middaeg | Mareuer Catch-All: Open Prompts & Closed Threads

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Mareuer Catch-All: Open Prompts & Closed Threads

Who: Leslie, guest starring you.
When: Throughout Mareuer
Where: Mainly Aefenglom, but a little Dorchacht and a trip or two into the Wilde.
What: Gardening woes, rain shenanigans, research by the barrel, and a cheerleader outfit.
Warnings: Standard Leslie warnings of "sometimes you realize you're talking to an abused child."

1. One is in the Sun, One is in the Heap. (Three Happenings I(a); throughout the month.)

[ Leslie has been attending the new gardening courses very seriously, taking copious notes with a little notepad that she balances on her lap when she sits down. It's one part wanting to know how to help with the garden at the house she's staying at, one part what a useful skill it can be for providing resources for Alchemy and food, and about three parts it seems fun and interesting. ]

A. [ Today, Leslie is involved in the most joyful of garden activities: weeding. (By which I mean I abandoned the idea of gardening after a few too many days spent weeding in the hot sun and regretting asking my parents to let me have a plot in our backyard.) However, it's not the work that is causing her to frown. She's looking at a small bit of green along the edge of one of the plots. ]

Why do we have to kill some plants just because we weren't the ones who planted them here? Don't they deserve as much of a chance as any of them? Even if it's not what we planned, why can't we transplant them somewhere else instead?

B. [ As seriously as she's taking this, she's starting from zero knowledge. Which is unfortunate, because today finds Leslie looking very worried over a pot. Over the month, she's become very emotionally attached to this one tiny aloe vera plant. She's been helping with a lot of plants around the garden, but this is the one she's raising for herself. She's planning to bring it home after the course. If it survives that long, at least. She was checking its roots when she arrived at the Coven this morning and they don't look good. ]

What did I do wrong? Oh no, am I killing it? What do I do?

[ Hey, did you know aloe vera plants originate from arid climates? It's true! And if you water them too much, like say if the watering schedule is decided by a sensitive child with leftover trauma from starvation, their roots can rot. She's discovered the early onset of this problem, but she has no idea what it means or how to solve it. She'll need help to avoid the fate of everyone seeing a child cry because she killed a plant. She's too young to start feeling like a terrible parent. ]

2. He Is Ferdihound von Dogir!! (Any date after the 4th.)

[ Leslie has literally never been outside in the rain before her arrival in Aefenglom, but she's adjusting quite well. Equipping a coat made with chemically-treated wool means she's plenty comfortable as long as it doesn't pour rain. And as long as a dog doesn't shake himself dry next to her. Huh, that's a very specific point you make, narration.

Unrelatedly, Leslie may be found on this day with a new companion on the end of a leash. Ferdie the beagle, the newest member of Edelgard's household, sometimes politely but firmly requests walkies during the daytime and Leslie readily indulges the boy. He seems to be in a good mood regardless of weather, eagerly splashing through the puddles while keeping in range of the leash, and that good mood is definitely reflected in Leslie's face as well, even if she keeps more to the standard of walking.

Leslie comes to a stop outside of a bookstore where she worked part time the previous month, Ferdie slowing to a stop beside her. Now that they're under an awning, Ferdie takes this moment to dry off by making everyone else in the vicinity less dry. As she's hit by the surprisingly big spray of water from the relatively small dog shaking himself off, she tries to shield her face with her arm and laughs. ]

Ferdie! You should warn me before you do that!

[ She's still smiling when she brings her arm down, but that smile disappears very quickly as she sees that she wasn't the only one caught in the sudden low-altitude rain shower. ]

I'm so sorry! I didn't -- I'll --

[ She looks down as she tries to figure out what she can do to help dry off this poor victim (Leslie it's just a beagle shaking himself off it's not like you turned the hose on someone) and ends up holding out her handkerchief. ...Okay it wasn't that much water, but even then that's not going to be anywhere near enough. ]

3. Leslie's Big Splash! (Any date after the 5th.)

[ Leslie is once again out in the rain in her wool coat (which is a little too big on her because she stubbornly holds to the idea that she's going to hit her growth spurt any day now even though you'd need laser precision measurements to determine if she's grown at all since she arrived last month), this time on her own. However, her actions today have been inspired by the beagle.

