4,4+2 (courage): On a 10+, you use your superior trait to hold them off.

It all happens in a flash. The first thing that you notice is Kinzie grabbing the can of beer that is going to waste in Millie's hands (you're pretty sure you've never seen her drink anything... you've heard that wizards from her part of the world have some strict habits). But rather than chug that can like she did the first one she got, Kinzie spills it all over Millie's jacket and shirt. The shock of the cool liquid produces a girlish yelp from Millie.

But that's just the distraction - because of how you've been watching Millie skillfully use her wand hidden under her palm, you happened to glance at Kinzie... and saw she had hers up her sleeve too.

"Ahhhh! Shite, I'm just so... DICTU-" she instantly turns from rambling profane nonsense to a magic word, with her wand pointed right at the center of your chest. You recognize the beginning of the forbidden 'command' spell - you're the one who taught it to her.

Honestly, if you hadn't been forced to discard your shrunken 'dueling sword' that you like to menace people with telekinetically, you'd be tempted to shed her blood for a sneak attack like that But you settle for blocking it. "Dispellismus!" you shriek, snatching your wand into your grasp at the last second.

The mundanes look shocked, but not that shocked. They already know you're from continental Europe, so they probably just think it's a foreign word. And Kinzie... well, she says a lot of incomprehensible words.

The skinny brown-haired girl's wand clatters to the floor and rolls under one of the couches. Fortunately, it seems the mundane's vision was more drawn by Millie. Not only was the sharp yelp she made so amusing that they were chuckling about it, but Millie thoughtlessly pulled off her sweater vest (the boy's uniform had a vest instead of a full-length sweater), revealing that liquid had soaked her shirt as well.

...and, naturally, the absent-minded redhead hadn't thought to take her bra off before disguising herself as a boy. Damnation!

"Oh, uhhh... gotta get this cleaned off. Be back in a moment... what's the word... 'lads'." Millie says. Though she remembers to use magic to disguise her voice as male this time, by calling attention to herself she just gets the guys to notice the black straps of her bra showing through the wet surface of her shirt. The hands-held-high trotting motion she moves towards the bathroom with is so effeminate that you wonder if she's doing it on purpose.

...belatedly, you remember the fetish Millie had confided in you earlier, and roll your eyes, realizing that 'helping' you was just an excuse to do something she already wanted to do.

But for the moment, you and Kinzie stare each other down. You feel a burning rage building in your chest and have to bite your tongue. You can't very well demand why Kinzie just tried to put a spell on you in front of a bunch of mundies, except by silent glowering. Kinzie stares daggers right back at you, though, silently indicating she's not the least bit sorry... and then, revealingly, her eyes dart down towards your feet.

"Shouldn't you go help 'Miller', eh Fran?" Kinzie says, trying to keep her voice even as her eyes flick down under the seat to where your wand is.

"No. I am quite comfortable here. Besides, while s-" you catch yourself before you say 'she', "...he is in the bathroom, I can apologize for how poor a guest he has been to our gracious hosts." You narrow your eyes at her. "I am not moving from this spot. Go back to your seat, Kinzie."

Kinzie stands and glares at you. The men are clearly becoming confused: Ralph, the homeowner, clears his throat and speaks. "Here now, ladies... somethin' amiss?"

But the thing another of them says, the dark-skinned one who surprised you and Millie upstairs, makes you almost jump out of your skin: "What's that thing you're holdin', miss? Izzat a camera or something? I saw a flash."

Your eyes bulge out as you realize your fucking wand is still in your hand. Trying to look casual about it, you tuck it into a sheath on your hip. "Camera... uh..." you stumble over the odd word.

"Shhh, Jules - don't be rude, mate." Ralph says to him. "That might be a religious thing or something. Ya know, like Jazzy from undergrad accounting, with that knife of his?"

"Yyyyyes." you say, forcing a smile. "That is it exactly. I can never be parted from it. Because of religious obligation. In the name of, uh, god. I come from a different country, you see."

"Really?" The handsome long-haired young man in the jacket (the only one whose name you haven't caught yet) grins. "How's that work when you're in bed with your 'boyfriend'? Do you leave your skirt on?" He puts a certain emphasis on that last word that you think might be him hinting he's onto Milly.

