driftfleet | Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

[He waves a hand dismissively and Raoul comes back, standing in front of Lup. He has a clear topcoat to finish off her nails now.]

Shit, Lup - any spell? That's a big ol' list there. Any parameter you can give me or is this a "Go big or go home, loser" sitch?

[Lup offers her hand out to him, ready and waiting with dry nails.]

Mmm... well, the bigger the spell, the longer it takes, and the less often it can be used. 1st level spells get multiple charges, but a big one can only be used once a day. I'd say anything 4th level or under would be doable. ...Theoretically speaking.

[And the servant mechanically starts applying the topcoat, oblivious to the conversation happening around him.

Taako rolls his head back, staring up at the ceiling as he thinks. 4th or lower being "doable," huh? He has an idea of what she's thinking of doing and while he's loathe to accept help from anyone, this is one thing he might actually be able to use.]

Does it have to be a spell I already know or can I pull something outta my ass?

[a beat]

Theoretically speaking.

[....Welp, that's not exactly what she was going for. She'd honestly been asking for her own sake - now that the Umbra Staff is well and truly out of her hands for good, her plain focus feels kind of beneath her. She still digs the design Taako gave it, though, so rather than replacing it, infusing it with a spell or two is the best solution. She hadn't expected Taako to show any interest in getting enhancements from her of all people... though he hasn't actually said he would take it, yet.

Her brows furrow as she considers the question.]

You can try to pull something out of your ass, but I can't make any promises that it'll happen. Mixing arficing and spell creation is a long, messy business.

[Creating the Umbra Staff had taken her months and months to complete for that reason. The power to absorb a wizard's focus and use it to restore spell slots - and occasionally infuse itself with new spells - was one she'd had to design from scratch. That shit takes time.]

[Time to really think then because having a spell at the ready always in his focus...? Well, that's a big deal. It could be the difference between life and death or winning and losing. It could be defensive or offensive, or just something plain old useful.

He rolls his head side to side as he thinks, listening to the sound of his earrings clinking softly against the back of the chair.]

Fiiiine. Offensive? Go with something like Fireball or Scorching Ray. Defensive? Nothing beats the sheer shock that goes through a crowd with Shatter. Or Fire Shield or Stoneskin if you didn't want to mess with the components anymore. But for fun? Fucking Evard's for sure. Who doesn't want to just tentacle some jackass at the wave of your hand?

[Her lips curve into a smirk. Yeah, she should have expected that last one. He does so love those tentacles... not that she can blame him. It's a damn good spell, fun to cast and funny to see the results of. That one is tempting, but definitely more Taako's style than hers. She prefers the instant gratification magic more than the slow burn.

Scorching Ray, though... that one's got potential.]

I can't think of anyone who wouldn't. I do still have plenty of dried tentacle left... yeah, I'll consider it.

Being here, putting whatever spell you don't want to have to keep scrounging components for is what I'd eventually go with though.

[Which is why he's partial to Evard's. There aren't a whole lot of worlds where he will likely find giant octopus tentacles on display unless he steals them from museums. Which he isn't opposed to? But he shouldn't exactly make a habit of robbing places that have actual security. It's a lot more risky than just looting some dead body somewhere.]

Why're you asking though? You got an idea kicking around in your head?

[It's a more logical conclusion than she'd expect out of Taako, but if Evard's is his pick, it's a little of column A, a little of column B. She'll just file that info away for future pondering. Candlenights is right around the corner, after all.]

It's just a thought, yeah. My new focus is great on aesthetics, but it's kind of lacking in power compared to the old one- doesn't do anything fancy yet. I'm trying to decide how I want to enchant it.

[All she knows for sure is the enchantment she isn't going to give it - she doesn't want to end up living inside a spoon next - and that hardly narrows down her options.]

Ohhh, I get it. So no Feather Fall on your spoon yet, huh?

[And no magical eating of defeated magic users either. He can see how a flame spoon might be lackluster in comparison.]

Why don't you just make a new focus entirely? A spoon's, uh, well, it was good in a pinch, but... [He waves his hand absently.] You could choose anything. Why keep that?

[Fair question, and one she has to consider cautiously for a moment. She'd made it pretty clear that she doesn't want the Umbra Staff, sure, but that doesn't mean she can't replace it with something better. Why is she clinging to the spoon so much? It's not as if he gave it to her, not really- she pretty much just stole it.

