Still Life (Richard and Senium)

by **Richard Romain** Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:04 am

Richard had been wandering around the edge of the lake, skipping a few stones, when the scent of his apprentice had drifted over to him on the winds. Apparently she was out here in the great outdoors too. Seeing no reason as to why he shouldn't go and meet up with her, Richard began to make his way towards her location. Following her scent, Richard entered a small clearing in the nearby trees where his apprentice was currently standing in a very well balanced dancing position. He blinked a few times,

"That's very impressive Senium!" he told her with a smile, "Your balance is excellent! But it's a bit of an awkward move I'd say so why don't you relax a bit?"

by **Senium Nex** Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:08 am

Senium had managed to get away form her Grandpapa for a few hours to practice her dancing somewhere where he couldn't see her, he didn;t like her to do that because he thought that it would upset her muscles by doing too many activities where it put strain on them, according to him she shouldn't even be walking.

So, while she was halfway through her newest routine, she had found herself in one of the most awkward positions, and it was at that time that her muscles decided that they were going to freeze so that she was painfully stuck with her left foot on the ground, tipped forward with her right in the air straight behind her, and her arms in the air like a swan.

Thinking that this situation couldn't get any worse, Senium turned and saw her Master, Richard entering the copse in the woods surrounding the lake.

"Ah hello Richard, thank you, I was practising." when he asked why couldn't she relax, she bit her lip and smiled softly, a sad tinge to it and she almost laughed "I can't."

by **Richard Romain** Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:27 am

Seeing that the position would be very awkward, Richard looked around for any reason as to why she wouldn't be able to move. For some reason this was starting to get worse and worse to him,

"You look like a very good dancer Seni." he told her with a smile before frowning, "Now how about you tell me why you can't move while I try to get you back to a relaxed position?"

As he said that, Richard placed his hands on her extended leg, pushing a trickle of magic into the muscles to make them relax slowly.

by **Senium Nex** Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:31 am

Senium whimpered slightly when she felt Richard's hand on her leg, she wondered what he was doing but she slowly began to feel her muscles relaxing, but it was so painful, like when you warm freezing hands up with boiling hot water, it burned so badly.

"Ow ow ow Richard please just leave me...I'll be fine...." and as if on cue, that one beginning of relaxing her muscles began to do the same to all of them, and Senium gladly sat down on the floor, not caring about getting dirt on her jeans or hoodie.

"See I'm fine it just happens sometimes, no biggie." she grinned.

by **Richard Romain** Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:47 am

Richard knew that this technique for unfreezing muscles was a rather painful one but it was the only technique he had that didn't last longer than any hour. And it had the highest rate of success too,

"I'm not going to leave you in such an awkward position Senium, no matter how embaressing it might be for you." he told her with a small frown, "You're my apprentice. It is part of my duty to protect you from any and all forms of harm."

When his apprentice collapsed on the ground, Richard knelt down so that the two of them were at eye level before sighing a little bit. Rubbing at his eyes tiredly he shook his head,

"The last time that happened to me I had just finished sprinting the equivalent of a marathon." he frowned, "This is not normal and is definately a 'biggie'. What's going on Seni?"

by **Senium Nex** Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:02 am

Senium would normally have been happy that there was such a dedication to her protection by someone, and she was kind of still glad for it now, although she knew that now she had to tell Richard to avoid hurting his feelings and possibly making him angry at her.

"Thank you Richard, I am grateful...I'm sorry if I didn't seem to be."

With a small smile she looked into Richard's eyes when he sat down next to her, and she wondered just when she was going to have to pluck up the courage to begin to tell him what was the problem, and with his next question, she supposed the time was now.

"Do you want to touch my ring? You can do, if you want to?" she asked, knowing that when he did touch it, the charm would break, and her true, bandaged self would be revealed.