With a serious expression, she looks to the left...to the right...turns all the way around.... It doesn't seem like there's anyone here that she knows, and no one is standing especially close right now. Perfect. (Except it's raining and she's too short to see over anyone, so her chances of missing seeing someone who isn't right next to her are high.) She stares down at the large puddle.

She kicks into the puddle, watching the spray of water. She smiles a little and, with both feet, jumps in with a huge splash. Her smile grows as she splashes and plays in the puddle, right up to the point when she realizes someone is watching her. She turns red almost immediately. ]

It's...it's not what it looks like!

[ Leslie this isn't the sort of thing that line is used for. ]

4. (Touches the Ground) Something from a Horror Movie Happened Here. (Three Happenings III(a); two days in the middle of Marueur.)

[ Leslie has frankly taken on way too much in the research department this month. Any open libraries have seen a small, white-haired child asking for someone to help her get a book off the top shelf or wandering around the shelves carrying books on such varied topics as chimera physiology, gardening, Abjuration, and architecture.

But also translating ancient languages is the first thing her new tutor/big brother complimented her on after a lifetime of only ever being criticized by her tutors, so she doesn't want to pass up this opportunity to help. Can she read this current ancient language? No, not at all, she's barely gotten her feet under her in learning magic since she arrived here less than two months ago. But she thinks that she might try to figure it out if she gets enough spare time.

There is now a child moving around the cave trying to copy the writings as carefully as she can into her notebook, making sure to note positions and whether it is in the old or new writing. (She also is attempting to copy down the drawings, but despite almost impeccable handwriting and reasonably accurate transcribing of the characters, her attempts to imitate the drawings...could use some work.)

If you are also in the cave, you might at some point be approached by said child, who looks somewhat bashful as she asks: ]

Excuse me. Do you know if there is a ladder that I could use around here?

[ If you look up, you might be able to guess why she's asking, as there is one set of characters written much higher up on the wall than could easily be seen in detail by someone who is only a little taller than four feet. ]

5. Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah (Three Happenings II(a); Marueur 16)

[ Leslie is among the gathering of Marie's cheerleading squad. She is not among the athletic part of the group and her costume, while cheerleader-inspired, is much too big and long for anyone to really expect her to easily do anything especially athletic, but by golly is she enthusiastic about cheering on the players, especially those that she recognizes, cheerfully waving a couple of pompoms that were probably designed for someone much bigger than her.

However, from time to time during the monster-only rugby, expressions of confusion or concern can be seen crossing her face before she catches herself and returns to her cheering duties. After the sporting matches are done and she has turned in her pompoms (though she's retained the cheerleading-esque costume for now), she finally asks someone about it as she looks around at the rest of the festival. ]

Are sports as violent as they look like from the outside? It looked a lot more like what I would imagine fisticuffs to look like.

6. Rainbow Tapdancing. (After the 16th.)

[ A nearly unfortunate incident when seeking out a flower beneath a weeping tree (details pending) leaves Leslie thinking about how the duchess planned to teach her the basics of wielding a sword to build up her stamina back home. She has relaxed a lot being in Aefenglom (this is her being relaxed???), but she can't forget that there are dangers here, too. She has to learn how to defend herself.

But unlike back home, where it was something scheduled for her, here...here she has to ask someone. (She doesn't realize that there's several people who might be just a matter of time away from grabbing her and teaching her self-defence of their own volition.) If she's going to ask, she doesn't want to be a disappointment right away. Her uninformed view of training has her envisioning starting from doing drills with a real weapon, and she's not sure she'd be able to last very long at her current state. So she's accidentally looped in logic enough to actually end up at the early stages of learning to use a sword: stamina training without a weapon at all. In her future, under the guidance of the duchess, this will take the form of running laps. Left to her own devices....

