7425/Meeting the Contessa pt 2

Meeting the Contessa pt 2
Date of Scene:	18 August 2021
Location:	The Gardens
Synopsis:	Lydia, Clarice, and Mystique take the mysterious Countess Isabella up to the asteroid for more questions. Surprising answers are provided, and even more surprising revelations about Lydia herself.
Cast of Characters:	Lydia Dietrich, Clarice Ferguson, Raven Darkholme

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Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"It has the most /breathless/ view of the night sky I have ever seen," said Lydia to the Contessa, and she wasn't kidding. She had Clarice port them from the bistro right into the middle of the gardens so she could show off herself. "Tadaah!" She says, gesturing to the night sky, with the earth slowly beginning to rotate into view. "I can guarantee you that none of your enemies are listening up here." She turns back to Isabella with a wide grin.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice allows Lydia, Isabella, and Mystique to step through into the garden before she'll join them and close the portal behind herself. Almost immediately, she gets a little chime on her phone, which she pulls out to study. Her attention remains focused on the screen - her lips moving silently, to indicate she's reading something to herself, but as she reads, her expression darkens subtly, and eventually changes to a frown. She reads herself the message a second time - before tucking her phone away, and turning her attention to Lydia and her guest.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
There is a moment where Mystique and Isabella look at each other, as if sizing each other up. Isabella was waiting for Mystique to step through, but Mystique wasn't going through before Isabella. It all passed in a moment, the look between them, and Isabella finally stepped through the portal. Once she did, Mystique followed. The pecking order has been established.

Isabella is immediately taken aback, having to turn around once to look at where she was. "This is... in space," she comments softly, that light Italian accent a little thicker from the surprise of the situation.

"You're quick, Izzy," Mystique offers, stepping around the woman to place herself beside Lydia and slip an arm around her waist.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia slips a matching arm around Mystique, with a huge grin aimed at Isabella. "It is!" she says, excited she could be the showoff to a woman who had probably thought she had seen /everything/. "I told you it was breathtaking."

She lets the woman take in her fill of the stars and the earth, hugging her woman close to her. She'll let Isabella take all the time in the world, after all, how many chances like this is she going to get. Once long enough has passed Lydia says, "Come! There's some benches over this way."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Despite the expression of polite attention Clarice tries to keep on her features, there remains something anxious about her expression. Still, she remains where she is - keeping Isabella between herself and her two friends. It was easier to keep a close eye on her this way, after all. Silent for the moment, she allows Lydia to guide the encounter.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique remains quiet now, her arm around Lydia as they walk toward the benches. She was a touch more relaxed, having Isabella here meant no escape if she did try something, but the fact she could still try something played at the back of the cobalt mutants mind.

Isabella takes her own sweet time just staring at the earth. A small smile plays on her lips as she watches the clouds around the blue and green globe. She had seen a great many things, but this was a first.

Finally she shifts her eyes back to Lydia, and starts a slow walk toward a bench. "Thank you for this," she gestures to the room and then the earth. "You are very lucky to have such a safe place to call home."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia can't keep herself from grinning. "I know," she says, taking a seat for herself. If Mystique sits with them, she'll take her hand. "It's... there's nothing like it. Sometimes I come here to write, but I always get distracted just watching the earth." She turns to look at their planet. "It's so easy to just get lost in it."

A moment of silence passes as Lydia gets lost in it before shaking herself out of her reverie and turns back to their guest. "So," she says. "You were going to tell us how you were able to bypass B's security?" She tries to say this as pleasantly as possible, without turning it into an accusation.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    As the trio move towards the bench, Clarice takes up a position leaning against a nearby tree. She keeps Isabella firmly within her gaze, and her right arm hangs at her side - unimpeded and ready should she need to summon a javelin. All in all, she was continuing the treat the situation as she would if Lorna were meeting with some unknown and potentially dangerous individual.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique chooses to remain standing, and is even willing to take a few steps away. Lydia can defend herself, and Isabella wouldn't get far if she did something, so she could offer up a little space and not be quite so possessive.

