Normal, schoolgirl Manon considered this question with the air of a lecturer.
"Hmm... An interesting question, Ms. Fairburn. Are you following up your first question from earlier, or are you asking a broad question on who Manon Laframboise is when she is not acting?"
She tugged out a ruler and waggled it at her, "The former has a direct answer, the latter is a rather broad question."
[The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Shrugging, Willow continued lounging. All things considered, she had relaxed more or less back to before Manon had entered. The rain helped, as did the affirmation that she hadn’t been wasting her life like Other Willow though, but it was also rather relieving to see someone else with identity issues.
“Why not both? If you’re planning on crashing here for a while, then there’s time for broad questions. Start with whichever you prefer, and feel free to ask something else in return. Help yourself to the drinks in the mini, iffen ya want.”
“Why not both? If you’re planning on crashing here for a while, then there’s time for broad questions. Start with whichever you prefer, and feel free to ask something else in return. Help yourself to the drinks in the mini, iffen ya want.”
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
"Manon without ze mask? Manon ze girl? Not ze clown? I think I can answer that very simply. Do not blink, mon ami, you might miss it."
The shift was so quick, that an eye blink would have truly made it worse. Manon took her glasses off and the room darkened immediately for the lack of her magic. Moreso, the schoolgirl in front of Willow was instantly replaced with someone else.
Her red hair was matted against her head, hanging wet and heavy on her shoulders. She wore a t-shirt and shorts, soaked and soiled from exertion in a storm. Scrapes on her arms and fingers were evident, caused by the stonework on the side of the building. The look was near complete with a pair of very old, beaten running shoes. There was only one thing that stood out from the grungy change…
…a pristine, white harlequin mask on her face. Its nose was long, curved and sharp. The eyeholes were empty, black and endless.
"I am not a clown," said the girl, her mouth just visible, "I am a being of terrible power. In me is a power so great that I could crush worlds with mere thoughts."
She pulled the mask off her face to reveal that she was indeed Manon, smiling as ever, "But I cannot use an ounce of it. I have to act through the mask. Now…"
Setting the mask on the table next to Willow, she started to take off her soaked clothes, "Do you have a towel? I am afraid I cannot wish ze water off my body not that ze glamour is gone."
The shift was so quick, that an eye blink would have truly made it worse. Manon took her glasses off and the room darkened immediately for the lack of her magic. Moreso, the schoolgirl in front of Willow was instantly replaced with someone else.
Her red hair was matted against her head, hanging wet and heavy on her shoulders. She wore a t-shirt and shorts, soaked and soiled from exertion in a storm. Scrapes on her arms and fingers were evident, caused by the stonework on the side of the building. The look was near complete with a pair of very old, beaten running shoes. There was only one thing that stood out from the grungy change…
…a pristine, white harlequin mask on her face. Its nose was long, curved and sharp. The eyeholes were empty, black and endless.
"I am not a clown," said the girl, her mouth just visible, "I am a being of terrible power. In me is a power so great that I could crush worlds with mere thoughts."
She pulled the mask off her face to reveal that she was indeed Manon, smiling as ever, "But I cannot use an ounce of it. I have to act through the mask. Now…"
Setting the mask on the table next to Willow, she started to take off her soaked clothes, "Do you have a towel? I am afraid I cannot wish ze water off my body not that ze glamour is gone."
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Willow stood and moved over to her wardrobe. Reaching into one of the drawers she withdrew a towel before hucking it over to Manon. It was a royal blue, and felt marvelously soft. Leaning against her lofted bed, the Brit watched Manon and considered what she had seen. It was shocking, even in the scope of her new experiences here at Safeholme. Terrible power? Crushing worlds? A year ago she would have been rolling around as she laughed at the dramatic phrasing, but a year ago she also wasn’t running up four story walls. Part of her wished there was some convenient power scaling method for ranking everyone at the school. Was Manon stronger than Mr. Flynn? He was strong, but he couldn’t destroy worlds. How about compared to herself? Manon had extolled Willow’s strength and bravery, but all the young allomancer could do was hit things and make questionable decisions. Did Ms. Smith feel like this around the others in the Menagerie? Even if Manon apparently couldn’t use any of that power, that seemed like a phrase one didn’t throw around lightly.
“Are you able to go about without those masks? It sounds like it’d be tiring,” Willow asked. “I can’t use magic myself unless I eat metal, and most of them will make me sick if I wait too long to use them. I can do impressive and convenient things with my metals, but around here, I don’t mind being magicless. Feel free to take your mask off here. It’s a good space for it.”
“Are you able to go about without those masks? It sounds like it’d be tiring,” Willow asked. “I can’t use magic myself unless I eat metal, and most of them will make me sick if I wait too long to use them. I can do impressive and convenient things with my metals, but around here, I don’t mind being magicless. Feel free to take your mask off here. It’s a good space for it.”
