----------------------------------------------
TRAINING GROUNDS - AFTERNOON
----------------------------------------------
Annika was spending more time in the training grounds. While her archery was getting a bit better, she still didn't really 'vibe' as a warrior. It was that lack of economy of motion, no stance for just 'standing around' doing nothing. Her armour was nicely made, but with perhaps a little bit too much of an eye towards aesthetics over practicality. It was functional, certainly, but..not something that had been commissioned by someone that earned their coin as a fighter. The coin spent on that nice bit of inlaid thread could have been spent on reinforcing the protective padding. Annika takes a moment to sit down, and take a drink of water from her flask, bow and arrows beside her.
Gareth has been observing Annika as well as some of the nearby guard marksmen and markswomen practicing, thinking he might be able to provide some better expertise with them in matters such as ambush tactics and the like. Thus far, he's just been getting a gauge on everyone's general level of competence with their chosen ranged weapons, and his opinion runs the gamut from "suitably impressed" to "recommending defense duty instead". Annika falls somewhere in the middle, to him, and when she takes a moment to relax, he approaches her with a courteous nod. "Afternoon, lass. Ye're somethin' o' a new face around the range. Ye one o' the volunteers takin' up arms to help these fine folk?"
Annika: "Hmm?" She looks up to Gareth, before standing up, and trying to straighten herself out, but she's a natural sloucher, so it doesn't really suit her, and she returns back to a more comfortable stance, tails waving behind her gently "I suppose? I've been out already with a partner, helping bringing stuff in. Victoria did most of the fighting though, so I'm trying to get my archery up a bit, so that I can be more than a cheerleader"
Gareth shifts a little as he adopts a comfortable stance against the bench, with one foot propped up against a spot unoccupied by any of Annika's gear. "Oh, ye know Victoria, eh? Nothin' wrong with wantin' to be a bit more effective in a fight if need be, and I'm sure she'll work all the harder to not get outdone by anyone she knows."
Annika: "Oh" She smiles a little "I'd never be able to get close to her in combat abilities. It's archery, and a few little tricks is what I can do" Also being the little ethics fox on her shoulder, but she doesn't mention that. "I think we make a good team, so I'm leaning into the support role more, rather than trying to compete"
Gareth nods. "Fair enough, lass. Always good to have a battle buddy who knows the best ways to watch yer back." He chuckles, thinking of Fiora, "An extra set o' eyes goes a long way towards feelin' secure even in the middle o' a fight."
Annika nods "Yeah. I trust her to keep us both safe, which I think is important" She looks over the others training "The rest might be good, and fine, but..well" She seems a little dissappointed in herself "I'm not sure if I could trust them like that" Which is probably the biggest part of official combat training she's missed out on
Gareth hums, smiling in an understanding way. "Don't worry, I understand. Ye don't know them, but yet they'll be also workin' to watch yer back along with everyone else. Knowin' someone personally makes it more likely that they'll react faster to make sure yer safe." He looks around a bit at the other guards, "Still, at the very least, ye can trust whoever else is close at hand to keep ye covered as closely as they can. Guards might be sticks in the mud sometimes, but they want everyone to come home alive at the end o' the day."
Annika: "Yeah" She nods "Ah, one other thing" She's had a lot of inner turmoil with the magic stuff, she's naturally show, so wants to hide it, but there's the showy flashy need to show off "I can also do magic stuff" She does a little hand twirl, like she's doing a dagger trick, and conjures up a very ornate looking dagger. It doesn't quite 'flow' in the air right, and the tip clips through her sleeve at one point when she's turning it. Illusionary.
Gareth tilts his head curiously as he watches Annika twirling the illusory knife around. "Huh... magic, eh? Could be useful fer some misdirection and guardin' yerself and others. All ye need is a little creativity, and yer group would be a force to be reckoned with on the field."
