june catch all | all prompts open!

[reenforces]

Who: Mikleo and you!
When: The month of June.
Where: Undermael College, the Coven grounds, and wherever your little heart desires.
What: Mikleo studies too hard, runs a taste test for this thing called ice cream from his world, and also fucks up his magic. (Event prompts might be added later after the log goes up.)
Warnings: None yet!

[I. off to college]

[This water seraph has been studious since the first day he got here, if you can count dousing a small fire and accidentally overflowing the rose baths 'practicing'. Because as much as he was a stickler for rules, there were some that he just didn't care for when weighed against things like exploration and knowledge. And yes, he'd been punished-- and felt like a little kid again when Sorey got in trouble because of him-- but that was fine, it didn't do anything to quell his own scholarly spirit.

Mikleo can be found in the college library typically after class or in the middle of the day, pursuing questions he's written in his notes and any required reading. When he isn't gobbling up spellbooks and arcane theory, he's reading history books and copying them into his own journal. Sometimes if the class was an especially strenuous one, one might come upon him sleeping quietly with his head in his arms atop a tome as the afternoon turns to evening.]

[II. tymael's apothecary / have some chill]

[Like a handful of other Witches and Monsters, Mikleo's been taking shifts at Tymael's Apothecary this month. He's angling for a permanent job, though he's not sure if his skills are up to snuff. They should be considering his previous experience with potion-making and being able to reverse-engineer the ingredients required for one, but his magic doesn't work quite the same and he can't use his power over water to control the temperature of what he's cooking.

Or can he?

It occurs to him one morning as he's mixing something in a pot immersed in ice to cool it. He... knows a spell for that? A small universal spell that he can use to clean things, to chill things or heat them up in a pinch, but in such small ways that it could be overlooked if they weren't as attentive to detail. But not Mikleo. He looks at his hands, and he looks at the pot, and he sees possibilities.

The next day, he sets up a chair and a food table outside the Coven. The sign is handpainted in elegant blue script: Taste Testers Needed. Sitting on the table are a bunch of paper bowls filled with ice cream of several different flavors: chocolate mint (complete with bits of mint leaf), vanilla (with flecks of black vanilla bean), a chunky-sweet strawberry, and chocolate so dark it's almost ebony.

It's all delicious, but the temperature and texture seems to vary from batch to batch, flavor to flavor. Some seems to taste like cheaper ice cream-- not enough heavy cream in that one. Some of it melted a little unevenly, so it tastes a little icy. But some of it is absolutely perfect, too.

The cook will jot any and all criticism in his journal. He won't call out to people, though; he's content to just people watch for now.]

[III. the school of hard knocks]

[But the nerd needs practice, and so he's out on the Coven grounds practicing when he's not studying or perfecting his craft. Mikleo prefers to go at night when few people can criticize him for going a little too hard, or panting, or just being physically weak. He's the Staff Chick, he doesn't need to do crossfit. Please.

With his staff in hand and a target dummy of some kind a few yards away, he practices throwing knives made of ice over and over as he tries to perfect his aim (still five inches off, and frustrating when he's an archer, he knows he can do better). And when he is thoroughly bored of that, he moves on to practicing the icy barrier he pulled off once during class. It had just been for a second, and the effort alone was exhausting at the time, but he has a stabler Bond now and he thinks he can do it.

One more time. He breathes in, waves his staff, and calls to the magic inside of him to form a shape. A defensive barrier made of water and ice, one that can hopefully deflect any physical blows were he to find himself at the wrong end of a Shade's hooves again. Unfortunately, what happens isn't a shield, exactly...

It's a full on car-sized bubble of water that bursts and floods the immediate area like a defunct swimming pool, knocking Mikleo right on his ass with a yelp and making a muddy mess of anyone else who might've been practicing nearby.]

[IV. wildcard option]
[Full moon shenanigans? Event shenanigans? Want sum plot???? As always, you can pplurk me at fonfabre or discord @ fonfabre#0318!]

Comments

have some chill

[vytal]

[ ice cream. ice cream, oh my god. don't mind yang just casually sliding up to the food table, hand on her hip as she leans over and looks at the different flavors. ]

So... You need taste testers, huh?

