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 Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 9:55 am
 "I had upgraded with an intelligent Magitek system. My car will recognize me no matter what, and will only let me drive." I said proudly. She did say she liked Sappphire's blue eyes, which made the tiny bat a bit more happy.
I got in, taking off the rapier and tossing it into the back seat; and settling into the soft seat of the driver's side and leaning back with a sigh. Gossamer and Sapphire poked their heads out of my vest pocket, looking around.
I chuckled as I felt their thoughts, brushing up against mine. Gossamer liked how shiny and polished it was in here. Sapphire was using her echo-location, and enjoying the complex shapes and smooth textures of the interior of the car.
"You like it, do you?" I asked softly. Larissa had yet to get into the car with me, so I felt comfortable letting my expression soften and I gently pet Sapphire between the ears, and Gossamer between the eyes. Sapphire chittered happily, while Gossamer made a bubbly purr.
I reached down to start the car by hitting a button below the steering wheel, and Sapphire climbed out of my vest pocket. "Oh!" I said, as she spread her wings and glided, landing on the steering wheel and clinging to it. I laughed, holding out my hand for her to climb into.
I have the two cutest familiars ever. I thought as she climbed back into my hand. This thought made both the tiny bat and the crow chick very happy as they sought my praise.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 3:00 am
“Hm. Sounds cool” she said, though she didn’t sound overly impressed. His proud tone kind of bothered her, but not that much. She still didn’t really know him, after all. “I guess that would be useful most of the time. Unless you needed somebody else to drive” she smiled, attempting friendly small talk.
She waited for him to get in before getting in carefully, a little nervous. He seemed confident but she hoped he wasn’t one of those reckless, cocky young drivers that disobeyed road rules and speed limits because they thought they were invincible. It was a popular stereotype for young people in their age bracket. Not that she thought he was like that, just that she hoped he wasn’t.
She’d missed the short exchange between Leo and his familiars, although her own familiar looked around curiously once they were safely in the passenger seat and she clipped the seatbelt on. She reached down and pet her reassuringly. “It’s okay, Poff. It’s just a car, used for transport. We’ll be fine. Just going a little ways into town and looking around. You want to see what’s outside the school?” she spoke softly to her familiar, who nuzzled her hand cutely, making her smile a warm smile. She glanced nervously at Leo. She was in his car. Did that mean he liked her or trusted her? It was so hard to tell.
“So, um…we’re going to the information centre first, right?” The town looked reasonably large from the train on the way here. There should be plenty of interesting shops and places to see or eat at. But that was kind of a boring conversation. So she tried something else "Are you happy about which classes you'll be taking? I had a quick look at mine. I was so relieved when I saw there wasn't any scary classes like dark magic or necromancy"
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 1:52 pm
By the time Larissa climbed into the passanger seat, I had already tucked Sapphire back into my vest pocket. I glanced down at the two of them as Larissa buckled herself in.
"I need both hands to drive, so stay put you two. My car's a stick shift." I said, looking down at them as I finally pressed the button to start the vehicle; and I buckled my own self in. "I can't have you getting lost in my car!"
As for her questions, I didn't answer her right away as I looked back to see if anyone was behind the car. I put her into reverse and slowly backed out of the space, before switching to first gear and navigating out of the parking lot.
I was silent a moment as get got onto the road and I tried to remember where the information center is, I believe it's this way... "Yes, that's the general plan." I said as I looked around, taking in the scenery. The center had a rather distinctive building, so I'd know it when I see it. I just kept to the speed limit as I tried to not let the conversation distract me too much.
Then she asked me about my classes. There was her with that scary thing again. "Familiar care, magical defense, light magic, wind magic, English, shadow magic studies, and Magitek." I said with a pause before noting that the building was coming up.
It was a short, squat thing, covered in vines and had little floating lanterns around it. There was a large sign that said Caelfall Information Center.
"I must say I'm pretty happy with my schedule." I shrugged, my eyes on the building. I wonder what we'd find there?
With that said, I flicked on my blinker and glanced at my mirrors before turning into the information center's parking lot. With a deft movement of the wheel I had us nearly parked in one of the spaces near the door.
"Well." I said. "Here we are."