Isabella settles herself onto the bench beside Lydia, crossing right leg over left and resting her hands in her lap. "I did indeed promise that," she says softly with a chuckle. "I have an innate power that allows me to mimic the powers of others, or rather their energies. So where as Kabbalic magic is normally required, my power imitates Kabbalic magics, and that allowed me to move past your wards."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia's eyebrows shoot up. "Does that mean you're a mutant, too?" she asks curiously. Wouldn't it be exciting if she was! Then something occurs to her, "It doesn't take just kabbalic magics to pull down the wards like that so they go back up when you're done, otherwise you would have just ripped them down. It takes a little bit of knowhow, too." Granted, nothing about the golem is /too/ sophisticated. Lydia is, after all, still somewhat an amateur and anybody who knows what they were doing could easily perform that feat.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Of course - Clarice knows nothing about magic. She's not even entirely convinced that 'kabbalic' is a word! But Lydia sure seems convinced, so she's forced to accept this in stoic silence.
    She does make a mental note to ask about it later, though. Kabbalic. Kabbalic magic.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
While Lydia and Isabella are talking, Mystique is listening and learning. She's been around the blocks a few times, and has learned to read between the lines. Isabella is offering just enough to answer questions, no more, and that was likely because Clarice and she were there.

Isabella chuckles again, her smile brightening her face and making her dark eyes sparkle, "I was not seeking to pull them down, or remove them, I simply slide past them as if they were not there. For one brief moment, my hand was a part of the golem. It only requires the very basic knowledge of Kabbalism to do that, given my talents." She glances around the garden again, debating how to answer the other part of that question.

"The easy answer is yes, I am a mutant." That wasn't a lie, at one time she had been a mutant but she was so much more now. Turning her eyes back to Lydia she asks, "How did you start to learn Kabbalic magics? You have a very unique mutation, and yet you moved past that into ancient magics, why?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia lets out some soft laughter. "At first it was research into magic for my books. I wanted things to feel realistic but I wanted to avoid being /too/ real so people couldn't use my books to do something dangerous." She waves a hand, "Then I came across a text that referenced Kabbalism and had some Hebrew text in it and since I actually read and write Hebrew I thought I'd explore that further. And down the rabbit hole I went."

She laughs, "It was surprisingly easy. When most people think of ancient magic they think of transmutation circles and chanting in Latin so those are the things that they look for. What they don't know is that most of that is based off of ancient Jewish magics and that Kabbalism is just an offshoot that clung tighter to its roots."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    One of the things Clarice has to resist the temptation to do at moments like these, is the urge to blink a javelin in and out of her hand repeatedly as she waits and watches the conversation taking place. It would be unprofessional.
    Somehow it's not made any easier by the fact that she's also resisting the urge to pull out her phone and reading it again - and send out a reply.
    But no. She is needed present in this moment. She'll save tomorrow's worries for tomorrow.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique makes her way to another bench not too far away, but far enough that perhaps Isabella won't feel the pressure of being observed quite as badly. She can still hear the conversation, that's the part that matters, and settles in looking more relaxed, even if she wasn't.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Isabella straightens her back a little, though over all she appears perfectly relaxed.

"Ancient magics," she comments with a chuckle. "There is power out there the likes of which even Dr. Strange cannot imagine. Kabbalism is a taste Lydia, like dipping your toes into the kiddy pool to test the water. If you are ever interested in jumping into the deep end, let me know."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia grins, "Oh, I bet! I'm only focusing on Kabbalism because it just seems to /fit/ me right," she says. "I'm Jewish, after all. I've... had a few lessons with somebody else," she says with a strained smile. "His methods are ...." she grimaces. "Let's just say that I was very nearly tempted to punch him in the face."

