middaeg | june catch-all; quests and more

Entry tags:

june catch-all; quests and more

Who: Yako Katsuragi + Others (TBD)
When: Throughout ~~June~~ Iuneril
Where: All over Aefenglom.
What: Your friendly neighborhood catch-all.
Warnings: TBD

[ I'll just be using this log for various individual top-levels and custom starters through the month and add them below as I go!. I write in prose because that's what I'm used to, but I can adjust to match. ]

1. Do it with Class

Although it's her second month here, Yako still hasn't made that much progress as far as spellcasting goes. The best progress she's made thus far is in enchantment, though for the most part, she's only practiced enchanting food and doesn't have much in the way of combat applications.

In Abjuration class, she looks a bit nervous when she's paired up with someone, giving them a sheepish look as she readies her focus.

"So, ah, do you want to practice blocking first, or should I?"

In Divination class, her fingers are covered with specks of pale yellow light, but when she shakes them off her fingers, they only drift down lazily onto the ground instead of pointing in any particular direction -- certainly not leading towards whatever hidden object they're supposed to be looking for. She sighs, shaking her head and glancing up at whoever's nearby.

"No good ... I can't get the spell to focus right. How about you? Any luck?"

It's in Transmutation class that she finds a surprising bit of luck: as she concentrates on the shattered teacup in front of her on the table, the pinpricks of light that seem to be her signature magic alighting on the ceramic, some of the pieces of shattered porcelain suddenly snap together in front of her, making her jump and lose concentration -- and it falls apart all over again. Still, she's elated.

"Did you see that?!"

Alternatively, you might catch her after classes end, holding a tray of various baked goods and a clipboard by a doorway. If you make the mistake of making eye contact or even coming too close, she'll perk up and step over.

"Excuse me, but would you mind trying one of these enchanted pastries and rating them? Um, the effects are temporary and nothing bad, I promise -- I just need to know how effective they are."

2. Lost in a Good Book

Early in the month, Yako can be easily found in Undermael College, sitting at one of the tables with a book open in front of her and some scattered notes scrawled all over in a girlishly rounded script. Some of it is information on basic spells and invocations taught in the Coven classes, but there's also a roughly doodled sketch of some kind of globe on one corner, and she seems to be intent on her work ... so much so that she's muttering under her breath.

Those close enough or possessed of keener hearing might catch something about 'leylines' or 'divination' or, more perplexingly perhaps, something about the ideal ratio of dry to wet ingredients ... but either way, as quiet as she may be trying to make it, it's a little bit disruptive.

3. Wiped Out

Closer towards the evenings, though, will see Yako straight up passed out on top of her work, pen beginning to leave a growing ink-stain on paper as she snores softly. Will you wake her up kindly and send her on her way, or be a bit more rude?

4. How Does Your Garden Grow?

In the Shopping District, Yako can be found intently browsing through a selection of ... plants? She hasn't picked up any from the shelves and planters yet, but she seems to be quite serious about looking through them -- so much so that she doesn't realize there's someone right beside her.

"Oh, sorry -- I didn't mean to get in your way. I'm having a hard time deciding what I should get for the garden."

???. Wildcard

[ None of these work for you? Want to write your own starter? Hit me up on the CR Meme, let's make something happen. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Isn't that plenty of reason to worry?!

[Enchanted food... He can only imagine what such a thing might do to a person. Still, she seems a little intoxicated if anything, and while that's still worrying, it's not as dreadful a situation as it might have been.

So he's honestly calming down well enough - until she presses her face against his shoulder. While it's not quite the gesture it makes him think of - a friendly and borderline intimate greeting between cats - it's close enough to make his heart skip a beat, pounding loudly for no reason whatsoever.]

I'll -... I'll take you home.