Annika: "Well, I can only make really small ones like this..but.." She puts an apple from her bag on the bench, and focuses herself "Okay, so...." She holds the knife in one hand, and puts her hand over the apple "..I'm still practicing this..okay?" She swings the knife down, through her paw, then..with a wet thunk, slices the apple in two, the knife impacting on the bench. She winces, and shakes her paw. It seems unharmed, but obviously something about the whole process stung. "...If you know any tutors in illusion or stuff like that, I think I could get some help, not one like May, she's great" Really great... "But that.uh..schooly version of magic doesn't vibe well with this stuff"
Gareth watches Annika with curiosity, but winds up flinching a bit as she swings the knife down through her hand and the apple. He knows it's illusory, but something about willful self-harm outside of combat he just... never really got used to. After a few moments, when it's clear Annika's hand is okay, he lets out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Uh... wish I could say I knew anyone that knows magic at all. Ye could... maybe ask Teis, if ye can catch her around town or practicin' against the trainin' dummies out by the sparrin' rings. She's a mage, but I don't know how much she knows about illusion magic." He shrugs a bit, "There might be a couple others around town, but... nothin' pops to mind immediately."
Annika: "Maybe? It might be useful?" She's uncertain "I've been defending myself against people, but..nothing magic, and, well..I've been learning about kitsune magic, and it's meant to be good at defending against other magic?" She seems even more uncertain about that! "This is all super new to me, even these" she wiggles two of her tails "So, anything could be useful"
Gareth tilts his head, his eyes being drawn to Annika's tails. "Kitsune magic? That's what ye've got, then? I've heard about kitsune in me travels, but mostly just myths and such. So that stuff's real, then... interestin'..." He hums, then shrugs, "Well... I can't think o' anyone more versed in magic than Teis, here in town. Ye might find more information out at Sarn, but... hard to say."
Annika: "Blah, Sarn" She says, amicably " I've looked up all the books from Sarn that I can, but it doesn't really seem like they know very much..they claim that..this" She picks up the quite real dagger "Is impossible, and just fanciful thinking" She passes it to Gareth to examine. It's real alright, abet with that same notquitethereness that he's come across when dealing with another 'conjures things from nowhere', though quite a different 'tune' to that song.
Gareth takes hold of the dagger and examines it more out of curiosity than anything else. He seems a little confused at first despite the fact that the dagger really looks like it should just pass through his hand, but it weighs about right for a dagger, and even balances somewhat right. He flicks a claw against the flat of the blade, then blinks when it reacts as expected. "...Huh. No kiddin', this is... some impressive magic work."
Annika: The more attention he pays to it, the more that it 'breaks down' "Yeah..it's not very stable. It's" She chuckles a little shyly "Well, it'll break down after a few minutes" Indeed, it's already starting to flake away. It doesn't have any real permanence, and can't handle the 'scrutiny' "But maybe that's a good thing? I don't want to leave a load of magical daggers around"
Gareth blinks again as the dagger starts to sort of crack and flake away in his grasp. "So the illusion breaks when we look too close... Still, I can see it bein' helpful, since the daggers go away after a bit. Bit o' weight ye don't have to worry about carryin' around."
Annika: "Maybe?" She mulls that "It's hard..I feel kinda..any time I try and think of being all pratical like that, it just doesn't feel right, even though I've always tried to be a practical girl" She frowns just a bit "This magic..it...it's not really me, but I can't just not use it"
Gareth hums thoughtfully. "So... wait, yer sayin' this magic ye have isn't yer own or somethin'?"
Annika nods "I..didn't have anything until..well" She holds up her right paw, where there was a red gem still embedded in the back of it "There was an accident at work..."
Gareth leans in and gives the gem a closer look for a moment, then nods a bit. "Bit o' an accident that gave ye powers... I suppose gainin' somethin' is better than losin' somethin' from an accident, at least." He pauses, "...Ye know, we're sort o' in the same boat, so to speak, I think."
Annika: "Huh?" She tilts her head, a little curious "How so?"
Gareth shrugs. "I'm pretty sure I've got a bit o' magic flowin' in me that's not me own, too. I'm still tryin' to figure out how it works." He smiles a bit, "And, like ye, I wasn't magical at all fer all me life before... the last couple o' weeks or so? At least, that's when I found out about it."
Annika: "Oh? Yeah. It's been weird for me. I've been trying to lean into the whole 'kitsune' thing, and..it's fun, and I don't regret it, but..it's hard too" She looks a little askance "I feel like I'm changing, and while I don't mind the new things..I don't know, it feels like I should?" She's had this pent up a while, and telling this relative stranger is sort of a relief, in the guise of 'advice' "So..maybe..you should focus on making this magic stuff your own too?"
Gareth tilts his head. "Ye feel like yer changin'? How so?" He glances at Annika's tails, "...And I'm assumin' ye mean changin' aside from, well... yer tails." He chuckles and nods at her question to him, "If I could figure out how it works to begin with, like ye've done with yer magic... then I'd probably try to work whatever I have more fer meself."