"I have a feeling that I wouldn't want to punch /you/ in the face were I to take you up on your offer," she chuckles. "And the more I learn, the more concerned I get because there's a /lot/ out there that can threaten the Mutant community both directly and indirectly and I want to be prepared in case it happens."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice's gaze flicks from Lydia and Isabella, towards Mystique, and then back again. If Lydia is considering this woman as a teacher... They would have to learn to trust her sooner or later. And just because she was strange, and capable of using magic, didn't mean she meant harm. A frown pulls at her lips, fighting the desire to reach for her phone once more. It was tucked safely away in a little purse that dangles from her left hand.
    Why did none of the dresses they'd bought that day have pockets? What an oversight.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique shifts her eyes to Clarice, and her eyes roll as she calls, "Clarice, come join me." Having her Lieutenant hovering like a rabid dog waiting to pounce was not a good thing.

Isabella offers her hand to Lydia, a friendly gesture, "I would love to to teach you Lydia, I see such a great potential in you. Hidden power you may not even realize you have. Not everyone can learn magic, it takes an innate energy inside you to do, and trust me, you have it." A smile spreads across her face and her eyes shift to Clarice for the briefest of moment before returning to Lydia.

"You are free to ask me more questions if you wish, I rather enjoy this garden, the Earth, and being watched like the moment I move I will be teleported into open space."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia laughs, "Trust me. I know. John taught me the hard way how to infuse magic into my ectoplasm. That... opened up a lot of possibilities for me but that man could just shove his head right up his own... butt." Sometimes it's kind of cute how Lydia manages to avoid swearing like that.

She laughs jovially when Clarice and Mystique's overprotectiveness is called out. "Oh, don't mind them," she says. "When you've spent so much time on the other side of the law like they have you learn to be a bit paranoid. They're only looking out for me, so I don't have to be the one that treats you like a bomb waiting to explode."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Yes ma'am," Clarice answers as she's called. She shoots one more glances towards Isabella, before she moves towards Mystique, joining her on the bench, and trying not to look too uncomfortable with Isabella out of her sight. As the woman calls out what she was doing, however, a smirk of amusement crosses her lips. "Remember to blow your breath out instead of trying to hold it," she advises. "Should it ever come up."
    There's a moment's hesitation, and she pulls her phone back out, finally typing a reply to the message she'd received. 'I will, thx. Msg again if I'm needed.'
    When that's done, her phone is placed in her purse once more.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique glances to Clarice's screen for the briefest of moment, then her eyes dart away to look at the lake. Lydia was right, they were over protective but they had good reason. She didn't care if Isabella was feeling a little vultured over, Lydia was far more important than Isabella was.

"You're off duty tomorrow," she says to Clarice plainly, then her eyes shift again to looking up at the Earth.

Isabella laughs softly, a tinkling of bells matches the sound.

"Clarice, you are adorable," she offers toward the pair. "Thank you for that advice, I will remember it. You are welcome to ask me questions as well if you like, I have nothing to hide."

Now she turns her attention back to Lydia, "Of course they are protective, you are precious to them, I would expect nothing less. Here I am, a complete stranger, bathed in mystery, approaching you... how dare me." She is smiling the whole time she speaks, clearly none of this is really bothering her.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
"Well," Lydia says, folding her hands in her lap. "I hope that in time you won't be a mystery to us. You're a mutant, so you're one of us, and you're schooled in magic, which is something we're in need of and I'm hoping that you'll become a good friend to us."

She leans closer, burning curiosity having gripped her, "But I have to ask. Where do you find the time?" She chuckles. "Between writing, tutoring and being a busy girlfriend, I hardly have time for my magical studies! And here you are, a practicing surgeon! Tell me your secret!"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Thank you," Clarice answers Mystique quietly, without enlightening Lydia and her companion in any way. If either of them were even aware of the interraction between the other pair at all.
    She flicks her gaze towards Mystique for a moment, then towards Lydia and her guest as she asks, "And who, may I ask, taught you magic? Or are you self-taught like Lydia?"
    Would that give them any insight into the woman's history and nature? She wasn't sure. But it was worth asking.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique offers Clarice a nod in regards to the gratitude, but the younger mutants question causes her to shift her position slightly and look toward there Lydia and Isabella were sitting. She couldn't exactly see them, she's made sure of that, but she can at least turn her full attention to that answer.

