An Elemental Tide (Hadrian)

[Cara]

Winter 20, 511 AV Cara crept through the wastes in silence. Her boots dipping through the crisp, newly fallen snow. The blanket of white which stretched out in every direction, covering everything the eye could see. The sun's light reflected off its cold surface, casting a glare across everything both near and far. The world seemed to glow as the sorceress made her way through, pulling the hood up on her cloak to keep the wind off her cheeks, the speckled snow particles from licking her flesh as Zulrav's breath forced it to dance. Her eyes crossed the frozen expanse, scanning it for any other sign of life, but there seemed to be nothing save for herself. Silence, save for the steps she made. The snow she pushed out of her way, as more fell to fill the emptiness. The sorceress was not at all surprised by the state of the wilds. The silence that swept across the land. Not at all surprised that her companions refused to tumble out of bed and meet the new day. The incessant chill which refused to leave the air. Thinking back on how they pushed their noses into their fur, their front legs, which had curled beneath their forms like a pillow, on how she had tried to get them up to exercise, the Vantha could only smile. She was grateful now, for the time she would get to spend by herself. For the time she had been given to clear her mind, and practice her magic away from the curious and prying eyes of her people. It was better this way. Alone, for no one would fear what their eyes caught sight of. For her companions would not feel the need to run when she conjured fire, something most animals instinctually feared. No one would know to fear what Cara was doing. The person she had finally become. OOCSorry this is short. Feel free to pm me if you need the date altered or anything.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian had ventured out earlier and found himself a clearing in which to practice. His experiments were safe compared to many other experimenters he had known, but there was always a risk. Nothing was completely secure. Thus he came out here to work Shields, even though the passive, defensive magic was highly unlikely to hurt anyone. Belgar's reaction to magic had made him more cautious in the frozen lands than he had been before. It was nothing anymore to produce a bit of res, and so with a wave of his hand, a ball of bluish energy collected the snow from the ground in a circle with a three foot radius, compacted it, and flung the snowball hard at a nearby tree, which was unharmed. But at least Hadrian knew he could play to win if he were ever in a snowball fight. Then he sat down, collected himself, and fell rather quickly into a light meditative trance. His winterbane coat kept him from losing too much heat, but this exercise should help with that. He began to extrude Shield energy, which phased through the fabrics of his clothes, the leather of his boots, until he was, after about fifteen minutes, cocooned in a wobbly egg shape of energy that prevented heat from escaping. Now it was a matter of seeing how long he could maintain it. Thus he sat, contemplative and warm, but unaware of any other people walking that part of the land.

[Cara]

Cara crept along in silence for quite some time, enjoying the sight of the falling snow. The knowledge she possessed of magic and other things. The notion that there would be fresh ice to work with later in the day, or even the next, at the latest. Although it didn't bring the same sense of satisfaction, of pure joy, as her magic did, Cara did enjoy taking advantage of her gnosis power, at least every once in awhile. Although it did not make her feel strong, or invincible, she liked reminding herself that it wasn't entirely useless. As she considered these matters, the subtle differences in how her gnosis and her knowledge of the elements made her feel, Cara continued to look for a proper place to work. Some place that would be open, yet, not so much so where she knew she was the only thing around. She wanted a bit of life nearby. A frozen river, or lake. A tree perhaps, from which to draw a sense of two of the elements she wielded. Cara knew that she'd never find something to remind her of fire. Not in such a desolate place like this. Not unless some fool from the outside world was trying to make his way in, or someone from the Watch was trying to make their way out. But even that seemed unlikely, given just how cold it was. Just how early in the day. The Vantha was surprised then, as she neared an area of the wastes which held a smattering of trees here and there, to find someone sitting in the snow. Silently, seemingly meditating. Even from afar, she could tell it was not one of her kind- from his height. The color of his skin and hair. What little she could see beneath the shield he had surrounded himself in. Somewhat confused in the sense that she was certain this man must be freezing, Cara strode forward, until she was only a few paces behind Hadrian. "What are you doing?" Cara growled in Vani, skipping the pleasantries. "Sitting around in the snow and practicing magic? Your sorry little arse must be freezing." Doesn't he know that his kind should lock themselves up inside, closest to the nearest fire? Cara wondered. Chuckling silently to herself, the sorceress considered whether or not she should simply teach the unsuspecting human a lesson or two about life up in the wastes, and nearby Avanthal. A lesson about being prepared, and keeping your eyes open at all times. Cara could always warm him up to the place. OOCSorry this is rubbish. Also, I am not feeling as inspired for this pc as some of my others, so if my posting gets a bit slower than my usual, my apologies in advance.

