RP:Bottled Lightning Cannot be Tamed
Part of the The Key to Open the Skies Arc
Dimly Lit Reading room, Black Library
Satoshi, with a triumphant 'aha', delivers the finishing brushstroke to her page before flopping back in her armchair. It's done. After a number of days--with a few saurian and revenant-based interruptions--Satoshi has completed one of the steps of her project, specifically the arcane pattern she'll be using to fuel a spell from Svilfon. Not that the pattern does her much good yet, as they've yet to use the 'Dragon Soup' to figure out an undead-friendly means of making permanent tattoo ink. Without it etched into her skin, the design is nothing more than a pretty image crafted from runes and sigils.
Kasyr starts to indignantly grumble at Satoshi's success, given the lack of advancements he's been making in his own search, but Casper's pretty quick to give him a smack- something which has him glancing over towards the diminuitive cat and giving her a light jab in the side. Before she can sulk for long however, the revenant simply proceeds to pat her, before redirecting his attention back to his wife, his mood relatively recovered,"So how much work do you have left to do, tu pense?"
Satoshi shrugs, the gesture oddly elegant as she climbs to her feet. "Who can say? There isn't much precedent for a wingless race to acquire such things, y'know? But I can't progress any further, either way, until the wizard shows up, so~..." Without invitation or excuse, Satoshi on the edge of Kasyr's desk, directly beside him and ontop of his own work. She's all vulpine grins at this point, with one of her tails squirming over to nudge Casper in greeting. Or to topple the cat off the table, whichever. "What sort of enchantments did you have in mind? We can start designing something."
Kasyr glances away from his work, and levels his gaze at his wife, a lopsided grin cropping up on his features, "Well, at least that's something a bit more fun to look over. Et bien.." There is a genuinely curious look on the Kensai's face, as he contemplates the exact potential of her question, "What about a means of drawing swords to moi? That would be rather useful- with Gospel gone, the array of things I could do with swords has since been reduced, and I don't always have a weapon on hand." The revenant pauses there, before he gives his wife an inquisitive look, "Et you mentioned before you had some suggestions. I'm curious, enfin."
Satoshi tips her head to one side, thoughtful at Kasyr's idea. "Call any old sword? Or a specific one, like Vesper? The former would be tricky... and likely not always successful. Folks are particular about their weapons being yanked magically from their grasps. The latter I can do with ease, I know every rune, incantation, and thread of magic that went into Vesper's forging, I sang over the damned metal for two months to teach it its tricks. The enchantment needed for it would be similar to this one." As she speaks, Satoshi lifts a hand, extended and poised as if to grab something from the empty air. With a crackle of ice, her Xalious Staff is plucked into existence to rest naturally in the kit's hand. "The sheer amount of magic in this lovely means I can call on it without any runes. Vesper'd need them, although not much, attuned to you as it is." And bathed in Ice Devil blood, the masters of instantaneous teleporting.
Kasyr quirks his head off to the side, "Less any old sword, but maybe, swords I'd set aside, ou quoi-ce-soit- though, that would be moot if I could have gotten those other swords back from Gospel. They're...sort of entangled." The revenant pauses, then glances over to Satoshi, "Er, I want to properly explain that thought- but, it's a really odd thought to explain, so I don't really know where to start. So, Er, I think I'll leave it off at the latter, since yeah- that one's pretty damn convenient."
Satoshi banishes her staff as quickly as it had appeared, only to lean forward and suddenly grab the top of Kasyr's head, almost seeming intent of shoving his face into the desk. However, the kit's goal isn't to give her husband a broken nose, instead her attention is on his back, or rather Vesper's sheathe as eyes gleam with a thought. "Aha, yes~. I could do that right now. No need to worry about cooking an ink for tattoos. I can enchant the sheathe itself to call Vesper to it~. Oh Satoshi, you're a genius!" If it wouldn't make for awkward stretching, the self-assured magus would be patting herself on the back.
Kasyr briefly flails when the Magus jerks him forward, though his effort is spent more towards avoiding face-desking than anything else. And really, once he's essentially ensured he doesn't collide in an impromptu manner with the desk, he simply cross his arms and rests his head on them, so she can continue peering, "That's distinctively convenient, non? Though, if that resolves the question of calling a sword to moi- the question still stands- what were those ideas you had before, about ideas for a tattoo that tu believed would be compliment moi, et tout cela."
