Reignhart brittle molten flame

Cassius truthfully couldn't say how he expected this to go.

Emil was steadfast, full of potential, but he was also as green and wet behind the ears. Untested in many ways. This attempt to pact for power could make him very formidable... if it did not break him.

Xylah struck him as dangerous as an ally. He would not make an enemy of her by prying past the shell she coated herself in. Having her close would give him opportunity if he didn’t mistake her and her mind. He still wondered at her honesty.

They would see.

Today, they had their task.

Cassius had set up a very table with comfortable chairs around it. He could not easily get up and down off the floor and refused to do so in his own home. An old, small place with carved woodworks and dark floors.

Today... it would be the nexus of something new, perhaps. He expected them here soon.

gray jogging pants and that shirt but obviously not that hair

---

Emil was as ready as one could be while not knowing at all what he was getting into and barely realizing he was still very much out of his depth.

But he had eaten a good breakfast, despite the nerves. He wouldn't give up. He had to save his brother, and this was the only way (it wasn't, but he had all the nuance of a 21 yo because he was one).

They. Would. Succeed.

Yet his knock on the door was shy, almost as if he didn't want to be heard.

The house, immensely quiet inside, could not miss even the smallest of knocks.

And within ten seconds Cassius was at the door, quick to smile and usher Emil in. "Feel free to keep your shoes on if you prefer," said the man who was also very much wearing shoes inside his own home. The sort of thing one could suppose maybe he did when he was expecting company? But who would know, unless they dropped in on him unexpectedly.

"Come in, come in. Feel free to sit on the couch until Xylah joins us. We'll settle in at the table when we're ready. How have you been?"'

The usual routine of information and soft attention. And a little... press to tell the truth. Just for a moment.

---

truth sense activated to compel honesty

Good call, because he already felt like this would expose him, so keeping as many things on would help. Especially if he got cold from his other side effect.

"I, uh-" I'm okay. "I'm scared." Uuuuh no Emil, you're supposed to sound cool? "I'm not sure what to expect." Shut up? "But we have to do this. For Eloi." And for the world, dumbass?

Oh well, he trusted Cass enough. ...Right?

It was a good answer, and only lightly resisted, which was reassuring. Not that Emil had had any choice, but it did not sound entirely unlike other less than savory truths he'd heard from the boy in the past. They were most certainly in a trusting space, no doubt. :)

Dropping his power as he glanced to the boy and decided to join him for sitting wherever he settled, he nodded grimly. "For Eloi," he agreed, in spite of the brother being far from his mind on the matter. A good way to motivate Emil, little more. Whatever came of that situation was to be determined down the pathway they were attempting to embark on today.

"Don't fret, Xylah and I haven't experienced a pact yet either, but we have more resources than most. You will not need to worry about a thing other than playing your part as directed."

Emil could be directed. This was the stage, and he knew... some of his lines.

It was a play, except psychic rather than theater.

He could do this. He nodded.

Please get here soon, Crazy Eyes, so they could just DO IT.

outfit

---

Xylah was fashionably late.

She refused to think of herself as late-late when this rarely happens to her. It was her fault for following a lead, leaning into potential intel to benefit her work and maybe the funds of New Sun. It was only once her assistant had called to relay the meeting with Cassius and the boy, did she drop the lead to pick up the real work.

Disgraceful.

The voice of her Mother and Aunt rang in her ears that made her more inclined to drag out her arrival. She wouldn’t. As it were, she followed the GPS to the location that Cassius had sent her and with a straight spine, she tapped upon the door.

With a pat to Emil's hand, Cassius stood to go to the door to let their third and final piece in.

"Xylah, hello. Come in. Shoes on, if you prefer it, it won't bother me any at all. Emil's already here, we were just sitting over here. But perhaps we gather at the table? If you would rather get started than chat."

Privately, this was a joke. He did not think he'd ever seen Xylah chat with a soul in his entire, vague association with her.

A wave to Xylah. A purposeful attempt to think her real name, because, that was a little rude? They were about to get... bonded, in a way. They had to be friendly, if not friend.

They were a truly mismatched bunch.

"Ready when you are." He commented.

Xylah was chatty outside of business, and only when it suited her.

Being greeted and welcomed into the old man’s home was more than enough for her as she gave a curt nod towards the boy. She should play a bit more into deepening connections, accept the offer to chat although she felt it wasn’t entirely a genuine offer.