...This is what has brought her here, inside A Wine Time dressed in pants with her long hair tied back and stuffed into her cap, ready to crush some grapes! ...Once she rolls up her pant legs and sets her boots and socks aside. ]

A. [ Okay, even just one hour to get the hourly wage is maybe pushing it, regardless of how well she's eating these days. Leslie is determined to finish, but she's clearly flagging. She may need some backup. ]

B. [ She survived her hour! Time to get out of the grape-squashing area, walk to a corner where she doesn't think she's going to be in the way, and collapse on the floor, breathing heavily. Please bring her some water. (She's still going to come back another day because her stubbornness outweighs her self-care instincts.) ]

C. [ The hard work done, Leslie is going to take some time to enjoy the benefits of her work: the rainbow legs and feet. Thanks to her shorter height, the stains go all the way up past her knees. She's smiling to herself as she lifts a foot and wiggles her rainbowy toes in the air. ]

I wonder if there's a way that you could do something like this on purpose....

7. You Know Nothing Leslie Snow (after the 16th)

[ Maybe you came up on the wall for the view. Maybe you saw a small child go to climb a stairway that is open for the public and followed out of curiosity. Either way, you're now up on the wall and that child is...Leslie, no, why are you balanced on the battlements such that your feet are no longer touching the walkway just so you can jut your head farther out as you try to squint into the distance?? That's not quite at "dangerous" levels, but boy if it doesn't look dangerous.

If you choose to ignore the child who is being unnervingly cavalier about this despite having half a muscle, she eventually will get back onto the walkway to approach you. ]

Um, do you know if there's anywhere I could get a better view of the edges of the Outer City without going past the wall? I don't think I'm supposed to go outside the walls on my own, but I can't see very far even from up here.

8. Wildcard!! (Mareuer)

[ I left one or two possible prompts off just because the list was getting pretty long, but I am absolutely open to planning out something else happening during March/Mareuer! (Maybe if I write Mareuer enough I'll actually remember the IC names for the months.) Hit me up by PM or on plurk at yobousiesho! ]

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[Oh dear. She swallows heavily again and takes a moment to arrange things in her head. She's given a complete explanation of everything involved in how her powers were awakened to a sympathetic, comforting audience of one back in her own world once. That was hard enough, let alone to the completely unreadable but intimidating Hubert.

She grips one hand in the other tightly behind her back as she gives a somewhat abridged version. She will expand on it if he tells her to after -- she knows he does most if not all things for the sake of Edelgard and she owes Edelgard so much.]

The Rucardius Empire, where I grew up -- I think it's a lot like how Crests are in your world. [Edelgard had told her about them one evening when they talked.] Each noble family possesses some form of power that is passed down to their heirs. The strongest of the families is the Salvatore family, but it's said that the strongest magic once belonged to the Sperado family. The power over darkness.

[Leslie mentions Duchess Salvatore in conversation from time to time. She's the woman who will be adopting Leslie in her world. She has never mentioned the Sperado family even once, but Hubert might remember the way she says the word from when they met in the dream: after his formal introduction, she tried to give her own full name, but, after visible struggle, all she managed to get out was "Leslie Sp --" before she simply gave her name as Leslie.]

The Sperado family eventually stopped producing people who could use that magic and their title fell from duke to marquess. But Eli Sperado awoke a little of that power. And about three months back, my own powers were awakened. And they saved me when I fell into a canyon.

[She looks down at the shadows. The shape of Leslie they form becomes a little indistinct around the edges as the shadows swirl around a little, clearly recognizing that she's referring to them.]

They helped me when I used that magic. I only got a chance to have one lesson from Big Brother Ruenti about magic, so I don't know everything that I would be able to do. But they could grab things or cover the lights in a building, or consume things. Though I only tried that one with wooden blocks Big Brother Ruenti had with him. The magic here feels a little strange to me. I'm used to a magic that is connected to something alive wanting to help me. The power here feels...almost like it's dead.

[It's part of the reason why she took three weeks to cast anything consistently despite her common trips to the Coven and the many books on magical theory she read around the house.]

My power is a lot stronger than Eli's, but I have no intention of ever serving a monster like Marquess Sperado. [There's anger in her tone as she speaks of the possibility, and she's distracted enough that she forgets that monster means something very different here.] That's why I sought out Duchess Salvatore for her protection in exchange for using my powers for her, and a couple of other things.

