lostcarnival | [Open]

Entry tags:

[Open]

Who: Yuya and you!
When: S2:D28-32
Where: Carnival Grounds
What: Yuya wakes up with a couple new changes, and general carnival shenanigans
Warnings: Proooobably none?

[Balance Beams]

[Yuya woke on the 28th with no trace of Creation in him—just a little reminder on his face, of tiny stars around his cheeks and eyes that shine in the light gold of his soul color (and his other fae mark looks lighter as well.

He has a new appendage.

He’s not exactly happy about it—a thin, lizard-like tail in iridescent orange scales that’s about as along as he is tall. His tail isn’t big, so it doesn’t shift his center of gravity too much. Still, it’s just enough that Yuya notices it when trying to practice for the upcoming performances. He’s left slightly off center, and that’s not going to do in front of an audience.

So he’s taken to long hours in the big top, using the only inches high balance beams with very thin widths to try and orient himself with his new tail. Sometimes it flails wildly or Yuya teeters one direction or the other with his face pinched in concentration. He makes it to the other side easily, but it’s not as smooth and refined as he’d like it to be. If you’re walking by, try not to get smacked in the face, the legs, the anything.]

[Magic "Practice"]

[Alternatively, now that he no longer has his Guardian abilities, Yuya’s back to fairly typical magic practice. He’s got his staff out by the training area, using the glowing crystal at the end to draw various patterns on the ground.

Smiley faces, that is.

This is absolutely practice. It’s rune drawing practice or. Something.

They don’t last more than a couple minutes, but there is a constantly moving pattern of smiley faces (smiley suns, smiley flowers) going across the open field.]

[Wildcard]

[Hit me]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Needless to say, bouncy balls and green army men don't stand a chance against Yuya's shield. And from behind it, he looks awfully amused when Strange manages to hit himself instead.

He slings his staff over his shoulder with a grin. His tail swishes slowly behind him.] It's definitely too strong for that now, Mr. Strange.

I can see that much. [ Strange is good humored though, as he bends down to pick up the various projectiles. ] I'll have to try fire the next time.

[ he is not joking in the slightest. Though, the cocky grin on Strange's face tells Yuya that he doesn't plan on outright charbroiling the kid. But hey, if you can shield against a rock or a bouncy ball, that's the next step: something more dangerous. ]

I like your tail, by the way. New addition?

But that's what Rita always throws at me! [No more fireballs, please. She's beat him to the more dangerous department.] What about water?

[Water can be dangerous, right. He just doesn't want any more near singes.

Yuya drops his shield, looking down at his tail at Strange's prompting.] Yeah... [He arcs it experimentally, then makes a wide swing from one side to the other. The movement is pretty smooth and flexible, like it has significantly more joint than normal.]

It feels weird. [Like, seriously, his spine is basically elongated. Maybe it wasn't painful, but he can still feel it.]

Ice would be better. Unless it's a large amount of water, there's really no need to dodge it.

[ He could theoretically make it hail, that might work. Strange is already thinking of more ways to idly test Yuya's magic and this barrier in the back of his mind as Yuya shows off the tail. ]

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, of course it feels weird. You've had this for what, a few days now? The first few times I turned into smoke felt damn odd, but now it's like second nature.

[ aka no shit it's weird Yuya, you literally grew a tail overnight. ]

[Yuya scrunches his face, tail flicking with irritation.] But it's still weird now. I didn't want to grow any limbs!

[Whine whine. Yuya juggles the bouncy ball in his hand before tossing it back to Strange.] Here--when do we move onto the next lesson?

[Because Yuya's pretty confident in his barrier now, having field tested it. But also, he's finding himself kind of missing all that power from being a Guardian. Even if not everyone found it impressive, it worked in the end didn't it? He could do so much more for people with it.]

[ Surprisingly, Strange catches the bouncy ball and drops it back in his pocket. As for Yuya's question, he shrugs. ]

When we move on all depends on what you want to learn next! I'm afraid my magic isn't all that good at defense, but we can cobble something together if you want to keep with your current skillset.

[ of course, if Yuya wants to learn how to control the weather or do something offensive and flashy, then Strange is also 100% for that. ]

[Yuya pauses to think about that, putting his hand to his chin in exaggerated thoughtfulness. Being a Guardian has given him a feel of what kind of magic he could have beyond his current limits...

