April Catchall

[vrepit_no]

WHO: Shiro and anyone! OTA
WHAT: Quests, magic, school, flooding, salt cave
WHEN: Throughout April, but especially the first two weeks
WHERE: Newbie Inn, common area, Red Springs, hilly area
WARNINGS: mild illness, bees, spiders, mild physical injury


Practicing magic in the rain
There is nothing quite like seeing a six-foot-four man built like a brick wall walking around happily in a fuzzy duck poncho with a ball cap brim for a beak. It is maybe not as shocking to see that he's trying out water-based elemental magic. Of course, it's rather difficult to tell if he summoned that particular bevy of raindrops or if that was purely natural precipitation. "Hm. What do you think, Shinryu? More flowing motions, or…?"

A small, grumpy blue snoot pokes out of the neck of the poncho. "I am a dragon of the wind, thank you very much, not a raincloud. How should I know?"

Shiro sighs and looks up, brightening again when he sees someone. "Hey! Do you have a minute? I'd love to run a theory by you."

Helping people move to upper floors
When the flooding started in the lower rooms of the inn, Shiro didn't waste time in stepping in. He set about organizing some flying familiars to make a chain down to the beach and transport bags of sand, small but still helpful, back to the inn. At first, he can be found in the entryway, carefully constructing a tiny sandbag wall, which is at least keeping an inch or two of water out at the moment. "Hey, do you have a second to help? This would go a lot faster with more people."

When the sandbag barrier is as high as he can get it without it falling or being too tall for people to step over, he turns to those who are already in the building. "Do you need some help? I only have one free hand, but I'm decently strong. Where are you headed?"

The rest of the day he's here, or there, or over there, getting loaded up with boxes or small furnishings and carrying them to higher floors. Of course, that makes it easier to get stuck on the stairs where it's too narrow to have him, a nightstand, and another person pass one another. "Whoop, excuse me, ah…"

Quest 1: Bees
…Shiro feels silly crouched behind some brush doing reconnaissance on a hive of bees, but here he is. And there they are, all over the springs. The bold black and white pattern of his armor isn't exactly inconspicuous if you're not at the springs already. "I think it would work best if we could figure out a way to waft smoke into the area and try to calm them down, assuming that works with giant bees," he murmurs to the person next to him. "Got any ideas?"

Quest 2: Spiders
"What about capturing one?" Shiro shouts, dodging spiders and narrowly avoiding webs. The ambush had not exactly gone to plan. "Would capturing one and bringing it back count?"

School
As much as he had steeled himself to be the oldest kid in class, Shiro has been pleasantly surprised at the wide range of ages represented here. ...and the wide range of seating sizes, because he definitely would be wholly uncomfortable if he tried to sit at a regular desk at this point. Coming out of history class, he hums to himself, "This is really different from the Arthurian legends they taught in high school… But I suppose that could be another, another universe caught in stasis."

Magic 101 was just as interesting, even if he did have worksheets and a journal as homework. The practice portion of class had teams of three - two offensive types, and a healing student. "No, it's okay! It's okay," he says gently and cheerfully from the floor by the wall where the opposing student had knocked him. "Really, it's not that bad. I've had a lot worse. But there should be bruises to practice on now!"

Salt cave quiet
As busy as he is, this many people can get a little overwhelming. So Shiro retreats to this rumored salt cave. It's quieter here. Calmer. He finds a place where there's some sort of magic-warmed rock campfire type thing and settles himself crosslegged in the sand. He's tried meditation in the past, and back on Earth it worked. Space was… more complicated. But it's worth a try here. He lays his hand in his lap, sits up straight, and closes his eyes. Overhead the twinkling stars spell out "OVERWHELMED" and "CHILLY".

