[PRP Jahuar] Thunder Coil (Biroki and Aylin)

[DraconicFeline]

Biroki touched one of the scarred trees of his training ground, feeling the cauterized gouges he had made with fire and lightning. They criss-crossed the trees, evidence of multiple strikes from multiple practices, and yet the trees still lived. They grew, forming the canopy above them, with just a little of the sky shining through. Just enough to know the general time of day.

He'd come a long way, hadn't he?

He checked the ground, pocked with glass, and began to clear it of any dangerous materials. He did not want his apprentice to be harmed by his carelessness.

That finished, he stretched, doing a few warm ups. He had asked her to meet him here to continue her training, a common occurrance, and he was always early. There was always time to rest and think before teaching her. And he would need his rest;
Today would be a busy day.  

[Alethryia]

Aylin trotted through forest on a well-trodden path leading to the site Biroki usually wanted to use for training days when magic was involved. She was usually an eager pupil, arriving earlier than necessary to lessons and filled with an insatiable curiosity, but not on these days… on days such as these she dallied, only just making it to the training ground on time, and was loathe of what would be practiced.

She stopped to admire how the light was being bounced around inside a nearby crystal outcropping, scattering hues of pink along the trail. When she noticed it was the angle of the sun that lead to these brilliant hues she sighed, it was time to get back on track. She made her way hurriedly to the scarred grove, finally passing the first of the towering giants with a grimace. Yes, these days she disliked. She knew with chagrin what Biroki had in store when they trained here, calling up destructive forces that she was yet barely able to contain on her best days, let alone control.
 

[DraconicFeline]

Alethryia

Biroki closed his eyes for a moment, listening to the ever-present sounds of Jahuar. They floated around him like a fabric of life. Nothing he would do here would disturb it - his magic could burn and destroy, but they would not disrupt the cycles of life in the verdant canopy. Those lives, in turn, would live out their time as indviduals, shaping the world around them, changing everything they touched, but yet leaving the eternal song of life unchanged. They were a leaf in the forest, a note in the music, a single scintillation in a crystal. He opened his eyes at the crack of a twig, noting the shimmer of a lightning scarred crystal on subtly bioluminescent bark.

Beautiful.

He turned to face his student, leaning easily on his staff as he smiled mildly at her. "There you are." he said. He knew she was late. He knew she hated this part of her training. He also knew that she knew - as well as he did - how essential it was. Though his look was vaguely reproachful, he understood, and did not call her out on it. They had, after all, plenty of time. He had been early, she was late - what was a few hours in the grand scheme of things?

"Have you been practicing your spells, like I showed you?" he asked, waiting for her to arrive fully, and giving her time to prepare herself for the training he was about to put her through yet again...  

[Alethryia]

DraconicFeline

Aylin ducked her head under Biroki’s gaze, she didn’t mean to be so easily distracted, but she wasn’t exactly avoiding distraction either… Still, she hated letting her emotions get the best of her- especially when it inconvenienced others. Biroki was doing her a great service by mentoring her, and she owed the life she now had to his good nature. It wasn’t a life she was about to waste either, which is why she put her all into training- even when it left her feeling drained to the core.

She pulled herself up and nodded briskly- it wouldn’t do to waste any more time. She centered her body, feet shoulder-width apart and took a deep breath. She felt the ground through the balls and heels of her feet, digging her toes into the dirt and grounding her magic in the earth beneath her- it was the only method she currently had for gaining some control on the lightning she could call forth. She often felt herself absorbed in a storm of magic around her- the very life of the forest, the elements abundant within it- it was as if each force was calling out to her spirit. She centered her thoughts on only this clearing, tuning out the trees surrounding them and the water collected in their foliage. This was a strategy that let her feel anchored, for fear that she might be swept away by this storm at times, the reason for her wearing barefoot sandals and keeping a wary eye out for glass on this training ground.

She let go of the breath and replied, “I have. I seem to have less accidental outbursts now, but I still can’t direct the lightning to my will- it always overpowers me.”  

[DraconicFeline]

Alethryia

Biroki, too, felt the storm. To him, though, it was inside, swirling energies that, when sparked, needed release. He had it under control, now, but he was also calm. When he was angry, the heat and light of shreiking emotion built up upon itself until it threatened to erupt free of his skin and scorch the world around him, unbidden.

He nodded. Preventing outbursts was the first step to control. That was how he had been trained and, though he suspected her complications lay elsewhere, it was a good first step to attempt. "Lets practice as we did before." he said. He planted his staff in the ground, feeling it as another connection to the solid anchor of the earth, and held out his hand. He hoped that this method was helping her. It made sense to him, to send controlled magic into her to control, but it might not be the right way. "And then we can try something else and see if we cannot give you the reigns you need."  

[Alethryia]

DraconicFeline

This is what made her most nervous, facing her mentor and knowing that lightning would soon be sent crackling towards her. But she exhaled and did her best to remain calm, eyes resting on Biroki as the air began to shimmer around him, both with the magic energies he was summoning and the air they were heating. With a flick of his wrist a simmering streak of lightning met her outstretched hands dead-on and she marveled at his accuracy as the crackling heat of the strike enveloped her, the strange prickling of lightning magic lifting her hair as it traveled down into the earth where she directed it.

As the last tingle of electricity left the clearing, she couldn’t help but let out a triumphant “Yes!” And looked up to Biroki with a joyful gleam in her eyes- her first attempt wasn’t usually so successful.  

[DraconicFeline]

Alethryia

It was a controlled spell, but it was still, ultimately, destructive. There was always a risk of harm... but Biroki could not let himself be unsure. Not when he had to concentrate to protect her. Uncertainty would increase risk, which would increase uncertainty... in other words, it could kill her.

