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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Dec 13, 2023 23:11:42 GMT -5
In the middle of Astrid’s last gulp, she sees Cypress retching and can’t hold in her laughter. Blixt™ spews from her mouth like the blowhole of a whale expelling swallowed water. It goes everywhere – all over the opposite counter, the cabinets, the floor. It’s a mess. And despite that, Astrid absolutely loses it laughing. She barely manages to keep herself sitting on the counter, she’s laughing so hard.
“I-I told ya ya could try somethin’ else!” she sputters, managing to set her mostly empty bottle down. “I told ya it was– it was bad!” Gods, she’s about to fall off the counter, so she slips down to the floor and leans on the counter instead, which isn’t too easy because she’s a bit short for it. It doesn’t matter. She’s howling.
“N-No! Ya don’t need ta keep drinkin’ it! I’ll drink it. I’m all fer makin’ sure stuff don’t go ta waste, an’ I’ve eaten me fair share a’ shite from the streets, but I ain’t gonna make ya finish it off!”
Finally, the giggles settle, and Astrid tries to swipe Cypress’ partially sipped bottle of rum-flavored Blixt™. “Try anythin’ else. Won’t no one tell ya ya hafta eat somethin’ ya don’t like. Between me an’ Blue, don’t nothin’ go ta waste here. Promise.”
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Dec 13, 2023 23:57:25 GMT -5
Astrid suddenly spitting her mouthful of Blixt™ all over the place catches Cypress by surprise. She startles a little, cheeks turning rosey in embarrassment over the sudden outburst; but even so, she can’t stop herself from smiling sheepishly. “ Well, I know!” She objects squeakily, with a stomp of a hoof on the Blixt™ covered floor, “ I know you said it was bad, but I didn’t know you meant like, old sock marinade kind of bad! Is that really what rum tastes like!?” She can’t stop herself from joining Astrid in laughing all the same, fingers curling almost protectively around her bottle of disgusting liquid™. “ Noooo, I said I would drink it! I’m a satyr of my word!” She states with a matter-of-fact voice, holding the Blixt™ in one hand, and her hand over her heart. Or, that’s the gist of it— in reality, Cypress is crossing her heart with the wrong hand. Unfortunately for her, over exaggerating her promise of finishing this flavor of drink forsaken by the gods themselves, leaves her incredibly vulnerable for the swipe. ”Wh— hey!” Cypress perks her ears when she realizes her hand is suspiciously empty, leaving it full of air. She puffs her cheeks at Astrid good-naturedly, but is ultimately unable to stop herself from laughing. “I mean… I don’t like wasting things.” Cypress admits sheepishly after she’s calmed her own giggle fit down.
She looks a bit ruefully at the bottle in Astrid’s hand. “ As long as you’re not gonna have to throw it away, I… guess that’s okay…” She wiggles her tail, turning over the remaining bottle in her own hand— the fruity flavored blixt™ that she picked up off the counter. Had Astrid offered to throw it away, or dump it instead, she might have fought her over the bottle; but she doesn’t want to make a bad impression at her new friend’s house. “ So if that’s your favorite, should I ask what your second favorite is? I gave that one three chances, and it did not get any better on the third sip.” She jests, biting at the cork to the (hopefully) more palatable blixt™ she’s picked up.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Dec 15, 2023 17:31:52 GMT -5
It’s so hard for Astrid to pull herself together from her laughter. Part of her wonders if she suggested the flavor because she knew Cypress would react that way, but the other part of her knows she wouldn’t have warned her about the taste if she truly meant to pull a prank like that. “Oh– Oh, Avasha, help me,” she stammers, holding herself up from falling by pressing her elbows against the counter. Wiping a tear, she says, “N-Nah, rum’s a lot stronger than that, I think. This is ah… watered down flavor, I s’pose ya could say. I only got ta try the real stuff once.”
