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

[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."