[She takes a deep breath, trying to set aside the worries from her own world to think instead about the more immediate problems of Aefenglom.]

When I arrived here, I realized that the shadows were still with me. But without magic, I can't just -- know where they are, and they don't respond to my thoughts anymore. I tried some things in my room, by asking them out loud, and I think all they can do here without that magic is pick things up again, and they can't spread out the way they used to.

I thought it would be okay to let them follow me in my shadow or stay under my best like they did back in my world and that no one needed to know. But...I miss knowing them like I used to. It sounds like a familiar bond is at least a little closer to how it used to be.

[He honestly wasn't trying to unnerve Leslie in this moment, but some things were part of the fiber of his being at this point. Hubert listens, as patient and impassive as ever.]

[It really does sound like a slice of Fódlan recontextualized. The girl would never have to specify that use of the word "monster"—the growl in her tone speaks for her, and it's the same one that whispered on Hubert's breath since his late childhood, whenever he spoke of his father. That achingly familiar anger painted a little clearer picture for him than Leslie likely meant to.]

...I see. Yes, that does sound something like our noble houses.

[One hand disappears briefly into his pocket, fishing out two cune coins.]

Show me.

[And he casually flicks them towards Leslie and her shadow friend.]

[It's not so much anything Hubert did that unsettled her. But when someone with his general vibe stares silently at her, it's going to be a bit of an issue. Leslie canonically doesn't get unnerved by scary-looking people who show her kindness, but Hubert has managed to reach past that to pull on her nervous rabbit instincts with his carefully cultivated image.]

[Leslie is actually fine with giving over a clearer picture than she realized. As long as she doesn't have to talk about the child sacrifice, she's gold. She nods as he takes out the coins and looks down to the shadows.]

Okay. Can you -- ?

[She did not expect him to throw them, at least not immediately, so her intent to politely ask the shadows to take them is cut short. But before she even thinks how to word it quickly, the shadows can problem-solve that something is being thrown at Leslie.]

[There are two ways to look at the shadows as they leave the floor. They look a little like a black mist of a million tiny black specks, but with the way they are so diffuse in places as to seem to not be there at all and so clustered in some bands that they seem to form one black mass, they also give off the impression of many tentacles, dissolving at the edges, coming out of the floor. Some are short and slowly twist off into nothingness for no purpose, but the longest move quickly towards the coins and coil around them, stopping their flight through the air dead in its tracks.]

[Leslie has some lingering surprise left in her expression from the suddenly flicked coins, but she isn't even a little surprised by the sudden movements of the shadows. She holds her hand out, smiling a little.]

Thank you. Here.

[The three longest strands of darkness all move towards her open hand at once, even though one of them doesn't have anything wrapped up in it at all. That one just sort of coils over her arm while the other two drop the cune coins into Leslie's hand. Their task done, all of them begin to sink back into the ground at a more moderate pace.]

[Well, if she ever did talk about the child sacrifice, she'd unlock the achievement of "getting a reaction out of Hubert."]

Fascinating, [Hubert murmurs as he watches the shadows spring and slink back. Even more curious the way Leslie talked to them. He can see why she'd think they'd be a good familiar. Useful, too.]

You said that magic—the darkness—felt alive. Does, or did, it speak to you?

[Especially if she included "my powers were awakened by the spirits of the sacrifices that are still trapped in the fire and I believe they gave the power to me to fulfill their revenge against the Sperado family" part. Leslie's canon is weird sometimes.]

[Leslie shakes her head.]

They've never spoken, but I can get an idea of what they're feeling and thinking by reading their body language. [ For a very loose definition of "body." ] They get worried about me when I'm having a difficult time, and we -- well, I talk to them often when we're alone and they respond to the things I say in how they move. ...They're my friends. The first ones I ever had.

[Ones that she only met a few months ago, but given what Hubert has gathered from her explanation, it probably won't surprise him to find that she didn't have living human friends before Aefenglom. The relationship between her and the people she's met at the Salvatore mansion have a bit of a different feel than a friendship, even if it's similarly positive.]

