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Post by Mr. Mystic on Oct 22, 2015 17:13:56 GMT -5
The signs were everywhere in the city. Shawn felt the tingling excitement that he always felt before another performance. He didn't do them often, and that's what made them more exclusive, more sought after. Every seat in the house was paid for, with one hundred percent of the proceeds going to the building of an orphanage not far from the Mystic Eye. That was a point of pride for Shawn, or as the world knew him, Mr. Mystic. He liked the codename, reveled in it really. Every time he heard someone call him that, a slight smile passed his face.
He had knowledge of the occult, vampires, werewolves, witches, demons, devils and angels alike, but nothing was more up his alley than impressing a few people with some of his smaller magical abilities. The people made their way into the auditorium, which looked extremely large for the small-ish building that it rested in, finding their seats and eagerly awaiting as the lights dimmed. "Welcome, everyone," Shawn's voice boomed over the auditorium. Anyone looking closely would notice that there was no microphone on his person. "My name is Shawn, and I'm about to blow your mind." He smiled, lifting his hand, uttering an incantation, and opening his hand to show a tulip that appeared from nowhere. He uttered another phrase and the tulip floated from his hand to a young woman in the front row. "For you," Shawn said as the young woman took the tulip, which suddenly changed into a yellow rose. Her cheeks were as red as the shirt she wore. Shawn smiled again as he stepped back. "For my next trick, I'll need a volunteer." After a few moments, he selected a portly man, who said his name was Carl, to come up on stage. The man shook hands with Shawn and was directed to look inside a coffin. When asked if there was anything in there, the man shook his head. Shawn opened the door wider so the crowd could see the same. He directed the man to step inside, then whispered something in his ear. Carl nodded, and Shawn closed the door to the coffin. A few more words indistinguishable to anyone who had no magic, and Shawn opened the door. Carl wasn't there. "Wait, where did he go?" Shawn asked, feigning like he didn't know. But then a smile formed over his face again when Carl walked out from behind the curtain on the left of the stage, waving to the crowd, a big smile on his face.
Carl left the stage, and Shawn continued on with his show, making a plant grow, wither, and then grow again. A few more tricks, such as a rabbit out of a hat, just for kicks, and sheathing a sword in magical flames, then extinguishing them, and his show was over. The crowd was cheering like crazy. That brought another smile to Shawn's face. A few floating lights showed the crowd the way out of the building, with a bucket for any donations, which would also go to the orphanage. After the last few people left, he started cleaning up, Fantasia style. He did always like seeing that. The music played in his head as he made his way up to the roof. Nothing like some fresh air after a great performance.
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Post by Harpie on Oct 22, 2015 23:29:24 GMT -5
After a full day of performances then staying late to help with check ups and settle the birds down for the evening, Julianna was still asking what else she could do. Since moving back and applying for this job, the zoo was her life. They liked that she was a walking encyclopedia about the birds she performed with and cared for, and she adored the birds. "Go home, Jules. You were already into overtime when you started your shift this morning." The manager tugged on the latex gloves she'd just pulled on and shook his head. Her intentions were to start deep cleaning some of the cages but it looked like she was going to be forced to leave. Working at the zoo had its benefits. Julianna was never away from her pets, she could bring them along with her since they didn't take up any room beyond a couple of cages. Plus they had free veterinary access, which was where they were this evening so she was going home to an empty, birdless apartment. Well, except for her dove. Nku had a mind far beyond that of an average bird and refused to be seen by any vet. That bird was about as resilient as they came though, maybe even invincible; if that wasn't enough reason for Julianna to believe he was a soul spirit of her friend, nothing was.
She was grumbling to herself and Nku who as perched sleepily on her shoulder as she packed up her things to head home. After changing from the safari guide inspired work uniform and into a pair of jeans and a simple tee shirt, she called for a cab which was already waiting for her by the time she made it to the entrance gates. Her apartment was about as far away from work as it could possibly get and still be considered part of the city. The cab fare was too expensive so she could only afford to take one to the nearest subway station then hoof it home. She was dropped off at the first station, but rather than heading for the dreaded underground, she decided it was nice enough to walk for a while. There was no hurry to get home after all.
A crowd was buzzing about one of the buildings as she walked by and when she looked up, Julianna realized it was for that magic show her boss had given the three top performers at work. Usually, she gave away these kind of things but this ticket had been sitting in her purse for two weeks, forgotten. "I don't know..." She knew magic was real but this stuff performed on a stage for gullible schmucks was such a scam. After a moments debate with herself she figured why not, the ticket was already there. Nku flew up to a nearby street sign to wait as per the usual drill while she wandered into the auditorium and found a seat near the back.
The show was admittedly very impressive. Julianna couldn't recall ever seeing a show so realistic. It was difficult to remember these kind of shows because she was so young the last time she'd seen anything like this. There were similar shows in Cape Town mainly for the kids so they were incredibly corny. Shawn, as he introduced himself to the crowd, was by far the most impressive 'magician' she'd ever seen in her life. At the end of the show, she stayed in her seat as everyone made their way out. Once most of the show-goers were out of the auditorium, she followed but stopped just short of the door. Wait, just what the hell did the average magician know about real magic? Julianna hid in the shadows watching him clean up in disbelief. There was no way these things were moving by themselves! She couldn't help but to follow him when he headed up to the roof. She trailed him all the way up then virtually silent footsteps approached him from behind. For a moment, Julianna debated turning back. She had no reason to be stalking a stranger other than curiosity and now felt a little like a creep. "Er.. excuse me.." she finally spoke up more hesitantly than she meant to sound. As eager as she was, she held off bombarding him with questions for the moment.