Annika: "Well, I know I'm more outgoing, and..I've been dressing differently, and..I've been looking at.." girls "people..differently, I don't know if that's new, or if I was just too shy before and making excuses, and..it's all just so confusing and different and..I feel like people like the changes, and if I go back, I'll let a load of people down..but..it's not like I don't like the changes either..and.." Her brain goes around in circles in this, as it clearly has been for a while
Gareth hums thoughtfully. "Could be yer just gettin' more comfortable with everythin' goin' on and everyone ye've been spendin' time with as o' late. If ye take things careful and slow, ye can work through it." He shrugs again, "But I wouldn't worry about disappointin' others. If ye feel more comfortable doin' or not doin' somethin', do what ye feel like doin'."
Annika: "Yeah..but..your magic! What is it you can do?" She accepted his advice, but wants to take the chance to change the subject!
Gareth sort of half-shrugs, holding it for several long moments in uncertainty before letting his shoulders drop. "Honestly... still not entirely sure. First time I had it work, I wound up teleportin' off to the side after an arrow exploded right in front o' me. Then it didn't work when I got shot in the shoulder a few seconds later..." He pauses, then clears his throat, "And then when I tried testin' it out with me huntin' partner, I just got knocked flat on me back after she punched me."
Annika: "Oh!" Annika with the barest flick of her wrist, threw a dagger at him, center chest! It was an illusion, which is why she could do it with no warning...but she wanted to see if it was an instinctive thing. She was helping..right?
Gareth recoils when he gets the barest hint of an attack coming his way. As fast as he moves, though, Annika's just too close for him to do more than maybe twist a little out of the way. Right before the illusory dagger connects, though, he vanishes into a dark mist that vaguely retains his form. It drifts off to the side almost as though it's floating on a light breeze, but perhaps a touch faster than any actual wind currently blowing through the training grounds, and then begins to reform into Gareth, who now has his arms drawn up protectively across his chest to ward off a hit.
Annika flicks her tails. She obviously got a thrill out of pulling a 'trick', and flicks her fingers again, the knife 'appearing' back in her paw, before vanishing in a coil of colourful mist "Well. It seems to work on instinct. Pretty cool if you ask me~" She coughs, dropping the smile "Also..uh sorry..I..just..saw a way to run a test, and it wouldn't work if I told you"
Gareth cracks open an eye, only to blink in confusion as he looks around, noticing he's no longer standing next to the bench, but instead several yards off to the side. He sighs and makes his way back over. "I mean... that's what I was hopin' to test when I had me partner punch me, but I guess some part o' me knew it was comin' anyway, even if I didn't know when exactly?" He shrugs, already starting to lose track of any precise 'triggers' the magic might work off of.
Annika: "Well, maybe it only fades against lethal shots? That was an illusion..but the magic probably couldn't tell the difference!" She claps her hands together a little excitedly "Though, it looked super cool anyway! All smokey and stuff" She focuses in her paws, and tries to conjure some of the same 'mist'. The result is..well, if Gareth's was a more matte black, hers was more pastel. Just a lot softer toned, even while being black. She let if float around Gareth "It could be a whole ambience, 'Shadow Warrior'"
Gareth lets out a quiet laugh as he watches the illusory smoke drift around him for a moment. "Heh... a pretty good way to throw off me opponents, fer sure. Maybe even build up a bigger reputation in bounty huntin' as someone not to be trifled with."
Annika: "Probably hard to practice with though. You don't want to find out that only works every so often that hard way.." She shrugs a little "Uh..it looks like we both need advice on weird magical abilities"
Gareth hums and nods. "That we do... we could always go and ask Teis if she shows up some time this afternoon." He gestures at Annika's bow, "Now... ye've been practicin' with that bow o' yers... why not show me what ye can do with it? I might have some pointers fer ye."
Annika: "Alright!" With that, she would get back to practicing much more mundane abilities
----------------------------------------------
RESPITE MARKETPLACE - AFTERNOON
----------------------------------------------
Maybelline walks through the market with a much more upbeat gait than she's had the past month. Wanting to welcome Louma home with some traditional Orelan cooking, she's picking up what ingredients are available, and making due with the rest. It won't be perfect, but it'll hopefully be enough, as she does a little bit of bartering and a little bit of splurging to make this meal something special.
