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Post by Noa on Aug 9, 2021 23:41:57 GMT -6
Some things seemed to work like that: the more you wanted them, the less they seemed to happen. It wasn't a scientifically observable phenomenon, or at least it wasn't most of the time, but in some cases desperation really did have a direct effect on your outcome. Noa supposed he would find out. Desperation or no, he would certainly catch more fish if he cast his rod, at least, than if he didn't. Surely they wouldn't walk back completely empty handed, not when he had decided to devote a considerable chunk of his time today to this endeavor.
The little feathered creature poked its head out of Noa's pocket. It had taken to sitting there and simply enjoying the view. On other occasions Noa might have taken it out and let it run around, but the grass was a bit long where they were, and the possibility of losing the creature in all this mess was a very real one. It seemed like a hassle to deal with, so as long as the creature wasn't squalling up a storm in protest, he wasn't going to take it out of his pocket. At the moment it seemed content, and he was content to leave it there.
It did catch the eye of the Nebuli, however, who looked at it with curious eyes. Noa guessed that the Nebuli had never seen anything like the little feathered creature either. But that was fair enough; they didn't really come around until fairly recently, actually.
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Post by Nadia on Aug 10, 2021 10:37:40 GMT -6
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2021 17:40:45 GMT -6
If that was all it took to entice the Nebuli's interest, then Noa had ammo enough -- though how he could turn that into a viable strategy for getting the Nebuli to do what he wanted was another matter. And novelty could only last so long, so it wasn't really what Noa wanted to rely upon if he could help it. Unfortunately, he didn't know if he would have any choice in the matter. Any incentive was better than none whatsoever, and thus far he hadn't found anything else that might work on this individual creature.
He wondered just how much it had managed to see, in general, in its time as one of the denizens of the Mansion. It must have belonged there at some point, even if Noa hadn't encountered it as such himself. Come to think of it, how did that trader get their hands on such a creature? But then, it was also a mystery where the trader managed to source their magic crystals from, and the strange rules of their shop were also rife for the pondering. There were really too many questions one could ask about that place, and nothing to offer any answers, least of all the trader themselves. Noa had known taciturn people in his life, but this trader really took it to another level.
While the Nebuli seemed fascinated with the little feathered creature, the same could not be said in reverse. The little feathered creature seemed rather put off by the Nebuli.
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2021 17:48:49 GMT -6
Its general appearance hadn't done enough to frighten the little feathered creature, especially since Noa had just recently spent some time desensitizing the creature to beasts much more intimidating than the Nebuli was. The size, perhaps, was something to worry about, but only if the Nebuli came up close. But that was just the problem; now the Nebuli had closed in, and was peering at the little feathered creature in very close quarters, at which distance it was impossible to ignore the size discrepancy between the two, and moreover, how the Nebuli now took up almost the entirety of the little feathered creature's field of vision.
On the bright side, it didn't seem frightened exactly, but it did seem pretty visibly unhappy about what was happening. If Noa was less amused by what was going on, maybe he would have intervened, but as it was he was content to let this little drama play out, and see what would happen. Maybe they would get into some kind of altercation, hard as it was to imagine any kind of altercation between these two theoretical combatants. Or maybe the little feathered creature would start screaming, which was less desirable and less interesting an outcome, but still entirely possible, considering Noa had taught it how to on a different mining trip some time ago.
Noa had just enough warning from Rhys laying his ears back to covering his own ears; his second guess, as it had turned out, had been right on the money.
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2021 17:52:33 GMT -6
The little feathered creature took in a breath and then let loose with a truly ungodly squall of noise. It had the desired effect; the Nebuli flinched, then backed up several paces, swinging its head back and forth. Apparently even ethereal creatures did feel pain, and could be hurt by noise. It was funny to think about; had the little feathered creature tried a conventional peck to try and get rid of the intruder, it would all have come to nothing. Heck, it might have overbalanced and fallen out of the pocket, though that was unlikely as far as outcomes went because the pocket wasn't that shallow, and the creature was pretty firmly nestled in there. But either way it would have been in for a surprise when its attempt to attack didn't work, and simply phased right through the Nebuli's form.
But instead it had gone a different route and used a warning call instead -- and a potent one, to be sure. And sure enough, it had done the trick nicely. It hadn't gotten rid of the Nebuli completely, but it had gotten the Nebuli to back off, and maybe then it would think twice before it tried to crowd the little feathered creature again.
"You're really quite crafty for a thing with animal wits," Noa said to the little feathered creature, as if it were a companion that could really carry on a conversation with him. It had puffed out its chest, apparently pleased with the outcome of its screech.
