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PresidentStalkeyes Eats moldy bread and flies into windows from United Kingdom of England-land Since: Feb, 2016 Relationship Status: Do you like me? (Yes ⎕ Definitely ⎕ Absolutely!!! ⎕)
Eats moldy bread and flies into windows
#251: Oct 5th 2020 at 12:32:14 PM

Zoss

Zoss sat patiently, leaning forward, eager to hear what Mekel had to say about the potential for the industries to combine- oh, wait, they're going to break them in slowly. They leaned back and quietly sighed to themself - they'd been over all this basic stuff already. Sensing magic is, like, magic for dummies 101, first page; a 10-year-old could sense magic, surely.

But wait - no, this was good. Prime opportunity to show Mx. Mekel that Zoss Panopola officially Knows What They Are Doing™. Maybe if they were lucky, they'd get invited to some extracurricular magic jam sessions, if they really went all in. They needed to do super good, do more than everyone else, and do it in a way that made it clear no effort was being spent in the process.

"Ah, that's all? Hehehe, child's play!" they cockily declared, as they leaned back in their chair, their good leg resting atop their bad one, as they placed their hands behind their head, trying to look as relaxed as possible.

It's a good thing they were wearing a mask, because otherwise everyone would be seeing some strain.

As they zeroed in on the room's magic, they could feel... a great pool, of sorts. A goopy waterfall, sparkling and boiling with all sorts of reactions going on beneath the surface. Little explosions, the odd static shock. Lots of activitiy. If they could see it, it'd almost certainly be glowing green. It was weird how magic made you 'feel' light and colours that don't exist, but that's part of why folks fixate on it so much, they figured. They needed to dive right into the big ol' pool, snatch away all the bubbles of sweet, sweet nectar of the Gods beneath it - the panacea, the cure to all of life's problems, all of it could be within their grasp! They just had to climb that big ol' diving board of ambition, of progress... yep, they're climbing, they're climbing above the surface, climbing like a hyperactive bat, until at last, at the precipice, at the summit, the peak, the zenith...

Wait a minute, this is all feeling very familiar...

Zoss' eye suddenly shot open - everyone looking at them could probably see it briefly light up green.

"Wait, wait, I GOT IT! I GOT THE THING!" they suddenly announced as they leapt out of their chair, as if taking a dive. Right into a table. Ouch. ...Didn't break it, at least.

Edited by PresidentStalkeyes on Oct 5th 2020 at 8:33:26 PM

Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#252: Oct 5th 2020 at 1:04:00 PM

Freana

So they were supposed to focus, huh?

Easier said than done.

Freana wasn't much for introspection. Didn't believe much in spiritualism or 'looking inside one's self.' She prefered living in the moment, focusing on the here and now. Going inwards was a waste of time, and she'd prefer to use it for something productive. Like pulling another job or getting some booty.

Wasn't sure which was better.

But that was only part of it. The truth was, she didn't like looking at herself very much.

Never liked what she saw.

But it wasn't as though she had much choice, did she?

Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, she took a deep breath. She tried to concentrate. Tried to focus. But... it was hard. More than once, she came a bit too close to her own thoughts. Her fears and doubts, hidden beneath lock and key.

Though lately, the lock had started to rattle.

But her attention was soon diverted by a stream. A warm, golden stream, flowing upwards. Higher and higher it went, reaching greater heights and glowing brighter and brighter. Until she found the source. A glowing wellpool of... life?

No. Not life.

Of strength.

A spring of strength and energy. A vast source that she could draw on to increase her own. To become stronger and stronger, until no-one could touch her! All she had to do was take one little sip, and—

Freana's concentration was broken by a sudden onset of floof. Whatever she'd done, every single strand of her fur had poofed up like a big ball of cotton. It was like she was some sort of big duster. Everything — her clothes, her muscles, all of it — was one big ball of FLOOF.

...

Well.

At least she was irriestable.

Always look on the bright side, right?

HilarityEnsues Since: Sep, 2009
#253: Oct 5th 2020 at 1:58:34 PM

Xera

Xera listened to the lecture, trying her best to take in everything their instructor was saying. Well, all she really needed to do right now was close her eyes and relax, right? That wasn't exactly brain alchemy.

And so she closed her eyes and tried to focus on what she could see. Moments passed... she tried to get into a meditative trance, as though she was back home again and deep in prayer with her family. Then, she started to see it.

A huge desert field full of... grey blobs? As she focused more clearly on them, she could see they were swords. No, blades this size were too thick to be called 'swords' - these were closer to giant hunks of iron.

Xera grabbed one of these huge swords - it took a considerable amount of effort to grab it out from the ground it was firmly stuck in. But when she did, she felt incredibly powerful. She felt the strength of generations of warriors flow through her body, causing this gigantic blade that was larger than she was to feel weightless in her hands.

