open to all

[incaenstrix]

WHO: Character(s)
WHAT: Various open prompts for MAKING FRIENDS
WHEN: Eh, nowish
WHERE: Around the Gallows
NOTES: Potential references to slavery, anxiety, and injury.

i. The Courtyard, night
There have been times in the past when Tertia has had a bed to sleep in. But when she was servus publicus, she slept on a thin pad on the hard floor, and when she was fighting with the People she slept in a bedroll out in the field. She had a bed with the Magister, though. Soft and stuffed with goose-down. Gentle cotton sheets.

So sleeping in a bed has proven to be nearly an impossibility. And so at night, she's been taking a blanket and a thin pillow out to the courtyard, and she's been laying them down on the ground beneath the stars - or the clouds - to sleep.

The downside to this, though: she's likely a near-invisible figure in the dark. Someone taking a late-night stroll might well trip over a small sleeping girl, or might be startled to find that something out of the corner of their eye when they're having a smoke is stirring, elf-eyes glinting in the dark.


ii. The Library, daytime
There are signs when someone isn't a particularly adept reader. Tertia bears those signs: her lips move as she reads, forming the sounds unconsciously, and her finger traces along the lines as she goes along. But she also doesn't waver. She sits for actual hours, focused intensely on the work, determination in the set of her jaw and the furrow of her brow.


iii. The Training Grounds, daytime; action brackets preferred
Excuse me.

[ A young elf woman might approach you while you're training. Her staff makes it clear that she's a mage. Her manner is softspoken and mild, and she asks - ]

Would you tell me a bit more about your fighting style? Where did you learn it?


iv. Wildcard
[ do WHATEVER ]

Comments

iii. training grounds

[notathreat]

[It's a voice Ellie's heard before, twice, on the crystals. Once asking for help with learning magic, and the second time, trying with Gwen. Both times, she was earnest and kind and didn't seem to expect the same in return. Both times, Ellie didn't respond, because what she had to offer wasn't what was being asked for.

Currently, she's practicing in the courtyard at the ranged targets, trying to improve the speed of her draw. While aim is far from her problem (she almost unerringly hits the mark, and around half the time, Tertia might be able to feel the prickle of an unfamiliar magic, even if she's not close enough to see Ellie's eyes gain a soft golden glow) she's still working on using more of her arsenal of knives. She defaults to drawing from her hip or thigh or back pocket. Now, she's working on draws from her boot, flipping the knife tip into her fingertips before she flings it at the target.

Faster draw, tricky to maintain momentum with.

Aware of her audience, Ellie gives Tertia a nod as she comes closer, pauses to catch her breath, adjust her boot.]

Um...

[Ellie squints to herself, thinking back.]

I had a- mentor for a while, sort of. He was an old smuggler, so he could kill someone with his bare hands if he had to. I'm not built like he was, so he taught me how to shoot and where to put a knife, and how to stick to where nobody could see me.

The rest is just... muscle memory. And lots and lots of work on my aim.

So it's not exactly a style, it's just what works for me.

[incaenstrix]

[ Tertia listens, and as Ellie finishes talking, she nods. ]

Magic is taught in schools. I mean - [ A small gesture - ] It's organized into schools, which mages are taught. I guess that doesn't mean the same is true for other ways of fighting.

[ Tertia leans in to examine the knife. She comes barely up to Ellie's chin, and her manner is rather diffident. She doesn't crowd her space. ]

You're not a mage, right?

[notathreat]

[Ellie nods- she can't claim to be really knowledgeable about how Thedosian magecraft works, only that it does. Everyone seems to lean into a different aspect of it. It's something she should study, one of these days.

Ellie doesn't come into Tertia's space either. Instead she opens her hand, so Tertia can see the small knife she's using. It's almost more of a dagger, not actually built for being thrown. Dwarven-make, if she has an eye for those things.]

Not technically.

[She hesitates, in the way that someone who has to explain something impossibly weird might, when they don't expect to be believed.]

I'm a rifter. I have a couple of things I can do, and they're technically magic. A Templar can disrupt it. But I'm not a mage the same way people in Thedas think of mages? And I can't teach it.

[This last bit's said apologetically.]

[incaenstrix]

[ If there's one advantage to having rather little life experience, it's that you don't really know when something deserves skepticism. So she nods as she listens, and she doesn't question any of it. ]

Are you really from another world?

[notathreat]

[Ellie pauses, then nods, reaching down to unbind her right hand. It's usually covered by a fingerless archer's glove. But it's there in her palm; that slash of green, shining out of her skin like a tiny rip in the fabric of reality.]

Yeah.