Success! Astrid manages to get the bottle from Cypress and holds it out of her reach – which granted isn’t very far at all, but with her strength, Astrid could stiff-arm anyone. “All the flavors are a bit weird,” she says thoughtfully. “The Fej– Fah– The Feed Ya one, least that’s what I call it ‘cause I can’t pronounce whatever the heck that word is, makes ya feel real full. I think it’s like a… meal in a bottle, I s’pose? Darq is like… real sweet sometimes, an’ other times it’s bitter. Dunno if that’s a batch issue or what. Oh, an’ sometimes I can find this Kandy Korn flavor, which is real odd, ‘cause it’s got a bunch ‘a colors but they don’t mix! That one’s like drinkin’ straight sugar. Think those are the oddest flavors in the bunch.”
Looking up at the full cabinet, Astrid continues, “Ya can try anythin’ ya see if ya want. I’ll drink anythin’. Stuff that tastes off don’t bother me that much. ‘Bout anythin’s better than somethin’ rotten from the trash.”
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Dec 16, 2023 21:59:09 GMT -5
“ What? A meal in a bottle!?” Cypress says around the cork of her new Blixt™ bottle, ultimately making her words sound a little more like, “ Wsh? Am mlin a bshtle?” just before the cork pops loose. “ Pbbt.” She spats it out onto the counter, watching it bounce close to her other. “ Are you sure these aren’t potions?” Cypress remarks with a suspicious wonderment. “ Bein’ a meal in a bottle sure sounds like something an alchemist would throw together, you know?” The end of her sentence is muffled as she tips back the fruity-colored (this is the best way to describe it, despite Cypress not knowing any fruit with this colour) and takes a sip. Okay, this is less of a mistake than the rum-flavored bottle; but it’s still hardly fruit flavored.
She listens to Astrid’s ramble about the other flavors of Blixt™ with a subtle smile while she considers what she’s tasting. It’s kind of like… the thought of a fruit enhanced to a thousand and then dipped in a pound of sugar. It’s also a little fizzy, which is a new feeling for Cypress, and she scrunches her nose a little and bleps out her tongue against her teeth while she registers the feeling of aeration. “ It’s not bad,” she praises finally, sniffing while her brain catches up with the pop-fizzle of carbonation. “ It’s kinda tingly, and really sweet.” She turns the bottle over, reading the label: Strawberry. She has tasted a strawberry in every step of its growth and this is definitely not strawberry, but it does taste good. She takes another sip, looking up at the cabinet as Astrid continues— and pausing rather unsubtly— before swallowing her mouthful of strawberry carbonated syrup. “ That’s true.” She agrees, although she might argue that the bottle of rum Blixt™ holds the faintest notes of trash-can water to it. Still… the faint feelings of jealousy that Cypress had felt the sharp twinge of earlier begin to fade, and she’s honestly just happy that Astrid is able to live her life like this now, regardless of how she lived it before. It’s not easy being small and alone in a big, crowded world full of people who don’t care… and some who care too much. “ Your house and your magic cabinet are really cool!” She starts, twisting the bottle in her hands as she reaches up and tips a green bottle off the shelf towards her. “ Is there anywhere else you wanna take me, or should we like… take a bunch of these and go practice magic?” She chuckles sheepishly as she turns to Astrid. “ What kind of things do people do at a sleepover?”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Dec 17, 2023 19:31:15 GMT -5
Astrid sputters out a laugh, having absolutely no idea what Cypress asked through the cork in her mouth. “Well, I ain’t sure they ain’t not potions,” she says. “They’re definitely real similar ta some potions I’ve seen around. I think Miss Veliky just calls ‘em ‘energy drinks,’ which… Aye, they certainly do give ya energy, but that might just be all the sugar. An’ it explains the crash…”
In all honesty, the weird trashcan water flavor of the “rum” BlixtTM could entirely be why Astrid finds some preference to it – not that she would have thought of it that way or does currently.
Given that Astrid didn’t exactly choose this house, and it was more thrust upon her and Cantio than anything, she finds it hard to just say ‘thanks’ and accept the compliment. “Aye, this place is neat. Bit big fer me an’ da, so if ya ever wanna come over, yer more than welcome ta do that. I know da can get a bit lonely when I’m out an’ about adventurin’, so that’s why Charles an’ Spicy stay home most a’ the time.”