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 5:48 pm
She listened as he listed which classes he'd be taking. "Hey, we're both in the same classes for the first two. I wonder who our teachers are gonna be. I hope we don't get miss Isabelle" she cringed a little. Then she thought about what he listed some more. "Wait, shadow magic? Isn't that...kinda shady?" she wasn't trying to make a bad pun, she just didn't think about her wording too much. "I mean, are you sure you really want to learn one of the dark magics? Can't that lead good magic users astray? And why are they making you take English? Didn't you already do it in high school?" She stopped talking when they arrived at the information centre, and noted the name of the town written on it. "Caelfall. That's an interesting town name" she murmured to herself. She looked at Poff and praised her for being good and staying put. She could sense Poff didn't really like travelling in the car but she had been so well behaved. She petted her and got out of the car, walking towards the building at a leisurely pace, keeping beside Leo so they could talk more. She was making an effort to try to get to know him better, in order to avoid more fights in the future, and just because it was the sensible thing to do. After all they were stuck together, they may as well get to know each other.
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 6:16 pm
I glanced at her as she climbed out of the car with me, after she had made that comment about shadow magic. I shrugged. "Shadow magic? Shady?" I said. Had she intended that pun? "Well, I'd hate to be left in the dark. Would you shed some light on how bad you think shadow magic is?" I asked as I reached the door and opened it for her. "A shadow is a shadow. It is not bad or good. It just is an absence of light."
"And what kind of debate are you bringing into my house?" A voice said as we stepped in. The building was mostly empty of furniture, save for a large desk that took up the center and a couple tables. There was an older woman there, with silver hair and intense stormy grey eyes. Up against the walls were stands full of brochures, and a big map of the city was on one wall.
"Just a discussion on why my shadow is evil." I said to the woman, looking around at the walls.
This made the woman smirk. "Ah, yes. That. I'm guessing you two are collage students? And are you taking such a class?" She asked me.
I was investigating a brochure on what seems to be the local mall. "Yep. It'll make me better at light magic." I said as I read through the things to do. Might be a good place to start.
The woman laughed. "Yes. Yes it will."
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 6:30 pm
She realised she'd made a pun when he repeated it back to her and blushed a little bit. She listened to his question and thought it was clever and kinda funny how he also used puns. She stifled a soft giggle behind her hand "Yes, well, um...I don't really know. All I know is that it's often favoured by people who are into dark things. And I don't trust it. Maybe that's because I don't know very much about it. But I was too afraid to look it up before coming here. Knowing that there are dodgy things that go in our school, or in this town, right behind the same walls, it makes me uncomfortable. So for my own peace of mind I decided not to research it. For instance, can't people use shadows and command them to do bad things? What if you start with shadows and then go into death magic or acid magic or horrible things like that? I just think it's best to stay away from anything not of the light"
She followed him in, hearing the woman speak up and Leo's reply "Hey I didn't say that!" she protested. She hadn't said his shadow was evil, just that shadow magic was probably evil. That was a difference, right?
She looked at the woman when she addressed them both, and nodded "Yes, ma'am. We are"
Larissa followed Leo, since she was still talking to him. She began looking at the map of the town, and at travel and tourist brochures on what there was to do here. "Pardon me but, how does shadow magic make you better at light magic? Wouldn't just studying light magic make you good at light magic?" She was a bit confused "I don't come from a magical background and I know that's clear but I'd appreciate an explanation" She looked at the woman, then at Leo, and back at the woman. Poff stayed in her pocket and sniffed the air, nostrils flaring and whiskers forward, taking in all the different scents of people and papers
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 6:58 pm
The woman watched us a moment, before sighing. "Let's just say that the dark is not 'bad.' It might be scary, but it an of itself, shadow magic is not evil magic. Just as Light magic is not inherently good magic. It's just... light."
I nodded. I took a spare brochure off the wall and tossed it up into the air. My hair stirred as a breeze blew it up towards the ceiling; before I pointed my finger at it and a bright beam of light shot up towards the brochure. When the light faded, there was a charred hole right in the center of the brochure.
"You're lucky I don't have to pay for those." The woman said.
The breeze blew again, and the piece of paper did a loop-de-loop back down to my hand. It was for a restaurant, from the looks of it. Specializes in curries and other exotic spicy foods. That sounds good, actually. Anwho, I lifted it for her to see. "I wouldn't expect this charred hole to be seen as a particularly 'good' thing."
This made the woman laugh. "The nature of magic is just that. Magic. Wierd and crazy and sometimes destructive. But there's only one class that could be considered evil... and that's demonics. Curses, hexes, temptations... It eats one's soul. I don't think Demonics is taught at Caelfall Acadamy." She said musing.
"I don't remeber seeing it on the options for classes. Which is as it should be; I value my soul, thankyouverymuch." I said, crossing my arms and tossing the charred paper away into a wastebasket.
