spellgrinders | ( TDM #7 )

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( TDM #7 )

TDMs can be used for anyone interested in the game and/or testing out a new muse.

Test Drive samples are encouraged to be used for your application sample, though they are NOT a requirement.

Feel free to use one prompt, multiple prompts or make up your own!

These threads can be considered game canon upon game opening if you so choose.

Telepathy and magic can be used at any point in time on the TDM, from Prompt A to your wildcard prompt. A specific prompt exists, however, that makes sure all characters have an equal chance to use this mechanic within the TDM. You're encouraged to have characters use telepathy and their magic accidentally or even purposefully on any TDM prompt.

If you aren't set on your character's power yet or want to try out a few, you're still able to use the test drive. Maybe your character is a late bloomer and hasn't fully unlocked their intuitive drive yet. In the case of multiple powers, only prompts that contain the power you choose for your application will count as potential game canon threads.

While only one character can be apped or reserved during a cycle, feel free to post with more than one character if you like! This is for those who are uncertain of their first choice or who would like to try out different characters within the setting.

IMPORTANT: This world is low-frequency. No canon powers or abilities are allowed! Also check out the setting information for more info about Shehui.

You blink and that's all it takes. At first, the picture doesn't come in clear, like you're waiting for a screen to fully load -- more aptly, it's like you're waiting for a camera to focus so you can find image clarity. Before you happened to rapidly close your eyes and open them, your life was normal...well, normal for you, anyway. Fighting an alien, making a quesadilla, dying. And then that blurry picture suddenly takes over.

There's a lot to take in here -- you feel weird, your surroundings are weird. Everything is just weird. For starters, there's that new piece of jewelry inserted in the space above your chest. That certainly wasn't there before you opened your eyes.

aren't

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It seems I am now the one who must properly convey my gratitude. [ Where he'd trouble accepting her own, moments before. ] I did not mean to worry you with my confession.

[ A small half-smile playing upon his lips, he considers drawing back. Drawing away from Lapis and her question, though he finds he hasn't the will to. ]

Did you know, that I've never seen snow before today...? Perhaps the sight of it made me a bit reckless; I will endeavor to take more care before venturing outdoors again, but...

[ Giving pause, Sion rocks back and forth upon his heels, shifting his weight from toe-box to the back of his foot in an almost childish bid to bide time. ]

There is nothing to worry about, not truly, no more than there is anything to be done about my 'condition'. It is the product of a magic which cannot be unwritten.

[ A curse, he does not say. ]

But, in learning this, I would not have you distrust your own ability. Your flame is beautiful, Lapis.

[Of course the sight of a gold flush to his cheeks, not red or pink, catches her attention. And the more mischevious part, pleased to see that she made him fluster, is tempted to try to get that flush to linger a bit longer - yet, she holds back for now, the search for somewhere warm more important than gently teasing her new companion. The playful twinkle and slight up-turn of her lips the only indicators of her thoughts, before her attention then turns to getting him warmed up.

Even once she has finished warming his fingers with soft puffs of air, she still holds his hands tightly in her own - both a reassure and to stop him from drawing away. Her expression only softening at his gratitude, quiet still as he keeps speaking - another huff escaping her, this one amused as another faint smile tugs at her lips.]

That would explain you not being careful. I can show you how to build a snowman later once we get you some gloves.

[And even as he rocks on his heels, she still keeps her fingers wrapped around his hand - her hold firm but confident as she listens. Her brows furrowing slightly at his explanation, already thinking that it sounds like a curse - something she can't really help with, not as she is right now.

His thoughts on her fire, however, causes golden eyes to blink at him in surprise - humming softly once more as she ducks her head down, looking at where her hands hold around his, her mind drifting to her fears of earlier.]

Thank you, but... But the flame isn't really mine. It isn't the power I was born with. [There's a soft, almost sombre hint to her voice - missing her companions, being able to sense them there. Even if her power terrified others, it was still all she knew.]

So--... [ They are not so dissimilar, are they? Sion had suspected, of course, but now glimpses proof of the matter in Lapis' solemn word; her downcast eyes. Perhaps they'd both been running from something, out in the cold, seeking distraction in the form of exploration and the testing of the boundaries newly imposed upon them.

What happens next is seems a natural progression of things: Sion, ducking his head so that his forehead might briefly rest against Lapis' own, reciprocating all the support and reassurance of their handhold. Already, she's warmed him—his fingers no longer seem so ashen; his pallor has improved—and as they stand together in the shop, Sion finds that he wants for nothing more than for Lapis' worries to be eased.

After all, they've made a promise, haven't they? To believe in one reaching out to one another. ]

Something once intrinsic to you is now gone. [ A missing piece, as it were. ]

When I arrived here, I found myself in a similar situation, but... [ Pulling ever-so-slightly back, he offers her a smile, and wonders if he may ever come to share a moment like this with Iris, his little sister in all the ways which counted, were the fate of Menoris to meet with a favorable end. ] ...will you tell me of this blessing that you were born with?

[ There is something in his gaze which suggests he wants to understand; that he will listen and hold no bias, no ill-favor against her. My Lady... what is it that weighs upon you so? ]

Afterward, I think I should very much like to learn about these 'snowmen' of yours.

[The feeling of his forehead resting against her own, however briefly, causes her to tense in surprise for a brief moment - gold blinking owlishly into gold, before she relaxes once more. This is so new, having someone be this close to her, that wasn't her sister or one of the dead.