She then saw a massive monster several times her size with a bizarre, eldritch visage. It felt like every negative feeling and insecurity she'd ever had was somehow combined to create this hideous monster. Somehow with but a single strike, she managed to slice it in two... actually, she slices the entire desert world she constructed within her mind in two.

Which causes some problems, because now she's falling into a giant chasm in her magical mind palace. And in the real world, she falls out of her seat and hits the ground with a thud the rest of the class could feel.

"Um..." It takes her a couple of seconds to understand what just happened before she gets back up. "I am... fine. I had a bit of a... thing. Yeah."

MichaelDj54 Since: Mar, 2010
#254: Oct 5th 2020 at 2:49:46 PM

Zyan

Meditate huh? He could easily do that.

Immediately at the instruction, he fell down into a lotus position and his hands went to his sides, palms to the sky, and his tail wrapped around his waist. His eyes closed and he breathed in slowly.

Then exhaled just as slowly.

And slowly he began to tune out the world around him, casting him into the darkness he found himself so comfortable with. So silent, a pin drop sounded like an orchestra. It brought peace during the dark times. So, he was supposed to sit here and wait for some kind of effect to show itself? To look for the energies, the magics, and how it showed to HIM. Well, that sounded like fun to-

Oh, no, there we go.

In the black pitch void in front of him, it stretched on for what seemed like miles and miles with no end in sight. And then, something fell from the sky in a pin drop of how small it was. It struck the ground, and in a flash of light, the blackness was now brilliant gold. Before he had a moment to respond, it changed again, this time from behind him, into cracked, dry earth. This time from the left, and the ground shifted to vibrant, rocky red. From the right, it changed to a bright, verdant field, and it continued like this for several moments until the changing landscape seemed to fight for itself, ultimately spiraling, coalescing into a singular point-

-Himself.

His eyes were flooded with colors and for a moment, even in his meditative state, found it difficult to breath. And when he regained his sight, he looked around. He was back in the black landscape but something felt...off. Weird. Strange. He looked around for a moment when a strange, brown coloration caught his attention.

Looking down, his right arm had changed into a thick, twisting bark of a branch with a little leaf poking out of his elbow. His other arm turned rugged, ragged of stones and rocks of various sizes, claws looking like stalagmites.

And then he was back in the classroom, eyes returning to their slitted state for a moment as he gasped and quickly leaned against his own legs, shaking his head and tightly closing his eyes. Finally, he opened them and he chuckled.

"So I think I just turned into a rock...tree...thing." He laughed. "Wow."

TheRealWren Omega Overlord. Or superjwren329. Either or. from I...honestly have no idea. Since: Jan, 2011
Omega Overlord. Or superjwren329. Either or.
#255: Oct 5th 2020 at 6:07:23 PM

Elliot

Well, if it was that simple, Elliot grinned and did as he was told, closing his eyes and trying to focus. It couldn't be too hard, surely.

And yet, while there was the image of a blue sky...there wasn't anything else, the clouds faded and the colors began to simply drain leaving the young man lost and even more perplexed. He couldn't sense anything...or see anything for that matter as everything went blank like an empty canvas for a few moments.

The quiet beat and pulse of his heartbeat was reassuring at least but that wasn't...was it magical? ...No, no different than normal.

It was that point his imagination and mind drifting off to the ideas and daydreams of adventure rather than any attempts to concentrate on finding the source of the magic, took over as the blank white canvas brightened up again with flashes of places out of stories and of his own imagining.

Sure, he'd pretty much failed at even sensing magic, let alone harnessing it...but there'd probably be other chances to figure all of this out, it wasn't like he was being thrown into a deep ocean and expected to swim.

Edited by TheRealWren on Oct 5th 2020 at 11:38:41 PM

Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.
UndyingPhoenix Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
#256: Oct 10th 2020 at 2:49:37 PM

Magic 101

Mekel only nodded as everybody went around sensing the energies, though when Shard, Pick and Zoss spoke up, they raised an eyebrow.

"The others are pretty much standard. A Dragonfolk sensing transmutative energies, Life and Body should be easy for Alvar, Fenrir and Bogovi...but 3 people who sensed the Rift on their first foray? Curious. One is a Mesmer like myself, so that's not unexpected, but you other two...are you sure this is your first exposure to Rift magic? But that's not important right now anyways. Moving on."

Mekel backed up a bit, putting the staff away, its purpose complete. Their hands gripped each other behind their back as they once again addressed the class directly, a small pleased smile crossing their face.

