arcanepower | ic contact.

[Clothes? Who said anything about clothes? Cue innocent whistles.

QUICK KHADGAR. LIE!]

I guess he thought it might be less weird if I asked? Or that I might already have a basic idea.

Well, if it's supposed to be a surprise, you've already tipped his hand.

I'll be good, though, and not use my family's spell to spy.

Good. That would be rude. I'm sure he's working very hard.

[A bundle will appear on his bed, carefully wrapped. And inside a set of robes.

There is no note.]

[There might be no note, but he hasn't forgotten. There is no way-- no physical way that Maglor could know anything about the Kirin Tor's colors, let alone their symbol. Khadgar clearly had his hand in this.

He screams in delight for a moment, and then he simply sinks into tears. Being a member of the Kirin Tor was something he dreamed about from the time he realized his talent with magic. It was a dream that was stolen from him when Jaina started imprisoning and executing blood elves.

He'll have to do something for the both of them. He's sure of it. He just doesn't know what.]

[ Okay, now he's grinning. ]

I like the sound of all of that. Heh. But seriously, you didn't have to bring lunch... I owe you one. [ beat. ] Several, at this point.

[ During some point of downtime, Eithan ends up at Belth's door, knocking.

He's got his hands behind his back, holding onto something he's not going to show him immediately. Have fun with that~ ]

Hey you, you alive in there?

What are my options, really? [He walks past Eithan so that he can set the basket down in a safe place, far away from everything. The Iskaulit is great for that. There's so much space, even in the unclaimed apartments.] Starve until I get back to my ship, or...

[He stretches his arms in front of him and then his fingers.]

I like you, Eithan, but I do not have any interest in eating charcoal.

[Belthazar lifts his head up. Judging by the messy hair around his face, he has, in fact, fallen asleep with his face in a book. There are many other books scattered around him, including on the bed, so this seems to be a regular occurrence.]

Huh? What? Uh, come in. I'm quite alive, thank you.

[He sits up and rubs his face on his sleeve.] What time is it...?

[ He does come in, and... okay that's cute, he actually grins a little. Then clears his throat as he shuts the door behind him. ]

It's like noon. Ish. [ He looks at his communicator for the time, decides he's close enough to the mark, and puts it away. ] Did I interrupt a good story?

Oh... I meant to get up early. I must've slept through the alarm. [He sighs in a long-suffering way. He's still waking up, so he has that sleepy squinting thing going on as he shuffles books around to make a spot for Eithan to sit down.]

It's a book about pianos. I'm trying to study how they work so I can help Winn build one.

[He pats the spot next to him.]

I apologize for the mess. It's quite unlike me. [Nah, it really isn't. His room is like, total chaos. It makes up for the obsessive organization he has in every other corner of his life.]

[ Snort! ]

It's only charcoal 'cause you're a way better cook than I am, but at least I've got a leg up on the rest of my family. [ meaning he doesn't manage to set cereal on fire. Low bar to set, to be honest. ] But still. Good call.

So you crafted these crystals? What's different about 'em? Anything I should adjust for?

[ Focus is good. Focus on this means not focusing on the downward spiral. ]

[ Okay, that gets his attention. ]

Oh yeah, I saw your post about that, but I don't know the first thing about makin' pianos. I play guitar, sometimes drums, but my sister's the one who did piano and harp...

[ He shakes his head, takes that seat next to him. ]

Sorry Ramblin'. Also, this? Not a mess. Could be worse. Trust me.

That doesn't instill confidence, you know.

[He unwraps several crystals and sets them in a line on the floor, making sure to give a few yards between each. They are all shaped perfectly-- obviously by Belthazar's own hands-- but their color varies.]

The difference lies in the formula of the spell I used to make them. The basis is, of course, a simple mana gem. But instead of merely storing mana, it's supposed to produce mana when introduced to a source of light. The variable that I've been adjusting is their arcane potency. Too high and it becomes volatile. Too low and it won't hold a charge.

All of these failed the photosynthesis test. They're useless for solving my predicament as they are, but we might discover some other properties about them that could prove useful in future conjurations.

[ He listens, takes all of that in, ruminates on it for a second with his arms crossed, thinking...

... and then nods a few times, slowly starting to grin. ]

So, for the first one, wanna just see how much kinetic energy it can take? See if it pops, or if somethin' else happens?

