Active Magic (TatlTails and othyrworld)

"Oh, thank you!" Jacqueline replied to the compliment, her voice remaining just as soft and gentle as a babbling brook, not daring to ruin the mood. She daintily lowered herself to a seat in the grass, her movements soft and careful as well, and then offered a compliment of her own: "Those braids are lovely. You found such gorgeous flowers for them, I can't help but admire the variety. It's inspiring, even. I'd love to make something like it sometime."
 
Flora smiled. Jaqueline had a gentle, positive presence. It was an interesting contrast from the rest of the people in the house. Flora nodded again, finishing her braid and letting Sequoia sit up beside her. Flora let the flowers sink back into the ground, nodding softly. "Thank you, I'm sure that would be quite pretty." A tinge of worry colored her voice "How did Madi react to everything?"

Sequoia groaned, standing and offering a hand to Flora. She turned to Jaqueline with a hastily concealed grimace. "So, what are you doing out here?" She was clearly expecting a lecture of some sort.
 
Jacqueline clearly and obviously hesitated to answer Flora's question, her eyes widening as a breathy "Uhhm..." escaped her lips. She seemed quite relieved to switch over to answering Sequoia's question instead.

"I was told that you two had come here," She sighed softly, standing up and brushing the bits of earth off her skirt. "And needed some new clothes. So I figured I would come out here and meet you both, and make sure you were alright while I was at it. No one's upset with you, if that's what you're worried about. Just a little concerned, in a self-reprimanding sort of way. You know?"
 
Sequoia bit her lip. She couldn't tell if Jaqueline was trying to brush over the things they'd done or actually telling the truth but it was clear that something bad had happened. She put it out of her mind for a while, aching to lose herself in something simple. Fashion would do fine. "Yeah, some new clothes would be nice but I don't know if we'll be sticking around long enough for a really big wardrobe. We could probably just steal from the big box of clothes, but Flora needs some shirts that'll fit her wings."

Flora nodded. "If you could make something floral, that would be nice." She picked again at the threads at the back of her shirt, pulling one out and playing with it in her fingers. She hoped Jaqueline wouldn't be offended that Sequoia had helped her disfigure the shirt to fit her wings. Thinking of offense reminded her of Dagger, and she wondered if Jaqueline would know where he was.

Sequoia beat her to the punch. "Thanks so much for checking up on us, but do you know where Dagger is? I have something to say to him."

Flora frowned at the way she worded it, adding "We'd like to apologize for our actoins"
 
Jacqueline's expression lit right up when the subject changed to clothing, especially when the prospect of making custom pieces was presented to her. She had a breath ready to jubilantly accept the offer, when the subject changed on a dime and pulled the rug out from under her. The breath came out in an uncomfortable "Aaaahhnn..." sort of noise, ending in a short hum as the girl tried to contemplate how to answer the presented question.

She only took a few more moments to start speaking, but her answer was slow and being contemplated word by word. ...At least at first. "Dagger was with Madi last time I saw them, but they were... a bit busy at the time. They may be finished by now, but... Well, if I must be honest I think Madi might be more angry than Dagger at the moment. Not at you, obviously, but at him. That's what they were doing, they were arguing."

She halted herself for a moment there, wide-eyed with embarrassment and shock, before she continued to devolve into further nervous rambling. "...Please don't tell them I said that. But it was about what had happened this morning so I can only assume Dagger feels guilty for whatever he did to you, at least by this point after all that yelling, so maybe he would be open to seeing you two and clearing the air? I really don't know, I must be honest. I have a bad habit of thinking aloud a little too often, so I could be completely off-base here, but if you two would like to go and see him then I don't want to stop you. If he's still with Madi then he's in the basement. If not, then the living room couch."
 
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Sequoia nodded, taking a shaky breath as she gathered her courage. She pulled Flora's wrist, urging them inside. She figured she'd check the couch first, and then head back to Jaqueline and talk about clothes. If Dagger wasn't there she and Flora could claim they didn't want to intrude in what was clearly Madi's space and get away with apologizing later. She really hoped he wasn't on the couch. She may have been more distant from the fight now, but she still felt anger and fear raise their ugly heads when she thought of it or him.