There’s a long moment of consideration because Astrid could definitely take Cypress into the thick heavy special door that leads below to Platinum Corp, but if Veliky found out about that, she’d probably fire her. Then again, that would only happen if they got caught. Would they get caught? Actually, yes, it’s a bad idea to take someone with little control over their magic into a place full of things to destroy.
“I got no idea what folks do at sleepovers!” she says with a laugh. “I ain’t never had one before! We could go practice magic in the yard fer sure. That’s why we came here after all.”
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Dec 31, 2023 21:21:40 GMT -5
Cypress giggles and nods around her sip of Strawberry Blixt™; there’s a warm feeling in her chest that blooms when Astrid tells her that she’s welcome to come over. She nods enthusiastically even though she thinks the possibility is unlikely— at least, showing up on her own accord. She doesn’t have the same ease of travel that Astrid has, and the idea of traveling by herself is admittedly not ideal— granted, it’s not that she can’t do it. It’s just… well… Cypress drops her gaze to her hooves for a brief moment. Why is it that she can’t?
Astrid sure can! But Astrid is also armored to the teeth; she’s clearly very strong; and she’s a member of a bunch of guilds! Cypress is very much not any of those; but then again, she is very good at making excuses and comparing herself to the people she sees, so how would she know what she’s good at?
She doesn’t try that hard to figure it out out of fear that… well, she won’t be good at anything. Either way, the simple offer of being welcomed is nice— even if Cypress isn’t sure it will ever happen. It feels like an unofficial seal on their new friendship; and she does at least hope she’ll be able to come back again… and maybe meet Astrid’s dad, sometime. Cypress sniffs, looking up as Astrid laughs; her smile is quick to return, and she laughs in turn. “ Well… I guess we can decide for ourselves, then?” She muses, scratching sheepishly at an ear, “ And the yard’s… fine with possibly getting… blown up, a little?” She giggles, waiting for Astrid to lead the way before she trots after her. " I really can't, um... guarantee what stuff will happen. It's just kind of... like that."
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jan 2, 2024 17:19:53 GMT -5
It often does not occur to Astrid that the things she finds easy because of her resources gathered from adventuring are actually quite challenging for any layman. While she often finds herself reminiscing of her days on the streets wandering aimlessly, things have changed so much for her that those days are really not so long gone. She tends to focus on the idea that with just a little encouragement, she found some purpose, a light at the end of the tunnel, to step forward and do what she wants without looking for excuses or roadblocks. Maybe in being so lighthearted about the seemingly grandiose things, others will also take those steps forward to finding themselves in a world that’s easy to be lost in.
So, she looks at Cypress, noticing her downcast eyes, and in that moment remembers that setting off from Sky Peak on her own for the first time after rescuing miners with Veliky and Zarius was a pretty challenging thing to do. Things are easy for her now, and sure, the first steps are the hardest, but working up the courage to take those first steps really needs a helping hand. Inviting Cypress here whenever she wants seems easy, it sounds easy. Just get on the road and go for an adventure, but it’s also probably pretty scary when she has magic she can’t control. If that’s the big fear, then they’d better find a good way to conquer it!
Sliding off the counter, Astrid looks up at Cypress. “Aye, we’ll decide fer ourselves! An’ I think we decided we’re gonna help ya conquer that weird concoction a’ magic ya got swirlin’ around inside a’ ya. I think if ya can get a good handle on that, travelin’ won’t be much issue fer ya.” With a confident smile, she turns on her heel and heads down the stairs to the basement workshop.
“Don’t need no guarantees about what will or won’t happen,” she says, digging into a drawer to pull out a notebook. “We’re gonna try a bunch a’ stuff an’ see how it acts! That’ll help us figure out how ta control it! Just can’t be afraid of it. Or maybe ya can be. Might change how stuff goes. Just don’t be scared a’ gettin’ hurt ‘cause I won’t let that happen.”