She shifts her position, gaze drifting down to her waist where it's tucked into her belt like always. She'd given it a clear coat to protect the design, to stabilize it, and to avoid splinters if she has to grab it in a rush. It's rad-looking but hardly durable or especially strong. If she really wants to get out of here one day, or if it comes down to a serious fight, she'd need something better than just a piece of wood, enchanted or not.]

Dunno. I guess there's just something about it that I like, that's all. ...Why, got any brilliant ideas for what I could make?

[She tosses the challenge out as an afterthought, mostly to avoid looking too much like a sap- and maybe so he won't feel as uncomfortable about her more or less implying that she's keeping it because of him.]

[Weirdo. Taako liked his egg timer just fine, but the second something better came along? Yup, ditching it. He was going to put the timer back in the kitchen as soon as Lup left and start refocusing his attention on the Umbra Staff. Maybe he wouldn't carry it with him all the time, but... Well, he probably would. Just not near her if he could help it.

For whatever reason, it makes her cagey and a cagey wizard is a dangerous one.]

I dunno - something easy to carry around that most people won't notice? [A rock?] I mean you guys made those Relics - can't you just crib an idea from there?

[....Owwwww. Her smile fades, and she turns to gaze off at nothing, chin back to resting on her arm.]

Considering all of the damage they did to the world, I think the last thing anyone needs is more of them. As fun as a fireballing gauntlet would be for a focus.

[And it would be fun- enough that she files the thought away as something to reconsider in the far, far distant future. Not exactly like the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet. Not even close. She couldn't replicate it even if she wanted to- the light of creation isn't here. And if it was? She'd be using it to try and blast their way out of this place, not make world-wrecking relics out of it.

She's had ten years to think about the relic, the plan, the mistakes they'd all made, both collectively and individually. Ten years to lie in wait near the vault where it'd been locked away. Ten years where she knew, thankfully, that it wasn't killing anyone anymore. That's a long time to put things into perspective. Even so... the thought of holding it in her hands again gives her chills.]

[Oooh, right, yeah. He probably should have thought that one through a little more. He'd just been thinking of their designs - a gauntlet, a monocle, a sash, a cup, and a rock - all of them fairly simple and easy.

Just unfortunately destructive as shit.

Raoul finishes her topcoat and stands, moving over to Taako as a silence settles between them. He holds his hand out and Taako huffs as he thinks. After a few moments, he waves his hand toward his head.]

Hair accessory. No one'll think to look twice at it, it's always with you, and you won't need to "carry" it anymore.

Now there's a thought.

[She can't run her hands through her hair while her nails are still drying, so instead she stretches her limbs out, hands spread in front of her as she examines the finished job. Yeah, looks pretty nice overall.

As for his suggestion: a hair accessory... like a hairpin, maybe, or a ring attached to a tie? That might be cute, and if she needs it for spell gestures she could make something detachable, like a miniature wand... hmm.]

...Unless that's just a sneaky way of getting me to make sure I do my hair properly every day.

[He gives a short bark of laughter and shakes his head.]

If I thought I could get you to do your hair properly every day? I'd be suggesting a lot more than just "hair accessory" and leaving it to your imagination.

[At least she's joking again. They're back off the nasty topic of the Relics. He honestly wishes he could ask her about because those things were insane, but seeing her reaction marks that entire section of history as determinedly off limits.]

For all I know, you'd make it a hair scrunchie and wear it around your wrist.

[She laughs right back, giving her head a shake, a tail of hair sliding over her shoulder. She'd done it up neatly to come and visit him, but it's still hit-and-miss how fancy it ends up on a daily basis. It's never looked rats-nest worthy as it had the first few days (she'd still been adjusting to having a body again, so she has an excuse!) but she still likes it best in a quick and simple ponytail.]

Oh shit, you read my mind! I actually considered doing that for a minute there. It would be rad, right? I could fling spells at stuff like the most fabulous slingshot.

It's still a scrunchie, Lup. It's basically the lazy-man's fashion accessory.

[He is unimpressed, but then he is more than happy to spend a good fifteen minutes a day weaving beads into his locks or doing a fancy braid when he had the time. When he was adventuring on the regular, he'd rarely had the time he wanted to preen what with the other two always on his ass about something or another.]