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Drying herself off with the towel, Manon put herself in some fresh clothes before answering.
"Merci. I know what I know from Professor Casson. He described it as thus:
'Ms. Laframboise, look at this glass of water. This is your average mage. Now look out at the bay and the ocean beyond it. That is you.'
"But with all of this power comes a catch, my body cannot withstand the weight of oceans. Mr. Casson, he is dramatic:
'This power is too great for any one mortal being, if you tried to channel it yourself, you would be wiped from existence before you could think of how to use it. Your tool, your conduit, is both your savior and your prison."
Dry and freshly clothed, she grabbed one of Willow's t-shirts and wrapped her wet hair up and sat back down on the bed. "Dramatic, non? But it is the truth. Ze mask, he is ze tool of liches, it seems, chiseled in a cute form. It is all of my magic, and I am simply a beautiful, gymnastic battery. C'est la vie."
"Merci. I know what I know from Professor Casson. He described it as thus:
'Ms. Laframboise, look at this glass of water. This is your average mage. Now look out at the bay and the ocean beyond it. That is you.'
"But with all of this power comes a catch, my body cannot withstand the weight of oceans. Mr. Casson, he is dramatic:
'This power is too great for any one mortal being, if you tried to channel it yourself, you would be wiped from existence before you could think of how to use it. Your tool, your conduit, is both your savior and your prison."
Dry and freshly clothed, she grabbed one of Willow's t-shirts and wrapped her wet hair up and sat back down on the bed. "Dramatic, non? But it is the truth. Ze mask, he is ze tool of liches, it seems, chiseled in a cute form. It is all of my magic, and I am simply a beautiful, gymnastic battery. C'est la vie."
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
“And you use this world ending, existence erasing, ocean of power… to clown around?” Willow words came slowly as the teen worked through the information. It really was a lot to take in, and if Professor Percy corroborated it then there was more ground to believe what she was hearing. Satisfied, she planted a fist down on to an open palm. “I might not like your style, but I can still respect the effort; one goof to another. That said, not gonna lie, only kinda understand everything ya just said. Did understand the word lich tho. I’m not gonna need to RKO Vecna, am I?... actually that sounds like it’d be pretty cool…”
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
"I am told Fonts do not get a choice in their paths in life, for better or worse," said Manon, grimly. Her spirits remained even, despite following with, "I have read my kind do not live very long, but I have never gotten Mr. Casson to admit to how long."
With a quick whipping motion, she went from sitting to her lying position again, propping her chin in her hands. "Enough of that, you are speaking about Donjons et Dragons, and I do not have my petit frère Jean here to translate. So! I declare it my turn in ze Game of Secrets!"
Manon's earthen eyes pressured onto Willow, considering what intimate detail to withdraw, "I would ask somethin, how you say... salacious about you and Drysi, but you seem squeamish about girls, so I will spare you..."
Her head tilted in her hands, a cheshire smile spreading on her face, "... for now."
After a comically evil laugh, she went on, kicking her legs, "It has come up a few times, but why is it you do not go home? You have a mother, perhaps a father, too? Your relationship is not so good, it sounds, but you have family, maybe friends where they live. You are wary of ze perceptions of others, but you like people. You seek them out. Why not see your family, or, at least, your friends, while Safeholme is emptied out?"
With a quick whipping motion, she went from sitting to her lying position again, propping her chin in her hands. "Enough of that, you are speaking about Donjons et Dragons, and I do not have my petit frère Jean here to translate. So! I declare it my turn in ze Game of Secrets!"
Manon's earthen eyes pressured onto Willow, considering what intimate detail to withdraw, "I would ask somethin, how you say... salacious about you and Drysi, but you seem squeamish about girls, so I will spare you..."
Her head tilted in her hands, a cheshire smile spreading on her face, "... for now."
After a comically evil laugh, she went on, kicking her legs, "It has come up a few times, but why is it you do not go home? You have a mother, perhaps a father, too? Your relationship is not so good, it sounds, but you have family, maybe friends where they live. You are wary of ze perceptions of others, but you like people. You seek them out. Why not see your family, or, at least, your friends, while Safeholme is emptied out?"
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
Nabbing a bag of shredded squid Willow began to gnaw on a piece of the dried snack before plopping back down on the end of the bed. The weight of Manon’s actual question overshadowed her teasing, so she had little difficulty ignoring it. With a bit of squid jutting from between her teeth all the Brit felt she needed was a glass of something brown as she thought with a solemn squint. Humming idly, Willow considered the matter. It wouldn’t be a lie to just write off the matter as wanting to continue working on the farm and practicing with her metals.