[ Though Konoe may not be a monster, this close it’s hard to miss the warmth and the unmistakable smell of caramelizing sugar that lingers around Yako, the inevitable outcome of caring so many food related spells. At Konoe’s suggestion, Yako makes a face, though it’s hard to see pressed against him as she is. ]

I don’t want to go home, it’s too early. [ She says, in the mildly belligerent tone of mildly intoxicated people everywhere, but in this case she does have a point ... it’s still daylight. ]

Besides, I’d rather have fun with you! [ Chances are she would have said so without the influence of anything, but in this case it’s accompanied by a friendly squeeze of his arm and Yako rubbing her cheek against his shoulder like she’s suddenly become a cat herself. ] Is there anything you want to do Konoe?

[It's not that he was planning to put her in bed or anything (though he might have); his intention had mostly been to keep her safe. From what, he couldn't say, but crowds like this always meant potential danger, and since she doesn't quite have her wits about her, avoiding such dangers only made sense.

Still, with her stating her opinion so clearly, he isn't going to argue with her... especially when she's being so physical and attached - and he shouldn't enjoy that, knowing that intoxication is responsible for at least a good part of it, but he's kind of affected all the same. She really is cute, even like this.]

Not really... I was just walking around and taking in the sights.

[And admiring the flowers. You know, the usual - not that he'll ever admit to that.]

[ Yako hums in consideration, the vibration strong enough to travel through her chest to Konoe’s side. He really is nice, isn’t he? Very supportive. He’s certainly having to support some of her weight before she comes to a decision and starts to lean away, only to tug him into another direction. ]

Then, why don’t we run a maze together?

[ Little does she realize she’s with someone with no sense of direction whatsoever. The storefront she’s pulling him to advertises a hedge maze that’s larger on the inside than it is out, and a drink seller by the front is enthusiastically hawking her wares, offering a charm for luck in love in a cup to anyone who’ll take her up on it. ]

[Ohno not a maze...! Konoe panics a little, but it's not like he can admit that he, a cat, has no sense of direction. It's partly common decency, and partly that fear of publicly acknowledging an embarrassing weakness, that keeps him from fighting back as she pulls him along.]

No, that's -... It's only for monsters, right?!

[Or monster-witch pairs, and he's not a monster, though nobody is likely to believe him about that.

He tries with excuses like this, but he still can't bring himself to give her a hard "no" when that would mean admitting his real reason for not wanting to try a maze.]

No, it’s for everyone who wants to try it. [ Yako laughs, pressing her cheek to his shoulder again. She’s trying for reassurance that she’ll be there for him, though that’s probably not what comes across. She’s close enough for him to feel the steady thump of her heart, certain of what she wants. ]

Mm, but if you don’t want to run a maze, we could get something to eat or make you a crown... I just wanna have fun together.

[ It’s your one and only chance to take advantage of tipsy girl drunkenness, Konoe! ]

[He doesn't want to take advantage, though!? If anything, what he wants is the exact opposite. Running a maze is only marginally better than walking through fire, in his book, but it's clear that she wants it, and he -... Well, he just can't bring himself to say no. That is what would feel like taking advantage, with her in this state.]

It's fine... We can do the maze.

[He's vaguely regretting this already.]

... You should drink something, first.

[Seriously, he doesn't want her to keel over in the middle of the maze! He'll never find his way out as it is; he'd rather not be stuck there forever while trying to carry her through.

He'll ask the seller to make sure it's not enchanted, of course. If there are technically other magics at play, well, that's just too bad.]

[ See, this is why Yako likes Konoe — he cares about doing the decent thing, as much as he might bluster otherwise. After two weeks of sleeping on the same bed, she likes to think she’s gotten to get a good sense of his character, and she feels safe around him, which is why though she’d be friendly with anyone, it’s easy to touch and pet and impose herself on him in a way she’s thought about before but dismissed for being rude. ]

All right. [ She lights up with his assent, happily taking the drink. It’s sweet fruit juice, and she downs half before she offers the cup to him as they start to wander in, the imprint of her lips still damp on the rim. ]

Here, you have some too. You like fruit, right?

[He takes the cup from her in silence, much more nervous than he should be for a simple maze game. There's just something about being trapped that bothers him, in addition to the way he has no sense of direction, and now that he feels kind of responsible for Yako, too - well... it's hard enough being responsible for himself, isn't it? Even if this isn't technically a dangerous situation, he's feeling a lot of pressure.

