june catch-all; quests and more

[topslug]

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. ]

Comments

[silentsavant]

And Soren drinks as she does. The solution tastes only like liquid sliding over his tongue and down his throat, unobtrusive and silent. It only serves to heighten his awareness of any changes, no taste to distract him from that focus he trains on any mutating aspect of himself. He also trains his eyes upon his partner in this, his bearing calm but with a flicker of anticipation.

She can catch onto those as feelings shifting beneath the surface of his appearance, too, though the calm weighs nothing compared to the anticipation of it. He fears how deeply she might penetrate him, whether it can plunge as far as Micaiah's gift for reading hearts. The mere thought squirms uncomfortably within him, and he tries to push down on any and all intense feelings but they crash like waves, brewing up a storm of everything he tries to repress even though there is no cause to feel it: the suggestion of the harshness and neglect he endured in the past scarring his heart, the pain of transforming into a monster, how he's fought and killed and feels nothing for it, how he burns for someone far away. How he's afraid of her in this moment, afraid of her taking his vulnerabilities and using them against him somehow. His defenses are like walls of ice erected to protect him from an intruder... but even without those, plenty about the young man standing before her is like a barren, frosty climate that should have been fertile with warm experiences others take for granted.

But his feelings meet hers, and his manufactured attempt at calmness leans against hers. They bolster each other, causing his shield to defrost against the bright warmth of the feelings she transmits to him. He continues to lean upon the comfort offered to him, but he's sensitive to it. Like happiness and being liked are tender new concepts to him. His face begins to change as his lips part and a bewildered luster catches his eyes. He doesn't know how to put words to this at all.

...Is he... no, is she? It's so much easier just to focus on this one distinct sensation he notices that wasn't quite there before.

"...Are you... hungry?"

[topslug]

It’s easy for Yako to tell which emotions aren’t her own, if only because she’s so rarely carrying this level of contradiction and conflict within her. Soren carries such a maelstrom inside him that it’s a marvel he hasn’t yet torn himself apart, though he had tried, in a more literal sense, when they first met.

She doesn’t try to analyze each feeling too deeply, acknowledging each one as present and letting it simply pass through her rather than letting herself be swept away in the torrent. These anxieties may mirror some of her own, but they don’t make her who she is, and she focuses on keeping herself steady until Soren finds his own equilibrium. And then, of course, he has to ask that, and a bright, warm flush of sheepishness flashes across their bond, hand coming up to rub the nape of her neck.

“I usually am.” Ritsu commenting on similar stands out in her mind, but the moment of embarrassment passes swiftly, sliding to curiosity instead.

“Does it feel like you thought it would?” Not hunger, of course: she means the bond. His personality is strong, but in a different way than Ritsu’s was, and it’s exciting in an odd way to find herself having to adjust and accommodate that difference.

[silentsavant]

Asking that prompts him to settle his focus inward... or perhaps, outward, in a sense. Really, it's both now, since inward has been married to someone outside of himself. As such, a part of him remains on constant guard, because as much as he trusts Yako above anybody else in this place, he's only just met her, and this is a different sort of window she gets into the complex being that lies beneath the calm and reserved outer layer of his personality than watching him crumble beneath the moons' power afforded. He's being touched in a place scarcely anybody has had access to, so it effects a level of shyness. Or maybe it's just Yako's feelings talking for him... or rather, compounding it.

"It's... Well, yes and no." He straightens up, blushing a little bit himself despite his placid face. "I don't think anything could have prepared me for an experience like this, but now that it's happening, I don't know what else I could have possibly been expecting. I'm still adjusting to it." A pause, before he adds, "...You don't need to be ashamed about that, by the way. Does it feel like I'm judging you?"

No, it doesn't. He is unmoved by her hunger. (She can't be as bad as SOME people he's had the pleasure of working with...)

[topslug]

You just haven't seen her true form yet, Soren...

"It doesn't feel like you are," Yako says, laughing softly. "I just didn't think a Bond would transmit things like that, too."

Even over a temporary one, it seems like people pick that up with far too much ease. And considering they're meant to be weaker than the real thing, that's definitely got Yako a little worried about how much stronger it's going to be when she eventually forms one for real. In any case, she nudges reassurance across the bond -- it's just a little friendly embarrassment, he hasn't caused her any real distress -- before she holds out a hand to him.