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Post by Mr. Mystic on Oct 26, 2015 21:00:03 GMT -5
Usually it took Shawn a few hours to wind down after a show. He did what he loved doing. Magic was him, and he was magic, though he'd be the first to tell you that he wasn't the most powerful magical being in existence. Even the Fantasia clean up kept a smile on his face until he made it to the roof. He didn't know that someone had stayed behind, as he'd not left up the magical wards and alarm spells. He hadn't really felt the need to. It's not like anyone could rob his place. There were warding glyphs on all the magical items' cases that were, to his own knowledge, impassable. Of course any being more powerful than him would be able to pass them, but luckily there weren't that many of them. Only a few of them that he knew of anyway, and they were all good aligned and had no real need to steal anything.
The roof though. Despite all the cool things he had inside the building, the fresh air always did him good. It was a cool night, the breeze a bit sharp, but it felt good. That smell that came about just before it was going to start raining filled the atmosphere. Shawn figured he'd just sit out there for a while even after it started to rain. It was just water after all. For all his thoughts, he still had not detected the young woman that had followed him to the roof. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened, though that was before he signed the papers to make him the sole owner of the Mystic Eye. His older place had crap security. He was still learning the wards and such at the time as well....so there was that. He'd learned so much more in his study since then. Just the sheer amount of mysticality that he'd picked up since was immense. He'd also learned a few attack spells. A fireball, a lightning bolt, and a small orb of acid that he could hurl at an enemy. On top of that, he'd learned the teleport spell that he'd used during the show, and even a spell that increased the natural attributes of its target.
That's when she spoke though. Even with her hesitant tone, it startled him a bit. He had just leaned against the water tower atop his building, and he quickly turned to see a very attractive young woman had spoken. "Oh, hi," he responded. He smiled and took a step forward, extending his hand to shake hers. It was a sign that he wasn't freaked out by her sudden appearance. Another smirk passed his face as he uttered another spell, two glasses and a two liter Dr. Pepper appeared in his hand. "Sorry, that's all I've got in my refrigerator right now. But would you like a drink?" He shrugged as he unscrewed the cap of the bottle, while letting the two glasses float in the air between them.
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Post by Harpie on Mar 12, 2016 2:15:08 GMT -5
Curiosity brought her to the roof after this magical man but now Julianna was feeling silly because that wasn't much of a reason and she didn't have anything logical to follow up on. Her arsenal of fangirl-esqe questions didn't likely merit stalking this magician. The girl stood there for a second, blankly staring at him after he responded as though he'd noticed her there all along. He was stepping forward to greet her but she instinctually took half a step back. His arm extended and she glanced down then finally lifted her own hand to meet his.
"Sorry," she half laughed, pulling her hand back to cross her arms. "I uh... well, I didn't mean creep up like this. I just...." She trailed off as he was muttering something then smiled widely. "That's what I thought," she confirmed under her breath, laughing again. "Yes, please." Julianna watched him for several moments with her head cocked to one side, completely fascinated by his magic. "Pretty liberal with that, don't you think? The girl thought out loud then cleared her throat as though to correct herself. "I mean, those tricks on stage, a good show but explainable by illusion and distraction, but this..." She waved her hand under the glasses, over them, then poked at one lightly. "How are you doing this?" Leaning forward a bit, she eyed the two glasses again curiously. "Are you the real deal?" Her eyes flicked back up to the magician in front of her.
The girl suddenly realized she'd been bombarding him with her curiosity, completely disregarding all forms of social graces. "Sorry," she shook her head. "The Fantasia clean up after the show and this. I've just never met anyone like..." Well, herself. Who could do things normal humans couldn't. Of course, besides her father's murderer, but this guy, Shawn, if she was remembering correctly from his introduction at the beginning of the show, wasn't trying to kill her. She knew they were out there, her father had been one too, but if he was the real thing, this was really something cool. "It's Shawn, right?" She confirmed. "Julianna... Or Jules is what some people call me."
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Post by Mr. Mystic on May 14, 2016 21:17:17 GMT -5
Shawn understood the woman's hesitance. But then, they were on his roof top. She finally shook his hand though after noticing that he meant no harm to her. He just smiled when she apologized. There was really no need for that, but he understood why she'd say it. He shrugged when she said she didn't mean to creep up like she did. "It's no problem at all," he responded.
He didn't understand what she was saying during her muttering, and gave an odd look, but smiled when she said she'd like a drink. He poured the drinks and, hearing her question, couldn't help but chuckle again. "Well, I figure most of it is really for show anyway. They say a magician never reveals his tricks. The reason for that is a true magician doesn't have tricks. Oh sure, you've got those guys that do have tricks and illusions and distractions, but real magic…… Real magic is so much more." He watched her as she looked over the glasses, one already having the liquid poured into it. "This is a basic telekinesis spell," he answered her first question. He answered her second with a nod.
"No worries," he answered her next apology. He wondered how many times that would happen. But he found it strangely compelling. "I'm glad you caught the Fantasia thing," he chuckled. "Not many people do anymore." He laughed and took a drink from his glass, and floated the other glass to her. "Julianna, Jules. Pretty names for a pretty lady." Shawn could be charming when he wanted to. "Which do you like better? That's the one I'll call you. And yes, I'm Shawn."
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