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]

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."