driftfleet | (no subject)

[Mikleo's not overly fond of deserts either, but exploring is kind of his thing, so he's wandered about the region looking for anything unusual or suspicious. He doesn't find much, but he does stumble upon Katara's practice, and he can't help but stop to watch. It's rare that he sees humans with the ability to control the elements, and he can't recall ever seeing one do it with such finesse. Quietly he finds a nearby ridge to sit down on and observe the movements, trying to memorize them, to see if he can find anything familiar. It's all new to him, he quickly realizes, but that just makes it more fascinating. He kind of wants to sketch it.

It's rude to just sit here and watch for too long, though, so finally he calls out,]

Your form is very beautiful.

[Testing the waters, so to speak- he has no idea of her resonance, after all. He's hopeful, though! It'd be nice to talk to a fellow water enthusiast.]

[ Katara knows she's not that observant to her surroundings when she's practicing, but geeze! She didn't even hear anyone step into the area this time!

She gasps and turns around, the water coating her arms, to see...

Sand. A few scrubs of grass. The moon overhead.

...] Hello? I can't see you. [She wants to ask 'Is someone there', but that feels stupid, because... well, someone clearly spoke, and it was a kind compliment, but, you know... where did the voice come from?]

Edited (all my edits are belong to you tonight, it seems) 2018-04-04 03:01 (UTC)

[Oh wow, it actually worked.]

I didn't expect you to be able to hear me either, so this is a pleasant surprise. I'm sorry for startling you.

[Where is that voice coming from, this is really creepy. Katara glances all around and... okay, it had sounded like it was coming from this direction, but... could she be sure? No, clearly, but this felt Really Weird.

Still glancing around:]

So... you're usually invisible and... mute?

[What. What is happening right now?]

No, not mute. It's just that people aren't able to hear me.

[He can't imagine how lonely and uncomfortable it would be if that were the case here. Hard enough for Dezel while he was around, blind and unable to do anything about all of the texting and non-verbal network content.

He calls forth his staff and stretches the base out to draw a half-moon in the sand at his feet, so she can get a feel for where he is rather than just being a disembodied voice. Hopefully that helps, even if it might look weird for the sand to suddenly move on its own.]

I'm a seraph. And before you can ask, no, that doesn't mean I'm an angel.

[Because literally everyone asks...]

[IT DOES LOOK REALLY WEIRD, WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!]

[...at... least.... she is either going completely crazy or not going crazy at all.

That's good, right? Those are good options.

She exhales and turns slightly to face the spot he'd indicated head on.

Her voice is a little uncertain.] I don't know what either of those things are.

[...people are unable to hear him + she is 'people' = ???] If people can't usually hear you, then why can I?

[...Figures, the one person he'd preemptively correct about the angel thing is the one who doesn't know. He'd gripe if he wasn't honestly kind of relieved.]

You must have at least some resonance- it's kind of an innate or developed ability to see supernatural occurrences. We're... elemental spirits, is probably the easiest way to explain it. Maybe it's because you're so in-tune with water, apparently?

[He has no idea how she's doing it, but the fact that she can float water around is awfully telling.]

[She was about to say that she didn't know what resonance was either when he -- he? -- he continues to explain.]

...I'd formed a bond with a few spirits in the place I was before this, and I'm a waterbender so... [but the hows don't really matter to her as much as the WHO and the WHAT IS HAPPENING][Or was he a native to this planet?]

Oh- with spirits? That's probably why. Is waterbending what you were doing before?

[It's quite an apt name for it- literally bending water around her.]

Yes. [...] Are you a spirit of this world?

[It was hard for her to believe that such a dead place would have spirits, but... it was certainly possible.]

Thankfully, no.

[Ugh, what a nightmare that would be.]

You're with the fleet, aren't you? So am I.

I am. I just got here about a week ago. [She relaxes slightly.] My name's Katara, what's yours?

[Oh, newcomer. Yeah, that helps to explain things, too. Resonance does usually take time, after all.]

Mikleo. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Thanks. [She doesn't sound at all certain about that. She'd like to say it's a pleasure to meet him too, but Katara is a very truthful person, on the whole, and this isn't exactly a pleasure as much as it is... weird, and a little creepy.] Meeting you is a little strange, actually, but I bet you get that all the time. [Frowny face of concern and compassion: activated.] Do you have to go through this every time you meet someone new? That sounds horrible.