Believe me, it was just as much of a shock for me.

courtyard

[sprent]

Night strolls are not in Gela's usual repertoire, but tonight she cannot sleep. Maybe her bed is too warm, or her mind too restless? She has her own theory. Because she cannot see the moon out of the little window in her tower room (despite craning her neck at many terrible angles), she takes the stairs down and emerges into the courtyard barefoot, blinking up at the sky.

In her slow course about the yard in order to get the best angle (is it full? Is the sleeplessness some kind of sign, or warning?), her toes touch the edge of something that is not grass.

A blanket? And a person lying on top of it, staring up at the sky, wholly unexpected.

"Maker." Gela nearly stepped on her. "Sorry– I wasn't lookin'."

[incaenstrix]

Tertia had seen her coming, to be fair. She'd debated making a little sound of warning - hey, don't be scared - but had spent far too long trying to decide what she'd actually say and had ended up staying silent till the girl had almost tripped over her.

"No, I'm - " She gives a little laugh of embarrassment, and draws her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them. "Sorry. It's - I'd tried to find somewhere out of the way, but I guess I didn't pick the best place. Sorry." Then - "Do you want one of my blankets? It's a little chill out here."

[sprent]

"No," Gela defers, blinking, "I think it was a fine place. Everybody else is sleepin'." And she should be too, but isn't. Eventually she recognises the little voice and says, "Tertia? We spoke on the crystal. My name is Gela." And, "I'd love a blanket, if you don't mind."

She's already regretting the bare feet.

[incaenstrix]

"Oh!" Tertia smiles, barely visible in the darkness. "Gela. Yes. - You have an incredible ear. I don't think I'd have been able to recognize you by voice."

She fetches up one of the blankets - then notices those bare feet. And she urges her, "A blanket, or - You could sit beside me, if you'd like. Your feet must be freezing."

[sprent]

An incredible ear... that is true, but it gives Gela an unwelcome squirm in her stomach all the same. She casts a glance up at the sky again. The moon is hiding behind the clouds.

Is it safe to sit here, with somebody who doesn't know what she is? What she's capable of? She shifts in the cold, damp grass.

"It's not so bad," she says, smiling, and then pauses. Usually she would make an excuse and take her leave, but it feels bad to leave this wee person alone, and in the dark. "Are you– sleepin' out here? Did you not find a bed?"

iii-ish.

[luaithre]

[ As Kostos had explained, there are distinct branches and schools of magic, and mastery in one is probably preferable to a scattered understanding of a little bit of everything. It's a philosophy that Marcus agrees with, in part, especially if given the opportunity for mages to work together, and combine their unique abilities to great effect.

However, it should also be said: any mage who hopes to enter battle will have a short career indeed if they do not, at minimum, learn how to cast their own Barrier.

He shows her by doing, drawing from the Fade through his held staff and using his free hand to cast. Glyphs briefly flash around his feet before fading, leaving behind dancing motes of pale light, a slight glimmer reflecting off his armor, skin, hair.

Stepping back, so there is some distance between them, Marcus nods to her. ]

Hit me with something.

[incaenstrix]

Yes, Enchanter.

[ The careful, hesitant deference with which she'd first used his title has given way swiftly to something more familiar and comfortable. It's genuinely respectful, now. And there a real eager admiration as she watches him casting those glyphs.

She draws back her staff. Her casting is slow, much slower than it would be on the battlefield, because she's endeavoring to master the form. Being careful so she can do it right. So, then, after a few long seconds, a tongue of lightning lances out to strike against him - nearly full power, as she trusts he can defend himself.

(No squeamishness about using magic against a person. She's done it before, plenty of times.) ]

[luaithre]

[ The careful movements of her staff are an easy telegraph both for the timing of her attack and its nature, but the lesson isn't concerned with that. Marcus holds his staff in a defensive line across his body, and then, that lash of light—

He steps back under the force of it, an impact that hits but doesn't injure, none of the expected convulsing or burning. Lightning splits, crackles across his staff, over a shoulder, dies.

(There there is no uncertainty, hesitation, no 'really?' at his request, all actionable information too. And nothing in need of correction.) ]

That burned up most of it, you see? [ He lifts a hand, and it's difficult to make out visually, the subtle shift of faint light made even fainter, but if she focuses, she might be able to sense how much energy is still being channelled to defend him, which is: not much. ]

If we were fighting, what would you do next?

[incaenstrix]

[ She brings her staff back to a neutral position, eyebrows lifted at just how effective that was. But a moment later, she's packing away her admiration of just how cool Marcus is, cocking her head to the side to thing. ]

It seems like - I'm probably using more energy attacking than you are defending. [ A hesitation, and then with a shy sort of smile - ] I'm guessing have someone else come up behind you with a blade isn't the answer you're looking for.

