Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

Indie, semi-selective Kendra Hilferty of the Kendra Chronicles. Please read rules and about before interacting. Main FC is Lily Collins, but this may change. This is a side blog. Follows from mummyshere. Mun and muse are 18+

[witchesarelonely]

“Who did this to you?” -tavinwho

Kendra looked up, her hands curling tightly into the chains that held her. They cut off all her magic, keeping her from escaping or even retaliating. She flinched away from the voice. “I-I don’t know who it was,” she said, her voice hoarse. “Woke up here however long ago. I didn’t recognize them.”@tavinwho

[witchesarelonely]

tavinwho:

“I scanned you with my watch,” he explained. “This technology doesn’t like magic very much, so when it detects it, it kind of just screams.” He led her to a set of stairs and frowned. “We could always jump out a window if that would be easier for you.”

“Never really had technology be my giveaway,” she commented, following not too far behind. “But not the first time screaming has occurred.” The stairs were not that bad, even if her legs felt a bit weak after being stuck in one spot for long. She shook her head at his offer. “I can make it down the stairs.” She began making her way down, holding tightly to the railing

[witchesarelonely]

rolcplaycr:

“Oh, I’ve been working on it for years, in one way or another. I’ve been writing a book, you see, about magical creatures. As I go around the world I study them, as much as possible, and sometimes they end up along for the ride. Some I plan to release, hopefully - but others may have to stay with me for quite awhile.” he explained, as he opened the shed door and headed out into the wider world of the case.

The sounds that had been fairly muted before now echoed across the space. The place where Frank had been was just an empty enclosure; the oka'ap was kept further in. But a lot of things were still in the same place. Doxies flitted by and Newt mostly ignored them, striding with purpose past enclosures. He intended to check up on the oka'ap. “I put him in further back, to try to prevent escape attempts.” he sighed. “It doesn’t seem to be dissauding him.”

Newt was clearly headed somewhere, and his legs were a bit longer than Kendra’s. She managed to keep up, even if it was at a faster pace than she usually walked. “That’s a lot of work,” she said, trying to look around as they walked. It was like a small world in there. The noises of the creatures, a moon floating over one section, and what felt like sunlight in other portions. 

She chuckled, shaking her head. “Sometimes you just can’t dissuade certain behaviors,” she said. “How long before you can release him again?” She was curious, about the creatures, his lifestyle, everything. It was interesting, how he managed to have such a home without being tied down at all

[witchesarelonely]

lcstinthewoods:

“yeah, no kidding.” esmeralda scoffed out a laugh, giving her head a brief shake of her head. “it’s not a big deal, honestly. i don’t even know the guy, my friend set me up with him.”

“Well, maybe your friend just thought a little too highly of that guy,” Kendra suggested. “At least it’s not somebody you have to see again. That would be awkward.”

[witchesarelonely]

amagizoologistscase:

Newt nodded and stepped away, pausing by the cabin again,

“Don’t pet the occamy… the winged serpentines. They can be a bit aggressive when one to try pet them,” he warned. With that he turned heels and grabbed a bucket on the way to the Nundu. He was coming to accept the fact that the Nundu was a dangerous creature, but like with lions and tigers - it didn’t make it deserve life less than others. At least with everything he had learned he could hopefully teach the wizardkin of the dangers. 

“Come on now boy. Playtime is over,” Newt spoke calmly, finding the Nundu near Frank’s old habitat. The creature stopped and sat down seeing the bucket Newt was holding, “Good boy,” he smiled a little and tossed over a goat leg to him. He had managed to earn his Nundu’s trust, but it had reached a point where it was time to set him free again. Return him to his family in East Africa.  “Now go home. Stop unsettling everyone. They are your friends,” he continued to talk and walked to the Nundu’s habitat. Not needing to look over his shoulder to know that the creature was following.

“Don’t pet the flying snakes. Got it,” Kendra agreed. She looked around a little bit, more than a little awestruck by the sheer amount of creatures. 

She glanced over to watch Newt as he talked to what looked like a giant panther with spikes. This guy had no limits, apparently. From squishy, hopping things, to moving twigs. It was a bit surreal, even considering the fact that she herself was a witch.

But she was starting to understand why the two communities were so separate. She may have been less similar to humans, but they had a lot more separation from them. She could easily hide her magic, and any creatures that weren’t normal - well, usually she’s the one that made them that way.

She wandered among the animals, occasionally glancing at Newt to see what he was doing. But the creatures had most of her interest at the moment.