[ wink wink nudge nudge.... ]

Yang Xiao Long, at your service. Taste Tester Extraordinaire.

[reenforces]

[Mikleo peers up at Yang from beneath the brim of his hat. Gotta look like an official witchy alchemist if he's doing witchy business.]

That's right. [She seems eager enough. Hopefully she doesn't... run off with the whole tray, though he has more sitting in a chilled box beneath the table.]

I'm trying out a new way of making ice cream and I need other people to test it since I'm sick of doing it myself. So, thanks for volunteering. I'm Mikleo.

[He holds up his finger.]

You can take one of each flavor, but you have to tell me what you think. I need the texture to be just right.

[vytal]

[ oh, he does alright. yang on the other hand...needs better witchy attire. ]

Sounds easy enough! Both for me and my stomach.

[ she's a little too eager about this, smh. but. she starts off with the chocolate mint and tries a small sampling of it first. ]

Hm... Okay, I like the flavor of this one, but something's a little off with the texture. Needs more cream, I think?

[reenforces]

[Ask Blake, she's always Halloween.]

More cream? That could be it. Thanks. [He makes a note of the number he wrote on the bottom and jots it down.]

I like chocolate just fine, but there's something to be said about balance.

[vytal]

[ she sure is, and yang would if she were still here. :( ]

Yup, I agree. Good news is, the flavor itself is really good and I think you added the right amount of mint! So I'd give that one...an eight out of ten?

school of hard knocks

[thisisamazing]

[Hiccup, similarly, spends a fair bit of time on the Coven's grounds - when he isn't working on his and Keith's woods-shack in the slums, studying at the library, or meeting with blacksmiths and magitech crafters in the city. There are only so many hours in the day, though, and sometimes he has trouble sleeping, which means practice occasionally has to happen after nightfall.

He leaves Toothless to nap on the grass and picks a spot a ways off to keep from disturbing him too much. Hiccup has taken Mikleo's advice and attended a few abjuration lessons, though of course he's working on adding his own Hiccup spin to the translucent purple shields he's started to develop.

It's hard to miss when Mikleo manages to flood the area, though, with a massive bubble of water that turns the immediate grounds into a mudhole. The force of the flood, before it can sink into the ground, nearly knocks him over from surprise and soaks his pants up to the knees, and his metal foot starts to sink into the mud with a squelch. He's more concerned about the familiar face at the center of it, though.] Woah! Are you okay? That was a ton of water!

[He yanks free his foot, and waves a hand in a horizontal line.] C'mon, shield, shield- [Purple light shimmers to life in something like a platform over the muddy ground, and he steps up onto it to shake mud off the prosthetic. At least until it ripples out of existence, again, and drops him back into the muck. A sheepish laugh, and,] ...Alright, that's not working yet. You're having trouble too, I guess?

that icon is perfect

[reenforces]

[Mikleo is not having a great day here. He doesn't even hear Hiccup calling to him at first because the water is still rushing in his ears, and of course, he's having trouble getting up out of the mud. He lifts his arms and tries to sit up only to get sucked back down into it. This is the worst time to be wearing white pants, truly.

Hiccup's friendly concern finds Mikleo literally punching at the ground to try to get the mud to release him.]

I'm fine-- I just-- stupid mud.

[He tries to pull his legs closer so he can get his feet beneath him somehow, but it requires the seraph pulling on both knees with all his strength and there's a lot of awkward sucking noises involved. He's very much over this.

Five Lords, this is embarrassing. And poor Hiccup doesn't appear to be faring any better. He sees this and redoubles his efforts to free himself of the mud, which unfortunately means putting his arms back into the muck but it seems to be getting easier the more he moves. He's sort of on his knees now.]

I was going for a water barrier like the kind I could conjure at home, but-- you saw what happened. Are you okay? Just give me a second, maybe I can--

[He can pop right out of his shoe, apparently. He looks down at his boot, currently stuck, and then at his besocked foot in the moonlight.]

Okay. I got us into this, I'm going to get us out of it.

