Handy Attire worked like a charm, perfectly providing the anchor for the Spell Amy had always needed. Despite Witch’s Cloak still being in working-form, the runes not quite all there yet, the proto-Spell had been massively improved. Its effects were deeper and more expansive now it had a focus to act through. Any previous concerns about if Handy Attire could manifest an entire Cloak had been washed away when, now heightened to the equivalent of Tier 4, it did so effortlessly, merging with the phantom cloak that already existed.
It was easy then, after tinkering with the working some more, to approach Beatrice unnoticed the next day. Just as Amy was about to enter the shop, she cloaked herself in the working, and added a touch of Monstrous Visage to her face. Maintaining a Tier 4 Spell and Tier 4 equivalent working was tough, the drain on her mana pool significant. Regardless, Amy felt the effect it’d impart on Beatrice would be worth the effort.
In spite of the creaking of the front door, Janice barely noticed Amy’s entrance, her shadowy countenance hiding in plain sight. Unlike before where the cloak was purely ethereal, this time it dragged on the floor and billowed out from her feet. The very Unknowable shadows that it was made of seemed strangely physical - not at all magical - and emanated out from it like a wispy smog of horror.
Carefully, she climbed up the stairs, Janice still completely ignorant of her, and Amy found herself in that same glass aviary. Beautiful as it were, and as tempting as it was to simply stand there, hoping to spot some familiar birds, Amy had work to do.
To her right, sitting on the central bench, was Beatrice herself. Compared to her previous dark and intimidating appearances, dark cloak and all, she seemed like a normal kid her age; the long yellow dress she was wearing only exemplified that dichotomy for Amy. I suppose she really is quite young. That’s one of the points me and Felin were contentious on, about if she was trying to seem younger than she was to garner sympathy.
And, as the Witch continued her approach, she couldn’t help but shake that same disturbing sensation she had gotten every time she tested the working. It was disconcerting the way Beatrice looked away from her at all times, avoiding her, always. Even when she was right in front of her, Beatrice was forced to look almost directly up to ignore her, visibly straining her neck. It was… sad. Very sad.
Pushing the hood back and parting the cloak slightly, Amy lessened the effects of the working, allowing more of her to slip past the Unknowable barrier. Just as she felt the stress on her mana pool weaken, the drain no longer about to completely dry the pool up in a few minutes, Beatrice reacted immediately. Her head snapped onto Amy’s face, the Monstrous Visage more active now it had a greater share of the mana supply. Fortunately Visage wasn’t as aggressive of a consumer otherwise she really would run out soon.
As Beatrice’s eyes widened, her pupils constricting in what could only be fear, Amy broke the uncomfortable silence, mostly unaware of how she appeared to the girl.
“Hello, Beatrice. Let’s talk.”
“Wha- Where-...” Beatrice blurted out, her mouth left wide open.
“Perhaps it’d be for the best we do it here then,” Amy said, a bit confused about her reaction. Tucking her skirt and cloak under her legs, she sat down next to Beatrice, still looking scared. I can’t look that bad, can I? She mused, scratching her cheek. For some reason, that made the girl look directly at the place she scratched, as if looking at something grotesque in morbid curiosity. Odd. Maybe I’ll ease off the Monstrous Visage then.
And just like that, by restricting the flow of mana the woman in front of Amy seemed to return to how she remembered her. Skittish for sure, as who wouldn’t after seeing something gruesome, but more in line with the confidence she expected from a leader of a gang of thieves. She blinked her eyes repeatedly, looking at that same position on her cheek, expecting something to be there where there wasn’t.
“...Alright,” Beatrice managed to get out at last, trying to gather herself the best she could. “Y-you being here… means what I think it does, right?”
“I will assist you in your heist,” Amy confirmed, a smile rising across the thief’s face, and dimming slightly at what the Witch said next, “If I get a small portion of what you get from it.”
“...What do you mean by a ‘small portion’?” She asked, more assertive now that she was in a situation far more familiar to her, discussing shares and prizes.
“A little something I spotted during my scouting of the museum. I won’t say what, but you have my word that it shouldn’t be anything you would’ve wanted. More in line with my style of work.”
“You cased it?” She made a face, creasing her brows.