Isabella stands, stretching her legs out and sets her clutch and coat on the bench. For a brief moment she checks the expensive Swiss watch on her wrist, then she offers Lydia a smile.

"I will answer you first Lydia," she begins. "Time is as mailable as clay, when you know how to do it, but in my case, there is a great deal more to it... which actually leads into answering Clarice's question."

Slowly she begins to saunter her way toward the other two, a slight swing in her hips due to the heels she is wearing. "You see Clarice, I am actually nearly seven hundreds and eighty years old," she says as calmly as one might say the sky is blue. "I have had more than enough time to master what ever it is I wished to master, and learn a few new tricks a long the way. I have played all the games, danced all the dances, and I am ready to pass on my knowledge to someone else." As she reaches this point in her words, she comes into view of Clarice and Mystique. "Does this adequately answer your question?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia stands and follows the Countess as she goes to address Clarice. "Seven hundred and..." Lydia trails off in disbelief. She only knows one other person whos even close to that old and /she/ is a vampire. "That's quite an accomplishment," she admits. "You must have quite the resources in order to be able to fabricate a backstory like the one we found when we checked your history." She shakes her head, "It's not like we'd expect to see records stating that you're a centuries old mage or anything. Just nothing so thorough."

"Also... why me? There have /got/ to be plenty better candidates out there," she says. "I'm just a part time dabbler. I write books. I don't even make a living off of that! I went to school to be an English teacher, for God's sake, and I couldn't even find a job doing /that/."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I said long lived, didn't I?" Clarice remarks to Mystique and Lydia. She'd been so sure of it too - until the history Mystique had uncovered had seemed to lay that theory to rest.
    She turns her attention to Isabella though as she remarks with a frown, "Actually - no. You didn't answer my question at all. How did you learn magic? Did you have a teacher - or were you self-taught? And while we're at it - what motivated you to learn magic? And what motivates you now? What is it you mean to do with this long life you possess?" She keeps her gaze fixed on the unfamiliar woman, as she tries to guage her response for truth.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique lifts both brows in surprise, that is not what she was expecting. There was no way to verify that claim, at least none that didn't require Dr. Hathaway or Dr. McCoy, and she doubted that Isabella would hold still for that willingly. As the Italian steps into view, she turns more on the bench to look at her. She aged well, that's for sure.

She could ask questions now, in fact she had a few pop into her mind, but Clarice was voicing them herself so she would just remain silent and mysterious, watching the woman.

"Well, well, you /are/ a determined one my dear," Isabella offers to Clarice with a laugh, waiting for Lydia to catch up to her. "Again, I will answer Lydia first but I promise, I will answer your questions Clarice."

"You do not know your full potential Lydia, the lineage that you come from, down through the centuries. You know your ancestors back to a certain point, but things get muddled when we reach a point in history that we stopped recording information that was pertinent. You come from a very long line of magic users," she states, again plainly without pause. "Your family line links so far back that at one point, we were related. That is 'why you'. I have been searching for someone of your potential for nearly five hundred years."

Now she swings her dark eyes onto Clarice. "I learned my magics from a hidden coven of witches older than you can imagine. Acceptance is not merely wanting to join, your blood must match the resonance of the coven to even be considered. I was born to this, there was no choice for me whether I learned or did not, and as such I learned well. As for my long life, it is my own. I have aided some, harmed others, shifted the balance of power in the magical communities and worked to aid other mutants through the years."

Still speaking to Clarice, or at least answering her questions, she turns herself toward Lydia. "My motivation is to find the next in line for the power, and that is you Lydia."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia's brows furrow in confusion and shock, as she tries to mull this one over in her head. "I must admit," she says, starting slowly. "That I'm open to believing the extraordinary and I'm probably too trusting." She lets out a self depreciating chuckle, "After all, I /did/ interview that vampire once and I /was/ seriously thinking of letting her feed off of me." She gives Mystique a kind of apologetic look. "That was before you and I were a thing," she tells her.

