2360/The Doing of Things

The Doing of Things
Date of Scene:	06 July 2020
Location:	A Church with a capital C
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Ella Normandy, Nessa Donovan

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Ella Normandy has posed:
    The Irenaeus Parish is the kind of church that reminds Vampirella of Europe: great spires of gray stone stabbing skyward like daggers, decorated with rings filled with stained glass and full of statues to people who, if they ever lived in the first place, definitely didn't look quite so much like movie stars. It's not the architecture or the interior design that brought Vampirella here, though.

    She emerges not from the enormous front doors with their flight of stairs (and recently added accessibility ramp), but from a small side door in the dark. Her gait is lazy to the point of nearly swaying on her ankles, and she's dressed as herself, not as Ella Normandy. It's a risk, of course, but sometimes you just have to take off the mask and be yourself. Besides, in this darkness, who could possibly see her emerging?

Nessa Donovan has posed:
While Nessa wasn't an especially religious person, her family was. That, of course, often meant errands to and from churches for community events and the like. It was that purpose that brought her to the church, but not that reason that she stayed in it. The beautiful architecture did draw her in, mostly because she was comparing it to the buttresses and beams of the ice palace that had been created before her in Queens. Just as detailed, but one took moments and the other certainly countless hours.

The other reason she stays, however, is the growing sense of magic. There's something nearby, something close, so instead of approaching or looking for it, she stays where she is. She waits, like someone watching for a butterfly to land on a flower, not wanting to scare it off by movement or approach.

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella is probably some kind of magic. She neither knows nor cares. She just continues her leisurely, satisfied stroll down the alley into the darkness, which her eyes are perfectly fine with. Her skin, no less sensitive than her eyes, is aware of a chilly area somewhere behind her, but she thinks nothing of it: probably just an air conditioner or something, right?

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa's not trying to follow too closely, she's not /trying/ to be nosy. The long and short of it is that in order to understand magic better, you have to research it. This is a particular brand of something she hasn't encountered before... so she's researching. It's a gentle pace. She doesn't even rely on visuals, she simply feels for where the magic is and doesn't let it drift too far away.

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Humans would say it's not easy to walk silently in a stone-lined alley while wearing high-heeled boots. For Vampirella, it's a reflex so simple it doesn't bear thought. What does merit actual consideration is the shuffling gait behind her, the rustle of clothes, the sound of breathing, the feeling of approaching cold. Interestingly, there is no scent of monstrosity in the air; but that only means the thing trailing her is not her prey. It does not exclude the thing from being her enemy. Probably one of the superhumans that seem to be every ten feet or so in this town, maybe one who saw her outfit and decided she must be a hero or a villain who needs to be ambushed.

    Well, Vampirella's never been afraid of an ambush.

    She stops in her tracks and turns to examine the thing following her. It looks like a human woman, wearing typically human clothes rather than the kind of action suit she might expect. She waits to be hailed or, possibly, stumbled into; the human doesn't seem to have especially adequate nightvision.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
It's a good thing that Nessa isn't trying to ambush anyone. She's not being particularly silent, she's just being careful not to intrude. It's almost respectful. While she's not visually aware of the fact Vampirella's stopped, the magic sense has been what's guided her. And suddenly, it's stopped.

"Uh," she mutters, blinking through the darkness. "I didn't bother you, did I? I was just trying to get a read on what was..." There's a laugh. "Sorry, this is awkward."

Ella Normandy has posed:
    How very weird. Vampirella can feel an eyebrow trying to lift. Through an effort of will, she keeps it down, focusing her field of vision. There's nothing coming from behind the woman pursuing her, and she can't hear anything behind her, so maybe this isn't bait, but...

    Vampirella's arms continue to hang loose at her sides, her feet shoulderwidth apart, weight on the balls. In her thick accent, Vampirella agrees, "It is. Why are you following me in the dark?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Right, I wasn't trying to interrupt, it was more I was trying to figure out..." Nessa seems to be trying to phrase it well. "... uh, the nature of your being?" She coughs. "That sounds a little odd, but I just mean you're magical and I was trying to understand what sort of magic it was. Call it polite academic curiosity. I didn't mean to alarm you or anything."

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella's fingers curl almost into fists, then loosen. "So you want to study me without my knowledge?" she asks, forcing her voice to remain idle and seemingly unbothered.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"You're making it sound really creepy. It's a little more like smelling a loaf of bread from a bakery and being drawn to it and wondering what kind it is." Nessa shakes her head. "It's more for safety. If I know what someone or something feels like, then I'll know if I should avoid it in the future or if it's safe to be around. Academic's a little too... eh, it's just not the right word."

Ella Normandy has posed:
    "I'm making it sound how it appears to me in this dark alley," Vampirella points out. "But fine, what do you need to know to feel safe around me?" It takes an effort not to fold her arms.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I..." Nessa's not entirely sure what to say there. "That's not exactly what I meant either." There's a little frustration in her tone. "Look, I just felt something different and I was trying to figure out what it was. It's as simple as that." She shakes her head, not entirely sure what else to say. Instead, she just turns to retreat back the way she came.

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella, who has never heard of the sunk cost fallacy, points out, "You've come this far. You may as well finish what you started. What do you think I am?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I don't know. Magic feels different. There's all kinds of different magics and I can't begin to tell you what most of them are. I know what mine feels like and therefore if I feel something similar there's at least some recognition there," Nessa shrugs her shoulders, turning back just slightly. "I just hadn't felt it before so I thought I'd see if I could figure it out at all." She grins. "If it's any consolation, you don't feel elemental in nature. Take that how you will."

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella is quiet for a moment, thinking her thoughts. She doesn't want to be identified; a lifetime of keenly honed predator's instincts warn her against detection. On the other hand, clearly this woman *can* detect her, which means someone else out there can do it too, which means she needs to know as much as she can about this so she can counteract it.

    "Not elemental," she agrees after a brief pause. "So try to figure it out," she invites. "I'm curious."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa turns to face fully towards the voice again, even if she can't really see her. She stuffs her hands into her pockets, shifting her purse a bit more over her shoulder. "Well..." She seems to be trying to sort things out, looking in Vampirella's direction, even if she doesn't see her. "I can't give you a full run down of what a magic feels like. I go off of a simple pattern of what I've seen and what I've felt. I use ice for the most part, so anything that feels like me is probably a similar nature. Or if it's got somewhat of a feel of what I have, I might be able to tell it's some kind of other element. But I don't know that I'll be able to figure it out at all. I don't have any magic to compare against your nature, and since I don't know anything about you... can't piece it together through context."

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella mulls this over. "So you're a blind woman trying to guess which color has which name?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"More like figuring out what note is played on a piano without knowing the key pressed and no music theory. I know someone pressed a key and it produced a sound, but..." Nessa gives a bit of a nod. "It's something like that. I'm limited by my own experience. The more magic I've seen I'm sure it'll be easier to identify, but... you have to get to know it."

Ella Normandy has posed:
    Vampirella thinks it over. "Whoever taught you to sense this without teaching you what you're sensing didn't do you much of a favor," she says, mostly to get a response but partially out of genuine outrage. No one can prepare a child for the whole world, but even her own mother taught her the basics of identifying scents.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Oh, no one taught it to me," Nessa points out. "I've never really had any sort of formal teacher for any of this. I've just sort of felt things out as I went and done a lot of research. Lots of books." She chuckles. "It's incredibly frustrating but if you keep at something long enough you find a way yourself. Something to be said for dedication, right?"