inside of you, in spite of you [scrooge x magica]

[blackmagicduck]

[Another long day had passed, but in Magica's frank opinion, being with Scrooge made time fly far too fast. Not that age had ruined him any - no, he grew into muscle, the whiskers were cute - but there was always the fear that one day she'd blink, and she'd be onto the next McDuck. There was little she could do about it - little she could do about anything - so she learned to enjoy what she could.

Like, oogling him when he came out of the bathroom, freshly steamed and freshly cleaned. She gave him his privacy - eh, usually - but what harm was there watching him slip on a new robe? She'd been there when he (was forced to) bought it, and she let out a rhythmic purr, grateful that (as far as she knew) he couldn't hear a thing.]

Mmmm... I knew it would look good on you. Though that top button doesn't need to be there....

Comments

[richestduck]

[He could hear her, the woman in his shadow. He'd been able to hear her since not long after he'd visited his family to pay off the taxes on the castle with the money from selling the Anaconda Copper Mine. One evening, he'd been alone in the room he'd been staying in for the night (sleeping on the floor since he wasn't used to a proper bed with a mattress anymore). The next morning, he'd had a female voice more or less in his head wolf whistling.]

[It's sort of flattering in a twisted sort of way.]

[He chooses to ignore it most of the time, focusing on each task as it comes. However, she's been getting pretty...well...rowdy lately. It's almost non-stop chatter. Flattering chatter, but it's probably best to end the game. At least he's (they're) alone. If anyone saw him talking to no one, they'd question his sanity.]

[He turns his head towards his shadow. It looks normal for now, but he's seen its shape change out of the corner of his eye sometimes.]

As much as I appreciate it, I'd rather you didn't keep me up tonight with the commentary. I've got a very early start tomorrow.

[blackmagicduck]

[what

what did he just say

No. No way. He didn't hear her. Of course he didn't. She's been haunting the McDuck clan for generations, and not a single one of them has ever been able to hear her. There's no reason he should be different. He's referring to something or someone else.

If she had breath, she'd be holding it.]

... You can't hear me.

[oh geez.]

[richestduck]

I can.

[He raises an amused brow, smirking a bit.]

Not exactly used to it, are you? Or did you have chats with my ancestors often?

[Fergus likely had no idea his son even had magic. He'd only just recently figured out some of the people he'd talk to were actually dead, them looking so solid he thought they were alive were it not for the complete lack of shadows they cast.]

[blackmagicduck]

[There's a bit of a long pause as Magica processes this.

Shock. Embarrassment. Humiliation. Anger. It all mixes together.]

How... How...

[Anger wins - and she finally takes on her 'true form', or at least as much as she can manage in his shadow, practically roaring. Thank goodness she doesn't have real cheeks or she'd be rose red.]

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO HEAR ME, YOU LITTLE WRETCH?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS FROM THE START?! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS!

[richestduck]

I can see magic and the spirits. You're somewhere in-between, but you're right in that zone for me to see without using any kind of spells. Not that I can cast any, really. Unless you count Sending a spirit to the after life.

[He stretches one arm over his head, getting up on his tip-toes to get in a proper stretch, before stretching the other arm.]

As for how long, whole time. I'm flattered, really.

[blackmagicduck]

You... RRRRRRG!

[She flails, then lashes her arms out, trying to claw him to death!

... Except it literally does nothing. He probably doesn't even feel anything. It's just helpless swiping, like a kitten trying to bat a snowflake.

Tch....! I miss carnage.

Why did you let me prattle on for so long, you... ego-maniac! I never would have said a word if I knew you'd hear it!

[richestduck]

[For a moment, there's very real worry because the legends of the Shadow Queen (her name never mentioned in the stories he'd heard since it's a bad idea to name the evil things lest you draw their attention) still lurked in his head. If this is her, then he's a dead man.]

[But her claws pass through him, not phasing him in the least bit. Well, whoever this spirit...shadow person...is, she's harmless at least.]

I thought it was funny.

[blackmagicduck]

I WILL MAKE YOUR DEATH AN ETERNAL SUFFERING, MCDUCK!

[Too bad there's no real weight to the threat, since there's no real weight to the body. SHE HATES HIM SO MUCH]

Ugh... I suppose you realize I'm not going anywhere. Believe me, if I had a choice, I wouldn't be here. We're stuck.

[richestduck]

Aye, I more or less worked it out.

[He sits down on the hard bed in the tiny room he (unfortunately) had to rent. (Apparently this town had standards and wouldn't let him sleep rough by the train station.) He's pretty sure he'll be curled up on the floor at some point.]

So you know my name. You are?

[blackmagicduck]

[A deep, suffering sigh, before she straightens up.]

... I am Magica De Spell, sorceress supreme. My family waged wars with yours long ago, with I as the last in line. I was battling against one of your ancestors, and so close to victory... when I was blindsided by their use of forbidden magic.

Little cheaters.

He tried to trap me so I could be destroyed. I tried to fight it off, but in the end, it became less of a death and more of a prison to the both of us. He couldn't get rid of me, but he could pass me off to the next of kin. Originally, the idea was that someone down the line would find a way to finish me off for good... or that I would find a way to get my body back and take my revenge.

[richestduck]

[Scrooge blinks, jaw falling slightly open in shock. He lifts a hand to point at her, unable to quite wrap his mind around it.]

