[closed] 🧙 yes hello, your wizard is here

[galdorleod]

Who: Howl and Others (planned threads)
When: Mid to Late Juril
Where: Aefenglom; Dorchacht for Wondrous Things quest
What: Howl's social circle continues to grow in his first month after arrival. Also, overflow from the intro log.
Warnings: none anticipated.

Prompts in comments!

Comments

[themogget]

Count on it.

[He jumps down and lands very softly, finding his balance without once extending his nails to prick into Howl's shoulder. It does not escape his notice that the earring in the young man's ear almost matches the colour of his own eyes.]

You can call me Mogget. [He offers, pleased enough that someone asks his name instead of calling him by various cat-related monikers.]

Yours is an unusual name.

[galdorleod]

[ What a dreadful name for such an elegant-looking cat, Howl thinks to himself. He waits another moment to let Mogget settle on his shoulder comfortably before setting off down the street, his heeled boots clacking on the sidewalk stones. ]

I picked it out myself. It's no less unusual than yours. [ He has nothing else to offer to the animal as far as his name goes. ] Did you name yourself, Mogget?

[themogget]

Mm. In a manner of speaking.

[Mogget is forever cryptic about many things, and particularly the details of his past. How he came by his name is attached to that, so he dismisses Howl's question with a vague comment and settles into his shoulder as a warm, soft, lightly purring ball of fur.]

What do you need to find next?

[galdorleod]

[ Sounds like Mogget isn't big on sharing. Howl is perfectly alright with that, as he isn't either, and now he has a go-to response any time Mogget might make an attempt to prod. ]

Hm. Let's see. [ He consults the list in his basket. If the cat can see inside it from where he's sitting, he'll find that Howl seems to have already visited an herbalist. The basket has several tied bunches of fresh herbs, a string of garlic, an small unlabeled paper packet, and what looks like a tulip bulb. ]

This says that a focus is recommended for beginners, especially while they remain unbound to a Monster. [ Howl reads directly from the paper: ] "Our instructors recommend wands, staves and pendants for your consideration, but there are many options on the market. Choose a focus that best suits your personal needs."

[themogget]

[He sees it. Mogget has a similar list... somewhere. This place doesn't cater well for people who don't have hands. Or pockets.]

Hmm. What would you say might suit your needs?

[As for what might suit his own... that's probably not a question that really needs to be asked. He shakes his head carefully and the bell around his collar rings out a soft, sleepy chime beside Howl's ear.]

I've heard of this 'bonding' business. Interesting.

[galdorleod]

[ Howl doesn't respond at first, Mogget's moewling words not making immediate sense to him. What does he mean, he's heard of bonding? Isn't it an essential part of life here, as commonly known and understood as the existence of magic and the two moons? Perhaps it has to do with Mogget being a cat, or a familiar, or whatever it is that he is, as Howl still hasn't been made clear on that point, but then he thinks back to a few passing statements the beast has made thus far, and it all clicks into place.

He directs a skeptical glance at him. ] Are you a Mirrorbound? And a witch, at that? You?

[ He did say earlier that the world had made Howl a witch "as well." Mogget being from another world would explain how odd he is, but you can't blame Howl for assuming he had to be a familiar or other native to Aefenglom first. ]

[themogget]

[Mogget turns his head slightly, his whiskers tickling at Howl's temple, and looks at him with those bright green eyes of his.]

You sound surprised.

[And Mogget sounds all but outright judgemental in his tone, but he's already more than used to being mistaken for something he isn't.]

Yes, I am a witch, and a Mirrorbound too. It seems the Coven have a sense of humour.

[galdorleod]

Of course I'm surprised. You're a cat. [ But Howl can't help but laugh now - not at Mogget, but at the absurdity of the situation he finds himself in. He shakes his head and returns his attention to the list of beginner's witching items. ]

...anyway. I've no idea what "focus" I need. [ pause. ] Do you use one?

[themogget]

I haven't been here for long enough to find one.

[Like Howl, Mogget's arrival here has been a recent one. He did not enjoy his second and somewhat abrupt entry into this world, and thoroughly embarrassed himself in the process of it.]

But I suspect a pendant of some kind would be the most practical. For you, it would depend on how you want to focus your magic, no?

[galdorleod]

[ Howl grunts and lifts his hands helplessly in a sort of half-shrug. ]

We don't use such things in Ingary. Or at least, that's not how I learned magic. If you ask me, it's a bit nonsense to call some object a "focus" for a spell... the whole spell's the focus, the whole process. Your mind, the words, the ingredients if there are any.

[ At any rate, Howl finally picks a store advertising wands and staves in its street-facing windows and enters. The inside smells strongly of incense. ] Did you practice magic at home, Mogget?

[themogget]

Mm... of a fashion, though not for a long time.

[The cat makes a face when they enter the shop, his ears briefly flicking back in response to the smell suddenly invading his sensitive nose.]

But magic in the Old Kingdom is very different to here, using something called The Charter. I find the idea of a 'focus' to be a quaint one.