witch's cape, not hat

[characterquarry]

Grendyne groans and starts pulling on her boots when the alarm goes off. Again. She quick-marches to the broom hangar, sits on her machine and is handed a plethora of loaded weapons by attentive corporals.

"Two flyers in one day? They're getting way too common."

"It's worse," the commander informs them, "South Karlsland got hit with three at once. We're taking Lytee's express and sleeping there. You can sit out if you absolutely need to, but Freya's still recovering so we could use you as a comms relay."

"No, I'll come. I just reserve the right to complain about it."

The 42nd United Forces Witch Wing takes off and assembles into a perfect synchronized formation as Lytee charges her teleport power.



...This is not South Karlsland wilderness.

[note: halfway through this thread I created a unique account for Grendyne. Do not be alarmed by the change in account. -Rockeye]

Comments

[wormcan]

"I'd say never using her power, but most of it is passive. So an inability to touch or attack anyone using the mutated parts of that body," the long-haired man doing most of the less public negotiating suggests. "Something that wouldn't restrict her once she gets changed back."

Noelle herself doesn't express much of an opinion; making her situation less of a problem and her safer to be around would be worth it whatever side effects if comes with.

[witchwatcher]

"If the power is largely passive, it would be safer to have a fully general restriction that expires at some later time. Geases can be fuzzy around involuntary or compulsory actions. How about never touching or attacking anyone at all unless the power is to her own best judgment, or one of yours, no longer a problem? If there are things that aggravate the involuntary parts of your power, you can include an clause not to let them aggravate you. It might help. I can loosen or remove a geas easily if you change your mind, by the way."

[wormcan]

"And there are no cases where using this power is a good idea. A general one with an expiration date sounds just as good."

"How does the not being aggravated clause work?" the blonde Traveler asks. "She has to avoid those things, or they magically don't affect her, or they affect her less depending on how much choice she has in it?"

[witchwatcher]

"I'm not entirely sure how it will work with otherworldly powers, but it mostly helps you not care about the things that are aggravating you. It takes away, automates, most of the mental effort. When I geas addicts not to crave their sin of choice, they still crave it, but they find it easier to dismiss or ignore the craving because they are not allowed to let it affect them. It only helps so much, but some is more than none."

[wormcan]

"Do it," comes Noelle's voice, piped in remotely. "I need all the help I can get with ignoring this...craving."

[witchwatcher]

"Alright. I don't need to be physically present, as long as this telephone device is real-time. You'll feel the geas forming as you speak, and a sense of finality when it's done.

Repeat after me: I swear that I will not touch or attack another person until such time as my power is no longer harmful, to my own best judgment. While this oath is binding I will consider actions on my part that may be attacks, as attacks. While this oath is binding I will not allow the cravings or impulses caused by my power to affect me. While this oath is binding I will not allow involuntary responses to break this oath in whole or in part. So mote it be."

[wormcan]

She repeats the oath.
"...in whole or in part. So mote it be."

Everyone here is in very much in favor of moteness.

"Is there a safe way to test if it worked, or do we have to have someone come here and see if it got easier for me to resist?"

[witchwatcher]

"Try to decide to touch someone. You will find yourself repelled by the idea."

[wormcan]

"I was already repelled by that," she says, but is indeed more so than usual.

[witchwatcher]

"Then someone will have to test it in person."

[wormcan]

Oliver gets convinced to go in, since it would be less catastrophic if he touched Noelle than if any of the others did. And Krouse can move him out quickly if she does move against him. Normally this kind of precaution isn't necessary on a good day, but normally they aren't specifically trying to see if Noelle can touch people. She even agrees to let people look at her, under the circumstances.

Oliver comes out safely. He waits a few minutes, talking with Noelle at a normal volume and with the lights on. Noelle reports that the feeling she's about to attack someone is at a normal intensity, and it doesn't feel more controllable. But she's resisting as much as she ever could, and isn't having to concentrate to do it.

[witchwatcher]

"It seems like that's the best I can do. You've already paid, so I'll be on my way. Unless you have more questions?"

[wormcan]

"Nothing we didn't discuss earlier, no. You'll remember not to tell people we're on Terra?"

Noelle, meanwhile, just thanks her repeatedly from across the radio.

[witchwatcher]

"Money talks. Or doesn't, in this case. You know where to find me if you need another geasing."

She leaves.

[wormcan]

And the Travelers have just made more progress than their entire cape career. Next up, anyone on their list who can remove powers directly, or is Noelle picking between repeated transformations to reset its progress and a curse?

[witchwatcher]

It seems that being turned male causes Witches to lose their powers, and they don't get them back if they're returned to female. But that probably won't help Noelle, and the Witch who can do it is under a geas never to do so again since it was that or jail time.

There's nobody who can directly remove powers. Transformations and curses are both options, though.

[wormcan]

Noelle wants a transformation. Badly. Even if there's nothing better than the Witch who could turn people into animals, that's infinitely better than this. And they're rich; they can have it undone later if the curse is a total success.

[witchwatcher]

Places said there was a transformer in London: This is the male-to-female transformer who is currently on probation for misusing her ability. They could probably contrive to have her transform Noelle, but it would involve the government geasers. Either Places was mistaken about what they wanted or sent them to London for some other reason.

Of the Witches who can transform people (and who are not currently on probation, insane, and/or in prison) the nearest one can turn people into animals and lives in the southern half of Hispania, which is Gimel's version of Spain. It's a three-day boat ride, or a rather expensive ten-hour airlift by Witch couriers.

[wormcan]

Noelle still isn't smaller than three tons. (Yet! Growth mindset! (Figuratively.)) An airlift would be complicated.

Is there a transformer who can turn Noelle into her real self? That would be worth lengthening the trip.

[witchwatcher]

One of the people listed as a healer can revert a person's body to their 'true form', where one's true form is some mixture of their version of an ideal body and what their genetics actually code for. She lives in what would be California if North America wasn't shaped differently and called Liberion.

Getting there with Noelle would be five days by boat then two and a half days by train. Places' prices are much lower for in-world teleports, but still fairly high. There are two other teleporters in London if they want to shop around, but both of them are employed by the UDF so it might make secrecy complicated.

[wormcan]

Explaining their trip to the people providing transport in a way that doesn't make them refuse is probably doable, but better avoided. They'll try Places again; she already knows to be discreet.

And Krouse can try to bargain the price down to normal in-world teleport level, since the trip is much less dangerous this time.

[witchwatcher]

She'll do it for normal in-world teleport level (A few thousand dollars - Noelle is still huge if not quite so dangerous anymore) if they tell her everything they know about Cauldron.

[wormcan]

It's a deal.
They don't know much. No one does. They can confirm that Cauldron exists and sells bottles of superpowers. They've personally seen a set, though they weren't Cauldron customers, and the people who drank the vials ended up with powers. They recommend not talking about it much; the rumor says that Cauldron is very good at finding out when their secrecy is threatened.

They don't tell Places that they got their abilities from those vials, or that drinking half of one is the cause of the problem they're trying to solve.

[witchwatcher]

Places seems to accept this information at face value.

Arranging for a place for Noelle to stay close to this healer only takes another couple of days. Places suggests that they say Noelle is already the victim of a curse, to help avoid inconvenient questions.

[wormcan]

As long as it doesn't mislead the healer in a way that would interfere with fixing the problem, they'll go along with it. Noelle can have been cursed to absorb any organic matter and spit out evil clones if that's a thing curses might do.