[WORLD ONE | DING DONG THE FISH IS DEAD]

[spellbindmods]

Who: Coven members and the Palai
Where: Celebrating the Uvi going boom-boom
When: Day 67
Open/Closed: Open to All
OOC Note:

The initial setting information found here should be utilized for threads here.

There's no official OOC account for the Palai people. You're free to roleplay their actions and reactions on your own, as in depth as you want -- asking questions, hand-waved interactions, becoming best friends. The new world is your oyster!

For decades, the Palai have had to deal with the threat of the Uvi invading their homes, killing their families and returning 30 days later. After the coven found their way to Aimintas, the Palai found that the threat wasn't so...threatening. After the last attack, with many more Palai lost as compared to previous Uvi instances, some Palai had lost hope. Now, after seeing their nemesis blown to bits and falling out of the ocean, their faith in safety is restored. While the Uvi are still committed (by and large) to learning more about barriers and other forms of safety, the time for focusing on serious things has passed. It will return, but tonight? They celebrate. Unlike their last, shrimpy festival, this party has a lot more going for it. The Palai have had time to process the events and prepare themselves for a grand celebration. The Palai know how to party, but you ain't seen nothin' like this. A ▢ As a birthday tradition, the Palai give the birthday lizard a special concoction. It contains Elto energy and a combination of found herbs that can easily be located in Aimintas. When these herbs are combined with the Elto energy, they create a sort of...hallucinogenic experience. It's supposed to feel extremely relaxing and give the Palai pleasant visions, but in human bodies it's essentially just getting high. There are vials of these being passed around like candy, so don't worry about anyone running out. B ▢ Despite the adults getting lit, there are obviously a lot of baby Palai on the lose. Responsible coven members who have their own babies will have the ability to let them run wild and play with their lizardy cousins. If you want to spend time with your baby, the nursery caretakers have platters of crackers with mushy foods adorning them -- these are essentially candy to a tiny Palai. They may also be tempted by other foods present at the festivities, but you can avoid them getting a tummy ache if you have a watchful eye. C ▢ Speaking of food, there certainly is a lot of it. There are large grills being heated by the newly found bone structures. These hold shrimp and fish, grilled vegetable skewers and other foods. Instead of the Palai doing the serving, the coven members and other Palai are instead encouraged to utilize their own raw ingredients (which includes several large sharks, dolphins, etc.) in whatever fashion they choose. It's essentially a "build-your-own-kabob" station with no limits. D ▢ Because the party is lasting on into the night, some Elto have decided to light the marketplace with some of the bone structures they found by powering them and inserting them into small cloth bags that they then magically levitate around. While they provide a powerful light source that can increase the party's longevity, they're also floating live wires. Bump into one of these and you'll get a nasty shock! This is doubly concerning since Palai babies are fascinated by following these floating "toys." E ▢ The Palai, feeling more familial and supportive of their ideals than ever, haven't let go of the whole family/romance pushing on the coven. Their newest attempt is a bit of a prank (probably due to high Palais) who have taken magic bone structures and tied thick strings to the spines that poke out of them. At the end of these strings are loops that they're quickly slipping around the wrists of coven members they find. You may find that you're suddenly magically connected to someone -- or two other people if you're lucky enough -- by a magical thread that's VERY hard to slip out of or break. F ▢ Wildcard Part 1: Other previous party prompts can also be considered here, from the rolls that make magic go haywire to the aged liquor that causes a bit more than a headache. G ▢ Wildcard Part 2: Any prompt you like!

Comments

[alphonse]

[For the most part, Al tries to stay out of Geir's way so he can concentrate in peace.

The sudden cornstalk snaps him out of standing around quickly, though, and he hurries over to take a closer look at the result.]

That was a lot more powerful and direct than I thought it would be.

[That's a good thing, probably. He sounds impressed.]

How does it compare to when you use your magic on a plant normally?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir regards the cornstalk, then Alphonse, seriously. these Elto bones are definitely no joke -- he supposes that's why they had such dramatic effects up at the Uvi's base.]

It's much stronger, but I don't think I'm doing this right, either. Usually when I do this kind of thing, it's an effect all around me. And it doesn't happen so fast. I think that's bad for the plant.

[he reaches out to pick the Elto bone up instead, curling his claws around it; it's absurdly tiny in his huge talons.]

Let me try this again...

[Geir closes his eyes once more. this time, he tries to filter his power through the bone right at the source, and it results in a more modest circle of growing plants in the usual ten-foot radius around him.]

[alphonse]

[That's a little more in line with what he envisioned, and he nods approvingly.]

That definitely proves we should all practice before we try to use amplified magic on an actual person.

[Even then... overdoing it looks so easy.]