"But you have to admit, that me being a descendant witches, especially when my family is mostly Ashkenazi Jew, and you somehow have been able to trace me back to them is a little hard to swallow," she says. "Don't get me wrong. I think you're a /fascinating/ woman whom I'd like to get to know better, but this is quite a stretch. What kind of proof do you have? Surely you must have been prepared to provide substance to your claims."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice shifts her attention towards Mystique for a moment, trying to judge her reaction to all this, before her attention returns to Isabella. It should be a good thing, shouldn't it? This woman offering Lydia power, and training. But somethting felt... off. "How do you decide which way you wish to shift power through the centuries? You teach Lydia - and then what? What outcome would you like to see in this world?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique has her mask of neutrality in place, which makes it difficult for Clarice to get anything from her. She stands up now, walking over to slip her arm around Lydia's waist again. This was way more than she signed up for, and she decided that if this woman had been searching that long, if that part was true, then there was a chance that in desperation she might try something. That means Mystique wanted to be closer to Lydia to block whatever it was.

Isabella waits, she knew that this would likely bring Mystique back into reach of Lydia, so she offers a smile and takes a small step back.

"I could show you your entire family line," she says softly. "Through your blood and my magics, but you would not believe it because it came from me. There is only two other ways to prove my words, either you learn the magic yourself and perform it to see the line, or a trip to Egypt to meet the coven yourself."

"As for the shift of power," she then says, looking to Clarice. "There are those out there who would use the magics against humanity and mutants to gain their own desires, make their riches and build their own power bases. I have spent a great deal of my time tearing down those power bases, in an attempt to keep the forces of magic balanced throughout the world. Recently, one of us was killed and the vacuum of power resulting from that death is the real reason I am in the United States. My presence alone ensures the balance, but for the future, I would like to see that this balance is possible without having to manipulate the powers that would harm humans, aliens and mutants just to get what they want."

"Regarding Lydia," she smiles at this, looking back to her with such near loving eyes, like she was looking at a long lost sibling. "If she trains and learns the magics of the coven, she is free to do with it what she wants, for good, but I already know that is what she would do. The Golem told me that."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia is silent for a while. She /wants/ to believe Isabella because it's in her nature to do so. But there are just so many questions, so many variables. Things are just moving too fast. It's like she just jumped off the deep end of magic and is now struggling to find air. Especially after all that she's learned from John and what's going on at /that/ end of things. Rifts between realities... Gods of Death fighting each other... and now this, if Isabella is to be believed.

A hand rises up to massage her brow, as she leans into Mystique for comfort. "How hard is it to learn this magic," she asks. She's got a good, if basic understanding of Kabbalic magic so she figures that she'd be able to understand what it is she's doing. The other option might be easy. However.... "How would the coven be able to convince us where you could not?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Honestly - Mystique moving back to Lydia's side told Clarice all she really needs to know. She shifts slightly, but remains on the bench - her purse set casually beside her. After all, that frees up both her hands in case they're needed.
    Though she really hopes they won't be.
    "Would the power work on me?" she asks. Would it show //my// family lineage?" Or perhaps better yet - Mystique's or Creed's? How could this Isabella know much of anything about their families, if the magic wasn't true? Photographic records didn't date back that far. Certainly not reliably.
    Though she had to wonder what else was possible with magic, and a bit of blood. She knows so little about magic - but she has a feeling she knows Mystique's reaction to anyone experimenting with it.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique tightens her arm around Lydia, letting the woman lean into her. She rests her head against the glowing mutant for a moment, then presses a soft kiss to her cheek before whispering softly in her ear. >>You don't have to make any decisions tonight, you can take this slow as you want or not at all, you have the option to walk away.<<

Folding her hands in front of her, Isabella smiles, "There are twelve members of the coven, are you suggesting some sort of group hallucination just to convince one mutant of who she is?" Isabella tilts her head at this, one brow lifting but she continues to smile. "Either that would be the greatest manipulation tactic in the world, or you over value your importance to a group of woman in Egypt."

"Learning magic is as easy or as difficult as you make it," she then adds. "Either it will come naturally or it will not, and you will have to practice when you can. If you mean the single spell I wish to teach you, it should take no longer than a few hours at the most."