"Thank you. If you can tell us where your room is, we'll try to stop by later." She gave a shy smile, tucking one of the braids that had fallen into her face behind her ear. Sequoia gave a brief but sincere 'thank you', dragging Flora into the living room with a grim expression.
 
Jacqueline made no move to stop the girls from going back inside, and knew better than to follow them in. She just returned Sequoia's smile, and as Flora led the two to the door, she called out after them "Okay! I'm upstairs, the first door on the right!"

Unfortunately for Sequoia, she would not be going to that room just yet. There was a small red lump on the edge of the couch, curled up sulkily into the crook of the armrest. When the duo entered the room, his ears flicked up, and then his head, and then nothing for a moment, before he hopped off the couch and transformed. His expression was something between his usual anger, sheer terror, and a mask to cover up both. His sights were set right in Sequoia, but all he told her was "We need to talk."
 
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Sequoia bit back a groan, grabbing Flora's arm even tighter for support. Flora nodded encouragingly, urging her to continue. With a deep breath, she spat out her apology, stringing the words together so fast they were nearly incomprehensible. "I'm really sorry for blowing up at you it was really shitty of me and I hope you can forgive everything sorry." She stopped to take a breath, bracing herself for the inevitable response. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too rude.

Flora rubbed the back of her hand soothingly. It was hard for Sequoia to admit she was wrong, even if she didn't mean it. Plus, Dagger seemed the type to push if he found something insincere. She just prayed he wouldn't find anything fishy.
 
Dagger... was not expecting that. An apology from Sequoia, that is. Especially so quickly, in both speed and timing. Before he could catch a hold of himself, he felt his expression sink into one that revealed his confusion, his ears and tail joining the party because instincts are a bitch to kill when you're caught off-guard. By the time it was clear she had finished speaking, all he could manage in the form of coherent speech was a whispered "Nani...?"

But then his brain caught up to him, and he realized something that made his blood boil. "Wait, I was supposed to apologize to you! For the exact same thing! What the hell?!"

It was both infuriating and a relief that Fate contrived itself to the point where Dagger had to deal with this situation at all, yet also solve his problem in his emotional comfort zone.
 
The lack of anger was odd. Sequoia was momentarily stunned but Flora had a calculatinging look in her eyes. She had to reevaluate her opinion of Dagger: he was obviously either far more willing to admit he was wrong than she thought, or far closer to Madi.

Sequoia muttered a string of profanity. Dagger was angry at her for apologizing? What the ever loving fuck? She took a deep breath, rubbed her hands over her face, and did her best to stay calm. Well, as calm as possible. She forced a fake feeling smile onto her face and spat, "Well now you don't have to. Must be your lucky day." When Flora tilted her head towards the door, a silent invitation to leave, she began walking out of the room.
 
"Nonononono, you stop right there and let me apologize to you!" Dagger snapped, taking one step towards the retreating duo but stopping himself before he went any farther or did anything else he would regret. That was the last thing he needed, he was trying to apologize here. Okay, deep breath, do not get angry, this is important, do not fuck it up...

"Believe it or not," He finally spoke, actively fighting the tightness in his voice that made it sound passive-aggressive. "I do genuinely regret the harsher actions I have taken against you. I usually present myself in a more professional manner towards the people who take refuge here, and I should have offered you the same courtesy. Both of you. And for not doing so... I apologize. You can accept it or not, but I would prefer there to be fewer... altercations in the future. I will do my part to prevent them. I hope you will do the same. And that is all."

Now time to wait for the verdict, and pray to the gods that he had the patience to keep the promise he'd just made if she didn't like what he'd had to say.
 
Sequoia snorted. Flora gave her a warning look and she raised a hand to her mouth to muffle the noise. It was rude, but Dagger hadn't even said the word sorry so she figured a few giggles were warranted. He spoke like a grandpa. Or one of the pretentious students who visited the circus to study the magic users inside. Her laughter died in dramatic fashion, and she felt the need to retch. She muttered "Great. Cool. Have fun with that!" and let Flora lead her into the hall.