The other three guys let out grunts and gasps of shock at such a brazen question. But you just shrug. "Yah, usually."

Your blunt response makes the slightly-inebriated mundanes start chuckling and exchanging glances, not sure quite how to respond. Kinzie wrinkles her nose at the way they're all staring at you now.

The guy who asked you looks like he's struggling to suppress a predatory smile. "I guess that answers my question of whether you're strictly against doin' anything outside of marriage, eh? Sorry, didn't mean to be a prick. My name's Hugh." he leans forward and shakes your hand vigorously.

"Uhhh," the out-of-shape mundane who you recall was named Jerry, turns to Kinzie. "Miss Kinzie, did you drop something there? Are you a part of Fran and Eddie's religion, too?"

"NO!" you shout. "She didn't drop anything. And she is from an entirely different cultural background than us. Can you not tell she is from here in your own kingdom?" you ask sharply.

"Erm... Do you mind if I get down there and check, all the same? I could have sworn..." Jerry says.

You gulp. The last thing you want is for Kinzie to get armed again. "No! I am the guest, I'll look."

"But-" Before Jerry can object, you hop off the couch and get down on your knees, sticking your hand and arm into the dust-bunny-infested abyss under it. You momentarily grab your own wand and waggle it from within your skirt, putting a small, weak spell of invisibility on the wand with a whisper. "Occlusio."

With a sigh of relief, you note that they'll never see it now... and then you realize that due to how short your skirt is, you just bent over for four men and flashed them with your white cotton panties - in the case of Jules, for the second time. And not only that, but you downright suggestively wiggled your hips while trying to use your wand! You spring back up and sit back in the seat, legs together. Since there's no way to pretend it was accidental, you just smile awkwardly at all of them.

There is an uncomfortable silence. "Um... Jerry, was it? We have barely introduced ourselves. Come sit next to me." you say, not wanting to give him time to get suspicious.

The awkward man in the white polo shirt widens his eyes and looks back to his friends. They all look a little surprised too, but Hugh and Jules both nod to him, the former giving him a thumbs up. "Uh... sure. That'd be... alright. But won't that look a bit squiffy to your boyfriend?"

"Ah, you mean the one who broke poor Ralphie's telly?" Hugh says with a deep chuckle. "Let the lad sweat a little. It's all in good fun. I'll give him a little ribbing over it if you're too polite a chap, Ralph."

Ralph looks like he's at a loss for words, but then Kinzie breaks in. "Ralph, aye? You own this overpriced heap?" she asks.

"Heap?" Ralph scoffs. "I'd like to see the shack you call home, love!"

"Shite, no need to have a dinger over it, you wanker." Kinzie says. "It's your place, so give me the tour. Show me where all the bedrooms and bathrooms and so on are. I'm sure to need to have a piss soon after all this cheap beer."

Ralph furrows his eyebrow. "Got a real mouth on you, don't you?"

"Ye dinnae the half of it." Kinzie smirks back at him, brushing her brown hair over her shoulder sassily. Jules has a startled chortle by her blunt flirtation, then bends down to have another sip of his beer.

Needless to say, while this exchange is going on, you are silently screaming and trying not to visibly panic. FUCKING KINZIE!! She is really going to violate the laws of magic and show these guys the little girl that your brother Aegidius - ... you mentally stop yourself from thinking the word 'kidnapped' and substitute 'borrowed for magic testing with parental approval'. He wouldn't lie about that, right?

Your mind races. Perhaps you could claim that the child is your little cousin or something? No, that won't work - even though she was too shy to say anything earlier, that kid is clearly old enough to talk, and if they ask her any questions, her answer might be something like 'The nice man in the Santa outfit brought me here from the shopping mall'. Of course, among wizards, who consider looking after children to be a communal responsibility, that would be fairly normal - any magician who finds a child who's wandering around unsupervised will bring them to their home for a light scolding and dispatch a messenger owl to their family. But mundane society might frown on that sort of thing.

In fact, you strongly suspect that is the case... because of the evil smirk Kinzie shoots you. THAT'S why she was trying to put a spell on you, she must have been planning to 'COMMAND' you to show them to the locked room where that mundane kid is watching the picture-box. And since Milly left the room, it'll be your word against hers who led them there.

