RP:Hard Lives and Hard Boots

Summary: Linn sends Pilar a message to come see him to get some news on what has been going on inside of Frostmaw along with an offer for an enchantment and news that Talyara would like to see them. Soon after they head out to go see the witch, having a small scene with their newfound child Bachias. When the topic of Linn returning up into the mountains to actually make the enchantment for Pilar some of the friction caused by their exile among other hardships Talyara has been stuck with begins to show. Pilar and Linn then return up into the mountains to test and complete the enchantment that will allow her to run across the top of snow while invisible, leaving little to no tracks and able to not worry about trudging through it.

Higher in the Mountains

Linn had a few reasons for contacting Pilar at this point, though unfortunately he couldn’t send much more of a message through the crystal he remembered giving her other than that he was just below the cliffs and wanted to see what was going on with her. Sure enough though he was leaning up against the rocky face on one of the less precarious spots that was open enough to comfortably fit a few people. In light of the cold, he had the leather hood pulled up over his head and faced away from the wind, though the cold at this height was still enough to noticeably redden his face, perhaps more than expected.

Pilar was surprised to receive the message from Linn, but wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to see a friendly face. especially since she had no way of telling she couldn't make it. She didn't want to risk the treacherous walk around the perimeter of Frostmaw's walls, and so trekked through the city. As she left, she turned invisible. She didn't want to be seen leaving, in case she was seen around the city by the same guards. What if they demanded to know how she got back in? No, it was simply easier to remain unseen. As she ventured south, she spotted Linn by the cliffside and reappeared. "Hello, Linn. How are you?"

Linn turned his head to see Pilar with brows raised and a smile. “Hey there Pilar. Good to see that trick still works.” Could have been any of them really. “I’ve been fine. I wanted to know how things have been evolving in the city. I heard Xzavior got into a brawl a couple days ago, and was curious about how your attempts to get your friend out of here are going.” He hesitated ending the statement; that was a bit more direct than he wanted it to be. Shrugging, he continued, “And a couple more things. I talked with Taly and she’s more than happy to have some people over so I can take you to come see us sometime. That and… I can’t help but wonder, how does your invisibility trick work with walking in the snow?” His gaze went past Pilar as he leaned out, looking for any tracks she might have left.

Pilar had indeed left tracks. She wasn't skilled enough to hide her trail. Luckily, as she used it mostly around the gates, her footsteps were lost among the rest. She cast a look behind her. "Not very well, you can see. It is very hard to walk and keep the spell going. I try to be careful where I step." She looked back at Linn. "I did hear that someone was beaten by a naga... I'm guessing it was him, then." Her brow furrowed. "I saw a group of giants forcing two others into joining Balgruuf. His influence is growing. As for my friend..." she sighed. "We're stuck, at least for now." She offered him a small smile. "I'm glad to hear you've found a place to stay. Some good news has been long overdue."

Linn continued looking at the tracks in thought before smiling slightly, though the current conversation took his thoughts back to other matters for now currently. “We can work on that later. I have an idea that could help with it if you really don’t want to leave a trace.” Her mention of the naga was met with a small chuckle that arrested itself when Balgruuf was brought back up. “Ohhh boy. The snowball keeps going… forgive the pun.” He was pretty sure the friend Pilar was mentioning was Aira, though he’d beat around the subject until she decided to actually say who it was. “Well, you know my offer to help. If you two aren’t stuck in the city I can make my way around to where you are pretty easily.” As if to display he put his hand and foot against the wall before pulling himself off the ground, somehow not sliding right back down the rock face before dropping back. “Yeah, Taly’s still really wanting to see other friendly faces though, she’s been cooped up with Bachias for way too long without seeing someone else I think.

Pilar considered his offers. She could use all the help she could get with her magic. As for Aira, the elf barely tolerated Pilar's aid. She'd probably blow a gasket if someone else showed up. "Thank you, I will think about it." She watched Linn scale the wall with interest. "That is an impressive trick, Linn. You have to tell me how it's done sometime." When he brought up Taly, she nodded. "Well, I am out here already... If you do not have anything else to do here, we could go."

