|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2025 12:32 am
The world seemed like it was about ready to get ripped into shreds by this storm, but he patrolled on regardless. Even if he wasn’t much for fighting, or much of a fighter at that (which was maybe why he didn’t care for it…), Kiringul was the sort that took his responsibilities seriously. And if the storms were doing weird things to even the magical folks, that only meant the city was that much more dangerous, particularly for anyone unaware of its magical underbelly.
Tonight, though, it seemed…better? At least, it didn’t seem like an absolute shitstorm outside. The lightning let up so he chanced a brief patrol, yawning a bit now that he was on the path home. He was a bit short on sleep, the charges from the storm wreaking havoc on his sleep cycle. It was probably the second worst thing, the first being how he recently zapped his phone into oblivion. Again.
The ******** was with Destiny City and its storms?!
He grumbled as he went, the memory scrunching his face up into a look of annoyance. “I still have to replace it, too,” he said as he went, changing his trajectory so he would eventually run into the Squire aura he sensed just nearby. When they came into view, he realized…he recognized them. Which was rare, so he hurried over, eyes a bit squintier as though that would help him remember.
“...Nis, right? And the quick thinking, with the lantern and the torches?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2025 11:16 am
Lightning, Nis had decided, was not her favorite thing. She knew it was incredibly risky to be out in a storm, but had judged that as long as she remained surrounded by things taller than herself, she'd probably be safe. Her wisp, however, had refused to come when invited and had elected to remain at her Wonder. Not that she could blame it. If she had been very small and made of energy, she probably would have been leery of storms too.
All the same, she found herself missing the thing and had almost decided to give up on practicing in favor of retreating to her Wonder. Then, she'd felt a Order aura fairly close by and changed her mind. She'd discovered over the years that she mostly enjoyed meeting people from her own side. And right now, when she was still having trouble finding ways to effectively use her magic in a fight, well. She rather welcomed the idea of talking to someone else and seeing if they had any ideas that could benefit her.
What she hadn't expected as the aura homed in on her, was to recognize the source. Face lighting up in genuine delight, Nis waved a hand at the approaching figure.
"Kiringul! Hello! All recovered and not missing any fingers or toes? Because I shall be very cross if you did after all the trouble I went to in order to keep you from being frostbitten."
Her tone was mock stern as she closed the remaining distance, intent on wrapping her fellow Cosmos knight in a rib cracking hug.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2025 11:00 pm
There was mild relief on his face when her greeting answered his question without outright answering his question. At least he hadn’t gotten her confused with someone else, though awkward as that could have been he would have just quickly ******** off and tried to forget the embarrassing encounter. Thankfully his worry was unfounded, and he extended both hands and wiggled all ten fingers.
“All twenty accounted for, though I’m not taking my shoes off to show you.” That would have been entirely too much effort.
He accepted the hug though kept it brief, happy to put some space between them again once it was over. He wasn’t much for affection of any kind with anyone outside his immediate circle, but a hug with a comrade? He could handle that.
“You’re looking good. Hopefully holding up okay even with all this stormy s**t going on?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 3:40 pm
Okay, so, Kiringul wasn’t a hugger. That was fine and really, she should have thought to ask first, but she’d been so pleased to come across someone familiar. He’d at least tolerated her affection and that was more than enough.
“Yes, please don’t worry about showing me your toes, I’ll trust you on that score,” she replied, chuckling. “And everything’s been fine. What storms are you talking about?”
Nis was slightly mystified. Granted she’d heard vague talk about more severe than usual electrical storms lately, but she hadn’t been powering up much of late, needing to rest and manage her shop. And taxes. She swore that the tax forms got more complicated every year.
“I’ve been busy with work and haven’t heard all the news,” she continued. “This is the first I’ve powered up in weeks and I haven’t really run into anyone who has talked about storms. Share the news with me? The weather is much more conducive to chatting than the last time we met. And… you might be able to help me with something.”
