Correct. The ritual itself is fairly simple, but is important to do precisely. Perhaps after you've studied your basics a little more—maybe even as soon as next month.
If you choose an animal amenable to humans, it should be an easy matter.
[Hubert had a hard time with it, but then, he chose a fucking snake, because he's like that. He waves casually at the fireplace when his familiar had settled into a coil.]
Cats, dogs, some birds are all simple choices. So long as you live here, you will not select a rat.
[And the fire slowly creeps to life, halting at a moderately low burn.]
[From what he said, it sounds like she might even be able to make a bond like that herself, unlike the bonds that seem to mostly be performed at the Coven. It’s not that she feels that she has to hide the shadows — which she hasn’t, since Miss Nessie at least noticed almost immediately — but she prefers not to talk about them much. She tells herself it’s because they might make people from Aefenglom nervous, with the shadowy nature of the Cwyld, but it’s really that she likes it when the shadows are hers alone.
Even if she ends up needing Hubert’s help to make sure she gets it right, that would be fine. Even if she hasn’t bothered to mention them, it feels like her housemates would have more of a right to know about them.]
I wasn’t planning to select a rat. But why did —
[As Leslie stops in mid-sentence, there’s a soft thump from the book in her lap falling to the floor. Leslie herself shoots backwards in the chair from her initial position at the front of the chair to now being pressed up against its back with her legs curled in as closely as possible. Since the fire grew slowly and hasn’t reached a particularly large blaze, Leslie is able to keep herself from going over the arm rest and booking it out of the room, but she can’t stop her subconscious movement to put as much distance between herself and the fire possible.
It’s just a little fire. It’s barely more than a candle, and she can usually pretend to be okay around a single candle. Don’t make a fuss and don’t bother Marquis Vestra over something as small as this, she tries to tell herself, but at the moment, she can only manage staring at the fire from her huddled position, her expression not hiding her fear well enough for someone like Hubert.]
[Her halted words are and the thump of the book are hardly subtle. The cobra reacts first to the sudden movement, its head rising to attention and hood flaring out Hubert rises to his feet, turning around.]
Is something the matter?
[The fire is so small, so mundane it doesn't pass through his mind at first.]
[Frankly, a venomous snake worries Leslie less than the little fire. But since it is a small fire, she is able to make herself break line of sight with the fire in order to looking Hubert in the face.]
I wasn't expecting the fire to suddenly -- happen. It startled me. That's all.
[But the moment she finishes saying that, her eyes are darting back and forth around the room, wanting to reassure herself that there is an unblocked exit to the room.]
But I should, um. I have something to do, so I. I should get going.
[Her lying here is perhaps a little worse than when she called him Uncle Hubert.]
[Not only worse—she was trying to use his own "get out of jail free" card against him. Hubert could spot that maneuver a mile away.]
[His brow furrows, eyes flickering as they follow her conspicuous glances about. He's seen this behavior before. Too many times, unfortunately.]
[A curt little motion of his hand cuts the burgeoning fire off. His familiar notices the lack of heat immediately, and lifts itself up to his coat sleeve, burrowing inside and curling around his forearm. It's a poor fit, though; the last third of the cobra's tail hangs out. Stupid cold winter.]
[If there was any doubt left in his mind about what was going on, it would likely be extinguished alongside the fire. The tension in her body doesn't leave her entirely, but the tension left is much less obvious and she's stopped looking around for an exit.]
[With the fire (and, to some extent, the snake) in front of her, she might have climbed over an arm of the chair to escape, but with both out of commission, she scoots forward to get down off the chair normally and pick up the dropped book. Hugging the book, she turns to Hubert.]
Thank you. [There's a little more emotion put into that thanks than would normally be the case for just him not holding her up.] Then...excuse me.
[She doesn't run from the room, but she's walking a little faster.]
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no subject
Date: 2020-02-19 02:12 am (UTC)If you choose an animal amenable to humans, it should be an easy matter.
[Hubert had a hard time with it, but then, he chose a fucking snake, because he's like that. He waves casually at the fireplace when his familiar had settled into a coil.]
Cats, dogs, some birds are all simple choices. So long as you live here, you will not select a rat.
[And the fire slowly creeps to life, halting at a moderately low burn.]
no subject
Date: 2020-02-19 04:30 am (UTC)Even if she ends up needing Hubert’s help to make sure she gets it right, that would be fine. Even if she hasn’t bothered to mention them, it feels like her housemates would have more of a right to know about them.]
I wasn’t planning to select a rat. But why did —
[As Leslie stops in mid-sentence, there’s a soft thump from the book in her lap falling to the floor. Leslie herself shoots backwards in the chair from her initial position at the front of the chair to now being pressed up against its back with her legs curled in as closely as possible. Since the fire grew slowly and hasn’t reached a particularly large blaze, Leslie is able to keep herself from going over the arm rest and booking it out of the room, but she can’t stop her subconscious movement to put as much distance between herself and the fire possible.
It’s just a little fire. It’s barely more than a candle, and she can usually pretend to be okay around a single candle. Don’t make a fuss and don’t bother Marquis Vestra over something as small as this, she tries to tell herself, but at the moment, she can only manage staring at the fire from her huddled position, her expression not hiding her fear well enough for someone like Hubert.]
no subject
Date: 2020-02-23 02:04 am (UTC)Is something the matter?
[The fire is so small, so mundane it doesn't pass through his mind at first.]
no subject
Date: 2020-02-24 02:16 am (UTC)I wasn't expecting the fire to suddenly -- happen. It startled me. That's all.
[But the moment she finishes saying that, her eyes are darting back and forth around the room, wanting to reassure herself that there is an unblocked exit to the room.]
But I should, um. I have something to do, so I. I should get going.
[Her lying here is perhaps a little worse than when she called him Uncle Hubert.]
no subject
Date: 2020-02-27 03:50 am (UTC)[His brow furrows, eyes flickering as they follow her conspicuous glances about. He's seen this behavior before. Too many times, unfortunately.]
[A curt little motion of his hand cuts the burgeoning fire off. His familiar notices the lack of heat immediately, and lifts itself up to his coat sleeve, burrowing inside and curling around his forearm. It's a poor fit, though; the last third of the cobra's tail hangs out. Stupid cold winter.]
I see. If that is the case, I will not hold you.
no subject
Date: 2020-02-28 12:53 am (UTC)[With the fire (and, to some extent, the snake) in front of her, she might have climbed over an arm of the chair to escape, but with both out of commission, she scoots forward to get down off the chair normally and pick up the dropped book. Hugging the book, she turns to Hubert.]
Thank you. [There's a little more emotion put into that thanks than would normally be the case for just him not holding her up.] Then...excuse me.
[She doesn't run from the room, but she's walking a little faster.]