[Hm. Still concerning, but perhaps not as concerning as Hubert thought. Something to keep an eye on, certainly.]

[His own decade-plus study of dark magic left Hubert deeply wary of any magic that felt alive, or sentient in any way. It wasn't inherently evil, but there was a reason dark mages so often came to be unhinged.]

[...There was also a hell of a lot to unpack in that "the first friends I ever had," but that wasn't Hubert's role today.]

...I suppose the bonding should proceed smoothly, then. Can you power it yourself? [He's gone over the magic side of it, too, but Hubert's willing to run it for Leslie. Messing up something like this could... go badly.]

[Come now, Hubert. Just because some people powered the same magic used to control these shadows with child sacrifice and just because Leslie thinks that her own has been enhanced by the accumulated resentment of vengeful spirits -- that doesn't mean that you have to let your experience with your own world's dark magic colour your expectations of Leslie's delightful little friends.]

[Leslie hesitates for a moment before answering Hubert's question, not feeling confident in either herself or her ability to give the "right" answer.]

I...I think I could. But it hasn't been very long since I started being able to use the magic here consistently. So...maybe it would be better if -- if you don't mind powering it for me?

Very well.

[Hubert nods, uncrossing his arms as he strides over to the edge of the circle. Hubert kneels and touches his fingers just outside the edge; no worries about smudging her hard work.]

Perhaps, after this, we should do exercises for your magic. The ability to multitask in advanced spells, and a steady flow necessary to do that much. Your focus is sharp, but your lack of confidence is crippling your work.

I'm sorry.

[Sorry for the lack of confidence, not realizing that she's basically confirming his statement.]

I would like that, though. Thank you.

[But first, the ritual. She steps into the circle, careful not to smudge any lines, and the shadows pour in after, swirling slowly around her feet within the circle. She takes a deep breath.]

I'm ready.

[It's tempting to rebuke her, or shake his head, but it's not a key point to make now. The more Leslie focuses on the ritual instead of his criticism, the better.]

[Hubert doesn't bother with a verbal confirmation, either; after she affirms she's ready, he murmurs under his breath, the lines of the circle lighting up with a steady glow and closes around child and shadows both.]

[Technically, she's already touching the shadows with her feet, but just to be doubly sure, she crouches down and extends her hand. The shadows rise up to meet her, curling around her partway up her arm. She smiles for a moment before her expression turns serious again.]

[She whispers her vow, not having learned that whispers travel farther than just speaking in a soft voice, so Hubert can probably hear it if he is listening for it.]

I haven't forgotten about the promise that I made to them. So at least until it is all over, please continue to help me.

[There's a silent moment that feels like it goes on for a long time to Leslie but Hubert will correctly know wasn't even quite a second, but then two things happen simultaneously. The magic flows in as the familiar bond is formed, the vow accepted, and the shadows continue to wind up her arm, moving quickly until none of their form remains on the floor and all of it has slid onto her.]

[For a short time, most of Leslie ends up a mottled mix of her normal colours and the inky black of the shadows moving over her, both her expression and body language signalling that she's entirely comfortable with this. Then the shadows flow down until they slide over her feet and back onto the floor, where they once again join her regular shadow.]

[Except, this time, they aren't quite so invisible any more. It might still be overlooked by some people, but to a witch as experienced as Hubert, it's not difficult to see the shadows that are now connected to the magic of this world by the familiar bond. It makes Leslie's normal shadow look not quite so normal anymore, with a shifting of slight variations in the black that is not at all connected to the light sources of the room.]

[Leslie, entirely unaware that her secret friends are not going to be so easily kept secret, breathes a sigh of relief.]

It worked. [She bows.] Thank you for helping me, Marquis Vestra.

[It's a subtle change in Hubert's expression; her brow draws slightly together and his eyes take an eagle-sharp focus when the shadows crawl over her. It's only Leslie's absolute calm that keeps Hubert still, but his wariness remains honed to a knife's edge, even after the ritual completes.]

