Fifth Floor Common Room | Late Morning | Friday | January 8

[therewaslife]

There wasn't a lot to do today. That fact didn't particularly bother Bod, though. He'd learned to find entertainment in the smallest things so making his way down to the common room seemed like a logical place to start.

Of course, once there, a few options were presented. He could find something on television to watch. He could spend a few minutes flipping through the channels to find something good to watch and the probably settle on something boring (he'd spent time in hotels, he knew how television worked) or he could try and make himself something to eat.

Now, that option made him hesitate. While he'd been in the graveyard, Silas or Miss Lupescu had done the majority of the food getting. Since leaving, he'd mostly stuck with fast food and prepared meals. This would almost be cooking.

Okay, no it wouldn't. There was cereal (something called Captain Crunch to be exact) and Bod figured he could manage a bowl, milk, pouring and a spoon. Still, it was more than he tended to do. With that done, he was free to find something boring on television.

[common rooms are open places!]

Comments

[therewaslife]

"I...hadn't ever thought of it that way," admitted Bod, giving the television another long glance. The animation behind cartoons hadn't ever been something he'd thought seriously about but now that it'd been pointed out, he could see it.

"And it would seem to be a lot more difficult than regular television even if most of the cartoons I've seen are intended for children," he finally said, nodding. "A long process, perhaps. You don't need regular actors but you need drawings plus people to create the voices."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"Where I come from, we don't have television or cartoons," Seregil said. "The closest we could come would involve real magic. Although it would probably be possible to create some rudimentary animation if one wanted to badly enough." He smiled. "I'm Seregil, by the way."

[therewaslife]

"I'm Nobody," he said before tacking on, "Bod, for short. It's what I go by. It's nice to meet you. Real magic? I've heard that exists pretty prevalently here."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"It does," Seregil confirmed. "As it does back home. One of my best friends is among the greatest wizards alive."

[therewaslife]

Bod's eyebrows went up with some interest. Magic in the graveyard came in the form of Haunting and Fading and things like that. The type of magic that seemed to be here was diverse and complex.

"Do you not do magic yourself?" he wondered curiously.

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"Not well," Seregil said wryly. "Magic doesn't work reliably around me."

[therewaslife]

His way of stating that seemed odd so Bod's curiosity remained high. "It doesn't work reliably around you? I thought magic would work fine if you knew how to wield it."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"It should," Seregil agreed. "But for some reason it doesn't for me. If I try to cast a spell, it rarely works the way it should. And spells cast on me... well you know how some people can't eat certain foods because it makes them ill? Spells are often like that with me."

[therewaslife]

"That sounds..." Bod trailed off. Honestly, he had nothing to compare it to so he didn't think he had much right to say it sounded anything. "And you haven't figured out why? Just one of those unanswered mysteries so far?"

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

Seregil nodded. "That about sums it up. Not that I wouldn't love to know why. If I did, I might be able to fix it and then I wouldn't have to make sure I had a basin handy whenever I used a portal or am shapechanged."

[therewaslife]

"I know what that sounds like now. It sounds difficult and confusing." Of course it did. To have something affect you without any rhyme or reason would be difficult for anyone. "I wish I had help to offer but I'm new to the different kinds of magic here. The magic I know of isn't as complex."

[Not a problem!]

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"It's okay," Seregil said with a quick, bright smile. "I think this is just Aura's way of telling me my path is not that of a wizard." He paused. "What kind of magic is it that you know?"

[therewaslife]

"Simple magic, mostly," answered Bod, wondering how to classify what he'd once known how to do. "Once, I knew how to appear invisible to the human eye. I would haunt people and dreamwalk. I've lost the ability to do it but I still remember how to do it."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"I'm not sure I'd call that simple magic," Seregil said. "But it is certainly interesting talents to hold."

[therewaslife]

"They were useful," he agreed. They'd been useful and necessary considering the place he'd grown up. Bod didn't want to think about how out of place and obvious he'd have been without them. "I only wish I could still do them but they were connected to my home and since I've left, they left too."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"It's location specific then?" Seregil asked. "When you go back, are you able to do it again?"

[therewaslife]

"Probably not," he said ruefully. "It was connected to me having Freedom of the Graveyard. That's where I grew up." He threw that in easily, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"When I lost that freedom because I had to leave, I lost the ability to Fade and Haunt and Dreamwalk."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

Seregil latched onto something other than the living in a graveyard part. "You were forced to leave?" he asked softly.

[therewaslife]

"In a way but it wasn't a bad thing. Necessary yes but not bad," he said quickly, hoping to sound reassuring. Bod really needed to work on his phrasing sometime.

"It was safe for me to leave finally and the ghosts there, they all had lived their lives. I have to live mine before I return. I make it sound worse than it is but it's all right. I won't forget and neither will they."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

Seregil only wished he could say the same for his own exile. "That's good." He turned over what Bod had said for a moment then frowned. "Wait, you mean literal ghosts?"

[therewaslife]

"Literal ghosts, yes," he said, sliding a hand through his hair and letting it flop back against his forehead. "They were buried in the graveyard so it was their home. And mine too."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"I've heard tales of many ghosts -- they're a staple of many songs and stories -- but that's a new one," Seregil said. He smiled at Bod. "You have had an interesting upbringing."

[therewaslife]

"So I'm gathering," he said, letting a small smile escape. "I didn't think anyone else would have a story similar to mine but the reactions I'm getting are pretty varied. Most people are surprised then curious so it's not too bad. Ghosts are an interesting people to grow up around."

[therhimineecat.livejournal.com]

"I can imagine. If anyone would have great stories to tell..."

[therewaslife]

"For the most part, I imagine it was the same as being raised by regular parents," Bod shared, trying not to sound too much like he agreed. "There were different parts but I was still their son. They were just...dead."