middaeg | catch-all (partly open; partly closed)

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catch-all (partly open; partly closed)

Who: Konoe and ~~friends~~ acquaintances (and enemies, and whatever)
When: May
Where: ~around~
What: All the things! So far: herb quest with Dylas; Mrs. Mitten quest with... you?
Warnings: The general stupidity of a catboy chasing a cat? 🙀 Will edit as things come up.
Feel free to use the format/tense you're most comfortable with! I will happily adapt.
If you want to wildcard me for whatever, go right ahead. You're likely to find Konoe around the city, following the magic classes the coven's giving, maybe attempting some very minor magic in a secluded spot, sitting on a rooftop looking out over the city and trying not to feel lonely, or... very much lost because he has no sense of direction.

[closed] HERBOLOGY HELP

It's not for the reward that Konoe does this; in fact, he's not sure what the reward even is. But he's been wanting to take a look at the forest, even if it's supposed to be dangerous, and this gives him the perfect excuse to finally do it. And, since he's not alone... he doesn't have to worry about getting lost either. (Shut up.)

It's strange how much the forest feels comfortable and familiar, yet something about it is still very much off. The smell of the trees and plants is not so different than that of the world he grew up in, but there's definitely something odd on top of that, very faint and sickly sweet, yet anything but sweet at the same time. That's new. The Void never smelled like anything... but then, that only made it more dangerous.

This still feels more like home than a city ever could. Konoe appreciates the comforts of a city, but it's hard to beat scents for nostalgia.

"Follow the river in the forest, it said..." And that's what they're doing. "Do you think it's much further?" He doesn't mind either way. He's just trying to make conversation, in his own way - and perhaps trying to calm down somewhat, with that eerie sickly sweet scent lightly prickling at his nose.

[open] MRS. MITTENS

In a city full of magic and monsters, there's a wide variety of things one should expect to see, and very little that should surprise you. Even so, the sight in front of you may raise a few eyebrows.

"Hey - wait!" There's a young man with a tail and cat ears, his hood long since fallen off his head and flapping behind him like the rest of his mantle. He's running at a pretty impressive speed, jumping obstacles... and perhaps knocking over a thing or two (hopefully not a person or two) in the process, oops.

That's not really the noteworthy thing here, though. The strangest thing to note is that he's chasing... a cat. The catboy is chasing a cat.

"I'll give you milk, so come here already!" He remembers that these Cats are supposed to like milk. He has still not accepted that they apparently - supposedly - can't talk, though... and even if he did, he expects them to at least understand what he's saying.

Clearly this particular Cat is just very rude.

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[While he's spent much of his time up till now wearing his hood - as if that really hides his ears even a tiny bit! - even Konoe can't bring himself to wear a hood inside and during classes. Even with a hood, there would have been trouble: he looks like a monster, and monsters can't learn magic, so why should he attend? Konoe insists, though - a little rudely, admittedly, but he gets his way, if only because it can't hurt to let him sit in on classes, either.

He was pretty neutral on learning magic, before: nice if it works, but not much lost if he simply can't manage. Now, though, he insists on learning at least something, to prove these people calling him a monster wrong. (Not that there's anything wrong with being a monster in this world, but he's not overly fond of the term, and he knows he isn't one. He's a cat!)

He's not that great at writing, but as the class empties out, he lingers, slowly but very determinedly finishing some notes. He sees no point in rushing out with the crowd, everybody getting in his way and vice versa - and besides, he has plans to meet someone, if only vague ones.

The network offered names, but Konoe hadn't paid much attention to them, more focused on the conversations themselves, and not exactly checking the contact info afterwards. All he knew was that there was a girl who had offered him some good insight, and she'd sounded cute - which probably said absolutely nothing.

Then again, it might say something, because the girl who stays behind with him is definitely cute. But he doesn't know if it's her, does he? Tucking away his notes, he dares to ask:]

Are you... "magic is chaos"?

[That sounds like a terrible pen name in a personal ad, but okay.]

[Terrible as it may sound, it does work. The moment after the question is asked, Maria lights up.]

That's right! I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself earlier.

[She on the other hand hasn't even noticed the contact names. She's barely got the device down, to be quite honest.]

I'm Maria.

I don't think I did, either.

[So there's no need to apologize.

Wow... She really is cute. He's still getting used to how many females are around, here - his own world had all but been without them - and she's so... soft? It's like seeing someone from a different planet. Which probably isn't far from the truth, for that matter...

Okay, he needs to focus, here.]

I'm Konoe.

[And, just like that, he loses any idea he might have had on what else to say. Maybe the class took a little out of him, after all... He's definitely not used to learning, let alone in a classroom.]

... Let's find somewhere to practice.

