Second: Double, double toil and trouble

[colchismagecraft]

WHO: Caster and OPEN
WHAT: Learning how to use the network, failing at potion brewing and house hunting/shop browsing/working at the library in town
WHEN: Throughout January
WHERE: Various locations
WARNINGS: Setting things on fire, will update if need be!


1) Network, un: Caster

[Using the network was not Caster's forte by any means. She'd dismissed using technology such as mobile phones back home, leaving it to her Master and the monks at the temple to manage - why would a Magus from the Age of Gods have need for such things, after all? But, as an important tool to communicate in this world, however, she'd finally started trying to get a better handle on it.

First, some text!]

i trust this is functioning

yes it looks like it is

good

[And then her face - or what can be seen of it beneath the hood - along with the tip of a gloved thumb partially obscuring the camera could be seen over the video for just a moment. Right up until her skeletal dragon familiar gets it in its teeth and drags it off to play with it! Caster could be heard in the background giving a sigh of exasperation.]

You know that's not a toy. Bring it back.



2) At the Newcomer Hotel

[Potion brewing was something she'd carried out a fair bit in the past, so even with...less than ideal supplies, Caster thought that replicating her old knowledge here would be a relatively straightforward process.

However, it had failed to occur to her that, just like with her old magic, potions worked 'differently' here.

And so it was that there was a rather unpleasant smell of burning wafting down the hall of the newcomer's hotel, and a cloud of black smoke making its way out the window. Caster was cursing rather loudly as she dumped the charred mess that was probably supposed to be some sort of potion into the sink.

Hopefully just turning the taps on would cool this down...right?]



3) Out and About

[After the mess she'd caused at her current accommodation, Caster had cleared it up the best she could and headed out into town. She'd need to find somewhere else to stay at this rate, that was almost certain to get her thrown out... Well, for the time being, she could at least window shop to take her mind off things.

Caster found herself in and around town a fair bit during the month, looking for supplies, accommodation, or giving her familiar the chance to run around and hopefully not cause too much hassle for her in the meantime. Otherwise, she could often be found travelling to the outskirts to practice her magic.

She had at least been able to find a job at the library, It was pleasant, and for the most part, quiet. It gave her easy access to research material as well, and most importantly, it gave her some access to funds, even if most of that would probably be spent on alternative accommodation arrangements this month.]



X) Wildcard!

[ooc: As always, feel free to ping me if nothing strikes your fancy and we can plot!]

Comments

2

[troubadamsel]

What on earth is going on now?!

[ On top of everything else the stress of being in this new world provides, now there's smoke down the hall! Is it a fire?! Maribelle sprints towards the source, now afraid for whoever is inside. ]

Is someone there? Are you hurt?! Hang on, I'm coming!

[colchismagecraft]

[Perhaps to alarm Maribelle even more, as soon as Caster turns on the tap in her sink, there is a bang as the hot burning ritual components meet cold tap water and shatter.

She stepped back - focusing on bringing up her hand to shield her face rather than the voice at the door for a moment. Thankfully, she seemed to get away with singed fingers and a couple of pieces of glass embedding themselves in her hand.]

Damn it all...!

[If Maribelle did break her way in, she'd actually see Caster without the hood covering her face - she'd left her cloak hung up near the door, as she hadn't been expecting visitors today.]

[troubadamsel]

[ Did she just hear a miniature explosion?! She forces the door open, and runs toward the poor woman! ]

Hurry! I'll get you out of here!

[ If only her blasted tomes would work in this wretched world! For now, she'll just have to settle for grabbing Caster by the arm and trying to pull her out of the room before the (supposed) fire burns them alive! ]

Are you all right?!

[colchismagecraft]

[Before Caster could react, she found herself being grabbed by this other woman. Whatever it was that had been dunked in the sink smelt awful, even if it wasn't about to set the room alight - explosion aside, the water was doing it's job.

She certainly hadn't expected anyone to help her, and the concern definitely took her off-guard.]

Y-yes. I'm fine-

[Well, aside from the stinging pain in her hand and the fact her eyes were watering from the smell.

Caster - in a prime example of what not to do in a fire situation - broke away from the other woman a moment to grab a mage's staff and a sheep's fleece of beautiful golden wool from where they were stashed by the door. It was only then she let herself be dragged out into the hall.

Those items were far too precious to lose.]

[troubadamsel]

What are you - ?!