Sammi for her part is trying to find snacks. Sugar keeps well, so at least there's not too much of an issue with getting that, and she finds herself quickly with a new prize, which is a giant, solid ball of candied apple. It's one of those things that's meant to be sucked on for hours, and what's more made for a person much bigger than her. However, she's unaware of both of these things, and so simply starts eating it, and chewing down on it with glee. The resulting discongruence with what Sammi expect to happen when she bites down, and reality is sorting itself out as it being more brittle than it should be, but ultimate 'shattering'..but it also makes anything magical nearby that relies on the constants of the universe actually being a constant rather unhappy. Pi should not equal 3.15
Maybelline turns down the next row of the market stalls, spotting the giant sugar... dipped? apple. "Whoa. Who's selling those? That looks delicious."
Sammi: "Huh?" She turns around, and looks at May, giving her a smile "Oh! It's that nice lady over there!" She points to the stall she'd gotten them from. "They're not really dipped though, it's like..they're giant sorta..apply sugar things. The sugar goes all the way through. They're suuper nice" Sammi seems to have no issue speaking with familiarity to total strangers. Every strange is a friend that just doesn't know it yet..right?
Maybelline walks up closer, eyeing the ball of gooey sugar with a bit of awe, glancing towards the indicated booth. After a moment, she shakes her head, "Oh! Sorry! It looks amazing... maybe I'll buy one to share... that seems like a lot of sugar... But um, hello! I'm Maybelline! I don't think we've met."
Sammi: "I don't think we have either! I'm Sammi. Ooh! Wait" She reaches into her bag, and pulls out a second that she'd bought. (One wonders how she gets money to buy things...) and presents it to May "Here! Have one. On me" She smiles brightly. It feels extra good to give a gift of something she knows somebody wants! Though...well, maybe it doesn't count..Sammi's not sure about the ethics of this giftgiving...she'll ponder that for now
Sammi: "Anyway! Maybelline, right? Are you new here?"
Maybelline takes the rather large candied apple, her eyes going wide. "Ohhhhhh... well, thank you, Sammi! I uh, have a bit of a sweet tooth, to be honest." She tilts her head at it, uncertain if she should take a full bite the way Sammi seems to be, or approach it like a traditional candied, apple. "Oh uh, still sorta new, yeah. Lived here about a year now? I guess I don't get out as much as I should though." She eventually settles for taking a modest bite of the sugar apple.
Narrator: It's...quite hard. It hadn't been around Sammi quite long enough to be able to ignore physics when it wasn't literally in Sammi's mouth. So it's..basically just a hard piece of sugar "Oh. Well, a bit longer than me. Don't worry too much. I don't get out much either. I live under the waterfall" She pauses thoughtfully "Though, I suppose I did go on an epic adventure recently, to Sarn. That was fun..except that bit murdery bit with the caravan...that wasn't really fun.." She hmms, remarking on that like it was a minor inconvenience "So, what do you do? I act as a mystical lock for an ancient being that wants to destroy the minds of all sentience in the world" There's a pause, before she adds brightly "It's not that hard though! It's more of a calling, that a job"
Maybelline tries to get through the hard sugar before giving up, working her jaw a bit before settling into licking the large treat. "Oh? I'm from Sarn! And... err... the caravan? And you're a... mystical... lock? I um... that's... a lot." She laughs nervously, only a little unsettled by Sammi's joking. "I'm the new engineer running the power generator."
Sammi was a little confused by the laughing. She hadn't been joking! "Oh! That's a much cooler job than mine! So .." She imagines how it works "Do you have like..a wheel you run on? You must run pretty quickly, to make that much power. I'm really impressed!"
Maybelline shakes her head, "Oh uh, no... it's more like... well it kinda is like a big wheel. But I don't run in it. I measure the levels of raw magic that I conduct through it. So basically the magic runs in the wheel. My job is to make sure the magic keeps running, and that the wheel doesn't break down."
Sammi: "Ooh, so you made a giant magic stoat to run in the wheel?" She oohs at that idea, imagining how that works. Sammi is nowhere near powerful enough to make that mental image a reality. Which is either a good thing, or a bad thing. Mostly depending on your opinion on giant stoats made of raw magic. "That's so cool! I'd love to see it! Could..could I pet it?"
Maybelline giggles, "Sadly not quite, but it works as a cute metaphor. It's more just... like firey lightning. I can't recommend petting it, or you could get seriously hurt."