But it's nice, and so she wants to cling onto this feeling, just for a little while.

So she stays put, before he pulls away - relieved she isn't the only one to have lost a part of her, even it's upsetting to hear that he's lost the same. And when he calls it a blessing of all things, Lapis can't stop that soft, bitter huff of laughter from escaping her - even if she accepted her powers, she knows that they would never be a blessing.

The understanding in his gaze, however, eases the growing uncertainty about telling him - about pushing away one of the few people who don't seem so scared of her. Even if it's only because he doesn't know.]

It's not really a blessing, since I can hear and speak to the dead. For years my only friends were the dead, so to not be able to see and sense them feels... ["Lonely" is the word that comes to mind, but Lapis pushes that aside - she never admitted to her loneliness before, and she never will.

So with a shake of her head, she pushes that aside, turning the topic of conversation back to him once more.]

Though, before I teach you about snowmen, what power did you have?

The capacity to communicate with those who have gone from the mortal realm... [ Hers is a self-depreciating laugh, a sound which Sion knows all too well, for many a time he has held himself in the same regard: not as someone, but something to be kept away and hidden from others, if only for their benefit. But the ability which she'd revealed to him is nothing if not both startling and signifigant in its power for in his own realm—worlds away from here—the voices and influences of dead were preserved only in relics of old, and never accessible by way of simple channeling alone. ] ...what else might it be, if not an extraordinary blessing?

[ Rather than turn to the idea of snowmen, or the question she's posed to him, he slips his right hand out of her hold, if only so that he might be able to stroke his thumb along the back of her wrist in fleeting caress. Inexplicably, he is drawn to her—their similarities, their differences—and it will be a wonder if the shopkeep does not believe them to be involved in a way which is by far more profound and deep than newly-met acquaintances. ]

Gifts are meant to challenge us, and we will never be without our hardships because of them, but--... [ Challenges, such as being unable to feel the warmth of Lapis' breath, or the material of her jacket beneath his fingertips. Hardships, like facing the world alone. ] I know you used your ability to help others, where you were able, and I am sorry you are without it now.

I vow to you now that I will do all within my power to see you safely returned to your home, my Lady. We will find a way to return to where we belong.

[To hear him still call it a blessing, even when he knows what it is now, causes her eyes to widen for a moment - surprise and shock clear on her expression, however briefly. Her power has been called a number of things over the years, but never a blessing - not even her Grandmother, her mentor in these abilities, called it as such.

It makes it hard to think of a response, only able to furrow her brows once more - unsure of what to say, since isn't it obvious what else her powers could be? A curse, something terrifying, horrible. And yet, that isn't what he says - and this confusion, this brief vulnerability, that lets the flush to rise to her cheeks at the caress.

But she's quick to force that away once more, not noticing how the shopkeeper watches them with barely stifled giggles, already having assumptions of just how close they are. Lapis just forces her expression to become impassive once again, though she can't stop the smile tugging at her lips once more, giving the hand still in hers another gentle squeeze before she loosens her hold.]

I'll just need to do my best to use my new powers to help people here. And thank you, Sion. [For what he called her powers, for his kind words, for his promises.] I vow to do the same for you.

[Then her smile takes a teasing edge to it, a playful light shining in her eyes.]

Though, that wasn't an answer to my question. [But, she won't force it (for now) and instead glances around the shop, before spotting a selection of gloves nearby - not hesitating to drag him over, looking up at him expectantly so that he will pick out a pair. They need to go back into the cold eventually, so she wants him to be at least slightly prepared.]

[ ??? On the wings of her oath (a beautiful promise, something which should have never been within his grasp, but somehow is all the same) she smiles—mischievously, boldly teasing—and she sees him whisked away toward a winter-clothing display??? A display of gloves, to be exact, the garments sitting in a quaint arrangement of hanging rows. This--... is truly modern convenience, isn't it? Apparel, mass-produced instead of tailor-made, and in every color which Sion might have ever cared to imagine. And just for a moment, Sion finds himself overwhelmed, for while he'd very much been in his element while their hands had still been linked, their discussion of magic familiar grounds, this manner of 'shopping' is so very new to someone who hails from a time of oil-lit lamps and horse-drawn carriages.

Ah... what to do??? ]

What do you think of the blue?

[ —he asks with an incline of his head, his golden eyes seeking out her own, awaiting her opinion. After all, she is better versed in this than he, the King who is suddenly rather boyish, reaching to card a hand through the fringe of his hair in a rather sheepish gesture.

(From afar, the shopkeep can no longer stifle their giggles.) ]

[At least she's kind(??) enough to stand back and let him choose - her vow was to help him get back safely after all, and that means making sure he's prepared for the cold weather outside. Though she gets the feeling he's a bit out of his element, his clothing hinting to a place where items of clothing in such a large quantity and in such a variety isn't exactly common.

It's why when he asks of her opinion, she doesn't hesitate to step forward, quietly appraising the gloves he inclines his head towards. The sheepish gesture prompting another smile to tug at the corner of her lips, before reaching for a pair of blue gloves to offer to him - approving of his choice in colour.]

I think blue would suit you, though you should try them on first. [The sound of the giggle catches her attention, golden eyes glancing over at the shopkeeper, who quickly tries to stifle themselves - lips pursing as she looks back at her companion]

Did we do something funny?

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( TDM #7 )

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