Catching a cold
There is a price to pay. There is always a price to pay. He was too busy enjoying the fact that it was raining water and not sulfuric acid to do things like pay attention to how many people were sniffling or sneezing around him. And now what's left of his sinuses are aching, and he's starting to snuffle. But he has work to do! People to help! Errands to run! He wants to check on the terms and conditions of his bank account, and see if there's a savings option. He wants to check what the housing market is like. He wants to find ou-- "wah. ah! AH-CHOO!"

His little dragon familiar stops dead midflight and whips back around. "You are getting sick!" he pronounces, loudly and indignantly. "You are getting sick and you didn't tell me!"

"I'm fine. I've had so much worse. C'mon - I want to get to the bank before it closes. Or is it the treasury…?"

"It's the-- now wait just a second! Don't change the subject!"

Please save him from the world's most chiding familiar.

Wildcard!
If there isn't something here, make something up! I'm always up for shenanigans.

Comments

Beeeeeees - shrinky dink time

[tempredmental]

Keith stared at the bees, his normal half-pout, half-glare of concentration firmly planted on his features. Like Shiro, he was crouched behind the bushes, watching them. Also like Shiro, he was wearing his very 'uncamouflaged' Paladin armor. However, unlike Shiro, he was thinking that might have been the wrong choice, and maybe he should have worn his Blade suit.

Either way, they were there now, and they were watching the bees, and Keith shifted his eyes to look Shiro's way in response to the question. The angry pout changed to a curious look of mild confusion.

"That smoke stuff actually works?" He always had thought it had just been for show when they did it on TV. "I mean..." Now that he'd been getting better with his own elemental magic... he created a tiny flame in the palm of his hand. "I've got a way to make smoke."

[vrepit_no]

Shiro flashes him a proud grin. "Great! Smoke does actually help with terran bees, so it's worth a try. Green wood smokes, dry wood burns. Let's find some small saplings."

He backs away from the bushes and deeper into the wood.

[tempredmental]

Keith nodded and backed away as well, keeping low as he followed Shiro off into the woods.

It wasn't hard to find a couple of saplings in a thick forest like this, either. And, with them small enough, he didn't have to use one of his limited charges on his dagger to turn it into a sword for cutting one down, either.

"Looks like there's some new growth over there we can use..." He said, pointing out a grouping of small trees at the edge of a clearing. Now that they were far enough off from where the bees were, he wasn't whispering anymore, and had stood up the rest of the way to his full height in order to better look for what they needed.

[vrepit_no]

"Good. If we turn them into a pair of torches, and work with the wind, we ought to be able to calm them down enough that we can move them."

He gets to work breaking off small green limbs and thin trunks, piling them up so that they can be turned into tools.

"I really hope there isn't some ritual we're supposed to be doing. Or a fae to appease. You get the feeling this is too simple?"

[tempredmental]

"Heh... yeah." Keith couldn't disagree. "It's like... everything usually has something more involved." And not just tasks to be done in Avalon, either. That was just their lives in general. If it was too easy, then it was too easy, and there was always a catch. Keith could feel his own nerves on edge, waiting for the real problem to kick in.

After cutting several branches and vines, he went digging through the underbrush to find two dead but sturdy branches to use as the handles for the torches. If they soaked them for a few minutes, they wouldn't outright burn, and would just smoke along with the new growth they were using for the main kindling.

"Here... we can use these as handles." With a small spell, Keith was able to generate enough water to get those branches safely damp so they wouldn't get burned. Considering his start with the Red Lion, it probably looked weird for him to be using water...

catching a cold

[wantsnudes]

Yusuke was on his way back from school, his white kitsune familiar in tow, when he spots a familiar face arguing with their own familiar. He's not trying to eavesdrop as such, but he can't help but overhear with how loud the two are being...

"Shiro-san?" he comes to a standstill, eyeing him in concern. "If you're ill, this is certainly no time to push yourself. Shall we return to the inn?"

Re: catching a cold

[vrepit_no]

Shiro startles slightly, water sheeting off his ridiculous duckie bill. "Yusuke! I'm fine, really! Shinryu is mistaking a few sneezes for the flu."

