⦀ river

@Dennis Oh Boa watched him, wondering what he was going to do. She didn't have that sense that he would hurt her, but her mind kept telling her not to let her guard down. He was related to Daniel and his mother after all. Neither were good people. "But it won't be my child, so what's the point." All she wanted was someone to love her whom she could love in return. Her child may not have been 100% on her team, it's father and grandmother would see to that, but at least there was a chance. Bringing back a dead being though, was just asking for trouble. Even she knew that.

The pearl was unlike anything she'd ever seen. It was beautiful. She took it and examined it. "But how do you give and take in making a human? It can't be done with alchemy. A body can be made perhaps, but without a soul, it is a monster. Therefore, it is no better than dark magic. I'd be better off sleeping with some random person and letting them get me pregnant." She was serious although she'd never do such a thing. Her hopes of being a parent were gone. She'd given up. It just wasn't meant to be. Her life had been full of pain and misery since she'd met Daniel, but she couldn't see it then. Now she did.

She nodded, lost in her misery, mentally and emotionally reliving the night she lost her baby and had to swallow her pain and grief to bury her parents or what was left of them anyway. "Do what you want with it. It's of no use to me." She didn't care about Daniel. She didn't hate him for she understood everyone was put into your life for a reason. His purpose in hers was to teach her important, but painful lesson. Finally, she looked up at him. "It's not your place to make up for what they've done, but I appreciate your wanting to." She grinned when he called his cousin scum. She'd never say it, but she had a whole slew of names for him and that wasn't one.

She frowned at the question. She could simply walk away. She didn't have to answer it. That wasn't her though. "I suppose I hoped I was wrong. I figured it might be a joke and you would turn out to be like Daniel and his mother. Or perhaps you knew something I didn't about another way to give me a child. I don't know. All I know is I don't want to do this. Let my child rest in peace. He's better off away from his father even if I am alone. I don't want him to suffer the way I have." Looking at the stuff he was referring to, her face was expressionless. "Burn it." She turned away as she felt her heart breaking in half once again for the child she'd never have as well as the love she'd never have. It was better this way and she wouldn't cry. She blinked back the tears, held her head high and took a few shaky steps back the way she'd come.

@Kwon Boa [If Boa proceeds, I'll decide my reply via dice roll. All of it is pretty tragic. We can tweak it if you like.]

1-2: A hideous half-human half-corpse (but not her child, because it's in a different gender) emerges from the alchemic procedure. It's more of a malfunction in Dennis' part; hence, it was a different baby.

3-4: The attempt was successful but another person, who is special to Boa, will die because a soul for a soul. Dennis can reverse the effect within 48 hours but it's up for Boa to decide.

5-6: The attempt was successful because Dennis used a hybrid of magic and alchemy and no one died. But the baby has 3 days left to live because the supply of magic is limited in keeping the alchemic components together.

@Kwon Boa [Sorry. It's not my best.]

Dennis let out a sigh of relief, writing the last few symbols of the protective rune. The piece of chalk broke in half from his tight grip as he gritted his teeth, thinking about his idiot cousin Daniel. He turned to the woman, who seemed to be troubled at the set up. "A wise decision, but allow me to clarify that alchemy is not dark magic." Dennis drew an alchemic circle on a flat stone and fished out a pouch full of broken eggshells. He placed the eggshells in the middle and waited for the alchemic circle to glow.

Eventually, the eggshell became a tiny pearl. "Eggshells are composed of calcium carbonate. So do pearls. Alchemy is just a give and take. It's not dark magic" Dennis gave her the pearl and proceeded to pack up the ingredients that he prepared earlier. He was relieved to learn that he wouldn't attempt such forbidden knowledge, but the young wizard was equally disappointed to learn that he could not redeem his bloodline's faults. Drops of cave water landed on Dennis' head as he crouched to cautiously organize the vials in his sling bag. One particular vial caught his attention: Daniel's blood.

"Your blood and Daniel's blood would theoretically bring back your child's body, but as I have said before—a human soul is intangible. It seems I have no use for this anymore, but I hope you don't mind that I keep it as a token." He waved it to the girl. Dennis managed to get a few drops of Daniel's blood after a fist fight broke out in the family. Dennis knelt beside the flat stone and erased the alchemic circle with his sleeves. "I'm sorry I couldn't make up for his faults. If it's any consolation—I can attest that he is a scum. But I have to ask..."

"You went here, trusting a relative of your ex-husband to revive a deceased child by means far from normal. I am confident that at some point, you have been suspicious of this deal. So, why did you come here still?" Dennis tucked his sling bag underneath his arm, "I'm prepared to burn these when I get home, so I need you to be certain: Do you want to proceed?"

