WHEN: 2044 SEPT 19, afternoon WHERE: Khymeia Academy, Headmistress' office
WHO: Freddy Windgrace and Willow Lockewood
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[12:29] To say that Alfred Windgrace was a well-behaved boy would both be inaccurate and absolutely true. Despite being one of the more senior students at the Academy Freddy had only passable grades in all but his Witchcraft courses, notably lackluster Hermetics marks despite his family history, and a persistent reputation for spending more time indulging and helping fellow students indulge in various substances and sexual pleasures than studying. Many of the parties involved cocktails and edibles and smoke-products that Freddy used his not insignificant skill at Witchcraft to create, leaving the majority of the attendants in one euphoric high or another and very often leaving to the sort of mischief that left parts of the grounds in less than pristine states.
This particular time quite a few attendants had taken the dare to drink something giving them the appearance of Freddy himself before streaking off nude across the campus grounds. They did relatively light damage though someone had deemed it necessary to fit a gaudy bra onto the regal statue near the orangery. Freddy was not surprised when he arrived at Headmistress Lockewood's office; in fact he seemed more than a little pleased. He was dressed in part of Khymeia's formal uniform, black slacks and a white dress shirt tossed on but left rolled and partly unbuttoned for comfort's sake. No touch of his magic but for the glamour that kept some of his family's heritage at bay lingered on the eldest Windgrace child. "Knock knock!" he called out once he reached the door, waiting a beat for a response before trying the knob.
[12:36] Willow Lockewood (willow.hollysharp) was not sitting at her desk. Rather, the last Lockewood at the University that her grandmother had helped found stood there, watching through the windows and absently stroking her fingertips over the leathery body of her feline familiar. "Enter," she said simply, turning her green eyed gaze to the door and the eldest of the Windgrace scions as he opened the unlocked door. Her gaze took him in from the artfully tousled hair to the soles of his shoes before meeting Freddy's gaze directly - a fact that was mirrored by the baleful green gaze of the 'cat' that the headmistress held. "Interesting," was all she said at the timing of his arrival and his carefully cultivated dress. "Come in." It was not a request.
[12:42] Freddy shut the door with a little act of telekinesis before advancing into the office. "And a good afternoon to you too, Headmistress," he replied, voice smooth as the slide of a smile on his face. "I'll have to take that as a compliment. Or is it the tattoos? I can change them if you think they're unprofessional for a formal chastisement but really, it's the modern age. People hardly look any one sort of way anymore." He glanced at the empty desk then at the cat in her arms, curious at what the true sight he inherited from his mother might show him of the familiar. "Is this a sit down or stay standing sort of lecture on behavior?"
[12:48] Willow Lockewood (willow.hollysharp) lifted one shoulder in an artful shrug. "Penitent's choice, I suppose. " Willow said archly, leaving the matter of whether he stayed on his feet or threw himself into the chair. Willow dropped the familiar on the ground where it landed on silent feet. The creature was, to Freddy's true sight, pure magic; a manifestation of Willow's witchcraft in the material world, tied to a little bit of nature spirit and a creature that had once been a true cat though now it was so much more. The bond between witch and familiar was brilliant; a thousand years of tending on the first spell that bound cat to woman. The creature never took its eyes off Freddy as Willow leaned back against her desk. "I could not give less of a fig about your tattooes, Mr. Windgrace. I shall leave the discussions on the wisdom of throat tattooes to your familial relations though, if I recall correctly, at least one of your uncles has equally ill advised tattoo placement." She tipped her head to the side, "Do you have a gambling addiction? Is there one of your dalliances that you are trying to impress without utilizing the family fortune? What, exactly, is the impetus for engaging in commerce of all things?"
[12:57] Freddy hummed and sidestepped to the nearby chair to perch on its arm, lanky legs easily stretching across the ground. A tilt of his head and a little sweep of his eyes landed eventually on Willow's face. "Well if this is penance I might sin a little bit more, which is saying something," he said with a grin. His stare returned to the magical cat quickly enough after that, truly fascinated by it despite his disinterest in the true business of the visit otherwise. "Well anyone with true wisdom ought to know the value of artful expression, body included," he replied. Once she started questioning him he paused, thinking over the inquiries as he kept his stare on - or perhaps past - her chest. "Hm? Oh - I mean who doesn't like taking their chances now and again? And I don't *need* the family fortune for dalliance, Headmistress. I think I prove that often enough." He crossed his arms and shrugged. "It's fun. Is that really not a good enough impetus?"
[13:04] Willow Lockewood (willow.hollysharp) arched one imperious brow. "It's banal, Mr. Windgrace. You could be rather more than a common drug dealer. Mind altering substances exchanged for coin is a felony. The same substance exchanged for personal debts, favors and potential blackmail is less traceable and a much better investment than coin that you have little use for. Truly, I am more aggravated by the fact that we must take time out of our days to discuss antics that are both short sighted and petty in nature and scope. You have genuine talent in witchcraft. It is a shame that you seem to have an underdeveloped imagination for what to do with it." With that stinging diatribe, Willow turned away to walk behind her desk, her gaze down to glance through the stack of papers on the surface of the blotter.
[13:18] "Banal," he repeated. The turn of her lecture put a deep frown on Freddy's face before he could hide it properly behind an easy laugh. "Come on now, what's wrong with banal? You can't really be implying I blackmail and indebt my schoolmates, can you? This isn't hurting anyone." After a moment of consideration he stood from his seat and approached the Headmistress, leaning his elbows on the front of her desk as she rounded behind it. "I have plenty of imagination in the right circumstances. Or have the stories not spread 'round this high up the chain?"