[Hadrian]

It wasn't that he didn't hear her. He did. But he had gone deeper into his trance, his body warm as if he were sleeping under bearskin blankets with an Azenth in a firelit room. Her words drifted into his consciousness, but he did not take hold of them with his mind, but rather let them drift on out as they had come. He wondered if the old cult of Xhyvas had involved deep meditation to still the mind, to transcend it, but then that thought too went away without undue dwelling. Someone was there, of that he was aware, but under his shield, he had some protection, and he had developed a rather good sense for danger directed at his person. Without an emergency, such as a crossbow quarrel flying at his head or a hungry glassbeak or a ball of fire, he was content to exist. Pure being? Maybe close, but not quite.

OOCTechnically Shields are supposed to be invisible if I read the lore correctly, but he's still a novice and it could be shimmering to keep the heat in, so no worries. Just an FYI for the future. And sorry for the brevity, but I figured "ignoring" her might be a way to incite a duel, since she seems to want to teach him a lesson!

[Cara]

Cara simply stood in silence, towering over the meditative Hadrian. She couldn't tell if he hadn't answered her because he knew no Vani, or if he was too deeply into a meditative state to hear. Or if he was simply ignoring her. Which would have been more than foolish, especially if he had any idea as to just whom had stumbled upon him. Frustrated by the outsider, Cara extended her right hand, curling all of her fingers save for the pointer into her palm. She inched it forward, until she had roughly poked Hadrian's right shoulder, pushing his skin into his bone, before she retracted it, and allowed things to return to their more natural state of being. "Hey Takita," Cara hissed. "Are you going to talk to me nicely or do I have to light a fire under your ass to help get you going?" Cara would wait a few moments for Hadrian to reply to her. To say anything that she may understand. To say anything which would cause some of her frustration to flow away. As she waited, she'd call upon her magic. Imagine it awakening within her. Beginning in the pit of her stomach and slowly making its way upwards. Past her chest, and into her heart and lungs. Filling the very air she breathed with magic, and her soul with a sense of passion. Of war and power. Finally, it seemed to wind past, spilling out into her arms. Winding its way through her veins, as though they were blue and green rivers, until the magic reached Cara's palms, where it seemed to boil. Bubbling and sizzling as thin tendrils of what appeared to be smoke- a pale blue res- trickled away from the tips of her fingers. OOCWhoops.

[Hadrian]

The poke to his shoulder began to pull him up from the depths of his own mind, her persistence paying off. She may have felt a tingle of energy as she brushed through his Shield, or the almost feverish heat it trapped within it. By the time her body was lit up with res, he was blinking awake, back to life within his body, slowly rising to peer at her. She was tall for a Vantha woman, somewhere around his age, and she seemed not angry, but certainly put out. He wondered what he had done to deserve the res. So far the Vantha had seemed like a peaceable enough people, though their Icewatch could be violent when necessary. His Vani was crap, so he spoke in Common. "May I help you?"