To Clarice that smile grows even broader, "Yes. It would work on your blood, Raven's, any one who wished to know their line back to the first joining of man and woman to create life."

Mystique raises a single hand. "Keep that particular knowledge to yourself Clarice, we don't need people trying to get blood out of others just to see what this looks like, and you most certainly will /not/ be tracing my line, as anything before me was human and I could not give a flying rats ass about it."

Isabella nods to Mystique, but her eyes remain on Clarice, "Would you like me to show you?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia mulls this over while Isabella challenges Clarice. She /does/ have a point about the women in Egypt. If this is a con, this is a long way to go for a con and for what end? What goal? Something just doesn't seem /right/ about this. Well. A lot doesn't seem to be right about this, but nothing is adding up. If this isn't a con and this is the truth, what then? It seems more likely that there are truths in what the Countess is saying, but she is sure that there are ulterior motives at play here beyond the goodness of this woman's heart.

She muses about this a little more before coming to a decision. "All right," she says. "Show me the magic." She /is/ confident enough in her own magical abilities that she could probably sense something if it goes awry. Plus there's the threat of being spaced. Remember. Exhale.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Would it prove anything if she used my blood?" Clarice asks - looking towards Mystique and Lydia as she asks this. The fact is - the woman was far less likely to have researched her family's history. And records from Genosha were a bit sparse and harder to access than most other records these days. Especially photographic records. She seems willing to let the woman try it, if there was any value to it.
    Though perhaps the question is completely moot if Lydia simply learns the 'trick' for herself.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique hmms softly, head lifting from where she had rested it against Lydia's.

"This is Lydia's call," she finally states. "If she wants to learn the spell herself and do it, then that's how we'll do it, but Clarice... you are still welcome to explore your own ancestry if you want, and uh... Izzy here is willing."

It is Isabelle's turn to look between Clarice and Lydia before she says, "I am willing to teach you Lydia, and I am willing to show Clarice her family line."

For a moment she looks at Mystique, she knows full well that the cobalt mutant is judging and watching everything she says and does, she would so the same, so she offers the woman a nod regarding her decision.

"I only have time for one of those things tonight however," she then adds. "I still do have a surgery to perform. It may not be my primary reason for coming to New York, but it is still the truth. So which will it be?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia's eyes flick between Izzy and Clarice, pondering which she should do next. "Let me learn the ritual," she says. "Then I can perform it on Clarice if she wants." And in that way they can confirm the legitimacy of Izzy's claims.

She turns and leans up to give Mystique a quick peck under the jaw, and disengages her self stepping up to the ancient magi. "So," she begins, hands spread to the sides, "How do we begin?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice nods her acceptance of this decision - it makes sense to her. And honestly - she's a little curious to see some magic, and to try to understand how it works. After all, she's had so little exposure to it, and so little understanding of it. She lapses back into silent watchfulness - resisting the urge to check her phone again.
    If Hank had messaged you again, Clarice, you would have heard it.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
With Lydia stepping away, Mystique is left to stand there considering what is about to happen, what could happen, and what she could do about it. She may look unarmed, but her pistols were always there some place, never obvious on her though metal detectors would go off if she walked through them. She didn't like this at all, but if Lydia learned this spell herself it would be a hundred times better then letting the unknown very ancient witch-type do it herself. She'll stay back, but not too far.

Isabella nods again, then looks around where they presently are. Reaching down she unstraps each of the pumps and slides them off before stepping into the grass. It was real grass, that surprised her, but her focus was other places right now.

"This magic is as old as time," she explains softly, signaling for Lydia to join her in the grass. "It is linked to the creation of the universe itself, to the birth of all life on this planet. All life requires water, and we are creations who are primarily water, but it through the blood in your own veins that you hold the power to perform this magic."

