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 Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:38 am
Philemon had always taken great joy in dwelling in the Academy's library, however there eventually came a day where he couldn't find what he was looking for in its tidy halls. Phil needed knowledge. He needed a lot of it and he needed it fast and he found himself fretting as he made his slow but mostly steady way towards his goal. Although he knew so many things about plants and herbs, potions and medicine his knowledge on the Majin was still fairly limited.
All he knew was mostly fairy tales, intangible things that did him no good when it came to his research. In the end, however, he did find himself sympathizing with that ill-fated folk instead of being bothered that his studies where hindered. Most Majin couldn't just walk out and readily say they were that kind of creature, there were only too little people ready to accept them. It was a sad fact, a sad world. If everyone was a little less selfish, the witch eaters and the witches themselves as well then maybe it would be a wonderful world. Witches would lend the Majin some of their power to satiate their hunger and the Majin wouldn't need to take hearts in return since they would keep their hunger quenched. But of course the world didn't think like he did... and that was why he had to create that potion.
And that's why he was in Lumena that day. He had to keep notes, had to further his knowledge, had to, in some way, return to Makai with something, anything more than what he had come in Lumena with. That was precisely what he was thinking as he traversed the halls of the library reading a book that added little additional information to what he already knew about his subject while looking through the titles in the rows he went by as he did. Of course, with his concentration split between so many things he was bound to eventually crash on someone clumsily, yet he paid the possibility no mind, as always.
Until it eventually happened and he found himself bouncing backwards a little. "I'm terribly sorry, sir!" he exclaimed forgetting this was a library before even lifting his head to see it was another student from the Academy that had possibly come all the way out there to study as well. "Please forgive me." he fretted, in a lower tone of voice that once.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:27 am
Through the grapevines of the teenagers at Makai academy, Rajih had heard of the nearby town of Lumena and the large expansive library it held in it's city walls. It was a famed place, the town and Library alike and held many answers to the questions that Rajih hadn't answered yet himself.
Being recently that he had discovered himself a Majin, he knew nothing of that of his kind, well besides only that their were humans and Majins. Majins took magic from witches and witches didn't like it. He had felt the urge to take the thing in witches that make them witches, on those days where his starvation reached its peak and he lost control of his body. It would shake violently like in a sickness without the magic to sustain him. He needed to find a alternative, Starving himself was only worsening the situation and yet his fear of being rejected all over again was even more terrifying.
He had been beaten by the best friend he had loved so much, and he had been scarred, mentally and physically over something he had only knew late in his life. If he hadn't told Roger that he was a Majin, he could've stayed with him, remained best friends. But fate had different idea's and so he had fled his comfortable life to start anew.
Somewhere in his imaginative mind, he imagined it in a romantic setting, Flight as bruised boy, kind to all. He waved the thoughts away smiling as he traveled into the library and stacks of books, He too didn't pay attention to his surroundings, to trapped in his brooding thoughts to notice the equally distracted boy. When they collided, Rajih was sent back a couple of steps, his eyes widening in fear as he felt the familiar twinge of magic shoot through him.
A witch!
On closer inspection though, as his eyes dropped down, he noticed it was in fact not a yet witch, but instead a very well kept witchling.
"Hey No problem." Rajih gave a small smile at the boy and cocked his head, wasn't this place far out for a Makai student? wait what was he thinking, he was there wasn't he? "I'm sorry about hitting you, I was distracted in thought and looking for something." Rajih frowned as he stared at the uniform and quiet voice before brightly smiling again, "Ah, no need for forgiveness! It was just a mere coincidence that we happen to be distracted." Wasn't this section about Majin's? Why was this witchling looking around here? "You go to Makai Academy too? I'm a new transfer there, names Rajih." Rajih didn't offer his hand, unsure of if he would siphon magic off, it seemed like that with anyone he made friends with.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:17 pm
Philemon found himself blinking at the student he had practically bounced against. At the very least it seemed like it was his lucky day, that one, since neither of them had fallen to the ground yet. It was rather refreshing, for his luck to be anything other that 'bad' for once in a while. And it would also seem that his streak was extending beyond that little event, the boy reassuring him that it was okay anyway. It made him smile back, if nothing else, habitually friendly as he were. "I'm just as much in fault. Reading while walking... really, I should remind myself to keep a closer eye to reality, literally." he sighed averting his gaze and looking upwards at the shelves at the mention of the boy 'looking for something'.
Looking for a book this far away from school and this particular section, it only made Phil wonder more. "Hm, how about I help you find what you're looking for as compensation?" he suggested, even if there was only his desire to know more about why in the world would someone -other than him or people involved with the subject of the other race- would be looking around in that part of the library. Of course there was always the possibility the boy had just gotten lost but Phil didn't mind to help just for the sake of helping, after all.
"Y-Yeah..." he admitted awkwardly when asked if he was a student in the Academy as well. He had postponed his trial twice already and would have done so for a third time if his twin hadn't talked him out of it just the other day. "I'd still be in Makai even if I weren't a student though." he noted. "I work at the Pharmacy; I'd say I would hope to see you stop by sometime from the store but there's no need to jinx it." it really was a bad joke and he knew it yet he said it anyway. When he saw the other hesitating he extended his own hand himself first. No proper introductions should be done without a proper handshake. "I'm Philemon, but you can call me Phil like everyone does." he said, nodding to underline his words.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:43 pm
"Haha, really? I read and walk all the time, Can't tell you how many times I have walked into something, somebody or an awkward somewhere." Rajih relaxed as he stood across from the boy, A kindred spirit in books if not the same clumsiness.
He too looked up to the shelves as the boy did and sighed, wondering if he would find a good source of information of his kind. His knowledge was severely limited after all and books always contained a good amount of information.
"Compensation?" Rajih looked down from his search and frowned, "I was just as much at fault as you though. You really needn't help-" Rajih bit his tongue. Actually, he wasn't finding a source on Majin yet after all, maybe if this boy knew a good one to look for? And it wasn't like, because he was looking for a Majin book that gave away that he was a Majin himself. Taking a deep breath, he let a small smile form. "Alright actually, I was looking for a very good source on the Majin's. It seems its a race that I don't have a clear understanding." He nodded as he waved to the stacks of books.
"Oh well...haha!" Rajih laughed at the joke, nearby library guest shushed him at his loudness which had Rajih chuckling instead. "I'm sure I would stop by just because but yes, let's not jinx my health. I'd be pretty upset if the only reason I had to go there was medication." He laughed again before looking at the out stretched hand.