“Perhaps case is not the right word… I merely had a look around.”
“...Sure,” Beatrice acquiesced, still not really liking the answer. “If you won’t tell me what you want to take then how about the section?”
“It’s located in the main cathedral area. Magical.”
“That… should be fine then. Me and my folks usually stay away from that kind of thing. Stealing magic is just asking for Mages to come looking after you.”
“...Fair.” Amy frowned quickly. "And who are we working with for this? I know what you said about leading the operation, but I doubt it's only you involved."
"For the actual heist itself, there won't be many people on the ground. Likely just me, depending on how it goes," Beatrice mumbled, "Although you'd have to be there if you want your magic item. For everything else? Those from my close circle; those I know I can trust and rely on for something as big as this."
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"I do wish to be there 'on the ground', so I'd rather meet these people beforehand. I'd want to assess them for myself."
"That's fine, I was planning on doing that anyway. Better for team cohesion and all of that..." She trailed off, an awkward expression on her face. "I... I didn't think you'd actually want to do it? I mean... what do you get out of this?"
"Other than the money I have no doubt about getting by the end of this," Amy pointed out, ignoring the girl's wince in reaction, "It also concerns some more private matters I'm involved in. Nothing that should affect the circumstances overly much, but have definitely pushed me more in this direction than the other."
"And did you end up noticing any of the protections when you visited it for yourself?"
"There were some minor wards, and more complex Magicks that would take longer to decipher, but I'm confident in circumventing them when the time comes," Amy bluffed, forcing her face still.
"Really? I don't know much about magic but you'd think there'd be more in a place like that, right?" She made a strange face, somewhere between confusion and doubt.
"There's a possibility that there are some aspects I haven't considered, and no doubt things I've missed during my cursory inspection of the place, but it shouldn't be too complex. You have my word on that," Amy said truthfully. Advanced Magicks would be too hard to maintain and repair in such a public place, and, unless they were designed by Mages beyond what I can grasp lies at Journeyman, they wouldn't withstand the simplest kind of magical erosion there is: people. Just all of the foot traffic through the museum alone would disturb the Mana Ocean enough to degrade anything they have there enough to require fixing by the end of the day. Therefore it wouldn't be practical to have anything that requires more than a Journeyman to be able to correct, someone who can be kept on staff and quickly called in case of emergency.
"I'll take your word on it for now, but I'd rather get something more definitive later," Beatrice requested. "When I show you the rest of the team, we'll probably do a proper casing around then. There, you note anything you see down in more detail."
"...Alright then," Amy nodded, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. Hmmm... Strange. Amy commented, her eyes studying every detail about the girl intently. Her breathing has steadied fast since just a few moments ago, and she's sweating less too. Her eyes are less jittery and she seems to finally be meeting my own eyes, despite the small fear response it triggers in her. It's too good to call false confidence, unless Beatrice truly is skilled in this sort of thing, which isn't a possibility that can be discounted. It could be as simple as that she's now in a situation she's more familiar with; organising and managing this sort of thing is her entire life. Of course being put back into that position would help centre herself and give her more of a backbone. The only problem I'm having with it is the suddenness of it. This surge of confidence is too abrupt.
Mana twitching down connections in her brain, Amy recalled every detail she could remember about the current and previous conversations she had with Beatrice. My observation abilities were limited back then so I have less information than I do now, but the bones of the matter all remain the same. Whenever I displayed power beyond mortality she regressed, as if she was a child being lectured by an adult. Even if she is a child, it shouldn't be this bad. This is the most 'magic' I've shown to her since then too, so why isn't she afraid anymore? I've lessened the effects of my two Spells, yet they're still there. Has she gotten used to them? No. Too quick. That's the thing, it's all too damn quick. Why the switch-up? Why the confidence? Is it all a guise for something in the background? Is she faking this all to get me on her side? Is this-
"Amy?" Beatrice asked, shaking her out of her spell. "You spaced out there a bit. You alright?"
