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xp_logs Laurie turns up at Amanda's door at a decidedly unsocial hour of the morning/middle of the night with a request.
Laurie had a tendency to be tough on standard friendships. Her intent focus and lack of need for what most people considered vital social structures tended toward a person who would get lost in research and forget things like promising to meet up for coffee, or having dinner at a reasonable hour.
That didn’t mean she didn’t have friends, she had quite a few. It just meant that it tended to be with people who either also had busy schedules or who had long ago gotten used to unconventional calling times.
Like the middle of the night, which is when Laurie had turned up at Amanda’s door. Her research had led her to the witch, and a question that was burning in her brain after reading of previous healings Amanda had done, and what might be a possibility.
“I need your help.”
Amanda blinked at Laurie rather blearily. While she hadn't actually been asleep - yet - she had been working on research into Hell Lords and had been squinting at tiny archaic print for way too long. "An' a hello to you too," she responded. "What's the emergency?"
Laurie pulled the computer printout from her back pocket and shoved it toward Amanda, an air of almost desperation on her face as she eyed Amanda’s exhaustion. She looked almost concerned for a moment before shaking it off to point at the printout now in Amanda’s hand.
It was a Druidic ritual, something she’d found while looking through other documents. It claimed great healing powers for those willing to sacrifice, and take a risk.
“Can you and the others do this?”
Amanda blinked at the printout, not really seeing it. "Come in," she instructed, closing the door behind them as Laurie entered the suite. She waved the other woman to a seat, not really aware if she actually sat down or not, and continued reading the paper with a frown of concentration on her face.
Laurie perched awkwardly on the edge of Amanda’s couch, her eyes not leaving Amanda’s face as she waited for the other woman’s verdict. She’d been almost elated when she found the ritual. If they could do it, she’d have her lower arm and hand back as if it had never been taken.
“Well? It looked simple.”
"Magic's never simple. Especially for something like this," Amanda replied absently as she read. A frown appeared. "Did you see this? The part about sacrifice?"
“Surely an animal sacrifice of sufficient size will be enough?”
Laurie had noted the passage but given the number of animals slaughtered for food alone in the country, she had thought channeling some of that energy should be sufficient for their needs.
In other circumstances, Amanda would have made a joke, possibly referencing one of those memes Doug was so fond of... 'oh, sweet summer child'. But in this situation, with Laurie as... intense as she had been lately, a joke wouldn't smooth things over the way she hoped. Bald, blunt truth was going to have to do. "It's not an animal sacrifice," she replied, with a sigh. "This sort of magic, this sort of job... it needs something meaningful. Sacrificing an animal is easy, in ritual terms. For this, you'd need human blood."
“Death row inmates then? Surely you have contacts for this sort of thing?”
Laurie wasn’t sure how you’d go about procuring such a thing, or how fresh the blood needed to be but given the number of people killed in the prison system alone, there must be resources for those that needed them.
It was distasteful but the ends would surely justify the means.
Amanda blinked. It wasn't often she was shocked, but Laurie's matter-of-fact response was so... cold-blooded. "Fuck, no!" she burst out, before recovering her composure. "Blood sacrifices, this sort of magic... there has to be a personal connection. A price to be paid for the reward. So it's someone willing, and you do it yourself."
Laurie stepped back, the look of disappointment quickly shuttered behind a friendly smile.
“I suppose back then it was considered less egregious to ask friends to shed blood to heal someone they cared about. Of course, these days that would be an impossible proposition.”
Another sigh and the witch shook her head. "It's not that at all. A spell like this... it's such a big deal, so against the natural order of things, that to cast it you really have to mean it and means you need to pay a steep price. It's like with my healing spell... it uses life energy, so I have to really mean it. "
"And how much would the healing spell take to heal me?" Laurie asked, almost absently as she continued to smile and look around at the various books Amanda had laid out. Laurie knew of the Demon Lord and had quickly dismissed any thought of attempting contact with one herself. While she might gain back the use of her arm, she would be bound for eternity and she had no desire to be a plaything of anybody. There were some things even she wouldn't stoop to, no matter how much she desired answers to her current predicament. "Is my arm and a return to normal life, not enough for you to 'mean it'?"
"That's not what I meant and you know that," Amanda retorted a little sharply. Laurie's almost robotic level of disconnect was disconcerting. Not to mention aggravating. And regular healing magic won't work that way, or I would have regrown Julian's hands for him. My healing spells only speed up the normal process - they can't regenerate limbs any more than existing science can." She took a steadying breath. "And even if it was possible, something like that would take the life energy of half the bloody country."
"And if I could somehow find this life energy without having to take it from a living creature, and a spell to do it?" Laurie asked, mind turning over the possibilities as to where such a thing might be found. It wouldn't be easy, or fast but she'd never given up on anything worth doing before. "Would you heal me?"
"No," was Amanda's blunt response. "Because it's impossible." She crossed her arms over her chest. "What you're proposing... it doesn't exist. Life energy is living creatures. You don't get one without the other. And the Laurie I know wouldn't even think of asking me to do something like this if it meant the life of someone else."
“Of course.”
Laurie gave her a wry smile, her remaining hand reaching to rub the stump of what was left of her other arm.
She stood quickly from the perch she’d taken.
“I had to ask, you know? Otherwise, it would have eaten at me. I’ll let you get some sleep.”
"No rest for the wicked," Amanda replied, but without her usual joking tone when she used that expression.