"Good! Now that everyone, or most of you I should say, have sensed an energy or even two, it's time for the next two steps, in the form of tapping into an energy and then manifesting it. I want you all to split up to have a safe distance between yourselves, then sense an energy once more. Once you've felt your energy of choice, I want you to 'hold' it, 'tap' it, 'use' it, whatever you want to call the process of you taking that energy and bringing it into the physical world. This should manifest as the element in question for things such as fire, earth, or so on. Rift should manifest as distorted space or whatever personal flair you might have for it, though I would not recommend Rift for a novice in its ways to manifest. If you bring Body or Life to the fore, you should feel your body bristle with physical power and lightness as if you were in some sort of adrenaline-fueled trance without the disorientation, while Life should make you feel...healthy, full of vitality and energy. These are merely common ways I've heard of these manifesting, and it could very well be different for you. During this entire process, keep yourself calm. Do not hesitate too much, nor go after it too eagerly, lest you lose control and have it fizzle out of your grasp."

With the lecture ended, Mekel waited for the students to split up to practice safely amongst themselves, weaving between them to make their way to Elliot and placing a firm hand on his shoulder. Their visage softened a bit as they gazed down at the human, head tilted to one side.

"You appear to be having trouble sensing any energy. Do you require assistance?"

Enirboreh AKA Nixer from the domain of infinite floof. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
AKA Nixer
#257: Oct 10th 2020 at 3:21:09 PM

Sieglinde von Brandt

Sieglinde merely nodded rapidly along to these instructions, in a light and happy state due to the fact she could now sense things. Well, more or less. She scooched over to a spot further away from the others, before deciding to get back up onto her feet again for this next part—letting out all the breath in her lungs as she closed her eyes and cupped her hands in front of her as if ready to hold something out in them.

Okay... just gotta... draw it out? Or in? Or– ah, screw it. Worse thing that'll happen is I'll explode and die... then that'll just be it and I can't even worry about it. Or maybe it'll just fizzle out naturally and look pretty! Or nothing'll happen and I'll look like an idiot.

She furrowed her brows, remembering that as a living physical creature she needed to breathe occasionally and briefly sucking in a breath before quickly returning to her meditative state.

...but I want it to be... me. Pure Sigi...~! Wonder what that'll be... let's find out...~

It wasn't long before her tranquil state and understated efforts began to pull through. There was a brief, pinkish swirl of light that bounced off from her form almost with the sound of a giggle, before it was followed by flowing ribbons of pinkish-red and white energy that began to coalesce in the centre of her cupped palms. Soon there was a gently thrumming ball of... something hovering in her hands, and she gasped joyfully upon opening her eyes—letting out an excitable squeal and subsequent giggle of joy as she bounced on the balls of her feet and held it out towards the others in a proud showcase.

“It's pink! Guys, it's pink! It's Sigi pink!!”

Words could not describe the sheer look of ecstasy on her face as she proclaimed this, and she soon found herself staring entranced at the swirling pink ball of energy in her palms—the light reflecting in her eyes as her expression softened, and the glow dimmed gradually as she began to calm down again.

...That's... that's me. Pure Sigi... just like I...

A tear slowly crept out from the corner of her eye, swiftly followed by three more as she ruefully continued to stare at the thing. It soon faded and fizzled out, but she still looked blankly at where it once was—her face a microexpressive mix of emotions that couldn't be fully read.

Edited by Enirboreh on Oct 10th 2020 at 11:23:09 AM

bork
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#258: Oct 10th 2020 at 3:35:41 PM

Freana

Unfortuantly, Frean's fur was already bristiling with floofiness. She could still move around, but it made doing anything a pain in the ass with her thick artic fur going everywhere.

Still, she guessed she had to try, huh?

She closed her eyes, going back into her trance. She saw the water again. Saw the flowing stream and the golden pool. But this time, she wasn't content with merely taking a sip or splashing it about. Instead, she took a large handful within her hands, brought it to her muzzel, and drank deep.

The effects were immediate. Just as she began to defloof, her furbristled again, like bracing against a gust of wind. She could feel her veins popping and muscles surging, her body filling with more raw power than she was used to.

Suddenly, she went and punched the wall next to her in the blink of an eye, almost like an involuntary reflex. "Holy shit! Uh, sorry, I—"

It was only in the midst of wondering what in the seven hells she'd just done that she saw the fruits of her labors — a large solid dent that she wouldn't have ever thought possible. Even with her massive physique.

...huh.

Maybe there was something to this crazy magic stuff after all!

Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 10th 2020 at 5:39:16 AM

furnacedoor from in the middle of something Since: Sep, 2020 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#259: Oct 10th 2020 at 3:44:47 PM

Ok.

