Farah's eyes were genuine, as was her tone. "Anytime, Elizabeth."
She scoffed and covered it up with a quiet laugh. "Yes. It's the struggle of every empath. And I'm the most powerful that has existed for the last ten centuries. Or at least, that's what Rosalind told me," she added with a quiet quip under her breath.
Elizabeth nodded gratefully. “You know… I may not be a mind fairy but you can talk to me about anything too.” she assured.
She smiled a little when Farah laughed and raised a brow slightly. “Really? That strong?” she asked, not bringing up her last comment. “I guess that does explain your skills.”
Farah smiled lightly. "Thank you… and yes. It's all anyone ever saw when they looked at me. Though I prefer not to talk about it. I'm sorry." She looked embarrassed for even bringing up her power. It was all she was ever appreciated for at Alfea. Rosalind made sure she knew that.
Elizabeth nodded again, this time in understanding. “Then you don't have to talk about it.” she assured. She actually felt like she could relate to that feeling. Before she met James, practically everyone knew her by her reputation. But she had actually enjoyed it… To an extent. She wanted to be known and not just brushed over. However, it became a little tiresome to just be known as a flirt. She just didn't realize it until she met James who managed to get to know the real her.
Farah was sucked into a vortex of emotions and memories, all her own and all ones she wanted to forget. Training sessions with Rosalind, missions where Rosalind emphasized Farah's powers in front of her other battalion members, Rosalind showing her off as a strength unlike any other to have existed in the Otherworld. Rosalind, Rosalind, Rosalind. The woman had engrained herself in Farah's mind so much so that the young fairy couldn't even have a regular conversation without something triggering her to think of her old mentor. The more she thought about it, the more it disgusted Farah.
"So, is your library open?" she asked, blurting out the first thing that came into her mind after temporarily pushing away all memories tied to Rosalind.
“Hey, are you ok?” Elizabeth asked, placing her hand on Farah’s shoulder, in concern. She didn't have to be magic to know when someone was stuck in their own head. And given what Farah had already told her… That was not necessarily a good thing.
“The library? Yeah, it's still open.” she nodded, raising a brow slightly. “Do you want to go and check it out for a bit?” she asked. Though she hoped Farah wouldn't mind if she got cleaned up a little before they left.
Farah jumped at Elizabeth’s hand on her shoulder. It wasn’t like her to be surprised or caught off guard. But when she was stuck in her memories, reliving them repeatedly as if it was the present moment, she could get so detached that she wouldn’t notice a hand waving before her own eyes.
“Yes. Fine. Me. I am. I’m fine,” Farah replied, cutting up her words awkwardly in a way that made it obvious that she was, in fact, not fine at all.
“Yes, can we?” she asked. She desperately sought a chance of scenery. As lovely as the garden was (and Farah knew it was truly lovely), it brought up too many thoughts, too many emotions, and certainly much too many memories.
Elizabeth frowned gently and shook her head. “Let's go back inside.” she suggested, not commenting on Farah’s obvious distress yet. They still didn't know each other very well yet, so she didn't think Farah would be comfortable talking about… all that with her right now.
“Sure. We can go.” she nodded. “Umm, just let me change out of my yoga pants first.” she smiled, trying to lighten the mood a little. “I won't take long.”
Farah nodded. "Thank you. I'm sorry for spoiling the mood. Your garden is very lovely." The look behind her eyes said that she meant her words in earnest.
She nodded again at Elizabeth's words. Her nose wrinkled a bit, something that happened when she was confused or thinking hard about something. "I'm sorry…" she said quietly, blushing as she asked the clarifying question. "What are yoga pants?" Gods, you're helpless, she thought to herself.
Elizabeth shook her head and gently patted Farah’s shoulder. “No. It's ok.” she assured. “I get that way too sometimes. But I'm glad you like it.” she added just as sincerely with a soft smile.
She tried not to laugh at the question but smiled a bit wider. “You don't have to apologize.” she assured. “But these are yoga pants.” she said, patting her thigh. “Comfortable, breathable, and very casual. Great for working out or lounging around. Personally, I don't think they're very… suitable for going out unless you don't have anything to wear.” she explained.
Farah appreciated that Elizabeth wasn't laughing, though she could feel the amusement rolling off of the woman in waves. "Oh…" She looked at the attire before realizing she'd been staring for much too long and quickly looked away. "I don't have very many clothes here, but none of them resemble your… yoga pants," she contributed with a small smile.
Elizabeth smirked as Farah stared. “Don't worry. They do look pretty hot, don't they.” she assured teasingly as she looked away. “Well, if you need some more clothes, we can go shopping later.” she offered, smiling back.
