Central Park
High standing stone walls surround the massive park, broken only for the gates that are situated every several blocks. While the hours to access them are highly restricted, four asphalt roads do cut across the area from east to west.
The remnants of the dense forestry are located in this area as paths lead from the woods to the more entertaining features of the park. Tall statues of famous novel characters are placed just beyond the trees and are surrounded by tiny arch fences.
Separating the trees from the busier points of the park is the lake. Designed for fun during the summer months, a rental hut is attached to a dock. Paddle boats and kayaks are available here, but are stored during the winter.
By far the largest building in the park is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Over one hundred years old, the enormous building houses over four hundred thousand items and is the third largest museum in the world. In comparison to the rest of the park, security is massively heightened here, and for good reason.
Characters
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| Siobhan Knight | Chance Harper |
NOTE: This log was transcribed and fleshed out from an IM chat log. It's entirely in Siobhan's POV because of the transcription.
Once they’ve finished their food, and had a surprisingly light and interesting conversation that had nothing to do with magic, Chance leads the way off the path and into the more thickly wooded area of Central park and into the area called The Ramble. The Gill is there, a man-made stream. It’s still dark this time of morning, and the sorcerer casts a light spell, really a bright blue-white globe that hovers on the ‘path’ before them as they move along.
The witch blinks as they walk along, realizing that despite protests to the contrary, she trusts the young man walking with her. It’s never occurred to her think that she might come to harm or that Chance’s intentions are anything less than she thought they were.
Hunh. How about that.
Chance drops the backpack that Siobhan hadn’t realized he was carrying and bends down to untie and slip off his shoes. “Take off your shoes, Piper. We’re going to have to get our feet wet.”
She feels her mouth open as her jaw drops a bit. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. We’re going to have to get in the water.” Chance gives her a crooked grin. “You’re not afraid of getting a little wet are you?”
“You didn’t say anything about getting naked.”
The sorcerer blinks at her for a few moments. Then he laughs. “I said ‘take your shoes off,’ not ‘take your clothes off.’ “ Beat. “If I wanted to get you naked, I’ve got lots more creative ways than this.”
“In your dreams.”
The entire time they’ve been talking, Chance hasn’t stopped removing his shoes and socks. He rolls up his pants legs and wades into The Gill until it’s about ankle deep. He explains as he goes, “I noticed at the picnic that you touched the ground a lot at first. You took off your shoes and put your feet toward the grass when you could. Even when we were eating, you kept touching the ground and the tree and probably didn’t even realize it.”
A pretty little wrinkle creases between Siobhan’s eyebrows, above her nose. “Now you’re being creepy.”
“I’m going to be a lawyer. I’m observant.” He waves to her feet and wades out of the water to the backpack. “It’s cool, but not cold. You need to get closer to the earth and water because they ground you, Siobhan. Then you can focus on the other magic that you don’t have as much control over.”
With a very much put upon sigh, Siobhan removes her shoes and socks. She wiggles her pretty polished toes in the earth and dirt, and closes her eyes, just enjoying the feeling of the earth beneath her feet. It’s soothing and calming, peaceful.
“That’s what I’m talking about, Piper.”
Eyes snapping open, Siobhan whips her head around to see Chance watching her with a bemused grin on his face. She can feel her face warming and shifts from foot to foot uncomfortably. The witch feels oddly exposed under his scrutinous blue gaze and she snaps off, “Don’t look at me like that.”
Chance holds up his hands as if warding off blows. “Whoa! I didn’t mean anything by it. Just that you were comfortable. You were grounding yourself. It’s exactly what you need to be doing.” He wades back into the stream, several white Styrofoam cups in his hand. Filling them with water, he glances back at Siobhan. “Come on out here when you’re ready.”
It’s curiosity more than anything that brings Siobhan out to the water. “What are the cups for?”
“You’ll see.” Chance crooks a finger and beckons her closer. “I really don’t want to shout at you.”
“This is weird.”
“Piper. Trust me, please? I wouldn’t do this for just anyone.” Beat. “Just witches that I swoop in and help out in the Undercity.”
Siobhan’s not any more impressed by whatever this exercise is, but she does drift closer. As she does, Chance shifts around so that he’s standing directly in front of her. He holds out his hands, palms up. “Give me your hands. Touching is kind of a requirement. I promise not to get fresh.”