Something inside him switched, and he clenched his fist together tightly as to not take the boy's hand. It was rude not shake hands, as that was the custom for first time greets. Yet the mere shake of a hand seemed to be so foreign and so...hard to do. His hand outstretched slowly yet his eyes made eye contact with the boy, holding his gaze as he clasped the others hand in a brief quick shake before pulling instantly away. "Ah, Nice to meet you Phil." Rajih only felt a nibble of magic siphon into him, good, maybe Phil wouldn't notice that little interlude. "So to find a book?" He turned his body to the shelves and looked around at them.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 8:01 am
Philemon tried hard to contain his bemusement. It wasn't as if he meant any form of disrespect towards the kind boy he had stumbled across, and of course he hadn't as much as thought of mocking him about his clumsiness, after all he was more or less at the same position as him and he was habitually clumsy; something he got yelled at for all the time anyway. He still couldn't help a soft chuckle that escaped him and he shrugged, hopelessly. "Guess we're birds of a feather then." he pointed out with an outstretched index gently tapping his bottom lip in the way he usually did when deep in thought.
Although it hadn't seem like a matter to require such introspection, Phil's mind was already processing the next part of the information he had received. So Rajih was looking to find out more about the Majin? That, in and on its own wasn't as curious but it was rare he'd meet anyone who thought anything more of them other than nuisances that had to be wiped out from the face of the earth. And as much as he had tried to understand them he had been unable to. "Looking for weaknesses?" he joked, even if his comment was concealing a great deal of bitterness behind its mere count of three words. He shouldn't normally be so distrusting but with the recent events and the talks he had had with people he was becoming all the more wary towards the world in general; not the individuals inhabiting it but more like the collective consciousness that seemed to drive the will of the crowd. "You can start here." he shrugged passing Rajih the book he had been reading so long. "There is very little in this book that I hadn't already heard or read elsewhere so you can have it, really." he shrugged a little, passing his free hand through pale locks of hair hoping he didn't come off as a weirdo because he had just admitted by mistake that he probably knew more than the average person should know on the subject.
The fact that the boy had looked hesitant about taking his hand seemed slightly odd to Phil. He didn't blame him though. He had said he was a transfer student so maybe wherever he was from it wasn't customary to shake hands or anything of the short, so it was okay, really. He had seemed rather friendly otherwise so Phil was sure they were bound to get by alright. He smiled back warmly and nodded. "Yes. It's nice to meet you too." he then glanced up at the shelves in Rajih's inquiry and sighed. "Mm? To find a book... well what I gave you mostly lists general things. It depends on what you want to know. Their origins, for example, aren't really detailed anywhere but in lore and you can't trust it as source material." he sighed, stretching his arms over his head and refused to return his gaze back down to Rajih in order to hide the slight sadness his eyes gave away. "Sadly, there are too little people that are willing to research or even care at all for the Majin and there are even less Majin that would readily reveal themselves to people." he shrugged. "Not that I'd as much as dare blame them, of course. Normal people seem to have trouble accepting anything that's even a little different from them." he paused, realizing for the millionth time over that he was monopolizing the conversation with a person he had just met and he was probably becoming excessively tiring. "D-Do excuse me." he stuttered, uneasy, as soon as he recovered. "Sometimes I get carried away and its hard to stop talking as I'm thinking." he was sure that if his brother had been there he'd had already been chased around -complete with blazing balls of fire- never mind that this was a library.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 10:55 am
"Haha guess so!" He smiled at Phil, enjoying a simple companionship for once, for some reason, it was easier to let his guard down around the boy, at least for the moment it was. His mind was still alert for anything that would give him away to other boy as a Majin. And if that was to happen well, he would have to leave and soon.
"Majin's have weaknesses?" Rajih's eyes widened, why didn't he know about this? He was one after all, well except that he hadn't found he was till much later in his life. He stared at Phil before frowning, "No I am not looking for a weakness, well actually, I suppose I COULD be looking for one, but its all going to go to the fact that I am trying to learn more about them." Rajih cocked his head, "I had a....Friend discover that their best friend was a Majin. From what my friend told me, he out casted his best friend since childhood because of him being a Majin. In fact, the only details as to why he was out casted known to said friend was because the Majin was 'stealing' his magic. I wish to learn about that." Rajih flushed as he realized that unintentionally he had dropped all his reasoning and problems on Phil in one little conversation. Never mind that Phil still didn't know that Rajih was a Majin himself and the one described before.
"Ah!" Rajih took the book with a frown, flipping through its pages while Phil explained the other series of books that we're around. He looked up when he heard the slight sadness in the boys voice before looking to the books instead. "So there is nothing credible as to how Majin's came to be? I have heard only negative stories of Majin's, born into the world to take powerful magics from those that they make friends or their lovers. Ghost of humans past with nothing more then the wish to come back to the living world and live while they shouldn't be." Rajih smiled bitterly as he thought of how Roger had explained to Rajih exactly what he was now. A point that had been proven when not only Roger's parents told him the same thing, but when his whole tiny neighborhood shunned him after finding out. "How come you know so much about the Majin Phil? As you said, not many people are willing to research them...." Rajih cocked his head at the boy curiously, the way Phil talked, it seemed that he didn't mind Majin at all. To Rajih, that seemed abnormal for a young witchling to be unconcerned about the monsters that would take his magic, if not, his witches heart.
"Ah, that's okay. Your helping me a great deal." Rajih hesitated before his looked around, Phil was being a great help but the matter of fact is, Rajih couldn't form all his questions about Majin around "My friend said this or My friend had this happen", he was here to learn about his kind and Phil seemed to know the most. The worst that could happen was that Phil rejected him, told everyone in the academy, he got shunned again and would have to leave. Yeah that wasn't too bad, he had already done it once, "If I tell you my real reason for looking for facts on the Majin, would you swear never to tell anyone else? I'm sure if I told you....." Rajih forest green eyes looked up into that of the pale blue eyes of Phil as if saying that this was a very very big step for the boy. A lot of instinctually trust was going into a few minutes of conversation for Rajih.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:28 pm
Phil shrugged. "I don't think they have a certain weakness, other than their inability to keep their hunger in check after they become witch eaters." he mumbled. "I suppose they are just as weak or strong as normal witches, the only thing that's different is the soul." he knew quite well that this was the only real 'truth' there was. Your parent could be a Majin, your brother or your best friend and you could never tell. You could be human born to Majin parents or Majin born to an otherwise entirely human family, the spell worked both ways. He found himself sighing, looking away as Rajih spoke. It was always the same old sad story. Once one discovered one of their people close to them was different they always would respond in such extreme ways. It was heartbreaking to see it happening, and Rajih's story felt somewhat familiar to him. "You mean your friend's friend was using the magic your friend radiated to satiate himself." he repeated using the proper terminology. "That's the only essential difference between humans and Majin. The Majin need to feed to sustain themselves... It's not a big deal if they satiate themselves in the proper way, however. The witches' hearts reproduce energy infinitely in any case, so if only a certain amount is taken at a time it just gets replenished rather quickly." despite the flustered way his newfound friend seemed to react, Phil was more than happy to be able to help him in any way he could if it was something he knew.