Farah immediately turned pink. She hadn't meant to stare. She was looking at the fabric. For a moment, she almost summoned a chill breeze to come through the house and cool down her face. Her cheeks were flaming.
"Thank you for the kind offer, but I have everything I need currently," she said, politely declining. She didn't need Elizabeth spending any money on her. And if the other woman did, Farah would find a way to pay back her kindness. She was too noble to have any sort of debt hanging over her head.
“Are you sure?” Elizabeth asked, raising a brow. “Can you magically change your clothes or something? Cause normally people don't have just one outfit.” she informed. Though if Farah’s Otherworld was similar to this one then that was probably a constant for her too.
Farah couldn't resist a bit of a smirk. "Just go change out of your… yoga pants." She had been planning to use her magic and change into something more suitable once Elizabeth had left the room. Her battalion uniform wasn't exactly something that she wanted to wear around in the First World public.
Elizabeth chuckled, catching sight of the smirk, and nodded. “Alright. I’m going.” she said heading toward her bedroom since they had already made it back into the apartment. Though Liz couldn't help feeling a little… playful as she pulled her shirt off and let the door close behind her, giving Farah a glimpse of her bare, toned, back.
Farah's mouth dropped open slightly. My, this woman is daring… she thought to herself, a small smirk reappearing on her lips. And she looks damn good.
Once the door was shut, the fairy breathed slowly to settle herself before using her magic. "What is it that First Worlders normally wear?" she whispered to herself, trying to come up with something suitable but not anything that would stand out too much.
Her eyes eventually began to glow silver-blue again as she channeled her magic, and in a moment, her battalion uniform was gone and replaced with a silky, rose-colored button-up, black pants, and boots. Her ponytail was still intact, but Farah approached the nearest mirror she could find in the house, which she saw in the bathroom, and her lithe fingers began to work her hair into more of an updo.
Once she was finished, Farah studied her own appearance and determined that she looked good enough for the little outing they were planning. She went back into the living room, seated herself elegantly on one of Elizabeth's chairs, and waited patiently for the other woman to reemerge.
Elizabeth giggled softly as she finished stripping, having enjoyed the little indulgence in her old flirtatious habits. I haven't done something like that in years. she smirked.
It didn't take her long to pick out a pair of dark-washed skinny jeans and a cute but stylish shirt. Not necessarily one that she would wear to work but that was still appropriate to wear to go to where she worked without embarrassing herself or her coworkers.
She nodded at her reflection and walked out of her room. “Wow! I guess you can magically change your clothes.” she commented when she saw Farah’s new outfit.
Farah looked over her shoulder and grinned as she rose to her feet. "Indeed I can. There are plenty of practical uses for magic." Her eyes swept over Elizabeth's new clothes as well. "And you look splendid yourself, darling."
“So I see.” Elizabeth said, matching Farah’s smile. “I know I do but thank you for saying it, sweetheart.” she replied with a brief giggle as she struck a pose. “Are you ready to see where I work?”
Farah blushed again at being called 'sweetheart,' just like she had earlier. But she laughed at Elizabeth's pose before nodding her agreement. "Yes, I'd love to. Though… what exactly is it that you do?"
Elizabeth smiled at Farah’s blush and hearing her laugh. “Oh, little things really.” she admitted as she grabbed her keys. “I help put books back on their shelves, clean up a little, and I've helped people borrow out a book or two before.” she shrugged, though she had to admit that learning the library’s organizational system had not been an easy task.
Farah nodded as she listened. Alfea's library was a vast array of books ranging on every magical topic in the Otherworld from alchemy to channeling to potion-making to runes. And Farah had read nearly all of them. Even most of the headmistress's personal library. Farah cursed mentally for thinking of Rosalind again, and she tried to dismiss the woman from her mind not for the first time today. "Sounds simple enough," she remarked.
Elizabeth shrugged again and nodded. “It is mostly easy. There are some difficulties but nothing compared to what I've had to do before.” she admitted though that was probably overstating it. “I mean that it's a very nice and mostly calming change of pace for me. But no job is without it's challenges.”
Farah nodded. "It sounds perfect," she agreed, stepping out the door and back into the outside air. Just being outdoors again made the fairy smile. Outside was closer to nature. Closer to magic and conduits and channeling. Though she could channel anywhere, magical conduits made it easier to do so. Like the Stone Circle at Alfea. Her smile faded yet again at the thought of Alfea and the Otherworld. Gods, would you stop? she thought to herself, shaking her head to again clear memories from it.