picknicking

[dark_light]

There's something unutterably pleasant about landing in a bit of woods in the middle of Nowhere, Manitoba, removing a sandwich and an apple from her backpack and having a picnic before she's ready to move on. She could eat in midair, but it makes it too likely that she'll drop something and find it unrecoverable.

Path's on her knee, and her cloudpine is propped up against the tree next to her.

Comments

[prodigal_miser]

She makes a friendly trill right back!

[dark_light]

"How does constructing a new spell work for you?"

[prodigal_miser]

"Well. For a Kystle-native spell, you have to understand every underlying factor of what you're going to do and be able to bring it up in conscious thought when you begin the spell. Saying things isn't technically necessary but missing one portion of what you're doing is incredibly dangerous," he explains. "So it's easier to mentally attach an entire set of actions to a single word. Like reminders of everything you need to remember to keep in mind as you go."

"I could say 'light' but I know that more than just light, I need it to act in a certain way and work with something else I'm dealing with. I have to acknowledge it and it's easier if I write it down, or work out a good reminder method so I give every necessary part of the spell the attention it needs to not go horrifically wrong."

[dark_light]

"Huh. There's four potential components to the practice of a witch spell and any combination of them can yield an effect if a witch does them. Verse, herbs, runes, and sacrifice. Verse in particular can go off by accident - when I was still going to mortal school I couldn't read verse aloud in any class on literature because something might have happened. The others we have to mean to do something."

[prodigal_miser]

"That sounds annoying, not being able to read verse aloud," says Adarin. "But that's very complicated. Though less memory intensive than my magic."

[dark_light]

"Some of the spells are very simple. Nursery rhymes, three ingredients I can mix up to fix a headache," shrugs Isabella. "They can get very involved, though."

[prodigal_miser]

"Oh, well. That sounds rather nice, then. I do think I'd want to see what it's like when a witch begins a larger spell. For curiosity, since you're going to see me spell something large-scare. Well. Magically large scale."

[dark_light]

"Sure, I'll let you watch when I put down the runes for my first draft and try my poem."

[prodigal_miser]

He smiles, then says, "Thank you. If you'd want to be there for when I do my spell, you're invited, as well."

[dark_light]

"Yes please!"

[prodigal_miser]

"Then feel free to watch."

[dark_light]

"Will do." Isabella eats the last of her oatmeal, then plunks her drafting notebook onto the kitchen table and starts working on it, Path whispering helpfully in her ear.

[prodigal_miser]

Adarin amuses himself with finishing oatmeal, then decides to clean up both oatmeal bowls (and Metis', if she expects Isabella to) simply because he's not sure if it's worth throwing several hours away to get something maybe right when he could wait a little while and get it right for sure. Besides, she made the oatmeal, it feels fair to him to clean it up.

[dark_light]

Isabella notes him cleaning up, and says "thanks", but then her attention is back on her spell.

[prodigal_miser]

"You're welcome," he replies, "Let me know when you're ready to begin your spell? I'll work on mine some more."

[dark_light]

"Sure."

Write write cross out page turn write flip back a few pages "hmmm" write write draw a circle and lots of arrows "hmm" flip forward a few pages write write.

[prodigal_miser]

Adarin goes to the attic and does much the same! His daemon follows and offers assistance, something he's realized is quite helpful in spell creation. Time would pass until Isabella lets him know she's ready.

[dark_light]

Path flutters up to the attic. "My Isabella is ready to put down runes now if you want to watch," he announces.

[prodigal_miser]

Adarin looks up from his work and nods! "That would be lovely, thank you."

He finishes the part he was writing, then gets up and heads down to watch, daemon trailing behind.

[dark_light]

Path flies ahead, maneuvering skillfully in the indoor environment. He lands on his witch, who is in her room with a bag of sugar.

"Here goes," she says, and she slits a little hole in the sugar and starts drawing the runes, occasionally pinching the hole shut to consult her notes.

[prodigal_miser]

"Good luck, I hope it works," he wishes.

Finding an out of the way part of the room, her guest sits and watches. This is all quite interesting, and he watches with fascinated attention. He might ask to look at her notes, later, but that'll be for when she's done with the spell. It's hard-coded into his head to never, ever distract a spell-caster that he doesn't want to screw over.

[dark_light]

Eventually she is through with her circle and puts the sugar bag down on its side so it will stop leaking.

She steps over her runes carefully and kneels in the middle of the circle. (Path remains outside, facing her.)

She inhales, and closes her eyes, and recites an apparently memorized poem:

"Sugar circle, seek and bring
The compass that can, silent, sing.
Find it, bring it, take it here,
From its place to somewhere near,
And in my hands place honesty
And give Alethia to me."

There is a sudden wind and the sugar goes everywhere. The lights flicker. And Isabella is holding a slightly dented alethiometer, which she instantly hugs.

[prodigal_miser]

Not minding if he's a little covered in sugar, her guest watches this attentively. When the lights flicker he smiles, just a little - he does quite like how magic has the habit of announcing itself. When the spell works, he laughs a bit, happy for Isabella.

Adarin grins and appreciatively claps, cheering a little. "First try, congratulations!"

[dark_light]

Isabella takes a little bow from her kneeling position. Then she inspects her alethiometer, which appears to be in working order, dents or not. "Okay. What do you need to do with this thing?"

[prodigal_miser]

"I need to study it a bit, magically. Have to understand how it all... Fits to make the spell work. May I?" he motions to the alethiometer. It's easier to do this if it's being held, but not strictly required if she refuses.