[ Right. The hand that's not busy at the moment. She turns her palm upwards and pictures that swirling ball of something leaving her body down through her arm and out of her palm. She thinks she can feel a warmth shoot down her limb as she visualizes it, but doesn't know if that's real or fake. However, soon enough a tiny flame flickers on her palm, though she doesn't yet know it. Her eyes are closed as she keeps picturing it, and she's fireproof now so she doesn't notice the heat. ]
[ This is honestly a lot of words for him, but she's being pulled out of her comfort zone as well. He doesn't want for her to open her eyes just yet, in case the flame is too weak and disappears. ]
[ The senses come so easily to her. Fire feels simple somehow. Is it because the gem makes it that way? Is it all the gem and not her? The flame flickers and dims as that thought moves across her mind.
Make it stronger. No, it can't be the gem. It's her. She focuses again and the flame stretches upwards, like when the wick on a candle is left too long. ]
[ It's strange to be taking orders from someone else, because Ashe is usually the one in control. But she's also not stupid and she knows when she's the one in the dark. All she needs is a guiding hand to find the light and she'll be back on top again.
So when he tells her to open her eyes, she does it, very slowly letting her eye lids lift. Immediately, she's drawn to the flame dancing in her hand and she releases a soft laugh of delight. It flickers and starts to recede, but she purses her lips and narrows her eyes. Keep it strong. She does so and it expands a little. Not to dangerous levels that could spill out over the edges of her hand, but just enough that she can tell that it's because she's making it happen. ]
[ It's there, solid, and flickering. And the best part is, she seems to be getting the hang of controlling it. She's a good student. ]
There.
[ He points it out as if she's not aware that she's controlling it, that she's doing well with it too. He reaches into his sleeve and takes out a candle, but places it on a table. ]
[ Ashe is pretty smart, but she always needed to lash out in her youth to get attention that she wasn't getting at home. Because of that, she was always known more as a schoolyard bully than a diligent student, but she can apply herself when it'll get her something she wants.
And, okay, he just pulled a candle out of his sleeve. What else has he got stored up there? She looks to the candle, and would give him a look too if she wasn't afraid of the flame petering out. Carefully, she pushes off the couch to sit on the floor in front of the table and contemplates how the hell she's going to do this. Obviously she needs to keep pushing that energy outward, but instead of making the flame bigger, she needs to control where it moves.
It's easiest to just visualize it happening. See what she wants in her mind's eye and then the flame will follow suit. It doesn't happen immediately, though. That would be too easy. Instead the flame increases in size so she has to bring it down again. She does get it the glide out of her palm and down to her fingertips, but how to pass it?
It takes several attempts while looking so focused she wouldn't be able to tell if the building collapsed around her, but eventually she forces the flame to extend off her hand and on to the wick. She holds completely still as the flame licks the candle wax away and takes hold of the wick and then she slowly draws her flame back to see the candle is still lit. Then she breathes because she'd been holding her breath since going still. ]
Okay, why the hell do you keep a candle up your sleeve?
[ Right. Of all the things he thought she might ask, that really wasn't one.
He blows out the candle, first of all, now that they no longer need it. It's served its purpose, and he thought she might be a bit more celebratory, but perhaps it's because both of them are so serious. ]
I brought it for teaching purposes.
[ He says this as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, and then remembered that modern people have things called pockets and bags. ]
I keep many things in my sleeves.
[ They are, um, big enough? To be used as pockets, though how nothing falls out of them is another story. ]
[ She might have let out a whoop of accomplishment, had she not been feeling so drained. All the focus and strength in trying to make one little flame obey her has her feeling like she needs a nap to recharge her batteries. ]
Heh. Usually it's just a turn of phrase: let's see what I got up my sleeves, but for you, it's true.
[ She extinguishes the flame in her hand and leans back against the seat of the sofa, releasing a slow breath. ]
That felt really good. Thanks. If I didn't have help knowing where to start, I probably would've burnt something when I tried.
[ It's still weird admitting to needing help, but at least no one else is here to witness her saying it. ]
[ He doesn't even realize what a big deal it is for her to request help from someone else.
He notices that she's feeling a little spent, which is odd, because it shouldn't have spent so much energy, but he thinks that perhaps it's because she's so new to this.
He reaches out a hand, offering it up. Usually he transfers energy to someone when they're feeling drained, but it's much easier to just generate some instead. He realizes she probably doesn't know what he's doing. ]
[ Nothing else has happened yet, and he doesn't know if he could be more intimate with his husband than he already has been while they've been here. But that doesn't mean that's all there is to it. ]
[ She'll know for sure when she starts searching for an ammo store. She can't go around only with what she arrived holding in her gun. ]
Well, in the meantime we just gotta do more research about this place and what makes it tick. If we sit around just playing with magic that might get taken away again, we'll never get anywhere.
Why don't you start there and I'll start with a search on the internet? Modern places tend to archive their old text documents and books online so you don't need to go find the physical copy. That way we're coming at it from both angles.
[ She snags hers off the table and gets to the home page. ]
Or the computer you've got set up at your place. See; here it's called Opalink. You click it and can type in what you wanna search for in this little bar here.
He looks over at her device and then pulls his own up, and wonders what he could search. Looking back and forth between the devices, he looks up: "Bunny."
And lo and behold, he has a whole page full of bunny facts. There are even images! His eyes widen a tad, and given how stoic he usually is, this is peak amazement. ]
[ He's not the first she's taught the wonders of the internet to here, but she gets a kick out of it all the same. ]
I don't know the finer details, but it all has to do with programming. You tell a machine what you want it to do when someone looks something up, and it provides the results.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
no subject
Focus. Make it stronger.
What does it sound like? What does it smell like?