"As for the rest?" The lady said. "Magic doesn't have a real alignment. It's all in how the caster chooses to use their magic." She said with a nod. "There is divine magic; and while that tends towards the classic view of 'good' some of the gods aren't really benevolent themselves."
"Where's a good place for spicy food around here?" I asked her. "I haven't had a good Marsala in forever!"
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 7:09 pm
She listened to them both, watching Leo's small demonstration with interest. Her eyes were wide, and taking in everything. Listening to the old woman, she nodded thoughtfully. "I see. I am glad they don't teach demonics there then. I don't think I understood how magic really works until just now. I thought there was good magic and bad magic, but, it sounds more like it's just a tool and it's the way that you use it that matters. In that case, I swear to only use my magic for good! I'm probably not going to learn divine magic though" she smiled "I'm just interested in crystals. I figured there's so much to learn, I'll just focus on one thing and try to get good at it. I want to specialise in crystals and crystal magic" She looked in the bin where he threw the ruined brochure and bent over to pull it back out "This brochure shows a restaurant that makes curries and spicy foods. It looks like it's near the mall. Why don't we go eat then look around in the mall? I want to get a nice bed spread for my dorm, and some posters and decorations. And a cat tree for Poff"
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 7:17 pm
This made the woman behind the counter smile. "I'm glad I could have been of help. And the place near the mall? One of the best restaurants in town." She said.
With a nod I turned towards the door. "Sounds good enough for me. And you are going to spoil your familiar." I said. I glanced down at Gossamer and Sapphire, who were peeking out at me. I smiled and pet them both. I headed for the door and opened it for Larissa to leave through on the way out. Once outside I headed for the car, before checking the brochure for the directions to the mall.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 7:29 pm
"Thank you!" she said to the woman, appreciating her help. She was glad to hear that the restaurant they picked was a good one. No chance of food poisoning, then. Always a bonus. And even better if it tasted good. She wasn't a fan of spicy food but she did like curry and rice. She turned to follow Leo back out of the centre, having a slight idea of where to go since she'd looked at the map on the wall and seen roughly where the mall was. As she got back into the car, she smiled brightly "Aw, not really. All cats love to climb and get up high. I think she needs one. But I'll have to get one that's more vertical since we have limited space in our room. I just want her to be as happy and healthy as possible, and I'm sure you want the same for your familiars" she looked at Sapphire. "By the way, I like that you named Sapphire after a gem. It really suits her. I've never seen a bat with blue eyes. In fact, this is my first time seeing a real live bat up close. She's really changed my impressions of them so far. She does have a cute face and her fur is so soft. She really does look like a little flying fox. Oh, and, I've been wondering, can she see in the daylight? And aren't most bats nocturnal?"
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 7:46 pm
I was walking towards the car when she started complimenting sapphire, and the little-blue eyed bat peered out of my vest shirt at her. I blinked; I hadn't expected Larissa to change the way she thinks about Sapphire that fast...
"Well... thank you." I said, not entirely sure what to say. Usually when people like things they were very stubborn about it and will to refuse to change.
"And, um, yes she can." I said. I held my hand to my pocket and she crawled out of it, before hanging upside-down from my finger. "Bats in general can see very well during the day time. Flying foxes have particularly good vision. Echo-location is used to hunt insects like night-time flying moths and others." I said. "And they generally are nocturnal."
I headed over to the car and nodded to Larissa, before getting in. Well, we're getting along better now... that's good. I hadn't expected her to be so... nice about Sapphire. I looked to the little bat, still dangling from my finger; I lifted her to my pocket and she climbed in to nuzzle up to Gossamer.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 7:59 pm
She blinked. Why was he thanking her for liking Sapphire? Liking her didn't mean she liked all bats now, but she had changed her mind about flying foxes at least, and they were now in her list of animals she liked.
She watched Sapphire climb and hang upside down and though she thought her big claws were a bit frightening, she thought this action was cute. "Huh, I thought they were all blind and could only use echolocation. So that old saying 'blind as a bat' must be wrong" she smiled, then realised Sapphire would understand her. She looked at her and spoke "Sorry, that wasn't an insult. It's just a saying humans say sometimes. The saying should probably be blind as a....mole? I don't know, it's just silly" she shook her head.
She looked at Leo as he drove them towards the restaurant. "It doesn't seem to bother her being awake and out in the light. Is that because familiars adjust their behaviour when they get a partner?" She looked at Gossamer.
