Abuse of Magic

Chapter 207: Looks Might Kill

Stella stood in front of the mirror in her room, thinking over what Joe had said about her looks. Was she really just the girl next door? Had Sylva really been that much prettier? Granted she didn't care much about her looks, thinking more about functionality, rather than sexy, but maybe it was time to rethink that. She didn't want to become Sylva; she had fought too hard to keep herself separate from her, but she might be able to steal some ideas from her, to make herself more appealing to Joseph.

Her hair was long, straight, and dark brown in color. She had played with the idea of cutting it short, but it was easier to tame it into a braid, then it was to have to continually cut it. The idea was to keep people from being able to grab it during a fight, and placing her in a position of helplessness. If worst came to worst, in the middle of a fight, if someone did grab her braid, she could quickly cut it and keep moving.

Turning to look at her face from the side, she thought about her hair in different styles and finally decided it needed to stay the same, so she would have to focus on changing her look in a different way. Her eyes glowed like embers as she squinted at herself in the full-length mirror, stepping back to look at her whole body.

Her dark skin hid the freckles left over from being human, that she knew were there, if someone were to get close enough to notice them, which meant that the magical tattoos from Joseph stood out in stark contrast when seen. She pulled the skin tight black fabric down off her shoulder, exposing the soft blue-white glimmer of one of them. Joseph had found them mesmerizing when he first saw the way they appeared on her skin. He had said the magic was reacting with her mana circuits, and the result was the beautiful display she now stared at. It was too eye catching. It dragged the eyes to her of anyone she was around, despite her aura of invisibility. She had no choice but to cover them up, which meant less skin, as Sylva had enjoyed flaunting.

Would Joseph be insulted if she used body paint to cover it up? She knew he loved to see the magical affect of his magic on her skin, because of the sexual undertones, and the feelings that rose up within her when he looked at her, caused a shiver to dance down her spine. This wasn't going to be easy.

Her eyes danced over her well-muscled, yet lithe body, pausing in contemplation on what she could possibly do differently. The dark color was necessary for hiding, and Joseph made it form fitting, so there wasn't much she could do about it. She showed no skin save for the tips of her fingers and her face. Crossing her arms in annoyance, she decided there just wasn't anything she could do, other than maybe try makeup, and that always seemed stupid to her. Why paint her face to make herself look different? Sylva definitely hadn't done that, and Stella had no intentions of starting.

With a sigh, she turned away from the mirror and paced the room. She had told Joseph she would be cooking the pig wings, but that took hours in the slow cooker, without her doing anything to them. She didn't want to bother Selena, afraid she would get dragged off to the baths again. The last time had lasted so long, with her having to constantly refill the tub, she was alright not going for a while. Maybe his mom would have an idea?

Shaking her head, she didn't even want to entertain that idea. If Joseph knew she had shoved his mom's body into her purse, Stella wasn't sure what he would do. She hadn't been sure it would work at first, worried that it would destroy her purse in the attempt, but the system assured her that her purse wasn't really magical in nature. It was more mathematical, and she wasn't going to spend the points to try and understand it. So, after having done that, seeing his mother at all was incredibly awkward for her.

Glancing at the mirror one more time, she shoved it into her purse so as not to distract her any longer. The issue would just have to resolve itself. Pulling out the easel and stretched canvas that she had been working on last, she set it up in the same spot the mirror had been. Looking over it for a moment, she then pulled out her table with paints and brushes. Picking up the palette she had been using last, she gently added a bit more white and went back to painting the portrait of Joseph that she had been working on for the past several months.

His eyes had that glowing blue and gold from his magic, but she was struggling with his hair. He had let it grow out some, and it was getting rather shaggy. It didn't touch his shoulders, but it definitely went over his ears. She wondered if she could convince him to cut it shorter before they left. She didn't want someone to be able to grab his hair during a fight, not that they would survive long if they did. Also, she kind of liked him with shorter hair. It was also easier to paint.

His clothing was a layer of noble clothing over the skin tight fabric. She had incorporated elements of the blue and gold into the clothing, to tie into his glowing eyes. Adding a few highlights to his staff, she stepped back to look over it for a moment. It still wasn't as life-like as she wanted, but it was getting closer. Throwing everything into her purse, she decided to check on the wings again, and maybe make some cookies. Her supply in her purse was running low, and she wanted to burn a few just for Joe. She knew he was expecting it, so why disappoint?