Senium had bandages wrapped up her arms, and down her legs, which could be shown clearly through her shorts, the jeans were only part of the glamour charm, and most of them were pink with blood, the occassional one bright flowering crimson, and what little skin was left exposed was pale white and some of the edges near the bandages were bruised purple.

by **Richard Romain** Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:36 am

Richard sighed a little bit as he finished working on her muscles. He'd tried to be as gentle as possible with the introduction of his magic into her muscles but apparently it would still be quite painful,

"Don't mention it Seni." He told her with a small smile, "It's what family does. And as I've told you before... you're my apprentice. You're family."

He could tell, just by the nervous way that she smiled and the way that her eyes moved to avoid his even when she was looking right into them, that she was going to be telling himself something important so he waited patiently,

"Your ring?" He paused for a second, "It's enchanted isn't it? Well... here goes."

As soon as he touched the ring, Richard could see exactly what Senium truly looked like. He blinked a few times as he took in all of the bleeding bandages. His first thought was some form of abuse at home but the decaying smell had increased massively. Looking more intently at her, Richard realised that parts of her body were literally dying off while still attached. After a few silent seconds, Richard did the only thing he thought he could do, in a very careful manner, he hugged her.

by **Senium Nex** Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:48 am

Senium waited with bated breath as he moved his hand towards the ring, and when he touched it she looked up into Richard's eyes to see what the reaction would be from him, hopefully he wouldn't hate her, or be disgusted by her and want to revoke the offer of an apprenticeship that he had given to her.

"Yes it's enchanted." she said a little late, of course he would know now.

When she saw him coming towards her Senium gasped a little bit, and slowly she managed to curl her arm upwards and hug him around the neck in return, sniffling lightly, Senium could do nothing but listen to her heart beginning to hammer in her chest.

Looking into Richard's eyes Senium bit her lip;

"I...I'm sorry I didn't tell you...I...I just didn't think you would want me when you knew, I'm a shameful apprentice I can't even w-walk properly." she sobbed quietly.

by **Richard Romain** Thu Apr 12, 2012 4:03 am

As he was looking at the damage to Senium's body, Richard could tell why she wore a glamour charm. Children were cruel and if they saw her like this she'd be mercilessly bullied. And her self-esteem would be through the floor if that happened. Of course, it probably already was but still. He looked into her eyes and smiled ever so slightly,

"A very strong enchantment." he agreed as he touched the ring again, "For it to keep so well... you must have a really strong attachment to the ring."

Richard merely held her as she sniffed against him. When she moved an arm lightly around him, he could tell that the movement hurt her and cursed the fact that she felt the need to hurt herself just to return the hug. He smiled and cupped her cheek gently,

"It's alright Seni, I understand." he told her with a small smile before shaking his head, "You're not a shameful apprentice, you're a very good apprentice. I make you a promise now Seni..."

He locked eyes with her,

"I will help you walk. I will help you heal."

by **Senium Nex** Thu Apr 12, 2012 4:19 am

Senium nodded her head, she wondered if he remembered that it was her mothers ring, and she hoped that he would because she didn't want to have to tell him again, it would be far too painful to expose all of the things that had happened to her in the past in one fell swoop, although she could not hide them for long she feared.

"Yes, it's very important to me, I never take it off, except for when I need my bandages...redressed." she gulped slightly.

When he cupped her cheek, Senium leant her face into his hand and she smiled lightly through her tears, her main fear was gone from her, she still had her Master, and he wasn't repulsed by her, and the offer of help, that seemed so determined made her smile and sob at the same time.

"T-thank you Richard, b-but it wont work...I...me and my Grandpapa we have a plan though...hopefully it will be alright, when it is finished, hopefully it will work and I will be okay." she smiled, assuring herself with her words.

by **Richard Romain** Thu Apr 12, 2012 4:26 am

Richard remembered that it had been her mother's engagement ring and it slotted into place as to why the girl would be so connected to it. He also noticed that she thought he'd forgotten,

"Your mother's engagement ring. I remembered Seni." he assured her gently, "If you'd like, I could teach you a little transfiguration/charm spell that would allow you never to take it off but still bandage the finger."