Flora grabbed her face, forcing Sequoia to look her in the eyes. "Where are you?" It was a common question, one they used to ground each other when they were on the verges of a panic attack.

Sequoia swallowed. "At Madi's house." Flora nodded, moving a hand to her shoulder.

"Great! We're going to get some new clothes from Jaqueline. We're going to get a whole new wardrobe, and it's going to be amazing. You'll get some sundresses, those off the shoulder ones with tons of ruffles because if you wear something with a skirt it's going to have ruffles."

Sequoia nodded. "Yeah, and I'm going to get you some comfy cardigans with those big round necklines because you always look like you're super uncomfortable and I think a sweater would make you feel better." Flora giggled, and together they hurried up to Jaqueline's room.
 
Dagger was just left stunned by the response he was given, unable to decide between relief and rage as Sequoia literally laughed in his face, somewhat accepted his apology, and ran off with her friend to who knows the fuck where. He did every damn thing he could to give her a good fucking apology and she just... laughs at him! The disre-fucking-spect...

Well, at least Madi would calm down after hearing about this. The last thing he needed was her wrath to continue. The last thing anyone needed was her wrath to continue. With that thought, he transformed and ran off to tell her the deed was done.

Jacqueline had just settled back in her room by the time the girls approached her, but she answered the door anyway, her curious expression melting into a smile as she saw who was there.

"Oh, hello!" She greeted the two, stepping aside to let them in. "How did everything go, are you alright?"

Jacqueline's room, to prepare one for the shock, was a sight different than the room the girls had been assigned. The walls were painted in dark shades of blue and green, and instead of a bed there was a shallow rocky pool set into the floor. Another, smaller pool was set into a far corner, and both bodies of water were enclosed in several layers of magical spells. The rest of the furniture, however, was normal. Several dressers pressed up against free walls, and a sewing table with a well-kept sewing machine and a couple half-finished garments sitting on top. A few beanbag chairs were arranged in a clear corner, which Jacqueline gestured towards to show they were free to sit in before she herself sat at the stool by her table.
 
Flora gaped at Jaqueline's room, nearly in love with it. Sequoia had settled into a beanbag, but Flora couldn't bring herself to. She wanted to take in everything. She wanted to make her room like this. When she realized she was gaping, she blushed lightly. "Sorry for staring," she murmured, sitting quietly beside Sequoia.

Sequoia didn't seem as interested in the room as Flora was, but she could already tell that Flora would convince her to let her paint their room. "So, You can make us some new clothes?"
 
"Oh! Yes, I can." Jacqueline confirmed, pulling her glance from Flora to Sequoia as it changed from light concern at the fairy's sudden change in emotion to the barest hint of pride in her abilities.

"I may also alter some of the things I already have, but if either of you want any custom pieces, I can get at least the first of them done in a day or so. So do either of you know the types of clothing you may want? We can talk, look through some things, and then make a plan. I should also let you know before I forget that I can enchant your clothing items if you'd like, with basic charms and such. That can be discussed later though, for now we should probably focus on the clothes themselves. So now that I have talked far too long, what do you two think you might want?"
 
Flora took some time to consider, running her fingers over the hem of her shirt, but Sequoia jumped right into everything. "Well I'm obviously going to be checking out the box again- you do great work by the way- but I'd really like a lightly colored sundress. Maybe in yellow or green? Whatever you think is best really. I'd also like some boots. And I could go for a really big sweater."

Flora bit her lip, considering everything. "Uh, I don't really need anything." Sequoia elbowed her in the side, and she blurted out "How did you decorate your room like this? It's really pretty."
 
Jacqueline took in everything Sequoia wanted, even grabbing at a notepad to jot down bulletpoints and maybe even start a sketch. She blushed red at the compliment given to her, although she held her tongue until she was sure the girls were done speaking.

She had her head stuck in her book when Flora started speaking, but she still heard enough to frown to herself at the idea. She'd already started making plans for Flora's wings...

And then she was asked about her room decor, which made her look up again with a bit of surprise. Yes, she rather liked her room, but not many people brought it up rather than the free clothes they were about to get. It was a bit of a breath of fresh air. She smiled as the question settled, and glanced around the room as she answered.

"Well," She started with a thoughtful nod. "The pools were mainly done by Madi. They filter in clean seawater, or at least an equivalent, so I can soak at night and not dry myself out. Which is kind of an important health requirement, one I couldn't fulfill here on my own. That's what the bigger pool is for, at least. The smaller one is a scrying pool, which is a bit like that FaceTime thing? Except it's magic and I know magic much better than technology. The furniture was mostly just what was available, but this lovely shapeshifter man who lived here last year built me my sewing table. He's gone now, I think he moved back to Ireland? Anyway, I painted the walls myself, I'm rather proud of them. I put a bit of a spell into the paint, so if I sing the right songs then the colors animate themselves a bit. In case I miss the sea a but too much, you know? But yes, I suppose that's everything. I'm glad you like it."
 
"It's quite lovely." Flora bit her lip, thinking about everything she could do with Sequoia & her room. "Do you think I could decorate my room?" She was clearly already thinking up ideas. Sequoia quietly elbowed her again, getting her back onto the subject of clothes. "Uh, I like light fabrics. And florals. But I prefer wearing shirts and pants. A blouse would be nice if you could design around my wings." She picked at the loose strings hanging around her wings.

Sequoia was thinking about the effect of magic on clothes. "Could you enchant something to change colors depending on the wearer's emotions? Or maybe something enchanted so that the wearer could change the color whenever they wanted? Or maybe a dress that can turn into a jumpsuit..." She trailed off, still thinking up different ways to use magic to improve clothing. She specialized in elementalism, so she was more likely to burn her clothes then make them pretty.
 
Jacqueline was taken aback by the number of questions that were then presented to her, the girl trying not to get lost while thinking up the answers for every question. They were all good questions, she genuinely wanted to think them through.

"Well, for starters," She chuckled, trying to think of where to actually start. Perhaps at the very beginning. "If you plan on actually living here for a while, then I think Madi would be open to you doing some decorating. It's just a matter of timing, really. It would be a shame for you to do a lot of work on a room, and then have to leave it the next week while Madi has to undo all the work you just did. But I digress."

Now to talk about the clothes, and her magic. This was the fun part. "I have made some clothes for fairies before, although I may get a little experimental with your pieces if you're open to that. I can definitely stick to your preferences, though. As for the spells you'd like, Sequoia... I think I can do the Mood Ring sort of color-changing spell. There's this lovely song by Cyndi Lauper that could do just the thing, though I've never tried it on a garment before. I'd have to do some more thinking on the conscious color-changing, but I don't think I can make a garment completely alter its shape like you proposed. There's only so much that singing to a piece of fabric can do, so I'm afraid that's out of my skillset."

...Oh dear, she'd done it again. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I never explained my magic to you! You see, I'm not a witch or anything, so I can only access magic through song. If a song fits what I want to accomplish, then I can sing to make it happen. Otherwise, all I have is involuntary shapeshifting. But I sing to my projects as I work on them, and if I do it right, the magic sticks to them even after I've stopped. So that's mostly why my skillset is so limited, I can only really layer spells on top of things rather than actually enchant them."
 
Flora nodded, disappointed that she couldn't jump into decorating her room. She'd been so excited, making plans to paint the walls and build a few flower boxes. Of course, she and Sequoia wouldn't be staying long enough to decorate anything. She just wanted to make something hers. To make something for herself and for Sequoia. Sequoia who was already bursting at the seams with ideas about clothing.

"That's super cool!" Sequoia squealed, adding the limitations of Jaqueline's powers to her ideas and doing her best to draw up blueprints for some truly incredible outfits. "Can I work with you to make some stuff? I'd really like to have a hand in making some pieces. Flora will too, she's just a little bummed right now." She knew that was the understatement of the century, but she figured it would sum up the situation without worrying anyone too much.
 
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