Linn nodded, “Any time. If you’re talking about who I think you are we know each other as well. The odds of her listening to me… anyone… are slim at best though.” He couldn’t help another chuckle at the memories of trying to get Aira to do –anything-. Pilar’s comment on his little trick brought a small shrug, “Just pinning my hands and feet to the wall, nothing special. I still have to do the actual climbing.” When she mentioned being ready to go he sent his gaze out south over the mountains, his head angled slightly to the west. “Well, hope you can get back in if you have to. I’m sure she’d enjoy a bit of company right now.” He pushed off of the wall to the edge of the next drop down, and if they went he’d turn before making his way down the cliff with a trick like the one he just showed, lightening it just enough to slowly slide his way down.

Pilar , as a vampire, was stronger and had more stamina than a normal girl would. It would be a pain, but she could scale the cliff without much issue. She'd done it before. Once they were back on solid ground, they continued down the mountain path, towards Xalious Village. Whether their house was located within the hamlet or outside it, she wasn't sure.

Opening in the Mountains

Linn began making his way as if to go to the village, though when they came to a junction in the road he suddenly turned west down one of the less traveled paths, taking them across a (rather shaky) bridge until the road seemed to disintegrate as it went down to the waterfall. “Hope you don’t mind water.” He called to Pilar before making his way around the waterfall and into a damp, mossy cave that was hidden behind it. Continuing their way through they’d come to another opening on the other side. In the expanse there were a couple tents set up against the walls, and what looks like a third one turned into a makeshift cover that was staked right into the solid rock as well. Facing the cave exit was the spiraling black tower, now half-green with overgrowth with the base covered in vines and moss thick enough to become unrecognizable if it wasn’t for the shining obsidian showing up above. “Taly! Bach! Pilar’s come to see us!” he’d call out into the expanse to catch their attention.

Talyara peeks her head out of the largest of the tents when she hears Linn call out, her normally loose chestnut tresses tied up in a high ponytail off her her face and making her slightly pointed ears visible. A small smile finds itself on her lips before climbing out and lifting a hand to wave at the vampire. “Hi, Pilar!” Bachias, whom was running around the cave playing with the puppy, Stitch, immediately froze as he cast a crimson glare in Pilar’s direction. The puppy, on the other hand, remembered the vampire fondly as one who gave him lots of pets, and he quickly bounds her way, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Bach’s smile faltered, quickly downturning to a scowl. “Who are you?” he asks rather rudely, causing Taly to shoot him a knowing look. “Be nice, Bachias,” she chides.

Pilar spent the trip down the mountain speaking to Artia through their mental bond. Her face went through a volley of emotions, ranging from affection to shock to concern to relief. Evidently something had gone down in her absence. As they walked across the unstable bridge, she found herself having visions of them plummeting to their doom. But, they made it to the other side alright, and soon walked into a cave, through a waterfall. Pilar looked around their campsite with interest before her eyes went to Taly and she smiled, returning the wave. "Hello, Taly!" She laughed as the dog came her way and knelt down to give him lots of attention. "Who is a good boy? You are!" She looked up at Bach as he demanded to know who she was. Ah, yes, Linn had mentioned he was a handful. She stood back up and stepped around the puppy to speak to the boy. "My name is Pilar Solana-Mendez," she said, her foreign accent most apparent when she spoke her name. "It's nice to meet you, Bachias."

Linn| Bachias turns to Talyara with a small pout in addition to his scowl with a look that silently asked ‘Do I –have- to?’ before immediately turning suspiciously back to the vampire as she played with the dog, clearly jealous that she was getting the current attention rather than him. Only when Pilar’s name was mentioned for the third time did he break into a fit of silly snickering, completely losing the rest of her words, “Hehe… haha… Who calls themselves Pee-lar?” he responded with extra emphasis on the ‘pee’ before going back to his giggling. Linn stood there somewhat stunned as he blinked a couple times before sighing, muttering barely above a whisper to the vampire next to him, “better reaction than I thought…” He’d decide to continue in spite of the child’s behavior, “She’s a good friend of ours. We figured it’d be nice to have some company every once in a while.” All things considered he was at a loss for words on how to handle the rest unfortunately.