[rolcplaycr-deactivated20260418]

witchesarelonely:

Kendra nodded as he spoke, glancing at the case. It was interesting, to say the least. She wanted to try this extension charm - she could usually mimic most magic that she found, but this was a bit different. “That’s pretty amazing, I won’t lie,” she said when he finished his explanation. “I’m pretty impressed. With the charm, and your creatures. If they’re all like the Oka’ap.”

She considered keeping up the lie, leading him to an abandoned house and using her magic to deck out the inside. But she didn’t. “I actually don’t really live anywhere. I find a place wherever I am and stay there until I move on.” She shrugged. “It’s a habit I picked up in my youth.”

“Ahh.” he said softly, “You’re nomadic. That’s okay. I’ve been fairly nomadic.” he smiled broadly at her. “In fact, perhaps I can show you.” he made his decision and put the case down, dusting a place off in the leaf litter and placing the case down firmly in the loam. Then he flipped the latches open. Doing so himself would switch it to allowing him to enter the shed, rather than the magical way it would pull creatures in. There was a smile on his face, as he flung it open and then easily descended. “Come along!” he called back.

Stepping into his shed, the air was nice, a pleasant temperature. He pulled off his coat, draping it over a chair, waiting for Kendra to come down into it. There were sometimes just - feelings he had about people, ways he knew that they would be okay. Like Jacob. And he figured Kendra was much the same way. “Everything I need in here.”

[witchesarelonely]

Kendra nodded. “That’s one way to put it, I guess,” she told him. She stepped closer as he spoke, her eyes following him as he moved, a certain spark to his movements. She crossed her arms as she waited to see what he did. Descending into a tiny case was not in the list of things she expected. She was fairly quick to follow, carefully putting one foot and then the other in. The small shed had a nice, lived-in feel to it. “This is pretty nice for a nomadic lifestyle,” she said, her head turning as she looked around.

“You have quite the living situation, Mr. Scamander,” she commented. It was cozy, despite being small. But when it’s just one person, that’s all that’s really needed. “How long did it take you to put this place together? Not the spells, but the stuff inside?”

[witchesarelonely]

lcstinthewoods:

“okay.” esme reluctantly nodded, allowing the girl to get her way for this one little thing. at the girl’s inquiry, esme shifted in her seat before giving a sigh. “i was supposed to have a date.” she admitted, giving a brief roll of her eyes along with a humorless smile. “as you can tell though,” she gestured around. “he was a no show.”

“That guy is clearly not worth your time,” Kendra replied, shrugging. “Especially considering what you had to deal with in his absence.” She shrugged, setting her now empty glass on the table. “Unless he’s a long term boyfriend. In which case he’s still a dick, but it might be excusable. You never know.”

[witchesarelonely]

amagizoologistscase:

“I don’t usually let strangers into the case this soon, but… you’ve been more than helpful already and… I kind of need help,” he admitted, waving a hand before he vanished down the stairs again. Waiting for her at the bottom to make sure she didn’t do a ‘Kowalski’ and slid down the whole way instead.

“Okay so I have a lot of creatures here. Some of them might be a bit… uhm… I wouldn’t say dangerous as long as you get them, but… they might hurt my friendlier creatures if they get agitated,” he led her out the door to the bamboo forest where the smaller creatures was gathered, “I would be very grateful if you could keep an eye on them while I try to… calm the others,” he explained.

Kendra nodded, and when he was gone from the steps, carefully made her way down. The little shed was a bit cramped with two people, but he didn’t linger long. She followed him, amazed by the full habitats he had for all of his creatures.

It was impressive, how alive the unassuming case was. “Well, these guys seem easy enough to watch,” she said, smiling at him. One of the mooncalves was nearby, and she bent over to look at it more closely. “I’ve never seen any of these before,” she murmured, more to herself than to him.

She straightened up, moving further into the fray of animals to watch over them. “I think I can handle these guys. You go deal with the not so friendly ones,” she told him

[witchesarelonely]

“Who did this to you?” -tavinwho

Kendra looked up, her hands curling tightly into the chains that held her. They cut off all her magic, keeping her from escaping or even retaliating. She flinched away from the voice. “I-I don’t know who it was,” she said, her voice hoarse. “Woke up here however long ago. I didn’t recognize them.”@tavinwho

[tavinwho]

He stood up and offered her his hand, ready to help her when she was ready to walk. “Whoever did this is either gone or very good at hiding.” He checked his watch again, confirming that they were the only two lifeforms in the building. Sort of. He frowned slightly. He only knew of one other person who gave off a reading like this. “Sorry if this is a strange question, but you don’t happen to have magic, do you?”