"It should feel a bit different if you touch me, too. Do you want to try?" Touch is supposed to ground people in their Bonds, help that cycling of magic and the sense of control over the feral part of them that wants to break loose; it's as important part of this experience as any for Soren to feel that, too.

[silentsavant]

It's like a push-pull, a seesaw of emotional exchange that comes surprisingly naturally, like a language he had been born knowing but could never express. Hadn't he felt this way before with a few select others, those who shared his stamped burden? That doesn't make him any less reserved about sharing himself so intimately. He stares at her extended hand, hesitating as a flustered wave passes over their bond.

"...Yes."

He accepts it in a limp, tentative grip. The dim pang of hunger intensifies. It might be a good thing that he feels her hunger inside him; his appetite has been shot dead these days, and he hasn't even had breakfast this morning because he couldn't bring himself to stomach food even when he knew he should. This might explain why her low-key constant desire for sustenance drives into him so sharply, even though the bond is artificial. Can she feel he hasn't been eating? It would make sense for them to be attuned to each other's biorhythms. Just how potent are these bonds?

It's more than just hunger, though. Soren transmits some pain blooming where his shoulder blades are, a dull throb as though he had been lifting wrong and strained his back. His head throbs, too; a chronic headache. But beyond all these physical needs and ailments, there's the emotional layer, too. Again, his anticipation becomes doused by the reassurance she transmits, but the sensation of that is stronger, making him feel more relaxed than before they held hands. That alone takes up the brunt of his focus. This is the kind of benefit a bond should have, outweighing all the invasive qualities that nettle him. His distant fears of the darkness and the weaknesses of himself being breached lurk in the back of his mind, but Soren has put forth enough mental fortitude to find balance on that particular tightrope he treads upon.

He moves his eyes from their bound hands to her soft brown eyes, which ground him here in the present and the future.

"It felt... the same, only stronger," he observes. "I almost wonder if I even need to explain my feelings to you any longer."

Soren has been celebrated for his trenchant intellect, but his empathy is no slouch, either. That had been more obvious to him before his smarts began to kick in bolstered by the harsh experiences he needed to navigate in his childhood. It only makes sense that his natural empathy endows him with keen sensitivity to his partner's moods. At first he's not sure if it's he who wonders how he'll cope with strength that comes with a real bond or Yako, but he sorts it out pretty well: she's worried about her hunger being detected, and he's concerned with the thought of bearing the burdens of another's feelings so strongly. Then, and especially in the case of possibly bonding with Yako if it comes to that, having to force her to shoulder the tremendous encumbrance of his own as he endures the tribulations Aefenglom has been forcing him through without Ike. Bonding with him seems a detriment from that angle. But she might be hard-pressed to find a changing monster who isn't suffering on some level, removed from home only to warp so hideously.

[topslug]

This isn't the first time Soren's held onto her hand, but the Bond creates an intimacy to the contact that makes her abruptly more aware of him in a way she wasn't before. Surely, it can't be like this all the time -- otherwise, how could family members Bonded together function with any amount of normalcy? -- but it still takes her a moment to adjust, considering the sensations she can feel and whether to ask about them or not. Concern threads into the steadiness she's maintaining, but she does her best to rein it in, to keep it from being intrusive, so it's present without necessarily being overwhelming.

Soren's observation is a welcome distraction, one that makes her lips (and the Bond) quirk slightly with amusement.

"I hope you would be willing to. Being able to feel what you feel doesn't necessarily mean I'll be able to understand why you feel it just like that," she answers, the words coming with the thoughtful certainty that suggests she's put some thought into this question before. "And even if I could, it makes a difference if you make the decision to tell me yourself."

Not that she's trying to hint that he should tell her what's up with the ache she can feel running through him (and she has a reasonable idea of its origins, anyway) but it's probably important to let him know where she stands on that. She places her other hand on top of his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I think communication is even more important when you can feel things like that -- so you don't have any misunderstandings." It's like living in a house without any doors. The lack of conventional privacy means establishing your own rules instead, which can be tricky. Still, that sort of negotiation is a bit beyond what their temporary Bond really needs, so Yako tips her head slightly in playful invitation.

"Well, since we're going to be Bonded for the rest of the day ... what would you like to do next?"

