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Characters: Ursula Callistis... and you!?
Date: February 1
Location: Aifaran
Situation: Ursula is trying to figure out Aifaran works. It goes okay?
Warnings/Rating: None at the moment!

[Ursula isn't really used to Aifaran. She hasn't even been here a day -- and she only had time to really drop her stuff off at her new house, unable to even meet the people she is living with -- before she decided to set out into the city. It's a wondrous place, and she has her communicator for questions. But, really, she needed to see for herself. Which is what led her to a long walk.

And, winding through the city, she's found her way to one of the port areas. The wind is blustery here, so close to the ocean. The waves are beating against the breakers, and the steady chop chop chop of their lapping against the ocean distracts her. Ursula slows to a stop, but a hand is placed firmly on her head. Her wide-brimmed witch's hat threatens to blow right off.

She keeps a grip, and looks out. She sees the Aisling Tower: distant, white, and stark. It's a sliver against the sky from here.]

Ah... it's so pretty! [She exclaims it aloud -- and there's a crowd about. Maybe not the best decision.]

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[She pauses.]

Yes, actually! Well... my most recent home. Ah, second most recent home, now.

I lived in a lovely tower, on a school campus. I had a large room at the top of it to myself. It was also the observatory.

[He glances from her back to the tower.]

...Nostalgia. [He recognizes An Emotion (tm).]

That emotion...makes you sad, doesn't it?

[Nostalgia, to be sure.

Ursula blinks -- and then looks sideways at him, before she slides her glasses up. They cover her eyes, the light hiding them with a glint.]

Well... I don't know about sad. Not entirely sad. Maybe... wistful?

...Homesick. [Something like that?]

A natural feeling, I think.

You want to go back? [He's met a few people who're ambivalent about it.]

Mm... yeah. Close enough.

[There's parts of home she misses a lot. There are parts of home that Ursula wishes she could escape from forever. She locks those away. Dangerous thoughts, those.

So she shakes her head.]

Not yet. Maybe this makes me feel something like homesick... but another world! It's an amazing new opportunity.

I have heard that, too.

Instead of looking for home...look at things that are new.

[He doesn't know what those might be for Ursula, though.]

Is this world different from yours? [In major ways, he means.]

Mm-hm. That's a good way to think of it. Those are right in front of us.

[She considers the question, then she nods.]

In many ways, yes. It seems to have magic, too. But... the wildlife is very different. And the architecture, too. And it's a... hmm. My world wasn't on the back of a turtle.

But I imagine most weren't.

Mine wasn't, either. [Though he actually has one or two doubts that this world actually is on a turtle, but since all kinds of magic exists here, he supposes it's at least a possibility.]

There are new things to... [He tilts his head as he thinks of the word.] ...Discover.

I have discovered a new ability... Can you tell if it is magic?

[No, wait. Before that—] Have you discovered a mark on yourself that wasn't there before?

A new ability?

[A beat. She shakes her head. She's only been here a day; she hasn't showered yet, but she knows exactly what she's checking for as soon as she gets back to her room.]

I haven't.

Can you tell me about this ability? Or better, show me?

[He turns his head to glance at her more fully. It isn't necessarily the first time he's heard of a Dreamfolk not having a mark, but it's not like he's asked every single person he's met.] I have one... It was not there before.

[As for the ability, he takes a random pen he was carrying out of his pocket and holds it out in his palm. After a second, it looks like nothing has happened, but when he tilts his hand, the pen falls to the ground in pieces—it's come apart at the "seams," broken down into its component pieces, like it disassembled itself in his hand.]

What do you make of this?

I haven't looked yet, rather. [She realizes she should clarify.

She watches, though. Then she gasps, a hand covering her mouth. After that, though, the analytical magical scholar takes over. She considers for a moment.]

That's fascinating! Typically... well, on my world, magic has clear tells. You have to speak a word -- and often use a wand or other focus. There is also an associated glow. Light, typically, which surrounds the target of the spell. This wasn't like that.

Which doesn't mean it isn't magic, but not one I've studied before. How do you make it happen? With a thought, or some other means?

[He tilts his head at her reaction, wondering if that's a bad sign, before she goes on.]

I make it happen...instinctively. [Not the first or second times, but every time after that, he's been able to control it.]

I have heard it might be magic. Aifaran magic...might be different. [Certainly none of the tells she mentioned has ever happened the few times he's activated it on purpose.]

[He crouches to pick up the pieces he dropped.] Magic is something you study?

Amazing... yes, it's different than my magic. I'll need to investigate this further. It's--

Mm. It's different, but similar. Magic can always bring joy to people--make their lives better, their faces light up with delight...

[She smiles.]

I do. I'm a professor of it--I teach it to younger witches.

If magic is meant to bring joy...mine might not be magic. [It doesn’t do anything but destroy, after all.]

I can use it to protect, but only as an act of aggression. [Which is fine with him, actually, but it certainly isn't...what Ursula is describing that magic should be.]

How would you teach it?

Only as an act of aggression...?

[Her brow furrows.] That's... well, I have used mine to fight, before, I admit. Protection through aggression... that's still protecting.

But, on my world, magic has spells--discrete things, which can be taught. They're not inflexible -- a spell can be changed, modified to fit a situation -- but they're built on a base.

That's right. [That's exactly how he thinks of it; he was never concerned with preventing the actions of Roidmude, simply preventing further damage, as otherwise he would have to hunt them down, and that was a step too far for him. It's a moot issue now, but the mindset is still there.]

[He stands with the pen pieces in his hand.] That seems to be the base of this magic. [Destruction...but he wouldn't use it just for that.] You do not have one?

One of the powers given by this place? Well--not that I know of, but I haven't quite looked...

Ah, did you mean something else?

Edited (oops pressed enter early) 2018-02-28 01:16 (UTC)

Yes, that's what I mean. Mine seems to be built on a base of destruction. [Dismantling, to be precise, from what he's seen, though he hasn't committed to testing it extensively yet. (Possibly he never will; it's not a huge priority for him.)]

It may be based on something familiar to you. [Then again, that conclusion is only based on the experiences of a total of two people, so it may not be right.] How would you go about testing it?

Hm... it could be. If it matched to our personalities, it would make sense. I wonder--well, the first step would be to find the mark you mentioned, to see if I have one at all.

[She hesitates a moment, then reddens.]

...u-um. That could be hard to do out here.

[He stares for a second, uncomprehending, before it finally clicks. His mark was on his chest...but of course that would be easier for him to check than for others.]

If you would start with the mark, then that can't be helped. [Having to do it later, he means.]

It does not seem to be harmful...it is not so pressing. [Especially if Ursula is very familiar with magic already. But—] Be careful, just in case.

R-Right. I'll definitely be careful. After all, what if I gained the power to make things float away just by touch?

[She sighs.]

...I'll have to look for a mark, though.

That is a worry...mine is based on touch. [He took that a bit literally; sorry, Ursula.]

Mine came to me unexpectedly... If you think it is dangerous not to know, we can look for someplace to shelter you while you look for the mark.

R-Really!

I--I, um... I don't know. I hope it isn't dangerous? Yours doesn't seem... immediately dangerous, at least...

[He cuts a quick glance away. Because what if he accidentally broke his toy motorcycle, what then. Or more saliently, his gun or belt...but that's not dangerous in the traditional sense, no.]

Someone I know shocked me with their touch... [Not to mention Ursula's own conjecture as to what hers could be.]

[Ultimately, though—] It is your decision.