[But he says not a word about it, standing and politely returning the bow.]

Think not of it. This is only a temporary measure—do not forget that. You must come to either Lady Edelgard or myself if your magic begins to grow painful, difficult to control, or begins to encroach on your mind.

[Leslie can tell that Hubert's expression has sharpened, but she's not entirely sure why. She concludes it's either that he's concerned about the movements of the shadows or that he's watching closely out of interest. Earlier, she would have considered the latter more likely, but having recently admitted to keeping some secrets, it comes to mind that he might trust her less now and he might be extra cautious about the shadows' behaviour. That any of his concern could be for her doesn't even cross her mind.]

[Her expression shows clear reluctance, but she nods.]

I know. I will let one of you know immediately if something like that happens. And I promise...the books I read about familiars said that they can safely take the place of a Bond for about five months, so I promise that if I don't have a permanent Bond after four months -- [a sigh] -- I'll talk to one of the people who offer to help new arrivals find someone to Bond with sometimes.

[She doesn't really want to make someone have to be aware of her feelings, or dreams, or memories, but she knows it will have to happen if she's still here by then.]

[Beyond her obvious reluctance to Bond, his instructions do make her feel a little warmer inside. She knows that his concern is about the problems of having an unstable witch close to Lady Edelgard, but even so, between telling her to come to him or Edelgard when she is in trouble like this and the help he has given her with learning a number of things (mostly magic but also a few other things she didn't know), he has been looking after her in his not-unkind manner. That's something that Leslie still appreciates, no matter how long she has been among good people.]

[His gaze remains on the flickering shadows—they certainly do seem much more apparent now, but Hubert couldn't help being a little disappointed that he hadn't noticed them sooner.]

Good. Ensure that you hold to that. Your health and sanity take priority over insecurity. [Hubert understands her reluctance—he really did. If Leslie voiced her thoughts, she'd be preaching to the choir. Still, especially with her age, it was important to look for a truly trustworthy candidate.]

Now, do you need time with your familiar—[familiars?]—or are you ready to begin?

[He mightn't even be able to comfort himself with that they spent a lot of their time in the house hidden under Leslie's bed. There is probably no part of the house that Hubert hasn't made sweeps of at one point or another.]

[Leslie smiles a little over Hubert's instructions for her well-being. There have been a lot of people looking out for her, many much more openly, but she still just doesn't expect people caring about her.]

I will.

[At the question, she looks down at her feet for a moment -- or, more specifically, at her shadow as she considers this. That little smile grows a bit -- the connection with her familiar(s???) is different than it was when she had her original magic, but it's nice to have one at all again.]

[Her smile is replaced by a more serious, steady expression as she looks back up at Hubert.]

We'll be fine. I can learn more about how the familiar bond feels in my own time. I thi -- [confidence, leslie!! no "I thinks," just] I'm ready.

[Don't call him out like that! He is a heart of stone!]

[Hm. Her correction doesn't go unnoticed; Leslie might be a struggling student in many areas, but she was exceptionally keen. Quite honestly, Hubert had expected her to give him a reason to step back from "I'm not a child" by now.]

Very well.

[Hubert moves from the now-inert circle, pulling a small metal disk out of a drawer. It's just the lid to some container or somesuch, but it'll do for this exercise. He places it on the worktable.]

Levitate that above your hand. Four inches will do.

[Leslie bites her lip for a moment. She hasn't actually tried levitating something before (the gardening classes, the requested chimera research, and her personal research into the wall all took up a lot of her spellwork time this month), but she also really doesn't want to stumble at the first hurdle, so instead of admitting that, she takes a deep breath --]

Okay.

[-- and tries to improvise.]

[She may not have learned how to levitate something with magic, but she has learned how to push something with magic. Levitating is just pushing something away and then...stopping. But without the force, it will fall back down....]

[She picks up the disc, experimentally lifting it up by the much less magical force of "lifting her arm," both for testing the weight as well as trying to figure out how to make it stop in place. After she's lifted it just a little, an idea occurs to her and she brings her other hand down on top of the disc. She smiles and gives a small sigh of relief.]