[silentsavant]

Her reply makes absolute sense, and he nods along at the end of it, even though no disagreement makes itself palpable to her. Open communication is the the same important principle for any successful relationship, Bonded or no, and she has a clear, mature understanding of that. When she squeezes his hand, however, there's a palpable squeeze that follows inside his chest, too. It's like an ache, but also a shudder in spite of the warmth that tries to flood in, like sensitive eyes squinting in the light after a life spent navigating dark recesses. Soren is not accustomed to this sort of physical affection and while he wants to make an effort to accept it, he's not sure how. He's aware she's aware of his disequilibrium, so his eyes float down. Does he have to explain that, or is it normal to feel antsy?

Now that they've shifted gears, Soren's body — or in this case, Yako's — has already decided for him what he would like to do. He reclaims his steadily faltering composure away from his addled spell.

"Something tells me you would not be opposed to having breakfast." His gaze sweeps the clock. "Or... lunch, I suppose."

[topslug]

Yako tips her head, considering the idea — and a smile quickly crosses her face as something even better occurs to her.

“I know just the place,” she says, her excitement humming over their shared connection, already turning away to tug him after her. Evidently, whatever she’s thought of was enough to get her to start moving without waiting for his assent, but she won’t leave him in the dark for long about her intentions.

“The Coven’s kitchen is near here,” she explains. “I usually cook here as part of my lessons, so ... why don’t I try making us something to eat?”

And by doing that, she might be able to do something about the ache in Soren’s head and body as well. The prospect cheers her up considerably, though her own realization of Soren’s difficulty adapting to the Bond means she makes an effort to keep herself from overwhelming him with her own emotions.

[silentsavant]

This sudden peal of excitement is decidedly weird to experience like this. Soren rarely gets excited about anything, and never in spiking doses like this. Thus, he follows (read: is half-dragged) along with a nonplussed look on his face, a quick pulse of slight irritation overcoming them as he is forcibly removed from their spot. However, it isn't strong enough to yank away or protest like he would with just about anyone else when he is amenable to Yako's arrangement, though he can't help but wonder how well she can cook. Those jelly doughnuts weren't bad, but in all honesty, he can't be counted on to recall those fine details when so many other sensations were overcoming him... Ah well. He's not terribly picky about his diet, so as long as she doesn't cook like Mist did when she'd been starting out, he probably won't choke on anything, and that's all he could really ask for. His hesitance can scarcely be felt, especially when, alongside it, a glimmer of eagerness to eat her cooking again shines through. Plus, his sensitivity to the moods of others has high impact on his own feelings in a Bond scenario, so her excitement helps to shore up what little he has.

"I have no objections." Okay, hand-holding through the halls is a bit much, now... He politely tries to slip his hand out of her grasp. "How have your lessons been coming along?"

[topslug]

Soren will find it easy enough to slip his hand out of Yako’s, her pace matching his though she continues to lead them confidently. Her head’s buzzing with thoughts, ideas for what to make considered and discarded just as quickly.

“Enchantment is still the easiest for me, but I’m learning a little bit about repairing things with transmutation too. Evocation’s still...” The way she trails off probably speaks for itself, and she clears her throat. “Er, I should have asked first, how familiar are you with the different kinds of magic in Talam?”

[silentsavant]

He'd been asking specifically about her cooking lessons, but he can see how it might have been misinterpreted in a broader sense. Bonding doesn't lend itself to candid mind-reading, at least, and there's comfort in at least that much privacy. It doesn't matter to him enough to correct, since her overall progress is more interesting anyway.

"I've grown familiar with it." He pauses for quick consideration. He'd wanted to say something as he was drifting off in the infirmary with her, but as he'd been steering the conversation in that direction, he'd fallen asleep before he ever reached his main point. The whole fiasco with the moons and the doughnut filling and the crying is embarrassing to think about, but that feeling is but a flash in the pan for Yako to sense as he remembers why he wanted to bring magic up to her. "Were I to translate the magic I was most adept at into the Coven's terms, I would say that my specialty is your current weak point."

A glint of expectation shimmers between them, hinting that Soren has a point he's meaning to reach by saying this.

soren's going to end up getting gifted a fan enchanted to make gusts of wind at this rate...

[topslug]

Yako picks up on that thread of expectation easily, pausing in mid-step to turn to Soren since it seems to merit the full weight of her consideration. Picking through what he's said and what the Bond tells her takes a moment to put together still, the temporary partnership not bringing the ease of understanding a full one might, but...

She gives him a smile as warm as the Bond between them. "Are you offering to help me with my magic?"

