then finally, to Phoebe: he simply frowns as he sits cross-legged on the ground. But man he looks so happy to be disapproving of one of his favorite people. He's...he's pretty fucking weird.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Cleaner, maybe. However they lack style and drama." Phoebe replies to Julia. "And sometimes magic hates it when you try to take shortcuts, like a complicated baking recipie -- only worse things happen than a cake falling and you end up de-aging your teammates to second-graders or accidentally setting someone's shirt on fire." Phoebe replies, and she goes to her pack, sheathing the dagger at her hip and drawing out some beeswax candles, and she walks around the edge of the circle, giving a quiet look to Damian and to Austin, and then she begins to affix the candles in the ground.

    "I figured if my scrying cantacle can be tested and prove useful I'll have the excuse to build the circle up, but it requires certain energy..."

    And she makes a face. Her nose wrinkles up.

    "Aaaand let's just say blood letting is probably the easiest and cleanest. Now. All of you should probably stay outside the circle."

Julia Pennyworth has posed:
Julia Pennyworth remains standing where she is. It was out of the way enough after all, and she didn't really intend to get in the way of magic. There were enough things she'd seen during her time in the Middle East that she knew there was something more to this 'magic' thing than just superstitions, but she hadn't actually gotten to watch such a thing completely before. As much as she feels like she ought to be the nagging adult here her curiosity wins out.

"Fair, yet it's rather easy to judge incorrectly and cut yourself more than intended. Also..." Her eyes narrow a little bit skeptically. "Those are some very specific possibilities you just rattled off." Suspicious. Either way she shakes her head with a sigh. "At least have a backup around in case you need a save when you do these things."

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Damian remains seated on the grass, watching with equal parts curiosity and disinterest, blending together like only he can. "You can cut me if you want," the teen says with casual matter-of-factness. "If Pennyworth is anywhere near as good as her grandfather, she can stitch me up after." Did he just compliment Alfred? This is what happens when the air is filled with the aroma of not-weed.

Austin Reese has posed:
"Kid why do you talk like a 1950s TV dad?" Austin does ask of Damian, and then he listens to the explination coming from Phoebe. He listens, though the spell sounds like it could be useful, except for the whole needing blood thing, "I'll stand over here.."

He makes sure he's outside of the circle, as he looks over at Julia, "You think I should run back into the manor and grab some bandages?" He wonders, since Phoebe will be bleeding. Although he knows her she may have already brought something to stop the bleeding. He still doesn't get all this magic stuff, but he's at least willing to approach it with an open mind, even if he doesn't understand it.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe breathes out as she makes her way to the middle of the circle again.

    "Won't be required, and don't worry, everyone. I've... got a couple of tricks." Phoebe replies quietly, with a small smile "After all, my specialty is 'team heals'", and she draws down a moment, kneeling by the . The candles are set in place as she breathes out, and then wrinkles her nose, and pats herself up and down.

    "Where... did I..." she murmurs, and she pulls out a few plant clippings -- also not weed -- and she crushes them in her hand, and drops them into the brassy bowl. Frankincense and cypress and juniper sweet and citrusy around them.

    "Ignis accendit lucernas in circuitu." she states -- and the five white candles around the circle sputter to life, and she draws up to a stand, making sure everyone is outside the circle.

Julia Pennyworth has posed:
"He speaks like that because he's cultured and shit," Julia replies in regards to Damian's method of speaking. It's just stated off-hand and with a nod given toward the Wayne in question at the apparent compliment. "Plus he's probably a MENSA member."

As the candles flare up she takes a half step back, keeping her heels sharp together and knees loose rather than locking them. Just in case she needs to move quickly in either direction--toward or away. "What are you trying to search for, though?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Damian flashes Austin a chilling look. "Call me kid one more time and see what happens."

    Julia's remark gives Damian a rare smile. "Cultured and shit. I like that phrase. I'm trying to imagine what it would sound like if your father said that." Then is an actually halfway decent Alfred impression he says, "Master Bruce, you are quite cultured and shit."

    But once Phoebe starts doing her thing, even arrogant Damian shuts up and watches with what would approximate wide-eyed wonder.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin catches the look from Damian, and makes mental note, "Sure, won't happen again." He says, and he means it when he says it. He isn't the type to call someone something they hate.

So for now he shuts up and watches Phoebe, his head tilting a little bit.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Now comes the hard part. Now, no one freak out. I've done this dozens of times." she warns the assembled onlookers, and she takes her green-handled knife from her side, holds it in her right hand, and stabs into her left arm right below her wrist. She draws upwards, closing her eyes, her nose wrinkling again as she concentrates on the pain, drawing the blade up towards her elbow.

    The brassy bowl beneath collects, but the savvy onlooker would see that the wound is already closing up. Phoebe takes the soaked tip and taps it against the metal bowl, which resounds like a large, brass gong. Far too much resonance for such a little bit of metal.

