[Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

The story unfolds around Osaka, Japan, with the unlocking of one girl's hidden potential, and a gathering of Young mages whom are destined to change the fate of the Earth.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

The highlight of the next round of suggestions was that Jane had managed to pull Vrey into participating. It was inevitable, of course, but better now than later. She quickly jotted everything down: Handmade, Magic origin, Occupied?, IKEA? She wrote question marks on the last two because of the dubious nature of Vrey's suggestion and her ignorance of IKEA. "This is a good list. Now the question is: why'd we do all that? Two reasons. Part of intuition is rapid deduction. Putting 'gether pieces ye mightn't noticed immediately. How there ain't no bolts: the pieces were shaped to interlock tight, which ain't a factry procedure. The wood's dim aura of magic. It's resemblance to mundane furniture." Her eyes fell to Vrey as she spoke her next sentence. "And detecting the minor spirit that occupies it."

She paused to let them all consider these things before pressing onto the lecture. "This process, this rapid analysis, is one o' the key skills yer here t'learn. Another is parsin what good all that random bulls--" she caught herself quickly and resumed, "--the value of all that random bullcrap."

"So, what is the value of everythin we know now?" Jane gesticulated toward the young scribe with an open hand, "A solid surface'll make her inscriptions more powerful. Mahogany is a very effective conduit for that magic. As it is imbued with magic, any inscriptions'll be further amplified." Now she motioned to the elementalist. "Its magic means the desk ain't gon light up like a Christmas tree if ye try 'n burn it. It's got some resistances that ye'll have to overcome or work 'round." She indicated the druid next. "Magically infused wood gon take runes real well too, and bolster any spells you give it." Finally, she came to the bald girl. "And with a spirit contained... Ye could make an ally."

"This is the goal of the class. Teachin you to rapidly evaluate situations in terms of yer magic. What else does this desk mean for y'all?"
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Kai
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

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Kat was unsure of what to make of Vrey's reaction to the desk, and acted a bit shocked, actually, having never seen someone stare down a desk like that and have such a negative reaction- it was almost as if the hairless girl had lost the staring contest and was upset about it. Still, Willow's answer was probably the most humorous. A desk from IKEA? Certainly the Swedish company made many a desk, but Katerina was quite sure there was nothing magical about them, aside from their ability to sell so many products at such a discounted price.

Regardless, their instructor was beginning to move on, and it seemed that they might actually be getting to the meat of the class, finally. Another question. What does this desk mean for y'all? What indeed? Kat thought about it a moment. Most of her other encounters with instructors and even the guild members here at Safeholme had much more to do with the practical side of magic, this intuition, observation, and deduction was giving her quite the mental strain.

"A Desk is like a home base. It is a place to gather your thoughts and ideas, and commit them to some physical form, whether it be in the form of writing on a paper, or typing into a computer, or even art or music. A Desk is a place where the intangible can become tangible."
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

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Drysi's mouth narrowed into a sharp smile as her interest began to build in the way the class progressed. She had her doubts at the start, and had already written off the concept of 'intuition' class. Yet getting a positive response and rational train of thought to the methods that Ms. Smith employed helped pique her interest. She began to get excited, wiggling her bottom in her chair as her brain began to conjure another fast fire answer for what the teacher asked for. All three of her eyes gave the desk a very focused look, as if to glean something important off its surface in its meaning to her.

"You could make it a very convenient trap for snoops seeking to find your secrets," menaced Drysi, her sharp smile splitting into teeth, "An enchanted desk would amplify the inscriptions upon it to make it's reactions painful for anyone trying to violate your sanctum."
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

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"You could," Willow started, but paused as she thought once again about potential answers. After hearing Drysi's answer, she figured she could supply a much simpler solution, "install a false bottom to one of the drawers? Hide secrets or contraband. I mean, if you magically trap a desk then it is obvious that there is a secret hidden there. A false bottom is much more subtle and easily overlooked."
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Gwathdraug
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

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Vrey stared hard into the desk once more before tapping on the side of her leg - first with one, then two, and increasing her action with one finger more each time until her whole hand was moving - as she stayed crouched in front of the class. Her head twitched to the right and then the left in short, violent jerks but throughout the small movements her eyes stayed focus on her target. Her left hand was already a flurry with movement and her right looked to be about to join its index finger struck her knee once before her entire body seized up.

