[OPENING] magical training log

[spellslash]

Who: Brie, whichever newbies want to show up.
Where: The beach.
When: Day 4
Open/Closed: OTA

[It's about noon on the island, based on the position of the sun. The newbies have had a few days to settle in, but that doesn't mean they've fully mastered their newfound abilities.

As much stock as Genette puts into telepathy, Brie is more concerned about their other newfound gifts. She's aggressively tried to wrangle as many newbies as possible onto the sandy shores of the beachfront area for some magic practice.

She's got a list of everyone's magic -- only a few vague notes, limitations are for you to discover -- and she's handing out missions for magic training. If you want to participate? Feel free. If you don't? Suit yourself.

But understanding your magic isn't just an activity that benefits the group. Learning your magic's abilities may be what stands between you and survival, which is something she makes perfectly clear.]

Comments

[oneandmikleonly]

[considering he's on a headlong dive and trying furiously to break his fall, there's just time for Mikleo to yell:]

SIDEWAYS!

[he can't course-correct without getting even more unpredictably out of control and making that a lie, so he just. winds up missing Waver narrowly, plowing hard into the beach in a cloud of dust and sand a few seconds later]

[teratias]

[Waver can do sideways. He falls backward landing ass over head, cushioned by sand. He coughs, splutters, then sits up.]

What the hell just happened?!

[oneandmikleonly]

[there's no telepathic answer for a minute, just wordless, muffled, unhappy growling . . .

the sand cloud slowly dissipates, though, giving Waver a clear view of what's happened. Mikleo has wound up with most of his head and neck straight-up buried in the dune he crashed into. he's scrabbling feebly with all four legs to try and back himself out of the hole, but he's too dizzy and uncoordinated to immediately succeed.

i mean, the rest of him is still kind of pointy and dangerous also, but a dragon looks a bit less threatening when it's sprawled and doing a serious ostrich impression]

[teratias]

[That's a dragon.

One with a lot of coordination problems, but still. Dragon. And it had communicated on the network, so it meant it was someone who had weird dragon powers.]

Do you need a hand or something?

[oneandmikleonly]

[deeply, deeply embarrassed, and not a little distressed]

Yes please. The sand's getting up my nose--

[an unhappy sneeze blows out part of the sand dune a moment later, but more sand slides right back over the hole, and the dragon's scrabbling redoubles]

[teratias]

[Waver stared. How was this his life now?]

Okay, try and stay still.

[He began to walk over, careful, and once he had found where that snuffle came from, Waver began to dig. Well, kneel down and try and move all of the sand out of th way with both his arms, proceeding to cover his knees with more and more sand in the process.]

[oneandmikleonly]

[it doesn't take him long to expose pointed horns, then plated, spiky ridges, then the rest of the top of Mikleo's head; the dune isn't actually all that deep, he's just really terrible at movement right now. blinks up at Waver in a sheepish sort of way, huffing more sand off himself]

. . . sorry about this. . .

[teratias]

Can you change back? Wouldn't that be quicker to get out of this sand pit?

[Waver frowned. Here he was, talking to a dragon who was also a person, and chiding the dragon form.]

[oneandmikleonly]

Not if I want to practice! I already turned back once today, it doesn't look like I can take this form again for a while unless Chiaki reuses his magic to amplify mine again, and I'm honestly afraid he's overdoing it with that.

[huffy, still embarrassed and a little defensive]

I can...get up...in a second. I just need to figure out where all the legs are.

[teratias]

[Waver helpfully restrains himself from being a smartass and saying behind you. He does, however, start to move towards where the legs are, then verbally yells.]

Would following my voice work?

[oneandmikleonly]

[Mikleo splutters into the sand.]

No, I mean -- I--I know where they are! They're just...hard to move. Though if you could push at them a bit that might work, actually, it's how to flex and coordinate them to actually get around that's driving me mad.

[teratias]

Okay, I can do that.