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2021 18:04:19 GMT -6
Well, maybe Noa would be pleased too if he had been younger, and much smaller, and had managed to scare away some giant monster with the force of his own screaming. At that size, a good deal of perfectly ordinary things might be considered some sort of accomplishment; it wasn't as if he could judge these things. But he wasn't here to watch them squabble, as entertaining as it might have been for the moment in which it had happened. He was here to fish. And so he took up the rod and made his first proper cast, this time without having to watch out for any of his creatures, which was a nice and welcome relief. Rhys knew better than to get in his way, and could in fact fly out of it if he saw the trajectory of the hook coming towards him. For that matter, if something untoward were to occur, he was perfectly capable of healing his own wounds. The little feathered creature was tucked as close to Noa's body as one could get, and anyway made for a very small target. The chances of somehow hitting it by accident were slim to none, since Noa never did catch himself with it anymore. That kind of beginner's mistake was a thing he had left behind ages ago, though it had happened once or twice when he was first learning.
As for the Nebuli, well, things went right through it. There was nothing to worry about there.
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2021 18:08:18 GMT -6
In fact, it might treat the experience of having a hook run through it as a novelty. At this point even Noa didn't know how it would take something like that. It had remained a cautious distance away after the little feathered creature had made its displeasure known, but the Nebuli still observed all of them from that distance, and what conclusions it might be drawing from those observations, Noa could only guess.
Ah well, there were fish to catch. He gave the rod another good swing, then cast the hook into the river. It landed more or less where he had intended, though he had to admit that he had perhaps gotten rustier than he would have liked. It wouldn't do to have to practice again. He didn't think he would ever reach the point where he was at risk of catching himself on his own hook, but with these things it was hard to know for sure.
For now though, he was content with the results, and now there was nothing to do but to wait.
Actually, this was the hardest part of fishing -- keeping attentive enough for the full period of the wait between a cast and a bite. It was impossible to know just how long that would be, too, which only added to the problem. There was a limit to what Noa could do while still sparing enough attention to the state of his fishing rod that he could notice immediately when a fish had latched on.
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Post by Nadia on Aug 11, 2021 4:40:00 GMT -6
Attracting a bunch of shells today, huh...
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Post by Noa on Aug 11, 2021 15:40:03 GMT -6
Noa had fished more often in the past, but he could no longer remember exactly how he had managed to pass the time when he waited for a fish to bite. As of late it had been occupying himself with training, but he didn't catch as many fish in that fashion specifically because he was focusing on something else. It was no real loss on that occasion because his goal had been to train his creatures anyway, but now that he was trying to fish more seriously, it presented a problem. He studied the hook, half willing an idea to come to him, and half willing a bite to manifest somehow, as if that were something he could manifest by sheer force of will. It wasn't, but nothing better occurred to him.
{We just wait now, right? What should we do? Oh, we could play a game, maybe.} Rhys had probably sensed Noa's mood souring, or perhaps he had skimmed Noa's surface thoughts instead. Whatever it was, he offered a suggestion, which Noa pondered for a moment.
"What kind of game are you suggesting?" he said. If it wasn't interesting, then there was no point. He was better off sitting here and trying to think of something else.
It didn't seem as though Rhys had had an idea in mind when he made the suggestion though, as he didn't reply right away, and seemed to be mulling it over himself. {Uhh... I'm not sure! Let me think about it for a bit...}
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Post by Noa on Aug 11, 2021 15:44:26 GMT -6
Noa sighed. "If you don't have a real idea, then don't say anything. What could we possibly play here, and with the present company?" They couldn't exactly have a rousing game of cards when two of their companions weren't clever enough to play, and it wasn't like either of the creatures with them knew any games like 'fetch' -- not that the Nebuli was even capable of it, given what it was.
But Noa considered the Nebuli a moment, and said, "What if we do some magic practice instead? I hear these creatures have some magic of their own. If this one sees us at it, it might show us what it can do." That sounded like a much better time to Noa. He didn't have any lofty expectations, such as this Nebuli somehow holding the key to a breakthrough on his research into how to abate his own condition, but he might learn something new in terms of spells or even magical principles. That was worth something, at least.
Rhys hadn't come up with a game for the two of them to play in the short time between his suggestion and Noa's own, so the Faeron went along with it. {Sure, that sounds like it could be fun. What kind of magic are you going to show it?}
"Well, I was thinking you could do some this time," Noa said. "You've been my familiar long enough, and I have plenty of nodes. Surely by now you must know some spells."
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Post by Noa on Aug 11, 2021 15:49:08 GMT -6
A familiar's power grew with the mage attached to them, both from the strength of the bond between the two as well as the mage's own reservoir of power. Noa had spent half his life in Rhys's company, though he hadn't been Noa's familiar for that entire length of time. Still, it had to have been a good eight or nine years by this point, and they spent a good deal of time together. Initially Noa's collection of nodes had been nothing impressive, relatively speaking -- though any greater node was quite rare and expensive if you were a layman, or someone starting out without the support of their family and generations of wealth accumulated. The value of having been born to a practicing family could not be overlooked, as far as securing his first few nodes went. It was really a pity about the rest of his parents' collection, that most of it had disappeared with their deaths, but a start was better than nothing.