["Practice outside" is as much instruction as they got on that front, but he figures somewhere just outside the city is best. Even if they don't manage to do anything, that seems safest.]

Mm, alright.

[She's happy enough to walk alongside him, ticking off places in her mind where they might go practice.]

As long as we don't go too wild we could try one of the Coven's gardens? We can't really go outside the city walls by ourselves or at least too close to the wall to risk hurting it.

... It's true that we can't risk damaging the wall...

[Realistically, they shouldn't be able to, but in this case caution is more important than realism. And he definitely doesn't want to take her too far outside the wall...]

Let's go to a garden. If it's not allowed to practice there, they can just tell us.

[Don't worry, Konoe, she'd protect you outside the wall. Better safe than sorry though!]

Right. Hopefully on Coven grounds, they would expect some magic practice. I doubt they would want us to go out in the city itself, right?

[His hero~]

Good point.

[A garden, it is. While they walk there, he glances down at his awkward, hurriedly collected notes.]

What should we practice? Some of these things sound a lot harder than others...

[The class was no doubt well-organized, the contents properly structured... but Konoe isn't used to classes in the least, and he's a little too determined to Do This Thing: he's having a harder time than he should, separating the important from the less important.]

Edited 2019-05-13 08:06 (UTC)

Mm, that class was mostly about healing, wasn't it? That's a little hard to do when no one really needs healed.

[She steeples her fingers together, thoughtful as she walks.]

They did mention teleportation though... even that somehow seems complicated.

[She thinks back to the dream she had had before she arrived here, one where she had found a familiar face here and there. She had managed to use her magic -- or at least what she's been given here -- in that one but it was foggy how she had done so.]

I'm capable of healing at home but most of my abilities are more offensive.

Teleportation seems like the hardest magic of all.

[Not that he'd know, but something like healing, or even creating light - something he is determined to learn at some point, if only to avoid fire everywhere and always - are a lot easier to imagine. Teleportation feels like too big a shift. Then again, maybe it's not so different...]

What kind of thing did you usually do?

[Offensive? He's intrigued - and maybe a little concerned, in a very healthy way.]

Well, usually I borrow power from four guardian spirits I have a connection with. Or I summon them. I've never really had magic without them present.

[When Shaft unlocked her abilities as a child, it had been the guardian spirits themselves that helped her in more incarnate forms. Now sometimes she could call on a few of them but by and large she borrowed their abilities more often than not.]

I don't feel their presence now though. I haven't since we all arrived here.

[...]

I did have a dream though before I came here. I've recognized at least one person from that dream so far and I could use magic in it so I assumed if I tried the same thing, I could now too.

Edited 2019-05-14 01:22 (UTC)

Guardian spirits?

[That all sounds pretty nice, but the ominous number four lingers heavily in his mind, if only because it was four demons who had tormented him. They each had their own magic, too... He wonders if he could have borrowed it, if he'd defeated the demons.

Still, getting out alive was already more than he could have hoped for.]

You, too?! I had a dream like that!

That is: I didn't use magic, but the dream was definitely more like this world than my own, and I think I recognized people from it...

Were there fae in yours? These little... insect like things?

[Or at least they had had insect wings?]

Yeah!

[Well, this is just creepy! Though not as creepy as the memories as such: suddenly Konoe remembers losing his tail because of those fae, and he immediately raises it, reaching behind himself to touch it, even as he looks back to check for its presence visually, too.

Okay, it's all good. His tail is still there...]

It sounds like quite a few of us had the same dream then. Maybe this place was calling for us somehow?

[Or something like that? She hadn't a clue really and she mulls on it as Konoe makes sure no one ran away with his tail again.

The gardens themselves -- or at least this one in particular -- are in fine bloom. Maria takes a moment to lean down an appreciate what flowers have sprung up here before she straightens back up.]

Alright so... hm. Where should we begin?

I wonder... I can't even remember if I had that dream before coming here, or after.

[If it all happened because of a dream, should he be more suspicious, all things considered..? Well, suspicious or not, it's not going to change their current situation.]

... Should we try to use the flowers? Teleport them from where they are into our hand, or something like that.

[He enjoys the flowers a great deal, himself, but he sees no harm in trying to magically cut them off. And this kind of teleporting - with something small, and where they can see what they're doing - seems more doable than most.]

Oh! That's a great idea! The gardens around here seem to change constantly so I imagine if we mess up it won't harm anything either.

[Alright then. With that plan in mind, Maria's brow furrows. She picks out one flower - a particularly vivid blue one in her opinion - and gives it a good long look. Mostly because she's rummaging inside of herself to feel that spark of magic again.

The magic here is different from what she knows but she can still feel it. She tilts her head a little in Konoe's direction, though she doesn't take her eyes off the flower.]