[witchesarelonely]

Kendra took the offered hand, pressing her free one to her side as she stood with his help. "Let's hope they don't come back before we leave," she replied. His question brought a frown to her face, and she looked up at him. "Barely, at this point. But wh- how can you tell that?" She wondered if he had magic himself, because usually that was how people told, but even with her barely-there powers, she should have been able to tell

[witchesarelonely]

amagizoologistscase:

It was perhaps rude to just skip off into his suitcase like that, but he didn’t wallow in that for long. He had more important things to focus on right now as he quickly realized that the creatures in his case was in a bit of on uproar. The harmless creatures had gathered in the bamboo forest where the Bowtruckles and occamys residet with Dougal. The mooncalves frightened by the Nundu who had taken a stroll in their habitat. 

“Dougal?” he looked to his Demiguise who didn’t need a lot of telling before he tried to console the small mooncalves so Newt could try to get a control of the larger creatures.

Before that he paused in his cabin and looked up at the stairs, making a split descision and went up. Peeking out of the case he looked for the brunette girl, “Excuse me. How would you like to give me another helping hand? I will repay you later,” he explained.

Kendra sat patiently, taking a book from the shelf. In the few mintures she had, she simply sat reading. She didn’t mind being left alone, figuring he had his reasons for not inviting her

jumped slightly when he poked out of the case, not expecting him out so soon. His question drew a slight smile from her. She had been perfectly content to wait, but she wouldn’t mind seeing the inside of that case.

“Sure, why not?” She stood up again, stepping closer to the case. “What do you need help with?” She glanced down at him, slightly amused by the sight of just his head and shoulders poking out.

“Should I hide anything shiny?” she joked

[witchesarelonely]

cxralei:

The baby gurgled and grasped a lock of his mother’s hair, turning to the stranger with a hand on his mouth. “Thanks,” She said as she pulled his hand out of his mouth. “I made him myself. This is Vinnie, he’s seven months next week. Say hi honey,” The baby responded by placing his hand in his mouth again.

“Aw he likes you, I’m Cora by the way. I swear I’m a responsible mother.”

Kendra smiled at the boy, laughing a little bit. “Apparently there’s a bit more to baby language than I thought,” she joked, wiggling her fingers at him. She looked back at the other woman, tilting her head slightly as she spoke. “Well, it’s nice to meet the both of you. He’s a very calm baby,” she observed, watching as he seemingly ate his hand.

“I’m Kendra. And I don’t doubt that you are. Everybody has a lipstick emergency, mother or not.”

[witchesarelonely]

rolcplaycr:

“The case was my grandfather’s.” he explained, “He put a fantastic undetectable extension charm on it. I just maintain it and make sure it doesn’t fail,” he explained, not sure if he trusted her enough - quite yet. But like the nature he’d seen in Jacob, Newt had seen something in the nature of this other witch, this slightly wild creature who reminded him of his creatures. He couldn’t help smiling at her, curious - fascinated, almost.

“I look after a lot of creatures,” he explained, “For whatever reasons. And I hope that my book is going to do some good in going towards wizards and witches understanding these creatures…” he trailed off, took a step towards her. “So, where do you live?”

Kendra nodded as he spoke, glancing at the case. It was interesting, to say the least. She wanted to try this extension charm - she could usually mimic most magic that she found, but this was a bit different. “That’s pretty amazing, I won’t lie,” she said when he finished his explanation. “I’m pretty impressed. With the charm, and your creatures. If they’re all like the Oka’ap.”

She considered keeping up the lie, leading him to an abandoned house and using her magic to deck out the inside. But she didn’t. “I actually don’t really live anywhere. I find a place wherever I am and stay there until I move on.” She shrugged. “It’s a habit I picked up in my youth.”

[witchesarelonely]

lcstinthewoods:

“but i want to.” esme insisted with nothing but sincerity. she genuinely did want to repay the female back, and it was the least she could do. at the girl’s suggestion, esme frowned a bit as she pondered it over. “well, i suppose that could work.” she finally relented, realizing the girl wouldn’t allow her to buy her anything. besides, if all the girl wanted was company, esme wouldn’t oppose.

Kendra smiled, somewhat touched by the girl’s sweetness. “It’s alright, dear,” she assured her. “I didn’t come to eat. I wouldn’t want you to buy food when I’m not even hungry.” She pushed her hair back from her face, looking at her new companion. “So, I’m assuming you didn’t come here to get hit on by creepy guys. Did you actually have plans tonight?” She set her almost empty drink on the table, scooting so she could look her more fully in the face

[witchesarelonely]

lcstinthewoods:

“at least let me make it up to you somehow!” esme pleaded, turning to face the girl completely while jutting her bottom lip out in her classic puppy-dog pout. in esme’s eyes, kendra had saved her life. it was a little exaggerated, but who knows what could have happened if she fell into the hands of that leering male. besides, esme had been raised to always repay favors or a kind deed.