Frowning and blinking until the illumination in her eyes shimmered out the teen reached up and rubbed at her left and then right eye with one fist. Any hint of light or even their previous tint was gone when the bald girl lowered her hands and her irises had returned to the dull, grey state they seemed to naturally persist in.

Craning her head up from her position on her haunches in front of the desk Vrey looked towards her teacher, the teen's face utterly placid. "It is more willing to engage as a friend-like when I am as -" Heavy lines worked their way onto the girl's brow as she cocked her head to side and was seemingly at a loss for the word she wished. After a moment she righted herself and simply pointed a finger at herself. "- this."

Rocking back on her heels as she dropped her hands and wormed them through the slits in her skirt that lead to the pockets of the pants beneath Vrey shifted her gaze back towards the desk. The corner of the girl's mouth shifted in a slight twitch before falling blank again. "It has changed - I remain stable and do not reciprocate a dalliance from our earlier array."

Nodding once Vrey rocked back deeper this time and then dipped to the ground as she fell to her back. With a flicked push from her hands and a scoot of her feet the teen was back under her own desk where, more than anything else, she flowed back into her seat and into her slouch across her desk. Cheek once more rested firmly on the cool wooden surface the girl craned her neck so she could look towards Jane. "The desk has enforced a need for stated observations. In that the tongue walks towards conversation. For health, for mind - the walking is good."
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

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Jane smiled. "Very philosophical, mizz Katerina. That kinda outside thinkin'll do ye good in this class. And mizz Drysi, an excellent answer. Precisely what I'm lookin for. False bottoms are clever, mizz Willow, but a thorough investigator ought not miss one, I think." Then she paused a moment to translate everything Vrey had said. "Quite good, mizz Vrey. Yer new friend is perfectly right, too."

She clapped her gloves together. "All good answers, ladies, honestly. But I'm looking for answers like mizz Drysi's. Ken ya think o' ways these traits'll interact w' yer magics? Again, that's our focus. It may be a bit difficult, what with this bein inanimate 'n all, but give it another try 'fore we move on. Mizz Drysi, ye too, please. Perhaps consider ways yer scribin could be used to infiltrate the desk, assumin another trapped it the way ye supposed."

She sat down in the chair, and as if to lead by example she opened one drawer and pulled out a cigarette tin that had not previously been there. The clasp had been popped and she was about to draw one out when she looked up, remembered where she was, and closed it with a frown. While the magic had not been intended to guide them, she leaped on the opportunity to distract herself. "My magic..." She looked down, as if deep in remembrance. "It took a long time fer me to realize it existed. My magic is innate, it's part o' everythin I do. It's part o' the way I think 'n feel 'n act. Many things can appear simply because I need or want 'em, like this." She shook the cigarette tin before tucking it in a pocket in her jacket. "The hope is that this class can teach y'all to enact yer magic most effectively and as quick as I draw." Jane nearly drew then, but refrained. These young girls would likely be terrified out of their minds. Guns were not commonplace, especially here in Japan. World's moved on, she reminded herself. Long 'fore ye came 'round.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

Post by Kokuten »

There was almost a literal glow off the young triclops as she was given her slight praise for having the best answer offered out of all of them. She had tensed up with a bit of spite when she caught the subtle jab from Willow's direction in offering a solution that wasn't so obvious. Willow kept coming up with all these dumb, druid solutions to the problems, and it was starting to drive her a bit batty. Being right had a very obvious, very instantaneous effect on her, and washed away that spite in favor of something else. The blonde girl looked over her shoulder at Willow, all three of her eyes letting off a thick-air of smug satisfaction. To let that stick more, she mouthed 'Nice try, meathead.'
"Quite good, mizz Vrey. Yer new friend is perfectly right, too."
She had turned around just in time to see that directed at her, and it knocked a bit too much wind into her sails and pushed her off balance.

