Conversation Space IV.

[powersthatbe]

The small room is painted a dark beige, with stained wood paneling on the lower half, and lush burgundy carpeting. The ceiling, however, is cracked and bowed, sagging alarmingly, occasionally shedding chips of plaster. Wrought-iron lamp-posts in the corners suspend pale, wan globes of light, and between them along the walls run rows of painted sunflowers, all turned towards the center of the room as if listening attentively. A jutting spire of granite rises from the floor on a diagonal, its flattened top sporting a cracked wineglass from which the wine (a white) slowly spatters teardrops across the plinth. And there is no chair, but a therapist’s couch, blue with gold trim, and ornate scrollwork on the legs, beside which the fluted horn of a phonograph player pipes music into the room, quiet enough to just be background ambience.

Comments

[volving]

Usually, Cass is not alone when she is in a new liminal space. But people had been talking about ending up in a room alone and talking to one of the Arcana, so she assumed that's what this would be.

She looks around for a moment, taking it in, then perches herself on the headrest of the therapist's couch, waiting.

[callmemeibe]

Cass looks away for only a second. Perhaps it was a blink, perhaps another look around the room. But when she looks back, a dark-skinned figure with brilliant white robes and angel wings sits at the foot of the therapist's couch. They do not move, except to shift their ram's horn trumpet in their hands. "Greetings."

[volving]

Cass doesn't jump, though her body tenses visibly. Okay. Strange person. Not aggressive. Not a threat.

She doesn't relax, precisely, but she goes from "on the verge of jumping up and kicking ass" to "vaguely unsettled and on alert, but not anticipating needing to move in the next few milliseconds".

"...Hello," she says, cautiously. "Who are you?"

[callmemeibe]

""I am called Penuel," they answer simply. ""I am your patron Arcanum."

[volving]

Cass squints slightly, thinking. Arcanum sounds like Arcana, so maybe it's related?

...She's not really sure about Patron, tho. Maybe it has something to do with that spell from those books about the magic school Steph likes? Arcanum, Patronum... not that she knows what any of this actually means, even if it is related.

"I don't know what... those words mean," she says finally.

[callmemeibe]

Penuel motions to Cass' Mark. "This marks you as mine. The other Arcana cannot have you."

[volving]

"Oh."

Cass pauses, thinking of the large, intricate piece on her back.

"Do you pick... what they look like?"

[callmemeibe]

"It is partly random, per Fortuna's design, and partly based on your attributes."