It’s not like she’s afraid to touch him. The witch is more curious and confused by what he’s up to and how any of it is supposed to help her. “I know you won’t. I’ll set your balls on fire.”
“Ouch,” Chance winces and pulls a face. “Remind me to never piss you off.”
Smirking, Siobhan slides her hands over his, palm to palm. She startles and blinks at him, that familiar sensing of power wafting over her at the touch. She remembers it from the roller disco day out. It’s different from a witch’s power and she’s trying to gauge his strength. A little stronger than her father, maybe.
Chance quirks a smile at her. “I think you’re a lot stronger than you think you are.” Before she can even formulate a response, he squeezes her hands. “Close your eyes. Ground yourself here in the water.”
Something about his tone of voice has Siobhan responding before she thinks about it. A hint of his typical flirtatious playfulness lurks in the tone, but it’s also strong and commanding. He sounds more like an instructor than a young man attempting to score points and the attention of a pretty girl. Closing her eyes, Siobhan relaxes. The water laps at her feet, pooling around her ankles gently. She likens it to an affectionate animal, brushing up against her for attention and taking away the stress. It feels good. It feels right.
The sorcerer’s presence is there in the back of her mind. He’s speaking, his words a low murmuring that her brain hears and processes but to which the witch isn’t really listening. The water connects her to the earth, and connected to both of them she feels calm and clear. Her magic is like a spark inside of her, growing brighter and filling her up, spreading out through her body to enlighten her.
Then the spark flares and there’s a tug. A surge of white hot heat, angry and unruly, baring fangs and snapping at her when she tries to hold onto it.
She’s not realized that she’s backed away from Chance, eyes wide until she’s splashed a few paces backward and there’s a loud crack from a tree next to the bank.
“Siobhan, stop.” Chance is in front of her again, one hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. “That’s … your sorcerer magic.”
“You felt it?” The surprise fades a bit. Siobhan is used to the wild magical outbursts. It’s just that they’ve never felt like that before.
“Sort of. A little.” Chance sighs, and combs his free hand through his hair. “We were connected there for a little while. It’s something my dad used to do with me when I was younger, to help guide me. I wanted to see what you felt. I needed to so that I could help you.”
The young witch starts to frown and then exhales a sigh. There was a reason that his words and actions were familiar to her. She’s heard and felt it all before, for the very same reason. Still, she’s stubborn. Siobhan tightens her jaw and lifts her chin. “I’ve never felt that before. Sure it wasn’t you?”
“Have you ever paid attention before?” Chance asks. For once, he’s not being cocky, just curious. Earnest, open blue eyes watch her and for the first time, Siobhan can truly see what Jenna sees in trusting the sorcerer. The witch doesn’t have empathy, but there’s something about the sorcerer right now that screams his trust worthiness. “Or does it just happen? The randomness? Lights blinking, things exploding?”
She’s stubborn to a fault. He may have a point and he may be right, but Siobhan isn’t confessing. She bites her lip and gazes toward the tree with the broken branch.
The sorcerer takes the silence as agreement. “If you’re going to learn to control it and handle it the same way you do your witch magic, then you have to recognize it before it gets away from you.” Squeezing her shoulder again, Chance slides his hand down her arm to take her hand. The gesture is friendly, supportive and he’s leading her back to where they were, a few paces away from the styrofoam cups. Siobhan’s feet lead her back, splashing through the cool and soothing water even as she inwardly sulks.
She doesn’t like that Chance knows more about what’s going on with her magic than she does.
Even if it makes sense because he is a sorcerer.
“You did good.” Chance gives her an approving smile, like he’s truly a teacher and she’s a model student. “You grounded yourself, you just got startled by the other magic. Now that you know it’s there, you shouldn’t be as easily surprised.”
He places her in front of the cups and stands beside her. “You need to take control of it. It fights you because you are treating it like a passive force. If anything, it’s passive aggressive.” Reaching out, he takes her hand again, explaining, “Grounding.”
Beat.
“When you feel it this time, grab it and focus on it. Push it out and direct it some place else - “
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” Siobhan interrupts. “I’m always pushing it out somewhere else.” She gives her head a jerk towards the tree.
“No, you’re letting it escape and find its own outlet. There’s a difference, Shiv.”
Tilting her head, she looks over at him. He’s never called her by her nickname before. Then again, she’s never really let her guard down long enough to give him the option. She decides it’s better than Piper, and says nothing, facing down the cups again. “And the cups are for the next magic trick?”