Ralph gives an intrigued look to Kinzie. He puts his hand on her lower arm gingerly, as if expecting she'll slap it away. But she doesn't. Experimentally he slides it higher and rests his hand on the small of her back, which you've witnessed many male students doing when they're trying to flirt with a girl. Kinzie licks her lips suggestively.

"No, Herr Ralph, please do not!" you say sharply. "You have not... been introduced to me yet, either! I am zhe senior student here, and I say Kinzie can find her own way to the facilities if she needs them!" You are blushing fiercely, and turn to Jerry, who has sat down next to you, leaving a decent gap. "And do not listen to Kinzie's insults, Jerry. The beer you brought is... fairly tolerable."

"Pardon Miss," Jules, the dark complexioned one, breaks in. "But this is Ralph's home, you know. You're going to tell him where not to go?"

Damn it! That particular mundane's excessive curiosity is making him a real irritant.

So, you force a smile and sigh dramatically, followed by an awkward laugh. "Ahh, Scheiße! You have caught me out. My brother has been an ill guest... you see, he is keeping... a small, cute creature shut up in that room at the end of the hallway. It gets very nervous and noisy around strangers and we just got it to go to sleep, so... it would be better if you do not disturb it."

"BLOODY HELL!" Ralph shouts, and you grit your teeth, apparently having said the wrong thing. "You lot brought a dog into my house without asking?" He looks less good natured than before and frowns. "Sleeping? Likely story... the bloody thing has probably pissed and shat everywhere already and you don't want me to see it, I'd bet!"

Your heart is pounding out of your chest. The Aurors are going to crucify Aegidius if he gets mundane law enforcers called out on him, and mother and father will blame you for it. Which is, no doubt, exactly what Kinzie is betting on.

You take a closer look at the four strangers. Ralph, Jerry, Jules and Hugh. Your anger and frustration at Kinzie grows to encompass them too. Why are they being so difficult? You feel the same sting of inadequacy that has been haunting you for years. If only you were a voluptuous beauty like that bitch who stole your first boyfriend. If only you had full, seductive lips like Felice. They'd be hanging on your every word instead of contradicting you.

You flush as you realize how you are thinking. This would be the perfect time to draw their attention. You've never needed to draw the attention of men more than you do now, in fact. Another bitter realization is that you subconsciously asked the least handsome of those four to sit next to you, because you don't think you're in Ralph's league, let alone Hugh.

...but then, you remember your conversation like Felice on the way over here. That's right. She has people hanging on her every word just for showing up, but you have to be more direct, lest you be overlooked... often literally overlooked, considering how many men are at least a head taller than your petite 4'11" frame.

"Ohhhh," you put your hands up to your eyes. "My brother will be soooo upset with me that I let you find out that he brought a, uh, a pet without asking permission. I've disappointed him terribly recently, you see. And I kept it from you too, Kinzie. I hope you will forgive me as well. Miller and I helped sneak the... creature in while you were dropping off your bag."

Kinzie glares at you for a moment and looks back towards the stairway. You give her a false smile, then flick your eyes downward in the direction of her wand concealed under the couch... and make a little 'snapping in half' gesture with your hands. Her eyes bulge and she grits her teeth, which tells you you communicated your intent. If she leaves the room, she can be damn sure you won't let her get that wand of hers back in one piece.

"So please... I promise I... we... will make it up to you if you'll overlook this." you say to Ralph and his friends. "Aeg- uh, Eddie, will be so eager to please he'll give you anything you ask. And so will I. Oh, and Miller... Miller has made so much trouble already he will really owe you, Herr Ralph."

Kinzie tilts her head and grimaces, clearly trying to figure this situation out. "Alright then..." she says in a low, dangerous voice. "Well... so long as we are being truthful... perhaps you should come clean about your 'boyfriend' Miller, Franziska? You wee bean-flicker."

You screw your face up. "Bean-flicker?" you ask in genuine confusion.

"Oh, out with it already!" Kinzie shrills, losing her patience and stomping one of her feet on the floor. "'Miller' is a lass, you posh dobbers!" she shouts at the man. To your surprise, Jules is the only one of the four who looks shocked at this revelation. Hugh smirks at it, for his part.