And that's why he's all too happy to enjoy the comforts of fruit juice, glancing at Yako's lip print on the cup, but unsure how to analyze what it makes him feel. He just drinks, quickly, in an attempt to feel more like himself again, and before he knows it, he's actually finished the cup. Oops...]

Sorry. I guess... I was thirsty.

[It's the lamest excuse in the history of excuses, but it's the only one he's got to offer.

The maze didn't seem that big on the outside - something he tries to gain confidence from. That's fine, right? It'll be fine. Maybe he doesn't even need a sense of direction, for something so small.]

Should we.... alternate going left and right?

[That's the best way to get ahead, probably..?]

[ In contrast to Konoe’s nerves, Yako seems as relaxed as ever — too relaxed, even, but she laughs it off when Konoe empties the cup and they’re on their way. ]

Seems like a good idea as any. [ She answers with real cheer, having looped her arm through his again once they set out on their way. ] Let’s give it a try!

[ Which they do. Soon enough, it becomes apparent there’s an enchantment at work, because as they push through the maze, it only seems to extend endlessly onwards, surrounding them with dense foliage on all sides. They pass by small points of interest — benches, a fountain — and as the minutes trickle by and they pass the same statue of a swan for the third time, one thing becomes abundantly clear.

They’re hopelessly lost. ]

[How is it even possible that they're walking in circles with this flawless technique? The second time they walk by the swan statue, Konoe wonders if it's actually the same one, or if there may be a whole bunch of the same statue scattered around the maze; the third time, he conjures up a kuim to place on the statue's base; the fourth time... that kuim is there. They are definitely walking in circles. And, worse: he doesn't even feel like eating the kuim anymore.]

No way...

[If it wasn't for Yako, he'd just get angry; as it is, he's more upset than anything, ashamed and a little worried about ever getting her (not to mention himself) out again.]

[ Considering how much Konoe loves his kuim, conjured or not, that really says something about the direness of the situation that he doesn’t have the appetite for it. With some of the immediate effects of the spiced drink growing weaker at last, Yako grows aware of another, familiar familiar rising in her that isn’t just giddiness. ]

Hey, Konoe? [ That’s as far as she gets before her stomach lets out an inelegant rumble that even human ears wouldn’t have trouble picking out, and her cheeks pinken slightly but she forges ahead. ]

Can we take a break for a minute? I’m getting, uh ... hungry.

[The stomach rumble may not be elegant, but it's at least enough to distract him from the general misery he's feeling. He sighs, more at himself than at her.]

Okay. I didn't bring anything proper to eat, though.

[There's the kuim, sure, but it's conjured, and hence not likely to fill anyone up. He goes to grab it anyway, just because he has nothing else to offer.]

Let's sit?

Oh, don’t worry about that. I did.

[ Though Yako will wait until she’s comfortably seated, skirts pooled around her, before she seems to reach right into the fabric and draw out a modest (if slightly squashed) feast of fruit, pastries, and even a slender bottle of what a sniff and sip will reveal to be some kind of spiced cider.

As impressive as it is that she’s fit that much under her skirts, what’s even more amazing is that she’s walked around with these the whole time. Yako looks at the spread with satisfaction, then gives Konoe a sheepish grin. ]

I couldn’t turn down the free food, even if it is enchanted. You don’t have to have any if you don’t want to, but uh, I’ll probably eat this all if you don’t...

.....

[What -... Konoe is not an expert on Aefenglom's feminine fashion, but seriously, how?!

Actually, no. This is Yako. Whatever benefits the fashion offers or doesn't offer, Konoe is sure she'd find a way.]

What kind of blackmail is that supposed to be?!

[Seriously, what a way to bully him into eating! He is pretty hungry, but he's also pretty sure that both of them getting all weird due to enchanted food isn't going to help them get through this maze in their lifetime.]

I wonder if I could undo the enchantment...?

[Hey - that's a brilliant plan! He's been practicing all sorts of protection-oriented spells; he can totally make the food at least a little safer!
... Or the spell could backfire because it's that time of month, and any enchantment will only get stronger. You know. But Konoe assumes that it can't hurt to try, so try he does.]