Something's wrong, Amy realised, not in the direction she originally thought however. Not with Beatrice, but with me. All of that from a small change in wording. All of that paranoia- Wait. Her line of thought cut itself off, as the mana in her mind swapped directions, recognising new patterns that weren't there before. It's like an inverse of Mind Blank. Mind Blank dulls the connections in my head, but this is like an overload of connections. I'm thinking too much, all the time, and recognising patterns and subjects that just aren't there beyond their surface level. It's just as I said; paranoia. What's causing this then? The enhancements. They have to be. That's the only thing affecting my brain at the moment. So let's just- Like turning a dial down, Amy willed mana to sink away from her brain, slipping back into her mana pool. The enhancements' purposes weren't forgotten, or disrupted, so they did not quite merge with the pool perfectly. Rather, they remained dormant in it, waiting to be reactivated.
As soon as they departed, leaving only her normal mana-corrupted mind, the burden on it lessened. Her thoughts turned sluggish, but, strangely enough, more responsive. They no longer wandered into directions unknown. They stayed where she wanted them. And currently, Amy wanted to focus on what Beatrice had just said, not on a wild raving of overwhelming worry and anxiety about a slight change in speech patterns.
"Amy?" She repeated, the Mage's episode only now breaking, a few seconds more after when she spoke up.
"Yes, I'm alright. Just had a thought," Amy said, smiling at her unintentional joke. A thought, huh? It was a bit more than that. Something to definitely ask Felin about later. "So when will I meet your friends?"
"...Maybe in a couple days?" Beatrice offered. "It'll take a little while to get them all together. They know I've been wanting this for a while but they treat it more like a fantasy than anything else so it might take a little convincing that it's actually happening."
"I see. Same place then, in two days?"
"Sounds fine by me," She sighed, relieved. Becoming a bit more uncomfortable from what Amy could see, Beatrice continued, "If we're doing this so soon it's probably for the best I get started straight away. Leaves plenty of time for any issues cropping up too."
"If you want," Amy said, acting aloof and standing up. "For now though, if you are done, I have some birds to visit."
"Umm, before you go..." Beatrice hesitated, half-reaching out to her. "...Thank you, for helping. I know you don't have to but... It's appreciated. I'll make sure to pay you back for this."
Looking back at the girl on the bench, who had returned to that same shy-self Amy had gotten to know well by now, the Mage briefly considered her words in suspicion, a part of her brain rebelling at the thought of it being anything but. Amy's heart won out in the end, however.
"It is of no problem to me, Beatrice," Amy smiled softly, letting the curtains of her cloak drape across her once more. The girl's eyes seemed to struggle more and more on focusing on her, not quite disappearing from her sight, but becoming something else. Perhaps, unknowable? "Goodbye."
And with that, the Witch was gone, leaving as suddenly as she had arrived. Beatrice searched for her, looking around for any sign of where the Mage had gone. The thief would never find them. For Amy was still there, standing a metre or two away from her, cloaked in shadow. Every time she tried glancing in her direction, the Magick forced her focus and sight elsewhere. Still, so sad.
Amy left the girl behind to her own worries and walked off to another part of the aviary, studying any birds she could see carefully. Ironically, though, no matter how hard she looked, Amy did not find them. I mean, what was I expecting? They're too young to be in the skies just yet. Probably being personally cared for by Janice somewhere else. Maybe the next time we meet, I'll visit the shop properly - not at all like this. Then I'll get to see the chicks for sure.
Sparing a look to the side as a stray bird flew in the same direction, out of the window and into the street, Amy caught a strange glimpse of her reflection in that glass. There she was, a Witch cloaked in darkness, wearing a mask of horrifying beauty, every part of her immaculate compared to the depravity she surrounded herself in. Amy did not succumb to the Witch's Spell this time, and yet she was enraptured by her appearance all the same. So similar and yet so different to how she was in reality, forever locked behind the Witch's guise and not Amy's own. Forever remaining in the mirror, and not in her own face.
Mirrors, huh? Amy thought, approaching the glass. It works well, in a way. Like a gorgon, defeated by her own magic, petrifying her to stone. Wasn't that what happened to me last week? The monstrous Witch, laid low by her own dazzling beauty, paralysed by her reflection? Thematically, at least, it would work. It fits in well with the style of magic I've been leaning into lately. But is this the direction I want for my path? To become a monster? To truly become the Witch? Perhaps. Perhaps...
Wisely, Amy walked away from the mirror.