And in the intervening time, Noa had made good use of his own means to gather more, to add to the magical ability that he would be able to bring to bear. None of it was concentrated in one element, but as a collective whole it was still a pretty impressive pool to draw upon. And familiar magic didn't really care about what elements were involved so much as the quantity at the mage's disposal, as far as his research had shown to him anyway.
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Post by Noa on Aug 11, 2021 15:53:54 GMT -6
But until now, Noa hadn't really interrogated Rhys's own magical abilities. They had worked on developing Rhys's inborn abilities, including his healing as well as some of his other powers, but Noa hadn't often seen him cast a true spell. In fact he couldn't remember the last time he had actually seen it happen.
{Oh,} said Rhys, who looked caught off guard by the request. But then, considering why Noa had even made it in the first place, Noa had expected Rhys not to know what to do with it. {I... I could certainly try,} the Faeron offered hopefully, but beneath that Noa could sense that he had no confidence about it whatsoever.
Noa gave a shrug. "It doesn't matter if you don't do it well, though if you don't know how, we ought to work on that. No sense in you having the magical ability if you don't know how to make use of it." It would be a waste otherwise, and there were certain things that Rhys could do that Noa couldn't, so it was better for the both of them if Rhys had a good grasp of magic fundamentals. In fact, it was actually a little surprising that he had gone so long without picking it up, since he was in the presence of someone who worked with magic every day. But seeing it was not the same as doing it, Noa knew; his parents had been steeped in magic too, and he hadn't known how to use it until later.
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Post by Noa on Aug 11, 2021 15:58:49 GMT -6
To be fair, they hadn't taught him -- which was what he imagined Rhys's issue to be here too, really. But he had definitely been exposed to it, and it was, to some extent, in his blood. He had taken to his studies like a fish to water, even without their tutelage to guide him, and even if the texts could sometimes be misleading or less complete than he would have liked. He was sure that he could guide Rhys in the right direction, even if the Faeron didn't turn out to have any natural aptitude for it, just by virtue of his own learnings.
{If you really think... No, you know what, you're right! I'll do it. I can do it.} Rhys puffed out his own chest, and his words sounded rather as if he was trying to talk himself into what he was about to do, which was funny though it didn't exactly inspire much confidence in Noa on his behalf. But then he faltered again, and looked to Noa. {What exactly should I do?}
Noa thought on it for a moment, then said, "There's a spell I read about recently which feels fairly similar to something you can already do. Let's start there. I figure that would be the easiest thing for you, if you attempted something that felt at least passingly familiar." And it was useful to boot; there was no way that Noa was going to use his time teaching Rhys how to do something frivolous.
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Post by Noa on Aug 11, 2021 16:28:32 GMT -6
The typical spells for beginners were all small and useless things like how to make little illusory hearts or alter your voice. While they might have some niche applications as distractions and disguise, it wasn't as if they were useful in a general sense. Noa didn't bother with them, and he was of the opinion that Rhys shouldn't bother with them either.
Instead, he said, "You remember how it feels to calm a drake?" They had expanded Rhys's ability to quell Noa's night terrors to other creatures when Noa began raising Sarane in earnest, and now it was something Rhys did easily. The Faeron gave a wordless assent. "Good. Then the most I have to teach you for this is just how to draw upon your magical reservoir, rather than whatever it is you use for that." Rhys had other inborn abilities, but they weren't dealing with those right now. Noa, who didn't have them, never had to concern himself with anything like that, so he didn't actually have experience with... turning a part of himself 'off' for this, but you did have to reach out to the magical energy to shape it.
He called forth a little bit of it now, let it pool between his cupped hands. "Can you sense it?" Noa said. Rhys had been his familiar for ages, so he shouldn't have been numb to the ebb and flow of magic. But it was one thing to have known it, and another to actually focus on it.
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Post by Noa on Aug 11, 2021 16:33:17 GMT -6
Rhys paused, then stared at his hands, the look in his eyes shifting to one of concentration. {I think so,} Rhys said.
Noa separated his hands, and directed his energies into one of them. "Now, without cheating, which hand do I have it in?" He didn't think Rhys would cheat, of course, but when your telepathy was inborn, maybe it was hard to turn off the reflex. Still, if he didn't follow the exercise properly, it was Rhys who would fail to progress, not Noa. Noa already knew how to use his magic, after all.
Rhys glowered at his hands for a moment. {Is it... that one?} he said, indicating the right.
Noa nodded. "You didn't just guess, did you?"
{No... Or at least I think I didn't. There's something buzzing off to that side. Or maybe it's more like a ringing?}
While Rhys tried to narrow down exactly what he felt, the Nebuli had meandered back over. The little feathered creature, who had been about to doze off, woke up fully at its approach and began fluffing up what feathers it had. Noa observed the Nebuli with a small smile, and held out his right hand to it. The Nebuli drew closer still, though not quite close enough to touch -- not that there would be anything to touch, Noa supposed. It hadn't used any of its own magic yet, but it seemed to be able to sense that magic was being practiced, or at least that the energies were afoot.
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