[ This is honestly a lot of words for him, but she's being pulled out of her comfort zone as well. He doesn't want for her to open her eyes just yet, in case the flame is too weak and disappears. ]
no subject
Like... crackling. Like wood smoke.
[ The senses come so easily to her. Fire feels simple somehow. Is it because the gem makes it that way? Is it all the gem and not her? The flame flickers and dims as that thought moves across her mind.
Make it stronger. No, it can't be the gem. It's her. She focuses again and the flame stretches upwards, like when the wick on a candle is left too long. ]
no subject
Keep it strong in your mind.
[ And, after a brief pause so she can brace herself: ]
Open your eyes. Slowly.
no subject
So when he tells her to open her eyes, she does it, very slowly letting her eye lids lift. Immediately, she's drawn to the flame dancing in her hand and she releases a soft laugh of delight. It flickers and starts to recede, but she purses her lips and narrows her eyes. Keep it strong. She does so and it expands a little. Not to dangerous levels that could spill out over the edges of her hand, but just enough that she can tell that it's because she's making it happen. ]
no subject
There.
[ He points it out as if she's not aware that she's controlling it, that she's doing well with it too. He reaches into his sleeve and takes out a candle, but places it on a table. ]
Pass the flame.
no subject
And, okay, he just pulled a candle out of his sleeve. What else has he got stored up there? She looks to the candle, and would give him a look too if she wasn't afraid of the flame petering out. Carefully, she pushes off the couch to sit on the floor in front of the table and contemplates how the hell she's going to do this. Obviously she needs to keep pushing that energy outward, but instead of making the flame bigger, she needs to control where it moves.
It's easiest to just visualize it happening. See what she wants in her mind's eye and then the flame will follow suit. It doesn't happen immediately, though. That would be too easy. Instead the flame increases in size so she has to bring it down again. She does get it the glide out of her palm and down to her fingertips, but how to pass it?
It takes several attempts while looking so focused she wouldn't be able to tell if the building collapsed around her, but eventually she forces the flame to extend off her hand and on to the wick. She holds completely still as the flame licks the candle wax away and takes hold of the wick and then she slowly draws her flame back to see the candle is still lit. Then she breathes because she'd been holding her breath since going still. ]
Okay, why the hell do you keep a candle up your sleeve?
[ It just needs to be asked. ]
no subject
He blows out the candle, first of all, now that they no longer need it. It's served its purpose, and he thought she might be a bit more celebratory, but perhaps it's because both of them are so serious. ]
I brought it for teaching purposes.
[ He says this as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, and then remembered that modern people have things called pockets and bags. ]
I keep many things in my sleeves.
[ They are, um, big enough? To be used as pockets, though how nothing falls out of them is another story. ]
no subject
Heh. Usually it's just a turn of phrase: let's see what I got up my sleeves, but for you, it's true.
[ She extinguishes the flame in her hand and leans back against the seat of the sofa, releasing a slow breath. ]
That felt really good. Thanks. If I didn't have help knowing where to start, I probably would've burnt something when I tried.
[ It's still weird admitting to needing help, but at least no one else is here to witness her saying it. ]
no subject
[ He doesn't even realize what a big deal it is for her to request help from someone else.
He notices that she's feeling a little spent, which is odd, because it shouldn't have spent so much energy, but he thinks that perhaps it's because she's so new to this.
He reaches out a hand, offering it up. Usually he transfers energy to someone when they're feeling drained, but it's much easier to just generate some instead. He realizes she probably doesn't know what he's doing. ]
For recovery.
no subject
[ She takes his hand and feels that vague, pleasant feeling of Synchrony when she's feeling invested somehow in the other person. ]
Manna for a refuel on magic. Manna for money. I'm wondering what else it's for.
no subject
[ Nothing else has happened yet, and he doesn't know if he could be more intimate with his husband than he already has been while they've been here. But that doesn't mean that's all there is to it. ]
It is too convenient.
[ He'll definitely be suspicious for awhile. ]
no subject
[ They're far from the only ones who think they're not getting the whole story. ]
Watch us find out at the worst time possible. Right now it's like a magical fix-all, but might not always be that way.
no subject
[ Even the powers that he'd had before being kidnapped. ]
Do not rely on them.
[ He hadn't thought she would, but in case she thought it was permanent. If it's tied to the gem, he doesn't trust it will be. ]
no subject
[ It would be just typical if she came to get a handle on her magic just to immediately lose it. ]
Still can't believe they didn't take my gun away. If my magic goes poof, then that's my backup.
no subject
[ For instance, he does not. Is that like a sword? ]
no subject
[ She'll know for sure when she starts searching for an ammo store. She can't go around only with what she arrived holding in her gun. ]
Well, in the meantime we just gotta do more research about this place and what makes it tick. If we sit around just playing with magic that might get taken away again, we'll never get anywhere.
no subject
[ Which is hard for him to navigate around, mostly because they're such big buildings and he is a sore thumb in this place. ]
I suggest we start there.
no subject
no subject
[ He just has one more question: ]
Where is the internet? We can divide the town into those sectors, for now.
no subject
The internet's on our devices.
[ She snags hers off the table and gets to the home page. ]
Or the computer you've got set up at your place. See; here it's called Opalink. You click it and can type in what you wanna search for in this little bar here.
no subject
He looks over at her device and then pulls his own up, and wonders what he could search. Looking back and forth between the devices, he looks up: "Bunny."
And lo and behold, he has a whole page full of bunny facts. There are even images! His eyes widen a tad, and given how stoic he usually is, this is peak amazement. ]
How does it work?
no subject
I don't know the finer details, but it all has to do with programming. You tell a machine what you want it to do when someone looks something up, and it provides the results.
no subject
[ He still doesn't quite understand it, but it seems magical. ]
Thank you, for showing this to me.
[ It seems like it will be useful! ]
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)