[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]

a
[okay. okay he has to face it sooner or later. deep down he'd known what he'd ended up with, the most inappropriate possible power to work with in place of a seraph's usual abilities. he hadn't tried to use it yet. he hadn't tried talking about it yet. but now it's here, on paper, for everyone to see. and he's being asked to try and use it, also for everyone to see.

he shuts his eyes, opens them again. 'turn into a dragon' is still listed there. nope.]

No. Absolutely not.

[what is he going to tell Edna and Sorey?]

b
[one way or another he gets convinced, probably, and that is when shit gets hilarious. he can turn into a dragon just fine, he discovers. it's even painless, in a disconcerting sort of way, and he's glad to find that it doesn't seem to affect his mind the way regular dragonization might.

on the other hand, the limitation is that he has to learn to operate the body before he can go fly anyone anywhere. and the results? the results are mixed.

which is to say, at some point during the training day, you might find yourself in the path of a roaring, haphazardly flying blue-and-white blur, frantically flapping his wings and telepathically screeching to the heavens:]

OUT OF THE WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

c
[...and later, after that's more sorted out, Mikleo, very much the worse for wear and still in dragon shape, sends out the most sheepish telepathic ping:]

Okay. So it looks like -- my mission is to carry two people and fly up to a high point of the island? I'm pretty sure we'll be okay if--if both people are tied on. Can I get a couple of volunteers?

c

[parodeity]

[ do you know who misses flying? dave. dave misses flying. he raises his hand. even though. he's being spoken to telepathically. ]

I'm game.

[oneandmikleonly]

[oh good that makes him easy to identify. drops a hank of rope at Dave's feet, his wings hanging loose]

...so how good are you at knots, because I don't have opposable thumbs like this.

[parodeity]

I'm actually pretty damn good at 'em. [ he catches the rope easy before it hits the ground, ftr ] I just need to tie myself aboard, or like, do we wanna make a more harnessy thing?

[oneandmikleonly]

If you don't mind just tying yourself on, that'll do it. I want to see about getting something more lasting -- maybe leather from the boar hides? -- before going to that much trouble.

a - i mean her name MEANS little light dragon

[burnblonde]

[Yang is currently lurking around the huts. She wants to make sure they are empty, but it's pretty boring work so she gets distracted easily.

Such as when someone starts muttering to themselves about 'absolutely not' doing something.]

What's wrong?

[oneandmikleonly]

[he jumps and crumples the paper in his grip]

Nothing! Nothing is wrong.

[his power obviously has nothing to do with spur-of-the-moment lying, because he's real bad at it]

[burnblonde]

[Yang gives him a look that says 'I know you're lying' and crosses her arms.]

Look, I don't even know you and I can tell you're lying. Maybe I can help. Is it about your magic power?

[That's why most people were on the beach anyway.]

[oneandmikleonly]

[he's reluctant, but he also knows that was a bad lie, so there's not a lot of point in making it more awkward than it is. still, he offers her the paper instead of telling her what it is outright: dragon transformation; fly two people up a mountain on the island, it says.]

It's -- it's a really bad thing where I come from. It makes sense that we have to practice it if it's what we've got to use, but . . . at the same time, really?

b

[potentite]

[That sure does look like a dragon. Fuck. Uh. Think fast?? It's a person so don't shoot them. Shit. That's most of his plans gone. Think faster.

Nah sorry he's running and waving his arms while shouting telepathically back.]

Land!! Go down! Aim down!!

[oneandmikleonly]

I caaaaaaaaaaaaaan't--

[his wings catch an errant current of wind before he catches up with John, fortunately; he doesn't have them angled right at all, and they send him into a wild spiral. he pulls his legs up HARD to try and avoid hitting anyone on the ground, another frantic screech escaping his throat]

[potentite]

[Jake wants to help but he's not really sure if he can.]

Uh, uh! Are you okay?!

[oneandmikleonly]

Noooo!

[fortunately, the wind dies down right about then; he plows into the beach as his wings finally crumple, spraying sand everywhere]

...

I'm not built for this...

a

[windeity]

[John has his own mission and he's been thinking of how he's supposed to "borrow" items from people so he can merge them to create more monstrosities, but Mikleo's voice gets his attention instead.]

Why not? [John you don't even know what it is, shut up.]

[oneandmikleonly]

Because -- it's someone's idea of a bad joke, that's all.

[he's still frowning down at the paper, so that hints as to what he's annoyed about, at least]

[windeity]

[Give him a sec, Mikleo...]

Oh. Your mission, right? It can't be that bad! If these are supposed to help us get better at our new powers it probably won't be too difficult. [Right?]

And anyway, the best way to handle a bad joke is to play it off until it's a good one.

[oneandmikleonly]

This isn't going to be a good one!

[he bites down on the last couple of words of that, covering his mouth a moment later and taking a deep breath]

...sorry. Sorry.

a

[imsorey]

Hmm? Why not? It can't be that bad.

[he pulls his eyes off of his own paper for long enough to try and steal a peek at Mikleo's]

[oneandmikleonly]

[actively snatches it away so he can't see, at first]

That's what you think. From your tone yours actually isn't that bad, though.

[which is a relief, because if Sorey's was to generate malevolence in other people or something he'd have to give someone a piece of his mind.]

[imsorey]

It's nothing too bad, just maybe a little personal depending on how it goes. I'll help you with yours if you help me with mine.

[halfheartedly tries to take another look by making a grab for Mikleo's paper]

[oneandmikleonly]

[snatches it back]

--that might not be a good idea.

B

[teratias]

[Waver had been quietly practicing with his own magic by himself. It was partly out of habit, magi were solitary after all, but also because he didn't want to be seen making mistakes right off the back. A little time to gain confidence was all he wanted, and frankly, Waver thought that was a reasonable request. He had had enough weird mishaps as is.

So consider him surprised when he hears something yelling to get out of the way and then sees what might be a dragon or might just be a very angry, very large bird. Either way, Waver throws himself out of the way, as directed. It doesn't even register that he heard that cry to get out of the way telepathically rather than out loud.

Waver, being Waver, just yells loudly in response.]

What way is out of the way?!

[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]