Phil took a few moments to think on Rajih's words. True, that was what most people said. They made the Majin look like some sort of horrible demons that only sought to leech the life out of people and rule the world in darkness and chaos, kind of like the vampires in the novels he would read sometimes to pass his time. But it wasn't all true. "Do you really think it's such a terrible wish?" he found himself asking before he had time to think; it was an instinctual response birthed from his simple desire to somehow, someday be able to be of some sort of assistance "Do you really think that wanting to be alive again is such a terrible wish?" he repeated if only to underline, explain exactly what he meant by his words. Was it really that bad? For all he knew wishing wasn't a crime. To want something wasn't a crime. To love something so intensely to want to cling to life regardless of what it could mean... how could it, possibly, be a crime? "I believe, I believe that the world where you would be able to say 'Even if you come back once again I won't mind' would be a wonderful place." he forced himself to look away to be able to focus unless he said more sappy things like that one. If humans could accept the Majin that might as well be something possible, though. It was wishful thinking in and on its own, he knew; but he didn't mind.
"You can say I'm somewhat of a special case." Phil smiled, if only halfway, as if he were unsure of whether or not it was the right thing to do. Uncertain of himself before anything else. He hadn't really talked about something like that in a while -more like he had never talked about something like that before- and the whole talk was making him nervous, even though something inside Rajih's green eyes told him he could at least have some trust in him. He motioned for Rajih to follow him in a small, secluded sitting space by a window. It was a good thing there were too little people around and nobody was sitting anywhere nearby as Phil was already quite uncomfortable and he was only having two ears listening to his story. "A few years ago I almost had my heart eaten by a Majin." he admitted, shrugging a little. "That Majin was someone very close to me, you could say he was like my brother." his lips curved further into a sour smile as he brought himself to sit down, setting both hands down on the table's surface. Of course his statement had just made his case even more unrealistic and bizarre. A person who was almost eaten and still didn't mind the Majin was probably something unheard of. "I've never... meant to hurt anyone to begin with, but this helped me realize that I was right all along. I've always viewed the Majin with sympathy, I mean, they really are no different from humans. I know it sounds strange to you, to anyone, but I believe that, if given a choice, most Majin wouldn't drain the witches. It's not their fault they need to feed; it's like saying cats are bad because they have to hunt birds and other small animals to live." to him it was plain logic but most people wouldn't readily accept that anyway. When it came to themselves they were only so very selfish. "The way I see it, it's the humans that have it wrong." he sighed. "If they willingly gave away just a little bit of their magic to the Majin instead of forcing them to starve themselves to death there would be no problem at all. Of course there still would be some cases that would use their power for evil. Some people are just like that regardless if they're humans or Majin." that was simply the way he saw the world, there was really nothing he could do about it and if Rajih wanted to know he'd tell him. There was a part of him that compelled him to.
He leaned backwards in his seating and regarded Rajih behind his transparent lenses trying to discern his expression, understand what that gentle creature might be thinking about him now that he had went all out and said it. Laid his belief on the ground, leaving it alone, hoping that someone would turn and glance at it, pick it up and take it to heart -back home with him. Food for thought was at least underrated nowadays. "Of course you can tell me." he chuckled softly. "I promise it'll be like I've never heard." keeping secrets, well that he could do. He had gone as far as hiding a few crucial facts from at least the other sixteen members of his family for several years on end. Just one more little secret wouldn't be as bad. And then came that single unfinished, uncertain sentence and he find himself compelled to reach a hand out to reassuringly place it over Rajih's own -tactlessly forgetting he hadn't seemed to very much enjoy that handshake before- in the same manner he had done with his more than simply rash brother several times before."You really look as if you're in turmoil." he spoke quietly trying his best to smile and keep his hand gentle and level, it usually worked with his youngest siblings when they were fretting or scared. "I, more often than not, am unable to help people when it comes to anything other than wounds of the body, but if you feel like telling me, if you think that there's anything I might be able to do to help you with whatever it is that troubles you..." he sighed, realizing he was monopolizing again "Feel free to tell me." he simply concluded, his determined smile turning slightly more awkward as he realized he was most likely, most probably overreacting and poor Rajih might think he was a weirdo, still. But he had been unable to control himself. The conversation had went from random to lighthearted to serious to entirely personal and he felt like going downhill still. It was surprising how sometimes, given a single lead, you could jump from the most typical stuff and forget to talk about the weather and all the lighthearted randomness in order for the most important things to surface. And as long as there were willing ears to listen and willing minds to understand... well, it was most certainly okay, he thought.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 8:25 pm
Rajih relaxed as he hard of no other weaknesses that could effect him, besides the one he knew and was currently aware of as the most dangerous. It would figure that the one true weakness of a Majin was their hunger. "Ah, well that's good to know." Rajih cringed as he heard Phil say the race of Majin who had taken witches hearts into their own being. It was one way to sate hunger for a Majin for awhile, but the power was addictive and seductive. Even Rajih, a lowly Majin could tell that taking a witch's heart would only entice for more hearts and for more power. Like a void that could never be filled. "So, Wait." Rajih eye's widened as he heard of the infinite magic that could be released by the witch's heart. "So when a Majin siphons magic from a witch, there not taking the magic permanently away from the witch? It can easily be replaced with time?" Rajih gritted his teeth in anger. Roger had lied, It didn't matter if it had been in Ignorance or not, Rajih had been lead to believe that Majin stole magic forever, that once you siphoned, it wouldn't return to a witch. His fist clenched in hate for Roger who had accused of him of stealing all his magic when in truth, he had only taken some and it would be replaced anyways.
He was quiet until he heard Phil's question and looked over at him. "I don't know." Rajih gave Phil a stare. In truth, he didn't know how to answer Phil's question at all. Up until recently, Rajih had thought he was alive, well, he thought he had been born like any human. Alive and well and a new life. Instead, he had come to find out that he was nothing more than a shadow granted a second chance. A second chance that he had no idea what it was. "Your a odd one Phil." Rajih stared at the other boy, he was unlike any he had ever met before in all honesty. To be so...understanding and to have such ideals was much different than what Rajih had expected and it put him at ease. At ease like he had been when he was with Roger when they were younger. It was discomforting and genuine at the same time. "I don't mean that as a insult by the way. It's just, I haven't met anyone like you before." Rajih said with a small smile. As Phil beckoned him to a more secluded area, Rajih had no reason not to follow. They seated themselves at a table, sitting across from each other before Phil told Rajih of his story.
As he listened, Light dawned on him that Phil knew exactly what he was talking about. Not only had Phil studied it, read everything he could but he had experienced it! And with a loved one for that matter! As Phil described his logic, Rajih could only sit in wonder as he listened to the boy. Maturity and knowledge and a new found respect for the boy made Rajih confident that what he was about to share would be in good hands and with someone he could trust wouldn't judge like so many had before.