[ The staff she could somewhat understand, being a mage of sorts herself, but why is this woman risking her life for pretty wool?! Annoyed, she grans and drags harder until they're down the hall, away from the smoke. ]

I sincerely doubt you're fine, considering you nearly got yourself killed over wool! For goodness sakes!

[colchismagecraft]

[Hey, at least the fleece was large enough to act as a warm blanket in the cold winter weather weather? But judging from Caster's irritable scowl at the comment and the way she was holding it in her arms and carefully checking it for damage as they raced into the hall, there was probably more to it than that.]

...It's not just 'wool'. I'd never let it burn.

Way to be grateful to someone saving your skin, Caster. Give her a moment and she might remember to say 'thank you'.

For now though, from her quick breathing and defensive body-language, it was clear the explosion had startled her. She took a moment to just stare at the smoke wafting it's way out her door now they were out of immediate danger, before finally glancing to her injured hand, as if only just realising it hurt.]

That- wasn't supposed to happen-

[troubadamsel]

[ Since an eyeroll won't help anyone in this situation, she'll resist the urge... difficult as that may be. ]

Quite obvious. If you did intend that for to happen, I'd have many more questions about your mental state... but let's focus on what we can intend to happen, shall we?

[ With that, she takes Caster's hand to carefully inspect the damage. ]

... My healing magic can get to work on the burn, but the glass will be trickier... last thing we need is for your skin to heal over the glass.

[colchismagecraft]

[An eyeroll would be entirely deserved, but not particularly appreciated.]

Hmph...I'd appreciate it.

[She definitely didn't appreciate the stranger's snark, but now was definitely the time to not complain and let her help.

As for the comment about the glass: ]

...What do you suggest? I have a dagger I could try and dig it out with.

[troubadamsel]

Goodness - we don't need a bigger wound! I have sewing needles in my room to pluck them out. I'm just saying it will take some time!

[ First things first, let's treat those burns. She holds her hand out, and a soft, white light begins to emerge. For all of Maribelle's sass, the pure light is attuned to her empathy, she genuinely does want to help.

... Also, she was a healer in her world, so this is kinda old hat to her. ]

1. Un: Joshua

[secondedenic]

[It's taken some practice to learn to use the smartphone, but what does Joshua have if not time right now? And well, he supposes he will have to force himself to become accustomed to interacting with others here.

He has no family or loved ones to fall back onto.

So after a few minutes, he decides to send an experimental text in response.]

Did you manage to retrieve it from your-[skeleton? unholy abomination?]-companion?

[colchismagecraft]

[Hey, he's already got a handle on punctuation! She's...still working on that one.

It takes a few minutes of bickering with her familiar before Caster retrieves it, at which point she sees she has a message.]

thankfully yes

and undamaged save for some scratching by the looks of it

these devices are sturdier than i was expecting.

[secondedenic]

[He practiced because he can hear his brother's nagging in the back of his head. After all this time.]

So it would seem. I did drop mind a few times and it managed to survive.

Does your friend engage in such mischief?

[colchismagecraft]

[That would certainly help. Part of her still saw this technology as not worth her notice.]

yes

the mentality is more like that of an excitable puppy than a dragon

has your familiar caused you any similar problems

[A bit more fiddling.]

/

[No, not quite...]

?

[There we go, she found the question mark!]

[secondedenic]

[Oh the mysterious question mark. It took him time to understand how to do that too.]

Mine is a small horse and no, for the most part he has not.

He is a bit haughty though. He has to have his way sometimes and if I am asleep, he puts his hooves up on the bed.

So really, not that horse like sadly.

[He feels betrayed.]

[colchismagecraft]

[She could practically feel the disappointment in his words as he typed that.]

it does seem a little strange how their personalities are not entirely keeping with their appearances like that

i doubt we are the only ones with this problem

[secondedenic]

[If a horse can't be a horse than what's the point?]

I would wonder if there was any possibility of training them, but at the same time, I suspect one should approach with caution.

They might be offended otherwise.

[colchismagecraft]

i wonder about that

have you tried yet?

mine did seem to sulk when i criticised it previously

2

[peacewithouttyranny]

[Smoke in the hall isn't at all normal. Is there a fire? Worried for that possibility, he's able to track down the source of where the smoke is coming from, and his worse fear has become reality. There's someone still in the room.]