Please tell me you'll do something other than a scrunchie.

Awww, but it would be such a unique focus! No one would forget the fearsome Scrunchie Wizard.

[She sticks her tongue out at him. She's not married to the concept - it's true, a scrunchie would be incredibly lame and not at all intimidating - but it's more fun to razz him instead of thinking about what would be better to use. Mostly because she keeps thinking about how fucking cool a fire gauntlet focus would be and how much it irritates her that she couldn't handle wielding it regardless. Damn Taako for making her think of it.

Maybe something along those lines, though… some kind of light armor would be rad.]

Yeah, they couldn't forget because they'd be too busy laughing at you until the end of time.

[He rolls his eyes and his head follows. He knows she's just teasing, but there is no way he can risk people mistaking him for her if her dumb focus becomes a damn scrunchie. He has standards and that goes against them. He can use a scrunchie. He can wear a scrunchie. But he is not allowed to be seen using a scrunchie as his magical focus. Even if it isn't him, but her doing it. If Lup has his face, she has to uphold his standards.]

Even a charm bracelet would be better than a scrunchie.

Hmmm. That would be cute I guess, but it wouldn't annoy you nearly as much.

[To the surprise of probably no one, that's her main motivator now.]

But don't worry. I'm sure some amazing inspiration will strike me one of these days, and then I'll have the most rad and fantastic focus you've ever seen.

[He should have known really that her new goal would be to find the one thing that annoyed him to turn into a focus. He has a feeling she's only teasing, but he still groans anyway, slumping in his chair as his nails are finished. Taako holds them up and alternates between blowing on them and sticking his tongue out at Lup.]

I mean, you made the umbrella [And a badass but horrifying death gauntlet] so fingers crossed inspiration strikes twice.

But honestly, anything would be better than a scrunchie.

"Anything", he says! I'll remember that.

[He might reconsider the scrunchie idea if she showed up with a jockstrap for a focus. She giggles at the mental image and rolls sideways off the chair, lightly tapping the pad of her thumb against each finger to make sure they're no longer tacky, then saunters over to the steaming water of the bath, nudging her shoes and socks off as she goes. By the time she reaches the water her feet are bare enough that she can sit at the edge and dip her toes in, gasping softly at the heat.]

Oh my goooooods this place is the best. I wish I'd gotten a Pocket Spa....

Just remember; you're the one who has to suffer using it.

[So yeah, go for the jockstrap, Lup. He fucking dares you.

She leaves to dip her feet in the water and Taako dismisses Raoul, who goes to stand unobtrusively elsewhere. Then he watches her relax into the spa and regards her back for a moment. They were just fighting awhile ago and now they're back to this. It's weird, but not in a bad way. He's finally had a fight that didn't result in someone dying or leaving or hating his guts forever and he doesn't know exactly how to handle it, other than to roll with whatever she's up to. It's weird, definitely, and puts him on edge as he waits for the other shoe to drop, but for now? Equilibrium.]

Praise be to Taako for picking the right shit to ask for, huh?

Is that the trick, then? Being real specific about it? Fuck me, then.

[She sloshes her feet back and forth in the water, quiet for a long moment, internally debating whether to just come out with it. Will it help? Will it hurt? She doesn't know. She hates not knowing.

Today of all days, though, he deserves her honesty.]

I went there... looking for something to give you. I didn't ask for that, but it's why I ended up with the staff, I guess.

[He has no idea - all he knew was when he got the spa, he'd been wanting a fucking vacation from all the shit going on in his life. And? Voila, the Pocket Spa appeared. To anyone else, it was just folded up canvas, but after traveling with it in his literal pocket for so long, he'd known it at a glance.

He gives her a shrug in response to her question, then lets her fall into a contemplative silence as he continues to blow on his nails. He's not inclined to follow her to the water right now, keeping to the lounge chairs and inspecting the polish as it dries.

When she speaks again, he glances up, then stares as she confesses why the staff appeared in the first place. That....is unexpected, honestly. Why go through all that trouble of finding the tree and doing all those insane, stupid tasks to get something that wasn't even for her?]

You get one shot at a magical, gift-giving tree and you waste it on me? Not to be ungrateful or anything - because Taako's never gonna say no to free shit - but why?

Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

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