But then he looks back at Strange curiously.] You don't want to learn more defensive magic?

[If it's a weak spot, why not improve it? Given everything they go through, it's a little surprising with him already being an accomplished magician that he's not already expanding into that.]

[ And Strange shakes his head. ]

Not really. I'd rather broaden my knowledge on the magic I already know than start something new. Maybe then I could find something in that school of magic that serves the purpose I want. [ Why learn shields when you can learn things like 'more mirrors' and 'bigger fire'? That makes sense, right? Hell, reflections are amazing, who knows if Strange can manage to bullshit some defensive magic out of that. ]

Besides, if my reflexes are fast enough, I can turn into smoke before anything hits me.

[Yuya, who knew exactly 0 magic before he joined the carnival, can't really relate. Nothing he currently knows how to do is applicable to a lot of the danger the carnival seems to intercept.]

But what about protecting someone else? [Strange said it before, that there's a dearth of people woth magic that can keep each other safe when things go south. So obvioisly he's aware of the issue there, and what if Yuya can't? Or Lambert?]

If I'm quick enough to stop the problem then I won't need to protect anyone else.

[ Because of course in Strange's mind, he's the one who's going up against the problem and he's the one who the job's going to fall to. ]

Besides, I am getting better at disenchantment. There we go, that's protection. [ no it isn't, that's fixing the thing after the fact. ]

[That is absolutely fixing the thing after the fact.

That's sort of an... egocentric way of looking at it, though. Not in that Strange anticipates being the one to face down the problem, but that he assumes the problem isn't going after anyone else he knows first. Maybe Yuya's perspective is different because he was the weak kid who needed to be protected, instead of someone standing up for themselves.]

I want to keep learning magic that can stop my friends from being hurt or enchanted in the first place. [Because, ultimately, Yuya wasn't a magician because he particularly cared about magic. Yuya was a magician because every other month one of his friends is nearly murdered or gored.] The shield won't work against everything... I need to figure out where else I'm weak, and learn a spell to make it stronger!

[ Whereas Strange knows that almost every one of the problems he faced is kind of his fault. Getting cursed? Summoning Frost? That business with Nightshade? All his fault. So of course the problem is going to go after him, he's most likely the one that caused it in the first place. ]

The shield won't work against everything but if you play with the theory and mess around with the bones of the spell, then it might work against more than it currently does. [ Cause that's what he'd do. Alright, something doesn't work, let's poke around and keep trying it until it does work. But Yuya's the student so preventative magic it is. Strange frowns for a moment, thinking. ]

Still, if you want something that can keep someone from being hurt, I know a few surveillance spells that might work. There's scrying, of course, but there's a more basic version to simply tell what your enemy is doing.

The spell you always try to use to find people when they go missing, right? [Keyword being 'try', because Yuya's failed to see it work once someone was actually kidnapped. Unfortunately, the plot wins out. He can't really blame Strange for not competing with Fae and Harbingers, but...

His enemies, though... Yuya general tries not to make enemies, but he understands the sentiment.] If my 'enemy' is always someone like the Prince... what if they just hide them again?

Edited 2018-03-22 03:46 (UTC)

[ Okay one, rude. Strange can't help but frown a little at Yuya's choice of words. The spell he 'tries' to use, the spell he succeeds at using, thank you very much. ]

That spell works perfectly well in the carnival. It's hardly my fault that half the time I'm scrying for people kidnapped by fae, [ he grumbles. Of course the spell doesn't work then, he'd be outclassed! But back to the point at hand, ]

The spell to see what my enemy is doing is a more targeted version of my general scrying spell. It has the same limitations as the scrying spell—I can't view across different realms, for instance. But it's easier to cast and closer to your skill level.

No, I know... [Yuya appreciates the effort! It's just that Fae are his biggest problem he needs magic to solve.]

Okay, can you show my how it works? Does that need a basin too? [Or a mirror, it's probably structurally similar, right?]

It needs a mirror and something dead—just grasses or flowers would work. [ It is indeed structurally similar. ]

The problem here is that I know who my enemy is and we won't be able to spy on Nightshade while we're in the carnival. Different realms, and all that. Still, I can teach you the theory.