"Too be able to sit here across from me and tell me this Phil, I feel like I have seen another side to Humans and Majins alike." Rajih smiled, "You have enlightened me on something I was deeply afraid and in the dark about. You have such ideals, it would be nice if all humans and Majin saw it like you did." Rajih cocked his head and nodded, "but yes, balance is necessary for every good ideal, there must be a bad. Magic is a power that we harness, whether we use it to live or use it to better our lives." Rajih raised his hand and waved, "Regardless of this, our sins are letting the power control us. I will not deny that Majin and Humans do this alike. Humans are more sly about it though, and Majin are more open with it. Maybe that is why they have such a reputation." Rajih shrugged before he smiled again at Phil.
"What I tell you, was something I told my best friend. Mind you that when I told him, I got the most negative of responses. I lied earlier when I was explaining where I had heard of from a friend to friend." Rajih sighed. He was quiet for a few moments of how best to describe to Phil, and instead went for straight forwardness. He respected Phil a lot now in their simple conversation that had turned serious, and so badly wanted to share his secret with at least someone. It was time to see if Phil really stood by the ideals he proclaimed. "My name was given to me by best friends parents, I was abandon as a child as I am told and was brought in to be raised by my entire neighborhood in a village not far from here. They gave me clothes and I was loved by our small community. I became the other half of my best friend, as we were as close as brothers could be. We were almost like twins in a away, though our personalities were the opposite of each other. As we grew older, my best friend started to show talent in magic, it poured of him in powerful waves. And as he did so, it started to awaken the...." Rajih paused and thought about that, was that really what happened?, "No, I would say when he came into his power, I started to realize the hunger inside of me. One that was only fed when I was with my best friend, siphoning. For you see, It seems that I had been a Majin in my community of humans. Humans who were raised to believe the worst of the Majin race." Rajih remember the day so clearly, when he had discovered it and the actions that had resulted in it. "To make a long story short, I was the friend who was cursed, out casted and ultimately betrayed." Rajih tapped the book that Phil had given him, "I came here to find about my kind, to figure out how to control my hunger and how to channel it to something besides becoming a witch eater. For that, I might need some help, If you are still willing." Rajih leaned back in his chair now, taking a deep breath and holding it, everything now relied on Phil's response. Had he overwhelmed the boy? Had he scared him away now with the truth as well?
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 5:45 am
Phil chuckled softly at Rajih's surprise upon hearing that the Majin didn't permanently take away something from Witches. Facts like these were common magic principles that were, more or less applied everywhere. "Hmm... let's see..." he thought of a way to put it that would be simple and neat for someone to understand without having to make complicated diagrams or anything of the like. He almost felt as if he was having a casual study session, just not in the academy and not with a student his level -then again, little were the students that were on his level in any case, considering he had postponed his trials for graduation twice already, choosing to linger on instead of not. But it wasn't all that bad nor did it feel like an actual chore. "Well, think of the witch's heart like a motor that produces magical energy. Witches draw that energy and use it to cast spells, of course there's a limit to just how much you can use at any given time, so overexerting yourself might make you feel dizzy or produce other unwanted symptoms. Given some time to recover, however, the heart balances itself once again. Otherwise there would be a set amount to how much one could use their magic in general." he tapped his lip thoughtfully, intense frown of concentration in place as he thought back to what he said in case he was neglecting to mention something important. "Therefore, it only stands to reason that the magic the Majin take works in the same way, it gets radiated and absorbed... only not in a spell." he didn't really know if he made any sort of sense. In his head he did, at least.
Phil grinned, for all the world whimsically, as he placed both hands on his lap, fixing his glasses. Of course he didn't take it as an insult. After all he had sensed no animosity whatsoever, but as long as people didn't jump at him with some sort of exaggeration about the state of his mentality and possible lack of sanity he was sure that he was more or less at least on safe grounds with that person. It was something he enjoyed doing, making people think over the things they had so long considered set in stone, even if most didn't hear and out of those who did little truly listened, not to mention try to make amends in their own opinion. "I did tell you I'm a special case, don't say I didn't warn you." he joked around. "And yeah... I haven't either, but I'm sure if I can get people to think about it, even if its only a few maybe then they can also try to make other people see it in the same way."
Rajih's reply had been satisfactory, however, and he found himself relaxing even further. It would seem that for a change his partner in discussion was far more readily open to receive the ideas that floated around in Phil's mind and he was more than just thankful for it. At least he could talk about it for a change rather than trying to raise random arguments to defend his case against all the people that sought to hurt and main just because he, too, was different. Most people that knew of his viewpoint on the matter would claim he was a freak of nature, even stranger than the Majin themselves. "Finally, a person who is willing to understand." Phil sighed in relief as he spoke those words meaning every last one of them. He thought about Rajih's words some more and tapped his lip with his index once more as he leaned back, crossing his legs to sit more comfortably. "Well, you might as well be right, humans do have this knack for concealing their crimes, then again the Majin are usually as much secretive." he contemplated about it some more trying to conceive what would be an appropriate answer to give, to compliment what he had already said. "To me I think it's just that the humans feared the Majin at first. They came later, where able to eat hearts, people got scared and instead of trying to understand they turned their fear into hate never giving a resolution to their problem." he paused and fixed his glasses a little before going on. "You said it yourself, after all. You've only ever heard negative stories of how the Majin were conceived and born into this world, it's more or less the same wretched outlook for everyone... but it's never a wretched world unless you are." he finished, smiling softly.
Phil remained in relative silence, letting Rajih speak and tell him his own story in the exact same manner he had given him his first. He wasn't sure if there was anything he could really do to help him; after all he had told him so. He wasn't that great of a healer when it came to mending the wounds of the heart and soul, he had always been terribly tactless when it came to words, just as clumsy as he was in almost every aspect of what he did save for those select few subjects he excelled with. And the more his tablemate spoke the more he was beginning to see what this was about, and the more he understood the more he felt his heart sink in his chest causing a strange, clenching sensation to take hold of it threatening to crush it. He was sad even if he hadn't been the one who was hurt, and he was enraged, yes, because Rajih seemed like such a gentle soul, it only seemed all the more unfair. Orphaned, shunned by the entire community he grew up in, betrayed by his best friend and all of that... for what really? And what was he supposed to say; nothing his mind could come up with seemed appropriate... not to mention it was all so very strange, to feel all of those things for a person who he had known for far too little, to go as far as to call him a friend in the first place. Unconsciously, for reasons unknown to him, he had made a connection and it put his mind at ease.