If she couldn’t trust a fellow Cosmos knight with her deficiencies, who could she trust?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2025 1:33 am
He blinked at her reply, and then pointed skyward.
“Electrical storms. There’s a big database we can access to read up on it. The world’s ending, or…something.” Honestly, he had his life to live, and the others seemed well on top of it. If it was all hands on deck, someone more involved could come over and tell him to get his s**t together and chip in.
That hadn’t happened yet, so while they focused on the big picture he was content to focus on the more local concerns.
“I don’t know, I can barely keep my life in order. Seems like there’s plenty of hands on deck with helping. I’m waiting for more news, maybe there’s something I’ll eventually be able to help with. For now, just focusing on the usual when I can. The storm’s wreaking havoc on me physically, though. Zapping my electronics and messing with my sleep.”
Kiringul put a finger on where he imagined the edge of the dark circles under his eyes was. “See?”
Heaving another sigh, he nodded at her. “Not too tired to help, though, if it’s something I can do. What’s up?”
elldritch stardust Sorry for the multi-quotes in here. I posted the wrong tag u_u
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2025 11:35 am
It was Nis’ turn to blink in surprise as Kiringul explained. Clearly, she’d been further out of touch with this part of her life than she’d first thought. Making a mental note to hunt up this database as soon as she got home, she nodded.
“Well. The end of the world is certainly something that I wouldn’t want to miss,” she said in a pensive voice. “But if an All Hands hasn’t yet been sent by anyone, then I suppose there’s no harm being done.”
And really, he had a point. He was waiting for more and better information and she hadn’t even heard anything. For now, the world was still spinning and the apocalypse didn’t seem to be on their doorstep yet. So? So, she’d worry about the things she could affect right now and wait. Really, it was all they could reasonably do. Turning her attention fully back to Kiringul, she frowned in sympathy as she was shown her eye circles.
“I do see,” she murmured. For a moment she hesitated, but as he went on to reassure her that he could and would still help her, she decided to trust him. He knew his body best, after all.
“Well, it’s like this. My magic isn’t super long lasting. I think I clocked it at around ten seconds. Which is not a lot of time in a fight. I’ve been trying to figure out things I can do in those ten seconds that can help me. If you don’t mind some light sparring, maybe we can figure out some strategies I can use when running isn’t an option.”
”its_p a o” you’re good! no extra quotes were sent!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2025 2:12 am
Ah…fighting.
It wasn’t quite in his wheelhouse. In truth, the most he’d done in his past…however long…as a knight, he made it a point to avoid having to fight if he didn’t have to. Of course, that includes running the ******** away because there was just no way to actually avoid all potential fight scenarios, but he definitely tried his best.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t fight. He could…just. Not. Well.
So, when Nis laid out her request, while he wasn’t the most enthused about the idea of sparring, he understood the necessity. He also wanted to help if he could, and he was sure it would help him in some way, shape, or form in the long run, so it was a win-win scenario.
Minus his preference, but. Whatever.
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. My magic,” and he none too gently smacked the horn hanging off of his sash as he said this, “isn’t the most useful, either, so probably a good idea that I learn a strategy or two if running isn’t an option.” Which he well knew, it wasn’t always. “I’ve never timed mine, to be honest. It…” He hesitated, face crinkling into concentration-slash-confusion as he struggled to find a good way to describe his magic.
Ultimately all he came up with was, “I don't actually know what it does?” And the words tumbled out a bit lamely from his mouth, but he quickly followed up with some excuse as to why. “Nothing happens from what I can see, but I’m sure something happens. It’s kinda frustrating, to be honest, but I use it when I can and it does come in handy. Somehow. I just…don’t know how.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2025 4:00 pm
Nodding in sympathy for the plight of a Cosmos knight, Nis considered Kiringul’s horn. Well. It seemed that this would be a learning experience for them both.
