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[ Just because Kallie hasn't been running around risking her skin against goddamn werewolves and other such stupidly dangerous things, that doesn't mean she hasn't been around- probably to the chagrin of those she happens to reply to on this silly network, actually...

Still, finals time aside, she's been thinking a lot, mentally turning over again and again all the nonsense crammed in her head by her various Echoes, the powers she's gained in between. Eventually, she has to say something else to start with, this time with a noticeably different tone to it than before... if as to the point as ever. ]

So, it's been a month now since this network showed up. I've been wondering: has anyone deliberately tried to induce a pulse/hollow heartbeat/whatever you want to call them? I'm not talking about touching the statues.

I'm interested in learning to fight. As far as I can tell, that seems to be important towards whatever reason this is happening to us.

Also, this is a long shot, but: Is there anyone here who is good at identifying weapons? In addition, is there any way to determine exactly what a feather came from?

[ ... It took her a long time to come around to asking (read: get to the point where she's willing to imply something so specific about her own issues), and yes, there is a reason why she didn't specify the kind of weapon and doesn't ask about birds when talking about feathers. Fun stuff. ]

Separately, private to Elizabeth Bishop:
I have a question for you.

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[ ...well, this is a surprise. It's been a while since she'd dared to show her face again on the network. Not that Casval is any way intimidated, or hesitant to talk to her, after their last spat. Perish the thought. He's just biting at the chance.

Still, despite the prevailing unfriendliness of their interactions, Kallie has actually caught his attention here, specifically with the discussion of weapons. He won't touch on the other topic; sensitive territory that he'd rather not discuss with anyone, least of all her. ]

I wasn't aware a bird could be used as a deadly projectile.

[ Look, he's trying to be nice! Sort of. Kind of.

Whatever, man. ]

[ She's been around, if not visibly and... never in direct response to him. Truth be told, she's been half caught between guilt and embarrassment ever since her outburst after Paul Ben's death, since things have been slowly progressing. And he hasn't yet done anything to get them all tortured to death so far-- that she knows of, anyway.

Regardless. She still doesn't trust him. Not at all, and his response here can only come across as nothing less than abrasive to her. Needless to say, she is not in the mood for dealing with snarky assholes. ]

Now you are.

[ ...alright. Fine. He'll drop the snarky act, in favor of actually getting this to go somewhere other than the inevitable fuck you too, you creepy bastard. And also because that despite their past grievances, if Kallie is willing to show some degree of initiative here, he's equally willing to let bygones be bygones.

Mostly, anyway, and for the same corrupt reasons that got her to break off in the first place. But it's a start. ]

My knowledge on weapons, and the combat involving thereof, is extensive.

What in particular did you wish to know?

[ Kallie's responses are slow- the potential that he could help her is in the back of her mind... mostly as an annoyance, that is. To go with her distrust, she still doesn't like him, and can't picture herself ever coming around to doing so after his increasingly alarming behavior.

And la la la, thank goodness she has reason to stick to text here, even if, you know, even after thinking it through her reply is just about the same as what he'd probably get if she'd been just talking to him. ]

What exactly makes you think I'd want your help?

[ Slow and steady, then. Tentativeness was to be expected, so Casval overlooks it. Overlooks the potential bait in the tone of the text, and responds evenly, in about the same of amount of time. Nonthreatening.

Polite. ]

If you're angry with me, I can understand. And I don't expect forgiveness. But if it's your sincerest wish, to help others, then I wish to help you.

If you won't meet me, then ask here. Guns, grenades, those sorts of devices -- I know them all by heart, and better than most, if you'd permit me frankness. If that knowledge can be useful somehow, I would impart it upon you, and ask nothing in return.

[ A lie, of course. But it looks good on paper, so to speak, and without body language or a voice to accompany it, there's no real way to tell. ]

[ She has to pause; in the end, she can be short-sighted, yes, stubborn, explosive when her emotions are triggered... but she's not stupid. Kallie hates herself for considering the offer, but she acknowledges that she has to if she's not going to waste the rest of whatever is left of her lifespan here wearing a tinfoil hat of paranoia. ~~For one, that would screw up her hair even more.~~ ]

What I'm talking about isn't a conventional weapon. I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist anywhere else.

[ ... Well, it's not much, but when it comes to revealing anything, pitted up against Kallie's will, it's actually quite a bit. Already she suspects what the response might be, though... she knows what she'd say if she got an answer like that, anyway. ]

[ Maybe. Maybe not.

But whatever the case, here it comes, anyway. ]

Unconventional weapons are my specialty, young lady. I've seen my fair share, I'll leave it at that.

Show me what you've got... or tell me, I suppose.