Now that she has started, she stops worrying about Clarice or Mystique, there is only Lydia and the spell. "To learn this you must cast it on yourself," she finally says. "You will require a small amount of your own blood, in the palm of your hand, but it is more than blood... it is the very essence of life and death, of time, the soul and the mind. You must see it for what it is, not what you think it is. In the blood is all things from your past, present and future. Once you had drawn the blood, concentrate on it and repeat, "Yajid... Madi... Salaf. You will know when it works, you will /feel/ it like fire around your body. When that happens, reach out with the hand that has the blood on it, reach for the information in the air and pull it to you."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
One of the things that you learn when you're a mage is that blood is very potent. When blood is involved you're not messing around anymore. John had shown her how to channel her faith and the magical well that springs forth from it into her. His methods of teaching was brutal, to say the least, but his crash course taught her a lot about herself, not the least of which was how to tap into that energy without having to go through the mental mathmatics of drawing a spell through the Sephirot. His way lacked nuance, but it showed her it /could/ be done.

Perhaps she could do that with other materials... such as blood? She looks between Mystique, Clarice and gives them a nervous smile. "Well. Here goes." She holds out her right hand, palm up, and with her left she hooks a finger and a glowing green claw emerges from it. She takes the claw and pierces the palm of her hand, deep enough to draw a small pool of blood but not too deep, and she begins muttering to herself.

"Yajid... Madi... Salaf..." The words may be older than Hebrew, but through Kabbala is how she knows her magic. All magic words are in some way or another, evoking the name of god, so that's what she starts doing in her head. "Yajid... Madi... Salaf..." First she spells out the words in Hebrew, and then starts working through permutations of the letters, like jiggling the tumblers while picking a lock. You keep going through them until one... *click*.

That's one down. "Yajid... Madi... Salaf..." A bit louder now. More confident. It's much easier with one third of the puzzle down. It only takes her a few more minutes before... *click*

That's two. "Yajid... Madi... Salaf..." Her voice is coming sure and clear now. She almost has it. She's seeing the pattern and can feel it resonating with the blood pooled in her hand. Almost there...

"Yajid... Madi... SALAF!" Finally. All three permutations done. She can feel the fire that was mentioned, and when she opens her eyes she can see golden arc coming off her skin through the ectoplasm like solar flares. She reaches out with her bloodied and and /grabs/ onto something, and jerks back, unspooling the past.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice sits and watches puzzled curiosity plain on her features - she see no benefit to hiding it. For much of time - watching Lydia and her teacher was a rather dull affair - Lydia simply chanting out words with a slowly-drying drop of blood in her palm.
    Maybe the spell was too much for Lydia? Maybe it was too advanced for what she'd learned already? Maybe- whoa, maybe Lydia's got some talent after all.
    Surprise shows on her features as gold light arcs through the green glow of the ectoplasm and she finds herself almost unconsciously leaning forward in response.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Originally, Isabella had found herself being concerned with a safe location for teaching Lydia about the magic in her blood. The Italian had searched for a place in New York with natural warding magics and never found one, so her hotel room had in fact been warded to high heaven. Without those wards , when one of the Coven used their magics, the others would feel it happening no matter how far away they were, especially with those just learning how to access and use the well of magic inside themselves. Unfortunately the Covens enemies could also feel the use of the magics if they were looking for such things, thankfully they had to be specifically looking else they knew nothing, but Isabella was taking no chances.

Out in the orbit of the planet however, there was no way in any of the heavens or hells that anyone on the planet would feel a thing. The innate powers of the magic that were would leave no lines that other magic users could follow back. It was an unexpected yet wonderful side effect of this place being chosen for the private/not so private conversation.

Yanked out of nothing is the a crashing wave of power and names, faces and places, all striking Lydia's brain at the same exact moment, like a slap to the face and perhaps just as painful.

The golden glow that surrounded Lydia, offering the magic to the universe, starts to decipher the vast array of information, much like a computer processes information. The glow grows stronger, and slowly forms images that everyone in the garden can see. First is Lydia's parents, standing side by side, their names hovering over them in Herbrew as if they were part of some computer game, and then those images meld into her grandparents, and great grandparents, each time the names and their locations in life appears in Hebrew over their head. Then the language changes to Arabic, several generations back, then to Egyptian, then to another language forgotten, and finally there are no words, only images as the line goes back to before human beings stood up right.