"W-what? Her?"

The bespectacled mage gave a wary look at Vrey, having watched her strange display earlier. Vrey unnerved her a bit, and she dressed in the most unflattering of ways. She didn't want to have unfashionable friends, but Drysi found her much less insufferable than the druid and her accomplice in the back of the room. So, at that, she smiled the best she could, speaking through her teeth, "Of course, ah, her new. Uhm."

The scribe inched closer, but by he barest of inches, "Friend."
"All good answers, ladies, honestly. But I'm looking for answers like mizz Drysi's. Ken ya think o' ways these traits'll interact w' yer magics? Again, that's our focus. It may be a bit difficult, what with this bein inanimate 'n all, but give it another try 'fore we move on. Mizz Drysi, ye too, please. Perhaps consider ways yer scribin could be used to infiltrate the desk, assumin another trapped it the way ye supposed."
"I would use a paper familiar," Drysi submitted, rather quickly this time. Then she froze, and quickly corrected herself, "but not with Papersophy, of course. That would be stupid. I would use inscription magic. With the proper paper, and a Summon Familiar inscription, even the most novice of mages could make a quick, easy, disposable minion to test the bounds of the desk for traps."
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Kai
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

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"Very philosophical, mizz Katerina. That kinda outside thinkin'll do ye good in this class."
That little bit of praise made Katerina feel good about herself. Sure, Drysi got a bit more praise, but, to the Japanese-American, it seemed sort of backhanded, rather negative thinking. Besides, why would one need to have secrets that would require booby traps in order to protect? Wasn't honesty the better policy? Still, thinking about it, she was sure her parents had quite a few business secrets and would love a way to protect them that couldn't be broken by your run of the mill corporate spy or hacker.

She was taken out of her thought process by another question from the teacher, and blinked a few times, thinking how a wooden desk might be able to interact with her magic. Water would likely damage it, but not destroy it, wind, she could certainly combine with earth and blow sand across to erode it away and fire- Well, she hadn't used fire since That had happened, and she shuddered at the memory of it. But then again, that wasn't necessarily the question, was it?

"I think the traits of the desk would make it rather resistant to my standard elemental magics, and it would take me quite a bit of Mana in order to break it down, or even attempt to remove any enchantments or magical traps, I think. Someone with a less direct sort of magic would be needed to deal with it."
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

Post by Straken »

Willow was sensing a slight disparity now. She had used approximately one rune since finding out about magic, and she didn't even know that she had used it. So she had absolutely no clue how any of this would work. Miss Jane may as well have been speaking another language again. What was getting old though was this Drysi girl, who apparently had such a complex that she felt the need to feel more accomplished than the two week mage.

Looking back at Drysi, she mouthed back, "Congrats, you CAUGHT UP."

With nothing to offer to this portion of the discussion short of taking a screwdriver and hammer to the desk, Willow propped her head up on an arm and watched blankly.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 0.75 v2] Class is in Session, Witches!

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Jane smiled again. "Mizz Drysi, Mizz Katerina, solid answers. Keepin it simple's wise, and knowin when to call fer backup equally so. Good, ye two seem to have a solid grasp of yer abilities. Essential.

"Mizz Willow, Mizz Vrey, I'm reckonin yer both bit new to the whole mage b'iness, so I'mma cut ye some slack. Even so, I ain't gonna harbor idle students. Mizz Willow, I unnerstan Mister Flynn has taken ye to prenticeship. So, from a druid's perspective, what might one aim to accomplish? And, logically, how might one do so?

"Mizz Vrey, how might one cut a deal with the spirit within, hm? Usin yer particular knowledge, what might be of value to it and what might a one gain from such an exchange?"
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