Kendra couldn’t help a snort at the exaggerated pout, shaking her head. “You really don’t have to do anything,” she assured her. She knew it would be hard to discourage her from her goal, so she sighed and looked at the table for a moment. “You don’t have to buy me anything. How about we just hang out and you give me some company?” she suggested, not wanting to take her money.

[lcstinthewoods]

witchesarelonely:

Kendra couldn’t help it; she started laughing, too. Her eyes followed the man as he left the place. She had a feeling he wouldn’t be bothering anybody else that night, which left her slightly smug as she dropped her arm from around the other girl. She was taking another drink when the girl began apologizing, and Kendra immediately waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. There’s a reason I sit in a booth instead of at the bar,” she told her. “Besides I wasn’t actually waiting for someone.” She shrugged. There were much worse ways to be interrupted in her night. “Name’s Kendra, by the way.”

despite the reassurance from the kind girl, esme still couldn’t shake the slight pool of guilt that remained in her stomach, but remained where she was, telling herself that she was fine unless the girl actually shooed her off. “i’m esme.” she finally responded, giving the girl her best smile while holding out her hand. “well kendra, the least i can do is buy you dinner.”

[witchesarelonely]

Kendra smiled and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Esme.” Her offer had her shaking her head, and saying, “No, I couldn’t. I was just being a decent person. You don’t have to do anything.” She hadn’t come for dinner, anyway. She was just bored and wanted a night out. “You’re more than welcome to stay, but you don’t have to do that.”

[onthestarsandsky]

open - PARIS

[witchesarelonely]

onthestarsandsky:

“Oh really, yes the countryside is beautiful I will admit that, there is some sort of peace there but cities have my heart” she smiled. She nodded her head at her response about how long she had been in Paris for, it seemed like there was another side to it but she wasn’t going to get into that if she didn’t want to. “I don’t know, i suppose London will be nice too”

“The countryside reminds me of another time, I suppose,” Kendra said, her shoulders lifting in a shrug. She smiled, glancing over at the other woman. “Are you from Paris, or somewhere else and you live there now?” She tapped her fingers on her leg, but not out of boredom. She was enjoying the conversation with the young woman, and found it a pleasant way to pass the long train ride

[witchesarelonely]

amagizoologistscase:

“A niffler. If I let him go right now he’ll rob you of anything shiny you might have,” he explained, 

“A lot of personality yes,” he nodded, putting down the case and opened it while keeping a good hold of his creature.

He paused to look at the girl. Or more so something behind her shoulder, “I hope you don’t mind me leaving like this. I wont be a bother in there,” he told her. Instead of explaining what he meant he simpled stepped down into the case and vanished.

Kendra frowned a little bit, wondering just what he meant. She opened her mouth to ask, but he went down inside the case before she could.

She moved to her feet, intending to simply look at the case and see where he had just gone.

She could only see a set of steps, but that was pretty interesting in and of itself. She could make things slightly bigger on the inside, but not like that. She stepped away a moment later, not wanting to impose. Instead, she sat back down and waited for the wizard to return

[witchesarelonely]

rolcplaycr:

“Most witches and wizards don’t.” he agreed softly, still looking at her with utter fascination and more than a little curiousity. There was something - just a little wild about her, a little different from the structure of witches and wizards in his world. And when she agreed with him, when she asked, he couldn’t help but grin - almost beam across at her.

“I think you’re a little bit like those wild creatures I’ve been chasing, miss.” he responded softly, “I think you’re a little bit wild. And if you hadn’t wanted me to know you were here - I don’t think I would have. Oka'ap or not.” he murmured, shifting just a touch where he stood. “Maybe because I work with these creatures all the time. Maybe because I’m not quite like most witches or wizards I know, either.”

Kendra’s smile widened a bit, and she laughed again. “Wild. That might be the first time somebody’s called me that,” she pondered. “I think it fits, though. You’re pretty observant.” She shrugged a little. “I wish I could say you’re the first to notice something different, but I don’t exactly hide it.” She raised an eyebrow, thinking it through.

“But, like you said, you’re a bit different yourself,” she continued, looking him over. “I think I like you a lot better than the others.” She leaned against the tree behind her. “And I will admit, that case has me intrigued. Haven’t ever really seen somebody keeping an animal in such a space. Is it bigger on the inside?” It had to be. She hoped, at the very least. Especially if there was more than an Oka’ap in there.”