[She lowers the hand holding the disc and raises her other hand until they are about eight inches apart (she's underestimating it by nearly an inch) and reaches inside herself with her mind to take hold of the magic. As is recommended, she casts spells with words, but since she's not actually used to magic using spoken words, her incantation is extremely literal and completely lacks any spirit of poetry.]

Push this object away from me.

[She doesn't quite manage to cast the push from below and above at the same time, leading the disc shooting up past the halfway point before it runs into the force pushing it down, leading it to oscillate for a couple of seconds before it reaches what she thinks is four inches (she's within half an inch, at least).]

[Slowly, she removes her top hand -- it might be easier to think about the magic coming out of her hand, but she knows it doesn't have to work that way. The disc wobbles a bit as she moves her hand while trying to keep the magical push steady, but when she takes her top hand completely away, she's left with a levitating disc above her hand, technically.]

[A regular levitation spell is probably more efficient than this one cobbled together out of two push spells and it's going to make the rest of the lesson harder since she's already multitasking for the first task, but she briefly looks pleased, edging into proud of herself.]

[When she looks back to Hubert, though, she makes her face more stern. She wants to show that she is taking this seriously!]

Like this?

[There were more efficient ways to do so, but more complex ways. Still, Leslie's thought process wasn't wrong, and a good improvisation for her level. Hubert watches patiently, nodding when she presents her work. A little wobbly, but that could be part of the exercise, too.]

Yes. That will do.

[Hubert takes a seat at a different part of the table, pulling out a book and a quill. He flips a page, focusing his attention down on the text.]

Keep it there. Let me know once you've kept it steady for a hundred-count.

[He begins writing. Welcome to the exercise, Leslie.]

[Is that all? Now that she has it here, it shouldn't be too hard to keep it in one place, right? But she'd thought the same about Big Brother Ruenti's practice with destroying only one of a line of tiny logs. If he thinks this will help her to control this world's magic better, then she will try.]

Okay.

[She nods and then focuses her eyes on the disk. Over the following several seconds, she adjusts until it is almost perfectly still before her lips begin to move as she silently counts.]

[She makes it to twelve before there's a wobble.]

[It's a good thing that Hubert has something to work on in the meantime, because left to her own devices, it'll take a little over twenty minutes before she reaches a hundred. No matter how small the wiggle, no matter if she's already over 90 count, she will start again from 1.]

[At times, she looks frustrated, or upset, or embarrassed, but she never loses concentration for more than one or two seconds to these emotions before she's back to trying to steady it.]

[She looks tired from magical exertion by the time she reaches one hundred -- her stamina, while improving, is still low and, at this point, making sure to keep her arm steady is its own difficulty in keeping the disk there -- but she keeps the disk hovering as she lets him know, her eyes still locked on the disk.]

I did it.

[Hubert glances up, taking a moment to observe her and her spell. He knew her stamina was low, but this still seems a bit much... Hm. Best to waylay the next step of the exercise then.]

[Hm. Maybe he'll address the efficiency of her control at some other time. Her lack of a Bond wasn't helping, either. The familiar(s?) should help that at least, after a week or so of beginning to store magic for her.]

Good. I believe that is enough for today. It's a simple enough exercise that you can do on your own in the following days. When it grows easier, we can adjust the difficulty.

[Hubert looks back down at his book. He almost leaves the subject there, but... Leslie was quite stubborn, to the point of detriment, sometimes.] Be mindful of your limits during practice. If you feel tired, stop; pushing your magic too far will hurt you. Lady Edelgard would be quite cross with me if I permit that to happen.

[Which was an incredibly manipulative thing to say, but Hubert was more than aware of the girl's familiar approach to studying. He couldn't come up with a better way to keep her from overdoing it.]

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Mareuer Catch-All: Open Prompts & Closed Threads

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I am so sorry to make you type all that

honestly I love writing long tags like this so I'm glad for the excuse

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there was supposed to be an "is important" up in that last tag

I assumed it was just a description of what kind of exercises they would be, so close enough

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1/3

2/3

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I had this tag basically written in my head like a month ago before I focused on the event

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