[luaithre]

Not today, [ he'll allow. Not an invalid tactic, in life, especially in a mixed company like Riftwatch, but for the time being— ]

There's no single answer. There's cost and benefit in each decision, where to spend your concentration and how. You could focus your power into bringing down my defenses fast, but once you have, I'll likely be better positioned than you to engage. If you're patient, use lesser magics to wear them down, save a proper attack for the right moment—

[ A gesture. ]

You might hurt me before I can recast my defenses, leaving me open, or I may be quicker off the mark and bring them back up, and you'll have to start again. It's a matter of timing, developing a sense of it.

But this is where we are, now. What would you do next? Without any blades at my back.

library

[favoriteanalyst]

Mobius still tends to his self-appointed library duties. He just has to be more careful, now, about carrying and shelving, lest he drop everything. Thankfully turning pages doesn't really require more than the light swipe of a finger in most texts, so it isn't as though he's ripping pages out when he reads.

And he's still here to help. This young lady is apparently an avid reader if not the best at it. It isn't exactly a requirement, knowing how to read, given how many people don't get that kind of education. But in his rounds around the library, he can see that she's still at it after several hours. Far be it for him to interrupt deep work, but everyone needs a break.

He takes the seat opposite her when he thinks she's gotten to the end of a sentence, folding his hands in front of him. "Hi. You need anything? Something to drink, or a chance to stretch your limbs?"

[incaenstrix]

"Ah - "

The downside to being thoroughly absorbed in concentration is that - well - you don't notice people around you. So Tertia had no idea that this man was here until he sat down across from her - and so when he speaks, she visibly jumps, and looks up at him with a wildly guilty expression.

"Am I not supposed to be - ?" His manner isn't unfriendly, but she can't think of any reason that a human would be talking to her that isn't you're doing something wrong. "I can put it back."

[favoriteanalyst]

Mobius holds up his hands when she jumps. "Sorry--sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You're fine. This is a library, for reading and research. You don't have to put anything away."

Jumpy elf means ah, probably has not had a good life. So noted. He sets his hands back down. "My name's Mobius. I'm a librarian. I noticed you've been at it for a while, so I just wanted to check in, see if you're doing okay."

[incaenstrix]

She searches his expression a moment for some hint of malice or of irony - doesn't find any. Well - It is true that the people here are a bit different. Maybe someone like this would offer to - what, get her a drink? Odd as it seems.

"I'm - Yes. I'm doing okay." She nibbles a little on her lower lip, then dares to ask a question - "What time is it?"

[favoriteanalyst]

"Sun's still up," he says with a smile. "So not late enough for me to suggest you get out of here. I can catch a whiff from the kitchens, though, when I open a window. Think they're starting to get dinner cooked up."

He tilts his head, like getting her from another angle will help. "Reading anything good?"

iv wildcard babey

[untiltheyarent]

[Riftwatch has seen its share of elves come and go, but it's always nice to catch sight of a new one, especially when they're not among those bunking with the serving staff.

Fifi is mopping the hallway outside the library, humming lightly to herself, when Tertia passes. It's an unconscious thing, to lift her head and to smile at her, in that knowing elf-to-elf way; 'welcome', her look seems to say, even if she's clearly not any sort of high-ranking individual herself.

Some feet away, an enormous dog gnaws on an old beef bone, staying out of the mop's path.]

[incaenstrix]

[ For Tertia, though, this is the first elf she's seen. And so when she meets Fifi's eyes, she stops in her tracks, face absolutely lighting up in sheer pleasure. ]

Oh! Hello - I - I haven't seen you before. Sorry, is it all right if I interrupt you?

[untiltheyarent]

[It's hard not to match that smile, and Fifi pauses her mopping.]

Of course. [She ducks her head in a little curtsy.]

Josephine Mariette.

[incaenstrix]

Hi. I'm Tertia. I'm - I've joined Riftwatch, the Forces division - There aren't many elves here. So it's nice to meet you.

i. Courtyard (I said I was gunna tag this and here I am weeks later)

[muckspout]

Edgard frequently walks around at night. It's easier than staring at a wall when he can't sleep. He is halfway across the courtyard when he spots Tertia's eyes in the dark. He jumps backward and whispers a long string of curses as his eyes adjust.

He takes a breath.

"Frightened me." Breath. He glances at the blanket and pillow and frowns slightly.

"There's places to sleep, rooms and beds--" He crooks a thumb back toward the building behind him. "Can take your pick, there's plenty. No one told me either when I first got here."

He smiles sympathetically, in solidarity with hazed new recruits everywhere.