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Maurabel ignores her classmates, by and large. She most especially ignores them when she is on the path that leads to the elemental barracks, because on those occasions they are more likely than usual to laugh at her.
She has considered their arguments, insofar as they have any, and they're nonsense, so now she ignores them. As best she can, anyway.
The amulet-minder knows her, too, and doesn't stop her on her way in to ask what element she wants the way he would anyone else. She'll take an amulet on the way out, probably. (Usually.)
She lets herself in and starts scanning the population. She saw two Shadows out flying on her way in, which means unless nobody else has one checked out, the selection's going to be pretty thin. She can use another element if she needs to, though. She doesn't need to do dark scrying specifically for this project - in fact, she could work entirely out of her personal affinities, if they wouldn't give her the time of day - dark scrying just interests her and she doesn't have enough of her own Shadow affinity to pull it off alone.
She counts Shadows, assessing how much time it's going to cost her to get the willing help of whichever feels like working "cheapest" today - and she sees an unfamiliar face.
A nearby Water leans in the new Shadow's direction. Maurabel stands back politely, hands clasped behind her, and lets her talk to him.
"That's the weird one I told you about," Water whispers to Shadow. "The one who makes it all - transactional, has all these fussy rules for herself."
When Water appears to be done talking to Shadow, Maurabel takes a couple of steps forward.
"Hello, Shadow," she says gently. "I'm Maurabel. Looks like you're new. I'll leave you alone if you want me to but I would like to talk to you. Do you prefer to just be called Shadow and told apart from the others with your university checkout number, or do you have a name you like?"
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make_opportunity
just-a-shadow
He smiles up at her; the shadows of his halo are sparse enough at the moment that the expression is clearly visible.
make_opportunity
"If you wanna tell me who used to have you - well, he probably won't have the same address, maybe be alive at all, by the time I'm ninety, but I could write it down in case he is and has terrible security."
make_opportunity
"Where is it?" She flips to a different page in her notebook than the one containing scrying assignment notes.
just-a-shadow
He shakes his head. "No, I mean - I know the place, I remember it. I couldn't find it on a map, but I could go there. Or show you. He isn't warded against dark scrying or shadow-walking."
make_opportunity
"Does he," Maurabel asks slowly, "leave his amulets unattended someplace dark?"
just-a-shadow
"In a box in a room downstairs," he says. "When he's asleep. But I guess there'd just be Fire, now, unless he's caught someone else. That's what he does. He catches wild elementals."
make_opportunity
"A Fire."
She thinks.
"Does he let his halo down? Like - literally ever. Would your old owner recognize Fire without his halo?"
She thinks.
"Does he let his halo down? Like - literally ever. Would your old owner recognize Fire without his halo?"
just-a-shadow
"I don't think he would. Fire keeps it turned up. He can't burn anything with it, Master won't let him, but it makes him feel better."
make_opportunity
"Because it would be a hundred kinds of suspicious if a Fire went missing one place and then one turned up somewhere else, but if - stop me if I'm getting ahead of myself, maybe he wouldn't want to be stolen and he'd rat me out to the first cop to wonder whether I really inherited him from my great-aunt."
just-a-shadow
"No. He would want to be stolen. Especially if he could be near me. And he'd like you," Shadow says authoritatively.
make_opportunity
"You think he would like me fast enough? A stolen elemental is news, instant news, and there are hundreds of mages in the city but they'd actually look."
make_opportunity
Maurabel bites the side of her hand, frowning in thought.
"If any part of this goes wrong I get expelled, and in some combination of debt I won't have the credentials to easily repay and prison, and from either condition I won't be in much of a position to do anything," she murmurs.
"If any part of this goes wrong I get expelled, and in some combination of debt I won't have the credentials to easily repay and prison, and from either condition I won't be in much of a position to do anything," she murmurs.
make_opportunity
Eventually:
"So - there's an unwarded box in his house. You can walk me there, presumably in the middle of the night would be best? I grab his amulet, we all three walk out, Fire refuses to talk to the police except when the truth sounds supportive of my 'inherited from my great aunt' story and has his halo turned way down so he doesn't match the description - he does not attract attention in the form of obvious-to-other-humans association with you or by being generally oddly-behaved, at least until the case is abandoned - you think this works? You think Fire will cooperate without me having to actually use anything other than university-minimum on his amulet?"
just-a-shadow
"If it'll keep him away from Master, yes," says Shadow. "All of that. He'll want to see me in private, but he won't do anything that would get him repossessed even if he can't."
make_opportunity
Maurabel writes some more.
"This is going to look so suspicious. I'll pretend I got him when I was home over the weekend and he was just - flying around between then and now. Are they going to ask my parents...? I don't think I can get my parents to cooperate. Maybe if I say the courier caught me on my way back to school..."
Write write.
"If I have a personal elemental I'm going to need a will. Obviously it won't take effect if I make it to age ninety etcetera etcetera but I could always fall off a bridge..."
Write. Write. Write.