Overall, despite her limited knowledge of the subject, she's suspecting that there are some forms of magic she'll simply never fully grasp -- and it's not strictly necessary to. Few witches would be expected to be adept at everything, after all. In that sense, Soren may find his student lacking ... but she can't say she minds the excuse to spend more time with him.

"I'd like that."

how elegant... please do this yako; keep paying tribute to soren

[silentsavant]

Even if it's obvious through her body language, their connection cements how much she means that sentiment. It is unlike Soren to generously offer his time and effort to anyone who isn't Ike or himself, but Yako is no ordinary person unworthy of his attention. In the span of an evening, she shone for him. And like when the darkness of eyelids curtains vision from light, the imprint of her brilliance remains. She saved him from himself when she had the choice to desert him instead, like everyone else in this goddessforsaken city had. Call it a familiar parallel for him.

"I don't ordinarily do this," he begins, lips curving in a mellow smile. "But I ought to pay you back somehow. Besides, I suspect my efforts won't be wasted. Call it a hunch, but I think you have what it takes to excel in your magical studies, should you apply yourself." Eye contact breaks for shy of a second, but he remains focused not on his loss, but what she might be able to gain. "...I may not be able to practice it myself any longer, but I'm no slouch when it comes to cracking the books, either. I'm a quick learner." There's no pride that swells between them in saying so, just confidence in a fact.

[topslug]

"I appreciate the faith in me, but you haven't seen me nearly set fire to someone's robe in class yet," Yako laughs, though it's not a rejection of the idea. "I'll show you some of my notes from Evocation the next time I come by the library."

Though she doesn't know how much she'll really be able to deliver on Soren's expectations, she wouldn't mind trying. Besides that, getting to learn the basics of how it works might be a good thing anyway, for both Soren and whoever he may end up Bonding more permanently with in the future. A monster well-versed in the theory of the magic of this world could provide some helpful guidance to their partner in a number of ways.

She likes the feeling of that confidence, too, swelling in her chest and making her hold her head up just a little bit higher, and right about now is when they'll find themselves at the entrance to the Coven kitchens. Yako peeks inside briefly before she steps through -- you never know what might be flying through the air in a magical kitchen -- and when she sees there's only a couple of other witches around, she leads the way in, waving in greeting and heading for one of the empty counter spaces.

Bowls and pans clink together as she rummages under the sink, talking over her shoulder.

"Have you ever had scallion pancakes before?"

[silentsavant]

Soren doesn't even bother with a greeting of his own; they're all satisfied with just Yako's, anyway, which is fine by him.

"...No, I can't say I have." Unless he's eaten it without knowing, but he can't imagine a single scenario that might have taken place in. He's had dishes with scallions and dishes with pancakes, but the two have never once mingled. Most of his home-cooked meals had been prepared by Oscar or Mist, and neither of them called their dishes scallion pancakes. "But I'll try anything you decide to make." It's a little awkward simply standing around, so he decides he might as well save the both of them some time and make himself useful. "If you can list off the ingredients to me, I can go fetch them."

[topslug]

"It's a pretty simple dish," Yako explains. "The ingredients are just flour, water, some scallions and oil..."

She'll point Soren in the direction of where he can get the dry ingredients, while Yako works on filling a bowl with water and grabbing a cutting board and knife. Once he comes back, she traces a finger on the edge of the bowl, murmuring a quiet spell, and the liquid begins to bubble as it boils near-instantaneously.

"First, we want to mix the hot water with the flour to form a simple dough, keeping it moving so the water gets distributed evenly," she explains. A tap of her finger on a wooden spoon sets it into steady, rotating motions in mid-air, letting Yako have her hands free while she holds the bowl of flour steady and drizzles in the hot water into it a controlled trickle. A stiff dough begins to form in the bowl, which Yako peels out and kneads a few times to work the elasticity through and then tucks it into a bowl and covers it with a towel to rest, one step that she says magic can't afford to skip. Unshockingly, there's a lot of dough.

In the meantime, the scallions get chopped up into tiny slivers, Yako using her hands instead of any more enchanted utensils. She likes working with her hands, making the food and feeling it take shape under her fingers, and she's got a good feeling about this one, especially as she starts pouring her magic into it.

"I'm going to fold the dough over and over into layers with scallions and oil sandwiched in between, so when I fry them up, they'll come out all flaky and tender with a lot of flavor."