    "Zisurru, ka-inim-ma,, zi-suthur, nig-baul, ul-gaal, Bu*ru*, DAH-kham." she intones.

    The fire flares up. The circle begins to glow with power. Fire appears in the brass bowl and the smell of not-weed is briefly covered by the acrid smell of burning blood.

    For a split second, Phoebe has no shadow, even as the light's cast upwards from the circle in a rose-gold and electric blue pattern. There are rose-gold lines and patterns tracing up phoebe's hands, coming up to her chin as she tries to force the issue and then --

    Her eyes open wide. The rose-gold of the magic leaves them, and she appears to choke on something. She drops back down, the bowl smoke going black as she coughs and gags.

Julia Pennyworth has posed:
Julia Pennyworth fixes her attention solely on the practitioner currently in the circle as things really 'begin' so far as this incantation goes. Still tense she watches with a studious scowl that she didn't really intend but which happened none the less. This was all new to her, and it wasn't the sort of 'magic' that was doves and scarves.

When the flames flare up so suddenly she twitches resisting the urge to step back further. Instead she raises a hand to cup over her eyes blocking out the worst of the light while squinting in Phoebe's direction as the girl begins to cough and hack. "Oi, go upwind in the future. You okay?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
    And we all know that nonchalant, disaffected Damian doesn't care about his siblings, right? But when Phoebe drops down and start coughing and gagging Damian is instantly to his feet. So fluid and acrobatic are his movements that there is no real in-between state. He simple goes from sitting cross-legged on the ground to standing in an instant.

    "Phoebe?" he asks suddenly. He takes a step toward her but seems hesitant to break the perimeter of the magic circle. Such things -- and worse! -- were commonplace on Infinity Isle. He has seen firsthand the grave dangers of breaching magical perimeters, both for the breacher and the practitioner. Still, he looks like he's just one stressor away from rushing into that circle.

    He looks quickly at Austin and Julia. For a moment, he's a worried teen, not an arrogant prick. Sometimes it's difficult to remember that there is a human being in there somewhere. But to be fair, he brings that on himself. "Is she okay?" he blurts out to them quickly.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin holds his position, though he isn't happy just holding back when the smoke starts to rapidly change color and Phoebe starts to cough and choke, "Phoebe! You okay?!" He calls out, motioning to Damian to keep back, even as Damian hesitates to go in, "She knows what she's doing, we have to trust her." He says, though he is also very clearly trying not to run in himself.

If there's one thing he has learned from all of this, it's that he could make it worse if he tries to get involved, "I trust you Phoebe, just keep doing what you need to!" He calls out, even though there's probably no need to yell.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe coughs, and it's clear that there's a minor struggle, and she holds up her hand, gets down on her knees and takes a deeeep breath, and then releases the word:

    "/Balls/"

    And she reaches out, and closes both hands to make the candles go out.

    "I'm okay!" she calls out, and then softer "I'm okay. It's okay. There was a ward I wasn't expecting to encounter. Second rule of magic: it's okay to puke."

    And she settles back on her legs, looking green around the gills as she stares with a thousand-yard look out towards the mansion.

    "... that sucked."

Julia Pennyworth has posed:
Julia Pennyworth remains stiff but unyeilding where she stays. This was unfamiliar enough she was just going to pay attention and hope that nothing was TOO wrong. When Damian lunges forward she glances at him noticing even his hesitance to enter the circle. Just as she's about to respond, Phoebe does as well causing her to let out a sigh of apparent relief.

"Figured she just got a face full of smoke," she reasons as her arms drop back to her side. A slight shake of her head is given. "Generally I find if you're getting sick it's not good either way. Get out of that circle and head back to the manor when you feel up to it," she 'suggests' as she starts back for the mansion herself.

"I'll have something for you to drink and pepto for your stomach ready. You both make sure she actually gets back to the mansion, please." Then she turns to jog off intending to do just what she said.

Damian Wayne has posed:
    There is a deep frown on Damian's face, like someone who was terrified of losing someone, finds out that that someone is fine, and then doesn't know how to process their emotions so ends up being angry for being "put through that." Forgive him, please. His life has been a bit of a shit show.

    He growls and turns and just...runs off through the woods. Good luck keeping up with him without magic or a motorcycle. He's *literally* a ninja.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin sighs a little bit once everyone's sure that Phoebe is okay, "I still got something I gotta do in town. Was gonna ask if you wanted to go but after that I'm gonna guess not." He says, as he glances at Juliua, nodding, "Well if Damian had to go, I'll get her back inside." He says, as he moves to help Phoebe, and guide her back towards the house, "Once we get you settled in, I'll run do what I need to. Then when I get back you can tell me what it is you're looking for with that spell. Maybe I can help look for it non-magically."