The Cringe(tm) is kind of my favorite lmao

[thisisamazing]

Here, wait, let me- I can help- [Except it's hard to get good footing in the slippery mud when you only have one good foot to begin with. Eventually he just kind of starts laughing at how ridiculous this is, the both of them struggling to get out of the wet pit this spot of the grounds are becoming, getting mud all over themselves.]

I'm fine, it's okay. I've seen worse. [He manages to wrench his leg out of the mud enough to twist the "ankle" of his prosthetic foot, swapping the walking foot out for one with cleats, normally used on ice or snow. Maybe it will also give a bit more traction in mud.] Wait, hold on, maybe I can... [He waves a hand again, mumbling 'shield', and another platform of purple light shimmers into existence between them both. He extends it out in the center with a pathway toward drier ground.] I think I can hold it this time.

[reenforces]

[He realizes he hasn't heard Hiccup laugh like that before. It is ridiculous, he realizes, but he can't laugh about it when he's already so fired up. Whatever one might consider a water spirit's natural temperament to be, the fuming boy in the witch hat is not it.]

What's worse than wearing white in all this?

[He tries one more time to free his boot from the mud, but it gives way beneath him and sends him slipping in Hiccup's general direction. That's... something good, probably, but it's not an improvement to Mikleo at all when he windmills, loses his balance, and falls right back down onto his butt again.]

Oh come on!

[He sits there, opting to just... hope Hiccup can figure out a rescue. Only then does he notice that the Viking has made a shield spell into something more like a platform. His eyes widen, gears turning invisibly in his head.]

A shield as a stepping stone... I don't think I've ever seen that before. I think you're getting the hang of this, Hiccup.

[thisisamazing]

Aw, c'mon, mud'll wash out. [He says brightly, still laughing despite Mikleo's obvious irritation. Hiccup, evidently, is much more used to getting dirty, because other than having trouble getting out of it, the mud doesn't seem to bother him that much.] Way easier than dragon spit, but if you want me to have Toothless come over and pull you out-

[It takes a lot of concentration to hold the shield spell, to keep it solid. He keeps thinking of the sea-sprayed stone of Berk, carved sentinels rising out of the water for generations of vikings, the concussive force of plasma blasts. He manages a sheepish little smile.] Almost. Holding it is hard. You might want to get out of the mud now because the longer I keep it up, the more likely it is to drop you right back in.

ii

[darkbreak]

[It's hardly abnormal to find Riku on Coven grounds. If he's not out exploring the city and finding new spots, then he's practicing his spells on the grounds. But with such an intense focus on his magic proficiency, Riku's been needing to find some more balance in his life.

So he's trying to have a spell-free day of sorts, feeling the need to stretch actual, physical muscles. Finishing a lengthy jog on the Coven grounds, he easily spots Mikleo's table and... interesting fashion choice. He stops to wipe the sweat off his neck with a towel and examine the goods.]

Taste testers for ice cream? I'm surprised you don't have a line already.

[reenforces]

[Mikleo peers up at him from beneath the brim of his hat. His lips curve into a grin. It's always good to see Riku doing well. Mikleo's been intensely curious about him from the start, but... there were other more pressing things, and he couldn't follow up like he wanted.]

That's because one girl ate half my stock. Go ahead and pick a couple-- I'm trying to figure out how to get the texture right. It's different when you don't have innate ice powers.

[He seems poised to take notes.]

How have you been?

[darkbreak]

[Riku will give him a slight smile in turn. Mikleo's become something of a familiar face to him and while Riku's still not entire sure about trusting the people in this world, it helps in knowing that he's not completely alone here.

His hair is pulled back into a ponytail and he wraps the towel around his neck. A cool treat sounds like a good idea after a run, and he's rather curious about what prompted the other boy to make some ice cream.]

Guess it's a reason to work on ice magic then. [The chocolate in particular looks so good and rich. He'll take a little sample of that flavour to start.]

As well as I can be, I guess. [A casual shrug. Honestly, he's been through worse, though hearing about some of the more painful monster transformations that others have started going through does get to him in a way. A very questioning way when he's stayed normal and relatively human.

Noms.] The kinds of magic they're teaching is... interesting. What about you?