The Sensing thing had been...fine. It had left a strange ache in her chest, but that was more metaphorical than medical. A sense of melancholy, nameless longing, what have you. Not dangerous to her health. But “manifesting an energy” sounded a lot like...actual magic.

Her first thought was to stage a minor injury, for a justification to leave early. But no, that could have unforeseen consequences. Gambits like that had worked back home, but back home there weren’t many Life magic practitioners. Here, she was as likely to have magic forced upon her as she was to get away from it. Better just to sit in the corner, and hope that whatever aura was letting her breathe easier would keep any distant magic from hurting her too much.

She found the same corner she had been in before, curled her legs beneath her, and watched those around her do their best to conjure energies. She didn’t risk getting the cards out again, considering they had lulled her into a state of Sensing. She didn’t want to chance that they’d do the same with this.

Eventually, her gaze fell on Sigi, who was exclaiming in joy at the bundle of pink energy she had produced. Verona watched, an unaccountable feeling of jealousy rising up in her even as she was glad to see Sigi happy.

I should be able to do that. Why can't I do that? What did I do wrong?

Then Sigi’s stopped moving or speaking, and the feeling was abruptly quenched by concern. She looked...off.

Verona cupped her hands around her mouth, stage-whispering in a doomed attempt not to break the quiet of the room.

“Psssst, Sigi!”

Once she was loud enough to hopefully catch Sigi’s attention, she made a series of hand gestures and mouth movements which were, loosely, meant to mean:

Are you okay?

Are you still doing magic stuff?

Is it safe for me to come over there?

Do you want to come over here?

(In reality, this looked more like frantic arm waving and head tilting with only rudimentary intelligibility at best.)

Edited by furnacedoor on Oct 10th 2020 at 3:46:45 AM

kagescorpionakki Breath of the Sun from Long Ago Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
Breath of the Sun
#260: Oct 10th 2020 at 4:37:32 PM

Pick

The instructor set them to actual utilize the energies they'd detected. Pick nodded, closing his eyes once more and focusing. He separated the particles, mentally breaking them down until he'd reached the fundamental base. Rift, pure and simple, was the easiest for him to understand, so he called upon that, pulling individual particles towards him.

He held out his hand, and a series of small glowing dots flashed into existence in his palm. They then slammed together soundlessly, and seemingly vanished. Seemingly, until one looked closer.

There was a distortion in Pick's palm. Looking through it was like looking through a warped glass lens, the light itself bending. A small, but noticeable bend in space, contained within the Mesmer's hand.

"Spacial distortion. As expected." Pick held it up to his eye like a magnifying glass, looking around the room through the distorted space. Then he slowly lifted his opposite hand and poked a finger through it.

His finger came out the other side of the bend, at a different angle then it had entered. It also extended slightly further than it normally did. Pick slowly retracted his finger. "Appears to be stable. Potential combat applications, if I can consistently manifest it at specific angles. Will have to test this further."

What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Enirboreh AKA Nixer from the domain of infinite floof. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
AKA Nixer
#261: Oct 10th 2020 at 5:11:25 PM

Sieglinde von Brandt

“...H-Huh?” Sieglinde sniffed at Verona's borderline manic gesturing, tilting her head curiously at her silent charades as she embarrassedly wiped the tears off of her face. A soft blush graced her cheeks a moment, before a prolonged pensive look gave way to one of realisation—and she soon ooh'd and made her way over to Verona.

“Coming~!”

She soon plopped down beside her, grinning lopsidedly at her fellow Alvar before biting her lip shyly and staring down at the floor instead. Almost in a manner ashamed she pursed her lips and wrapped her arms around herself in an uncomfortable hug, leaning a degree away from Verona as if she'd somehow hurt her through proximity alone.

“...sorry I... did that magic thingy, Verona. I forgot you were allergic... and I got all excited 'cause it was swirly...”

Am I... really... is that stuff what I am, or... something else...?

“...Are you okay, though? Did you manage to do that thingy? Or was your allergies too bad for that...?” she asked Verona curiously, tilting her head once again at her in a manner more akin to a bewildered puppy this time around.

Edited by Enirboreh on Oct 10th 2020 at 1:12:34 PM

bork
LilyTheLitten Inspector Irratino my beloved ❤️ from The Investigation Institute Since: Apr, 2020 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Inspector Irratino my beloved ❤️
#262: Oct 10th 2020 at 5:12:08 PM

Shard

"Oh, uh...curious, huh?" Shard laughed a little, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear. No, this is not my first exposure to Rift magic, but if I told you about my first go, I'd probably be arrested and executed.

The next thing was also pretty simple—tap into one of the energies, then manifest it. Not Rift, though. Apparently, Rift magic had a tendency to manifest in...special ways. Shard absently ran his fingers across the black bandages on his face—he knew enough about magic to know that much.