[silentsavant]

Soren remains silent through most of her procedure, willing to attend her in whatever further use he could make himself, however slight. He finds himself content simply to watch her work and listen to her describe each step, even when he understands without her needing to. He shares in the satisfaction of her creation, her expectation for success. Could their bond be impacting anything? And whether it's his own hunger or Yako's burning within him he still cannot quite discern, but the sound of flaky, tender flavor causes his stomach to plead lowly.

"I hope you know a spell that can fry them as instantaneously as you can boil water," he quips. "I recall learning that bonding with a Monster helps Witches channel their magic more effectively. Do you mark any differences?"

[topslug]

"I asked the same question, when I was starting out," Yako laughs, with a warmth that makes it sound like a fond memory. Even if it's a joke, or feels like it's meant to be taken as one, she'll answer him pretty directly. "I'll tell you what they let me learn the hard way -- some things are still better when they're allowed to take their own time."

As her hands work the dough briskly, she thinks on his question, concentrates on the feeling of her magic. He'll be able to feel that focus through their Bond, where it was instinctive instead of scrutinized before, the ebb and flow of magic between them as her spells feed into their connection and he cycles back the energy to her.

"It feels easier," she answers, honestly. "Like I don't have to work as hard to pull it out of myself, because someone's already there to give me what I need when I reach for it."

[silentsavant]

"Hmm. I see. There's an obvious benefit there."

For him, it would be to help prevent the nightmare of losing himself to the moons. It seems almost lopsided, like Witches stand to gain more from a Bond than monsters might naturally. At least, that's how it came across in the history books he read, which were all written by humans interested in their pursuing own affairs. But for someone like him who values his mental clarity, he would rather avoid going feral at all costs. That's enough of an asset to him.

Soren's mood is a lot more stable than it's felt in a while, not that he's taking active note of it, and certainly more than it was when they first connected. The obvious boon he grants Yako simply by standing at her side and offering her magical feedback pleases him at a very basic level, even though he gains nothing here save a companion currently using the magic he helps to reinforce make him some food. He, too, focuses on that energy. It's a curiously soothing sensation. Is that normal? Or does it remind him of what he once had, and he misses being able to harness it for himself?

"Are you enchanting these pancakes to do anything in particular?" he asks.

[topslug]

Oops. Caught out, huh? There wasn't really ever any way she was going to hide putting magic into the food, even if she tried to, not with the connection between them, so it doesn't really surprise her when Soren asks, and responds readily.

"Something to help you with your back," she explains, carefully scraping chopped scallions off the knife edge into a bowl. "It's a little sore, right? This should help ease some of the aching."

[silentsavant]

Her answer surprises him, even when, in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. He goes quiet a moment before responding, a little bit humbled by her thoughtfulness and unsure how to react to the sentiment appropriately.

"Yes..." It bears asking. "You can feel my pain, too?" Of course, a sliver of guilt works its way in on that front. It's not his responsibility nor his fault, but regretful if a Bond can share pain. That would definitely be the downside for a Witch Bonding with a transforming Monster such as himself. Or rather, him in general. "Or was that just a natural conclusion based on clues that have been made obvious by me?"

[topslug]

The Bond between them is a tenuous thing, forged only with magic, and it seems to wax and wane with the strength of what it permits through. She mulls his questions over, trying to find the right words to describe it.

"I can tell that it's bothering you, but I'm not any pain myself," Yako assures Soren. Perhaps if the Bond was more intense, it would be a different story, but for the moment at least that much is true. "I also can't tell exactly how much pain you're in, just that it's enough to change how you hold yourself."

She starts to pinch off balls of dough to roll out, scattering the cut scallions over, then folding it, and repeating the process over and over.

"But as you said -- there are other reasons I could infer you might not feel too well, since I've seen your transformations before. It wouldn't be a stretch to think you might still be experiencing the side-effects of transforming ... so it's a little hard to separate out what I'm thinking from what I'm feeling. How does it feel like for you, when I'm using magic?"

[silentsavant]

The same thoughts run through Soren, about how the current weakness of their Bond might amplify if it were made more 'official', though it's a relief she can't feel his pains too strongly. Most of it is a dull ache that throbs in many places, enough to ignore if he's focused on something else.

"Hmm... To put it succinctly, I would say it's a quiet, stabilizing force that I can feel resonating between us. It's similar to how it feels when I harness magic as a mage, but I don't have control of it, and it's less 'charged', less of a powerful rush. It's actually quite soothing."