Are you hurt in there? I'm coming in.

[Caster, if she's not too panicked to realize, might recognize who the voice belongs to behind the door. There is no time for him to stand around and wait for a response. Feeling a tiny bit bad for this, Soundwave decides to break in through the door. And being a person made entirely of metal, he's able to easily go through the door. Sorry about the broken door. But that's something to worry about later.]

[colchismagecraft]

[Just as Soundwave broke open the door, the cold water hitting the burning ritual components in her sink caused them to burst, sending out a shock of shattering glass.

Although Caster brought up her hands to shield her face, she still ended up with a couple of burning hot pieces embedding themselves in her hand. The spray of hot liquid didn't help either.

Before she could so much as swear from shock, she recognised the figure breaking his way in - it was hard not to, he was very distinctive.]

Soundwave-

[Caster hadn't been expecting visitors today, so she wasn't wearing her usual cloak - and so, he'd be able to get an actual look at her face, and her elf-like ears. For one who spent so much time concealing her appearance, she certainly wasn't unattractive.]

[peacewithouttyranny]

[He sees a figure of a person and walks forward, thinking for a second that it was someone he doesn't know, until he heard her voice.]

Caster?

[The voice is familiar enough for him to register it's her, but this is the first he's seen her face. And she is genuinely beautiful. Because of his time at Lunatia, he's able to easily make notes on people's attractiveness nowadays. Though he quickly shakes his head from such thoughts and then notices the burns on her hands. This isn't the time nor place to be awestruck by her appearance.]

Caster, you're hurt. Come, let's get you out of here. [He isn't as affected by the smoke, fortunately, but Caster might, so he's going to drag her out of here. If her important items are left lying around in the room, he'll grab them on the way out, knowing how precious they are to her.]

[colchismagecraft]

[She didn't need asking twice. Caster grabbed the dagger and pouch she kept near her - but the Golden Fleece and her staff and cloak were resting nearer the doorway. It looked like she would have stopped to grab them herself, but Soundwave beat her to it.

That- that made her breathe a sigh of relief. There was no way she'd let those precious items from her home be destroyed in the fire.

She put her free hand over her mouth to protect herself from breathing the smoke in as she followed him out into the hallway.]

That wasn't- it wasn't supposed to happen like that-

[The adrenaline was still running high right now, and her eyes were watery from the smoke. She'd remember to thank him once the shock had run its course.]

[peacewithouttyranny]

[If Soundwave hadn't known or seen just how precious those items were to Caster back on that carriage ride, it was a very high likelihood that he wouldn't even bother with grabbing them. Lucky for her that he cares, also.]

I would be surprised if that was supposed to happen.

[All that aside, he's just glad that they're in the hallway now and that she comes out relatively unharmed, not as bad as it could've been. He'll still keep close to her, hands gently clutching onto her as they distance themselves from the burning room.]

Let's find you a healer to tend to your injuries. I can't help you with my own magic, unfortunately. [Kinetic magic isn't going to help her with those unpleasant burns and shards on her hands.] At this point, I think the staff should already be alerted by the smoke and coming up this way.

[colchismagecraft]

[Yes...definitely lucky that he saw the value in her precious things and chose to help her, rather than use them to manipulate her or abandon them to burn.

Now they're in the hallway and the shock started to wear away, she began to register that he had his hand on her to guide her- and ever the touchy woman, Caster tried to shrug it off her once they were safely out the way of the smoke.

It wasn't that she wasn't grateful, but she was wary of letting people get that close.]

...thank you.

[Just glancing back to the smoke.]

Hmph...we're not going to be able to hide the evidence at this point, are we?

[peacewithouttyranny]

[If this Soundwave was from a few years ago, he would file those as pieces of information to used against her, should there ever be an opportunity. But that's not the kind of Decepticon he strived to be and it is a past he wants to put behind. He's changed, and he intends to show it, even around people who won't ever know his history.

As he was just guiding her to safety, so when they are out of the way of the smoke, he lets go of his grips on her when she tried shrugging them off and puts a little distance between them to not intrude on her personal bubble. At least he got his thanks.]

With the smoke seeping into the hallway? I doubt it... At least you made it out alive.

[colchismagecraft]

Yes...and mostly unharmed, thankfully.

[She glanced down to her hands, settling down a little once he'd given her some distance.]

...To think...even potion brewing works differently here...this- this is so frustrating.