Talyara audibly groaned as Bachias made his crude comment on Pilar’s name, covering her face with her hands for a moment before marching over to the child and looking down at him with a stern expression, fists resting on her hips. “Bachias, Pilar is a friend of ours. If you cannot be nice, you will go into your tent -without- Stitch.” Bach, who was known to mimic Taly’s movements, placed his hands on his hips as well and shook his head. “I am more important than stupid, Pee-lar!” he yells back, his face reddening to match his eyes. The witch inclines her chin towards his tent and the two remain in a silent stare off for a few moments before he yells out in frustration and storms to his tent. Once inside, the group would hear various items being torn and thrown about during his tantrum.

Pilar had never had anyone react to the first syllable of her name in such a way. She glanced at Linn as he muttered to her, then returned her attention to the boy as he and his mother. Once the child was gone, she gave a dry chuckle. "Are children not little blessings?" She looked at Talyara sympathetically. "Bachias reminds me of one of my nephews. He was a little -gamberro- too..." She didn't know the Common word for it, but they probably got her meaning. Probably. She eyed Talyara's face carefully, searching for signs of the shiner Linn had said she had. "How are you doing, Taly?"

Linn was glad Taly was able to take a decisive course of action with the child, becoming locked in the staredown between the witch and the child as well before he stormed off in his tantrum before blowing out a sigh himself. *That* was the response he roughly expected. Her own statements about the kid brought a small chuckle as he cast his gaze over to the sounds coming out of the other tent. “Well… it’s all his to clean up now at least. If he does something that he can’t fix he’s going to have to apologize first…” He seemed to be struggling with the situation a bit more, the words coming out as if he was reassuring himself on a course of action. He’d give the vampire and the witch a bit of time though, considering they haven’t seen each other in god-knows-how-long and could use a bit to catch up.

Talyara closes her eyes and takes a few steadying breaths before turning to the vampire once more and moving towards her. Her eye was slowly beginning to heal, no longer swollen shut it was beginning to turn from dark blues and purples to greens and yellows. A slight shrug of the shoulders is afforded to Pilar as the witch heaves a deep sigh. “Sorry about that,” she mutters quickly, referring to Bach’s outburst. “Well, I suppose I’m as good as I can be.” Turning to face Linn her lips twitch into a sweet smile before facing the vampire once more. “At least we are here together,” she explains.

Pilar hugged the witch as she drew closer. "I'm so sorry about what happened... But I am glad you got out." She released Taly and looked between the couple sadly. "Things are getting worse every day. My friend and I are mostly staying in the woods outside the city, but every time I go in, I see and hear scary things. Random beatings, homes vandalized... Frostmaw is tearing itself apart."

Linn didn’t openly say it but the embarrassed apologetic look was clear on his face as well regarding Bachias. Taly’s smile directed his way managed to lighten him back up, a sweet smile of his own crossing his face. “We’re working on setting things back up. We at least have some cover and a way to store food now.” Pilar’s story about Frostmaw led him to bite his lip with a sigh. “Yeah… We left because I knew I was going to get the brunt of a lot of it. I wasn’t exactly trying to avoid attention…” A pause, “Have you checked up on the cottage? Seen if there’s anything left there?” He could only hope they got all of the really valuable and useful things out of there.

Talyara returns the hug, giving Pilar an extra squeeze, before casting her emerald irises up and down the vampire’s form to ensure her well being before shuddering slightly at the news. “That’s...awful. I wonder if they’ve destroyed the cottage…” she whispers softly, her heart breaking at the thought, only to have Linn speak her worries aloud. Not to mention she had other friends who were still up there and she couldn’t help but worry for their wellbeing. With a lack of seat, the witch just plops herself down on the floor, drawing her knees to her chest.

Pilar knelt down next to Talyara and put an arm around her. She shook her head at Linn's question. "No, I did not think to... I will check on it as soon as I get back. If there is anything you want me to get out of there, I'll try to." It was the least she could do. She felt awful. How could she have forgotten about her friends' home? Besides the obvious reason that material possessions were less important than human (and elven) suffering.