@Dennis Oh [Nope. I like it.]

Work work work. It was how her days were spent, but she knew she was helping others live easier lives, so she didn't complain. When Dennis had said he could help her with having a child again, she'd been intrigued by the offer. Certainly, he wasn't offering to impregnate her. After all, Daniel was his cousin, so why would he want to do that. The rumors about her had spread far and wide, so she wouldn't be surprised if this was all a joke and he wanted to make fun of her. Unfortunately, her desire for a child of her own and someone to give her love to was so strong that she couldn't resist meeting him. So, during her lunch hour, she closed the shop and made her way to the cave near the river.

This was a place she knew well, since she'd often played here as a child. Boa had been a very adventurous and curious child. She still was, but only if she was alone. She didn't need to be judged or ridiculed anymore than she already was. Her heart couldn't take it much more. It was already permanently broken from losing her baby. At least she had Snowball and her one and only friend, Jongsuk. That was something at least and far more than she'd had when she'd first lost her baby and her parents. That was the lowest moment of her life, but she'd known even then that she wouldn't kill herself. She couldn't.

Although she knew she'd never sleep with him, even to have another baby, here she was. Her mind didn't even conjure up an idea of what she was expecting. Instead, her ballet flat clad feet carried her closer and closer to her destination and she began to feel giddy as she imagined what it would be like to wake up to a baby crying. Or how it would feel to feed her baby from her own body. Even how it would feel to hold her child in her arms and shroud him or her with love.

The moment she saw him, she frowned curiously. What was he doing? And what was all of the stuff he'd brought with him? As she crept deeper into the cave, she saw the ruins on the walls and it sent a shiver of apprehension through her petite yet lithe body. Her footsteps slowed the closer she got. Suddenly she had a bad feeling, worse than if he was planning to attack her. "What is all of this?" She had to know. When he first began to speak, she furrowed her brows. She was confused. What did he mean a warning and breaking it would result in consequences? What could be worse than all that she'd suffered so far. As he continued though, she looked around her and felt her blood run cold. This couldn't possibly be what she thought. He wasn't crazy, right? She'd heard about this sort of thing, but it would be dark magic and very dangerous not only to him, but to her and anyone that encountered the being that would result. Her gaze ran over all the ingredients that he had brought and at his words, she nodded albeit distractedly.

"I-I" She hesitated, but the look in his eyes made her decision for her. "No, I don't want this. I want my child, but I think we both know this wouldn't be my child. If this was your plan, I'd rather be alone." Just saying the words ripped at her heart, but it was truth.

@Kwon Boa [Please tell me if you want it revised. I am willing to rewrite it. Honest.]

There was an underground cave, near the river, in one of the neutral territories. Rumors say that it was supposed to serve as an evacuation area whenever the war between Wolves and Ravens reaches the neutral regions. When Dennis paid a visit—the cave was empty. The water left his knees submerged, so the young man waddled his way to the heart of the underground cave where it was dry. Rarely does it he leave his maze, but a special transaction awaits him. You see, Dennis loathed his family, and he couldn't give a damn about type of mistakes that ruin their miserable lives. But, he was determined to redeem one particular fault that his cousin made.

"We only met once, but here I am, trying to fix that fool's mistakes." Dennis sighed to himself, referring to his cousin Daniel. He set down a cloth bag that was slung on his back. Inside the bag were ingredients that he kept in vials and pouches. He labelled and counted them carefully, "Saltpeter, 100g. Sulfur, 80g. Amonia, 4 liters. Salt, 250g. Iron, 5g. Silicon, 3g—" and 20 traces of other elements. These were the bare components that make up a single human body. In alchemy, such knowledge is considered forbidden. Even Dennis admits that it was his first time encountering such tranation. After all, a human soul is complex. It cannot be broken down into elements.

He took out a piece of chalk, and wrote protective runes on the walls. His secretive and overprotective demeanor is necessary in hiding such forbidden knowledge. Otherwise, kingdoms would attempt to resurrect an army of dead soldiers or worse—resurrecting a dead royal. This particular case was an exemption. Dennis' family owes a certain woman more than empty condolences. The young wizard paused halfway when he sensed her presence. Dennis glanced at her for a moment, before shifting his attention back to the magic runes. His tone was far from confident. Even as a wizard, Dennis is afraid of this attempt. "Before we get started I need to give you a warning, and in breaking these warnings, there are possible consequences. In order to obtain something, one must give in return. That is the law of equivalent exchange. I have prepared all the components to make a human body. But, a human soul is intangible. I am confident that you already know that, doctor."

"So whatever the law asks in return—" Dennis turned to her. Eyes pleading at her to walk away,"—you must be prepared to take all the losses, because you don't get to choose what to give."