He smiled when she leant her head into his hand and smiled at him, even though she was still crying slightly. Richard understood why she was still crying. It had probably been a fear of him leaving her once he knew about it but now that was in the past. He'd not leave her alone, now or ever. He smiled at her, his eyes shining with conviction,

"Have a little faith Seni! I've created a fully working human heart, this would just be a little harder." he assured her, although not entirely confident that he could do it as easily as he said. He blinked a few times before smiling, "Do you mind sharing the plan or is it private?"

by **Senium Nex** Thu Apr 12, 2012 4:44 am

Senium bit her lip and shook her head, looking at the ring and cradling her hand to her chest so that he wouldn't touch it, she didn't want anyone to touch it but herself, she was the one who put the charm on it after all, it had taken a while but it was worth it so that she didn't get picked on.

"No, no it's perfectly fine the way it is." she said a little defensively.

When Richard said that he would like to hear the plan, Senium grinned and she moved the excitedly kneel in front of him before she remembered that all her muscles were in pain and she whimpered slightly as she knelt, it was a little bit of a blessing that she wasn't on her own.

"Well, the plan that we have, is to use our own special magic to hopefully create me a new body, it will be able to host me when this body dies, the hard part is making it...which is what Grandpapa is doing now. Do you want to know what our special magic is?" she asked, eyes shining with pride and glee.

by **Richard Romain** Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:19 am

When she pulled the ring away from his touch, to clutch it possessively to her chest, Richard realised that he'd probably gone a bit too far. He raised his hands a little to show that he wasn't going to try and touch it,

"Alright..." he said quietly, "I won't touch it."

The grin she gave him when he mentioned he wanted to hear the plan made him smile, her excitement was rather infectious. He tutted a little bit and used his limited healing knowledge to cast a mild pain-killing spell to help her. He blinked a few times as she revealed their plan to him,

"Special magic? New body?" He asked before chuckling and sheepishly scratching the back of his head, "I have no idea what you're talking about so telling me what your special magic is would be very, very helpful."

by **Senium Nex** Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:26 am

Senium's hand lowered from her chest when Richard said that he wasn't going to touch the ring, there were a lot of things that she would allow him to do because he was one of her closest friends, but she wans't ready to let him handle her mothers ring too much just yet.

When he asked to see a demonstration of her magic, Senium got one of the minature wooden marionettes out fo her pocket and smiled lightly, closing her eyes she muttered the latin incantations under her breath and strings flew out from her fingertips to attatch to the doll, with a large happy grin Senium began to make it dance, and at the end of the robot, she made it bow to Richard.

"We are puppeteers, we create and control magical puppets, and we can also apply our magic to real people, so, I'm going to be put into my own very personal one of these." she said, gesturing to the little marionette "Only it will look like me, and have enchantments on to be human, and warm and have a heartbeat and things...even if it wont be real." she smiled...now a little sadder.

by **Richard Romain** Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:37 am

It was rather odd, Richard thought to himself, that Senium had reacted as if he was some kind of a threat when he offered to do something to the ring. But then again it wasn't quite so odd when he remembered it was her mother's ring.

When Senium removed a little wooden marionette Richard would freely admit to being very confused. After all, how was a little puppet supposed to help her and give her a new body? It didn't really make sense to him. When strings flew out of her fingers and attached themselves to the puppet, surprised would have been an understatement for Richard. He blinked a few times before clapping,

"That is one hell of a special power right there! Can you make battle puppets and the like?" he asked, genuinely captivated. When she explained the rest of their plan to him, to place her within a puppet, Richard found his like for the power dimming somewhat. He tilted his head to the side slightly, "Will you be able to feel things?"

by **Senium Nex** Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:47 am

The look on Richard's face made Senium giggled happily and she clapped her hands herself when she was given a round of applause by him, she was glad that he liked the puppets and what they could do, and it was her pleasure to develop more on the intricacies of her power. After all he was like her Papa, her Master, he needed to know.