Linn nodded slightly as the extra questions and answers came regarding the cottage. He left the question of what may have been missed to Taly, not knowing too much of what was importance to her that might have been left behind. He had everything he needed at least. “Well, for when you go back up there I want to give you a bit of help. Make your boots able to walk across the top of the snow rather than sink in when you need them to. That should help out with getting around and no one noticing you in combination with your other tricks.” He couldn’t help a grin at the ideas for the next enchantment. It was a spell he had figured out for himself, but translating that into a piece of gear was always still another step he wanted to make. “If we have to we’ll build it back up once we set things right with that city.”

Talyara gives Pilar a half smile as she comes to sit beside her and sling her arm over her shoulders. She shakes her head slightly. “No, we got everything that we could out, there’s no use bringing anything else down here. She sighs once more as Stitch walks over and climbs in the witch’s lap, spinning around a few times before plopping down with a grunt. Taly immediately reaches down and begins to scratch at his ears as a yell comes from the smaller tent--Bachias. “Can I come out now Mommy Taly?!” Not missing a beat, the half elf responds in sternly, “No, you have to stay in there.” Bachias then started to cry (probably fake) loudly and dramatically.

Pilar said to Talyara, "Alright..." She smiled and pet the dog's head as he came over. She winced at Bachias's crying, not because she believed it was genuine, but because it was loud. Trying her best to ignore it, she turned her attention to the enchanter. "That would be amazing, Linn, thank you... But do you have the time and materials to do that today?" She wanted to get back to Frostmaw soon. She knew Aira could take care of herself, out in the woods, but she wanted to be there to be an extra set of eyes and ears, in case the giants came looking for her. "I would not want to put a burden on you, especially not now."

Linn moved over to sit down with Talyara and Pilar, unshouldering his pack to plop it down at his side. Bachias’s shouting brought his eyes flickering back over to the other tent before Talyara’s curt response cut him off, the crying prompting a small sigh. The witch certainly showed a bit more spine than he did when necessary with the kid. He trusted her judgement on the situation well beyond his own considering she had spent so much more time with him though. When asked about the time and materials he pursed his lips. “I definitely have the material to do it. As far as time… I can make my own. I’d prefer we test it all up in the snow to make sure it works before you go off with it though.” He thought a bit longer before chuckling, “I can do it with leftover or more common material come to think of it. It’s not a big deal.”

Talyara quickly shoots Linn a look that clearly says “I hope you don’t actually plan on going up to Frostmaw”. The witch has no power over the enchanter, however, and he would be able to do what he wanted, but the witch was brimming with anxiety at all times now and she was worried that if Linn opted to detour to the tundra, it might set a panic attack off. Taly allowed Bachias to carry on a few more minutes before letting out a sharp “Hush!”. Immediately, the child quieted and no other peep could be heard from his tent except for a few sniffles. Stitch peers up at Taly and whimpers before the witch nudged him off her lap. “Alright, go see Bachias.” The puppy quickly obliges and trots off to the smaller tent to comfort the child.

Pilar nodded to Linn. "If you are certain." She was actually surprised when Bachias quieted down at Talyara's command. She smiled, however, and after the dog left, said, "You have done a good job with him., my nephew would never be quiet for his mother. Not to say my sister was bad with her children..." Her thoughts turned to her lost family and a tear came to her eye. She missed them all so much, even the brattiest of the kids.

Linn briefly put his hands up in response to Talyara’s glare before speaking back softly. “I’m not getting close to the city if that’s what you’re wondering. There’s enough snow elsewhere. I’ll be back once it’s all done okay?” It was the biggest comfort he could offer her, figuring that it was best to make sure Pilar had every edge she could get if she was going back into the chaos. Her own comments on Bachias and her family led the enchanter to swallow slightly. He was never truly close with his family, and the one time they really proved their care they spun on it when they saw what he got himself into. “Taly’s saved me as far as Bachias goes. I don’t think I could ever get him to be nice. You should have seen him when we all first met…”

Talyara shakes her head at Linn’s words, quickly turning her head away from him as she muttered, “Fine.” The witch knew it was important to the enchanter to make sure his work on Pilar’s boots was working properly, but she worried about him in the best of times, and now with the tension in Frostmaw...She sighs heavily. Not to mention she was stuck at “home” with Bachias all the time. She slowly stands and gives Pilar’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze before moving towards Bachias’s tent. The pair would hear her tell the child she needs to talk to him, no doubt about his behavior.