Do you feel anything? When you try to use magic here, that is? Or in general? The magic here is different from what I know at home but it's hard to put my finger on just how to describe it.

Yeah. I feel something.

[It's not unlike when he was Singing, and yet it's something else entirely. At least it's not a painful start, the way Singing was... but since he hasn't managed much of anything with magic, yet, maybe he shouldn't get his hopes up.]

It's like... a clear sky that's turning stormy, filled with clouds and powerful wind? But not in a bad way!

[Maybe magic is, after all, that kind of chaos: it's like something calm and empty is suddenly sweeping up into something much, much more.

He knows what he feels, but he suddenly feels stupidly insecure about it, regardless - as if what he feels could be "wrong" somehow.]

Is that... what it's like for you?

[His description makes Maria smile some.]

That's a very good way to put it. Like something is gathering all together? A storm brewing up, a concentration of power? Mm, that's not far off from how I feel too.

[Maria concentrates on this feeling then.]

For me it's like... the sun. It's a warmth heating up through my skin, like the sun getting brighter and hotter. A ball of light I concentrate on? I guess that's the best way to put it.

[She holds her hand palm up and poof, the flower does disappear. And it does pop into her hand.

... A bit mangled for the trip though.]

Perhaps I was a little too forceful.

A concentration of power where there was none, but there was always that potential... or something.

[That is, perhaps, the essence, for him: that the potential is already there, always. He just has to use it. In that sense if no other, he "feels" magic a lot - but that makes it tricky, too. Even if he has the right feeling, filling in the details is still hard, and he doesn't have enough experience yet to fit together all the pieces of the puzzle. He doesn't even know how many pieces the puzzle has, yet!

Mangled flower or not, he's impressed.]

You still did it!

[His turn! He tries it his own way, focused on a red flower a little further down... but he makes the mistake of focusing on not repeating Maria's "mistake", when that was never his mistake. Trying to keep it careful and small, what he teleports is... a single petal.

... Not mangled, though!]

[Ooh! Maria looks over and claps her hands together, poor mangled flower tucked into her pocket.]

Very good! It's intact and everything! Mm, maybe I should focus on smaller bits too and work my way up like that.

[A whole plant was a little too ambitious maybe?]

...

[He should tell her that he'd intended to get the whole flower, but when she's praising him like this, he just can't bring himself to do it.]

... Maybe we should try for leaves, first, so we don't ruin all the flowers.

[They can just magically pluck leaves off stalks and what not, and work their way up to flowers if they manage. It requires a little more concentration to do right, perhaps, but that's also an important thing to train - and at least it's a smaller area of concentration than a whole flower.]

That sounds fair. It would be a shame to ruin all of them after all.

[She's no plant aficionado but she does admire these after taking that first language of flowers gardening class.

And honestly, concentrating on something small is somehow easier for her right now. She pops off her first leaf from the plant to her hand without a problem and looks thoroughly pleased with herself.]

Perfect!

Right?

[He definitely doesn't want to ruin all the flowers, either, even if the more experienced witches can probably magic them right back. He kind of likes flowers... not that he'd ever admit it.

She manages so easily, he feels a lot of pressure to do the same... but then, he'd already sorta kinda managed before, hadn't he? Magic is chaos... He just needs to concentrate and keep it simple. It's just a small thing. So...

He reaches out with his hand in the direction of the leaf he's focusing on, and it appears in his hand almost too easily. He lets out a breath, stunned. To think he managed it just like that!]

[Oh! Maria looks over as he lets go of his breath.]

You did it too! It's much easier trying like this, I think.

[The blonde blows out a breath then, contemplating the leaf in her own hand. She doesn't look displeased but thoughtful really.]

It's amazing though. I'm so used to using my abilities so easily. I think though all this time I've been relying on my guardians to help me use it. Now I have to rely on myself and it's... rather humbling.

[She laughs a little gently, looking sheepish as she turns the tiny leaf over between forefinger and thumb.]

I am looking forward to learning, of course.

[Perhaps her self confidence has been taken down a peg or so in terms of her abilities though.]

Humbling or not... I think it's much better to be able to do things by yourself.

[In fact, that may just be his life motto, in borderline unhealthy ways. At least he's become a little more flexible about it in more recent times.]

If you do something yourself, you have only yourself to thank for it. Good or bad, success or failure... you don't owe anyone but yourself.

[And there's no point in resenting others, either. Konoe likes a healthy distance between himself and others, but that includes not hating them if he can avoid it. Nobody needs to waste energy on that.]

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oh no, konoe. he's so darling. i'll praise you all you want ;w;

he is a good cat who need nothing and nobody, except when he does

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