![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparkstrikes) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
isleofavalon2021-04-02 12:47 pm
open ⚡ step into the rainbow
⚔️️ WHAT: April catch-all, quests and stuff
🕒 WHEN: When the threads happen
🗺️ WHERE: Where the threads happen
⚠️ WARNINGS: N/A
THE LIBRYRINTH (try typing that five times fast)
[This may be Lightning's first time descending through the Libryrinth, but this isn't her first rodeo. She's had to deal with all sorts of head scratching puzzles that served no other purpose than to slow her down, but it's thanks to the efforts of the previous group that they are able to explore further into the library. She'd heard some of the stories on the way down, like how it involved a maze, and how they weren't able to find a way past the monsters dwelling inside, but with more experience and more people, it should prove to be much more of a breeze.
Right?
Down into the sewers she goes, sticking close to whoever has come down with her as they pass the iron doors. Empty, empty, empty... She wonders if this is where the so-called monsters were kept, and why they became so aggressive. Whoever owns this place clearly has no mercy for whatever is being held beneath the library.
There's a splash as her feet step into a small puddle, and Lightning stops, feeling something brush up against her leg. With you being the only other person with her, she turns, the wrinkles in her frown only made deeper in the shadows.]
Hey. Back off a little.
[ ... Except she's not even remotely close enough for there to have been that sort of contact.]
SALACIOUS SAILORS
[How Lightning came across this job is anyone's guess—whether it was via the dark web or word of mouth—but after hearing the prize money for kidnapping this stupid pirate captain? It didn't take much (nothing at all, really) to convince her to go after him. Even the 500,000G for kidnapping him from the party would be enough for her to make a decent living around here, someplace small and quiet, exactly how she prefers it.
Of course, hindsight is 20/20.
What she didn't expect when she picked up the job is to be surrounded by drunken pirates in a tiny club. She really should have known better... and if it weren't for the need to be completely inconspicuous and not draw attention to herself, she would have smashed her tankard over their heads. Alas, such is not the case here and she has to keep as low a profile as possible, which is tough when you're (one of?) the only women in the club.
Pirates are bumping into her left and right, and some get a little too close for comfort when they spot her pink waves under the sailor hat, leaning into her with their breaths reeking of booze, so drunk that they're almost spilling their beer all over her. This costume is ridiculous enough, she doesn't need it to smell like terrible, cheap beer on top of it.
She's in a particularly tight spot when three pirates join her at her corner table in the back, all of them too tall and large to allow her any room to leave, and they're speaking in slurred words that she can hardly understand and won't listen to. When she tries to slide out, one will be there to stop her... and if no one comes to help get her out of this bind quick, there's going to be a bar fight that will compromise the entire mission... for her and anyone else who may also be searching for Enrico Ravenbird.
So... help a girl out?? For that 500,000G?]
DOPPELGANGER
[It's been one hell of a day. First, Lightning has to try and blow some vines apart to rescue someone from them, then she almost gets caught in them herself, and now? This is just the spiteful cherry on top at this point.
She knew she was being watched and followed from the moment she arrived back inside Camelot's city limits. There was that pricking feeling along the back of her neck, and that sense of dread in the pit of her stomach, but she kept moving, pretending like nothing was wrong in the hopes that whoever this was, they'd mess up and she'd have the opportunity to seize the upper hand.
But that opportunity never came.
Instead, what did come was a swift kick from above, and she manages to catch it by only a second. Their footsteps were quiet, but it was the sound of magic that gave them away, and the sound of wind resistance as they barreled down from the sky. She hardly has the chance to sneak in a glimpse before she's attacked again, and again, and again. It feels oddly familiar, this fighting style—they move in unison: when one throws a punch with the left, the other blocks with the right. It's not until she sees the pink head of hair that she falters.]
Serah...?
[It can't—BOOM. The kick to Lightning's stomach is hard, and it sends her flying, reeling back into an innocent passerby. There was a blast of magic that came with it, bursts of sparks blinding her before she can get a good look at the face. Sorry, unless you can step out of the way fast enough, you're about to get body slammed!]
TRAINING GROUNDS
[Lightning has spent enough time at the training grounds since her arrival that she's become known among many of the regular knights who come and go... mostly as the woman who prefers to train alone with the "gun sword". Some have asked for the honour of a duel, after the show she and Cloud had put on a month ago, but she's had to turn each and every one of them down. Most times, it's because their fighting styles wouldn't mesh, but this time, she has another reason:
She hasn't brought her sword with her. Lightning is hardly the type to leave it behind by choice, but she doesn't need it for what she's training for today... she hopes.