"And I don't know anything about crows except that they're...um...they have a reputation for being good at ...I'm sorry, I don't know of a nice way to say this; they're scavengers, basically. They're really clever at figuring out how to get food off us humans and I guess they help clean up the place by eating food we throw out, so it's a good thing. Except for the fact that rubbish falls out of the bins and the crows don't clean it back up. But I doubt Gossamer would do that. That's just all I know about crows"
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 8:45 pm
"Nope. The only blinds bats are the ones without eyes, and those tend to live in very deep dark caves; they don't show up outside and tend to have very sensitive ears." I said as I started the car and we drove off, Larissa in the passenger seat. "Bats have been known to share their food with other bats who haven't had the chance to eat."
Gossamer peered at Larissa when she spoke about crows. He tried to climb out of my pocket, trying to peep at her; and almost fell out. "Crows are a highly social flocking bird. They generally have a bad reputation which may or may not be earned, depending on how you look at it." I said. I took my hand off the stick to gently urge him back into my pocket. "Case in point, the names of their flocks; Mob, Murder, Unkindness. This is because they are not only highly social, but highly intelligent. They can easily tell us humans apart." I said with a chuckle. "They eat more then just trash; berries, nuts, fish... you name it. They're not picky eaters, really. They usually leave well enough alone, unless someone gets the bright idea to harass them or their chicks. that's when you see their vengeful streak. They can be really nice though, on the same token. They will share their favorite foods with other crows, and if a human gives them food they'll leave that particular human a gift. Buttons, string, paper clips and other bits and bobs."
I smiled down at him. "He's one of the reasons why I decided to get a second Familiar, and ended up with Sapphire. He'd be lonely if all he had was me for company. But with Sapphire, I think he'll do a little better." I said with a smile.
We soon reached the restaurant, located in the parking lot of said mall. I parks the car between the restaurant and one of the entrances to said mall. It was a nice building, with arches and bulb shaped domes. I smiled at it and the smell was wonderful.
I turned to look to Larissa now that we had gotten out of the car. "Want to eat first or Mall first?" I asked.
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 9:16 pm
She listened to him talk about bats, making noises of interest, or thoughtfulness. She wondered how he knew so much about bats and other animals. Maybe he liked animals so he researched them. Probably. And didn't he say something about his family having familiars? Yeah. That might be why he knew so much. His parents and grandparents must have passed on some knowledge and the rest he just found out due to interest.
She looked at Gossamer trying to get to her, peeping. "Sorry. It's nothing personal. It's just a fact about crows that were observed, um, seen, by humans" she told him, trying to use words he'd understand, before listening to Leo talk more about crows. "Yeah, the names of their flocks are kind of mean" she agreed. "I never thought to feed them since I thought human food was bad for birds. That's really sweet, though. That they give you a gift" she smiled. "I had heard they are very intelligent. But then, I've heard the same thing about chickens. But I think crows must be smarter"
"Um, probably eat first" she said "You're hungry and I'm a bit hungry too. And then we won't have to worry about where to put our bags and purchases while we eat"
Snow Poff sniffed the air. It smelled interesting to her, though she wasn't all that hungry, but she begged her partner for food anyway and Larissa agreed, petting her reassuringly. "Yeah, food sounds good to me and Poff. I don't think she'll eat rice but I might sneak her some meat"
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Kasumi Roseglimmer Captain
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 9:36 pm
I shrugged. "I've heard that chickens are among the stupidest birds there are. But that's what I've heard. I also hear that they're notoriously bad tempered. Like... a crow will leave you alone if you don't do anything. A chicken, like a rooster, and even some geese and swans have a tendency to chase people around if they think said humans are getting on their turf."
I glanced back at her as we headed for the restaurant; she glanced back as she commented that she might give her familiar some meat. I thought about saying something, but then again she has raised cats before. I doubt she'd give her familiar something too strong for the kitten's stomach.
We ate; and I let my two familiars hang out on the table; giving them a bit of time to stretch after being in my pocket so long. They played a little bit with Poff; I was glad our familiars were getting along.
I had pork Tikka Marsala; pork marinated in a mix of spices and yogurt, grilled to a charred perfection and served with it's sauce over rice. I ate it happily, loving the intense flavor and heat of the dish. I didn't have any problem giving Gossamer a little bit of pork, but one of the cooks saw my familiars and provided some fried mealworms for the pair to share-- on the house.
Soon enough though we had eaten our fill, and Gossamer and Sapphire were returned to my vest pocket. They were dozing, full and happy from the food and the play.
We were heading past the car and into the mall itself. There was a large food court in this part of the mall, with branching hallways lined with shops. She seemed to be interested in decor, so I headed for one of the shops specializing in that.
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