The final statement was made and he found himself hanging in the silence that followed it. Forcing the conflicting thoughts in his mind about what was the right thing to say he took a deep breath and felt his expression becoming softer as he had probably tensed up without realizing it. There was something in him that sought to embrace that boy, care for him as if he were his brother, just like his brother. He wanted to reconcile for what others had done to him, prove him that it was okay anyway, make up for the lost time; because it was a first for him also and no matter what he wanted to make it right. Hadn't his brother told him not to be afraid to reach out to what he wanted? "You must have been... terribly lonely." he spoke quietly. "So, listen. That's what we're going to do." he regained his confidence pretty fast for somebody who was just told all this and was fretting over this and that until a second ago. "I'm not sure how I can help you, but if it's within my power, if there's something I can do I will gladly do it." he was fired up now and there was no holding him back. "A-and I know I can't be him... your friend, I mean, but-" his voice stumbled and he had to take a breath unless he choked in it "I'll, I'll be your friend now, if you'll have me." he almost turned scarlet at the boldness of the declaration and there was certainly at least one part of him that regretted phrasing it the way he did but there was little he could do to change what was already spoken.
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 4:03 pm
Rajih was so glad he had made the trip to the library, especially to make the trek to the far away town of Lumena. He had achieved his goal of gaining knowledge of Majin, coming from a student who was ten times more studious and had time to share his knowledge. Rajih was extremely pleased that everything he had known, while half way truthful, was not as ugly as the ways Roger and his neighborhood had berated him with. "I understand it better now that you have put it that way and it seems all...." Rajih cocked his head, "To make much more sense. I always wondered about how I could take all the magic the heart can produce without fully taking the heart itself." Rajih smiled slowly, in your face Roger, he thought. He wasn't evil nor did his best friend have to worry about his magic being stolen. The smile instantly wiped away as he realized that he still thought of Roger as his best friend and all the new facts only led him to relief, as if, by learning all of this he could somehow return to his friend and those he considered family. The knowledge was only powerful when it was known to others, and Rajih couldn't tell his village by himself, they would only chase him out.
He registered and saved the thought for later. If and when, If he ever did, decided to go to his village and prove them wrong in their misdeeds, he would go armed with all the knowledge he would gain. And for that, he needed time and to establish himself as a new person. A blank slate.
"Special indeed, Its...refreshing though. Better than being thrown out of the library by you haha." Rajih smiled at the boy in true happiness, "If I was truly worried Phil, I probably would've ended the conversation long ago and been on my way." He nodded at the boy, "Well, I hope that others will be so willing to listen, they have a lot to learn from you. You might not look it but your pretty wise beyond your years after all. Though the say its the day by day experiences that help establish a person rather then the lifetime full of them." Rajih wasn't sure if that made sense at all.
His head nodded again as they came to more agreements and ideals, Rajih was beginning to understand the boy even more as they shared a thirst for understanding and learning. Even if right at the moment, it was Rajih who was learning and Phil who had found someone to share an understanding with. Both of the boys pined for something and at that moment in the library, they were giving each other what they needed. It was still comforting to know that Phil was such an expert and more social about his research. Besides knowing about the Majin, Rajih wanted to know what else the boy studied, and what his ideals on other things were. In fact, he just plainly wanted to know more.
His head rested on his hand as he stared at Phil. "You see the gray between the black and white don't you? I bet that's how you are with everything." Rajih smiled at him, meaning for it to be a compliment, "I was quick to say humans were sly, and forget that in truth, the only thing separating a Human and a Majin is the structure of the soul. Something you said earlier that hadn't quite sunk in. Everybody's morals are different after all, whether they be Majin or Human." He shrugged and waved the topic away. To him, a blank slate, he was still trying to see those shades of gray when all he had been taught was the blacks and whites.
Though, after telling his story and watching Phil, He could see a sadness in the other boy that reached out to Rajih. "Lonely?" He murmured before looking to the table top and thinking, he had been scared, terrified that he would be found out that he had trusted no one until Phil with his secrets. "I don't think I have had enough emotion or feelings to feel lonely with everything else. I was mad, and terrified and sad." He looked out to the book shelves and frowned, "I didn't have anyone to share with, but at the same time, The fear of being found out fueled me to be "secretive" about who I really was." Rajih smiled sadly, "Do you know, before I was friendly boy? I still am but I was different then before. I'm afraid to touch any that I can feel as a witch. Afraid of taking something from them that they would notice and hate me for. Before I went to the academy, I was just wandering around the towns." He shrugged. It was a tragic misfortune for Rajih but he had found the academy at the end of it all, and he had found a witch willing to accept him for who he was.
"I wouldn't ask you to be Roger." Rajih frowned again, "That would mean you hate me." He joked, adding a small chuckle before flushing at Phil's declaration. "I...wait...." Rajih laughed so hard, the flush still covered his face as he let his head fall to the table where he rolled with laughter. When he sat back up, there was a small amount of tears from laughing so hard welling up in his eyes that he had to brush them away before smiling radiantly at the other boy. "Part of me feels like that was a proposal Phil." He teased before settling back, "I appreciate that, I really do, and I'll do my best to be a good friend to you as well Phil." Rajih bobbed his head up and down, "So don't hesitate to ask me for anything either! I'll do my best while I can." He would've reached out to shake on it but his fear of losing a friend, taking magic and whatnot was still present, even if he had made his first real friend based on truth. It was, to Rajih, A step at a time.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 7:39 am
Phil spent a few moments trying to think about Rajih's question. He had to admit that he was caught a little off-guard as it was one of the few things he didn't have a complete image of in his mind. What was that that cleanly separated feeding off of a heart's magic and feeding on a heart itself? The two of them would have to consult a full-fledged witch eater to know for sure but Phil didn't know of such a person and he was almost entirely sure that Rajih didn't either. "As a matter of fact, I think it's an almost conscious choice, based on what I have gathered. It's like exceeding a certain limit while feeding, I believe, yet wanting even more which eventually causes the Majin to entirely consume a person entirely." he tapped his lip some more and looked out of the nearest window trying to force his mind to piece together information and give him the answer he was waiting for. "I know that siphoning magic can be consciously managed -there are Majin that spend their entire lives keeping the hunger in check and identity hidden this way- so this also has to be a conscious choice." he decided giving a small nod of the head.
He pulled back for another time and grimaced, pretending to be hurt. "Do I really look like I could shove another person out of the library even if I wanted to?" he shrugged pointing out that he wasn't all that athletic despite his height. "But, I am glad that you listened to me and I'm even more glad it might have helped bring your troubles to a sort of resolution for the time's being." he smiled sheepishly and shrugged at being called wise. He had never considered himself as wise to begin with. He was smart, sure, and he had a certain set of ideals that he believed in but could he really be considered wise? He didn't know. "As for that, I really... don't think I'm that wise or anything." he laughed "I mean, I'm just a normal kid. I simply dislike conflict and want to help, that's really all there is."