The small lung dragon ripples in the air, thoroughly unimpressed. "...Your nose is running."

Guilt flashes across Shiro's face and he digs a handkerchief out of his pocket to take care of that.

[wantsnudes]

Yusuke has the benefit of an umbrella, his own familiar sticking close to his heels, and looks equally unimpressed as Shinryu.

"Unless it is an emergency, I see no reason to be so stubborn. If you rest now, you can take care of whatever business you need to tomorrow."

[vrepit_no]

Shiro sighs and puts his hand on his hip. "There's a lot to be done, and if there's nothing really wrong, I don't see a point in delaying. You never know how much time you have."

Spider dudes, spider dudes

[morganknight]

"Sure, why wouldn't it?"

Morgan, for his part, wasn't moving anything more than his arms, since he was knocking down or brushing aside webs with fluid gestures that matches his kinesis magic. "Unlimited source of venom right there... I could try to pin it but if I stop protecting myself right now, I'll be in a sticky situation..."

Smackin all the little spider dudes

[vrepit_no]

Shiro dives behind a rock just large enough to shelter him from a spray of venom and the web shot close behind. Protect, protect, how to-- Hang on. He lifts his left gauntlet to his nose and starts tapping buttons with it. Stylus. He's got to ask if these things react to stylus'. If he can just get to the right submenu, then.... Yes!

A shield of pale blue energy springs from his gauntlet and he grins.

"Shield coming in to your six!" A quick glance over the rock, a punch to the spider mandibles, and he dashes for Morgan, sliding in to shield the both of them from this direction at least.

"How do you want to do this?"

[morganknight]

"Wait, how are you doing that?"

Asking the important questions. Primarily because his own artifacts from home didn't work, and most particularly, didn't work in ways that would have been ridiculously helpful in this situation, in this world, and in life in general.

This position made things a lot easier on both of them, though, since between that shield and Morgan's kinesis they could keep those webs off of them readily enough.

[vrepit_no]

"Technology," Shiro growls back, focusing on keeping the spiders off their backs. "On your left!" He kicks out at a spider scuttling with alarming speed straight at him and boots it back into another one, bowling them out of the way for a bit while they untangle themselves.

Magic practice

[worldsokayestdad]

Most people would say that a rainy day like this wasn't the best time to practice fire magic, but that's exactly what Kratos is doing. If you can maintain a flame in the rain, you can maintain a flame anywhere, ok. He also apparently thinks he's too cool for raincoats or ponchos, and upon turning to see this huge man in a ducky poncho, he has officially decided that he doesn't regret coming out here and getting soaked.

He'll just. Not comment on that. He stops channeling the flame he'd been maintaining and turns his attention to duck man over here, crossing his arms and trying not to think too hard about all that duck.

"I can spare a moment."

Re: Magic practice

[vrepit_no]

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Shiro smiles. "I couldn't help noticing that you seem to really have a much better handle on your elemental magic than I have. I've been trying to work out the best way to work with water. Do you think the movements used matter, or is it purely a mental thing?"

He does not seem to be self-conscious at all.

[worldsokayestdad]

You know what, you wear the hell out of that ducky poncho. Live your best life.

"Hm. I'm afraid I don't have a definitive answer for you regarding the magic here, but I certainly think that it's possible that a more physical approach could assist with your spell casting. In my experience, at least with the magic I used back home, specific movements weren't usually necessary in order to preform a spell. However, for more powerful magic, it did help to have an object of some sort to more or less focus that energy through."

[vrepit_no]

"Hm. Like a crystal or something? Or a staff?" He asks thoughtfully. He's played video games before, he knows how wizards are supposed to work in movies, but since their powers were essentially The Power of Plot, he never really considered it seriously in connection with this. "Kind of a channeling effect to organize and direct the energy."

