[ prp ] In a Bind (America, Kaleb, Leila)

[lizbot]

There's a posterboard propped up beside the picnic blanket this time, listing out the properties of different colors, each in a different color marker for immediate reference. "All of them have their good points and bad, so focused intention is probably gonna be needed to keep things on point." There was another, smaller poster, which featured a variety of knots made of loosely tied twine. Some featured single cords, others multiple cords that merged together almost seemlessly, and a few were of the more complicated, infinite-looking variety,

Hands tracing around the wood and lead circlet frame, she went on, "Since most things we looked up said try the techniques in increasing stages, I was thinking we could start out trying it with just one person binding their magic, then two, then all three of us binding our power to one?"

An apologetic look followed, "There might be hand holding for that, though..."

Quote:

White - purity, truth, sincerity, spirituality, the goddess, peace, higher self, a substitute for any other color.

Red - strength, health, vigor, sexual love, energy, passion, courage, element of fire, career goals, fast action, lust, blood of the moon, vibrancy, driving force, survival

Light Blue - tranquility, understanding, patience, calm, gently moving, wisdom, good fortune, opening blocked communication

Dark Blue - impulsiveness, depression, changeability, protection, spiritual inspiration, reassurance, creativity

Green - finance, fertility, luck, Earth Mother, physical healing, monetary success, abundance, tree and plant magick, growth, Element of Earth, personal goals

Gold - wealth, promote winning, safety and power of the male, happiness, playful humor

Yellow - The Sun, intelligence, accelerated learning, memory, logical imagination, breaking mental blocks, selling yourself

Gold/Yellow - attraction, persuasion, charm, confidence

Brown - hesitation, uncertainty, neutrality, influence friendships, special favors

Pink - honor, romantic love, morality, Planetary Good Will, healing of emotions, peace, affection,romance, partnerships of emotional maturity, caring, nurturing

Black - evil, loss, discord, confusion, protection, repelling negativity, binding, shapeshifting

Purple - tension, ambition, business progress, power, influencing people in high places, third eye, psychic ability, spiritual power, self assurance, hidden knowledge

Silver/Grey - cancellation, neutrality, stalemate, telepathy,clairvoyance, intuition, clairaudience, psychometry, dreams, astral energies, Female Power, communication, The Goddess

Orange - encouragement, adaptability, stimulation, attraction, business goals, property deals, ambition, career goals, general success, justice, legal matters, selling, action

Greenish Yellow - sickness, cowardice, anger, jealousy, discord

Copper - passion, money goals, professional growth, fertility in business, career maneuvers

 

[lizbot]

On her first attempt, America put her all into the process, like she was making a new sigil again. Like lives were on the line. The splintered remains of the frame dug into her hands and left the girl cursing quietly, pulling out the first aid kit yet again.  

[lizbot]

Another circlet frame was brought out to use. Carefully, America tries to pull out only a thin strand of power, a gentle piece of her will. She tried to focus on the color white and the strand turned white as it looped around the frame once, and focused on...focused on...

s**t, she'd been so wrapped up in being careful, she'd forgotten intent beyond Be More Careful.  

[lizbot]

This time she tried with light blue, a mostly positive but less all encompassing color. Understanding. Understanding. Understanding.

UNDERSTANDING

Another frame broken. The small first step was quickly proving to be the hardest for America.  

[lizbot]

Frustration began to take hold, turning light blue to dark blue to black in rapid succession. The strand of power fell apart around the frame.  

[lizbot]

A thin blue strand of power gently looped around and began to form the first knot, then the second, and upon the third, the frame cracked. Inspecting it, America frowned. It was a back up she'd made after returning home. Made in the regular world while she was tired, and it showed. She glanced over at the small bag of backups she'd brought with her.

"s**t."  

[lizbot]

Again, the frame wasn't strong enough for the binding. America sighed, torn between the idea of wasting a better frame with a faulty method, or wasting her time and power on frames that might sabotage the casting.

In the end she decided to work her way through the faulty ones. Her frustration, trouble moderating her power, and unreliable focus at the moment meant it was getting hard to be sure of getting the binding right.  

[lizbot]

This time the frame went up in flames, which was exciting.  

[lizbot]

Flames put out, damaged frames cleared off to offer a visually clean area to work in. America tried to do a breathing exercise while explaining the various snags she was hitting to Leila and Kaleb.

Counting down from ten, America picked up another frame and tried again. Slowly the light blue thread of power wove its way around the frame and...thinned into non-existence. Too careful. Not nearly enough power to do anything.  

[lizbot]

Maybe, America thought recklessly, if I get more ambitious, the rest of me will follow along and do the damn thing proper.

On various nights since last winter, America had stayed up late looking up knot theory. It was fascinating and awful and inevitably made her feel a little stupid, but she was in OAD, she was good at knots, she was doing a magic with knots. And her base idea, of the closed system would essentially by a hyperbolic knot when applied in this way, right?

The moment America's mind touched the word hyperbolic knot, and her own feelings concerning the knot mathematics, the whole thread turned into a bloated disaster.  

[lizbot]

Another crappy frame for the bin. "I don't care if I never have to do this again, when I've got free time, I'm gonna ******** stockpile well-made frames and put them in a ********' Cycle fall-out shelter."  

[lizbot]

Again too careful, the thin blue strand of power flickered at the first tie and then died before her eyes.  

[lizbot]

Not enough again, and it was enough to have America getting up and have to start pacing. And pacing. Her face was flushed and she looked angry and frustrated and miserable and then she wasn't there at all, until a closer look revealed her to have shrunk down to all of three inches tall.

"Don't worry! I know how to get big again by myself!" It meant, of course, calming down for real this time. Moderating her feelings and loosening up whatever feelings had left her tense enough to cause the Suddenly Smalls. While she waited on her breathing and heartbeat to slow up into something steady and reassuring, America inspected the next frame. It was another yew and lead circlet, and this one looked sturdy. It looked like a piece of material she might have confidence in.  

[lizbot]

Once again her normal size and feeling more balanced than she'd yet managed that day, America carefully wove and tied her own power the circlet. The three slip knots pulled and tightened as one, their end fusing together until they formed a single, light blue strand. Testing the binding physcally, America found it sound. Placing the circlet into a small patch of grass, the blades immediately began to dry and turn color.

Transformation through death.

Flopping down on the grass, America announced she was gonna take a ******** nap.

stage 1: 1/2 done

cibarium

grey dragon

 

[cibarium]

When she wasn't occupied with anything else, Leila had spent the past few days looking up and practicing all kinds of knotwork so she could convey the techniques telepathically, as promised. Her grasp on some of them was still a bit shaky, admittedly, and watching America struggle made her reluctant to try on her own. And witnessing her swearing was a genuine shock.

Lesson 1: s**t was frustrating. Needless to say, the henwarg paid careful attention to America's observations and gave them serious consideration before picking out one of her pysanky frames to work with.

Drawing out power and forming it had gotten a little easier. Instead of starting with a blob, Leila pulled a thread straight out of the palm of her hand. It had a crisp and ionizing quality to it, like vinegar without the smell. She decided to color it green, thoughts of growth and flora at the front of her mind, and she carefully wrapped it around the egg and tied it off with a simpler knot.

Then she allowed her thread to sink into the surface and disappear. The shell cracked open, but in doing so it spilled a handful of rapidly sprouting seeds to the ground.

That counted as a success, right?

"I think the next step is to do this with another person's power," Leila said. "And then work more collectively. I'm prepared for the hand holding part, by the way." She held one hand up, wiggling the bare fingers. There would still be some transfer, but hopefully the kind involved with the task.

step 1: 2/2

lizbo

grey drago