[reenforces]

[Even that small smile is a victory. Mikleo's reminded of himself a bit; he was reticent, too, when he first dealt with strange humans on a regular basis. But Riku saved him before (even if in a dream)-- and he's level-headed, which is always needed around here.]

What do you think I've been doing since I got here? [He notes the number scrawled on the side of the cup Riku takes, then glances down at his journal. He has a whole spreadsheet jotted down at this point.]

I can understand that. It's hard to pretend nothing is wrong when we all have to get back home as soon as possible, but... there's something to be learned here, so I focus on that.

[He'll wait for Riku's final judgment then. Don't think he didn't notice that chocolate-reaching... It says a lot about his tastes in general. (Good taste.)]

Interesting's a good word for it. The magic here is more varied than what I could learn as a seraph. If I wanted to I could study fire magic and use it without issue, because it's fundamentally the same as the water spells I'm used to. I suppose I'm impressed by the... utility? So I'm trying to incorporate a bit more of that into my practice as well.

[A pause.]

Having a Bond has really helped. [He peers at Riku from beneath his bangs.] Have you looked into it at all?

[darkbreak]

[If Mikleo is happy enough at getting a smile out of Riku, then a little bit of snark should go a long way. He brings his hands up and casually shrugs, a sly smirk blooming on his face.]

Dunno. But I'd say you're putting an awful lot of time into your fashion choices. [Sure, it wouldn't hurt to play up the witch theme every once and a while, but it wasn't necessarily Riku's style. At least, he wouldn't do it willingly on his own.]

Yeah... something like that. [A small scoop of ice cream goes down the hatch, his expression relatively unchanged.] Doesn't help that we're pretty powerless here either. This seems like it's pretty out of our control, and theirs.

[His own inner thoughts on the matter. It's been a while since he's left as powerless as this, and a part of why he's been delving into magic as much as he has.

He takes another scoop of the ice cream, nodding and looking contemplative about the taste, eventually nodding.] Taste is pretty good, but it's a little heavy on the cream. Temperature is just about right.

[The corners of his lips twitch a little into a shadow of a smile. He gets what Mikleo means, but thinking about the magic that was available to him at home-- he can see some features of his previous magic bleed into this world a little (probably because of his heart)-- makes him feel a little awkward.]

It certainly is pretty easy to pick up new elements to use, and a lot of spells are similar to each other. Not to mention the variety. [He has yet to use the mild healing spells he seemed to perfected, but Riku would rather be prepared than not.

A though comes over him with a light chuckle.] Maybe I should try to pick up some ice spells if you decide to try fire magic. I could use more variety.

[Although the question stops him cold. He returns the spoon to the cup to rub the back of his head and glance away, tone no longer sounding as friendly as moments ago.]

Er... not really. Guess you have though.

ice cream

[clickclickbang]

[Look. Prompto's just wandering around, doing his part-time jobs, when he sees Mikleo's set up. He has to stop and try some, okay?]

Oh, man. Which one's the best?

[reenforces]

[Mikleo smiles up at him, amusement dancing over his lips.]

I couldn't tell you. They're all different since I was trying to perfect these recipes, so just grab whatever looks good and let me know what you think.

[clickclickbang]

Alright, next question: can you heal ice cream headaches?

[reenforces]

Drink something warm and don't let your spoon or the ice cream touch the roof of your mouth.

[clickclickbang]

That wasn't what I asked.

[He says as he goes for the strawberry and takes a pretty big bite.]

iii

[usurpers]

[ eren mentions earlier in the day he’d meet with mikleo once he had finished snooping— and he’s got something to talk about. they need not let each other know where they are, eren can catch his scent from the city’s heart, and the pulse of presence was as simple as following a string tied to him.

it leas to the coven’s courtyard, a well lit circle where mikleo practices underneath two not-so-full moons (yet, but they’re getting there). his horns have gone from stubs to mild points you’d find on a young bull’s head, not fully grown but no longer hidden. it make some hair pop out a little awkwardly, but— ah, he’s not paying attention to that.