How do you feel? Any less tired than usual?

[rootandbranch]

Not really! But I wasn't trying to do less than usual, and I got more.

[Geir twitches his tailtip a bit; it makes sense that if he tries for the same result as he usually gets, it will accordingly need less power, in this model.]

Let me see how much it takes to do different heights...

[it might take them a while of experimenting with seeds and such, but it does seem like using one Elto bone as a booster provides a solidly linear power boost, at least for the area effect. Geir finally sits back and surveys their results with a sigh.]

Huh. It might be different for more than one bone, or if we tried individual plants again.

[alphonse]

It's probably safe to put at least two of them together.

[He holds the second bone out to Geir, since having physical control over them seems to help with his concentration.]

You're picking this up pretty quick. [Compared to Al, at least, which isn't actually saying much.] Does magic come to you really naturally?

[rootandbranch]

I'm pretty magical! I was born in Asgard, even if I lived in Midgard all this time, so...

[he scoops up the second bone and sneezes again when they spark together; a pause to take a break seems prudent. he can stretch out, at least.]

What's your power from Qri, again?

[alphonse]

[It's the kind of thing easier shown than described, so Al moves to phase out one of the larger plants and waves a hand through it to demonstrate.]

Um, this.

[Useful in its way, but still troubling in its complete lack of logic. Looking back at Geir, though, he gets an idea.]

Normally I'd never be able to use it on someone your size, but maybe with the boost these things give it would work.

[rootandbranch]

[that's... thoroughly unsettling, but also intriguing! Geir's eyes go very wide.]

That's so weird!

[he very cautiously stretches out his nose to try to pass it through the haunted corn himself, ready to jerk back the second he feels anything Weird. maybe it'll shock him the way the bones did...]

Have you tried it on yourself? What does it feel like? It's like the corn is a ghost.

[alphonse]

[Al nods. Weird is the only assessment that fits.]

Yeah. Using it on people is a little harder than something like this [a quick gesture to the corn], but it works. I don't know if it feels like much of anything.

[He's maybe not the best person to explain it.]

No one I've used it on says it hurts. It's just... that weird sensation you get when you're around magic? Like that.

[rootandbranch]

Weird sensation? What's weird about magic?

[the tone of the question is blank. has Geir ever not been around magic? he's... he's not entirely sure. possibly he is magic. hard to say.

on the other hand, he's very far from being risk-averse and very confident in the continuation of his own existence, so even if he has no idea what Alphonse is talking about, he doesn't actually see much problem with going ahead and experimenting.]

Well... whatever! You can try it on me if you want.

[alphonse]

[Everything is weird about magic, but again, he's not the right person for putting that into words.

He takes a step closer to Geir, holding up a hand in a gesture that's completely meaningless but makes him feel like he has more control.]

Okay, first I'll try it once without the bones.

[For comparison's sake, if nothing else. Al concentrates and... gets it to work on Geir's tail. Sigh.]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir startles and turns to look behind him, rather catlike in the motion. he bats at his own tail with his front claws, startling again when they go through.]

What in the world--! How does that even work?!

[alphonse]

I wish I knew.

[Why is magic what it is.]

All I have to do is think about something the right way, and then that happens. Be careful, though. It'll wear off in a few seconds.

[Getting it to activate on command took this long; turning it off instead of letting it fade is still a bit beyond him. Still, Geir will probably feel a warning sensation Al's unaware of right before the magic times out.]

[rootandbranch]

I can think of a lot of ways this would be useful!

[Geir does feel-- something? some subliminal sense, at least, that gets him to pull back his talons before his tail goes solid again. he stares at his tail one more time in wide-eyed respect.]

...wonder what would've happened if my claws had still been there...

[he can see how to use that as a weapon, right off the top of his head. but it could also be used for sneaking around, which Geir has a healthy appreciation for.]

[alphonse]

It did come in handy during the last fight. It's just... weird, relying on something you don't really understand.

[He knows it's completely different for Geir, but he finds himself trying to explain anyway.]

It always feels unpredictable.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir puts the Palai bones aside for a moment to sit up attentively, looking down at Alphonse and curling his tail around his front feet like a cat. he can hear something-- some underlying frustration-- in Alphonse's voice, at that last statement, and he's curious about it.]

What part feels so unpredictable about it?

[alphonse]

[Geir may regret asking.]

It's all guesswork. I don't really know the limitations, or what powers it, or even why we all have such different abilities to begin with. I've been getting by okay with just practicing so far, but for all I know I could be doing it completely wrong.

[He sketches a transmutation circle in the dirt like it's supposed to illustrate something.]

Alchemy is precise. You have to know the composition of what you're working with and exactly how you want to apply the energy. Magic means throwing all that out and what? Using it anyway just based on feelings? It almost doesn't seem fair.