Pilar smiled at Talyara as the woman left, then turned her attention to Linn. "How much can we do here, just so you do not have to spend too long away?"

Linn couldn’t help but feel bad about leaving Taly here with Bachias all the time, and for the first time it seemed to be really getting to her after all the chaos. He sighed… when he’d return he would no doubt be apologizing for… everything again. Someday he’d have to figure out how to help her out more at home, even give her some time off. With her departure he nodded weakly until Pilar’s question took his attention. “Get the basic groundwork done here, test up where we can find some snow. Once we know it works we’re fine.” Opening his pack up he rummaged through it for a bit before retrieving a small pouch, weighing in his hand before setting it on the ground. “As far as making sure it’s able to maintain itself I could have it draw on you, though that might mess with your focus on the invisibility. Probably best to set up its own energy supply that I can keep charged. It should last you quite a while but I’ll have to restore it until I can find a better way for it to find energy.” With that he pulled a large hunk of rough fluorite, two small polished cuts on it signaling he had already taken from this chunk for a few other works.

Talyara stays within Bachias’s tent for quite some time, quietly talking to him about his behavior and how he reacts. In short, she told him he needed to work on being nicer to people and not throwing a tantrum when he didn’t get his way. She also explains that he must spend the rest of the night in his tent, cleaning up and then going to bed. The child wasn’t happy about it but he concedes as Taly leaves his tent. Walking over to Pilar she leans down to give her a hug. “I’m sorry our visit was short but I am exhausted. Please,” and she grips Pilar’s shoulders a bit tighter. “Please be careful up there.” Taly’s emerald eyes catch Linn’s colorless ones before her lips thin. “Goodnight,” she says shortly to the enchanter before disappearing in their tent.

Pilar said to you, "Would it make it be able to walk on top of the snow all the time, or can I turn it off? How would I do that, anyway?" She returned Talyara's hug. "You have nothing to apologize for. And I will be, do not worry."

Linn nodded apologetically towards Talyara as she offered her farewells. “Goodnight, I’ll be back, don’t worry.” At Pilar’s question he rolled his eyes upwards in thought, “I could set it up to work all the time, or make it react to your invisibility spell to activate on its own when you use it.” He smirked slightly, “making the boots only work when they’re invisible…” It was a silly idea but honestly the best he could think of. “Well, I’ll need the boots to work with.” Setting the fluorite aside he loosened the string on the small pouch he retrieved from the pack, in it a small quantity of pearly white dust ground down from the chips clear sapphires. Once he had the boots he’d sprinkle it over their soles in a sparse but even coating as he fell into a focus that signaled his work beginning.

Pilar pulled the boots from her feet, hoping they didn't stink too bad, and handed them to Linn. "I do not want to draw too much attention when I am not invisible. Maybe it would be best if it activated when I performed my spell." She realized she'd never seen him work before, and watched what he did with interest.

Linn had endured enough awful smells in his travels, baby farts now included, that Pilar’s feet didn’t bring any real reaction. When she spoke of when was best to have it work he nodded with a smile. “That actually simplifies things greatly. They’ll only work while invisible though.” Taking the boots he flipped them over to look at their soles and sprinkle the dust before pressing down on it to set it in. After releasing the pressure he kept his hand on the surface in a focus for a few minutes before repeating the process with the other boot. It was fairly unceremonial for now, the diffuse enchantment more made to do the work itself due to its nature. It was then he set the boots down to grab the pale violet-blue hued fluorite before he paused, looking back to the vampire, “Any way you want the boots decorated with this stuff? Or make it inconspicuous?”