[ He is so here for that right now, tbh. ]

[He curls his hand beneath his chin as he looks at it.]

That may not be a bad idea. Are you going to throw it, or do you have a different idea?

It seems like an oddly specific thing, but I would like to try. If nothing else, it proves we can make just about anything in space.

[He smiles mildly. He doesn't mind Eithan rambling; Light knows Belth rambles all the damn time.]

So what brings you over? If you want me to make you lunch, you can just tell me...

[ He makes almost the same expression - one fist under his chin, the other hand still across his chest, considering... ]

Levitate it. Right in front of me, like a meter or so away. That cool?

[ He drops both hands, forms a circle in front of his chest and starts muttering a spell under his breath. There's a crackling sound, but no flame or crackling energy - yet. ]

True. Pianos are pretty complex. Hey, if you make one? Get Opal to play somethin'. yeah? She's great at it. I think you'd like it. And hell, I'd totally play along! Or sing, or... somethin'

[ dfkjsf Is he getting ahead of himself? He might be getting ahead of himself! Whoops. He makes himself stop speculating, pushing a hand through his hair and smiling sheepishly. ... He also blushes just the faintest bit, but who knows if that's out of embarrassment of being a music nerd or if it's related to, well, why he's here. Either way, his smile does soften a bit. And he brings his other hand out from behind his back, handing over a present for him.

A ribbon. Bright, fiery and royal red on one side; dark navy blue, almost black on the other. The very ends are forked, embroidered with a fine, golden colored thread in an intricate pattern. ]

I saw this in one of the shops on the ring planet thing, and immediately thought of you. 'Cause of the colors, and how well it's made. You know? ... I know you've got long hair and all, and if you want, I really can show you how to pull it up really easy.

I can do that. [He wiggles his fingers a little, and the crystal levitates as he commands. Belth watches Eithan curiously, his tall ears pricked.]

Ready.

[Eithan sure is acting nervous about... something. Belthazar finally picks up on this and watches him expectantly.]

You're dithering.

[Thankfully, his flamebrain friend reveals what it is he's been hiding. At first, the elf doesn't register what he's looking at. A scrap of cloth? But then Eithan offers it to him, and Belth has to mutely take it in his hands before it clicks.]

A-- a ribbon...? Has my hair grown that long? It must look so unkempt if you thought to get me something. [I thought of you, Eithan says, and Belth's cheeks pinken like nothing else. He keeps his eyes down, turning the ribbon over and over in his hands to feel the silk, memorize the patterns, the delicate way it's forked at the ends.] ... It's truly stunning. Thank you.

[He peeks at Eithan through his veil of messy black hair.]

... I fear such a beautiful thing is wasted on me.

[ Eithan acknowledges Belth with a single nod, but with his incanations as sensitive as they are, he has to focus. His chanting turns more intense, enunciated - but there's no fire, only intense, highly kinetic energy, crackling at the very edges of the seneses. This is his focus. This is what makes his flames volatile.

That energy surrounds the crystal, seeps into it equilaterally from all sides. He has no idea if it'll pop, or if it'll react in some other fashion. Either way, he's not going to stop until Belth tells him to, or something extreme happens. ]

[ YES OKAY he's dithering, he can't help it, as smooth as he is at home in the court, when he doesn't give a shit and he doesn't actually have true feelings for someone, he's absolute rubbish when he actually does. He's been called on it before! But. Still. jdkfsl

... dear both goddesses above are you serious right now, you fucking gorgeous elven asshole fjksl ]

Oh, bullshit. [ He smiles, like he absolutely means it. ] Turn around, man.

[ He grins, spinning his finger in the familiar motion to get him to do so. He'll tie your hair back for you and make you see, damn it. ]

Oh!

[Belth can see what he's doing as much as feel it thanks to his mana sense. He perks up immediately, leaning forward a little, eyes wide.]

So far it's holding up. The energy is making it very hot, though, it's trembling, it's going to--

[POPF. There it goes, exploding not violently but rather like a snowball hitting a chain link fence.]

... Huh. That was anticlimactic.

[ There it goes! ... Well, there it fizzles, mostly. Boo. ]

Aww. Yeah, it really was... Good thing there's two more, right? One of 'em's gotta make a decent explosion. What should the next experiment be?

ic contact.

IT'S OKAY <3

no subject

no subject

A COUPLE WEEKS LATER

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

no subject

3/1? sometime during drift? || action

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