”We can chat while we get started. Care to know anything specific, Cassius?”

Her gaze was sharp but not unkind. One predator watching another, sizing one another up, or at least she was in her head.

It felt a challenge. He took her to go sit and join at the table, figuring they could get comfortable there and decide if they needed anything further before they got started. His own mind... thoughtful.

"You are quite the capable fire bearer on your own, as we've witnessed. I dare to ask... what makes you willing to follow the whims of another? Merely strength in numbers?"

Of course this was no idle chatter. Why would it be?

Oh. Oh.

This wasn't about the weather or the last movie.

It was... awkward.

He looked at his hands, not daring to meet either of their gazes.

Xylah settled into her chair as if she owned it, posture long and composed. The curl of her mouth could’ve been amusement or disdain—hard to tell which.

“Strength in numbers is the simplest answer,” she admitted, her tone smooth but edged. “But it isn’t the true one. I don’t bend for the sake of another’s whim, Cassius. I weigh risk against return. If I think there’s more to gain together than apart, I’ll play my part.”

Her gaze flicked briefly to Emil, then back to Cassius, steady as steel.

“Besides, even the capable don’t live long pretending they can fight every battle alone. There is enough of a blight still out there that proves it.”

"True." Easy concession, and a satisfying answer for his own mind. He supposed he was of a similar framing. The Sun had saved him, yes... but he knew his own power was what made his mission worthwhile. The further evolution of their kind, and making sure that nothing tore them down while they achieved it. Eradicating blight, as she so succinctly put it.

Sometimes he wondered...

Well, now wasn't the time to call into question the head of the dragon, was it.

"All the more reason for us to do this. Who knows what we will be called on to do next."

He would do what was needed. While his powers had been given to him by... fate, or something, it seemed like there was a plan for him. Why else make him escape that bear? Why else give him the highest gift?

He was ready. For real.

"Then let's do it."

There was no youthful eagerness, no inappropriate bravado. Just the resolve of someone who lived through immense loss and was ready to reclaim what had been stolen from him.

Xylah’s lips quirked, not quite a smile, but something close enough to pass for approval.

Emil’s sudden steadiness made her regard him more closely—young, yes, but not brittle. He was here with a purpose, just as the rest of them, and Xylah could not wait to see his potential among their pact.

Her gaze cut between the two men, measured and unflinching.

“Then let’s not waste it with hesitation.”

She leaned back slightly in her chair, posture still regal, still sharp, as if the pact would come to her on her terms regardless.

"Alright then. If we're ready."

He put his hands face up on the table to either side in offering.

"Contact cannot be broken until it is done. Focus on the magic within yourself without actually calling on it. This will create the bonds, though it might take some time."

This explanation for Emil's benefit and clarity.

"If it becomes too much, simply say so."

He expected they were all about to truly push themselves regardless.

These was no thing as too much when the goal was Eloi.

He took out his notebook and wrote "making pact, don't let go of hands". In case he forgot it.

Then he took their hands and closed his eyes. Don't teleport out of the room, Em!

He would take Cass' hand, offer his own to Xylah, and take a deep breath.

Nothing yet, but he could feel it wasn't far away.

---

Usual pacting rolls:

- 1d6 for the number of minutes that pass, cumulative between the members, getting 60 marks success!
- 1d10 for the intensity of side effects, yours only, non cumulative. If anyone gets 100 it's over for this try!

For Emil I will roll d15 since he's a very new psychic, and he will get an extra d7 for ~funsies~. What does it do? You'll see! It caps at 100 and doesn't impact the side effects roll.

Xylah regarded Emil’s notebook with a faint tilt of her head—practical, if inelegant. At least he was committed.

She set her hand in his without hesitation, her other reaching for Cassius. Her grip was steady, warm, deceptively human despite the sparks that threatened just beneath her skin.

“Do not falter,” she murmured, less command and more invocation. Her eyes shut, lashes falling like a curtain, and she drew inward—searching for the fire in her marrow without fanning it into flame.

Her pulse slowed, deliberate. Measured. She knew her discipline would be tested, but she would not be the one to break first.

---

time: 4/60
side effect: 4/100

Hands held. Hands that would likely never hold each other otherwise. They were both quite warm, but Cassius had age's battles and cold fingers from that sort of thing. Besides, no fire in his soul--not that he particularly wanted it.

