The same isn't true about the wind.

[mage_see_mage_do]

Witches aren't troubled by the cold, but the same isn't true about the wind.
Temperance wasn't afraid of falling from her brand new cloudpine branch, but she might drop her books and that was nearly as bad. She decided to land until the weather quieted down.
Instead of quieting it down, the weather got worse, snow started falling and it was hard to navigate even with Faramund covering her with his wings.
Temperance didn't hear anything, just saw a glimpse of the thing, just enough for her brain to register the combination of snake and mirror and...
...then she found herself under warm sunlight, feeling a gentle breeze over her skin. Blinking away the sudden light and the melting snow in her eyes, she found herself surrounded by a green woodland that was too warm to be anywhere near she remembered being.
In short, Temperance and her daemon were very confused.

Comments

[mage_see_mage_do]

"Ok, Wow," Temperance says after the infodump ends "that was interesting."

The witch thinks for a moment, looking at her books

"So, I haven't tried to tackle a situation like this with magic before," She says "Could I stay with you people for a time? I can trade my stay with magical favors if necessary."

[iamnotpolaris]

"You'll have to ask our parents, but probably. They might ask you to pretend to be a mutant if anyone not part of the school shows up, though. We kind of have a weird relationship with the government."

[whatamithinking]

"What kind of magical favors?"

[mage_see_mage_do]

"I don't mind pretending being a mutant," Temperance says "people might just assume I am one anyway. Witchcraft can do things with nature, healing people, animals and plants, influence the weather or environment. I am going to need to reconstruct a lot of spells but I can easily come up with spells to heal bruises, cure common illness, make a room colder or warmer, create light, all of this much faster or much cheaper than technology does."

[whatamithinking]

"How extensive does the healing get?"

[mage_see_mage_do]

"It depends on the healing," Temperance says "some spells just need to have a few verses being spoken aloud, others might require runes drawn in herbs or honey, there is some that require an animal sacrifice. Curing the common cold could be about... five ounces of herbs or honey to write the runes. With sometime I could reconstruct a spell that might heal a lost limb at cost of a deer or something bigger."

[whatamithinking]

"Finding a deer or something bigger would ultimately not be a problem. How long would it take to reconstruct a spell to fix paraplegia?"

[mage_see_mage_do]

"I actually have spells to call animals," Temperance says "reconstructing a paraplegia healing spell depends... I don't have my full rune dictionary and trying to find the right runes would take a couple of months, oh, but the lunar cycle is different, could you tell me the phase of the moon? And the exact date?"

[iamnotpolaris]

"It's August tenth, nineteen-eighty. I have no idea about the moon, though. Edie?"

[whatamithinking]

"...It's the new moon tonight," she says after a few minutes.

[mage_see_mage_do]

"I can't call to mind any special lunar event in the near future," Temperance says "I can do a few divination tonight that might help answering if it is possible to recreate the spell at all. I think we need to put your father under anesthesia or he will endure a lot of pain during the process. Which is one reason why the spell isn't used very often in my own world."

[whatamithinking]

"Well, we'll have to ask him first. He has been like this for almost eighteen years, after all. I'm guessing he'll say yes, but I'm not so confident I'd do anything irreversible without his consent. Anesthesia should also not be difficult to obtain, though. I think."

[iamnotpolaris]

"Maybe don't mention it until we know if it's possible, though. Raising his hopes--or Mama's, or Hank's--woudn't be kind if it turns out we're just going to dash them again."

[whatamithinking]

The info dump Edie gave Temperance earlier should contain information on who exactly Hank McCoy is and why failed medical solutions are a sore spot.

[mage_see_mage_do]

"Unless we hide the fact that I can heal at all, he will wonder if that is something I can do," Temperance says to Emily "Without sitting down to think and consult my books, I think... it will be a month until I can answer for sure that if is impossible or not. Hank is injured too?"

[whatamithinking]

"No, but he's tried and failed enough at using the power of Science! to find a cure that even a magic solution would be exciting to him."

[iamnotpolaris]

"It's possible he thinks of his blue-and-fuzzyness as an injury, but it's really not from a medical standpoint. Frankly, 'reversing the exacerbation of a physiological mutation' is fantastically unlikely to be something your magic system has any experience with."

[mage_see_mage_do]

"Oh, right, that," Temperance says "it really shouldn't count as a injury... there is a curse to cause baldness, but I don't think is permanent and might not affect anything besides his head..."

Temperance looks around.

"Is your home nearby?" Temperance asks "I would like to settle if I can stay in the school or not."

[iamnotpolaris]

"Sure. It's faster if we fly," she adds, holding her arms out for her sister.

[whatamithinking]

With a casualness that suggests this is a common arrangement, Edie wraps her arms around her sister's neck. As Emily's arms settle around her waist, strands of metal extend from her sleeves, further lashing the two together as Emily rises farther off the ground.

[mage_see_mage_do]

Temperance will simply fly next the twins with Faramund circling around them.

[iamnotpolaris]

It doesn't take long for the trio to reach the edge of the forested area. A large building that has to be the school starts coming into view shortly before that. It's frankly palatial, with sprawling grounds and architecture that brings to mind actual castles. On the lawns, various youths ranging from small child to teenager can be seen engaging in activities that seemingly defy the laws of physics. Emily directs Temperance to an open window, which apparently leads into a library.

[whatamithinking]

"Mama and Papa are in the study," Edie reports after a moment.

[mage_see_mage_do]

Temperance looks at everything with wonder.

"I wouldn't mind meeting them now," Temperance says.

[maggie_of_the_owls]

The twins lead Temperance down the hall to a room also filled with books, but with a desk given pride of place. A man in his early fifties and a woman who, if Temperance only knew it, remarkably resembles Eva Magyar, are waiting for them.