It’s not supposed to be blackmail!

[ She’s just telling the truth, okay?! She already had enchanted food once and she didn’t die from it, and enough of it lingers in her system to feel little shame giving into that animal desire for sustenance. The protest comes too late to prevent Konoe from casting his spell. There’s no fanfare to accompany it, though the thread of his magic lingers in the air to make it clear something was used, and Yako looks at the food like she’s expecting something to happen ... though nothing does. It’s not as though a little sign is going to pop up declare it safe to eat, now. ]

Well... only one way to find out. [ She reaches out to break off a piece off a meat pie, popping it into her mouth, and tips her to the side as she chews and swallows. ]

I don’t feel any different.

[ So that means it worked, right? ]

[Konoe's been practicing all kinds of protective spells a lot, but this one is a little different and more complicated than most, so he's not entirely sure he's made it work, even apart from the issues the full moon offers... but apparently it works? He's not that fond of using Yako as a guinea pig, but she's already affected, so at least there's no harm done if the food's still enchanted...]

Really?

[He tries a bit of the same meat pie, which is absolutely delicious, and -]

It's true...

[He doesn't feel any different, either! Look at him, being a badass, powerful witch!

A little pleased with himself - but honestly more relieved than proud - he happily digs into the food. As long as they're stuck here for the moment, a little picnic isn't so bad!]

[ When Yako’s the one you’re sharing food with, it never tends to last very long, but she’s considerate enough to take Konoe’s own preferences in mind and leave the fruitier selections alone. Without glasses, they’ll have to share the cider-like drink directly from its bottle ; whether Konoe accepts or refuses, that disappears quickly as well, spirited off to the bottomless pit that is Yako’s appetite. Even the enchanted kuim gets consumed along the way, as a way of cleansing her palate before moving on to the sticky business of dessert.

After a while of eating in companionable mostly-silence, it comes down to the last piece being some kind of spiced fruit tart, the glaze of sugar on it promising to be sweet and refreshing. Careful not to get her fingers stickier than necessary, Yako breaks it in half, offering Konoe a piece. ]

Here’s to finding our way out of here, right?

[ And with that, she bites into the tart. Even with her iron stomach, the sudden warmth that fills her is startling, like when she messed up the enchantment on some bread and ended up a sweaty, overheated mess it took an hour in the bathtub to soothe. This feels different, though. She doesn’t want to crawl into a tub of water and cool down. She wants...

Her gaze turns to Konoe and she blinks slowly, like someone struggling to keep their eyes open. ]

Konoe ... [ She was going to say more than that, she’s sure of it, but that ends up being all that she gets out as she reaches over to him impulsively, resting a hand on his shoulder. The contact comes with a shockingly sharp sense of relief. Of course, this was what she wanted, wasn’t it? To be closer. ]

Edited 2019-07-01 20:57 (UTC)

[Konoe may not eat a lot compared to most, but the things Yako brought are indeed a feast, and he eats a fair amount, for him. It helps that it's tasty; it helps, too, that this is a welcome distraction from how they are so miserably lost. But, you know what? Since he clearly made his spell work just now, maybe he can give his homing spell a try! He still hasn't perfected it, but he's clearly doing all right with his magic...]

Yeah!

[He's pretty confident in spite of himself, the food and company - and probably the cider - enough to make him feel good in spite of how he lacks all sense of direction. Digging into his half of the tart, he doesn't even think anything weird about it at first, when he starts feeling awfully warm. It was the same with that cider, and that was fine.

But this is different, he realizes too late. Everything feels warm, and while he does even worse than Yako in identifying that strange, new need for contact, it's easy enough to give in to, when she touches him. Having only a pretty limited body language vocabulary for these things, he uses one of the few options he knows, and nudges her shoulder with his head, lightly purring.]