"Well~," the magus trills, now half climbing on Kasyr to better investigate Vesper's sheathe, "That ring of yours, for one. I know you can't -actually- conjure up all those swords anymore, but a bit of... illusory manipulation can make it look like you did. Or blur the edges of your blade. Y'know, methods for duping enemies and the like. Then there's your lightning. The tattoo'ing Svilfon and I are working on is going to incorporate a metallic ink, so that it hardens to my ice like the gilded Black Ice armor Gikal makes. Something similar, and a fair bit more metal, may give you a mean punch--or turn that armored coat of yours into a weapon--without the energies constantly devouring your flesh in the process. There's all sorts of possibilities, if we can find a way to make the markings regenerate with you."
Kasyr simply listens, absorbing the various possibilities presented, even as the Magus makes her best monkey impression. Really, the only real movement to come from the Kensai is an impish little pinch when she's all but settled down, before he finally starts to reply, "Why exactly -does- tapping into lightning do that to moi, by the way? I've not really seen anything else similar happen to anyone else." The revenant pauses, before simply tilting his head, "Making that a bit more efficient would be nice, though. Or setting it up so tu could draw from moi without needing direct contact, peut-etre?" With that said, the revenant falls into quiet contemplation once more - his thoughts drifting towards the idea of making his strikes, already difficult to follow with the naked eye, distorted to boot. It's a somewhat tempting possibility.
Satoshi responds to the pinch by using her swarm of tails to bury the revenant, threatening to smother him if he weren't already undead. Eventually she relents, however, shifting herself around until she's perched cross-legged on Kasyr's shoulders. With elbows propped her on knees, and chin resting on interlaced fingers, Satoshi mulls over the question. "I can't say for certain, but personally, this is what I've always thought: when we mages cast a spell, we pay for it with a part of our mana reservoirs. You're not a mage, you're not trained to dip into that pool of energy, or perhaps you're simply not capable of it. But your affinity to lightning -is- arcane, it needs a fuel like any spell, so it uses -you-. I mean, we're all energy, when you get right down to it, your element just goes for the more direct approach, whereas mine uses the supply I've set aside for it. Might be costly or painful for you, yes, however you have a fair degree more endurance than I do because of it. When my supply dries up, I'm tapped, even if I'm still standing. You can keep going until there's nothing left of -you-." The look Satoshi fixes on Kasyr when she says this clearly states, 'Don't you even dare do that again.'
Kasyr responds to Satoshi's 'look' with one of wry amusement, his hands lifting up in a pantomime of surrender. Clearly, he wasn't in any hurry to try out that aspect of the experiment. Still, the revenant can't help but retain a certain degree of curiosity, "But when I tapped into illusions or smaller, cantrips et quoi-ce-soit, there's nothing of that sort. Et I would think they'd be arcane, non?" Well, the illusion one was tricky- given that the Kensai's knowledge initially came from Coreliant, and then was further refined when he consumed the soul of Iskaldor's illusionist apprentice. But the cantrips were at least mage-y. " . . . What's it feel like when you tap into your ice, et all that?" Eidolon, dummy. "Er, rather, how did it feel before you'd changed- though, j'suppose how it feels now might also be relevant."
Satoshi cocks her head to one side, a finger pointed at her chest in a silent 'me?' question. "I don't think I'm a proper example, before or present. When I used to describe it to other mages, they were certain I was using some bastardization of druidism. Which... is possible. I never forced ice to bend to my will. Whenever I called upon it, it was like talking to an old friend. I asked, it obliged. Druids use a similar method. But my casting is arcane despite this. I couldn't connect with the ice without those words and gestures. Druids don't have that problem." As Satoshi speaks, her hands absently toy with the revenant's calico ears. A tug is given to one then, her attention shifting back to Kasyr. "Perhaps your lightning chews on you because of how potent it is? An arcane word or two to create a spark is nothing in comparison to what you can enact when it starts eating your flesh. The bigger it is, the more fuel it needs, no~?"
