Magic 101

"How much do you know about how magic works" she asks you.

"Um...admittedly not much. I just know I can cast spells" you say a little sheepishly.

"That's not something to be ashamed of" she says patting your hand.

"So let's start at the basics" she says standing up and then quickly sitting down again.

"Oof...my legs are a little wobbly" she says standing up a little slower. She walks forward and turns to face you, and you can't help but wonder how much of this you'll retain from being distracted by her naked body.

"So, you obviously know about different realities" she says smirking. You nod your head as she basically confirms that she knows you aren't from this reality.

"Magic comes from a reality somehow connected to our own. This reality is made entirely out of what powers our spells" she explains.

"How is it connected exactly" you ask. She smirks a little before answering.

"We don't know exactly, however what we do know is that every person in this reality is connected to it to some degree. Essentially each of us is a tunnel or bridge allowing it to flow into our world. For some of us that tunnel is wider, allowing for a larger amount to flow through which we can use to form and power our spells. It is theorized that the tunnel, or bridge, whatever you want to call it, goes both ways. When we draw from that reality, it draws something back from this reality. This is why they believe we have a limit to how much we can draw before we just can't anymore. Most of us believe that whatever that reality takes from our reality is from us. Thus why you'll pass out if you draw past your abilities, or in extreme cases...die" she says a little solemnly.

"Moving on, anyone with any sort of magical aptitude usually has something they are innately able to do easier than other spells. For some they can throw a fireball with ease, but for any other spell they have to exert more concentration and draw more magic into it. For myself I am innately able to see and feel other people's connection to the other reality. It is fairly rare, but it allows me to sense when other magic users are near if they are powerful enough" she says looking directly at you.

"How far I can sense others is directly tied to how much of a connection they have with the other reality. Your connection is...well...powerful. More powerful than I've ever felt before. So powerful that if I didn't have control of my innate ability I'd be unable to stand before you. I have to essentially turn it off when I am near you" she says looking a little vulnerable.

"I'm making you vulnerable by being here aren't I" you ask worried. She gives you a small smile.

"Yes. I am not accustomed to having to turn it off, and I have relied on it to avoid...unpleasant situations...in the past. I almost feel naked" she says. You look her up and down and raise your eyebrow at her.

"You know what I mean" she says with a giggle.

"Can you eventually tune me out or something" you ask "I don't want to make you vulnerable like this".

"No...I can not, which is partly why I wanted you to come. There is a way for you to mask yourself. This will allow people like me to be around you without limiting ourselves, and for you to hide your power from those who would seek you out for their own desires" she says looking you up and down as a slight blush forms on her face. You chuckle a little at what her desire was.

"Heh, right, so focus on yourself for a moment" she says. You sit up with your hands on your knees and look yourself up and down trying to really look at yourself.

"No no, close your eyes and focus inwards if that makes sense" she says walking behind the couch as you close your eyes. You try to look inwards as yourself and feel her step behind you.

"Clear your mind and focus on your own magic" she says leaning down to whisper in your ear. You can feel her breath she's so close, but you ignore it and focus on the magic you feel within yourself.

"Feel it flowing through you. Feel its ebb and flow through your body" she says placing her hands on your shoulder. She lightly massages your neck which allows you to relax a little. You can feel magic surging through you like water in an ocean. Waves of it come crashing forward only to retreat back into the ocean of magic.

"Can you feel it sitting there. Just waiting to be brought forward" she asks rubbing her cheek against your ear.

"Yes, I can feel it. Waiting for me to do something with it" you answer.

"It wants to come here and so it waits right at the edge between realities inside of you" she whispers into your ear.

"Focus on that edge where it resides" she whispers again. You focus on where the magic is staying. You know it is inside of you, but it feels much much larger than you. In your mind you bask in front of the magic, a feeling of warmth and peace washes over you.

"John, focus on where the magic resides not the magic itself, you can get lost there if you focus too much on the magic" she says with concern in her voice. You take another moment to feel the magic and then focus on its surroundings. It's like a hole in space. A bright star surrounded by nothingness.

"Good, now focus on camouflaging it. Any method you can think of will work as long as it isn't completely obvious" she says rubbing your shoulders again. You think of several things like a leafy camo blanket draping over it, or bushes growing in front of it. It all looks like nonsense to you. This huge amount of nothingness surrounding a round glowing sphere of pure energy. Anything you do stands out horribly in comparison to the nothingness. You briefly think of a door and shutting it, but as you imagine it shutting you feel horribly wrong and you abandon the idea.

Then it strikes you. What if you put a mirror in front of it. Close enough to block your view, but not so close that it blocks the flow. The reflection should just be the nothingness. You conjure a mirror in your mind and place it in front of the glowing orb. At first it looks like nothing is even there, but as you focus more closely you notice magic washing over the sides of mirror and retreating back behind it. It took considerable focus to see it though and you were happy with your camouflage. You attach what you realize is actually a spell in place and allow it to syphon directly from the source. Inwardly you are impressed with yourself and open your eyes. You lean your head back and grin at Nadine.

"Oh, did you figure something out" Nadine asks in an amused voice.

"Let's see how effective you really were" she says closing her eyes and stepping backwards. You turn around and watch her. Initially you watch her closed eyes roll around a bit like she was dreaming. Followed by her scrunching her eyes tightly shut as she visibly looks upset a bit. After several more moments she opens her eyes wide in surprise and looks at you with her mouth open. She closes her mouth and a concerned look falls across her face.

"Did you shut yourself off from magic" she asks with clear concern in her voice.

"I'll admit I did think of a door closing shut on it" you say shrugging your shoulders "but that felt wrong somehow" you add.

"Good, it'd have never opened again had you shut it closed. That is how magic users are punished. Severing their access to any magic. Most whither and die within a few weeks" she says as her body visibly shivers.

"You did something though" she says closing her eyes again. Several moments pass and you are beginning to wonder if she got lost somehow. You stand up and walk behind her and return the gesture of rubbing her shoulders while she concentrates.

"Found you" she says after a moment of your massaging. She turns to face you and smiles.

"A mirror" she asks in rhetorical surprise cocking her head to the side.

"Was...was that bad" you ask concerned you made a mistake. She looks at you seriously for a moment.

"No...it...it's genius" she answers. "There's more too you then I think you realize" she says looking you up and down. "A God helping you maybe...I don't know, but not even he..." she says but suddenly stops talking and a sad expression overtakes her as she hugs herself.

"This is the second or third time you've mentioned this guy" you say walking up to her and hugging her. She sinks into your embrace. "You two were really close weren't you" you ask as you rub her back gently.

She only nods in response.

"What was his name" you ask her. She looks up at you with tear filled eyes and her eyes flit back and forth as she searches your eyes for something.

"Jason" she finally answers as she stares up at you.

"Can you tell me about him...as much as you are comfortable with that is" you ask.