He and Rajih shared more similarities than he could have hoped even if they were slightly different at their core in that they basically belonged to different species. Of course that meant little, if not nothing to Phil himself and it didn't seem to concern Rajih. On the contrary, he seemed just as glad as he was if he had to think about it. And to think that if it weren't for his teacher becoming ill and his sudden free time he might have not made that trip; and if he hadn't met that trip he wouldn't have met Rajih and both of them would be just as lost as they had been before their meeting there. And the more he thought about it the more he thought it would be a sad, sad case if something like this had happened.
"I do understand what you're saying and in a world where everything is black and white your statement would most likely stand quite true, Rajih." he smiled gently, fixing his glasses as he did so. "But I don't see black and white. I only see colors -and I'm not even an artist-, and there are myriads of them too. Every person has their own shade and together they paint the world in a million different ways that are both strange as they're beautiful." he sighed in defeat. Somehow he kept spitting out corny randomness that would only help embarrass him later. It was a strange way to perceive reality but just as everyone had different magic powers that reflected who they were so did they have their colors even if one wouldn't readily describe themselves as that.
"That sounds like lonely enough to me... even if you hadn't had the time to think about it then." he mumbled softly while lowering his eyes to study his hands as if they had become extremely interesting all of a sudden. "Like most Majin, really... it's sad." he sighed upon hearing Rajih the reason he kept his identity secret. Really it should have been the same with him also, even though... even though it wasn't like that because he had always been the odd one out. "I can imagine." Phil smiled sadly. "I'll... I'll help you go back to being that person, I promise." he bowed his head a little, clutching his hands in small, yet determined fists. "I'll, I'll help you train in order to keep your predisposition to drain people under control... So you'll be able to go back being the friendly person you were with everyone. You won't be afraid of touching people anymore and people won't find out about you and if you ever need anyone's magic you can have mine... I mostly practice medicine which has little to do with spellcasting so there's always an overabundance of it." he blushed fiercely once again and hid his face in his hands. There he was... ridiculing himself again. "I'm so sorry I always speak without thinking." he lamented in exasperation about himself. "A-about that proposal too..." he sighed. It was as if he were out to make a fool of himself.
"Although I'm glad that I can call you my friend." he was beginning to see why some people called such things unfair at times. Poor Rajih seemed such a gentle soul deep down and yet he was born a Majin, cursed with his hunger and the single-mindedness of the humans while humans who deserved to be shunned were getting by just fine because had simply been born normal even though there was nothing wrong with being different.
"Uhh... ask?" he paused, forgetting for a second that Rajih was the Majin out of the two. It had seemed that so far he had been the only one asked questions so it stood to reason that he'd know more but there were of course things he didn't know either. "I... uhm... I guess. Let's see..." he tapped his bottom lip for the millionth time as he thought before finall deciding that he simply didn't know too much. "H-How does it feel...? To feed on someone's magic, I mean?" he was very curious to find out seeing how nobody had ever written about something like this in any book he had read so long. "What I mean to say... if you tapped into my magic now, consciously, would you be able to feel something?" thinking back to that time when he almost had his heart eaten it had also been a rather questionable situation that had caused it to begin with, therefore Phil was wondering if it felt bad or good or- "Also... what is it like when you're hungry?" that was the other thing that troubled him deeply. Did the Majin suffer while waiting or was it just a simple nuisance and wearing out of their powers?
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 4:44 pm
Rajih tapped his fingers on the table as he thought of Witch eaters, one of his fears was of course becoming one. As Phil put it into light, Rajih could only sympathize with a Witch eater at that moment. To be so starved, so greedy for hunger. It was like starting with a snack, craving the dinner and finishing off with the Dessert, something that made them though infinitely more powerful and infinitely more hungry. "I'll just need to learn from another Majin how to do that. Hopefully I will be able to find one who share's some kind of ideals like I do. though for now, I'll have to do my best managing it." Rajih sighed and waved it away, when the time came, he would find a powerful Majin, one that would take him under his wings and show him just how to siphon without taking much, and to do it witch Witches like Phil, who didn't mind a little at the time.
"I'm sure if you wanted to Phil you could." Rajih replied back cheerily, teasing the other boy. He sobered at the other boys gratefulness and nodded, "Of course talking to you has helped, even more so listening to you is enlightening. Remember, your the first human that I have met that has known the truth about me, that makes it worthwhile to listen to you talk forever." He joked, giving a small chuckle. "Passive Aggressive?" Rajih joked again before giving another low chuckle, as not to disturb the guest again with his laughter.
"Colors?" Rajih smiled, resting his chin yet again as he listened to his new friend talk and continued to gain respect for the other boy. Phil was a special witch indeed and Rajih was just glad to have met him. Protectiveness for the other boy curled inside his gut and made him realize that Phil had upped his status in friendship. Rajih, oddly found enough would most would say was a Majin trait and Use this friendship to fuel the goal he had been planning in his head for the month he had been going to the school. Ars Lilium and Cerberus Knights, so He could continue to protect Phil and any other friend he made.
His eyes widened as he listened to Phil's proposition of sharing magic and shook his head, part of him smiled, the other part was terrified. That even though he offered it, Rajih wasn't ready to take that step yet. "Your a good friend Phil, but don't push yourself to do something you regret." he would've reach out to ruffle the boy's hair, his hand had made it halfway across the table before he pulled back, clenching his fist together instead and bringing it to rest on the table.
He shrugged off his uncomfortableness and again watched Phil stumble with a question. When it was asked, Rajih only cocked his head sideways before thinking of best way to describe the hunger to Phil.
"Let me think how best to describe." He dug deep into how he saw his hunger if he would compare it to the humans, and yet he couldn't because Humans never suffered the same hunger. They could, for power, greed, those types of things. But its not like they would be effected if they didn't achieve that hunger. "Feeding is probably the easiest to explain. When tapping into magic, you feel a burst of energy and depending on your magic style, it usually courses through points in your body, like a tingling sensation. The more used to the magic you are though, and the less powerful your spells, the less tingling feeling you feel. If we compare that to a Majin's hunger it would be like, When I touch with the intent to take your magic, it would course from your body to mine, Its like redirecting magic from you into me instead of into a spell. The less I take at a slower pace, the less likely YOUR to feel it and the less likely I am going to be satisfied with taking it for its small amount. It would help me survive, maybe curb the hunger for a day but it would never be enough to fully fill me. In truth, Its a little intimate, if you think about it. Taking someone else's magic inside you? Its like taking a piece of them inside you as well." Rajih tapped his chin, his cheeks mottled with a light flush as he thought of the many times he had siphoned to survive. When he was with Roger, It had been many small amounts of magic through out the day and a constant rate that was able to have him full by the end of the day. Even if he didn't know what he was doing at the time.
"Hunger is harder to explain. There's something inside us. If i was to say it was a balance of Light and Dark, My Hunger is the dark, it feels like a cold chill in me, a beast rearing its head. I look at a witch like a wolf to a deer, predator to prey. The hungrier I am, the more I lose reason and morals. It feels like my life depends on the absorption of some magic....which is completely true." Rajih shrugged and brought his arms protectively around himself. "In plain, It really sucks."