he’s watching graceful sweeps of movement from his bonded, fondness creeping over the seraph’s shoulders and draping over him; an accident, perhaps, he can’t stop his feelings, and it might be detrimental to his focus, but he doesn’t come up to him right away to allow him time to finish (but smiling, all the same, through a splitting headache that comes and goes, when he sees him). he lets his bonded study and practice, walking over to the slate of ice knives that grab his attention, and playing with each blade’s point.

he only won’t take these to his burrow (right under the cottage they live in) because they melt. thoroughly distracted for like five minutes, eren’s head snaps the second he hears water being conjured in fact, and may i just say: have you ever seen a lizard book it so fast, well you did now.

except, alas, there is not enough time to escape. he’s hit. water, mud, chilliness that bites too much into his core and slows him down until he’s. slow motioning it up to get on the floor, look for heat. ah, the terror!! slow violin horror strums in the distance. the world is spinning as he gets on his knees, and with near sloth-like reflexes, looks down at his drenched hands. watch his expression twist like he’s on supercamera. ]

[reenforces]

[Having Eren around makes his magic easier to control, even if the sensation of fondness wrapping around him is distracting. It's not what causes him to fuck up his spell, sadly; that was all on him, having visualized the precisely wrong thing. He tries to free himself from the mud, realizes he can't, but Eren's around. Water-- water's bad for his particular kind of dragon.]

Eren!

[Okay, one more time, he's going to try to free himself and... his shoes are stuck, so he effectively just... launches himself out of his own boots. Whatever. He's covered in mud anyway, and now getting even more mud as he slips and slides his way toward his Bonded.]

Eren, are you all right? I didn't mean for that to happen. Are you--

[One more slip, and a yelp, and he goes sliding past the brunet complete with a few log rolls.

W A S T E D]

[usurpers]

[ again, mood. eren could blearily make out words and a figure that looks . . . just a little too fast for a body pleading to shut down. hibernation, it says, or something as such. it’s too cold and wet to move, the mud sticks to him like glue and weighs him down like anchors.

he turns his head brief moments after mikleo zips by him in a frantic tailspin of flails and kicks, catching the ends of the rolls and the seraph’s legs in the air. he tries!! he tries so hard–! ]

I’m, [ a huff, then another as he attempts to stand and makes for the line of death the other had fallen through. his own boots are left behind when he pulls at his feet to shift under him and raise, oh dear god his toes are squishy. ] coming, [ he finally manages to finish after nauseous inhales, but!!! but. alas, he had such a short life. before he can propel himself, momentum yanks his legs back. another step is forced, as a means of balance as his arms flap out, but that leg slips under him too when he attempts to ground himself.

it starts a perilous battle and ends with eren uncontrollably sliding into mikleo’s general direction. flee if you want to live, stay if you want to die a ten-ab death. ]

[reenforces]

[Mikleo is honestly ready to just lay there and let death claim him, except for the fact that he knows his dragon boyfriend isn't going to do well in the wet. He tries once more, once more, to get to his feet. He's almost successful.

And then he sees Eren ungracefully barreling toward him like a steel-bearing truck rounding a mountain corner, and he just knows he's not going to survive this. There's no way he can get out of the way in time.

The least he can do, he thinks, is cushion Eren's fall so he's not plunged directly into the cold mud anymore. So... he accepts his fate, arms open, his expression one of deep regret.]

[usurpers]

[ and that’s how mikleo actually died. eren does, in fact, barrel into him mid fall, his skull to the other’s stomach and thank lord his horns curve back more than they do forward, still small and stubby and probably not too dangerous. if. if, they aren’t the first things to hit. a human sized bullet too drenched to function more than he already had to try and keep himself aloft in this mess, eren takes the seraph down in a bowling ball-like wreckage all in one sound: splat.

all they’ll hear for miles is either splat, splash, or eren’s muffled screaming. which was not a good idea, it’s all over his mouth no he is not thirsty! drinking water is different!

the fall is cushioned, but far from dry. the shifter’s jitters sky rocket emotionally, he wants out and clamps onto the one source of energy that actually feels warmer than this mud pile does. he says something behind a face caked with slushy soil, and it’s too incoherent to heed. (but feeling wise, he wants out as much as a cat dunked in a tub.) ]