After this encounter, she doubted she would sleep much.
Laurie had a tendency to be tough on standard friendships. Her intent focus and lack of need for what most people considered vital social structures tended toward a person who would get lost in research and forget things like promising to meet up for coffee, or having dinner at a reasonable hour.
That didn’t mean she didn’t have friends, she had quite a few. It just meant that it tended to be with people who either also had busy schedules or who had long ago gotten used to unconventional calling times.
Like the middle of the night, which is when Laurie had turned up at Amanda’s door. Her research had led her to the witch, and a question that was burning in her brain after reading of previous healings Amanda had done, and what might be a possibility.
“I need your help.”
Amanda blinked at Laurie rather blearily. While she hadn't actually been asleep - yet - she had been working on research into Hell Lords and had been squinting at tiny archaic print for way too long. "An' a hello to you too," she responded. "What's the emergency?"
Laurie pulled the computer printout from her back pocket and shoved it toward Amanda, an air of almost desperation on her face as she eyed Amanda’s exhaustion. She looked almost concerned for a moment before shaking it off to point at the printout now in Amanda’s hand.
It was a Druidic ritual, something she’d found while looking through other documents. It claimed great healing powers for those willing to sacrifice, and take a risk.
“Can you and the others do this?”
Amanda blinked at the printout, not really seeing it. "Come in," she instructed, closing the door behind them as Laurie entered the suite. She waved the other woman to a seat, not really aware if she actually sat down or not, and continued reading the paper with a frown of concentration on her face.
Laurie perched awkwardly on the edge of Amanda’s couch, her eyes not leaving Amanda’s face as she waited for the other woman’s verdict. She’d been almost elated when she found the ritual. If they could do it, she’d have her lower arm and hand back as if it had never been taken.
“Well? It looked simple.”
"Magic's never simple. Especially for something like this," Amanda replied absently as she read. A frown appeared. "Did you see this? The part about sacrifice?"
“Surely an animal sacrifice of sufficient size will be enough?”
Laurie had noted the passage but given the number of animals slaughtered for food alone in the country, she had thought channeling some of that energy should be sufficient for their needs.
In other circumstances, Amanda would have made a joke, possibly referencing one of those memes Doug was so fond of... 'oh, sweet summer child'. But in this situation, with Laurie as... intense as she had been lately, a joke wouldn't smooth things over the way she hoped. Bald, blunt truth was going to have to do. "It's not an animal sacrifice," she replied, with a sigh. "This sort of magic, this sort of job... it needs something meaningful. Sacrificing an animal is easy, in ritual terms. For this, you'd need human blood."
“Death row inmates then? Surely you have contacts for this sort of thing?”
Laurie wasn’t sure how you’d go about procuring such a thing, or how fresh the blood needed to be but given the number of people killed in the prison system alone, there must be resources for those that needed them.
It was distasteful but the ends would surely justify the means.
Amanda blinked. It wasn't often she was shocked, but Laurie's matter-of-fact response was so... cold-blooded. "Fuck, no!" she burst out, before recovering her composure. "Blood sacrifices, this sort of magic... there has to be a personal connection. A price to be paid for the reward. So it's someone willing, and you do it yourself."
Laurie stepped back, the look of disappointment quickly shuttered behind a friendly smile.
“I suppose back then it was considered less egregious to ask friends to shed blood to heal someone they cared about. Of course, these days that would be an impossible proposition.”
Another sigh and the witch shook her head. "It's not that at all. A spell like this... it's such a big deal, so against the natural order of things, that to cast it you really have to mean it and means you need to pay a steep price. It's like with my healing spell... it uses life energy, so I have to really mean it. "
"And how much would the healing spell take to heal me?" Laurie asked, almost absently as she continued to smile and look around at the various books Amanda had laid out. Laurie knew of the Demon Lord and had quickly dismissed any thought of attempting contact with one herself. While she might gain back the use of her arm, she would be bound for eternity and she had no desire to be a plaything of anybody. There were some things even she wouldn't stoop to, no matter how much she desired answers to her current predicament. "Is my arm and a return to normal life, not enough for you to 'mean it'?"
"That's not what I meant and you know that," Amanda retorted a little sharply. Laurie's almost robotic level of disconnect was disconcerting. Not to mention aggravating. And regular healing magic won't work that way, or I would have regrown Julian's hands for him. My healing spells only speed up the normal process - they can't regenerate limbs any more than existing science can." She took a steadying breath. "And even if it was possible, something like that would take the life energy of half the bloody country."
"And if I could somehow find this life energy without having to take it from a living creature, and a spell to do it?" Laurie asked, mind turning over the possibilities as to where such a thing might be found. It wouldn't be easy, or fast but she'd never given up on anything worth doing before. "Would you heal me?"
"No," was Amanda's blunt response. "Because it's impossible." She crossed her arms over her chest. "What you're proposing... it doesn't exist. Life energy is living creatures. You don't get one without the other. And the Laurie I know wouldn't even think of asking me to do something like this if it meant the life of someone else."
“Of course.”
Laurie gave her a wry smile, her remaining hand reaching to rub the stump of what was left of her other arm.
She stood quickly from the perch she’d taken.
“I had to ask, you know? Otherwise, it would have eaten at me. I’ll let you get some sleep.”
"No rest for the wicked," Amanda replied, but without her usual joking tone when she used that expression.
After this encounter, she doubted she would sleep much.