To those watching it was a constant stream of changing imagines, and to Lydia's eyes that is what she sees as well, but with each image the names, locations, and connection to her are burned into her memory. She couldn't forget if she wanted to.

Mystique had pulled out her phone, if she was going to witness magic, she was going to record it to ensure it wasn't some sort of holographic trick. She held it up to video record the entire process but any shock she might feel over what she feels is locked away behind the mask.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
It's like hurricane gusts of wind striking Lidia, blowing her hair back as her eyes wide and mouth agape at all the information just being /jammed/ into her brain all at once. And all of a sudden it's done. Lydia lists forward, stumbling, as if she's trying to push against a force that's no longer there, and she falls to a knee.

Panting, she starts a low chuckle, which slowly grows into laughter, and then she's laughing like she just saw the funniest thing in the universe. "The Mormons," she breathes, "The Mormons would /kill/ to be able to do this."

Getting back to her feet still chortling at her joke, she turns to Isabella. "Okay. So that... that was a /lot/. And there's some /surprises/ there." She shakes her head, "If Nanna was alive I'm not sure I could have told her that her father wasn't actually /her/ father." She sucks in a breath, "So, I'm looking for a particular ancestor. Which one?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    As Lydia stumbles, there's an urge to go to her - but other than a brief shift in her balance towards the woman, she shows no indication of it. Instead, she reserves that privilege for Mystique, if she cares to claim it. The laughter puzzles her, though.
    Wasn't the Mormons another of those weird religions? What did //they// have to do with any of this? And why was that funny?
    She frowns quietly and thoughtfully, her gaze going to Isabella to see her reaction to all of this.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique drops her phone and moves forward, hooking her arm around Lydia to help steady her but not holding too tight. It is just enough to keep her from falling down. The whole time her eyes are on Isabella. That was in fact some impressive magic, and no 'simple spell', at least not according to anything the cobalt mutant had seen before.

"You were looking for Hatshepsut," Isabella offers, she had stepped forward but stopped herself, afraid that if she touched Lydia she'd be floating in space. "She is the ancestor we have in common, and the one that links you to the Coven, or really what it is called Kufin. Our lines passed over two thousand years ago, but that is all the more required for the gift to pass."

She does step over to Lydia, but does not touch her. "There is a power in your blood Lydia, it is now up to you what you will do with it. Leave it to your children to worry about, learn how to use it, or simple tinker with it until you accidently blow yourself up."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
Lydia holds out a hand to Mystique, whether to hold her off from doing something to Isabella, or for support, it's not clear which. She looks surprised at the name. "Hatshepsut... she's... she's a pharaoh isn't she?" She closes her eyes and rubs her temple again, flicking through the catalogue of names and faces that are in her head until, sure enough, there she is. "Okay," she breathes. "Well. I guess I'm descended from royalty."

"I... this is a lot to take in," she admits. "I need some time to think about this. The number I contacted you before, the number on the letter. Is that still good to get a hold of you?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice rises to her feet - in anticipation of a portal being needed. Not, acutally that she needed to be on her feet to provide such, it simply felt better for the moment to do so. She watches Mystique and Lydia for a moment, then returns her attention to Isabella, giving her a brief nod. If she gives the word - Clarice will open the portal for her to send her upon her way.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Once Lydia is sturdy on her own two feet, Mystique takes the offered hand and holds it. She wasn't going to kill Isabelle yet, and slowly she was starting to believe the Italian might be helpful. She was certain the woman has ulterior motives for all this, but whatever they were they didn't scream harm to Lydia any more, they merely whispered it.

"That was impressive," she offers to Isabelle, but more to Lydia. "I've never seen anything like that before."

Walking over to collect her shoes and slip them back on, Isabelle then takes a moment to collect her jacket and clutch before returning to the trio.

"The number is the same, it will never change," she offers with a smile, already pulling the trench-cloak back on. "Take as long as you wish, I have all the time in the world. If you have more questions, feel free to call and we can arrange to meet to talk about them. Raven was right, this is all on your time line, not mine. I have forever."