Shutting the drawer, Astrid heads to the back door left of the two forges and goes into the backyard. Then, she gathers up the magic to pull her golem Buttfellow out of the magical pocket dimension she stores him in whilst adventuring. Slapping his dimpled metal surface, runes alight across it, and the golem goes from a lazy state to one of alertness. Astrid motions over to Cypress, which Buttfellow’s gaze follows.
“Gonna cast a protectin’ spell on ya, so if somethin’ happens that’ll hurt, it’ll absorb that an’ leave ya without a scratch! After it’s on ya… Go nuts! Try anythin’!”
Buttfellow raises one hand, and the runes on him turn gold as magic prepares itself to be cast on Cypress should she approach.
Pet Pocket Arcane Activation [post 1/4] Mana Bulwark [spell 1/3] - Armor of Faith
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Jan 19, 2024 22:48:27 GMT -5
Cypress takes another sip of her Blixt™, ears lifting when Astrid slides off the counter. A sheepish smile quirks the edges of her lips; the idea of traveling not being an issue is a pleasant one, even if it is hard for her to stand here and imagine. She swallows her mouthful of nightmarishly carbonated syrup and then trots after the girl once she's turned tail to lead her elsewhere in the home.
The satyr precariously balances her couple of cans in one hand while she follows Astrid downstairs. "Well..." Cypress answers, hooves clicking as she settles at the bottom of the staircase, "I just think it's good to warn you, I really don't... use magic, you know?" she murmurs, listening to the clack of the drawer as it closes. Hearing that Astrid won't let her get hurt is a comfort, but honestly, she's not worried about herself! "I don't want you to get hurt, either! Or Spicy! Even though he's not really coming out with us, but... still, you get what I mean, right?" Cypress trails off, drowning her worries in Blixt™, and follows Astrid out the back door and into the backyard; each step she takes makes her stomach turn a little; and then, Astrid pulls out a golem. Suddenly. Just out of thin air. There it is. The thing is massive, like, half the size of a house! Well... a normal house, at least; maybe not the Stormstone Manor.
Cypress startles, hooves stamping into the grass while the runes alight across its massive form, bringing it to life. "Woah..." she stutters, eyes widening at its appearance. She takes a few steps back, shooting an uncertain glance at Astrid; but Astrid is motioning at her, and... she doesn't want to look too cowardly.
She's taken many big steps today, what's one more... right?
She swallows, looking nervously at Astrid, "Huh? You mean, now? Just..." Her shoulders stiffen as Buttfellow raises a hand, and she meets the golem's gaze for a few solid moments before she relaxes enough to start moving again. "Right... okay, yeah..." She moves a few steps away to set down her drink, "Just... magic away..."
After she sets her drink down, she heads back towards Astrid and Buttfellow. She wrings her hands together as she approaches the golem, trying to decide exactly how she's going to go about this. How does one even use magic, like... on purpose? She knows the feeling of a spell being cast; it tightens her chest, filling her with a near unbearable warmth, or chill; but then it's gone. She's not actually sure how to harness that feeling on purpose, or even if she wants to.
It kind of hurts sometimes.
"Okay." She swallows nervously, waiting for the spell that Astrid promised would come from Buttfellow before she even begins to attempt harnessing that feeling. Cypress closes her eyes, digging down for... something within her to pull from; a feeling of something unusual, or magical, or something that she can't quite name. She waits, brows furrowing for a moment while she focuses; until she... thinks... she feels... something and then she throws her arms forwards! Hic. Cypress jumps when an unexpected hiccup causes her shoulders to jump, and her cheeks flush as she clasps both hands over her mouth.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Jan 21, 2024 15:24:43 GMT -5
Understandably, Cypress seems pretty nervous about everything, and observing this, Astrid considers that maybe they shouldn’t jump right into things without a plan on day one. It would be pretty bad to take Cypress back to the orphanage without at least one good sleepover night, right? But then again, Astrid is fairly confident that things will work out. It’s only Cypress’ magic that gets a bit wonky, so a protection spell from Buttfellow should be perfectly fine! Still…
“Erm, we can wait, if ya–” But before she can really get the sentence out, Cypress has swallowed some amount of anxiety and started trying to figure things out. Astrid takes this as a good sign – one that Cypress trusts her word that she won’t let her get hurt, and that’s a nice feeling. So, when she tries something and instead only hiccups, Astrid’s brow furrows with confusion. Then she starts writing.