Putting that aside, magic wasn't gonna manifest itself! Shard got up and backed away from everyone else until he was pressed against the wall. Didn't want to risk it. He cupped his hands, held them out, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

So...when does the energy manifest? Shard wondered, absently tapping his foot against the wooden floor. If I get fire, are my hands gonna catch on fire? Or maybe a rock will just...appear if I get earth? Maybe they'll freeze over with ice, or turn into some sort of weird...claw things if I get...something like transmutative...unless...

Shard's eye glazed over. The world dimmed, the sounds in the background fading into white noise. His eye closed, just for a moment, and he saw the strange galaxies again, the endless sea of stars—

Something shone in his palms.

Shard snapped awake with a jolt. Floating above his hands was...a star. Twinkling pale yellow, stardust swimming around it in a tiny orbit. He stared at the star, something he'd created, in a stunned silence.

"I did it," he whispered.

And nothing blew up.

"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."
MichaelDj54 Since: Mar, 2010
#263: Oct 10th 2020 at 5:32:53 PM

Zyan

Well that sounded easy. All things considered, it was easy to sense...well, transmutation magic tbe first time, what would be so bad about tapping into it again?

Breaking off from everyone else he approached the wall confidently and held a claw up to it, his eyes closed as he allowed himself back into his...well, ripple world was a good temporary name he guessed. He breathed in and tried to find his inner peace again, smiling as he was pulled into the black, ever shifting world.

‘Alright let’s try something simple. Maybe change the wall to...gold. Yeah, that’s be a good start. Heh, look at me doing magic. Everyone said it couldn’t be done but here I am, about to turn a wall gold! Mom would be so proud of me and maybe even dad! Maybe even Griffith and Bertolt will want me to hang around them if they saw what I could do!’

‘Maybe I can actually feel like part of the family then.’

And then he felt it and his excitement grew! Was that it?! Was that magic activating?!

Dropping his hand he opened his eyes and sulked in disappointment at seeing the wall the same as it was. But...he was sure he felt it, right? Unless that was something or even someone else.

“Dammit.” Zyan Zyat, now a six foot tall, well muscular, brunette human with dark green eyes and wearing an open vest grunted in annoyance. He sighed, closed his eyes and held his hand out again.

“Let’s give that one more try...”

A pause.

“Did it get cooler in here for anyone else?”

Edited by MichaelDj54 on Oct 10th 2020 at 7:34:38 AM

furnacedoor from in the middle of something Since: Sep, 2020 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#264: Oct 10th 2020 at 6:01:44 PM

Verona

Verona gaped as Sigi wiped her face and approached. Those were tears. Sigi had been crying, at least a little.

Oh no.

Verona had never seen anyone else cry before. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of what she was supposed to do. Finding none, she looked back at Sigi only to see her leaning away. Verona’s heart sank.

She chuckled halfheartedly, leaning forward in an attempt to make eye contact with Sigi.

“It’s fine! This room is actually pretty relaxing, as long as I’m a few feet away I can barely feel the magic at all. You don’t...you don’t have to worry about that, okay?”

After making pointed eye contact to ensure that Sigi understood, Verona straightened back up, then slumped immediately against the wall behind her. She continued to watch Sigi out of the corner of her eye.

“Ah, no, I didn’t, uh...didn’t try. Not worth the stress. You know how it is. Quit while you’re ahead, as they say.”

Verona couldn’t abide the careful, nervous distance Sigi had put between them any longer and casually slid a step closer to her before lightly, jocularly nudging Sigi’s arm with her own.

“Your magic was super cool, though. Really pretty. So it suits you! I mean, if you like it. If you don’t I bet Mx. Mekel can help you change it! Uh, only if you want, obviously.”

Well, that was reassuring.

Edited by furnacedoor on Oct 10th 2020 at 6:01:59 AM

kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#265: Oct 10th 2020 at 6:30:43 PM

Freana

Freana was still oggling at the wall as everyone did their thing. Like, it wasn't like she wasn't strong. Most Frenir were strong. Strong as a wolf on whiskey and fast as a starved horse. But this? This was a step up.

...she hoped they weren't gonna sue for damages.

"Hey, Zyan, did you see... see... uhhh..."

Freana wasn't sure what Zyan saw, but she was less sure what she saw. She swore she saw Zyan right out of the corner of her eye... but he wasn't there.

Instead there some human SOB with a vest.

A hot human SOB, but still a SOB.

Except...

...he was wearing Zyan's pants.

And standing where Zyan stood.

She was even sure there was a hole in the back. Just large enough for a tail.

A dragon's tail.

...no.

NO.

It couldn't be...

