Originally posted June 21, 2008
((it's really common for applicants to guilds and super-groups to fill out a questionnaire about their character. This bit of fiction I worked up in response to a series of RP questions regarding Siobhan.))
He sets the recorder on the table, between a small collection of empty pint glasses. Siobhan takes another sip from a glass, her eyes moving from person to person in the pub. Those eyes betray an inherent curiosity; a curiosity of life, its arcane mechanisms and natural interactions.
She’s ditched the wings, but kept her signature jacket. The lyrics from Richard Thompson’s 1952 Vincent Black Lightning roll over in his mind. "Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme." She is a handsome young woman. Her hair, let free across her shoulders, frames a pale, well formed face. A loose kilt and heavy jacket cannot hide a lithely muscled form. He watched her when she entered the pub; how she carefully placed each foot, a dancer or a master swordsman.
He clears his throat, bringing her eyes to him. "Please don’t be nervous, Ms Warwick." He smiles. "This is just an informal interview. We like to get a small bit of information on new applicants to share with other members."
"Ah ken," she responds. "Everyone Ah’ve met so far seems so friendly. I dinnae mind share'n a wee bit. Please, call me Siobhan. Shiv if it's easier."
"Let’s begin then, Shiv. How did you get your powers?"
She pauses for a moment, takes a sip. "Ah was kilt. Well, nearly so. T’was a motorcycle accident outside of San Francisco. The trauma sparked magical powers in mae. One of the people Ah was with recognized the signs and brought me tae a mage. He helped heal mae and guided mae through the awakening."
"His name?"
"Dr. Norman Jacobs. He serves as a professor of Asian Studies and Religion. I believe e's currently attached tae the University of Illinois." Siobhan smiles. "e's quite a charmer, that one. Caused all sorts of trouble in 'is order by wearing Hawaiian shirts tae coven meet'ns."
"Any other non-family relationships you care to talk about?"
Siobhan raises her glass for another drink, tilts her head, and pauses for a moment. "Ah haed some friends in Chicago."
He raises an eyebrow, questioning. She shrugs her shoulders then responds. "They're deid... All deid. Ah keep in touch with a few witches and mages back in the UK, but I wouldn't really consider them important."
"I'm sorry," he begins. "I didn't mean..."
She raises a hand to wave him off. "Dinnae fash yersel. A'm trying tae move past it. That's part of the reason Ah hae come tae Paragon. Time fer a new life."
"What was your childhood like?"
Siobhan chuckles a bit as she brings the glass to her lips once again. "Unusual."
"I was born in Coldstream, Scotland. Staid there jist long enough tae pick up the accent. Mae grandfather took mae in when I was jist a wee bairn and raised mae at Warwick Castle. He raised mae in an ol' fashioned way. When I say ol' fashioned, I mean medieval. Thair's a recreated village in Warwick, maed as authentic as possible. I grew up in that village."
"I learned 'ow tae smith and fight. I dinnae see a telly until I turned 16. 'ell. I dinnae think I wore manufactured cloth until jist before then."
"Fer all the 'ardships, ah enjoyed mae childhood and teens. It all got so much more complicated after then."
"How did you attend school?"
"I dinnae. Mae grandfather 'ome schooled mae. After awakening, I attended the schools of two different mystical orders." A smile and a shrug. "Briefly."
"No forms or levels fer mae. Jist an anvil, a sword, and lots o' books."
"How old are you"
"Twintie-two"
"How would you describe your family?"
She raises the now empty glass, looks at it, then at him. "A'm spew'n feathers. Fancy another?" He shakes his head and watches as she excuses herself. He had heard about the vampires in her past, her "grandmother" and "grandfather." He scans the bar. He wouldn't be surprised if one of their agents stood nearby, listening and watching. She returns with two pints. "Jist in case," she relates, sitting down. "Cheers."
"Your family?"
"Seanair and seanamhair. Like any other grandparents, only more-so."
"How do you mean?"
"I dinnae talk tae mae seanair much at the moment. 'e still lives in Warwick. A'll ring 'im on important dates, the solstices, equinoxes, deathday, ...."
"Deathday?"
"Aye, deathday." She looks at him pulling her lower lip beneath her teeth. "Ah talk with mae grandmother nearly everyday," she continues after a quick sip. "She frets about mae living in Paragon. Worries that mae flat's too small, if a'm making any friends. She thinks a'm going ti put on a cape and tights." She smiles bobbing her head back and forth.
"No cape and tights for you, then?" he says, grinning.
"Ah no. A'm no a scone o that bakin. Maybe fer fancy dress." Another sip. "Ah loue mae seanamhair, but she's another reason Ah came tae Paragon. Get some time on mae own. Ken?"
He nods. "Tell me. How would you describe your personality."
"Tis not really fer mae tae say, Ah ken," she says, shaking her head. "Mae schoolmasters from the first order would call mae undisciplined. The witches would say a'm reckless in mae relationships." She lifts the glass for a long draught and smiles as she wipes the foam off her face with the back of her hand. "Quite a fetching lad called mae exotic, not a fortnight ago."
"A'd like tae think my personality is emerging." She rests here elbows on the table, jabbing her finger in the air. "A fallowed them all fer so long, standing stock still by thair sides. Watching. That wasn't mae. A'll find mae 'ere somewhere."
Siobhan puts down the empty glass. "Ach. Pint stowps hae lang lugs. Forgive mae."
"For what?" he thinks. "I have no idea what you just said."
He speaks, "What are some of your favorite things?"
She picks up a full pint glass and leans back in her chair, straightening her legs out in front of her. Her hair rolls back over her shoulders as she tips back her head.
"Ah like mornings in Warwick. Ah would be up fer a few hours, stoking the fires of the forge. The sun would jist start to peak out above the fields. The smell of smoke and breakfast would hang in the eir. I found peace in that moment. Jist lovely." She tilts her head down to look at him, breaking a grin. "Ah also really like ice cream. Chocolate chip. Oh," she says, raising her glass, "An a fine pint."
He laughs, in spite of himself, then allows himself a drink. "We've talked about quite a bit Shiv, your childhood in Warwick, your family, your affinity for ale. I'm curious though. What are some special causes that have a place in your heart."
"Di ye mean like saving the world? Things like that? I'm not really a hero. Dinnae get me wrong. Some of mae best muckers are capes. I really jist came ti Paragon tae figure out 'hoo Ah am."
"Mae family will always 'ave a special place in mae heart. If seanamhair or seanair calls, I knew I will go."
"Ah will say I 'ave no loue in my heart for the Circle of Thorns or Freakshow. I cannae abide the way they twist magic an nature."
"Do you have any known diseases, curses or other conditions affecting your being?"
"Besides an over involved grandmother? Nay."
"Is there an overriding mission that you are on?"
"I dinnae think so."
"Are there any particular races or creatures that you prefer?"
Siobhan smiles. "Ah like pixies. They knew 'ow ti 'ave a guid time and 'ow tae 'old thair liquior, not that they drink much. They loaned mae the wings. Crafty little buggers though. Beyond that, Ah dinnae play favorites."
He reaches out to turn off the recording device and picks up his beer. "Those are all the official questions, Shiv. Thank you for your time."
"Ach. Dinnae fash yersel. Ah enjoy the company. Ah only 'ad mae flat in Paragon for a few months. Ah 'aven't had a chance tae meet many folks. Thank ye fer pointing me in the direction of this pub. I dinnae know t'was ere."
"Off the record. What do you think of Paragon so far?..."
|