Kasyr gives Satoshi a bemused look, "I would figure asking someone who is an improper example might be better, given that we're both a little odd, en fait." That said, he's more than happy to just sit there and contemplate as the Magus plays with his ears, "Still, with moi, when I just want to make someone crispy, it's...simple, it's easy to just coax it forward, et I know it will be on hand. But, when I start to draw deeply on it, it's not like just drawing from strictly myself, tu know? It's like I'm touching into something a lot more primal, et it's painful to hold on. ...There definitely might be something to that idea of potence, en fait." That said, the revenant begins to lapse into thought once more.
Satoshi said to Kasyr, "...Did you eat a Lightning Elemental and forget? Because that sounds a bit like how elementals feel. Primal, potent, and not one for being tamed. You want something destroyed by an elemental, you point them in that direction and run~. Although... I suppose that's sort of what you do when you're calling up your lightning, eh?"
Kasyr gives Satoshi a sort of look, with one eyebrow lifted, "Non..? I ate Ekaitz- who had some sort of intuitive affinity with like...frying people. Et it just sort of became more pronounced over time. Et -a lot- more after that change we underwent in Shesryn." The revenant actually blinks about then, "Actually, that was about exactly when I became able to er...tap into that."
Satoshi's eyes narrow and she leans forward, voice lowered to a cautious whisper. "Was Ekaitz anything like me, in how he used his element...? If he was, you chomped on an Elemental-touched. Erm, a genasi. I wonder if that makes -you- a genasi? There are so many ins, outs, empty holes, and possibilities when it comes to elemental lore." Satoshi shakes her head then, expression set into a light frown. There is little solid information on elementals, to that she can testify. Even less so on their eidolon kin, to the point that Satoshi knows next to nothing about her current state, limits, and capabilities. "I don't know about you, but after that Shesryn business, I felt a fair deal more sound in mind and body. Like they had chiseled off the rough edges and polished us up a bit, y'know? I could hear the Snowsong more clearly then, although not as clearly as I do these days."
Kasyr tries to think back to Ekaitz- and almost immediately regrets it, as it brings to focus the events of his last desperate attempt on the revenant's life. Though there's not much the Kensai tends to feel guilt over, the way the feline had ended hadn't been pretty- nor a pleasent reflection of the way their 'interactions' had evolved. He'd been dangerous, yes, and had orders to dispatch of the 'Tiefling-At-The-Time', and yet..there was something about their confrontations which had been more befitting a dangerous-but-friendly rivalry. Ekaitz hadn't been too keen to fulfill his orders, really - which made the desperation and zeal he displayed in their last encounter.... "..Mmm." Pushing past that to earlier encounters is a relief, really, and segues neatly into the revenant's attention drifting back to Satoshi, "How he used electricity was fairly fluid, oui. So, I suppose it would be akin to how you use it? ..How I use it, now?" The revenant snaps his fingers, a few errant sparks forming into existance before dissipating. "I never saw him push it as far as I have, nor suffer for it. So, I don't know if that was in him, or if that is purely related to the three. I...do agree with your assertion, though. Even beyond that, I felt alot more likely..myself. J'suppose." Considering he's eaten the identities of a great number of people, that's saying something.
Satoshi shrugs, once again using the simple gesture to fluid transition into another movement--this time a graceful head-over-tails roll down the revenant's back. Landing in a light crouch behind him, Satoshi flashes a grin and straightens, simply to fling her arms around his neck in a loose hug. "Some things aren't worth over-thinking, m'dear~. You think I understand myself and my magic? Pfft. I'd get a headache if I tried. What I am is what I am, if that's to change, the world and its influences will see to it. Water knows how it works, going with the flow. And you should too, if you're so attuned to lightning, since it always takes the path of least resistance~." A nip to one of those calico ears is offered then before Satoshi continues, tone a tad more serious, "But honestly, if you want to figure yourself out more, join me next time I meditate with the Aurora. You learn all sorts of interesting things, be it about your surroundings or yourself. And you're more focused for it afterwards. You might even like the Aurora, there's an undertone of a Storm melody in its voice. Sometimes I think it is born of the fierest cold and lightning that hasn't descended to the lands yet, from the way it sings."