"Here now!" Ralph raises his voice and speaks in a stern tone... but to Kinzie, not you. "Miss Kinzie, I realize you don't know me well, but I'll not tolerate any of that rank bigotry in my 'ouse."

"Eh?" you blink. "Bigotry...? Like, against giants...?" Then you tense up 'Oh shit', you think. 'Do mundanes know about giants? I need to watch my mouth!'

"Uh... I suppose." Ralph says, and you relax a little. "Point is, Miss Kinzie, if 'Miller' says he is a bloke, as far as I'm concerned, he is. I'll not have you insult them... uh, him. And that goes for you too, Hugh, you smirking ponce."

You are terribly confused by this situation. It's not so shocking that they picked up on the fact that Milly is a girl pretending to be a boy, but you weren't ready for this reaction of theirs. But, since it's all out in the open anyway, it occurs to you that you need to use this. After all, you can't very well distract these mundanes and hold their attention if they think you are taken. "I don't know the rules for language about, ah, that kind of thing in this kingdom. But... Herr Ralph, regardless of what you call her, or him... the truth is..."

Slowing down, you lean forward, encouraging all the curious guys to listen intently. Your next words come out in a nervous, flustered mumble. "...the truth is, Herr Ralph, Miller and I are very open-minded. And I think 'he' fancies you. Ach, I even suspect he mishandled your picture box on purpose so he would have an excuse to talk to you in private. So if you are upset about the... creature situation... you have my full permission to tease Miller about it. A little roughly, even. I promise he will not mind. Very much the opposite."

The other mundanes all turn and look at Ralph. "Ah, uh... You're having a laugh, right, Miss Franziska?"

You shake your head vehemently. Ralph coughs nervously before he speaks again: "When you say shite like 'fancy' and 'open-minded', you don't mean... THAT way?"

"Of course I do." you say firmly. "How else would I mean it? Give her - ach, I mean, him - the slightest nudge in that direction and you will see what I mean. It is your house, 'he' is an uninvited guest. What is to be afraid of in trying? I do not see a wedding ring on your finger."

"But, I mean..." the broad-shouldered man in the white polo shirt has a slightly ruddy complexion by default, but now he is going red as a tomato. "Bloody hell, to spring something like this on a bloke without warning... I've barely even spoken to Miller. I can't exactly..."

"What? Oh come on, Ralphie!" Hugh seems to be very amused at this situation. "I know you haven't had time to go on a date since summer, don't try and say otherwise. You don't want to seem like you're being prejudicial or unfair, d'you?"

Jules looks confused. "I'm gobsmacked by all this, god's honest. Though I will admit, I did think that red-haired lad smelled nice when I was walking past...""

"Maybe..." Ralph says. "Just as a favor... to Eddie. So we can call it even."

Kinzie scowls. "Oh, and what about Franziska there? What's she gonna do to make it up?"

There is a silence as the men exchange glances. You hear a little 'ping' sound from next to you, and look over to see Jerry holding one of those weird little mundane glass-screened devices in his hand. A buzz comes from Ralph's pants and he pulls out a similar device. When he reads it, he smirks, looking back and forth between you and Jerry.

"Jerry, c'mon now," Ralph's voice which had been irate a minute ago is softened and filled with good humor now. "You can't expect I'm gonna keep quiet about that, even if you are right." He looks over to you as Jerry blushes.

"And I don't see it, frankly. Even if she has her hair the same, Francisca there hardly looks the same as Britney Spears from that old schoolgirl music video. Like her little sister who's too young to drink, more like."

You raise an eyebrow quizzically, not knowing who he's talking about, but Jules and Hugh start laughing uproariously, finding that hilarious. Jerry looks mortified and starts to protest. "Here now, I was just joking, if you don't think so you didn't have to tell her-"

But Ralph holds up his hand and cuts his friend off. "Here now, let me finish: It's all in the eye of the beholder, my son, I know that. So, since it's true Francisca hasn't been the nicest guest..." he clears his throat. "Francisca, let me put this to you... it was the birthday of my fat, rude cunt of a friend Jerry, a week back, and I didn't get him nothin'. So, how about you make it up to him on my behalf, and do the Britney Spears dance for him? Maybe we'll see the resemblance in motion. Do you know the words?"