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:15 pm
Phil shifted a little in his chair, absentmindedly weighing down on his arm that was still sat on the tabletop as he looked away, hearing Rajih speak. For Majin it would be infinitely easier to find one of their kind, he realized and a plan started morphing in his mind. If he could meet more of them, should Rajih ever come across more Majin like himself, he'd gladly try to help them as he could. Even if he was only one, and they were many, even if nobody but him could understand, even if they called him a traitor and judged him for helping the Majin... if his resolve was strong enough would he not be able to pull through? He had to because he wasn't fighting for himself, he never had. All he had ever wanted was to help, not himself but others and that was the way it had always been. "If you ever came across someone who shares the same ideals... I would be very happy to be able to meet them, Rajih." he smiled, his brow that had furrowed without him realizing it relaxing a little as he spoke. "I would like to help as many as I can, if possible." he feared that he might sound like as if he was trying to convert people into some sort of weird cult or something of the like.
"I... wouldn't want to, though. To cause pain to someone- For me it's-" he shook his head trying to put his thoughts into the right order for them to be spoken. When it came to things that were more personal he usually just clammed up like that even when it came to his twin brother. He was of a rather sad reality when it came to that. But he could talk to Rajih, could he not? The boy had talked to him about his problems but how could it ever be fair for him to weigh other people down with his own problems. And Rajih had only been joking but he just went and gave himself away like that. "I'm... sorry, it's just... it's probably the only subject that is a little sensitive for me to discuss. I simply want to protect everyone, that's how it is, you know?" he lowered his head to hide behind soft bangs that fell in front of his eyes and he found himself sighing softly. "It's the only thing I really fear. Hurting others or even being unable to keep them from being hurt." he flushed a little, realizing that it was still a rather awkward subject and a small smile curved the edge of his lip. "Sorry to spring that on you, all of a sudden, well..." he chuckled uncomfortably and raised his shoulders in a small apologetic shrug before straightening his back once more, to be able to watch Rajih across the table.
He laughed softly when Rajih questioned his view of the colorful world and raised on finger to point it around at everything that surrounded them. "Yes. Can you not see them?" he teased. "The world's multicolored, in reality, and its iridescent, it changes depending on the angle you take on it. People just choose to see it in their black-and-white perspective because that's easier, because that's what they're taught to do. I don't blame them, though, it puts their minds at ease." he smiled at Rajih and gave a small thoughtful nod of the head. "What color is your world, Rajih?" he asked, entwining his own fingers together now as he place his hands on his lap.
Phil somehow knew that Rajih would kindly turn down his offer; it was understandable too, he had been severely scarred by his past and all the fear and scorn people had shown him. And Phil was surprised to find out that it made him angry, as if it had been one of his siblings that was targeted and pointed out as a Majin and shunned by everyone else. And at that very moment he decided that from now on he was going to protect Rajih as if he were his brother, exactly as if he were his brother. He didn't want to let any more harm befall him and so he smiled, reaching out his own hand again for Rajih to take, placing it on the table halfway, palm open upwards, expecting. "I regret nothing." he simply spoke. They'd have to learn, Phil knew they'd have to learn. "Take it." even though he tried to keep himself composed his radiant blue eyes sparkled behind his lenses. "Just a little won't hurt me." he reassured him. He wanted for Rajih to believe in him as much as he believed in Rajih in turn. Such a relationship could only be built in trust, after all. Trusting the other of telling the truth, trusting the other to offer their magic so they wouldn't starve, trusting the other to take it so they wouldn't be in pain and trust them enough to feel safe in that they wouldn't take too much.
Phil organized the data in small bullet points in his head and tried to lay it back out simplified. "So, essentially, magic is simply drawn to the Majin wherever you touch a person with a witch's heart and it's preferable to take one large dose fast in order to stay sated for a longer amount of time, correct?" Phil blushed at being treated to a taking to the whole feeding process he had never even considered. "W-Well... I... I wouldn't mind if you did." his cheeks flushed even further realizing what he was saying and he felt the urge to beat himself up for even thinking such a thing. He brought one awkwardly shaking hand to push his glasses up his nose and refused to look up as he listened to Rajih explain about the hunger.
The more he learned though the more hurtful for him it became to listen. To know that Majin had to go through all of this and people would do nothing to help them... how could the world be so unfair? Did they not care that people around them suffered? People that had been their friends, family even... did they feel nothing when they scorned them and cast them away? He bent over as if he had been delivered a direct blow to the stomach. To think that he had gone so long without knowing to which extent this all went, to think that even though he didn't really remember it now, his own brother had been through it never letting him know, starving himself to the point he tried to claim his heart... "I..." his voice wavered, threatening to crack. "I promise you." he bit his bottom lip to fight back the tears that pooled in his eyes without him being able to help them. "I'll finish it." even if he spent his whole life for that research, even if he died for that research. "I'll complete it, I promise I'll complete it." he shook his head realizing he must have looked ridiculous, breaking apart in front of a person he had just met -even though he called him his friend- realizing that Rajih didn't even know he was researching a potion to sate the Majin's hunger because he simply had no time to tell him so, and still... "So please... hold on for a little while longer." he looked up at Rajih feeling more desperate than any other time and at the same time he was also somehow stronger.
"For my brother, who almost took my heart, and for you, and for every other Majin I might meet along the way... I'll make it." he had somehow steadied his voice, trying to hold on to his resolve, his plight. "A medicine that can cure you from the hunger." he knew it sounded ridiculous, wishful thinking, an illusion of a madman perhaps... but there was nothing in the books that said it couldn't happen and nobody had been willing enough to try it before so they couldn't rule it out as impossible either.
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 2:14 pm
"It'll be hard though." Rajih nodded his head, "Not many can feel the same as I do with the way we are constantly treated and shunned." Rajih sighed, tapping the table. "I guess in truth, to keep the scales balanced we have to have a bit of Good and Bad people. Imagine if the world only saw good? It would be mind bending! Or if the world was all bad? There would be no world." Rajih continued the tapping on the table before waving the thoughts aside. "Regardless, I have a goal in my mind to help me achieve these ideals." He nodded his head somberly. Of course those plans would be made known clear in the future, when he was sure what he wanted, was what he really wanted.
"Protecting someone isn't a shame or need to be hidden." Rajih leaned over the table and bonked the other boy on the head. "Hold your head high Phil, besides its just me your talking to. I can understand about that need more then you think!" Rajih bobbed his head up and down, "Though for the ones I protect, I might be willing to hurt others. If someone threatened you Phil, I would do all I could to stop them, even if it meant hurting them in the process." Rajih said that simply and sadly. "Like I've said a lot, Your a good friend and a better person Phil." He smiled again, this time a little more happier.
