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

[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.