“My magic seems to immobilise people for those precious few seconds,” she mused out loud. “It does something else in conjunction, but I’ve yet to find any officer willing to be polite and tell me. The last one only needed my aspect and some physical fighting to convince him to leave me alone, but even if I’d used my magic at the time, I’m not sure it would have ultimately done me any good. My leg was injured, so I couldn’t use those seconds to run.”
It was, she thought, supremely frustrating. The immobilisation was a handy little trick, but unless she could find ways to make it more effective, that was all it was. Just a funny little party trick. Her eyes went back to Kiringul and became thoughtful. Then.
“Use your magic on me,” she demanded. “I can tell you what I feel or see and then you’ll have more knowledge. We’re both intelligent, capable people. Surely between the two of us, we can figure something out?”
The only thing she could be certain of was that whatever magic Cosmos knights possessed, it wouldn’t be destructive or cause overt harm. Therefore, she felt safe enough making her demands.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2025 5:54 pm
The Squire nodded along as she explained her magic, trying to imagine the various scenarios that sort of magic would be useful in. Probably a lot, provided you weren’t injured to the point that you couldn’t run. So he saw the concern, and why she wanted to learn how to strategize with her magic.
“Aspect, huh?” he mused, looking slightly thoughtful as well. “Sounds useful. Y’know, I still haven’t found my ring so I don’t have that in my pocket yet. My Wonder’s ********’ huge and luck just hasn’t been on my side, so.” He shrugged and let the thought go, about to try and steer the conversation toward figuring out strategies when she suddenly asked him to use his magic on her.
“Uh…”
It seemed harmless enough, but still felt risky given he had no idea what exactly his magic did. Still, it felt like a good opportunity to finally figure that out. When was the next time he would find someone willingly volunteering to be the target of some unknown magic?
Kiringul looked hesitant as he took the horn off of the sash, and brought it halfway up to his mouth when he paused. “I’m not sure if I have to keep blowing into the horn to channel, so for now I'll just stop when I'm out of breath. Sound okay?”
Bringing the horn up the rest of the way, he met her eyes to confirm she was sure, and then he took a deep breath and blew into the horn, stopping after roughly ten seconds.
Squire — Kiringul takes a deep breath and blows into the horn, however no sound comes directly out of it. Instead, the sound goes directly into the ears of anyone within a 10ft radius; the sound varies between listeners. For opponents it causes the listener to become disoriented in some way (the sound and how it disorients the listener is up to the player) as their mind becomes lost in the vastness of cosmic eternity. It essentially renders them unable to focus as long as Kiringul is channeling his magic, and they can feel confused and dazed and out of place with their surroundings. For allies it gives the listener a soothing sort of clarity, as though they have come out of a peaceful eternity, and allows them to focus better as long as Kiringul is channeling his magic. The sound has a maximum duration of 30 seconds.
eldritch stardust I'm pretty sure he has to be blowing into the horn in order for the magic to be working, so it should stop having any kind of effect as soon as he stops. c:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2025 7:45 pm
Standing expectantly, Nis smiled reassuringly at her fellow squire. Strange that she wasn't at all worried about all the ways this could backfire. But this was a friendly sharing of information. Any hurts, if any, would be very minor.
"Rock me," she said with a grin.
When he blew on the horn, she was a little surprised that it didn't sound like what she'd expected a horn to sound like. Instead, it was a sort of pure tone that seemed to melt any apprehension in her. Things seemed sharper somehow, easier to understand. It was blissfully peaceful and she focused on the sound. Then, it stopped and Nis felt a little like she'd come back to Earth with a gentle bump. Blinking, she tilted her head.
