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Maggie-of-the-owls' Anna-Seraphina exists in Rockeye's new setting Soulfire
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"Just one so far. One left."

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"Yeah."

She cleans the blood off the saw before she actually finishes the floorboards. And then gets it messy again when her foster father gets home and tries to get something from the bedroom.

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"Yesss. That was interesting. That was unusual and visceral. I am glad I made this deal."

There is a sandstorm, or dust storm, or something outside. A tall, more solid than before figure emerges, with claws of some kind of stone and glowing yellow eyes the clearest features.

Apparently this genie is actually a lot bigger than she thought. It extends one claw-finger towards her.

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She stands perfectly still. If it wants her to move it can tell her so.

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It reaches through the window, breaking it, and pokes her slightly, near her heart.

It's warm.

Some of the genie's substance flows into her in a hot rush. It's like a roller coaster on the hottest day of summer, like flying in a city-size oven. Exhilrating. But aspects of pain, too intense, overwhelming

The 'heat' is replaced by other kinds of pain as it inches outward from her heart in steady pulses, most intense at the edge of the change. She sees fragments of her life, old memories, play in her head at high speed and chaotic intensity.

Things settle down towards the end. The memories stop. The intense heat is now a steady warmth, an inner fire. A new set of clothes spills out along this edge, doing something to her old ones along the way. Simple compared to the ones she sees in magazines and on TV, a sort of pleated jacket in a deep blue with a turtleneck collar, bell-end sleeves, small spots of lace here and there. A long skirt. Simple shoes, like running shoes.

And then it's done, down to the tips of her toes. She feels light on her feet. She feels magical. "Water," the genie says.

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Wow.

She attempts to do a thing.

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She sends a jet of water - coming from nowhere in particular - at whatever most qualifies as what she's focusing on right now. It's strong enough to send cups and plates flying.

The genie is a fair bit smaller than it was before... "I must go now. Have fun, spirit bearer."

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Aaaand it's flying off.

 

...And it's being chased by Cruiser Grey, one of the local monster hunters!

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...Yeah that's a thing.

She considers her options. She doesn't know enough about magic to confidently be able to lie believably about what happened, magic-wise...but she had better be careful. She would really rather not go to prison.

So--her best bet is probably cooperative and regretful.

She sits somewhere visibleish and starts crying.

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This one is a boy, though he has an elaborate and colorful set of clothes that seem more lifelike than any ordinary fabric, just like hers. "Hello? Miss, miss can you hear me? I'm coming inside!"

There's the sound of someone clambering over debris. "Miss, are you - Oh. Oh. Markup! That genie made a deal. I see a new genie-girl in here! - Miss, what's your name?"

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"Anna-Seraphina--I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry--" She bursts into a fresh set of tears.

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"Anna, can I get you to calm down? You're sorry about something. And a genie, a genie, just left this place. I need you to calm down and tell me. Is there anyone who needs help right now?"

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"N-no, the, the, they're--they're already dead, I'm so sorry."

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"Okay. I hear you. You made a deal with that genie - did you - no, I'm getting this mixed up. I need you to come to the front yard with me, please. This house might be in danger of collapse. MARKUP! Range Eye and one new activation heading out the front door. No monsters that I can sense. New activation says nobody in immediate need, at least two dead."

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"We're just going to get far away from there, okay? Just in case."

Range Eye leads her about halfway to the cordon of light keeping all the gawkers away from her house. "You made a deal with that genie, and activated, and at least two people are dead. I'm Range Eye with the local branch of the Bureau of Menace Managment. I am not an officer of the law. I'm turning on my recorder - please be aware that anything you say here can be used against you in a court of law. You are not - currently - under arrest. I'd like you to tell me everything... If you don't mind."

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"I didn't want to--I just wanted them to stop hurting me--no one believed me--"

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"Please, nobody's going to hurt you. I'm sorry for the big speech. I just need you to tell me exactly what happened."

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"They were my foster parents and they hurt me and no one would believe me about it, they were good at not leaving marks, and, and the genie said--if I killed them it'd give me magic--and I didn't want to but they kept hurting me."

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He sighs. A police car pulls up. "Okay. This is going to be terrible for everyone. You willing to say that in front of a lie detector? Maybe some details on what they did..."

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"Um--okay. I'm sorry," she adds miserably.

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"It sounds like you were in a terrible situation," he says. (And still shouldn't have killed them, his body language says.) He touches his ear radio-thing. "...Anna, we're going to have to bring you to the police station. I promise that if you're telling the truth I'll do what I can to make sure you end up okay. I need you to de-transform for now, to reassure the police officers you won't hurt anyone. It should be like letting go of something."

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"...Okay," she says. She hates the thought of letting go, of being powerless again--but right now it's what she needs to do. So she does.

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