"...Zyan?" She inched forward, looking him up and down as if performing a inspection.

Until she was literally an inch away. She crouched down, put her face right up to his, and took a deep, long whiff.

...

Welp.

No mistaking it.

This was Zyan alright.

How this was Zyan was a question for another day.

"Uh, Zyan? Honey? Might want to take a look in the mirror or something. Just, uh, brace yourself. Kay?"

...

Still hot though.

Hell, if he got the hang of this, it might make tonight more fun.

Girl could dream.

Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 10th 2020 at 8:49:14 AM

Enirboreh AKA Nixer from the domain of infinite floof. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
AKA Nixer
#266: Oct 10th 2020 at 6:47:04 PM

Sieglinde von Brandt

“No no no, I like it! Just... thinking, that's all...” Sieglinde responded, giving Verona a brief flicker of a smile and chuckling nervously as Verona closed the distance again. Her arms were now crossed beneath her chest, and her guarded and repressive demeanour didn't suit her in the slightest.

“...It is really pretty; I love the pink swirlies! It feels like me, and I... I don't know, it felt all... warm, a-and... fuzzy! It was nice, but I... agh, I don't know. It feels... wrong somehow. Off. Like I'm... admiring myself... and that's not right. I don't like that.”

She furrowed her brows at Verona's admission that she hadn't made an effort, and the half-Alvar promptly shifted to face her and leant forward right into Verona's face—looking at her pointedly in a manner that showed keen awareness of the proximity and using it specifically so that there was nowhere for Verona to avert her eyes to.

“Verona. I know you're scared of it, and of what might happen, but you shouldn't let it get in the way of... you, okay? I didn't come here to this school because I was fearless, or because I was good at magic, or because I knew how to talk to people... I'm scared, I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't even know where I'm going with this conversation. But I...”

Deep breath. Breathing was a necessary thing that she'd only just remembered partway through. God it was annoying. Hurt her throat, too. But she kept going nonetheless.

“I took a risk. I... stepped out of my comfort zone. Look, if you... need me here close by, if it helps... I can be here. Just please give it a shot... even if you can't do it, just try. It'll bother you too much otherwise... and it'll bother you forever unless you can say you put in the effort. C'mon, Verona. I know you can do it.”

Why do I talk so much? Ow my throat hurts.

bork
MichaelDj54 Since: Mar, 2010
#267: Oct 10th 2020 at 7:20:14 PM

Zyan

‘Come on, gold. Gold gold gold. Just make the wall gold it doesn’t even need to be the whole thing! Just a piece it it, a corner, the size of my hand! Just do something-‘

He opened his eyes to Freana sniffing him and looking concerned, confused? When she suggested he go find a mirror, two thoughts ran through his head.

‘Aw, she called me honey.’

And

‘Never in the history of any world has the term “you should look in a mirror and brace yourself ” ever have been good.’

And he did. He found that mirror. And he stood in front of it. Expression unreadable. Curious, horrified, mortified, worried, all running through his head.

How did he not notice his lack of snout? Or his tail? His claws? Was he that brain dead? He reached up with his clawless hands and touched his cheek, pulling it down as he inspected his eye.

The human skin was...pliable.

Still he made no attempt at a noise and said nothing. Instead he leaned forward And just kind of inspected himself.

Finally, a response.

“So this is what I look like as a human.”

‘AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-‘

H Uh.”

‘-HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-‘

“Neat.”

‘HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-‘

furnacedoor from in the middle of something Since: Sep, 2020 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#268: Oct 10th 2020 at 8:05:43 PM

Verona

Try as she might, Verona couldn’t avoid eye contact as Sigi got right up in her face. Her instincts told her not to back down, and as a result she was obligated to experience the full force of Sigi’s focused gaze as she spoke.

“Ok. Ok, fine! Gods, it’s really hard to say no to you. But can you...watch me, and make sure nothing bad starts happening?”

Like my skin peeling off, or my head exploding, or my ears bleeding, or…

It occurred to Verona that she could fake it. Say she’d tried, and it hadn’t worked. Sigi would leave it alone after that, Verona was pretty sure. But she’d always had a hard time turning down a dare, and Sigi’s gaze was still fixed upon her.

She took a deep breath and tried to summon up the sense of place she had felt before, shoving aside her fear with some effort and reaching for that image of the tree in the river. She tried to put herself...there. It had seemed safe, in her mind's eye, so it was the best shot she had.

Nothing happened for a moment, and she began to second-guess herself, before she registered the fact that suddenly, the ground she was standing on felt different.

Where there had once been smooth, tiled flooring, she now felt the give of loose, damp soil. As she looked down at her feet, she saw, slowly appearing like an afterimage in the air, a flowing river, inching its way into existence and pointing right toward-

Verona reached her hand up towards Sigi’s bruised jaw, and then paused, hand in midair.