"What reaction have you gotten when you've done that to a negaverser?" she asked. "Because what I heard was amazing, though I'm not quite sure how to explain it. But I feel like if it had gone on any longer, I would have been able to solve world hunger. My brain's never felt so clear before."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 6:57 pm
In the few seconds between what looked like the end of the effects of his magic and her speaking, Kiringul watched Nis while wearing an expression of (overly) intense focus, fingers absently tapping the horn in a display of nerves-slash-curiosity. When she asked her question, his immediate reaction was, “So you do hear something?!” before he got his emotions under control. He felt it was justified. All this time, he had no idea what his magic was even doing…
Forcing himself to focus, he went back to the limited number of times he’d used his magic to run off. Granted he was mostly paying attention to his path of escape, but if he remembered right…
“Pretty sure sure they got…preoccupied…somehow. I think one of them was holding their head? So maybe they heard something not great, like nails on a chalkboard or something?” That made sense. Sort of…or at least, it did to him!
Not wanting to lose momentum, he waved off his mostly rhetorical question. “Good to know it really is doing something, but going back to the fight training.” He started thinking for a moment, and had a little lightbulb moment. “Hey, if it helped you focus…what do you think? Should I use it on you while you try to think of ways you can use your magic more effectively in a fight?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2025 10:49 am
Laughing a little at Kiringul’s eagerness, Nis couldn’t help but grin. It was always nice when a problem was solved. It must have been infuriating not being able to tell what, exactly, was happening.
“Well, I can’t speak for what they would have heard,” she said. “What I heard was this lovely, pure tone that seemed to help my brain focus. A kind of super-clarity, I guess? But my guess would be that’s why you aren’t hearing anything. Only the people being affected do and it probably varies depending on their intention.”
She tipped her head to the side, considering his question. Well, the sound hadn’t made her smarter, but the extra focus might help her put thighs together a little quicker than if they simply bashed each other around.
“We can try,” she replied in a firm voice. “But I think that you’ll have to actually come at me and use some dirty tricks before using your horn. Sound okay?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2025 6:24 pm
”By ‘dirty tricks’ I hope you mean ‘as direct an attack as possible’ ‘cause, uh…” The squire shrugged in an almost helpless manner before taking a few steps back. He wasn’t entirely sure why he did it, but it felt right to put space between them before they exchanged blows. “I don’t think I have enough experience to have any dirty tricks up my sleeve. But yeah, that sounds okay to me.”
Kiringul moved into a standard looking fighting stance, or at least his version of one. It was obvious he didn’t fight often because he looked…stiff and uncomfortable. Not to mention ridiculous, but by now he stopped caring what he looked like in his powered form. The point was that he was out here, trying to learn and do something good with the power he was given, right?
That had to count for something.
“Alright, here I come,” he called out after he felt enough time had passed for her to get ready, and with that he made a dash at her, leaning down slightly and aiming a fist at her side–a direct attack, as promised.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2025 3:25 pm
Squeaking a little as Kiringul's attack was, as promised, extremely direct. She managed to bring her stick up and point it to a point above where her fellow squire would be within a few moments and with jaw clenched, took the blow to her side even as she began to channel.
Stumbling back a few steps, Nis held her side and considered next steps. Then, realized a potential problem. If Kiringul was immobilized, how could he sound his horn?
"Oh hell," she muttered, dropping her arm and breaking the magic.
its_ p a o Squire - A slightly curved stick with honeysuckle and starry motifs carved into it Spell - The stick is pointed to a spot high above the enemy's head, causing what appears to be a single point of light that traps them in a single, slanting beam of starlight. As long as Nis is channeling, the target will be unable to leave the beam and will feel a seeping cold on any exposed skin. The maximum amount of time she is able to channel at this stage results in an immobilization of up to 10 seconds and seeping cold of up to 30 seconds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 04, 2025 11:49 pm
He stopped moving immediately after landing his punch, much to his surprise, not to mention suddenly feeling cold for whatever reason–was that part of her magic? It lasted just a few seconds, though, as he watched her suddenly cut her magic short.
Kiringul took a stumbling few steps forward, his momentum from his earlier attack only just then petering out. Once he was properly standing again, he gave Nis a questioning look before it clicked as to possibly why.
"Alright," he said, scratching the back of his head as he tried to work out what might possibly work. "So maybe horn first, and while I'm channeling you can try to target me again with your magic?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
