(no subject)

[bloodandflowers]

Kell stands in the middle of his warehouse, made his own not by deed or property but by Sirius' magic and Kell's own will. It's not home, but he's done his best to make it a mirror of the Basin. There's a concentration circle etched into the floor, and sheets of metal magicked in a wide arc around him, reflecting power back to him like the echos of a bell.

Kell cracks his knuckles and raises his hands. Earth is first, lifted in great hunks from beneath the unleveled floor. He hasn't any dummies to enchant, but Kell is only beginning, and for now small meteors of earth will do. He makes a whirlwind of air that catches each chunk, leaving the eddies to twist and wind, throwing the mounds about without pattern or prediction.

With a ball of fire in his fist, Kell waits on the balls of his toes, and when the first comes in a direct path for his face, he strikes. The earth explodes with a concussive force that steals his breath, stoking something within him that Kell embraces. Another small mountain of earth comes, and Kell destroys it, too, losing himself for a while to the simple rhythm of attack and parry, the world narrowed to chunks of earth large enough to crack bone and the bolts of fire hot enough to obliterate them.

Kell feels nearly at peace. Magic is chaos, so you must be calm. He spins, using a counterburst of wind to scatter a smaller piece of earth before it can strike him, but in the breath that follows, another voice comes. You've never had to fight.

Kell falters, and a second is all it takes for a narrow strip of earth to slice across his cheek. Kell claps a hand to it, only to peel it away bloody. "As steno," Kell barks, annoyed, and the power leaps from his blood like an electric current, shattering each remaining mound of earth instantly back into the dirt that formed it.

They fall to the ground like yellow rain, and Kell curses, pulling a cloth from his pocket to dab at his cheek.

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[thebloodtraitor]

Since finding and fortifying Kell's warehouse on the south end of this strange city, Sirius has swung by a number of times to see if he might stumble upon his powerful new friend. Every attempt, so far, has failed, a fact that has left Sirius both disappointed and curious if only due to what he'd found inside the building, the massive sheets of metal arranged in a wide car and a circle etched into the concrete floor. It's certainly not the decor that had greeted them that first day, nor the decor Sirius would've chosen had he a say at all.

Today, however, is different.

There's a buzz the very moment Sirius apparates, an energy that heralds the presence of Kell even apart from the clatter and the sound of Kell's sharp voice shouting what is either a spell or a curse. Or both, Sirius assumes.

Said shout is followed instantly by a burst of dirt and, despite himself, Sirius flinches, though he's glad he's well outside the radius of the falling detritus.

"Bit of a tantrum?" he asks with a smirk, taking a step forward as the air begins to clear.

[bloodandflowers]

Kell scowls at once, not having expected another voice to break the sudden silence. A tantrum is just what Rhy would call it, and Kell scowls all the more for the fact that both of them would be correct.

"I've been too long from practice," he says, and it's just the wrong thing to say, for it only makes the Holland in his head all the louder. You know what makes you weak? You've never had to be strong. Kell summons the water from a bowl at the edge of the circle to wash his dirty arms, allowing the coolness to soothe his frayed nerves.

Too long from practice is only a day or two, for Kell's come here often in the time since Sirius secured it - often enough for him to know how many times Sirius has crossed the wards Kell himself put in place. "So you've found me at last."

[thebloodtraitor]

There's a violence in Kell's magic that's as compelling as it is disconcerting and, not for the first time, Sirius wants to ask what exactly it is Kell is practicing for. Perhaps it's simply to keep his mind sharp and his powers toned, but there's a desperation within Kell, something not simply a matter of being displaced, but a part of his very soul.

Stepping closer still, Sirius cocks his head. "You're much more elusive than I would've guessed," he confesses, gaze landing on the scratch across Kell's cheek. "And why is it every time we meet, you're bleeding? I realize you're a blood mage as you say, but need it be always so literal?"

[bloodandflowers]

"Yes," answers Kell with the hint of a smile. It's disconcerting, he knows. Not even Rhy ever got used to Kell cutting himself all the time, but it's necessary. "I prefer it when I mean to be bleeding."

He wets his cloth and presses it back to his cheek, wiping away the clotted blood. "Mostly I come here in the evenings," he says, though perhaps the time is closer to very early morning, but the exercise is far better than the nightmares that await him in sleep.

"This space is better suited to my needs than I originally believed," he admits. "Thank you again."

[thebloodtraitor]

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Sirius says, his tone amused though he means it sincerely. Many of Sirius's own evenings are spent prowling the city, often as Padfoot. There isn't much to do in this city, he's found, outside of a pub. When he's not busy bothering Harry or Kieren, he wanders, stirring up trouble where he can with a well-placed spell here and an enchantment there.

The results, he's found, are much less satisfying when the victims are strangers who appear to have little to no senses of humor.