"Yes, yes we have many battle puppets but we have not been approached for any by any in the war at the moment, which is good, we don't want to choose sides...or rather, I do not." she smiled lightly

Thinking about the latest battle puppet they had made Senium grinned; "We just made a battle puppet with several components of muggle weaponary, poison darts, and lots of aerial weapons, long range." extremely proud of her work, Senium decided to tell Richard what she did "I help sometimes. Most of the time I just create their faces."

Senium bit her lip and blinked slightly; "Well I don't know...but it doesn't matter...I won't mind." she smiled sadly.

by **Richard Romain** Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:06 am

The fact that she was giggling again made Richard happy, glad that him being impressed by her special power had broken her out of her little 'funk'. When she clapped too he laugh lightly. The possibilities for being a puppeteer of anything were rather large, large enough that Richard might consider it a good skill to learn. If he was allowed to of course,

"Well it's good to hear that the two of you will have protection if ever attacked at least." he commented with a smile, "But don't worry, I won't pressure you to take a side."

He grinned widely,

"Muggles weapons in a battle puppet huh?" he nodded, "You know, I have a friend who would very much want to talk to you about that. He likes muggle things like that. You work on their faces huh? Make them life-like?"

When she said that she wouldn't mind, Richard could tell that she was lying. In the end though he decided that if she needed to believe in this then he wouldn't speak ill of it,

"Well it sounds like a good plan to keep you alive Seni. And I do want you to live, you're a good little friend."

by **Senium Nex** Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:12 am

Senium smiled lightly and it was going to be one of the funniest things that she had ever done, but it was going to be worth the backlash if she got shouted at, biting her lip she twitched her fingers and the strings attached to Richard's limbs, lifting him up slightly off the floor and making him do the same silly dance that the marionette had just done.

Setting him back down with a small blush, she hoped that she wasn't going to get in trouble for what she had done, after all it was just meant as some fun.

"I can do it to humans too, like I just did. I am in charge of making them feirce, or beautiful whatever the client wants them to be carved like, but most of ours look the same, two designs that I keep repeating." she smiled "I'm just sad that there wont be anyone for me to teach." she pouted.

Her eyes lit up when she heard that someone would like to talk to her about her puppets; "He would? Oh I would be honoured to meet one of your friends! I'd help him as much as I could."

by **Richard Romain** Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:26 am

Richard raised an eyebrow as he watch Senium get gradually more and more amused about something, something he didn't know about apparently. His eyes widdened when he felt foreign magic taking control of his limbs. As he was made to do the same silly dance the puppet had done, Richard frowned a little bit as she let go of him. Before he smirked,

"Didn't know I was that good a dancer." he remarked before frowning slightly, "It's an odd feeling... being so very out of control of your own body."

Richard grinned at her,

"Sounds like you're the one who makes the products all presentable for sale!" he chuckled a little bit, "That friend I mentioned? Yeah he'd probably like to learn how to do it too actually. If you want to teach a teacher. And if you'd be honoured to meet him... well I guess I'll arrange a meeting soon for you!"

by **Senium Nex** Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:30 am

Senium smiled lightly and she looked at the floor, it was something that she probably should have asked about before she was going to do it, after all, it was something highly personal and it could even be seen as an attack if it was done in a malicious way.

"I'm sorry I should have asked before I did it...but it is a strange feeling isn't it?" she asked with a small smile "It was one of the ones I came to love as a child though."

Tilting her head to one side, Senium wondered what the person who wanted to know about the weapons would teach, and she bit her lip a little, looking up into Richard's eyes for a moment while she played with her fingers, hoping that the answer to her next question would be good.