[ As Konoe presses against her, any lingering worries dissolve and Yako laughs brightly, giddy all over again, and lets a hand come up to rest in his hair, petting it rather more heavily than she normally might. ]

That tickles. [ She tells him, but she doesn’t move away, the sound rumbling through his chest and throat startling another laugh out of her. The hand that isn’t in his hair runs over his shoulder and across his upper back almost distractedly, nails scratching lightly at his back over cloth. They’re liable to fall over if they don’t find a more stable position soon, but it’s not like gravity is high on Yako’s list of priorities right now. ]

So let it tickle.

[That's probably not the nicest thing to say, but he doesn't mean it quite as rudely as it comes out. It feels good, to touch and be touched. Because it feels good, minor inconveniences like tickling should really be accepted as they are.

Closing his eyes and twisting his body a bit to lean into her touch, he presses in harder - and suddenly finds himself without the counter-pressure he'd been counting on, tumbling to the ground. Whether he pushed her over, falling to the ground with her support disappearing, or if he was stupidly mindless of his own balance as he tried to shift closer: on the ground he rolls, coming to a halt against one of the hedges that make up the maze.

Immediately he sits up, disoriented but still keeping his priorities straight. He meant to do that. He definitely meant to do that, and no one will be able to tell otherwise.

Even if the leaves in his hair tell a different story.]

[ Yako doesn't have much of an answer of that besides hummed agreement. The tickling doesn't really bother her, after all, and it's an observation more than anything else, one she's not going to let get in the way of ... whatever this is.

Or she wasn't, anyway, up until Konoe shoves in a little too hard -- like a cat insisting on being pet, she thinks, throwing the whole weight of its body behind it. While he ends up sprawling in the dirt, she ends up pushed over flat on her back, similarly disoriented for a dizzying moment where she wonders where all that warm weight went.

And how she can get it back. She pushes herself to sit up, too, blinking at Konoe across the new distance between them, and finding she has to press a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle at his expense. She'll at least make up for it by beckoning him back to her, patting a hand on her lap. ]

Come here, I'll clean you up.

[Somehow, miraculously, he doesn't seem to have it in him to feel ashamed of what happened, or even mildly embarrassed at how she's laughing at him. The only important thing is that she'll touch him again, and he hurries over to get that attention... on all fours. It may not be how he walks, usually, and he's not any more elegant about it than the average human, but he just can't make himself take the time to stand up when he could be closer to her instead. Wouldn't standing up put him at an awkward height distance from her, anyway? (No, being on all fours isn't much better...)

Rushing over the best he can - which isn't very fast, but at least he wasn't that far away from her in the first place - he stays on his knees, one hand on either side of her on the bench. That's... pretty close to her lap. Not that he's not tempted to just rest his head there, but there's also the urge to stretch up as far as he can from this position, putting his face closer to hers. His tail is raised behind him, lightly moving back and forth.]

[ Honestly? It’s a little fun to be taller than Konoe for once. Yako thinks of saying something to that effect, but it seems a little less urgent than reaching out to run a hand over Konoe’s hair a few more times, brushing the worst of the loose leaves off while she rests her other hand on one of his shoulders.

While Konoe’s hovering between putting his head in her lap and leaning up, Yako’s doing some consideration of her own, a fond smile curling her lips and bunching up her flushed cheeks. It takes her a moment to think of what he reminds her of — a cat expectantly waiting for a treat — but seeing as she doesn’t have any treats on hand, she decides on teasing him instead.

Her hands shift to loosely frame his jaw, and she leans down, aiming to plant a close-mouthed kiss on his head, between his ears. Exactly like you can’t resist kissing a cat being cute at you! ]

[He flattens his ears as she leans down - not in anger or anything, but simply to keep them out of the way. When her lips make contact, he's purring again, so very happy to be touched like this.

But it's not enough to just receive attention. Besides: he really needs to get closer to her!

While he hates interrupting the moment, sooner or later he has to end it if it hasn't already: he finally stands up to get back on the bench with her. Sitting normally is an inconvenience, forcing him to twist his body; he doesn't want to go through that again! Instead, he settles with one leg on either side of the bench so he can lean in nice and close, with far less risk of falling off. He nuzzles at her neck, at her jaw. She smells nice, he thinks, and he's not sure what about her scent he even likes, except that it's hers.]

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