[13:21] Willow Lockewood (willow.hollysharp) glanced up from the disciplinary form to meet Freddy's gaze as he loomed over her desk. One brow arched even higher in silent challenge. Her pen stilled on the paper and her lips quirked in what could only be a smirk, "Tell me then, boy, what stories you think I ought to know. Please, I would love to hear the antics that you think are truly dissolute, creative and debauched," Willow purred, "Please, do tell me something that you feel that you've created that will result in both my shock and awe at your 'bold daring'."
[13:40] There was a flicker of something like hesitation behind those silvery eyes but Windgraces were nothing if not stubborn and resolute. Freddy skimmed over the titles of books on the shelves behind her before straightening up, the spread of his hands an unnecessary but showy gesture as he pulled several from the shelves to turn to specific pages. Pagan rites, nude dances around pyres, tantric experiences - any and all that he could find in the chosen volumes were displayed on the spread-open tomes. Freddy both knew those books well enough to have picked the right ones and remembered which pages bore the scenes he wanted to illustrate.
"I've made them feel, see, *experience* things beyond what they could understand," he said broadly. "And if this weren't a ridiculously warded space, I could show you." Another sweep of his hand and the books shut themselves in a wave. It was afterthought, almost second-nature to him that they put themselves away back in their proper places. "But that'd be real trouble wouldn't it? Would be entirely inappropriate to pull the Headmistress into a sensual, tantric rite."
[13:53] Willow Lockewood (willow.hollysharp) gave Freddy a slow smile. "Sweet boy. Who, exactly, do you think *teaches* tantric sex magic at this school. If you'd spend less time trying to impress the small minded, you could move up in your studies and learn exactly what marks the difference between a master of her craft and a student." She watched the books open and close before returning neatly to the shelves before she ducked her head back down to finish scrawling her note. "You'll be tasked with duties cleaning up the classrooms to make up for the extra hours that staff spent cleaning up after your latest bacchanal. Morax, if you would, please." At the statement, the feline familiar stood up and lazily padded his way over to the mirror on the wall. The creature leapt through the glass portal and returned just as Willow finished her scrawling signature. "Two demerits, one for the sale of 'medicinal items' and yes, that *is* a favor to your mother for the classification instead of the more accurate drug peddling and the second is for damage to the grounds. In addition to your community service, I have an additional educational assignment for you." She waved one hand to where Morax dropped a clear vial, stoppered and sealed with wax. "Identify and recreate this tonic alongside a paper that details its uses in full detail from medicinal, to recreational to toxicities. This will be your only sample and I would be sparing in your testing of it's effects. It won't kill you outright, not with your protections, but it very well could a normal mortal. You won't find the recipe in any of the standard texts. It's a personal recipe. Questions?"
[14:01] Briefly a deep flush rushed over his features before Freddy grinned and held up both his hands. "Well. I guess I'll have to make my way up in courses," he replied, hiding the surprise behind a little laugh. "But yes, alright. I'll take my demerits and community service." He waved a hand, clearly thinking very little of both and having no real complaint about either. Once her familiar delivered the vial he bent to pick it up, pivoting so he could examine the way the light ran through it and how it slid along the glass of the tube. "...tonic you said? And it's medicinal and potentially toxic?" he asked curiously. More actual focus was put to that particular project than he'd devoted to mulling over his other punishments. "I won't find the recipe in standard texts... are the ingredients all things I'd have access to at the Academy or will I need to go elsewhere?" His finger tapped the glass then looked past it at Willow, lips recovering from studious frown into teasing smile. God forbid he give the impression of being an actual scholar. "...you did say personal recipe. Am I going to have to impress upon the Headmistress' good graces to retrieve any ingredients?"
[14:06] Willow Lockewood (willow.hollysharp) tipped her head to the side, her expression easing slightly though it was a very subtle change. Just a relaxation along the corners of her lips and the muscle along her jaw. She did so enjoy being correct about someone and the hint of a scholar was the first true impression that Willow thought Freddy may have given her of his actual nature. Still, she was careful not to look overly invested. If Willow was right, the boy was bored and not challenged enough in his classes and hopefully , this would set him on the path to making something a bit more of his skills. "You are perfectly capable of getting what you need with the resources at your disposal and that is all the hints that I shall give you on what the process may be. You'll have until the next full moon for that little assignment. I will, of course, be letting your mother know by way of post as she is both a friend and valued professor here and I will not have her surprised by learning of your punishments via the gossips. You shall have until the post delivers should you choose to warn her personally. I leave that choice to you."
[14:17] Freddy might have caught that easing in expression but he certainly didn't know what to do with it or what it meant. He turned his attention back to the vial in his hands, studying it and even reaching for the waxed stopped before she brought up his mother. A heavy sigh left him and he pocketed the vial with one hand, retrieving his silenced aetherphone with the other. "I'll have it done - both, that is. Redoing this and letting her know. She'll have a fit otherwise if she isn't already," he answered with a few taps at the screen. His phone was squarely away when he took his leave, polite but huffy and more at the parental bit of the affair than anything else.
[14:18] Willow Lockewood (willow.hollysharp) inclined her head regally. "I look forward to reading your essay and seeing your results. Pray do not disappoint me further, Mr. Windgrace." Willow intoned and if he looked back, it was the demon cat that actually nudged the door shut again for Willow after he'd left.