[plot: I Put A Spell On You]

[porcupineliz]

(index!)

A reading of the sweater she got from Matt doesn't give her much, but there are definitely traces of a magic around it. Something artificially imposed, and ... she's pretty sure something outwardly imposed. It doesn't have Matt's feel to it at all.

Scrying is somewhat more useful: she gets a very brief blurred image of someone who's probably the caster -- older woman, graying hair, smiling earnestly -- and a much more definite sense of the caster's magic signature. And enough sense of the spell to make her skin crawl, even though as far as she can tell it was done with the most benevolent of intentions.



When she gets back to Milliways, she finds the note. There's no good way to say this, but I'm actually under a --

Oh.

Oh, shit.

Comments

[porcupineliz]

She wants to pat his shoulder.

Under the circumstances, that's probably a bad idea.

"That can happen," she says ruefully. "Next question, and I'm sorry if this is embarrassing and you can absolutely not answer if you'd rather not, but ..."

Beat.

"Does it seem to have made things any worse, or is it about the same?"

[semicharmed]

Matt's mouth opens--

Hangs there a moment--


And shuts.




"Well, there's magically worse," he says.

"And then there's circumstantially worse. And circumstances have ... definitely changed, but I'm not sure if the magic part is-- I mean other than Jordie catching this thing from me."

[porcupineliz]

"... I did mean magically worse," she says, "but if circumstances have ..."

A pause.

"Wait, you think he caught it from you? Not, like ... separately?"

[semicharmed]

"He told me I was contagious."

Matt looks a little haunted as he runs a hand through his (appallingly messy) hair.

"I mean, it-- started for him after we kissed."

[porcupineliz]

"... uh-huh." Liz chews her lower lip for a moment.

[semicharmed]

"Yyyeah."


Matt pauses.






"Sex may have been a bad plan."

[porcupineliz]

Liz presses one hand over her open mouth.






No, it's not doing any good, she's still cracking up.

[semicharmed]

Matt's misery: now acute.



Jordie said she wouldn't laugh at him!

[porcupineliz]

"I am so sorry," she manages, getting control of herself. "Oh god, seriously, it's terrible, I should not be laughing."

Of course, the awareness that she shouldn't be laughing is half of the funny to begin with -- but seeing how upset Matt is kind of kills the rest of it.

"Sorry. Really."

[semicharmed]

Part of Matt is bristling, because why is the idea of him hooking up with Jordie funny? Part of Matt is bristling because come on, magic spell to solve.

Parrrrt of Matt sort of wants to burst out laughing as well, whether this would be partly out of hysteria is unclear.

(But seriously, why is it funny?)


"I guess you wouldn't have any ideas about how to fix it."

[porcupineliz]

"No," she says, "I do. Some ideas. There's a few things we could try, actually -- I mean as a last resort we could probably find the caster and get her to take it off ..."

[semicharmed]

"I don't know if it really was that psychic," Matt frowns.

"I mean, odds seem high."

[porcupineliz]

"If it wasn't," Liz says more firmly, "then she'll be key to finding whoever it really was. But my money's on her."

[semicharmed]

He nods.

"Okay ... well, what's our first resort?"

Resorts?

He has no idea.

[porcupineliz]

"Well ... I've got a few spells that are meant to release magical bindings, and that's what I'm inclined to try first. Have you got anything similar?"

[semicharmed]

"Magical bindings," he repeats with a frown.

"Um. Yeah. I know some like that. I don't know how much use I'm gonna be in all this, though."

[porcupineliz]

"I don't know if we can properly call this a binding, but it's worth a shot."

She glances at him sidelong.

"Any particular reason?"

[semicharmed]

Matt pauses.

Briefly.

"I said in my note I couldn't work any magic, right?"

[porcupineliz]

"Yes, but you haven't lost your knowledge base."

A pause, and slight alarm: "You haven't, right?"

[semicharmed]

"Oh-- no," he says quickly.

"I haven't, I mean, it's sort of tough to concentrate, but it's a little better when Jordie's not right here ..."

Being all distracting.

And sexy.

[porcupineliz]

"Tough to concentrate like ... something's actively interfering, or just like you've got more interesting things to think about?"

No laughter this time.

[semicharmed]

Oh my. Is that Matt turning super red?




Yyyyeah.


"I think-- I thought it was more the latter," he says.

But he looks as if he may have slight misgivings on that point.

[porcupineliz]

This time Liz manages not to laugh, or even to look (much) like she's trying not to.

(But blushing Matt is seriously kind of adorable.)

"If it's actually easier to concentrate when he's not around," she says, "it probably is the latter. If you feel like that's starting to change, though, let me know? And in the meantime ... maybe let's go over what we both know about this kind of spell."

[semicharmed]

He nods.

Matt has some half-formed thoughts about Jordie and orgasms and the mystical significance thereof, but he decides to try and skip it and focus on the task at hand.

"Well," he says. "I think of love spells as kind of antagonistic. I mean, I've read about configurations meant to attract love to you, but a lot of the setups I've seen read like ... curses in reverse."

[porcupineliz]

She nods. "Not even in reverse, necessarily. But it's true -- you don't really hear about people casting a love spell on themselves, to make them love someone else."