fantasy au @ jennomaly

[makingsouffles]

[The werewolf really was just a coincidence.

After a particularly strenuous trip back a couple of thousand years, Idris had needed more than her usual amount of time to rest, and that left Oswin and the Doctor stuck for a day or two in the village where they'd landed. And, of course it just happened to be one that was being terrorized (supposedly) by a werewolf. Oswin hadn't actually heard of it attacking anything more than a couple of sheep, so she doubted it'd actually terrorized anyone just yet.

Still, it was a magical creature, and there was nothing better to manage a magical creature than a mage of her caliber. Or, at least, that was what the Doctor told her, and considering that ego-boosting happened to be one of Oswin's weak spots, she'd agreed to go have a look.

With a ball of light that hovered just over her open palm illuminating her path, she headed into the dark forest that surrounded the little town. The full moon overhead did its best to provide light, but the branches and leaves were thick here. Best to keep to her spells just in case. Being stuck in the dark in a place haunted by a werewolf did not sound like a good place to be, even if she did have magic on her side.]

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[makingsouffles]

[She laughs quietly, scratching behind her ears.

But it's short-lived, for as she looks over at the other side of the clearing, there's a glimpse of torchlight in the distance. Uh oh. Looks like she picked the wrong night to go off into the forest. Or maybe the right one.]

You'd better get out of here. [Oswin murmurs, the orb of light dimming considerably so as not to give away their location.] Quick, now, I'll hold them off.

[By which she means she'll try and talk them into going back. Oswin's good at talking herself out of bad situations, hopefully that'll continue.]

[jennomaly]

[Jenny hears them before she sees them and goes still, tension in every line of her body. Ears pricked, it's easy to see both the wolf and the girl in her is terrified.

As soon as Oswin speaks, she starts in surprise, staring at her for a few long moments.

The wolf lets out a soft, barely there whine, nosing into Oswin's hand. What about you?]

[makingsouffles]

[She strokes her head reassuringly.]

They're after you, not me. And if they decide to go after me, I've got more than a few tricks that'll make them wish they hadn't. [Oswin glances over her shoulder.] Go on, hurry.

[jennomaly]

[She looks back towards the noise, the growing light and sound of an angry mob.

Jenny shivers, noses against Oswin again in thanks, and bolts, silvery-white coat melting into the shadows as she runs.]

[makingsouffles]

[Once she's disappeared, the orb of light disappears and reignites in Oswin's hand, alerting the mob to her presence.

It doesn't take long to convince them to go back, and insist that the wolf hadn't been seen at all that night. There might have been a little persuasion of the magical sort involved, but really, Oswin hadn't had an excuse to practice spells that influenced others mentally in ages.

When they're gone, she turns and sets out in the opposite direction of the village, planning on finding Jenny and reassuring here that they're gone for the night.]

[jennomaly]

[Jenny doesn't stop running. Instinct takes over and she's terrified running as fast and as hard as she can.

When the sun starts to peak over the horizon, she collapses in a half buried cave, somewhere small and safe. She's unconscious for the transformation, thankfully, too exhausted to do anything but collapse.

Should Oswin do enough exploring, she'll find a naked blonde, covered in dirt and leaves, face-down in the best shelter she could find.]

[makingsouffles]

[It must be her lucky day.

She spends a good portion of the night searching, and once she does find her, Oswin's clever enough to put two and two together. Crouching down to touch her shoulder, she gives it a little shake.] Hello?

[jennomaly]

[Jenny wakes with a start, jolting upright and letting a sharp, frightened cry.

Please don't hurt me...

Her eyes move up, taking in the girl. The one from the night before. The friendly mage. Distrust shines in Jenny's eyes, her face smeared with dirt.]

[makingsouffles]

[She quickly steps back, hands held up in a gesture of innocence.]

It's okay! Just me. [Oswin waits a second or two before slowly lowering her hands and shrugging her cloak off. That done, she carefully offers it to Jenny.] You alright?

