Comet

Arctic Wolf

It was not unusual to find Comet in Orion, one, because that was where she lived, and two, because it had a nice open space for practicing magic. She walked a decent distance away from her house so as to avoid potentially flooding it. Her magic was growing at a faster rate than she could learn to control it, so these daily practice sessions were vital.

The area she arrived at was mostly empty, except for a few croppings of quartz here and there. Comet sat down and decided to start with the same spell she always started with: bubbles. They helped her to focus, and it was a warm up for the harder ones she would be trying later on.

@Tahi-shei

Tahi-shei had recently lost his proclivity towards spending time in Orion. Wandering here reminded him of the Seven, of Pride, of his failed attempt at severing his deal -- reminded him that he had murder on his stone and he would for the rest of his life (even if nobody had actually died yet) and how was that the kind of Gembound Pride would accept into the Seven? Absolutely unthinkable.

But he still hung here sometimes, because it was where he'd been born. He still lived here, technically, even if he spent more of his time in Canis and Eridanus nowadays. As he approached, he noticed a white wolf forming bubbles -- water magic, perhaps? His ears pricked up. He'd never hung around someone with water magic. "Hello?" he called, striding forward with toadstools and redcaps sprouting at his heels for dramatic effect.


@comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet pricked her ear. Was that a hello she heard? Out here in Orion? She hadn't met many animals here, so having someone appear was quite a surprise. She turned around to see a deer striding forward, with cool mushrooms that sprouted behind him. She hadn't met anyone who could do fungal magic before! Comet had ever only heard about it, so it was nice meeting someone who had it.

"Hello!" she replied, thinking of whether she had seen him before, or was that another different deer? She wasn't exactly the best and remembering the difference between animals of a specie that wasn't similar her's. "Have I met you before?" She made a few more bubbles.

@Tahi-shei

"I don't think so," he admitted, memory not serving. He supposed he might have met this wolf... she was rather articulate for someone visibly so young, though! Tahi-shei was impressed. In his first cycle, he'd only been able to echo the words he heard, and Madhukar's speech had been broken to such a degree that it was only barely understandable. ... Not that she was exactly giving soliloquies now, but he could understand her pretty well by virtue of all the time they'd spent together. "My name is Tahi-shei, but you could call me Tahi for short." He strode forward a little closer.

"Are you doing magic practice?" he asked lightly, circling her to get a full view. "Do you mind if I join you? I've been trying to come into my magic a bit, as of recent. Gain a better understanding."


@comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Since the deer seemed to not remember if they had met her either, "Tahi-shei." Comet tried out the name on her tongue. It was rather long, so she was happy that she could call him just Tahi. She made no move as they walked even closer, as they seemed friendly.

"Yes. You can join! It is fun practicing with others." Comet smiled. As someone who hunted, whenever you circled something it meant they were prey, but deer didn't hunt, so she didn't put up her guard.

There was one spell she wanted to practice, but first, she needed some water. She put her energy into the ground, and the water appeared at her paws. Comet watched Tahi from the corner of her eye, to see what magic he would do.

@Tahi-shei

"Do you mind if I cast magic on you?" he asked lightly, shaking himself out and trying to identify the fungal growths in the room in case he needed them. The web of life beneath the substrate stuck out to him, and he looked around at everything nearby. He kept the locations of the nearest formations nearby, and turned his attention back to Comet. "None of my spells hurt or anything, and they don't last very long, either. I'd be happy to explain them as I cast, if you'd be more comfortable."

He really just wanted a chance to try out the spell he'd learned from Giggle, and the other one he'd figured out more on his own.



@comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Casting the magic on her? Someone who she had only just met? That sounded really risky, and she wasn't sure if she trusted him that much yet. But he said they wouldn't hurt... or was he lying? The deer seemed nice though, and Comet believed in her own ability to attack him if he was not true to his word.

"Okay, could you explain them as you cast?" she readied herself for his spell. Maybe fungal magic was best if practiced on others, she didn't know, so it was worth trying.

@Tahi-shei

He dipped his head, grateful for her decision. "This first one will alter your perception of me for as long as I can maintain it, but I'll let it fade pretty quickly if I manage to cast it. It'll make me seem more agreeable, and you'll consider my advice as if we're close friends even though we've only just met. It won't strip away your freedom of will, of course -- it'll just make you more inclined to help me." He took a deep breath.

A difficult spell to cast, really. He thought about it -- spores of magic, filling Comet's nose. Not perceptible unless she knew what to look for; no larger than normal particles of dust. But persuasive. Enough to make her relent, if only for a moment -- and Tahi-shei would make sure that it was only a moment. A show of good will. Instead, he took notice of the spores as they left him, watching them idly. They were so pretty, weren't they? Fungus and its growths... gorgeous things, with their desire to grow and-- "Damnit."

Tahi-shei laughed a little at himself, much like Giggle had. "Figures. Unfortunately, my spell seems to have backfired."


@comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

"Okay." Comet nodded her head. The spell didn't sound too bad, and if the deer was willing to tell her exactly what it did, that made them pretty trustworthy. If you were actually trying to control someone with that spell you wouldn't tell them what it did, right?

She held her breath, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. The spell had backfired. "That's okay! Why don't you try another one?" Comet could tell that the current spell he tried was a rather hard one. She did not think any less of him for failing it, as she failed a lot of her's too. If anything, this spell attempt showed that the deer was quite trustworthy, so she didn't feel the need to ask what the next spell would do.

@Tahi-shei

Tahi blinked at the spores until the effects of the magic faded, and he shook himself a little. He cleared his throat and decided to take Comet's advice, stretching himself out a little. "Alright, I will." He offered a small smile. "This spell attaches spores to your coat which relay stimulus to me. Moisture, light, sound -- anything that the fungus is aware of." Tahi-shei smiled. "Many eyes in many places, hm? They don't hurt, I promise... although you should probably wash them off before they hit your skin, because that might make them painful to remove -- I'd have to use magic then. I can also detect where you are using another spell I have while they're in effect, but it's unrelated."

The stag eyed Comet for a moment, briefly considering her fur and how it might complicate things. "Alright... here goes nothing." A thin cloud of gray, dust-like spores began to dislodge themselves from his coat, hovering in the air before being drawn like magnets to Comet's. Her thick fur protected her against the bulk of it, thank the slime molds, but she'd probably need to wash rather quickly.

However, Tahi could definitely tell the spell was in effect. It was disorienting as all hell to have two forms of sensory input in his mind at once.


@comet