[Cara]

"Help?" Cara asked, as she blinked in surprise a few times, and took a half step back, as though to provide Hadrian with more room to get up should he wish to. When in reality, she simply wanted to get a better look at him, and a bit farther away, just in case he proved dangerous, or just plain annoying, forcing her to hurl a few fireballs in his general direction. The Vantha shook her head lightly, causing the ends of her hair to fall across her lips. Sticking to the soft pink curves as she simply stared at the man in wonder. Her eyes taking on several golden flecks as she considered how best to proceed. A part of her, already, wanted to teach the man a lesson, and yet, another part of her wondered if it was a good idea. Another portion of her felt somewhat wary, but she didn't truly understand why. Perhaps it was his eyes, his gaze, the way he spoke, she simply could not be certain, which made her think, that it was about time to delve a little more deeply into the situation. "No not help," Cara commented, "if anything, you'd be the one in need of it. Without a mark of Morwen, you're probably frozen, sitting in the snow with the sun's light at its current angle," Cara shrugged. "You're lucky anyone found you before you turned into an icicle." Cara paused, as she pulled her hair away from her lips, and tucked it by the side of her cheek. "Lucky someone came along to help warm you up," she finished with a sinister smile, her eyes sparkling, as even more res trickled out of the tips of her fingers. OOCAll of her speaking is in Vani. Also, sorry for the delay...

[Hadrian]

Hadrian caught 'help' and 'no' and 'Morwen', but not a lot else. There was something not right in her smile, and it put him on alert. But she was a Vantha and he was still within the territory of Avanthal. The Icewatch bears were occasionally suspicious of him, but he was working for Morwen now, learning about the hold whose blood he held in whatever small supply. Surely she wasn't angling for a fight. He was Shielded against heat, which meant he was kept warm within, and would be protected from it should such an attack come from without, at least for a little while. She had a complex aura with markers that usually meant a magic user in his experience, but to suss out her capabilities would take time and concentration, two things he did not have in abundance right now if she was was going to start a fight, there might not be anything he could do to prevent it, but he wasn't going to start some stupid fight outside the city walls, practically on the doorstep of his otherwise kindly hosts.

[Cara]

"Here, this should help," Cara whispered, her voice silky smooth as she guided her res closer to Hadrian, with rather subtle flicks of her wrist. As it neared him, Cara forced it together. Forced her res to form a compact shape- an orb, about four inches wide, and another four inches high. She forced it to spin, at a rapid speed to help keep its shape, as she concentrated for a moment, before lighting its entirety on fire. The air, which had appeared clear until a moment before, burst into a display of vibrant, warm colors. Yellows, and oranges, deep reds, flaring. Tiny tendrils of grey smoke trickled towards the sky as the flame leapt towards Hadrian. Threatening to lick his flesh as it hung before his eyes, and then slowly, fell towards the snow. "You see stranger?" Cara asked, as her face loomed closer, "I may be an Icemaiden, but I know how to chase the cool air away," she finished, as her lips curled into a wider smile, and her eyes sparkled. As she simply stared at the mage, she could just make out the last of her flame's smoke. She could vaguely sense her djed spilling out of her flesh. Swirling around her palms, waiting to be crafted into something more. "So stranger, you want to see another magic trick?" Cara taunted, waiting for some sort of response from the man. A few words, a trick of his own perhaps, the sudden flash of silver. A cold blade. OOCYay for more Vani!

[Hadrian]

Huh. He supposed he shouldn't be jealous. He had wanted Fire from the beginning, and now he had mastered every element but the one she so casually displayed. Perhaps he had stumbled upon her hunting ground or some such, but he had caught no traces of such energy in the nearby auras. There was 'help' again. 'Stranger' he had heard many a time recently, and always directed at him. It didn't bother him overmuch. He was a stranger here, although it was not his first time in the Everwinter City. Not worried by her Fire behind the cover of his invisible heat shield, he didn't even flinch as it hovered before his eyes before dropping. Unimpressed, he watched her eyes for tells. This was not the first bully he had encountered in his travels.

OOCI am back in town. Whew.