[The pervy woman who lived in his shadow was...]

You're the Shadow Queen?

[blackmagicduck]

[Finally, some gosh darn respect! She smirks.]

In the flesh... so to speak.

[richestduck]

[He sits there, mind reeling, for several minutes.]

...The stories make you out to be a terrible monster, not...this.

[blackmagicduck]

[And there it went.]

I WAS a terrible monster! ... Although, given how long ago that was, maybe some things have been a tad exaggerated. None of the other McDucks could hear me, but they would get little glimpses of me, and be warned of me through the family. Fergus didn't think you'd be any different, so when I was 'passed on', he decided not to tell you the whole story.

[She rolls her eyes.]

He didn't want you to hate the family for cursing you, or some rubbish like that.

[richestduck]

[Either that or the other McDucks had chosen to ignore you, too. Ever think of that, Magica?]

[Scrooge shifts uncomfortably at that. Really, being loaded down by responsibility by his family is...typical. And some part of him resents it and feels terrible about that quite a bit.]

Well then, I suppose there's nothing for it. Though I wonder what happens when I'm supposed to "pass you on": I can't use much magic even if I can see it.

[blackmagicduck]

You don't need magic for that, very few of your elders did. Once your heir reaches the proper age, it just takes a drop of blood and a touch for me to join the next one.

[And so far Scrooge had shown no signs of wanting a kid. Or even wanting to be married.

Not that Magica, y'know, cared about that. At all. Because she didn't. Really.]

[richestduck]

Well, it'll be a while before I have an heir. No time to start looking for a wife, much less raising kids.

[He wants to have those things though. He really does. However, it's not in the cards. He has to restore the clan's prosperity, make sure his family is financially secure before he can think about having his own ducklings.]

So I'm afraid you're stuck with me for quite a while yet. [Stuck with him, not the other way around.]

[Then he throws a teasing smirk her way.] 'Course that's not a bad thing for you. At least you get a good view, right?

[blackmagicduck]

[YOU SUCK MCDUCK]

Don't go thinking you've won the game before it's started! I'm in your every waking step, I'm attached to you through skin and bone! I can drive you insane, I'll never let you know a moment's peace!

[Bluffing, mostly, she's not sure she can make someone this confident insane. She just wants him to SHUT UP ABOUT HER CATCALLING WHAT DOES HE KNOW]

[richestduck]

[Hey, that rhymes! Also, you wish, De Spell.]

[Scrooge gives a laugh as he lies down completely. He's not tired yet but might as well get comfortable.]

You hardly let me get a moment's peace now!

[You have only yourself to blame for that one, Magica: You set it up for him.]

[blackmagicduck]

Oooh, you're just... digging your own grave! You think hearing me and seeing me gives you the advantage? I can see things even you can't! I'll make sure you can never trust another soul! I'll put suspicion and paranoid behind every pair of eyes! You'll never get a heir, I swear it!

[this is pretty much a temper tantrum.]

[richestduck]

[He props up his chin on his hand as he looks at her, snickering.]

You can't claw me to death, so what else can you do?

[blackmagicduck]

[And Magica...

... says nothing.

He's got her dead to rights. This way, here and now, she literally can't do anything but scream and that's not affecting him one bit. Her shadow slinks back, allowing his natural shadow to return to form.

She stews in there, thinking. She hadn't been able to affect the other McDucks, but then, they didn't have the extra 'kick' of magic he did. Isn't there any way to use it? Or will this just be another century of agony and withering away?]

...

[richestduck]

[He waits for her response, but when she turns back into his normal shadow, he starts to get a bit worried. He sits back up.]

Oh come on, now. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Just meant a bit of fun by it.

[He slides off the bed to sit down on the floor so he's a bit closer to his shadow.]

I'm sorry I went too far. I...don't get to talk with people that much.

[He's constantly on the move, and he hasn't had any friends since before the copper mine. All his old friends from the Chisholm Trail got jealous and turned their backs on him when he temporarily struck it rich.]

[He's lonely.]

[blackmagicduck]

[Silence still. She's torn. On the one hand, this would be suitable revenge, tormenting with quiet suffering, letting him know that even his own shadow despises him.

But on the other hand... this sword cuts two ways. She knows a thing or two about being alone.

Finally, there's an indignant snort.]

What do you know?

[Her shadow slithers back into view.]

You think I'm doing this for amusement? I've been trapped in your blood for centuries! I can't taste, I can't feel, all of it is guesswork and memories! Even if I swore off vengeance, I still can't be free! I can't even get away enough to try and find a spell to break us both out.

At least you get the mercy of death, someday.

[richestduck]

There has to be an exit clause, right? I mean, even spells that are supposed to last forever have some sort of termination written into them. Like "no man can break this chain" so you get a woman to do it. Or in stories like Sleeping Beauty, eternal sleep was broken by true love's kiss.

[He doesn't know much about magic overall. He's been fumbling and relying on old tales. He'd never shown aptitude for it...or at least not obvious aptitude until one of the "people" he'd talked to had told him point-blank that they were already dead.]

Though if you get loose, there is the problem of you going after my family.

[And even if he resents them too often to feel comfortable, he's not going to unleash Hell on them.]

Not to mention all the other stuff the old stories used to say about you.