Jerry looks at you, both embarrassed but also clearly hopeful. You are quite perplexed, though. "Spears...?" you ask unsteadily. "You mean like the kind of spears you would find in an armory? Or is that just a name...?"

The guys all seem to find that hilarious too. "Oh, come off it lads," Hugh says. "She said she was only 20, of course she's not going to have heard of that one. Fuck me, I barely remember it myself, I was just starting middle school when those yank tarts and their music started getting popular. And she's from the continent, besides. Here, love - I'm sure Jerry wants to hide his face so I'll show you."

Hugh holds one of the glass-screened devices in your face. Immediately, your body tenses up and you back up in your seat - you have no idea what these weird mundane artifacts are capable of! Is he about to launch an attack on you?! Didn't Aegidius say that if a mundane points a strange metal device in your face, it can kill you? You squint. Is that glass-screened lozenge in Hugh's hand made of metal? You snatch it out of his hand, but Hugh doesn't seem offended. You turn it around and look at the back, tapping at it with your finger. No, it isn't metal. It's made of... honestly, you have no idea what this beige stuff is, except a lot of mundane-made objects appear to be composed of it. "Is this some kind of tile...?" you ask curiously.

Clearing his throat, Hugh leans in. "Uh... guess these smartphones aren't so popular yet in whichever part of Austria you're from... here, you tap the screen to play, there's no buttons on the back." he turns it over in your nervous hands and touches his finger on the screen.

All of a sudden, a horrible, loud, discordant noise starts emitting from the device! It's all you can do to not throw it away from you in a panic. Sure enough, a moving image has appeared on the tiny glass screen. Suddenly, it makes sense - this must be the mundane equivalent of a crystal ball or an animated painting.

On the screen you see a young woman in a skimpy outfit, with an unbuttoned grey sweater, a front-tie top, and a skirt even shorter than the one you are now wearing. Sure enough, she has her hair in braided pigtails too, although she's quite a bit better endowed under that snug blouse of hers than you are. The woman is doing an awkward, ungainly dance and singing, but her voice is hideously distorted, as if she was some kind of wailing spirit. Is this woman a ghost? Did that bastard Hugh just give you a haunted object?! But, as you flinch away, the woman on the screen doesn't react to you, and goes about her dance routine. The music is painful to listen to, and you can barely make out the words she is saying. "Did she say 'I blew up my heart'?" you ask in confusion.

Looking up, you notice that Jerry and Hugh are staring at you quite quizzically. And Jules looks like he's about to ask another probing question. "Ach," you say, getting desperate. "I do not like this music." You swallow. Dancing?! Why did it have to be dancing? You are TERRIBLE at dancing!

You hear a feminine chuckling. Turning around, you see that Kinzie isn't as enraged as she was a minute ago. Rather, she seems to find this situation hilarious. "Hah! Hahahahaha! Come off it, Wee Princess Fran! It's a song and dance all about being a boggin' slut. It should come natural to you."

Rather than protest, you just huff loudly. You dread the prospect of listening to that terrible noise anymore. Do these mundanes really have a musical appreciation for this rubbish, or do they just like it because it has images of a sexy girl showing off her body?

"Jerry," you say tentatively, "I sincerely apologize but I have no training in dance, I do not think I would be satisfactory. Is there anything else I could offer you for zis... gift by proxy?"

Smirking irrepressibly once again, the long-haired one with the stubble, Hugh, butts in again: "I'm sure Jerry wouldn't complain if you just gave him a wank." he says through a smirk.

"HUGH! Fuckin' hell, dial it back a bit, man!" Ralph says, as Jules reels in shock. Jerry himself holds up his hands and starts stammering nervously. "Hugh, really now..."

But before he can say anything more you cut in: "Oh, yah - can I do that instead? I'd much prefer it." you say in a perfectly earnest tone of voice.

That reduces the room to total silence for a moment.

---

Franziska has 3 XP. Character sheet:

Franziska Weber

House Leontes (House Trait: Bravery; House Sex Move: Charm).

Traits: Ambition +1, Bravery +2, Cunning +2, Diligence -1.

Extra Spells: COMMAND (forbidden)

Friends: Chen Teung (Minerval), Berthold (Leontes), Felice Collier (Draconis), Milly Cherrywood (Leontes)

Enemies: Kinzie MacMullins