driftfleet | (no subject)

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.]

[Oooh, yeah, he's getting a feel for that, actually. Weirdness adds a definite tension to the atmosphere.]

Not long, I promise. A few minutes at most. You can only learn so much by watching, so it's better to ask questions.

[A pause, and then-]

You can say no, I won't be offended.

[Disappointed, sure, but that's not the same thing.]

[That's... a good point. It was better to ask questions, and he'd done that, he'd let her know he was there... if he was intending to be Creepy, would he have bothered informing her about his presence? Unlikely. And he was trying to set her at ease, which was a point in the non-creepy column.

And he can't very well help being invisible, and therefore Weird.

So her stance shifts a little, becoming slightly more relaxed and 'waiting.']

Well... can you tell me what a glyph is?

[Maybe an exchange of information would make her feel less like showing him more was dumb and strange.]

Ah... sounds like a fair trade.

[Knowledge for knowledge! He likes it, the sound of his voice decidedly pleased. He takes a few steps away from her, using his staff to dig a circle in the sand large enough to fit at least three people, a reasonable enough distance from her to avoid getting in her way.]

It's faster if I just show you, so... here.

[He crouches at the edge of the circle and touches the surface. There's another flash of light, and water travels from his palm around the little sand moat he'd created, but instead of soaking in, it freezes and spreads inward. Soon enough the sand circle is an ice circle instead, the surface smooth and gleaming.

Once that's done, he uses his finger to draw, in frost, a symbol vaguely remiscient of the upper half of this, pointed in towards the center. Evenly spaced, he draws it three times on the ice, explaining as he works.]

Glyphs are a sign that a seraph is channeling power- or casting what we call "seraphic artes", or spells, as some might say. It's a point of focus for our elements. Once the arte is fully cast, the glyph is absorbed into our bodies and sent out towards whatever the target is.

[ Katara watches attentively, her brow furrowing. She hadn't seen him to do that when he'd made water, but there was so much happening - the flash of light, the creation of water... ]

...but you don't have to do that every time you use it, right?

For the advanced techniques, yes, but it doesn't take nearly as long- it appears as manifested energy during the incantation. Remember the twin water spouts I made earlier? There was a glyph under my feet when I cast that. I only did it this way so it would be visible for you.

Oh, I see. [ So then it wasn't show and impractical; he'd just slowed it down so she could see it. That was cool. ] I haven't seen magic like this before. I had a friend in Luceti, Mia, who could create water like this and use it with magic as well, but she did it differently. I don't really know very much about magic, it seems like the rules are different in every world.

Magic... yeah, I guess some people call it that. It does seem to vary quite a bit from place to place- where I'm from, no human could do what you were doing earlier unless they were tied to a seraph's power.

[ Katara's gaze sharpens, though she only has the vaguest idea of where to look. ]

You wouldn't call it magic? What would you call it, then?

Well, for us it's just seraphic artes, nothing more. They're a versatile sort of power- different elements, different effects on the world and its people.