[ 'Young lady,' really? She already gets creeped on by so many random guys, you don't even know. Last thing she needs is Cpt Cuckoo Moonstruck throwing what could be taken as thinly-veiled innuendo at her as well.

Does she really want to show him what she's armed with? She's definitely got multiple reasons - both logical and otherwise - for abstaining... but on the other hand, it's not like she can use the stupid thing in question at this point anyway. Plus, there's always the electricity thing too, right? Considering there's a grand total of one other person who knows about that so far, she guesses it could be considered her trump card if it comes down to it...

Somehow she gets the feeling that neither of these things is really the end of what else she might get anyway. And, considering he was the one responsible for initially giving her this particular ability, perhaps it's only appropriate.

After some hasty shuffling around and impromptu strategic framing, hard-pressed fooling around until she figures out how to get it onto the network- yeah, sure, he can have a short video of what is essentially this-- albeit from an angle designed to not show any more of herself than necessary. There's little more than her arm and hip and practically no information to be gleaned from either the white wall in the background or her plain clothing.

As always, the weapon refuses to fully materialize, a shimmery silver outline that she turns in her hand for the brief moment it appears to be any sort of tangible before flashing and promptly re-evaporating. Considering her reluctance, there's no feathers this time, either. What a shame. ]

[ Creeping isn't what he's after. Far from it. Even if some terrible, disturbed part of him is a little excited at the prospect of setting sights on a brilliant new weapon. So many opportunities, and he's sure with just a few more carefully selected arguments, she won't be nearly as reticent in revealing information, and after that, then maybe...

Well, never mind it for now. Onto the matter at hand. Literally.

Once Kallie switches to a video feed, he does as well, leaning back in his chair and folding his fingers together. Give me a good show, girl. Casval watches her hesitant shuffling around with some degree of amusement, holds his tongue from commenting until the very end. Watching with far too fast eyes from start to finish, the shape of the invisible weapon—which he recognizes, even at the awkward angle, as some form of blade.

And then it's gone, and he finds that he's disappointed, tutting under his breath. That was all? But even so, there was indeed potential here. Opportunity. ]

Magic.

[ He states it succinctly, firmly despite how ridiculous it might sound. ]

Or else a form of cloaking so advanced I've yet to lay eyes upon it... congratulations, then.

[ He'll allow himself a small smile now. ]

You're a wizard, Harry.

[ 'Wizard' with a fragile sense of tolerance, that is. Kallie doesn't move save for her hand slowly closing, apparently staring at her computer even though her face can't be seen. ]

Is that all?

[ Fairly calm, relatively softly-spoken, but naturally there's an edge there, too- proclaiming it to be magic doesn't really help her, and doesn't quite justify the risk she feels she's taking in not just talking to him, but showing him any part of herself and her abilities... ]

One last question.

[ And this one's razor sharp. Cuts to the quick, because call it a feeling, but... ]

Is that all the "magic" you know?

[ ...he has a feeling that once again, Kallie's not telling everything, and that helps no one. ]

[ "One last question?" Does that mean he intends to not even try to help as he promised?

She swallows... and then the anger sets in, sharp and fiery as it sets out through her veins, tightening her muscles as the question soaks through her awareness- abruptly threatening to tip her over an edge she's already been toeing since before he even dared to reply.

It doesn't even matter how she replies to that, anyway. She is by no stretch of the imagination an efficient liar; even if she claims that's the extent of her abilities, he is sure to see through it. If she dodges the question, it's much the same. ]

No.

[ Needless to say, it's doubtful she's willing to share much more than that, however. In her eyes, forcing her to admit to something like that is entirely unacceptable on the tenuous truce erected here. ]

[ Even over the network connection, the tension is nearly tangible. He can see her anger coming to a boiling point, and tempting though it may be to stoke it into an explosion, get a final dig in, Casval does not. Casval's plans are grander than that. Casval is thinking long-term and an infuriated girl with rage to burn is not beneficial to a long-term solution.

Casval doesn't move a muscle, and continues to stare at her with the same neutral expression, his tone utterly calm. ]

What if I told you you're not alone in possessing such "magic"? And I could prove it to you?

[ A pause, angry, but then- ]

How so?

[ Her tone is still sharp, though the 'offer' catches her attention- if only because the initial implication is that he could potentially have something countering to her own 'magic.' That's the problem with her own special brand of paranoia: she knows very little details about the others as well, save for those facts unceremoniously shoved down the entire network's throat, the claims of people who can't or refuse to keep their mouths shut, mostly. ]

[ Not an outright refusal, then.

Good.

Leaning forward in line with his desktop camera, Casval narrows his eyes. Makes sure the lens has a good view of them, because he'll be in need of a decent angle momentarily. ]

By showing you, right here, right now. If you'd kindly allow me to, that is.