Rather than swinging her sword on the mats, practicing her movements, she's on a bench hunched over a book. A rare sight indeed. Her lips move as she scans over the words on the page, and then she pauses every now and then to attempt a spell—hand out in front of her, fingers spread, and sometimes, she's only mildly successful, drawing a spark and nothing more, and other times...]
Shit. Heads up!
[Lightning loses control of what is supposed to be a simple healing spell, and it explodes in all directions, sending magic flying in a small radius around her. Anyone who happens to be near is at risk of being hit, but worry not—it's only a healing spell gone sideways!
Maybe.]
WILDCARD
None of these strike your fancy? Wanna drag her to a different quest? Feel free to leave something else below and I will roll with it, or if you'd like to plot something out, you can reach me via PM or atcrystariums. I'm happy to write closed starters, too!
no subject
[Would have been more fitting to have elemental magic. Yeah.]
What d'you say? Wanna help out?
[She's still eyeing that ring, and even wanders a step or two closer. She isn't looking for anything more than a couple of spells, but... maybe it will work better than just sitting around trying to make actions out of words on a page.]
no subject
[Rolling her shoulder and peeling off her jacket, Claire steps out towards the ring.]
I'm happy to help. what did you have in mind, Lightning?
[What a strange name!]
no subject
[She hopes. Claire seemed to have a pretty good grasp on her magic, so hopefully what she has in mind wouldn't be asking for something out of her reach.]
A few easy spells thrown my way. See if I can get a shield up.
no subject
[Claire takes a step back and holds up her hand.]
It'll give me a chance to practice a few things too. Are you ready?
no subject
[She takes on a defensive stance, feet shoulder width apart and fists raised to block any magic that might get through, which might be a lot, but that's fine. She's prepared for it.
Lightning tries to recall Claire's advice in her head. Breathing in, gathering the energy, and then breathing out. She takes it slow, focusing on her heartbeat and the tingling in her fingertips when they start to flicker with magic.]
no subject
[Claire gathers in energy too, and flicks her wrist. An inky lance of shadow darts out from her fingertips, aiming for Lightning's midsection. If she misses the block, it won't be too bad. Just a sting, like being bitten by a mosquito.]
no subject
Her own spell bursts and transforms into nothing, dissolving into thin air, before she stretches her fingers and neck in preparation for another one. Her frustration is clear, but her stubbornness is clearer.]
You can hit me harder than that. It's fine.
no subject
[She'd rather not hit too hard. Just make a sting, an attempt at learning to modulate her own magic, but if Lightning wants hardball...
The second shot from Claire's fingertips is another ink-dagger, though this one will do more than a mosquito sting if missed. More like a wasp's sting. Something memorable.]
no subject
Up goes a shield! It's small, but big enough to block the dagger-sized magic that's coming at her. It does, however, shatter on contact and only some of the magic gets through, hitting her on the arm. She can feel the sting more this time, and while she does recoil for a moment with more surprise than pain, she's smiling underneath her gritting teeth.]
I think I did it...? Something happened...
no subject
[And that, well, that's foundational and core.]
How's the arm? I tried to make it sting more, but not...you know...too much more.
no subject
That spell had some bite... but nothing I can't handle.
[There's a mark where the spell nicked her, like a small burn. She can feel it stinging still, but she doesn't mind so much. It got her magic out, which was the goal of the exercise, so it did what it was supposed to! Now the real question is... can she heal the wound?
Lightning brings a hand up to the burn and closes her eyes, trying to focus on the sensation on her skin. There's a moment of warmth that dissipates as quickly as it had come, and she sighs.]
Guess that doesn't work the same way.
no subject
[Claire walks over, holding out her hand towards the burn. Her other hand extends towards a training dummy, and shadows writhe out of her palm to brush against the injury.
It vanishes suddenly, with a cold shock, and an identical mark appears on the dummy.]
Pain transference. Something I've been practicing with. Can't do anything big, but...some things work.
no subject
She blinks at Claire with wide, round eyes.]
What kind of magic was that?
no subject
[It's a pretty simple practice, really. She does hexes and jinxes, and this is like that, but applied to the body.
She got the idea from a comic book, honestly.]
Bother you?