"Inconspicuous," Pilar answered. She thought about how the enchantment would open up more opportunities for her. She would be able to sneak through snowy areas without a problem. She thought for a moment, then asked, "Will it work only on snow? Or will I be able to walk over mud and such without sinking?"

Linn pursed his lips in thought at Pilar’s request and questions. “Only snow right now. I can probably get it to work with sand as well. Mud… I think that will take a bit more work but it’s possible.” He set the fluorite aside again before taking the boot and thoroughly examining it, searching it through and through for convenient places to hide the fluorite that would power it. “Hiding things on boots… Unfortunately stone isn’t exactly the most agreeable of things to have on the inside.” Pulling apart some of the laces he looked under the leather that went around the front of the boot, though not quite inside. “Probably best to put it here.” He ran his thumb across the tight space before returning to grab the fluorite and retrieving a bright violet crystal from the pouch at his side. Within it swirled a sinister inky darkness that consumed all light that made it close to the center, though the enchanter seemed to ignore it as a bright blue veil of light suddenly leapt from the crystal into the space in front of him before folding over itself into a scalpel-like edge. Setting the fluorite up he aligned the immaterial knife before with a chopping motion brought it all the way through to the ground, a thin sheet of the material falling off as he cut a few more, their cut surfaces so smooth that they were practically already polished.

Pilar nodded in understanding at Linn's reply. She wasn't sure if she'd want him to upgrade her boots at a later date, but it was something to keep in mind. She looked at the stone as he cut it, wondering what kind of material it was and how it worked. However, she decided that she'd asked enough questions already, and that it was best to let him work.

Linn continued slicing up the pale stone into small slivers before sharpening their edges enough to force them into the leather itself to make it hold them in the boots, the location of setting awkward and delicate enough that he had to use magic again to manipulate the crystal into where he wanted it. The sharply cut gems fortunately had their edges hidden in the layers of leather and were rather deeply set, though they still poked out a little when one would pull back the parts around the laces. The setting took some time, the enchanter having to maneuver the gems along the length of the boot on both sides to fit as much as he could (which was still a rather limited amount) until both were complete. He began to trace from the concealed stones down to the soles of the boots with his hand as if drawing some invisible lines, whatever magic he knew being a rather physical thing to him that the motions aided with. After some time of the tracing he set his hand back over where the fluorite was before breathing a deep sigh, pouring some of his energy into it to power the enchantment before he finally spoke back up again with a nod. “Going to have to do the rest up where there’s snow. Invisibility trigger, making sure it actually works, you know.”

Higher in the Mountains

Pilar nodded and took the boots back so that she didn't ruin her stockings walking back up the mountiain. She slipped them on, finding that she couldn't feel the slivers of fluorite at all. She could, however, feel the raw magic. They trekked back up the mountain, mostly in silence. When they reached an area with deep enough snow, Pilar stopped and looked at Linn. "This is a good place, I think. What do we need to do now?"

Linn nodded with an idle kick in the snow to test it. “Feels fine. I guess first we make sure that it works in the first place, then figure out the invisibility trigger. I can probably figure it out while you still wear them at this point. Might as well.” With a shrug he casually plopped down in the snow to take a seat next to Pilar before reaching his hand towards the laces of her boots. If she’d allow he’d continue working on the enchantment as she wore them with slight delicate manipulations as he reconstructed the spell before sending the energy around to activate it. It was a surprisingly low-power spell, meant to use what structure already existed in the snow to ease its own load, though its reserves of energy were just as limited. “Take a couple steps.” While she could kick up the snow with her toes still, the soles of her boots would land on the snow as if it were solid rock, even finding a bit of traction (Not the best but a bit better than ice) on the enchanted surface.

Pilar of course allowed Linn to work his magic on her boots. The raw arcane energy tickled a little bit and left her legs feeling a bit tingly, though that feeling subsided once Linn finished. She took a few tentative steps when instructed, holding her arms out for balance. It was walking on ice in cleats. Could have been better, but could have been worse. She walked back and forth a couple times, leaving only the lightest of indentations in the snow. Carefully, she made her way back to Linn. "It feels... strange. But I think I can manage it."