[ And considering that the barrier spell was basically theory + Yuya's own magic, teaching him the theory isn't a half bad idea. ]

[Yuya doesn't have any enemies in the carnival, either. When he thinks about it, this is probably a spell up Reiji's alley.

Yuya nods once.] I don't have a mirror... but there's one on your pendant, right?

[He taps his own pendulum for emphasis. It's not a lot of space to see, but if they're jusy learning the theory it doesn't matter that much, does it?] And, uh... I guess I can step on a flower.

[Kill dandelions in the name of education.]

That should work, [ Strange explains, with a nod. And, as Yuya commences with the flower murder, Strange takes the pendant off of his neck, yammering about magic and theory all the while. ]

I suppose I could rework the spell in a more useable way. A spell to discover what my loved one is doing, for example. Granted, I imagine it wouldn't work for me in the carnival, but depending on who the magic interprets as your loved ones, it could be more use for you.

[ Once he's got his necklace off, Strange starts taking his coat off as well. They're outside, might as well have a surface that isn't grass to set the pendant on. ]

[Yuya turns around, scanning the ground until he spots a lone dandelion, bright yellow and perky.

And then proceeds to crush it under the base of his staff, grinding it a little. Which makes it a sticky mess, but he plucks the flower from the stem and holds it out to Strange like one might hold out a smelly sock.]

That's a good idea. [That way they can actually see the spell work, right?] Yuzu and Gongenzaka are here... does that mean we'd have to cast the spell together, or should I try it on my own?

I'd need to write out the form of the spell first, [ Strange explains. ] But then, we'll try it together to start and I'll give it to you to practice afterwards.

[ He spreads his coat on the ground, places the pendant mirror side up on the coat, takes the smushed dandelion...and then tears it in half, putting the two halves on the either side of the pendant. Bending over the pendant, Strange makes a few circles and crossing motions with his index finger over the pendant. ]

Here, take a look. A spell to see what my enemy is doing: which again, would be more useful if Nightshade were in the carnival.

[ The mirror is showing a dark and cloudy image, the same sort of 'nope, this person's currently in a different realm' cloudy darkness that happens whenever Strange tries to scry for someone outside of the carnival's radius. ]

[Yuya drops to his knees at an angle, staying back while Strange completes the spell. He watches the motion of his hands more than anything else, and once the offer to look is there Yuya leans over immediately to squint at the pendant. Yeah, the dark clouds he recognizes--so it's always the same effect no matter what'd hiding them, right? It was like that in Portland, too.]

I'd rather it keep looking that way. [Nightshade in the carnival sounds like a Nightmare. He's not sure he totally understands the symbolism of the movement, but it may not mean anything more than Strange's usual, more complex and versatile scrying--it's just magic, magic is weird.]

I guess you wouldn't use a dead thing to find someone you like? [It would probably be a living flower, right?]

[ Strange nods. ] I'd probably reverse the direction of the circles as well. Clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, for example.

[ Moving over to the pendant, Strange waves his hand over it. A moment later, the image vanishes and it's reflecting Yuya and Strange again. Picking the necklace up, Strange slips it back on. ]

Like I said, I've got the theory. I'll just need to fine tune the spell a bit before giving it to you—that is, if you want to learn that spell. We can work through something else if you want.

[Yuya's tail absently curls around the base of his feet as he considers that, looking up at Strange.] If you want to show me, I can at least try it, right?

[It might not be quite what he needs, but it's under Strange's expertise... and if it ends up not being suitable, then at least the time in between Yuya can come up with some better ideas where else to take his magic.

Although, actually--] Maybe I can find a way to do the things I could with my Spark? I wish I got to keep it...

[So much (mostly) effective magical power at his fingertips. All gone.]

What all could you do with your Spark? Most of what I saw were those bubbles.

[ And Strange knows there's got to be more to the bubbles than just...well, bubbles. The power of Creation was too great and too strong to be reduced to simple bubbles. ]

Um, they were all bubbles. But I could make them different! Like the ones that gave you energy, but I could also make bubbles that calmed people down and turned into goo. [Among other things. He waves his hands for emphasis.] I didn't find anything I couldn't make them do...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject