Moments of peace are to be cherished (tag Mary) on Library

Tabitha Hawthorne

November 16, 2018 9:49 PM

Moments of peace are to be cherished (tag Mary) by Tabitha Hawthorne

The Library was one of the few places in Sonora that Tabitha didn't particularly venture into. There wasn't a particularly reason for this other than she hadn't really needed to - a lot of her lessons stemmed from her own personal experiences, all of which were documented in her own journals. She also had a number of factual books that she owned in order to back up her own notes so the library was a room that Tabitha didn't need. Until today.

She was preparing a lesson for her Advanced Class that involved a lot of theory surrounding spellcasting and Tabitha needed more than just her own mind to build it on. Her own books, however, mainly focused around dark creatures and practical spells with very little dedicated to theory. So, a library book hunt was required and she had also asked Mary to join her - she wanted to spend time with the woman, especially since they both had the day off from teaching classes (Tuesdays were wonderful for this reason).

She wandered into the library alone, her arms full of a few of her journals as well as parchment and a quill with an accompanying inkwell. She inclined her head politely to the librarian - she was pretty sure his name was Tarquin Fox-Reynolds, though she hadn't really spoken to him - before making her way to the back of the library, finding a nice corner that was slightly more hidden from view. A couple of squashy armchairs stood around a round table and Tabitha promptly deposited her things on the surface before turning her attention to the shelves surrounding her.

Her next immediate thought that she hoped Mary would arrive soon as the sheer volume of books around her was putting her off any kind of research.

20 Tabitha Hawthorne Moments of peace are to be cherished (tag Mary) 1417 Tabitha Hawthorne 1 5

Mary Brooding

November 18, 2018 12:35 AM

Moments of tea are to be cherished, too. by Mary Brooding

The library was one of Mary's favorite places, particularly during the week, when students were in class or studying here, and the shelves of books and documents seemed to be begging to be read. She was particularly inclined, of course, to the sections that related to her own field, but she'd been reading more about magical creatures recently and some of the political controversies surrounding them, potions and ingredients, and more. Some faces had became familiar, like Tarquin's and the frequent in and out Aladren students, but most of them were turned down towards their own work, another reason Mary loved the library. It was here, amidst the quiet, that she could enjoy all the loveliness without worrying about being lovely herself.

"Hello, my love," she whispered greeting Tabitha with a sly kiss as she took a seat. Privacy was another good reason to love the library.

Tabitha had a knack for finding the most comfortable, most cozy spaces in any given part of Sonora and Mary smiled at her with appropriate gratitude for it. She knew the woman was here for work purposes and was determined not to distract her though. It was an interesting play between her desire to read every shelf in the library, effectively ignoring Tabitha, and to make out against every shelf in the library instead, effectively ignoring . . . everything else. Settling on more appropriate thoughts, she settled into one of the squashy chairs and placed her bag and equipment beside her.

"I came prepared with student work, notes and texts and things, and your favorite." She retrieved some stolen sweets and things from her bag, offering Tabitha's preferred selections to her. "I thought you might need a pick-me-up. Can I do anything else to help?"

22 Mary Brooding Moments of tea are to be cherished, too. 1424 Mary Brooding 0 5

Tabitha Hawthorne

November 18, 2018 2:05 PM

You know me far too well. by Tabitha Hawthorne

Tabitha smiled slightly after Mary's kiss (which, she privately thought, was far too short), her feelings having lifted in the presence of the woman. Her eyes glimmered with amusement and delight and Mary produced strawberry cream filled dark chocolates, as well as tea things. Tabitha didn't know the rules on eating or drinking in the library but, at that precise moment, she didn't particularly care. Tea and chocolates would be the perfect accompaniment to her reading and researching.

"You know the way to my heart..." her fingers reached for one of the delectable chocolates. "Of course, you already have it in your hands."

She popped the sweet into her mouth, sending a flirtatious wink in Mary's direction before turning her attention back to the surrounding shelves, reaching up trail her fingers along the spines of the neatly organised books. There were many related to the theories of magic - the challenge would be to find the correct one. She frowned slightly, tilting to her head in order to read some of the titles better.

"How much do you know about defensive magical theory?" she asked Mary, plucking a books that was bound in rich purple leather with the title Advanced Magick: In Theory and Practice embossed in cursive gold lettering across its front. She flicked through its pages, lips slightly pursed before shrugging and moving to settle into the other armchair. She supposed it was a place to start. She lifted her eyes to meet Mary's and decided it was better to elaborate. "My Advanced class have many spells under their belts and would probably be able to hold their own in a duel, at least against each other but I want them to be able to do more than that. They need to be able to get and hold on to the upper hand - I want to teach them Combination Casting."

Combination casting of spells was something that Tabitha hadn't been able to master until long after she'd left school - to cast two spells one after the other without having to think was hard. To cast two spells at the same time was even harder. Before even reaching that point, it was necessary to find out which spells would complement each other and amplify an effect instead of hinder it. However, she wanted to challenge her students. The world wouldn't hesitate to throw obstacles and challenges in their way so why should she?

She definitely needed a cup of tea or two for this.

20 Tabitha Hawthorne You know me far too well. 1417 Tabitha Hawthorne 0 5

Mary Brooding

December 05, 2018 7:04 PM

Good thing! by Mary Brooding

"More than I know about the practical bit," Mary admitted, wrinkling her nose. Their duel in the MARS rooms had ended with Mary feeling stiff, sore, and exhausted, not to mention a bit covered in surface-level puncture marks.

The idea of combination casting wasn't one that Mary had ever considered, nor needed to, but it was similar to a core part of her potions curriculum, which she told Tabitha. "I learned that stuff by guessing at what might happen, testing it out to see what actually happened, and then trying to figure out why. I heard someone call it the 'scientific method', but I think that was the Muggle term. Is that sort of similar?" she asked, looking around at the books nearby and selecting a glossary of magic terms. She was always one to start at the basics and the essence of magic was as fascinating to her as it was to any witch or wizard who focused in the tangible magical arts. She could never put the question of 'what is magic' aside for very long.

"I'm not sure how much help I can be but you're cute when you concentrate so I'm happy to sit with you while you brainstorm," she added, grinning.

22 Mary Brooding Good thing! 1424 Mary Brooding 0 5

Tabitha Hawthorne

December 05, 2018 9:27 PM

Being with you is always a good thing. by Tabitha Hawthorne

"It's the other way round for me," Tabitha murmured thoughtfully as she read through the contents page of the book she'd chosen. "I have always been more knowledgeable about the practical than the theory. Cast first, ask questions later..."

She flicked her wand at her lifeless quill, forcing it to dance and dip itself into the pot of ink she brought. Another flick and it moved obediently to the top of her parchment. It would be ready to write when Tabitha required it to. A helpful charm she'd known since her school days and it had saved her a lot of hand cramps from all the extensive writing.

"So, you form a hypothesis, test it and then see if you what you thought would happen, did happen?" Tabitha asked, lifting her eyes momentarily to smile at Mary. The woman was clever and the method was so very her. "Combination casting is when you put a series of spells together that should enhance each other and yes, it is similar. You need to work out, generally through trial and error more than anything else, which spells work best together. For example, the Reductor Curse would work well the Wind Making spell - because you can obscure your opponent's vision and keep them blinded by using wind to keep the remains of whatever it is you've blown up going."

She'd just turned the first page of her book when Mary said that she was cute and she blinked and looked up, unable to hide the surprised expression on her face. 'Cute' wasn't a word that was generally used to describe Tabitha. "Y-you... think I'm cute?"

20 Tabitha Hawthorne Being with you is always a good thing. 1417 Tabitha Hawthorne 0 5

Mary Brooding

December 13, 2018 2:24 AM

You make me blush. by Mary Brooding

Mary smiled at Tabitha's quick transition to "big words." She was so prone to the academic side of the world that it made Mary laugh sometimes because Tabitha would never admit to such propensities. "Something like that," Mary agreed, crossing her legs under her skirts and leaning back in her seat to consider her girlfriend. Her beautiful lovely girlfriend. "Sometimes it just helps you rule something out. If you have a hypothesis and then it doesn't work, then you know that wasn't the right idea behind it. So if something else happens, you can test both whether your hypothesis was right, but also what hypothesis you should've had. You sort of work backwards." She shrugged, not sure how to express it any better, particularly since it seemed less applicable to Tabitha's work than her own.

