There Are Many Ways In Which This "deal" Could Go Awry For Maxwell; Off The Top Of His Head, He Thinks

Maxwell has sympathy for the jittery machine; it's hard not to, when he's seen his own prized creations in various states of functionality much like this, busted up and broken down by overzealous survivors.

But.

"I would sooner take fashion advice from a well-dressed baboon than I would from someone sporting an outfit like yours, you clown. Try that again, and this time, don't presume to give me advice."

@codexvmbra

"Who're you goin'— going out to see, huh? Must be somebody real—ly special! Ha— ha!"

"It's alright. You don't have to tell me. But... I'd be willin' to give ya some f— f— fashion advice, if you'd lend me your ear."

"Not unless they've earned them, which no one else has. Statues without status is just tacky. But mine... mine set the stage. When you see Maxwell, you see magic."

He laughs the sort of laugh one might use when a toddler is too young to realize they've done something foolish; it's not a cruel laugh, but it's clear that the Afterborn is being dismissed as a silly, naive little thing.

"I'd say so. I'm only the reason you exist, pal." Another touch-- this time a poke at the young man's chest.

"And I know exactly who you are."

CHRIST ALIVE.

He wasn't jumpscared, no sir. Honest.

❝ First of all, don't do that . . . uh, please. ❞ He's quick to add, hearing his mother's voice. ❝ Second . . . 'excited' ? Why's that ? Is it normal for magi-ci-ans to have statues of themselves ? ❞ No snark, it's an honest question ! Maybe it is, he doesn't know how all of this works.

William does, however, know better than to tell a stranger which settlement he's from. ❝ South of here. You wouldn't know it . . . ❞

William's lip twists as they fold their arms. ❝ As for history, I felt like I knew my stuff pretty well 'til you said that . . . why ? Should I know who you are ? ❞

Maxwell grits his teeth against the kind, considerate mockery of his own habitual greeting to his former pawns. Eugh. He doesn't need pity! ...except that's exactly what he needs, and the very reason he waved this man over in the first place. Right. His pride can wait.

"Do you see any horses around here?" he snaps. It comes out sounding somewhat flat and breathless from exhaustion, and he gives a halfhearted apology immediately afterwards. He has got to learn to bite his tongue around people who can literally choose whether he lives or dies.

"I have no mount. What-- what can I offer you for the use of yours?" Max pauses, then admits, weakly: "I don't think I'll be able to make the journey on foot. I can barely... stand."

Balduran had decided to take a small break from his exploration of the Mistwood- the Castle of the Forest King had proven itself much more difficult to find- and he wasn't too keen on being stranded in the forests during the night. To remedy this, he'd simply pushed forward- right into the Land of Burnt Umber. He'd quickly become friendly with the locals- a perk of that natural charm of his- and they'd told him of the Bones of the Forgotten. As any good adventurer would, Balduran made sure to prepare for a long day in the desert heat. He was lucky enough to have found a few desert carrots. He was told the creature he rode was called Jewel of the Desert. Luckily it seemed to be just like riding a horse.

Balduran let his steed drink at a strange oasis when they both became wary from the heat. He found that he could not bottle any of it. At least, there was a place to come back to if he needed to rest.

When he set out again, it wasn't long before he spotted someone who looked about ready to pass out. A man in a suit- ❝ Hey- ❞

❝ You look like you've seen better days- There's an oasis not far from here- at least not if you're riding on horseback- ❞

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘: 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐑 & 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐌 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐃𝐄.

bold — applies.

italics — sometimes applies.

blank — never applies.

EYES. avoids eye contact when nervous, maintains eye contact when nervous. | avoids eye contact due to being neurodivergent, enjoys eye contact as a means to read and convey emotion. | looks down when emotional, looks up when emotional. | cries openly, wipes tears quickly, suppresses tears. | wandering gaze when lost in thought, holds gaze while thinking. | seeks out eye contact for reassurance, seeks out eye contact to gauge enthusiasm during conversations, eyes move constantly during conversation. | expressive eyes, emotions only evident through eyes, uses eye contact to intimidate. | looks up while thinking, looks down while thinking.

HANDS. clasps behind back, rests in lap, fidgets with clothes. | twiddles thumbs, chews at nails/skin, pushes back cuticles, draws patterns on table/counter surfaces. | animated gestures while speaking, only gestures to emphasize, utilizes sign language, speaks only through sign. | callouses, scars, smooth, wrinkled, worn, soft, delicate, boney, slender, thick, veiny. | touches others while speaking, reaches out while laughing, reaches out to comfort others, reaches out to seek comfort. | places face in hands when exasperated, places face in hands when exhausted, places palms over eyes to hide when overwhelmed, rests chin in hands. | taps fingers when impatient, taps fingers when nervous, taps fingers while thinking. | scratches scalp, strokes chin, rubs back of head, toys with objects around them, runs fingers over surfaces while walking by.

