Don't waste your worry on me [OPEN]

[halfheartedmagician]

Who: Asra
When: Throughout the week
Where: Various locations
What: Wandering magician life - namely failing to do anything legally at all
Warnings: None at this point


i.
[Asra isn't terribly concerned about the promise of a reward, but helping someone find a lost pet seems like the right thing to do and offers a chance for exploring. Which is why he's hunting around the harbour, enjoying the smell of salt and water, reminded of the years he spent in similar situations growing up.]

Any luck, Faust?

[He doesn't appear to be talking to anyone else close by, but someone who wanders a bit closer may find a pale snake winding around their leg and hear a faint voice, almost like a whisper in their mind.]

(Found friend!)


ii.
[It's a warm day, and the sun overhead glints off of Asra's jewellery and sends rainbows dancing across the stone walls of the alleyway entrance that he's set up in. He's seated on a brightly coloured blanket at the entrance of the narrow gap, an assortment of trinkets, a few carved masks, and one or two packets of herbs spread out before him. His cards flash from hand to hand as he lazily shuffles them, the bright paints and bits of gold leaf catching the light. Faust curls about his chest and shoulders, her head resting on Asra's shoulder, although she looks up and flickers her tongue at any who stop by.

Sensing someone watching, Asra looks up and smiles, crooks his finger for them to come closer.] Interested in a reading? Or something--

[Before he can finish, there's a shout from nearby.] Oi! I already told you to move on!

[An annoyed looking guard starts towards them and, quick as a flash, Asra is up, the cards disappeared and the blanket gathered up around everything and tied rapidly into a makeshift bag.]

Come on! [Laughing, he grabs for the other's hand and starts running down the streets, seeming to enjoy the sound of chasing footsteps after them more than he probably should.]


iii.
[Maybe it's late, or maybe it's early. Or maybe it's even the middle of the day with the sun warm overhead. It doesn't seem to matter exactly what time it is or even the location, really. Much like a cat, Asra finds places to sleep whenever the mood takes him and it apparently has now.

He's found in various places; curled up out of the way in a huge coil of rope by the harbour, sprawled out under a tree in a park, stretched out on the warm stone surrounding a decorative fountain. Should he be sleeping somewhere more appropriate? Probably. Are you going to wake him up to tell him that though?

...well even if you don't, that guard who looks severely done with the magician's shit right now might.]

Comments

ii

[grakraka]

[Spending the afternoon meandering around the city felt like the perfect thing to do on one of the nicer days, so Akechi did just that, hoping to get to know his surroundings better and perhaps pick up some gossip along the way. The colourful Asra catches his eye, so naturally he doesn't mind coming over to look through the wares or hear a pitch. In fact, he's very curious.

Unfortunately, he doesn't get the chance to hear more before he's yanked along. While he could probably have just stayed behind without running into trouble, going with the flow happens to be one of his better traits, so he simply runs with him, mentally noting that he'll have to avoid this area for a bit. The guard might think they were together from the start. That would be harder to explain.

Though at least this guy seems to be having fun, he supposes. Something about that attitude reminds him of another rule-breaker he knows. He doesn't say anything until they've finally stopped, looking both a little amused and exasperated.]

You're rather good at that.

[This guy has booked it from authorities before, huh?]

[halfheartedmagician]

[After a few twists and turns through narrow streets and crowded avenues, Asra is fairly certain that they're safe enough and slows them to a walk, taking a moment to tuck his blanket in his bag before he grins mischievously at the other man.]

They don't seem to like me setting up without a permit.

[He shrugs in a loose, rolling motion the prompts Faust to poke her head out of his shirt again, and Asra gently strokes his fingers along her scales.]

At least you need one in the shopping district, and some of the other places don't like people just setting up anywhere there's room.

[grakraka]

[Seeing the snake piques his curiosity. He doesn't know much about them but that one looks so docile and sweet. Staring seems rude, though, so he raises his eyes with a smile.]

Ahh, I see. Permits have their uses... but they also over-regulate perfectly benign businesses.

[Though he has no idea id this man's ventures count as that but he can't imagine simple tarot readings being bad. They're charming and fun for most people and at worst, no less a stupid way to spend money than capsule toys. It seems silly to regulate it.]

Who is your friend, by the way?

[halfheartedmagician]

[The fact that Asra could possibly get a permit himself doesn't seem to be something he's considered, and he shrugs at the idea of over-regulation or indeed any regulation about that sort of thing. He's never been particularly good at taking care of all those details and it hasn't changed much since he's arrived here.]

Where I'm from people can set up stalls wherever they like for the most part. We would sell masks and charms to help make ends meet when I was growing up.

[His expression brightens at the question and Asra lets Faust move to his arm, the better to stretch herself out towards the other man.]

This is Faust, she's my familiar.

[grakraka]

[It sounds like a freer place or at least a very different one from the kind he is used to. Maybe even a little nicer, too, if it was something he did growing up. An out like that would have been a good option once.

But he finds himself more excited about the snake and smiles as he leans in.]

Hello, Faust. It's a pleasure to meet you. You're a very pretty girl, aren't you? Were you having fun back there, too?

[halfheartedmagician]

[As he leans closer, Faust will stretch out in an attempt to get onto the other man's shoulder and Asra will let her, assuming the stranger doesn't flinch away. And perhaps somewhat surprising, there's a faint voice at the back of the other's mind.]

(Like a chase!)

sorry for the delay!

[grakraka]

[Since she seems safe, he allows her to get onto his shoulder, but the voice surprises him. Can familiars usually talk? They are magical so he supposes it could be true.]

Haha, I can see why you two belong together.

[Well, he doesn't know much about the other man but he definitely enjoyed running off, so it makes sense. He reaches up to strokes her, gently, since he isn't sure if snakes like that.]

She's lovely. Does she help you with your work?

all good!

[halfheartedmagician]

[Since he doesn't seem worried about the snake getting close to him, Asra will let Faust make her way onto the other man's shoulder where she immediately presses her chin against his fingers.]

She does. Back home, I can't use my magic at all without her. Faust and I have been together for a long time.

[grakraka]

[He smiles as he rubs under her chin. That information does interest him, though, so he looks at Asra even as he pampers Faust.]

Really? I have— erm, had I suppose, something like that. I haven't been able to use it since arriving, though. Magic seems to be very different here.

[halfheartedmagician]

It's similar to what I know in ways, different in others. [Asra shrugs. The rules might be different but magic is always magic to him, and this is close enough to his own that it feels more like discovering a newly decorated room in a familiar house. The shape is the same, although some of the details are different.

It's interesting to hear how much different it is to others, though, and he tilts his head curiously.] Do you mean a familiar, or something else? I can't imagine not having Faust here with me.