Hiccups caused by magic? Odd results fer the first test.
With attentive eyes, Astrid looks up from her notebook at Cypress. “Ya got magical hiccups? Anythin’ hurt? I didn’t see no sparks or nothin’.”
It does not occur to Astrid that this could potentially be from the BlixtTM rum drink at all. This has never happened to her, so why would she think that?
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Jan 30, 2024 22:28:58 GMT -5
Cypress lowers her ears and tries to stifle her hiccups by pursing her lips tight. She shakes her head, doing her best to shake off the warmth of embarrassment, but it persists. “I don’t think it’s—” Another hiccup causes her shoulders to jump; Cypress covers her mouth, tail twitching back and forth like a frustrated displacer beast. “—magical hiccups.” She finally finishes, “Nothin’ hurts… It just... feels like hiccups.”
Oh, this is so lame! She doesn’t know what she expected, but this is even lamer than that. She sighs, trying to ignore a heat that starts to itch at her skin; she scratches at her wrist, trying to hide her discomfort. “ Maybe I drank too fast? I hear that causes hiccups.” Oh, but she’s not here to talk about the origin of hiccups! She’s here to figure out what’s causing her magical meltdowns, but a lot of good that does when she doesn’t even actually know how to cast a single spell. She sighs, stomping a hoof to try and displace the growing discomfort, “ Sorry. Um… I gotta be honest with you, Astrid, I really don’t know how t— to, um.” The longer she talks, the more her thoughts begin to grow a little frazzled, making them harder to place in words; and the temperature starts to become so unbearable that she doesn’t even want to continue. Cypress raises a hand up to her collarbone, and distantly recognizes the same overwhelming feeling from the Summer Festival. Oh… maybe they are magical hiccups. She stifles another tiny hiccup that makes her shoulders jump, but this one releases a flash of orange, followed by a distorted wave of heat that pulses out from her in a radius. The discomfort fades almost instantly and finally releases the tension in Cypress’ shoulders— but the magic heightens the temperature all around her to a great degree, giving off glittering ripples within Buttfellow’s protective spell. 1. Heat Cloak
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 3, 2024 21:19:18 GMT -5
The more Cyrpess hiccups and shows clear frustration with them, the harder it is for Astrid to keep a straight face. She truly wants to note if their source is magical or not, but Cypress’ little hops and huffs are really getting to the half-dwarf. A breath catches in her lips pressed sealed, bubbling up her cheeks to prevent a slight laugh. Astrid quickly swallows it and clears her throat to hide it however poorly she does so.
“Drank too fast, huh?” Astrid asks, tapping her pen against her chin thoughtfully. BlixtTM rum may taste somewhat like rum, or at least she thinks it does, or maybe it even has some rum in it. She’s heard tale of people drinking too much at the bar and ending up with hiccups. With this, she wracks her brain for some solution here and recalls one that worked on her once with regular hiccups. There’s no telling if it will work on Cypress’ hiccups if they’re magical.
While she considers, Astrid is suddenly blasted in the face with a wave of heat that threatens to singe her skin if she doesn’t step back. Clenching her eyes shut and taking a few steps back, Astrid peeks over her notebook cautiously waiting for the heat to dissipate. “Ouch, that’s hot,” she says before quickly writing down what’s happened. “I doubt ya made that happen on yer own. Look, magic comes from all kinds a’ sources. Fer me, it’s easiest ta tap into my emotions. It’s like… ah… weird extra energy that ya put out. Like willin’ a marble ta hit keep rollin’ at just the right speed ta roll outta the little marble arena, ya know? Well, maybe ya don’t.”