She considered Tabitha's example and her backside in equal measure. "So is it just about how they work together? Or is there anything to worry about as far as the essence of the spell itself?" she provided a brief explanation of the difference with potions, where it was important to consider both the effects of the potions and their makeup. Two potions might sound like a good combination but their combined ingredients could be deadly for the brewer.

Tabitha's surprise made Mary's heart sad, and she frowned as they made eye contact. "Of course you're cute," Mary said. "You're like a dragon. Equal parts terrifying and adorable, and I think you're as likely to scratch a dragon under the chin as to study it with that distant objectivity of yours. Also, look at you," she added, offering a cheeky smile and cocking an eyebrow suggestively. "I'm a fan."

22 Mary Brooding You make me blush. 1424 Mary Brooding 0 5

Tabitha Hawthorne

December 13, 2018 3:09 AM

You do funny things to my insides. by Tabitha Hawthorne

Tabitha liked it when Mary smiled at her. She, admittedly, wasn't always sure of the reason behind Mary smiling at her but often found that it didn't matter. Mary was gorgeous with a beautiful smile that warmed Tabitha's heart and the Defence professor was always pleased that she would, somehow, manage to cause it. Looking at the situation now, it would seem that Mary smiling had something to do with Tabitha actually showing her more academic and thoughtful side. She knew that Mary liked the impulsive, potentially dangerous side of her - the side that was on show nearly for everyone to see. After years of duelling, casting spells no longer required intense thought. It was second nature to Tabitha to know which spell to cast next and, sometimes, her body knew that before her mind caught up. Was she making Mary smile because this was one of the few times that she could be seen thinking, musing and, if she had still be in school, perhaps behaving more Ravenclaw than Gryffindor?

Well, given the fact that they were talking about hypotheses, Tabitha privately came up with one of her own. Was it the fact that she was showing off her own intelligence that was making Mary smile or was Mary simply smiling because she was Mary and she was lovely?

"It is more about them working together, yes, rather than the essence. Though a general rule of thumb is that if you're going to cast a string of spells, you probably want to stick to them being all offensive if you've got the upper hand or the defensive if you're on the back foot. Mixing the two can become complicated and you can lose track of what you've cast which can be just as detrimental. It can work, though, if you know what you're doing. With potions, I can understand that being different - there's more to consider. With spells, if you cast a lot of them, you might simply start to get a burning smell from the sheer number flying around - or if you've burned somebody's clothes or the surrounding environment but the smell of burning isn't toxic. Using potions in a duel is inspired and clever but it's easy to see the number of risks involved - you could just as easily create a toxic gas than hamper your opponent, for example. Not... that I need to tell you that, of course. I know you will already have considered all of this."

Mary was smart and intelligent. Tabitha knew that and was not going to sit and insult the woman by behaving otherwise. Their duel had revealed a lot of things - including that Tabitha was very attracted to dangerous Mary - and while Tabitha had already known that Mary had brains, she'd been shown that Mary was more than that. Creative, inspired, sexy as hell...

She was going to have to stop that train of thought before it got too far.

Of course, Mary was making it very hard to stop such thoughts as she elaborated on the comment she'd made about Tabitha being cute. The defence professor couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the comparison to a dragon, though found that she rather liked it. She wasn't quite sure about the word adorable but when a beautiful woman was paying you a compliment and flirting with you and that beautiful woman was Mary, you accepted it. Her lips couldn't help but twitch up into their familiar smirk at Mary's last comment. She had a feeling that the very point of coming into the library to plan a lesson was very quickly flying out the window next to them.

"Keep talking like that and we're not going to be allowed to stay in here," Tabitha murmured, before crossing one leg over the other. Her eyes held contact with Mary's, glittering with amusement. "But while we're on the subject, I think you're gorgeous."

It wasn't as subtle as Mary's comment but it got her point across.

20 Tabitha Hawthorne You do funny things to my insides. 1417 Tabitha Hawthorne 0 5