MOUTH. chews lip, chews at inside of cheek, licks lips, bites tongue, chews on straws. | resting frown, resting smile, neutral resting expression, resting pout. | grinds teeth, flexes jaw. | covers mouth when laughing, covers mouth when shocked, covers mouth when concerned, hands to lips while thinking, covers mouth when chewing, chews with mouth closed, chews with mouth open. | smirks, grins, subtle smiles, wide smiles, sad smiles, intimidating smiles, menacing grins. | openly smiles, tries to suppress smiles, bares teeth when angry, lips quiver when emotional. | stutters, speaks quickly, speaks slowly, good pronunciation, poor pronunciation, moderate pronunciation. | purses lips, sucks in lips, holds mouth open when shocked or confused.

LEGS. bounces leg when nervous. | draws knees to chest when sitting, draws knees to chest as a means of comfort, sits on knees, sits with legs crisscrossed, sits with legs spread open in chairs, crosses legs when sitting in chairs, sits with one leg folded under the other. | places feet on furniture, never places feet on furniture, sits on counters, sits on desks, sits on tables, sits on edge of seat, sits hunched over with forearms on knees, arches one knee up, sits on the arm of chairs/couches, feet on dashboard, swings legs back and forth when sitting somewhere elevated. | wiggles toes when nervous, wiggles toes as a general tick. | shuffles feet, kicks foot into ground, stomps feet. | loud footsteps, quiet footsteps, silent footsteps.

HAIR. runs fingers through hair, tugs at hair, picks at scalp, chews on hair, twists locks of hair while thinking or nervous, smooths out locks of hair while thinking or nervous. | prefers hair out of face, prefers long hair, prefers short hair. | wears hair back, keeps hair down, smooths back hair. | plays with other’s hair while talking, plays with own hair while talking, strokes hair to comfort others, likes having hair stroked for their own comfort, braids others’ hair while talking, braids own hair while talking. | flips hair out of face, pushes hair out of face, leaves hair alone even when falling into face.

tagged by: ---

tagging: @circvtry / @feralreason / @testingrealm !

Maxwell's lip remains curled in a snarl. There is... a point to be made, yes, that the Librarian's words were nothing more than an empty threat. At the same time, it's a matter of respect. And lack thereof.

"Oh, please. As I said before, I always hold up my end of a deal. Just because you'd resort to violence doesn't mean I'd do the same."

Is Maxwell really trying to claim the moral high ground after everything he's done?

"If it's such a non-issue, then just apologize and let us get on with things. Unless your pride is more important to you than your pursuit of knowledge, Mr. Librarian."

The Librarian chuckled, a deep noise.

"Between us...if I have assessed you correctly...an empty threat as it was, for I did admit that I did not have my blade on me...should be nothing more than a trifle, yes?"

"Or are you such a stickler for this polite, respectable folly that you won't admit that, if within your power, you'd attack and peel the knowledge from my bones?"

Eugh. Maxwell doesn't bother to hide that he's rolling his eyes.

"Yes, memorized, go on." He's watching the other performer's hands, of course, and doesn't miss when the card goes up into his sleeve. Classic, predictable, boring. And here comes the "oh no, I'm totally, honestly, really messing up!" bit. A typical diversion with a bit of showmanship to sell it all.

"Get on with it." The card's in one of the man's pockets or in his other hand or somewhere equally--

Something slips from Max's shoulder and he catches it, staring at the three of clubs.

"This would be impressive, if you hadn't used real magic to do it."

The entire point of this exercise is to practice stage magic, not spells! Is he just trying to rub it in that Maxwell's own magic is on freeze right now?

The magician pouts like a petulant child and looks down his nose at Nikolai.

"All you've done is proven you need to rely on your extra abilities to perform the simplest of acts. I bet you couldn't entertain a theater full of children without resorting to these parlor tricks!"

A LAUGH spills out of him at the defensiveness. he understands, though ! the pain of seeing a trick go awry. even the most seasoned magicians slip up from time to time, right?

nikolai himself works very hard to keep his skills sharp ( a mistake in his line of work can cost him his very life, after all ) and so he takes the deck and shuffles it. he's smiling, delighted, he loves meeting someone who understands magic and showmanship !

"i am indeed perfect," he agrees, that easy smile on his face. "thank you for noticing."

with a flourish, he draws a card—the three of clubs, but he's not really looking—and holds it up. "memorize this one. now..."

he shuffles the deck again, sliding it into his sleeve and activating his ability, making the card appear out of thin air above maxwell's head, falling onto his shoulder. how long will it take the man to notice?

"drat, where did it go!" he asks, feigning ignorance and patting his pockets as if searching for it.

;;

let's get this show on the road with an isola plotting / starter call!

"You don't think I could handle my own against Fae royalty?" He's joking, of course; whatever powers ruled over her version of Britain were undoubtedly on par with Them in terms of their command of magic-- and underlings. Maxwell would have been swallowed up and spit out and turned to dust in no time at all, he's sure.

"You assume correctly. I didn't even encounter true magic until I left the area entirely. My world was woefully devoid of the stuff. ...legends of your kind notwithstanding."

"Did you know any humans at all before your arrival here?"

@codexvmbra

● "Hmm... I suppose the legend behind the Baobhan sith comes from Scottish folklore, but I am a fairy that was born and raised in Britain." She'd been surprised to meet a human that heard her name and immediately drew the correlation between it and those legends. Was he perhaps from that part of the world?

"It wasn't really the Britain you seem to know, though. Unless your Britain was ruled by fairies? But I seriously doubt you'd be alive if that were the case, human."

“of course, take your time…”