[Waver goes to find one of the claws? Paws? Hands? What's the right nomenclature? and begins to poke at the one closest to him. In truth, it'd be Mikleo's right hand.]

Would something like a stick or a tree branch to curl your fingers around help with coordination?

[oneandmikleonly]

[the claws flex and curl one by one, slowly enough that it's perfectly easy to avoid any injury from them, but the dragon's also swiveled its head over to stare at them (and at Waver; that gimlet reptile stare is kind of unnerving), and it's obvious it's concentrating hard to be able to do that]

Actually...yeah, that's a great idea. I hadn't thought of that at all. The sand's just too soft to practice that kind of traction.

[teratias]

Okay uh, let me see if I can find something?

[With that, Waver disappeared into the brush to look. He remained gone for about ten minutes, but when he returned, he was dragging a somewhat skinny, but very long, tree branch beside him. Huffing and puffing, he flopped down into the sand when he had hopefully moved it close enough.]

There. You can grab it from here.

[oneandmikleonly]

[Mikleo cranes his head back a bit like this, inching his leg back until his claws scrape the stick, and grip, and flex hard, getting used to the sensation. there's an ugly splintering noise, but it holds, and Waver can see him try it with the other three claws one by one, without needing something to grip.]

Ah, there we go, I get how to . . . hey, do you mind moving out of the way a little? I think I can try getting up now.

[teratias]

[Waver just nods and scurries out from underfoot, very happy to be out of the way and not get trampled by a goddamn dragon. Once he's about twenty or so feet back, he replies.]

Far enough?

[oneandmikleonly]

Far enough!

[it's a good thing he moved that far back, actually, because Mikleo doesn't stand so much as heave upward all in one motion, like a whale breaching from the . . . er, sand, shedding it everywhere in another smaller cloud.

he seems kind of wobbly still, and his wings are hanging low enough to drag since he didn't figure out how to refold them yet, but he is safely afoot instead of half-buried in a dune.]

Thanks so much -- it's Waver, right?

[teratias]

[Waver stares for a few moments, gobsmacked because well, dragon.

Sand dragon which is less scary, but dragon. He nods in affirmation.]

Yeah. Waver. Uh. You still have some sand in all your scales.

[oneandmikleonly]

[he inspects himself, a little gingerly, and sighs]

I'll wait a bit to shake it off. If I try it now I'll probably fall over again. Six limbs is so...so uncoordinated? I really don't recommend it. Hopefully your power's been easier to get under control than this!

[teratias]

I am not turning into a dragon, so, yes. Way easier.

[Waver pauses, then folds his arms across his chest.]

Do...you want me to wait with you in case something else happens or...?

[oneandmikleonly]

That would be...much appreciated. Thank you. For all we know more crabs will suddenly emerge at Brie's command and start attacking us as an extra training exercise soon enough.

[that's probably not how crabs work, but what does he know]

[teratias]

[Waver sets himself down in the sand, comfortable enough given that he isn't inclined to being outdoors, never mind near anything sandy.]

Please don't joke about that. What did she assign you to do anyway?

[oneandmikleonly]

I'm supposed to fly two people up there, eventually.

[jerks his head up and to the right, towards one of the peaks that form the highest points of the island]

Of course, that requires getting the hang of flying--and of figuring out how not to be blown entirely off my path--first. I wish we had a wind seraph here for advice.

[teratias]

[Ser-- oh. Right, Waver's had that conversation already. Same world, he notes to himself, then reapplies his attention to the discussion at hand.]

Eventually for that seems like it'd need more than just a day. Jeez.

[oneandmikleonly]

What can I say? We've got a rather harsh taskmistress. It seems useful to get it under control sooner rather than later, though. At least I've discovered it doesn't affect my faculties to change shape; that's what I was worried about most here.

[really REALLY worried. that, in fact, has been the biggest distraction from him getting control of the dragon body properly; apprehension and nerves that he'd suddenly start thinking like one.]