OPEN

[unholey]

Who: Fugo & You!
When: Throughout Noveur
Where: Various (Riverside, Volunteer Efforts, Coven, Old Georgie's Farm)
What: A series of open prompts throughout Noveur, largely for quests. Prompts in comments! All open unless marked otherwise.
Warnings: The volunteering prompt will likely involve some description of minor injuries.

Comments

[unholey]

[Fugo flashes Yuya a quick thumbs up, the lighthearted gesture somewhat at odds with his serious expression. He then winds back and, although he will quickly come to regret it, really winds up the throw before he pitches the apple at Yuya's face.]

[The thing is... Fugo is good at learning new things. And magic? Magic is a lot of memorization. Learning this gesture. Writing that symbol. Pronouncing this or that word of power. Pushing aside whatever he thinks or feels to focus his attention on a single point. Casting spells, especially simple ones such as a reflective shield, isn't the problem. Fugo's problem, as it historically has been and likely continue will be in the foreseeable future, is that he puts too much of himself into it. And without a Bond to help regulate his magic, his spells tend to be... a little strong.]

[When the apple hits the boundary of the shield, it slows, hovering briefly in midair as the spell fights against it-- and then, instead of veering off course, sharply reverses. It all happens very quickly. And somewhat comically, given that the apple makes sharp contact with Fugo's forehead. Owch. Fugo doesn't fall all the way to the ground, but it strikes him with enough force that he stumbles back, hands coming up to cover his forehead.]

Fuck! Ow!

[hippocarnival]

Whoa--[Well, it works, maybe a little too well.

Yuya slides off his chair, immediately colliding into the other side of the barrier. He staggers back, then shimmies around the shield to Fugo.] Are you okay?

[unholey]

I'm-- [Fugo gingerly touches his forehead, then winces. When he pulls his hand away, there's a bright red mark.] Ugh, I'm fine. It just stings.

I heard you run into something. [Fugo sighs and then, more than a little frazzled, runs his hands through his hair.] Sorry, it's not supposed to be that solid.

[hippocarnival]

Uh, well, that just means it was really strong! [Yuya laughs.] It looks like it worked, anyway. Good thing you didn't use the arrow...

[unholey]

You call that "working"? As far as I'm concerned, it was a failure. [Still rubbing his forehead, Fugo walks over to the barrier. He tries to to carefully tap the shield with his knuckles; even that light motion wrenches his arm back.] Control is everything. Witches have no business casting spells whose outcome they can't control.

[Which is why... he's practicing. But he's nonetheless annoyed; dissatisfied with the results of his own practice, which went fine when it came to inanimate objects and plants.]

[Half to himself--] It can't be a difference in incantation, the instructor would have mentioned it...

[So what went wrong? Is it just bad luck? Almost absentmindedly, he draws another rune in the air; this one to dispel the barrier.]

[hippocarnival]

... If someone was actually shooting at me, the only thing I'd be worried about is that I didn't get hit. [It doesn't have to be perfect!!

Yuya steps back and sits in his chair once more.] Maybe a rune was too big or something? That matters, doesn't it?

[unholey]

It's not that simple. You can't just think about yourself in a fight, especially one with projectiles. What's the trajectory? After it misses you, where is it going to end up? What would you do if it hit--

[Fugo cuts himself off by biting the inside of his cheek. He shouldn't be taking his frustration out on a stranger, especially someone who he strongarmed into helping him practice to begin with.]

... yes, how the rune is drawn does matter. I thought I had a handle on it, but obviously I need more practice. [He pauses, awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to the next.] Thanks for the help.

[hippocarnival]

[Right, trajectory... a thing Yuya tends to fudge with what feels right instead of calculating because he's barely scraping by in math.]

No problem. [He waves his hand.] You're mostly learning how to work with runes?

[unholey]

Abjuration. For the past few weeks, we've been studying different types of shields-- this particular spell uses runes, but not all of them do.

[hippocarnival]

How are the other ones going? [Or is this the first shield he tried?]

[unholey]

[Fugo makes a sour expression. He's... not bad at shields. At least he doesn't think he is. Or any reason why he wouldn't be. Nonetheless: his success rate is just barely 70%.]

Not... terribly. They work more often than they don't. ... I'm better at other forms of abjuration.