[It isn't just magic, not really. He was equally terrible at trying to learn alkahestry and might be more than a little frustrated he still hasn't adapted.]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir noses at the transmutation circle, scuffing the lines of it in the dirt. the unfamiliar symbols don't mean anything to him, of course, but call him a tactile learner -- he's listening to Alphonse's embittered explanation intently as he fidgets.]

But it's not just about feelings at all! It's about, um... understanding power. At least, that's how it's always been for me.

Your explanation sounds kind of weird, if that's how you're thinking of it. Do you really know exactly what's in this dirt?

[alphonse]

Mm, it's like... when you think of something at its most basic level, you can pull out the elements you want to work with, but there's no affecting something you don't understand.

[He's listening to what Geir has to say, but the ideas are so far removed from Al's usual approach he isn't sure how to bridge the gap.]

Understanding power... If it's not about feelings but you don't have any guidelines, how do you do it?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir makes a whiny little noise under his breath, plaintive.]

Aw, geez, I don't know how to do this... Vern never gets things when I explain them, either. Okay, you're talking about... breaking things down to their most basic level. Understanding that the dirt has dead plants, or metal, or stone in it, or whatever. Right?

[he waits for some acknowledging gesture on Alphonse's part, and then goes on.]

So what's something like you or me? If you just look at flesh, it's-- dirt, basically.

[he's about to say something about how dirt is Ymir's flesh anyway, but he decides not to-- he doesn't think it's true, here, and also it's probably getting ahead of himself in Alphonse's understanding. man, his relatives are weird, especially the old coots that were around before Odin's time... but no, he has to move on.]

But it's not just that. Who you are makes-- a shape in the world. Are you a person or a tool? When you reach out your hand to grasp the things you want, do you get them? Do you bow your head or do you hold it up? Can you decide that, can you make it stick? What's your fate?

[he stares at Alphonse, not sure if this is making any sense; it's deeply intuitive knowledge to him. he can feel it in every bone.]

Your body pushes water away from it if you jump into a pond. Power comes from what you can change in the world, and it pushes events away from you, or around you, or into your hands. Your own strength rests in you like a weight and digs your heels deep into the path you walk on, so others can see your footprints behind you. If you don't understand it, or won't use it, other people will use you instead.

[this is frustrating -- Geir can see Alphonse is not someone powerless, and he wants to make him understand that. does he have better words for this? he doesn't.]

Can you see what I'm talking about?

[alphonse]

[It's probably the most he's ever heard Geir say in one go, and he nods along, fascinated. Thematically, it's not at odds with things he already believes about people and the way they fit into and affect the world. In some ways it reminds him of the things his teacher used to try to drill into him about folding the big, abstract concepts into the practical. When it comes to magic, though, he still isn't there. He knows his own has worked better in emergencies, when control has been natural and automatic instead of something overthought. Applying that minsdet all the time, though...]

I don't know.

[Said honestly, after a silent moment of mulling it over.]

I mean, I think I do, but I haven't figured out how to use it. So maybe I don't know anything at all.

[rootandbranch]

Maybe it'll take you a while to learn how to use it because you don't understand it yet! But if you break it down into little pieces, then parts of who you are in the world are the same as a speck of rock in a handful of dirt. And then the magic you use is just... putting a shape to that, with power.

[he vents a long sigh and rubs at his muzzle sheepishly with a foreclaw; that was a lot of talking, for him. it's not that he doesn't have opinions or thoughts or feelings on these things, but he prefers to listen when he feels so uncertain about most of the new developments in his life, and his direct nature doesn't usually lend itself to long explanations. needing this many words for his awkward attempt to explain something so pivotal to him feels oddly vulnerable, which moves him to an unprompted confession.]

That's why I feel so weird about the power I got from Qri...

[alphonse]

[Al edges a little closer, tilting his head curiously. It's clear he's willing to listen if Geir feels like elaborating.]

It's practically the opposite of your normal magic, right? That has to be confusing.

[rootandbranch]

It's the opposite of everything I am! I don't bring life to things. I reeeally, really don't.

[he was born to kick off the end of everything. what can he even claim to know about life?]

I'm supposed to be doing something totally different... honestly, at home, Vern and I were hiding out from my family while we figured stuff out, because weren't sure if we were going to go through with things or not. So even if I don't like Qri much, this works for us. But the enlivening part is just strange.

[alphonse]

[Says who? he wants to ask, but he'll come back to that soon enough. First:]

You seem pretty good at it to me.

[Not that Al's opinion is what matters here either.]

Even though it's different... [A glance at the plants they've worked on for emphasis.] Do you like using it?