Linn watched as the top of the loose powder got flattened under her footsteps with a nod. Wasn’t perfect, but keeping that fuzzy top on the snow would take a lot more energy than was worth it. “Yeah, not something you’re used to walking on like that.” With a light chuckle as she approached he reached out to her feet, deactivating the enchantment and causing her to drop back to the harder ground. “Well the basic part works, so now we just have to get it to work when you turn invisible…” With another nod he grinned, his hand still reached out over the laces of the boots, “Do it. Just the boots if you really want.”

Pilar let out a surprised "Oof!" when she fell a few inches into the snow. At Linn's request, she nodded and closed her eyes. She couldn't do it instantaneously, same with all her other illusions, but hopefully with enough time and practice, that would come. However, it was much easier to turn only her boots invisible than it was her entire body AND all her clothes. Soon, she appeared to be wearing only stockings upon her feet, the boots having vanished entirely.

Linn’s eyes closed as he focused again on the fluorite, rendered invisible along with the rest of the boots. Gently he probed and pulled at the magic of the invisibility, just enough to figure it out and make it into a trigger for the rest of the enchantment. After some time with a light ‘ha’ he drew another couple of those odd traces over the invisible gems before nodding again. “Alright, try again.” It was certainly active, though it would remain so when she released the invisibility if she did, prompting a light sigh from the enchanter as he would wave her back over to keep working.

Pilar walked around in a circle before the enchanter, slowly and carefully so as not to slip. She walked back to him eventually, and dropped her spell, though she looked down at her feet, puzzled when she didn't sink.

Linn pursed his lips as she didn’t sink as well. “Always little details I’m missing…” he muttered with a slight chuckle before putting his hand back on the laces for a little bit. Again it deactivated under his control with another pause before he spoke. “See if you can turn them invisible and back a few times.” Provided she did as he asked he’d nod slightly as they worked, the third or fourth time she tried bringing him to jolt back to attention. “Try it!” he ordered rather excitedly. It would in fact work as intended this time, the state of invisibility triggering the secondary effect of the boots’ enchantment and releasing it as the spell faded.

Pilar, naturally, did as she was told. He was the mastermind, here, she was only an assistant/guinea pig. Constantly shifting her boots in and out of visibility wasn't as taxing as she'd feared, it would be, mostly likely because, again, she wasn't performing the spell on her entire body. When he broke into an excited grin, she assumed he'd cracked it. Indeed, she turned her boots invisible one more time and walked around. She let the spell go and her feet sank, causing her to clumsily trip and fall face-first into the snow. She pushed herself up and wiped the snow from her face, but smiled at Linn. "It works! Well done, Linn!"

Linn couldn’t help another laugh at the success. Reactive enchantments weren’t exactly the easiest, and all things considered the mechanisms in this one were just simple enough to let him get away with not using the most valuable of his materials. With a light “you okay?” as she got up he sighed with a smile, her own mood answering the question for him. “Well, I have no idea how long it might last. It’s not the most powerful thing but I wasn’t able to fit much in to store energy for it either. If it stops working well… take it back to me. I guess with it working now I can fully charge it now so you can be on your way. Sometime we’ll have to work out a way to power it passively.” Again he reached out for her to approach, his hand clasping over the laces as energy began to stream into the fluorite stones at a moderate pace, the enchanter avoiding anything too fast for fear of disrupting the work already set in stone (literally).

Pilar made a mental note to keep an eye on her boots, and not to take them working for granted. And maybe to use her spell as sparingly as she could, to ensure they had the longest life possible. As he worked, she said, "This really is amazing, Linn... Thank you very much." Once he finished and got back to his feet, she would hug him goodbye. "Go on back to Taly, now. Let her know you're safe."

Linn had to shake off some cold stiffness that came with sitting in the snow as he had but was able to return her hug for a farewell. “If it keeps you safer out here it’s all worth it.” He chuckled slightly, “You’ll be able to up and vanish now, not even tracks to hint you’re just an invisible person now. But yeah, it’s time I got back. She’s probably worried stiff.” With a nod he turned to make his way to the cliff, turning as he got to the edge before dropping over it to make his way back to Xalious.