[ She senses a deception, just knows it has to be a trick, dammit... but has no idea where this is going and can't seem to figure out the options- her anger is blocking out her attempts to think things through clearly, paranoia causing her intentions to run in circles. ]

Yeah? [ In the mean time, she steps out of the connection's direct line of sight on her own end even as she continues to address him verbally, still feeling weirdly vulnerable. ] What is it?

[ It better be good, in other words- she's already seen a couple of things both alike and dissimilar to her own abilities in the possession of others... and on top of the sapient animals and magic statues, she doesn't really expect to be impressed by anything here, at least. ]

[ How fortunate that impressing her isn't what he's after. All he needs is a line of trust to her, a curiosity that lingers long enough for him to sink his teeth into. And he's got an idea for just what will grab her attention and hold it firm. ]

The light is uniform behind me, as you can tell. [ Briefly, he pans the camera around behind him to substantiate this. It's a simple room, exactly as promised. The lens is then returned to focus on his eyes. ] My vision's not quite as sharp as it once was, but...

[ With the pads of his fingers, he swipes across the outside of each eye, down the lid. Nothing out of the ordinary. A strange gesture, at first glance, but one he soon follows up on with an explanation. ]

...I wear neither glasses nor contacts, thus proven. Now, look close.

[ Casval's brow tenses for a second or two, like he's entering a trance—and to a large extent, he is. After those uneventful seconds pass, once clear blue irises suddenly haze over entirely. Natural whites nearly disappear into a sea of navy, swallowing up his pupils into tiny pricks, little pinpoints of black one must strain to see. The resulting effect is a pair of very disconcerting, utterly inhuman eyes staring at Kallie. Something not too out of place on killer birds with teeth and violent rats with ingrown wings.

When Casval speaks, his tone has shifted accordingly, a unnerving chill having befallen him. ]

"Newtype". This was the phrase that came to me, in a sudden rush, along with strange abilities I could not understand, while I was fighting those wolves. The ability to see what others cannot, sense what others are unable to, and react faster than any known living creature, man or beast. An ascended form of being that speaks to some fragment of my past I cannot remember, that chills me to the bone. For even captains can feel helpless, in the face of such things.

[ The corners of his lips lift into a smile. Cold. Humorless. ]

But you don't care about that. Nor would I, in your position. "A parlor trick with eyes? Pathetic." Yes, I know. But since I have remained true to my word thus far, permit me to demonstrate a step further.

[ The smile fades and his expression steels itself. Cold. Ready. ]

Show me that bit of magic again. And then I will tell you exactly what you're dealing with, how it relates you—and my proposal with how to proceed, as you requested.

[ As it turns out, it's a good thing Kallie decided to move away from the camera's view a minute earlier, because there's simply no way she would have been able to conceal her instinctive reaction to this. Her muscles go tight as her mouth dries; seeing something so unusual and knowing it's not special effects, even after witnessing other such examples and being told he was about to do something, still alarms her. 'Unsettled' hardly even begins to cover what she feels at the tone of his voice coupled with those inhuman eyes.

There's nothing but silence for several long beats as she tries to process. It's still hard to think, that sharp spike of stressed anger subdued but not gone entirely, mixing in with the newer anxiety. However, her demeanor slowly begins to harden too, the more she feels pushed into a corner by this 'conversation.' His prompting to remember the weapon in question also calls up the sort of defensiveness that had originally given it to her. ]

Don't you know? A magician isn't supposed to do the same trick twice.

[ Her tone is quietly dark, cadence a little slower, and after a breath she finally asks the question that's been subconsciously pressing on her ever since his reply appeared in front of her: ]

What do you have to gain?

[ The barbed response, which he perceives as a surprising show of cleverness, earns a smooth smile. Everything about Casval is smooth now, glazed over, tempered to a fine point. Nothing at all seems to faze him and yet, troubling still is the impression that if a person were to ambush him this very moment he could lift just a finger and demolish them in that very same one.

Kallie's fire is left with no fuel to burn, if she's a seeking a source, and beyond that smile, she gets nothing. Well, other than an equally enigmatic response behind a tightly controlled expression. Behind misty, monstrous eyes. ]

In helping to find your answers, and the answers of others, I find my own. I see it as a collaborative effort since, as you've come to discover, we're all in a similar situation. Rather than spurn and bicker, we stand a better chance of cutting through this madness together than standing apart.

I'm also a swordsman of some notoriety, and I enjoy passing the skill, aged though it may be, down to others. [ Dangling, in the hopes she'll bite: ] What you have in your possession is no doubt a sword, of some make, though I'd have to see it again to know for certain. You wished to fight; I can teach you.

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