"Did you really expect so little of me?" he says, grin widening as he steps further into the circle, admiring the spray of dirt all around and the other side of the large metal slabs. "This is quite the arrangement. Why the circle? And the metal plates, are they mirrors to admire yourself as you work?"

[bloodandflowers]

"Only you would think that," says Kell, despising how fond he sounds, yet entirely unable to stop it. He scowls harder to compensate and steps further into the circle where the etches are deepest.

"The circle concentrates power," he explains. "The plates reflect it back to me. Glass would be better." But Kell has grown accustomed to his new, darker practicing ground. He might even like its grim setting better.

[thebloodtraitor]

While Sirius has known Kell for only a few short weeks, he doesn't believe he's reading into the fond tone of the man's voice and is doubly assured when Kell's features immediately cave into a sharp scowl.

Sirius bites back a grin, though he doesn't argue, choosing instead to listen to Kell's explanation. "Could you not make glass?" he says, motioning to the dirt at their feet and scraping at some with the heel of his boots. "You can manipulate both sand and fire, can you not?" The question, Sirius supposes is whether can control both at once or with such precision as to make a plate of glass instead of an explosion of shards much like scattering of dirt.

[bloodandflowers]

"Yes," Kell replies. He's considered it himself more than once, even before he decided he liked the darkness, but thinking too closely of the Basin makes his heart ache, as does the memory of who would be interrupting him instead of Sirius were he there and not here.

"I like the metal for this practice room." Kell pulls his sleeves down. "What did you use at home to hone your skill?"

[thebloodtraitor]

"Death Eaters," Sirius replies dryly, knowing full well Kell won't have a clue what he's talking about.

Not keen to explain, he hurriedly continues with a shrug. "There were various places in and around London. We could make just about any place, however big or small, just like this one. And hidden from Muggle view." The tricker part, of course, was keeping those places hidden from Voldemort and his followers, but that he keeps quiet. "No need for enchanted circles or mirrors. Just wands," he says, grinning as he pulls his from his jacket with a flourish.

[bloodandflowers]

Kell frowns, marking the comment even as he lets it pass. Whatever a Death Eater is, from Sirius' hurried change in subject, it's clearly as sinister as it sounds.

"There are magicians in Arnes who can work earth and stone even better than I, use them to create buildings that climb into the sky, or trace the earth with as much winding grace as a river. But they can't hide them entirely." Kell nods. "That is interesting magic."

He watches curiously as Sirius waves his wand, no doubt more for flair than for any magical use. "Show me something," he requests.

[thebloodtraitor]

Though Kell's tone betrays no sense of abundant awe, Sirius finds himself pleased by the statement all the same. It's been years since he's had opportunity to impress anyone with his magic and the fact that he can impress someone who is undoubtedly powerful in his own right is a heady sort of drug.

Sirius thinks he could get quite used to the feeling.

His eyes light up at Kell's prompting, lips tugging into a wider grin before he gives a nod of agreement.

Still holding his wand in one hand, Sirius spins in a slow circle to take in the area around them, considering. He could easily lift the metal slabs, spin them 'round, duplicate them to build an impenetrable wall. But there isn't a single doubt Kell can do the same. He could make a dozen moving sculptures with the dirt, enact an entire play in smoothly shifting sediment. But again, so can Kell. There are any number of things Kell can easily replicate with his own magic and, as childish as it may be, Sirius still wishes to impress.

It's only in turning back to Kell, his gaze catching on that intriguingly dark eye, that he comes upon a plan. Raising his wand, he points it not at the metal slabs or the walls or even at Kell, but very faintly at himself as he murmurs a quiet, "Impervius," under his breath.

The sensation is nearly imperceptible, just a glimmer of static beneath his skin, his smile unwavering. "Show me something," he says with a tip of his chin, prepared for Kell to not understand, invisible as his spell is at the moment. "Throw your wind and your flame at me. Your bits of metal. Hold nothing back."

[bloodandflowers]

Kell frowns. Sirius has done something, but he doesn't know what. If he concentrates, he can feel power, but in the excited hum of his thoughts the magic is whisper quiet, and Kell can't pinpoint the shape of it.

Perhaps Sirius means to deflect whatever Kell throws at him just as Kell had done before, to push the magic violently away with a burst of his own. After Sirius healed his arm so well, Kell doesn't doubt his power, but he still hesitates to throw everything he has at him. Kell could repay the favor and heal him if Sirius fails to dodge the flame, but he'd rather not put Sirius through that.

"If I have to open a vein on you," he says in warning, but raises his hands. Kell has half a mind to use a blood command, but in the end he summons a large ball of fire, holding it steady before him for a long moment before he takes a breath and pushes, hurling it directly at Sirius.