Snapping her fingers, Astrid causes a wash of icy cold air to rush through the area[1] and balance out the heat radiating from Cypress even just for a second as she approaches her. “The hiccups are a problem though I bet, I bet. If ya really got the hiccups…” Astrid leans her face in uncomfortably close to Cypress’, almost to the point that their noses are touching, and a dark shadow falls over her eyes while a devious grin spreads across her face. “...Then I’m gonna need ya ta prove it.”
1. Frost Flash
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Feb 12, 2024 23:18:13 GMT -5
Uggghhh, this is embarrassing!!
Cypress pouts; her tail swishes back and forth in a show of irritation; she can feel the heat radiating off of her in waves, even after the first initial blast of heat. “Urgh…” she sighs, letting her hands drop from covering her mouth. “This hap—” She tenses with another restrained hiccup, “—happened at the Summer Festival, too… It’s a wonder I didn’t hurt anyone on accident.” She hiccups again, her shoulders jumping slightly while she looks at the palms of her hands, as if they’ll explain what happened to her.
She shakes her head when Astrid tries to explain tapping into her emotions; Cypress would much rather avoid that at all costs. “I don’t think I—” Another hiccup racks the little satyr, “—can really do that without making a lot of things happen.” She sniffs, ears turning back when another hiccup shakes her. “I mean, I guess it’ll start up the magic, but… I don’t think the marble’s gonna be rolling at the right speed.”
She cuts off when a wash of cold air hits her through the warm embrace of her magic. She blinks a few times, hiccuping again while Astrid somewhat ominously approaches her. Cypress draws back a little, ears twisting backwards while she arches back when Astrid leans uncomfortably close to her face.
… Wait, what? She wants her to—
“P-prove it!?” Cypress echoes, puffing out her cheeks in a pout. “Why do I have to prove it, you just saw what happened!” She looks back at Astrid with her eyes shadowed very seriously; she stomps a hoof with a little puff. “Fine! I can prove it.” She crosses her arms, ears tilted back slightly while she waits.
…and waits….
….
Cypress blinks.
….
She’s not hiccuping. Why isn’t she?
Confusion breaks her confidence in her ability to prove that she has the hiccups. “Wait— Astrid, what’d you do??”
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 12, 2024 23:30:08 GMT -5
Astrid’s long canine teeth make her smile look especially devilish when she draws back from Cypress’ personal space and watches smugly while both of them wait for hiccups that never come. Her pen taps against her notepad until Cypress finally admits defeat, which causes her to just start laughing triumphantly. “That’s a little mind trick,” she says, tapping her temple with the pen. “An’ if it worked on the hiccups, then we’ll just have ta find the thin’ that works on yer magic.”
She turns on a heel and walks back to her observational spot with Buttfellow watching her with an empty expression, completely oblivious to the hilarity that ensued in front of him. “Alright!” Astrid pipes, snapping her heels together and watching Cypress like an officer preparing to watch a solider's demonstration. “Let’s try magic without the hiccups this time. Can’t guarantee that trick’ll work on ya again since ya know it now. Either way, I believe in ya. You can do this! Just think about manifestin’ somethin’! Use yer emotions!”
The protective magical aura around Cypress shimmers with anticipation.