“Can I?”

TheRealWren Omega Overlord. Or superjwren329. Either or. from I...honestly have no idea. Since: Jan, 2011
Omega Overlord. Or superjwren329. Either or.
#269: Oct 10th 2020 at 9:20:25 PM

Elliot couldn't help but stare a little at how...different everyone's magic was...along the fact they could actually DO something, especially the flashy pink energy thingy from Sigi and shining star from Shard. And if he was jealous, it didn't show as he cheerfully clapped his hand in applause at what they'd done while trying not to get distracted by his imagination again.

Although he couldn't help but blink in surprise when the hand landed on his shoulders and back glancing at the teacher. Lee couldn't help and wonder how Mekel had figured him out but decided to just nod.

"I appreciate the offer of assistance and I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually. Hopefully. I mean, I can't be the only one, yes?"

Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.
LilyTheLitten Inspector Irratino my beloved ❤️ from The Investigation Institute Since: Apr, 2020 Relationship Status: Longing for my OTP
Inspector Irratino my beloved ❤️
#270: Oct 10th 2020 at 10:00:06 PM

Shard

Well, everything was going pretty well! He hadn't blown anything up, almost everyone had managed to manifest something, and he'd reached the Rift again. All told, a pretty successful class, if Shard did say so him...self...

...oh. Elliot hadn't managed it.

Well...he'd been nice to Shard. It was only right to be nice back.

Shard pulled his hands back to his sides, causing the star to vanish, and walked over to Elliot. You realize how risky this is, right? a cynical part of his brain asked. He's a noble. You're on the run. If he finds out—

Oh, come on, I just want to help with magic! What's so risky about that?

You know that's not all you want.

Pointedly ignoring that part of his brain, Shard headed up to Elliot, throwing on a smile as he did so. "Elli, Elli! Can I call you Elli? It's a nickname, obviously, and one I feel really suits you. Yeah, I know that 'Elli' is a girl's name, but...but...erm..." The smile slipped off of Shard's face as awkwardness settled in. "NevermindforgetIsaidanything."

He cleared his throat. "I was actually coming here to offer you...um...some advice? I noticed you weren't doing too well, and, um...if it's focusing you're having a problem with, then...you don't have to focus? Not necessarily? I mean, I didn't 'focus' so much as 'space out so hard I sensed and manifested Rift energy', so...um..." Shard ducked his head, cheeks bright red. "I'm sorry that was probably completely useless I'msorryforwastingyourtime!"

He'd never wanted to crawl under the floorboards and die before, but hey, first time for everything.

"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."
PresidentStalkeyes Eats moldy bread and flies into windows from United Kingdom of England-land Since: Feb, 2016 Relationship Status: Do you like me? (Yes ⎕ Definitely ⎕ Absolutely!!! ⎕)
Eats moldy bread and flies into windows
#271: Oct 10th 2020 at 10:18:03 PM

Thankful that Mekel hadn't noticed their little snafu with sensing that beautiful, beautiful magic... ahem, anyway.... they quickly got up and dusted themselves off. See? Easy. Just as they thought! Yes...

And now they needed to demonstrate some magical prowess? Oh yes, this would also be easy! ...Surely. Probably. ...But they figured that it'd be so easy that if they went ahead and did it first, then everyone would just feel inadequate, and surely they'd just throw their books in the trash and give up out of sheer despair, unable to handle being compared to Zoss' almighty skill! ...Once again, good thing they were wearing a mask, otherwise their expression right now... well, they wouldn't be able to read it, but if they would, they might cringe from the aura of cockine- that is, confidence.

So, they just stood back and waited for a bit. Watched as everyone else fumbled about with such things as pink swirly lightshows... blegh, could Sigi get any more 'overdoing it' right now?

Oh wait... this was interesting. The Dragon guy had transformed himself into a human guy. Huh. ...Okay. Suddenly their confidence wavered. Had he been practicing before coming here? ...Come to think of it, didn't Mekel say something about Shard touching the Rift? What? HOW?!

But wait! Elliot seemed to be having trouble? ...Well, they needed a mentor, and fast, but now that overexcited idiot was trying to swoop in and- NO, this would not do, not at all! They had to act fast, and hard, faster and harder than everyone else!

They stood up straight and, in a quick stroke, removed their left-hand glove and rolled up their sleeve, exposing one of their arms. It looked... very skinny, with a dry, almost cracked skin texture, and coloured a sickly pale yellow-green. They looked over at Pick, and seeing as he held a certain air of professionalism about him, they mimicked his gesture.