"I was wondering...if as well as this man...would you like to learn? I could teach both of you. I would like to continue our legacy...because I wont get to in any other way."

by **Richard Romain** Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:37 am

He chuckled a little bit when she looked at the floor, obviously quite upset that she hadn't done it with his permission. Cupping her cheek, he tilted her head to look at her with a smile,

"Don't worry about it Seni, it was quite funny actually." he told her with a grin, "And I can see why you grew to like it if I'm honest. Makes you feel a lot... lighter I suppose the word is but I'm not sure. English is sometimes a bit too restricting to me."

Seeing the curiousity at the mention of his friend, Cobalt, Richard chuckled a little bit to himself. Cobalt was a bit of an oddball and this kind of magic would be right up his street. Richard smiled widely when she offered to teach him as well,

"I'd love to learn some of your art!" he admitted with a grin, "I have some spells that would be a heck of a lot better with puppetry and the ability on it's own is very useful in all manner of situations."

by **Senium Nex** Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:43 am

Senium smiled lightly when Richard cupped her cheek and she nuzzled her head into his hand, it was so nice to be able to have someone that she could be like this around, she had never had many friends when she was younger because she was homeschooled because of her condition.

"It makes the pain go away." she smiled happily "That's why I like it, it makes the pressure and pain off your joints go away for the moment you're captured." she grinned.

Seeing how happy Richard seemed to be when she told him that she wanted him to learn some of her arts, she was glad that he was so enthusiastic and he was going to be teaching her something, so she wanted to do something in return for him. This was perfect.

"I would be more than happy to start teaching you, but it's hard for someone who doesn't know how to do it...but you're really smart Richard you will do it no problem."

by **Richard Romain** Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:52 am

As Senium nuzzled her cheek into his head, he smiled and stroked her cheek with his thumb. Richard could see that he meant a lot to his apprentice and she too was beginning to grow on him. Kind of like a little sister,

"Ah... I guess it would kind of." he admitted, thinking about how it felt to be under control like that, "Mmm if all else fails you guys could make a killing at massage parlours with that trick if it's that good."

Richard had to admit that being a puppeteer, even in a limited sense, would do wonders for his control if and when he reanimated anyone. Like he was prone to doing to his brother. And it gave a nice sense of going full circle. He was her master but also her student and vice versa. Quite funny too,

"Well I'll give it my best shot!" he agreed, giving her a thumbs up, "Although I'm not as smart as you seem to think I am..."

by **Senium Nex** Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:57 am

Senium smiled happily when he said that he thought they would be able to give the same feeling to other people, but she didn't think that her Grandpapa would like her to use her gift for other things but puppetry when she needed to defend herself, or when she needed to teach someone like she would now.

"I don't think my Grandpapa would like that, so I'll just stick to the puppets." she grinned happily.

Grinning when Richard gave her a thumbs up, it made her happyto see that he was going to enjoy and appreciate the gift that he would be learning, and most of all that he would use it for the right reasons, as oppose to one of the other people who had approached her Grandpapa who were wanting the gift for power only.

"I know that you're as smart as I think you are, you're just being modest! You'll get it in no time, although it's harder if you don't have the genes like I do...but you'll get it."

by **Richard Romain** Tue Apr 17, 2012 1:29 am

Richard knew that it had the potential to be a very comercial spell, a spell made purely so that someone could feel the sense of pure relaxation that came from not controlling your movements. He chuckled a little bit,

"No it does seem a bit like using a masterwork sword to cut grain doesn't it?" he remarked with a small smirk, "I'd just use it as you do if I'm honest. It's primarily a method of controlling an attacking object after all."

If he was completely honest with himself, Richard was kicking himself for not researching a method of controlling his reanimated brother better. He might have met Senium earlier that way. It was going to be a skill that greatly improved his own attacks as well. He chuckled a little bit,

"No, no. I'm not smart. I can just concentrate better than you can. Better than anyone can probably." he admitted sheepishly, not usually one for explaining his strengths but it helped to dispell Senium's idea that he was that smart, "I wonder how genese affect it...? It would be something if your ancestors had managed to lock in an affinity for a certain type of magic."