He liked that thought: do not falter.

His own focus buzzed inward, then toward the others. As if seeking truth when this time he actually sought a kinship.

---

time: 10/60
side effects: 2/100

If Cass gets back 30 on his side effects I will begin to roll a higher dice for him

It was a gut punch, and immediately he felt cold. Not a good start, but, well. Cold was easier to deal with than forgetting stuff.

"No faltering." He replied, belatedly.

Maybe he shouldn't speak? Deep breaths.

---

time: 11/60
s.e.: 8/100
funsies: 2/100

The buzz of magic could be felt, and they had just begun.

For her, the lick of flames began to be apparent, nothing too serious for her to call quits, but it was an uncomfortable buzz beneath her skin.

This was minor compared to what she grew up in; therefore, she’d continue to press magic forward.

---

time: 12/60
effects: 11/100

And falter, they did not. At least not for now. the minutes dragged on in a way that felt both timeless and eternal. Cassius a little too aware of their hands in his, in his own rear end in a seat that wasn't nearly as comfortable when you were forced to sit there without the option of getting up.

But it was a small thing. And his own blood didn't seem to be bothered by the low effort to hold onto the magic. Just the faintest prickle at the tips of his fingers and toes, which he was half convinced was all in his head anyway.

---

time: 17/60
side effects: 4/100

Shivers along his spine, but that wasn't so bad. Couldn't remember what he ate for breakfast, no big deal.

Black eyes on the page. They were pacting, they were pacting, they were pacting.

---

time: 21/60
S.e.: 11/100
Extra: 7/100

The minutes ticked by, and Xylah found the initial flare of heat had dissipated somewhat.

It prickled more beneath her flesh than it burned, and she wondered briefly if this was because of the magic from the other two. Was the burning merely her fire being prominent? Why not the thoughts? It was probably due to her sound control since she was a young child.

The mind may be constant, but it was easy to follow, whereas fire tended to do its own thing. One could never fully tame it, and it had a way of biting back.

Or, so she believed.

---

time: 27/60
effects: 14/100

A tightness began to develop in his chest, the shallow breath of someone pushing himself. But it wasn't as bad as it could be, he knew, only a fraction of what really digging into the raw magic could feel like. Perhaps it was the influence of the others, the bare surface brushing of the pool of potential... but he would survive a headache if that was as far as it took itself. Right now it lurked behind his eyes, which he had closed and now kept closed.

The others, still here. A significant fact when they had a young teleporter in their circle.

---

time: 33/60
effects: 12/100

His mind was still holding on, but he couldn't feel his toes. At all.

He was shivering too, trying hard to prevent his teeth from clattering.

---

Time: 37/60
S.e.: 21/100
Extra: 13/100

There had been an urge to open her eyes.

A sensation that came as quickly as it left.

Ugh.

The heat spiked once more but faded into a light headache. A fair trade, she supposed.

---

time: 38/60
effects: 22/100

The headache grew, a slight dizziness coloring the edges of it. Cassius longed to take his hands away from them, to walk around, to alleviate the discomfort in some way. He would have loved some water or a place to lay down privately a moment. It made him feel his age in a way he never cared for.

But he had not lived to be an older man through being weak willed. These thoughts and hopes could play with him all they wanted, he had no reason to heed them.

Even if they failed, he could sense that he would be bonded in a strangely human way after this. The shared suffering of patience and inescapable touch.

---

time: 42/60
effects: 19/100

There was no stopping his teeth from clattering now, a sound he wished he could muffle with a hand, but, ha, they were busy.

"S-s-s-s-soon?" He stammered.

He didn't look at the time before they started. Rookie mistake.

---

Time: 44/60
S.E.: 28/100
Extra: 14/100

One minute, things felt as if they were progressing smoothly, and the next, she found herself biting her cheek when heat shot down her spine.

It curled around her nerves, causing gooseflesh to ripple across her entire body. It was a tell-tale sign that she should stretch and find a moment outside to breathe, but she couldn’t.

This would pass, and she could maintain her grip on the gentleman’s hands, but now she was mindful of her side effects. If they continued to bite in short spans, then quitting may be on the horizon.

No, they’d get through this.

She will not set Cassius’s home ablaze.

---

time: 45/60
effects: 30/100