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Post by Cypress Springleap on Feb 13, 2024 13:21:52 GMT -5
“ Mind trick?” Cypress repeats, baffled and flustered by the fact that it apparently worked. She rubs the bridge of her nose, looking off to her side sheepishly while Astrid turns on a heel to trot back to her spot she was standing in earlier; that mind tricked works really well. Now she’s not even sure if she actually had the hiccups or not. She lets her shoulders droop, a sigh of defeat escaping her before she looks back at Astrid. “ Well, hopefully we’ll only need it once, then.” she remarks, taking a few paces back to distance herself from Astrid (just in case) while she listens to her advice. She nods, looking up at Buttfellow with uncertainty; she watches the magical aura shimmer, and that at least gives her some relief that if something were to happen, maybe it wouldn’t hurt anyone. “ Use my emotions…” she trails off, sinking her fingertips in the fabric of her skirts while she closes her eyes and tries to… summon something. Emotions prove a lot harder to have when you’re trying to force them, though; so she just searches her mind for… something, anything to latch onto and take her down a rabbit hole spiral. An easy one is just the fact that she is where she is; not at Astrid’s house, just, an orphan with muffled memories of a past she can’t recall. Finding help is hard on the streets; people treat you like a little burden, and that’s disheartening and frustrating to a degree that’s difficult to verbalize. You meet kind people every now and then, but they disappear just like everyone else; and you learn that you can’t rely on kindness because eventually that will run dry. So it’s lonely; even being at Shade’s Orphanage fills her with a unique sort of loneliness despite being surrounded by kids just like her; and people who care. It’s difficult to tell yourself that everything will be okay this time because it never turned out okay the thousands of other times you told yourself that. She likes Shade’s Orphanage, though; Cyran and Del; and Andromeda and Oriole; are all very kind, so she tries to work hard to ensure she can justify her stay, because being alone, yet again, would be dreadful. Unbeknownst to the satyr, her train of thought pulls something forwards; but she’s too busy to feel the changes right away. This manifestation doesn’t come with an overbearing heat or a chilling cold; it comes with a slow pressure behind her eyes, and a silence that mutes her thoughts for just a second; she feels pulled in two different directions for a lightning bolt of a second; and in those few moments, another… her, shows up. (1)Cypress can’t hold her train of thought; a wave of dizziness overcomes her, and she staggers back a few steps; ultimately stepping away from herself, and leaving a baffled image behind. “Uggh…” she whines, rubbing her eyes. “I think all I did was give myself a heada—aAAA!?” Her shriek spooks… herself!? Causing her to trip over her own hooves when she staggers back, and disappears in a puff of arcane sparks when she lands, leaving her alone inside the shimmering again. Cypress tries real hard not to panic.
"THAT'S NEW. THAT HASN'T HAPPENED BEFORE." 1. Replicant
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Feb 13, 2024 17:43:24 GMT -5
“Aye, a mind trick,” Astrid says. “Like magic without the magic. That one uses the power a’ peer pressure an’ social anxiety ta make ya stop hiccupin’. I dunno how it works, but it does.” She lets out a little laugh, recalling the one time a smarmy, drunken dwarf used it on her. It isn’t often that she gets to make use of the trick, but it’s something she appreciates knowing about.
Astrid watches closely while Cypress tries to focus on magic and make something happen. She watches as her fingers parse at the folds in her skirts, fidgeting anxiously because of how unpredictable her magic is. It somewhat reminds Astrid of when she first started learning to manifest magic with Leni and Ulrich all those months ago. It took days just to apply a simple charge to her hammer, and even that was exhausting and left the palms of her hands charred with lightning residue. After being struck, nothing would hurt quite so badly, so Astrid didn’t find herself fearing trying new magic.
For Cypress, it’s probably entirely different, having to overcome the fear of accidentally exploding yourself or others. To be fair, the two girls have only just met, so why should she believe that Astrid has the best intentions in mind or that she could probably survive just about anything Cypress might accidentally manifest? Getting over the fear will likely be the hardest part, but that’s true for just about anything in life, isn’t it?
“Ya’ve got this!” Astrid calls encouragingly. And surely enough, something happens. Another Cypress appears and then promptly disappears in a confused puff of smoke and sparks. Astrid lets out a triumphant laugh despite the terror Cypress might be feeling. “Aye! Ya did it!” She rushes over and helps pull Cypress to her feet, doing it so effortlessly that it’s almost akin to an adult lifting a toddler. Of course, Astrid makes sure that Cypress can stand before letting her go.
“That was a Replicant!” she says. “It’s tough magic! Took me a while ta learn, but mighty useful! Good job!”
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