Practicing magic in the rain

[lunarchain]

[ Her own hat sufficed as a rain catcher. So the poncho gifted to her - as gaudy as it looked. Completely was discarded, and being wet was something she were arguably use to readily. Rather then wear a poncho, she walked about in her normal clothing. Unfettered by the rain. ] Hm?

[ Mona had paused, a hand pressed firmly upon her waist as she gave the other a curious and cocky look. ] What ever would you mean to ask me? [ Unfortunately, this was merely how she spoke. Her words held a tone as if someone who felt they were better than others. Though deeply, this was not truly how she felt. Merely just how she spoke. The Lunar moth snug itself beneath her hat. Attempting to hide from the rain and looking as if it were a living hair piece resting beside her ear. ]

Re: Practicing magic in the rain

[vrepit_no]

[Oo. She's a little more formal than he'd anticipated. That's alright, he can handle that. He gives her a warm smile and a nod that could be read as a small bow if one were expecting that sort of thing.]

Ma'am. Sorry for interrupting, but would you mind giving me your opinion? In order to work with water magic, should I be using more flowing motions? Or do you think that wouldn't matter much?

[lunarchain]

[ Mona can't help but feel HONORED, to have gotten a bow out of him. The woman finds herself puffing out her chest in pride. Whatever the reason he had done this, made every bit of sense when the other spoke. ]

Oh? It seems even the stars are at work around us upon the world at hand. Of all people to come ask, you've asked a master of Hydromancy of my world - and although water magic works differently here. It seems, as it were - to flow naturally from my old practice here.

[ Her hand rises, digits coiling inward and summoning forth water in a sigil like circle. Although she were still learning, it seems the elemental magic of this world. Responded to her thusly how it would, when she were in Teyvat. ]

In order to harness the power of ones magic, are you aware of the properties of water? Or of the world in itself? It helps to have knowledge of ones own worlds 'magic.' Though in my realm, we had Visions bequeath to us by the gods. Allowing for the chosen, to harness the elements thusly. I took that into consideration when I came here, and it seems rather easy to control so long as I keep in mind my old worlds abilities.

[vrepit_no]

[Shiro's brow furrows as he works through what she's saying. Does he know the properties of water?]

Ah, well, I don't think I have a vision in the way that you're using the term. [whatever that is.] But I know the elements involved in water, how it flows, at what point it becomes solid, liquid, and gas... is that what you mean? I'm still reading up on this particular world and how magic operates here.

Magic Practice!

[tantailizing]

No, the conditions were not ideal for his magic and practicing it, but Zidane's not about to be slowed down by a little rain. So there's plenty of irony in the sight of a tailed guy wearing a monkey poncho with a familiar best described as a hamster with wings attempting to slow down small rocks as said familiar throws them into the air. There's been a number of attempts, pauses for the rocks to be retrieved, and repeating.

"Hrm... I feel like we should go more drastic." That only earns him a rock bouncing off his head. "Hey...!"

Rubbing the spot, he turns his head at the yell and honestly, anything to interrupt practicing right now. "Sure. What's up?"

Re: Magic Practice!

[vrepit_no]

The only thing weird here is that there don't seem to be any animal ears to go with that tail - or if they are, they're hidden under the poncho. None of his business!

Shiro gives a friendly wave and a bright grin. "Did you wind up with elemental magic too? I thought I'd try some water techniques, but I'm not sure I'm having much luck. Do you have any experience with water magic at all?"

[tantailizing]

"Elemental? Nope, sorry. Not sure what it's called, but I can speed up and slow down things. It's almost like time magic, but not?" He raises a hand to his chin, considering how he can do that, but not really? Either way, he shakes his head in a moment. "Anyway, I'm not a black or red mage. I've only seen other people casting before."

[vrepit_no]

"Oh! Sorry about that. Well, would you be okay with me running a theory by you anyway? Just to see what you think?"

Slowing things down and speeding them up, huh? Wonder which magic that is. It could be really useful! Maybe he should try it sometime.