Kasyr , when he's done looking distracted from his wife's nibbles, leans back against her, "You know, I think I'd like that a fair bit. When all these problems are good et done with, we should do that, peut-etre?" The revenant stretches out a touch, before he moves to move his arms back and encircle Satoshi in a loose hug, "Et hey, maybe it'll give a better bit of insight into what sort of marks to make- beyond the one on Vesper's sheathe." In a musing tone, the revenant can't help but add, "I think I could have been a right proper terror, if I'd had the patience and desire to pick up a spell book instead of a sword. Thoughts?"
Satoshi chuckles, leaning closer to the revenant. "And imagine if I'd chosen a blade over my magic, hm~? Nonetheless, we excel wonderfully as is. And we'll continue to do so. Firstly, however~, you should pick some sort of theme or design you want me to create for Vesper's sheathe. It'd be terribly dull to just etch in plain old runes!"
Kasyr frowns a bit at this, offering a sort of helpless look and a shrug, "J'en sais pas. There's a logic to your mage-marks et all that, right? Something behind the complexity that's required in the design? I wouldn't rightly know what to put, because the only things which crop to mind es the house symbol, ou a lightning bolt. ...Or, a sword. Et a sword on a sheathe seems redundant." Picky. So picky, Kas.
Satoshi wrinkles her nose at Kasyr. He's going to be one of -those- clients. "It's far more fun if you give me an image or something symbolic, and I build the runes around that. Remember the dryad Madigan? Her fire ward I made had a phoenix design. Much prettier than a string of runes spelling out 'divert fire at cost of user's energy', no~?"
Satoshi adds, "If you don't pick something you want or like, I'm just going to design a dung beetle instead."
Kasyr throws up his hands in defeat, "Et bien, if it belongs to moi, et it's going on Vespers sheathe, make it a Kirin ou quoi-ce-soit. Solved. Et better than a dunge beetle." That said, the revenant can't help but wade past whatever mild bit of indignation he may be feeling to inquire, "This marking, since it's going on the sheathe, es it still going to potentially interfere with any markings if I end up with some?"
Satoshi takes her turn at being indignant, tails bristling with Kasyr's question. "Do you take me for a novice mage? Concocting half-assed runic designs that would conflict with and counteract each other?" Satoshi voices a dismissive hiss then, nose turned up. Without looking at Kasyr, she extends a hand and gestures, waiting for Vesper's sheathe to be handed over. "This design will be no more than a basic teleport-summon technique. It requires next to no energy, only a degree of focus, and is ended in seconds. It couldn't interfere with other enchantments if it wanted to. So no, you have nothing to fret over, my enchantments are thorough."
Kasyr sticks his tongue out at Satoshi, though when he starts to speak again, his tone is more affectionate than anything, "Tu were the one who warned me that a large number of runes could potentially conflict with each other. I figured I'd ask in advance, in case this would count amongst those, or if this was essentially functioning off of a different system. I'd rather ask dumb questions, than make dumb mistakes."
Satoshi retorts with a playful, "Stop being dumb and you wouldn't have to worry about doing either~." And again her hand gestures for the sword's sheathe. Secretly, the magus is a tad giddy at the idea of getting to create a kirin design. Mystic creatures make the best rune patterns, in her opinion.
Kasyr looks appalled, one hand falling across his heart as though wounded,"I can't help it, I was born this way."It's about that point that he finally get's around to removing the sheathe, presenting it to her in as ceremonial a fashion as he can from his seated position. Not very, in practice.
Satoshi leans forward to accept the sheathe, in the same instance pilfering a kiss from the kensai. "Then it's a blessed thing you were born so cute, hm~? You can get away with all sorts of terrible sins when you have good looks. Believe me, I know~." Preen preen preen.
Kasyr moves to pilfer one right back, before he leans back in his chair, "It's amazing we can get anything done with all the misbehaving we get into, sometimes."
Satoshi glances from the sheathe in her hand, to the lounging kensai, and back again, expression thoughtful. Although not too thoughtful, considering the magus shrugs then, tosses the weapon casing over her shoulder, and promptly launches herself forward with the full intent of tackling Kasyr into--or out--of his chair. "I'll show -you- misbehaving!"