“For focus,” Chance laughs. “It’s a training exercise for you, Piper.” Okay, so maybe he hasn’t moved away from that nickname yet. “It’s about control. You focus it into the water in the cups. It should actually work a lot better for you than it does your average sorcerer because the water is one of your naturals. If it feels hot, like fire or even wild like air, just push it toward the cups. It’s okay to boil the water or create a mini tornado. It’ll help you learn.”
Siobhan can’t help it. She grins and giggles. “A mini-tornado sounds cool.”
“Only until you do it in the bathtub,” Chance mutters.
The witch is grinning openly at him now. “I smell a story.”
Rolling his eyes, and unless Siobhan misses her guess, he’s also blushing a little, the sorcerer drops her hand and circles around behind her. Hands on her shoulders, he points her bodily toward the cups. “Focus, Siobhan. If you do good, I owe you a story.”
The witch tilts her head back to smile cheekily at him. “Deal.”
The grounding part is easy. There are a few more starts and stops with the sorcerer magic taking her by surprise. Another tree suffers a broken limb, and there’s a moment of panic when it looks as though a small bush might be turning into burning kindling. Then she gets it.
When that white-red heat comes up snarling, Siobhan directs it. Right at one of the cups that shimmies, bubbles over and steams, and then melts a bit as the water gushes out like the cup is a steam engine spout. It doesn’t stop there, the bubbling continues, the water around their feet getting warmer and then gushing up like a geyser nearly right beneath them.
It sends them both tumbling backwards, and landing on their backsides in the stream, as the geyser turns into a miniaturized tropical storm and heads away from them before dissipating a few feet away.
“Maybe cups were the -”
Siobhan cuts off Chance’s words with a squeal. She meant to do that. Her arms are around him and she’s hugging him tightly without even thinking about it. The momentum and unexpected force of her enthusiasm sends them both toppling over again, landing in the stream with a loud splash of water that drenches them both. The witch is delighted and overflowing with giddiness.
“I did that!”
“Yeah you did - “
“Intentionally. I did that. I felt it. I controlled it. I. Did. That.”
Chance blinks and his eyes slowly clear as it registers what’s gotten her so excited. He smiles back at her, clearly catching her infectious and proud enthusiasm. “Aren’t you glad you trusted me?”
Siobhan rolls her eyes and attempts to look put out about the whole thing but fails miserably. For the first time, she feels like she has an understanding of her magic, and a margin of control, or at least the option to control it. She laughs again, bobbing her head enthusiastically as she stares down at the sorcerer. “Yes. Thank you. Really, Chance. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” The sorcerer draws a breath and lifts a brow. He swallows, “I don’t normally object to beautiful women throwing themselves at me but …”
It takes all of three seconds for Siobhan to fully recognize the placement of their bodies. She’s so caught up in the excitement of the moment of discovery that she only just now realizes the intimacy of their position. Eyes going comically wide, Siobhan scrambles to remove herself from Chance, neck and cheeks warming to a deep dark pink that her olive complexion won’t hide.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush like that before,” Chance observes with a wry grin.
“Shut up.” Siobhan splashes water at him.
Chance returns the favor, and his splashes are a good deal larger. Though she squeaks a protest and tries to scramble away, it’s mostly for show because they’re both already soaked. The battle rages for a bit and then Siobhan tries her hand with the channeling of her energy toward the water again, until Chance calls and end to it, reminding her that she doesn’t want to wear herself out. It’s not the same as casting perse, but it’s still her magical energy.
The sun is beginning to come up and the soft rays filter through the trees as they both sit on the bank with their feet in the water. Siobhan isn’t thinking for the moment about how she’s going to get home with soaking wet clothes, or what she’s going to tell her parents about slipping out in the early hours to meet a boy in the park. Sure, it was Chance and it was for a good cause.
“Will you teach me?” The witch tilts her head back, eyes closed, trying to catch the few rays of morning sun.
“If you’ll teach me.”
She opens her eyes, lowers her gaze to meet his. “Teach you?”
“I may not have the innate ability for it, but sorcerers can cast witch magic.”
“Oh.” Siobhan shrugs and nods. “Fair enough. You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.” It’s topped with a wink and a saucy grin.
“You first, Piper.” Beat. “Mine’s bigger.”
He’s still grumbling about her retaliatory ‘tidal wave’ as they leave the Park to start their day.
