And I would give all this and heaven too

[redlightgreenlight]

Characters: Valdis and specific starters with some open
Date: April
Location: Around Aifaran
Situation: Various
Warnings/Rating: in headers


And the heart is hard to translate
It has a language of its own
It talks in tongues and quiet sighs
And prayers and proclamations
In the grand deeds of great men and the smallest of gestures
And short shallow gasps

But with all my education I can't seem to command it
And the words are all escaping, and coming back all damaged
And I would put them back in poetry if I only knew how
I can't seem to understand it

And I would give all this and heaven too
I would give it all if only for a moment
That I could just understand the meaning of the word you see
'Cause I've been scrawling it forever but it never makes sense to me at all

Comments

[redlightgreenlight]

Given that Valdis wasn't one to offer thanks, his surprise should have been expected, but it could be that he still wasn't used to having people who actually cared enough to offer thanks. If she could admit it to herself, they both had been desperate for it, even if they both feared it. She smiled slyly at his question. If he couldn't realize the usefulness of such a thing, then clearly she'd need to spell it out for him

"So I could replicate it."

[annihilist]

Honestly, Devin should have expected this, knowing Valdis. Even if he couldn't pin down exactly why she would want to replicate the bit of experimental linguistic magic, he ought to have guessed she would want to. All the same, he is not especially thrilled by the idea. For one thing, she doesn't have a firm grasp of Enochian - or at least not this version - and he'd like to keep it that way. This one skill he has continues to be startlingly effective against her (and more importantly, against the Void). In fairness to Valdis, this is also likely why she has not asked him to teach her, and has only made minimal observation of what he can do with it beyond 'imprison me in a room'. Strictly speaking, he might be able to show her how to make a similar ward without teaching the mechanics of it, but that was hardly reducing his concerns.

And for another thing, Devin doesn't know if the Void will be able to learn its way around the magic with more and more direct exposure to it. Almost all Enochian wards or other spellwork have loopholes - if the language was a woven tapestry, there was nearly always a way to worm between threads. Or else, to barrel straight through them. But he was jumping to all the possible conclusions without actually knowing what she was after, so Devin gently put down the book he was working on. His full attention was needed here.

"That was not meant to be supernatural Ambien," he remarked dryly, gesturing to the torn bit of cloth. "What manner of replication are you after? Simple copies or something else?"

[redlightgreenlight]

She should have expected the concern coming from him, and his were probably quite similar to hers. The Void had insisted it could push through the magic woven into the strip of cloth, but it hadn't. Yet at the same time, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't eventually find a way. At least he seemed willing to listen.

"I'm not sure you understand how freeing this is," she replied, "I don't want to die."

For once in her many lives, she actually wanted a real future. Or perhaps she always had and just didn't believe it was possible.

"Before this," she looked at the cloth again, "that was my only other option. So I want Gene to have a copy in some form, because aside from you, he's the only one who might be able to put me down long enough to use this kind of power." a slight pause, "I haven't played around with it," she assured him, since loopholes were one of her concerns as well, "Just...held on to it until I felt for sure if it was a good idea."

[annihilist]

Something caught in Devin's chest at her words, like the striking of a bell. It had not occurred to him just how much this bit of cloth could mean to her, although it really should have. Perhaps his stubborn clinging to the idea that using it repeatedly or at all was unwise had blinded him to the possibility. With a little careful spellwork, Devin could give her something-- he had not dreamed of, in truth. He was far better at destroying things than building them, and although his attention was constantly on the future as much as the present he simply had not followed the logic through.

Devin narrowly avoided gaping at her like a landed fish, but she would know his surprise - and his confusion at what to even do with what he was feeling, seeing as he did not have a name for it. Words-- words would be helpful, and he can sort through the complex tangle of reactions sitting beneath his sternum later.

"Well..." He cleared his throat, shifted weight over his feet. Why did this of all things unbalance him so? Moving on. "I'd like to work on tightening the language before doing anything else. And ideally use a material that's a little less haphazard." Ought he still use his blood? That looped him in but not Gene, unless Gene made one himself. Better to make something that did not rely on either of them so directly.

His face clouds at a thought, but not for anything that she's done. "Manacles are the traditional medium for this type of work." He's worn a lot of them in his time. "There is a keyless variety, which is stronger. Clasping them shut activates the command," Devin elaborates. Obviously there was a way to undo them, too, but a physical key was a weakness they probably could not afford. "I can think of a few options, if you've some preference for what it looks like."

[redlightgreenlight]

Her hand dropped back to her side, the cloth still held loosely between her fingers. It seemed he truly hadn't realized the potential of what he had done, but there was far more to his shock. He seemed confused, as if the concept of her wanting this was too much for him to understand. It felt like someone having an epiphany, one that lacked joy or the realization of being able to help. It was relatively easy to unbalance Devin if she was trying, but he usually recovered within a breath or two, or didn't react physically at all.

But he spoke, hesitantly, both thoughtful and concerned. Valdis bristled at the thought of manacles, looking away until the red faded from her eyes. The Void was not the only reason her eyes shifted color, she knew that, but he likely didn't.

"It needs to fit whatever form I decide to take," She replied, trying to keep her tone even, "both a Hound, and a human."

Life was more important than fear. It had to be.

"Something without a key." There was no guarantee that the Void couldn't stay conscious, but if the spell kept the powers dormant, then even if it was in control, it would be harmless. "Something I won’t instinctively try to fight...Perhaps a bracelet."

[annihilist]

The root of his confusion was that he could give her anything at all in doing this - anything permanent and good. Devin's mind was so caught up in anticipating what could go wrong all the time that he had not thought of what could go right. It was-- humbling, or near enough.

His distaste for manacles was shared, which didn't surprise him. Neither of them liked being caged in any way, no matter how necessary it might be.

"Or there need to be more than one of them, for sizing." Otherwise Devin wasn't sure how to make something that could fit both her shapes, though a jeweler or a smith might have a better idea of how to accomplish that.

"I'd thought about a bracelet; it'd be doable but the catch is that you couldn't wear it all the time. I wouldn't advise it, anyway," he amended carefully, tapping fingertips lightly against the table in thought. "Even when it isn't activated, I think it would be unwise to leave available for study."

He did not want to give the Void any more chances to break through it than absolutely necessary.

[redlightgreenlight]

This was one place where she and Devin differed. His pessimism, his past, made him unable to see how he added to the light in the world, while Valdis had never cared, her own worldview limited to self-defense and pride.

"I wouldn't want to wear it all the time." The usefulness of this magic didn't erase the odd power it held over her. As a former angel, the language should have been one she understood, but Enochian made no sense to her. Perhaps that was for the best.

"But a bracelet that goes around my upper arm would fit around my wrist as a hound. With a hinge, there wouldn't be a need to slip it over the paw."

There were likely some jewelers who could help, though the proper materials might be hard to come by.

"I wish we had access to the same metal used in my sword. It's unbreakable."

Though that might also mean it couldn't be forged with the methods existing in Aifaran.