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius's gaze drops to Kell's arm when he speaks, still so clearly seeing the stain of blood on pale skin that first day, the way it'd gushed and flowed. It wouldn't be the same if Kell were to do it this time, he doesn't think. But he is curious.

It isn't blood that Kell draws however, but fire, a flaming orb of it dancing above the play of Kell's hands. It's beautiful, really, pulsating with a heat Sirius can't feel through the spell, though he can imagine it, flames flickering and dancing above Kell's clever fingers.

A moment later and the ball of fire is hurtling at Sirius. The magic clinging to Sirius's form crackles and holds strong and Sirius barely flinches as the flames strike and rainwater, smoothing around the edges of the spell, leaving not so much as a hair on Sirius's head singed.

[bloodandflowers]

Kell has already started forward when the ball of fire strikes, his silver blade in his hand to cut himself and heal what damage he's surely caused, but Sirius is still there before him, whole and standing.

Kell frowns. "Some sort of barrier spell," he murmurs, for he hadn't see Sirius raise his wand to summon something to smother the fire. But the flame came close - was the barrier clinging to Sirius himself? Coming closer, Kell reaches a hand near Sirius' cheek where he knows the flames exploded. "May I?"

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius grins, wide and entirely pleased with himself as Kell approaches, one hand outstretched.

The spell is designed to allow friendly touch so there's no need to drop it just yet and he nods, tipping his chin forward so Kell can have a better look. "A barrier of sorts, as you said," he tells him, getting a closer look at Kell's dark eye, as well as the lighter one, reminding Sirius, not for the first time, of that frightfully alluring Muggle rockstar from back home.

(Or perhaps not a Muggle. Sirius does have his doubts.)

"Perfectly invisible and utterly impenetrable. At least so far as I've ever seen. Impressed?"

[bloodandflowers]

Kell expects to meet resistance just before his touch lands, and he nearly jumps when he fingers land on Sirius' bare, smooth skin. Kell pulls his hand away in surprise. "Yes," he admits, reaching this time with his mind, searching for the magic standing between them, and there - he can feel the thinnest layer of magic, slim but strong, settled just over Sirius.

"Impenetrable to any spell?" he asks, and as freely as he'd admitted to being impressed before, Kell now sounds doubtful. That sort of warding surely takes more than whatever tiny gesture Sirius had made before, but perhaps the man is simply that powerful. There would be ways around that, he thinks, ever pragmatic. Heat the air to an intolerable degree around the target, for one - let the fire eat all the oxygen until his lungs were starved, for another. "Or only blunt force?"

[thebloodtraitor]

Kell's fingers barely graze Sirius's cheek before he's immediately yanking them away as though having touched a live fire. Sirius lets out a bark of a laughter at the movement, lifting his own hand to his face to rub away the slight tickle Kell had left behind.

"Impenetrable to objects and elements propelled by a spell, but not a forceful spell on its own," he admits. "It doesn't make one impossible to harm, I'm afraid, but your dirt, water, and fire are easy enough to repel. I've not a doubt you have something in your arsenal that could slip right through easily enough. There are always other means."

With another murmur and flick of his wand, Sirius drops the spell then considers Kell with a growing smirk before giving another wave of his wand. Instantly, Kell is brandished with flowing red locks, his coat substituted with a brown, fringed vest, his trousers replaced by a quite fashionable pair of bell bottoms. Sirius tops it off with a pair of circular, wire-rimmed glasses and a red goatee before crossing his arms over his chest, again quite pleased with himself.

[bloodandflowers]

From that smirk, Kell knows very well he won't like whatever Sirius is casting, but he stands still and lets it happen. He can feel the magic itself before he feels its effects - familiar but not, much like Sirius himself - and he looks down through a pair of glasses at his ridiculous ensemble.

"Am I a clown of some sort?" he asks dubiously, for pants this shape can serve no real purpose. The clothes when he touches them feel real enough, and Kell could almost smile for the cleverness of the magic when he feels his hair brush well past his collar, and something appalling on his chin.

Kell drags his blade across his palm and touches the goatee first. "As Anasae," he says quickly to dispel the enchantment, and then once more just to be certain that it's gone.

[thebloodtraitor]

Sirius can easily track when Kell's response slips from mild amusement to absolute dismay and horror. Unfortunately, he notices only a second before Kell slices a blade across his palm and touches his bloody hand to his beautiful new goatee with a curse.

It works as well as any counter-spell Sirius has ever seen, Kell's face and clothing instantly returned to normal, but Sirius is nearly beside himself with laughter. "Bloody hell, mate, I could've done that myself, you know," he says, lighting up at the pure ire evident in Kell's brow. "No need to slice yourself to ribbons for it. You looked quite fetching, I thought! I was doing you a favour."