Horrible?

[He pauses for a long moment, thoughtful; not even Sorey had described it as such, although he'd often bemoaned the fact that it was tragic that no one could see the seraphim back home. And the delight on Alisha's face when he and Lailah had finally become visible to her... it would be nice if more people could experience that, if their belief was true. Then again, them being invisible and unheard had gotten the group out of a number of scrapes before, like the Glaivend battle, and sneaking into Lastonbell. Couldn't have done that if everyone had resonance.]

I guess I'm just used to it. Back home I could count the number of humans who can see me on one hand. Our kind are usually pretty isolated, so we know how to keep to ourselves for the most part. ...It would be nice to just talk to everyone freely, though.

[Hmm... he's right. Annoying would be a better word.

Still. Her brow continues to furrow as she... tries to make sense of what he's saying.] Yes, I can see how that would get annoying in a place like this, but it could be useful in others... [...like if there was a reason why his people kept themselves isolated.] So... you're a seraph, which is like an elemental spirit... does that mean you're tied in with an element?

Edited 2018-04-14 00:48 (UTC)

Spot on. It's why I was drawn to you, actually.

[He reaches out again, palm upturned, and light flashes against his hand. After a moment's casting, twin spouts of water burst from between his fingers, twining up towards the sky before dispersing and raining down around them.]

[Maybe to him it looks like he just made two twin spouts of water appear over his hand, but to Katara, they just appeared out of no where after a flash of light.

...and then water is raining down around them, not harmfully, but... she can see the power in a move like that.

And...]

...woah.

[Yesss, be impressed. If he were a peacock he'd be preening a little. Artes are very cool.]

It's a bit inelegant, but it's built for power over style. Yours looked more like a dance, from a distance. Is there a reason for that?

[Blink. Blink blink.

Okay, this is getting less strange and more cool, because he just -- created water out of no where.]

Well, I can't create water like that, for one thing. [It was unfair, really. Firebenders got to create fire, air and earth benders were hardly ever far from their element, but in a desert like this? Katara was very aware of her limitations.] I have to use what's available.

[But hey, since he just dumped a whole bunch into the atmosphere, Katara just moves one hand in a circular motion and gathers a nice, fist-sized ball of it, allowing it to hover above her hand.] And all benders need to use specific movements in order to be able to direct their element.

[She's not sure how to talk about this more without it sounding like bragging or advertising exactly how her fighting style works, and she can just see Shikamaru shaking his head at her, so she flexes her fingers and the water turns back into mist.] I'm not sure why it's like that, it's just... the way it's always worked in my world.

Edited 2018-04-17 21:57 (UTC)

Interesting... though not that different from how my world works. Many powerful artes require that we manifest specific glyphs before they're cast.

[He's mostly talking to himself, since that probably just sounds like nonsense to her. Regardless, he's definitely interested, and he slides off the rock to come closer, intentionally leaving little footprints in the sand as he goes.]

If you don't mind, could you show me?

[...what is a glyph?

...what is an 'arte'?

...is he getting closer?

Eep!]

Umm... what would you like to see? Any larger moves could be pretty dangerous to do with you being, um, invisible and all that.

[LISTEN. I just came out here to practice and have a good time and now there is a talking invisible water spirit fleet person and I am not sure if this is going to be Creepy or Okay.]

Don't worry, I'm not asking you to do anything fancy.

[They did just meet, after all, and he has no idea what sort of draw that might put upon her energy or ability, but if someone showed up out of nowhere and asked him to drain all his artes, he'd be a little miffed.]

Whatever you were doing before I interrupted, maybe? Those gestures you were making... it looked almost like a dance.

[...it is strange enough when people who she can see watch her practice.

Reminding her that he'd been there for a while...

Look. She's sure you're a very nice... walking, talking, water spirit person thing.

But she can't see you or can a read on you at all and this is Weird.]

I'm - not worried about doing something fancy as much as I'm worried about accidentally hitting you. [...and also, This Is Weird.] ...how long were you watching me?

[INVISIBLY.]

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