Narrator: The mental image shift to a stoat made of FIRE and LIGHTNING! "...I could wear gloves?" She offers,before sighing a little sadly "I..I suppose that's fair. Some things are just dangerous like that" She does ponder "Wait..uh.." She rummages in her bag again "That's it. See, I always give people presents when I meet, and I felt bad about just giving you something I bought..so" She pulls out a small glass jar, where inside, looking about with curiosity was a small, standard stoat..well..'standard' as in 'four' legs. It was made of Fire! and Lightning! "I was thinking, well..the big generator ..it's a bit too much, but maybe a little one! Just for your own stuff!"
Maybelline shrugs a little at first, "You already gave me the candied apple...? You only did just meet, are you sure that..." She blinks at the jar, "Wow... that is oddly specific and fast work. Very cute!"
Sammi: "Huh?..I mean..I just" She gestures to her bag "I didn't really do it, I just..had an idea, and took it out. It wasn't really work..and besides! That's kinda my thing. When I meet a new friend, I take something out of my bag for them!" She ponders "I suppose it works the other way too..." After all, with the Caravan, the sword had been for everyone, friend and enemy alike. No wonder it had so much extra 'oomph' It was channeling the gifting for a lot more people than usual! "Anyway! Don't worry about my cryptic statements! They're fine" She proffers the jar towards Maybelline "You should have this, really!" Notably, the jar is warm, and it would be staying warm despite the cold air. The only conclusion being that what's inside is generating power...
Maybelline takes the jar, examining it closely, feeling the warmth in her hand. She weights it carefully, raising an eyebrow, and... "Okay... ignoring the cryptic statements I guess? This... is this safe? The heat being generated by this thing is... concerning. How much power did you put into this? I... It's a very good gift, thank you Sammi. Is... is the bottle treated to contain that kind of magical output?"
Sammi: "Ah..well" She doesn't know how to answer any of these questions! "I..didn't put any power in..I just..took it from my bag! It's a gift, it doesn't really..like..cost anything, but it is safe!" She nods quickly "The gifts are always safe at least! I don't do dangerous stuff, so long as you don't do anything silly with it, so..yeah! The bottle totally will be fine!"
Maybelline doesn't seem to notice the jar... melting, or cracking. Still, she's quite cautious about this sort of thing, having been (quite literally) burned before. "Well, that's good. I have more than enough potentially dangerous things that I need to 'not do anything silly' with right now, so... I'll do my best to take care of this." She's not sure what to make of it. There's doubt, certainly, but she's seen enough magic to know this sort of thing is possible... just... unusual. Especially so quickly.
Sammi: "He's a sweetie, I'm sure!" Sammi doesn't know much about power outputs to know what an appropriate amount of power a magical fire/lightning stoat should put out, so that facet is pretty fungible, she's much sure on his 'personality', so that would be harder to budge..but stil, the jar is May's, and her feelings on the matter get much more of a precedence "I'm sure if you give him a nice wheel to run on, he'll be super happy!" She can see that May isn't wholly into it, but..well, maybe it'll grow on her?
Maybelline tilts her head at Sammi once again, then slowly nods, her own curiosity is admittedly piqued by the inquisitive little stoat in the jar. "A wheel, eh? I mean... it can't hurt."
Sammi: "Yes! Exercise is important!" She agrees "He seems friendly too! You should think of a name, once you've got a good one. Everything should have a name"
Maybelline does seem to warm up to the him as her thinking shifts away from dangerous magical entity and more towards 'pet'? She giggles, "Well, Dad always said if I'd had a brother, he'd have been named Mayfeld."
Sammi: "See lil' guy? Your name is Mayfeld now~"
Maybelline nods, "Well, I'll see about finding Mayfeld somewhere a little roomier, with space for excercise, and... well, I'll figure something out." She glances up towards the sun, making note of the time, "I should really head home though. A pleasure meeting you, Sammi!"
Sammi: "Nice to meet you too Maybelline!" She smiles, and bobs her head! "Enjoy yourself Mayfeld, and be good, okay?"
Maybelline 's hands are full now, so she nods her head, and makes a short bit of a courtsey, "Thanks! I'm sure we'll get along uh, just fine." She turns and starts to walk off, pondering this whole encounter and all the strange pieces that have come out of it...
Sammi is satisfied with her day, and heads off herself! She made a new friend!