[jennomaly]

[She swallows, taking her in slowly. It's been a long time since she's spoken to anyone like this. Cautiously, she takes the cloak from Oswin and wraps it around her shoulders, shivering slightly.]

Think so.

[Her voice is a bit hoarse from disuse.] ...You're the girl from before. The mage.

[makingsouffles]

Yeah, that's me. [She smiles faintly, keeping her distance, if only for her sake. The girl seems too nervous for Oswin to come any closer, but there's another pang of sympathy for her as she hears her speak for the first time.

It wasn't too long ago that her voice had been the same way.]

My name's Oswin.

[jennomaly]

[Jenny's hardly your ordinary human, but in this form, she feels...bare. Vulnerable. She's at her weakest like this, easiest to kill, and while she trusts the mage for some impossible reason, instinct fights against it.

She's been hurt too many times to trust easily.]

Jenny. I'm Jenny.

[makingsouffles]

[She nods in acknowledgement.] Good to meet you, Jenny. Properly, anyway.

...D'you need anything? [Oswin hasn't quite mastered conjuring things out of thin air yet, but she's getting there and could probably at least manage something small.]

[jennomaly]

[Jenny shivers a bit and pulls the coat tighter around her.]

Proper clothes would be nice. ...What happened to all those people last night?

[makingsouffles]

Right. Just a mo'.

[Clothes are a bit difficult, but after a few failed attempts, Oswin manages a simple shirt and trousers. Not exactly proper by lots of people's standards, but she's got a feeling Jenny won't mind.]

Gone. [She hands the clothing over to her, smirking slightly.] They had a bit of a change of heart. [In a tone that suggests she had everything to do with that.]

[jennomaly]

[Jenny watches with wide eyes. She hasn't seen much magic before, and certainly not magic being used to help her.

She takes the clothes with a murmur of thanks and turns around to get dressed. There's scars down her back, along her shoulders, chest, just about everywhere. It feels strange to be wearing clothing, but it's more comfortable than being naked around a stranger.]

You...magicked them away?

[makingsouffles]

Just a bit. Wasn't really all the difficult, considering. [She's not a magical prodigy for nothing, after all.

It hurts a little to see the scars running all of Jenny's body and too much of a painful reminder of the ones of her back, her own reminders that she's lucky to be alive at all. Oswin averts her eyes to give her a bit of privacy.] Lots of people with the same goal, it's easy to just sort of divert it elsewhere.

[jennomaly]

...Where did you divert it, then?

[She finishes dressing, smoothing the creases out of the trousers and smiling faintly, remembering a time when all she wore were nice dresses and skirts.]

[makingsouffles]

Just back to the village. [She shrugs lightly, turning back to Jenny.] Didn't really have a lot of time for anything creative.

[Looking Jenny up and down, Oswin nods her approval.] Not bad. Sorry it's not anything impressive, I haven't been able to manage a dress yet.

[jennomaly]

I haven't worn a dress in ages. [She manages a small smile, shy and hesitant.]

Why are you helping me?

[makingsouffles]

Have I got a reason not to? [Oswin furrows her brow slightly, puzzled. She's not naive enough to think that people haven't tried to hurt the other girl before, but Jenny hasn't done anything to her.]

[jennomaly]

You know what I am. [She pushes a strand of blond hair back behind her ears, looking down at the ground.]

[makingsouffles]

Well. M'taking the fact that you haven't eaten me yet as a good sign. [She smirks faintly]

And like I said. I've seen weirder than werewolves.

[jennomaly]

[Jenny blanches slightly at the comment.] I don't hurt people. Not... I just don't.

[Weirder than werewolves? Jenny's half tempted to tell Oswin what she really is, but now isn't the right time.]

[makingsouffles]

Good. Then we haven't got a problem. [She smiles.]

So! D'you need anything else? I've got a bit of food back at...where I'm staying, if you like. [Oswin doesn't mention that 'where she's staying' happens to be more of 'who she's staying with', given that she's a rather large, fire-breathing dragon.

Sue her, she likes showing Idris off to people who probably won't freak out too badly.]