Catnip's an Herb, Right? {Rainee, Open to 1 more}

[Nevin]

Rainee was visibly getting angrier as something burned in her mind. Nevin couldn't tell what it was - he was not a mind reader, just a blood mage and alchemist - but he could see that the fur across her body was standing on end, spiking up with rage. As she took a drink of the juice - a good idea on his part to push it to her - she relaxed slightly, but her tail was still lashing back and forth until Mylie suddenly piped up, begging for a cookie sleepily. The alchemist blinked twice at the small child as her mother cuddled against her, then watched as the adult feline female calmed back down. She took a deep breath and sighed before looking back to him and speaking. Nevin listened, tilting his head to one side - he caught the glance she shot at his alcohol and wordless poured some into her glass, mixing it with the remaining juice - until she finished speaking.

He had not.... expected several things here, and his shoulders sagged as he took a deep breath. He had not anticipated her accepting his magic without even blinking an eye, had not thought she would spill some of her story to him, including being abandoned by her husband. He took a long swallow of his glass of alcohol and sighed, firming his shoulders up ramrod straight as he looked at her. A heartbeat passed, and he shook his head to himself. "A man who'd abandon you carelessly is not worthy of the description 'man'. Now then." He poured more alcohol and drained it. "I was born in Salvar. You know of their views on magic, I take it?" It was hard for people not to, with the virulent violence that the country responded to magic with. "I realized early on that I could not abide by that - I was too fascinated with alchemy, and wanted to become more than just a glorified alchemist. So, I took to wandering, and eventually slipped over the border. I came upon the cult - they had actually become a village. There was a boy there, a boy who was born after his 'parents' performed a ritual. He was the first infant to survive. They performed more and more rituals as he grew up, until I stumbled upon them. Of course, I didn't know they were a cult, and fell into their trap. The boy and I both were used in a ritual, that combined us into one person. It was a later ritual that I sabotaged, using memories from the boy. He gave a mirthless smile to her, then flicked his eyes down to Mylie, and the dark orbs softened.

"Take heart in that you have something good that came of the events, at the least. I have my magic, which I have to hide. But yes - inner strength, and we both have risen beyond our pasts. The masks we show the world are strong, strong enough to hide the cracks and pains we bear. But that is the point of a persona, no?" He grinnned, the smile lacking joy and he rolled his shoulders. Then his smile turned a bit soft as he looked at Mylie. "And there was no way I would throw you two out. You started as customers, and have at the very least heard what happened to me and accepted it. Throwing you out before this would have robbed us of someone who we could share a drink with, right?"