Holding out their palm, they could feel that sweet, sweet, bubbling goop of magical potential enveloping it. They could feel the heat, the static, absorbing right through the cracks in their skin and swishing and swirling around their muscles and their bones. They knew that, since the accident, they were a bit more... malleable than before. Good! They just needed to... give life to that energy, make it a beast, a monster, that tears apart anything in its way! No remorse! No regrets!

With a sickening series of snaps and tear sounds, their exposed arm seemingly... split apart into three smaller ones. But there was no blood or exposed gore, all there was a slick, transparent slime coating the inside, as they began to warp and grow into thick, long greenish-grey tentacles, writhing about like a corpse given life through a lightning strike. On closer inspection, one might notice little... pebbles or specks of rock forming on the inside of the tentacles. Almost like barnacles.

...Hmm. They were almost tempted to ask someone to cut off one of the tentacles to see if they'd regenerate. Maybe not the best idea... but was it worth a try?

"'Ey, 'scuse me, Mekel. If I were to cut one of these, ahem, bad boys off, would that be bad?"

Edited by PresidentStalkeyes on Oct 10th 2020 at 6:22:46 PM

Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!
HilarityEnsues Since: Sep, 2009
#272: Oct 11th 2020 at 12:08:05 AM

Xera

Xera got up to her feet and listened to their teacher's instructions. Her magic sensing was a little intense, but hopefully this would involve a little less falling down.

And so, she focused, and kept focusing... eventually, she felt her magic as it flowed through her body. Small glowing golden runes appeared over her skin - this seemed to be how her Body magic manifested itself. Even her long blonde hair and red eyes were starting to glow as well.

She felt really strong. Well, she always did - she was a Bogovi after all. But this was different. It was definitely... more than what she was used to. It was as though her body was made of the same steel as one of her blades, and her blood was the fire by which it was forged.

"Oh my..." she mused aloud, with even her voice sounding like it had a bit more power to it. "I actually did it!"

She began jumping and laughing with visible glee on her face, landing again and again with a rather loud THUD that might make you question if a miniature earthquake was going on. While this was happening, books around her began falling off their shelves. Out of respect for tidiness, she immediately went to go put everything back in its proper place once she came back to her senses.

TheRealWren Omega Overlord. Or superjwren329. Either or. from I...honestly have no idea. Since: Jan, 2011
Omega Overlord. Or superjwren329. Either or.
#273: Oct 11th 2020 at 1:54:14 AM

"Perhaps not during classes or around other people. I wouldn't want other people to get confused at how they'd have to address me."

Still, he couldn't help but feel a little a little confused, face even going a slight shade of red from embarrassment...but not from the name calling, that...wasn't too bad. It was more that Shard were probably drawing attention to his inability to do something the rest of the class seemed to have no problem with.

Especially considering how Shard explained how he'd managed to do it...with such an easy method. Still, it wouldn't do to lose his composure or seem flustered as Elliot did their best to smile.

...Which wasn't exactly easy considering Zoss' magical show was actually un-nerving the young man juuuuuust a little as he turned back to Shard.

"I-I mean, it's a suggestion and you're just trying to help, there's no need to apologize? And if you can do it that easily, it clearly shows how much natural talent you have with this sort of thing."

Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.
Enirboreh AKA Nixer from the domain of infinite floof. Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
AKA Nixer
#274: Oct 11th 2020 at 3:18:37 AM

Sieglinde von Brandt

Sieglinde at least had the decency to giggle slightly and scratch the back of her head guiltily at Verona's response to her, but nodded along in determination at her request for her to keep watch. She resisted the temptation to reach out and grasp Verona's hand, and instead hovered over her uncertainly as she began to concentrate—ultimately unable to resist a small smile as Verona seemed to be doing something.

Then froze outright upon Verona reaching out towards her jaw, instinctively pulling her head back an inch or so. But at her request Sieglinde finally blinked and tentatively nodded in acceptance—moving back closer to Verona so she could better reach the bruise as a deep blush began to form on the half-Alvar's cheeks.

Is she gonna do a healy thingy? Wonder if I should learn that...

...damn it. She's too pretty. Focus, Sigi...

bork
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#275: Oct 11th 2020 at 8:35:16 AM

Freana

...huh.

Would've thought he'd be freaking out by now.

She liked Zyan. A lot. But she knew he couldn't be this relaxed.

Espicially since his heartbeat was racing through the roof.

Frenir ears were a godsend.

"Okay, Zyan, look. I know you don't want to let yourself get worked up or anything, but maybe you shouldn't go kidding yourself? Something you did when you were doing your magic mumbo jumbo must've turned into you into this thing. I mean, not that I'complaining! You look pretty damn hot! But maybe we should get Teach to reverse this crap before you turn into a monkey or something?"


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