“It’s not bad, per se, I s’pose,” Willow finally said. “Mom cares about me in her own way, but I can guarantee the first thing I’d be doing once I’m off the plane would be getting a physical. Then she’d hear about my scars, and that I have eight different metals hanging out in my system. Next thing I know I’m not allowed to come back to Japan, and am back in some stuffy private school being pruned like a topiary. Dad’s great, when he’s around. I actually did ask if I could go with him on one of his trips, but he said the region he was in wasn’t safe for me to tag along to. Friends back home… Regardless, staying here lets me continue working with Ms. Smith, and I hang out at Drysi’s and the Flynn’s.”
“It’s not bad, per se, I s’pose,” Willow finally said. “Mom cares about me in her own way, but I can guarantee the first thing I’d be doing once I’m off the plane would be getting a physical. Then she’d hear about my scars, and that I have eight different metals hanging out in my system. Next thing I know I’m not allowed to come back to Japan, and am back in some stuffy private school being pruned like a topiary. Dad’s great, when he’s around. I actually did ask if I could go with him on one of his trips, but he said the region he was in wasn’t safe for me to tag along to. Friends back home… Regardless, staying here lets me continue working with Ms. Smith, and I hang out at Drysi’s and the Flynn’s.”
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
"You know, this situation, it reminds me of a movie. It was called, L'oiseau et sa cage," Manon paused, remembering Willow's disadvantage in French, "Or, Ze Bird, and Her Cage. A young girl wants to go to sea, like her father. He is gone many months at a time, and ze Mother? She is full of love. Ze man she loved is never home, and her daughter was all she could pour her love into."
She raised a finger, as if it were a point easily missed, "But ze daughter, she is willful, she wants to sail ze oceans like her father. Ze mother, she does not want this, having lost her husband to the lute of the sea, and looks for any excuse to keep her daughter close to home."
Manon's brown eyes trailed off, as if remembering something unpleasant, "Not a movie you would like, je pense."
She made an idle motion toward the bag of snacks.
"I can't admit I understand," said Manon, wiggling her fingers, "But, if your mother does not approve, who is paying your tuition?"
She raised a finger, as if it were a point easily missed, "But ze daughter, she is willful, she wants to sail ze oceans like her father. Ze mother, she does not want this, having lost her husband to the lute of the sea, and looks for any excuse to keep her daughter close to home."
Manon's brown eyes trailed off, as if remembering something unpleasant, "Not a movie you would like, je pense."
She made an idle motion toward the bag of snacks.
"I can't admit I understand," said Manon, wiggling her fingers, "But, if your mother does not approve, who is paying your tuition?"
Re: [The Dorms] A Perilous Acquaintance
“Oh, Mum approves,” Willow mumbled while gnawing and shifting the bag of shredded squid towards Manon. “At least, she approves of the story Mr. Flynn’s boss, Ms. Brennan, told her. I got a run down of it, if just to help keep the story straight. Ms. Brennan called in some favors, I guess, and some of her connections helped convince Mum that Safeholme was a preparatory academy founded on the site of an old missionary hospital originally named after that Matthew Perry bloke. The admiral, not the guy from Friends. And this prep academy has a focus on Southeast Asian history and cultures, which just so happens to be an aspect Mum feels is lacking from current museum showings.”
Snap!
Willow tore the strip of dried squid.
“So, it’s playing the field pretty well for the short game. Mum, as always, sees me as an investment. Sink money into me studying overseas, I gain valuable life knowledge, a plethora of quirky tales I can share for any College Board of Admissions, then I obviously major in Oriental Studies with a minor in Museum Studies, and my doctorate gets capped off with curating an event exhibit overseen by Mum. I get a rewarding and stable future, and Mum gets to have a go at creating a dynasty of sorts. Same plan she’s always had for me, only thing that changed is the flavor of the degree. Well, and the other thing that changed is that now I blatantly lie to her everytime I’m on the phone with her.”
Boom
Willow bounced her head against the wall a couple times, only hard enough to make a sound.
“I try not to think about that last part too much. Cause then I think about how obviously I’m not doing any of that, and am someday gonna have to tell her. And when I do… will she still love me? Or will she look at me the way Other Me does?”
Snap!
Willow tore the strip of dried squid.
“So, it’s playing the field pretty well for the short game. Mum, as always, sees me as an investment. Sink money into me studying overseas, I gain valuable life knowledge, a plethora of quirky tales I can share for any College Board of Admissions, then I obviously major in Oriental Studies with a minor in Museum Studies, and my doctorate gets capped off with curating an event exhibit overseen by Mum. I get a rewarding and stable future, and Mum gets to have a go at creating a dynasty of sorts. Same plan she’s always had for me, only thing that changed is the flavor of the degree. Well, and the other thing that changed is that now I blatantly lie to her everytime I’m on the phone with her.”
Boom
Willow bounced her head against the wall a couple times, only hard enough to make a sound.
“I try not to think about that last part too much. Cause then I think about how obviously I’m not doing any of that, and am someday gonna have to tell her. And when I do… will she still love me? Or will she look at me the way Other Me does?”