"Colors eh?" Rajih smiled at the thought and idea that was put in his head by Phil. "My world is not ready for color yet. I am still trying to find myself." Rajih tapped his chin in thought. "One day, when I do find it, I'll have to tell you." He looked to the stacks of books, wondering if he would ever know what he saw the world as. And if he could ever put it in colors.
His eyes darkened sadly though quickly. He didn't want to take his friends magic even though he was hungry. Sitting with a witch across him had been a test to himself on some levels. With easy conversation and such, he didn't have to think about the hunger that gnawed at him. But as he was reminded it, it surfaced to the forethought. He looked at Phil, and then at his hand before sighing. "Have you ever had magic taken before Phil?" Rajih laid his hand on the other boys and intertwined it. He could feel the magic trickle in him, like taking a s small drink of water. He focused on it, aware when the drink became a gulp and pulled his hand back. "It drains you, So I only took a little." Rajih looked over the boys face, to see if any signs of the magic siphoning showed.
"It is, Though some say that if the connection with the one we siphon from is stronger, the more powerful the magic sates are hunger." Rajih cocked his head, "I have heard rumors that is why some Witch eaters look for more hearts, because they took the one that they loved the most and could never sate the hunger that it did. Though of course those are rumor's, I do believe that the more you care, the less Magic you need to siphon from said Witch." He didn't notice the flush from the boy and cocked his head in thought.
"Eh?" Rajih looked over as Phil muttered something before eyes widening. Complete what? Hold on to what? What was Phil talking about? "Hey Phil! Its okay? Are you alright?" Rajih panicked as he heard the boys voice crack before, looking at him with desperation. Unsure of what to say, he waited and then let what Phil say slide into him slowly. If he could make something that cured the hunger? Ah that would be a blessing. Rajih only cocked his head as he let the small trickle of hope slide in.
Later when Rajih would look back on the conversation, He would remember that Phil had told him who had almost stolen his heart without really telling him. he would ask again about it when they became better friends but for now, He focused on the present. "I'll be hopeful then My Friend." Rajih smiled getting up, "Thank you, for giving me rays of light to look forward to." He smiled brightly. He had a feeling that....being at Makai was going to be good for him, and it would help him overcome the issues he had. he couldn't wait.
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:44 am
Phil looked down on the surface of the table, letting gentle eyes linger on his hands, -those he wanted to use for the greater good so badly that it hurt him to know they'd always be inadequate- then the book on the Majin and finally Rajih himself. "I... I do understand that." he mumbled softly. "I do know that when there's one thing, it's opposite is bound to follow; if I were to think otherwise I would only be deluding myself and nothing is ever gained without sacrifice." and yet he smiled the best he could at Rajih saying he had a goal in mind, because that was a great thing to have even if the road to it was long and arduous and painful to traverse. Phil already knew how that felt and he thought it was admirable to have found something you really wanted to achieve so early on. There were so many people that he had met that didn't even have a general idea of what they wanted; young witchlings with potential but no destination. Myriads of sad paths were born from such hearts that dwelled in uncertainty but that was the world's problem as well, something Phil could rarely do anything about.
And then he was bonked on the head, just like that, in a so very familiar gesture he recognized from elsewhere and which made him raise his head to meet Rajih's eyes in what was a mixture of surprise and wonderment. He reminded him so strongly of Theo in that moment, the resemblance in the way they both handled him when he only had started drowning in himself way too striking to overlook. They were both ready to state what he always knew deep inside so he would just hear it and reaffirm his reason for existing in the first place. "O-Ow..." he winced for it hurt a little regardless, and it had been unexpected to begin with but his smile widened a little as he waved his arms around, surrendering. "I know, I know." he made haste to reassure Rajih of his standing "Sometimes... I just need to be told off in order to remember what I really have to do, though, see?" he flashed a guilty smile, pulling back in his chair to compose himself. He looked down again and shook his head. "I don't disapprove of violence entirely when it's the only thing left to use." he explained. "What I can never forgive is removing lives, whether they're human or Majin ones." and even then, yet another smile, a shy one this once, broke through his facade of serious thoughts when Rajih said that he'd protect him in that way. Somehow, Rajih appeared to have a certain, indescribable quality, that put his mind at ease, made him loosen up and smile more.
Phil sat there as he was asked if he had had his magic taken before. He shook his head negatively. "Not consciously at least, no." he explained. His magic had to have been taken on several occasions before; he knew that most likely his brother had been taking it in steady amounts even subconsciously and there surely must have been other Majin also that had approached him without him knowing it. Quite honestly he didn't really mind. He felt his heartbeat quicken as fingers were intertwined and he concentrated trying to feel Rajih as he siphoned from him. At long last he felt a small pull, like the gentle tugging of one's sleeve and he would have never noticed it if he wasn't expecting it; so discreet it was. He focused himself in that feeling and tried to see it for what it was, and what he found was truly as Rajih had suggested, something surprisingly intimate; a connection. But then the hand was retrieved and the pull withdrew, even though he could still feel something he couldn't exactly define. "I don't mind." Phil beamed. "I'm content in the knowledge my magic is now with you, that it might help ease your suffering." it might have sounded terribly romantic but that was exactly how he was feeling about it. There was no reason to lie to Rajih even if he were to ridicule him, and Phil didn't think the other would.
Phil tapped his lip thoughtfully for the millionth time that day and shrugged. "Or perhaps the truth is a lot more simpler, lying in between." he dared speak, even though Rajih's outlook was beautiful in and on its own. Perhaps if the connection was really strong then it would be enough to sustain the Majin in and on its own, but he knew that this theory was most likely untrue as much as he wanted to believe in it. "Maybe, all we need is some sort of stability, security; bonds forged in trust. Like how I openly offered my magic to you. I knew that you, as a Majin, could use this opportunity to drain me; the possibility existed, but I trusted you enough to know you wouldn't. A Majin with a willing human partner that will provide as needed; a human with a Majin partner that won't take more than they need... perhaps that's all there has to be in order for there to be peace." it still was more of his wishful thinking but it was all he had, in the end.
Sometimes there were things that had nothing to do with how the world worked, things that had nothing to do with how normal days would flow; there were things that would bend the mentality of people to such an angle that even the darkest corners of the conscience would get illuminated by the light slowly flowing in from the cracks at the surface. Reality encased hearts in hard and bitter concrete and yet, some days like this, hope would still find a way to slip in. Phil knew he had to survive, that he couldn't ever give up, just because of days like that one; for days like this one. Because if even hopelessness could have hope then so ought he. "Sometimes, that's all we need." he agreed with Rajih as a small smile reappeared on his face. Even as his own days at Makai were coming to their fortunate close he thought that, at last, graduating didn't seem quite as terrifying as it had before.
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