The lightning successfully channelled through her to it's resting place in the ground, he dispelled the energy surrounding him with a smile - several parts relief and several parts pride. "G-good. Yes. Very good job." She was getting better. "You did a very good job with that... Did it feel okay? Do you think you had control?" He paused, "If you're feeling up to it, we could... um... Try it the other way around." He wasn't sure if he should mention this now - clearly, having her summon lightning was the next stage here - but maybe they should do more lightning channelling first, just to get this down... "That... that is, if you think you can."  

[Alethryia]

“Umm, yes, I think it felt okay. Dangerous and prickly … but, okay.” Aylin felt to be glowing with pride at her mentor’s compliments, but that feeling was easily dampened when he suggested reversing their roles. “I had control that time, but I think I’d rather practice some more before, um, before trying to summon some of my own lightning.” She was still scared of using her own magic. It was one thing to practice with the controlled lightning Biroki sent her way, an entirely other to touch upon that strange crackling energy within herself and bring forth destructive magic she hardly had the same confidence in controlling. “I just, I don’t think I’m ready yet. Maybe … maybe if I keep doing it right, then it would be okay … to try anyways, if you still think I’m ready then.”

She trusted Biroki, and if he thought she was ready to move forward in her training, then she would do her best to live up to the confidence he put in her. She just didn’t have the same confidence in herself yet.  

[DraconicFeline]

Alethryia

"...oh. Oh yes, okay." He said. He thought she was ready, but then again, that was really up to her, wasn't it. Uncertainty could be fatal. "All right, then." It was probably for the best to practice some more. At the very least, she would be warmed up, though that wasn't exactly the right word for it. Lightning was heat, that was true, but it was a very different kind of heat than flame. When you warmed up for fire magic, you literally became warm - a part of the fire, almost. But when you warmed up for lightning... it was different. It was as if parts of you were tuned to a single direction, as if order was formed from chaos. The lightning followed that order like a path.

"All right." he said, taking up the grounded stance again, his magic manifesting around him, "Get ready!" And with that warning - and a few moments to let her prepare herself - he sent another blindingly bright stream of carefully focused lightning at her, letting it arc slightly in the air as it bounced between water droplets too small for the eye to see...  

[Alethryia]

DraconicFeline

She returned to her stance, preparing for the lightning that would be directed towards her and sinking her toes into the sandy earth below. New glass would be made here by the end of her training today, creating something beautiful out of a magic normally used to destroy. With Biroki’s warning she steadied herself, seeming to “catch” the lightning that arched its way towards her and once again directing it across her skin and into the ground below- creating small smooth beads under each toe where sand melted and fused, developing into complex branches as the magic’s energy was discharged into the ground. It was a process that took great concentration on her part, she couldn’t just “see” the lightning and look at where she wanted it to go; in fact, the lightning itself was blinding and it was only by visualizing its energy that she was able to have a semblance of control.

They continued in this way for some time, Aylin’s stance becoming more confident and her hands steadier, the fatigue of constant concentration outweighed by her excitement and pride at continuing to do so well at the task that usually confounded her after one or two tries.  

[DraconicFeline]

Alethryia

It took effort to force the lightning to a target of his choosing, even more so to keep it to a controllable, survivable degree. It was very good practice for him as well as for her, but it was almost as draining. He dispelled his magic again and rested on his staff, pleased with how things were going thus far. "All right - lets take a break." he said, moving towards a fallen log. He drank some water and offered her a nut cookie - the perfect thing, he found, to perk oneself up after long use of magic. "What do... what do you think, Aylin..." he asked, after a few moments of blissful crunching, "About trying to cast lightning at me. If you're not too tired, we could try it today."  

[Alethryia]

DraconicFeline

Wordy response is wordy.

Aylin was glad for the break, stretching with a sigh before plopping down onto the log beside Biroki. She took a hearty swig of water and rolled her neck, removing some of the stiffness there and accepting the offered cookie. These were one of her favorite treats, the crunchy, nutty goodness a delight to munch on while she flexed her feet and listened to her mentor’s words.

She nodded her head, she felt she could try it now, having had a successful morning thus far without any mishaps. “I’m okay ... I think we should try it.” She ate one of the fruits she’d packed for the session and took another drink of water before they returned to practice, this time with her steeling herself for summoning the powerful, destructive magic.

Her stance was similar, still steady and grounded, but now she felt within for her connection to lightning. It wasn’t like other magic she used, air was always in abundance and just needed coaxing to do what was needed, water could be found everywhere you cared to look and was fluid enough to take the shape or follow the path she urged it towards, but lightning was something altogether different. It couldn’t be found around her- unless of course there was a thunderstorm overhead- and the magic had to be brought forth from within rather than channelled from her surroundings as it was done when Biroki sent a bolt her way.

So she stood with her heart pounding within her chest and did her best to steady herself, feeling the electricity starting to crackle to life around her as the hair on her arms and at the nape of her neck stood on end. She looked to Biroki and called out, “Ready!” She brought forth her arms and focused on the path she wanted the lightning to take, aiming for his staff and wildly missing as the bolt took a different path- lashing out towards the trunk of a nearby tree-shattering the crystal it had been drawn to.  

[DraconicFeline]

Alethryia

Wordy Response is fun

Biroki finished his snack and stood, steeling himself for the lightning strike with a sturdy, grounded stance. His hand tingled with charge, ready to attract and catch the magical charge she was going to throw at him. It was never comforting to be attacked with magic, even as training, and he felt a little bad that, earlier, he had been the one throwing magic at her. But this was how one learned.

So, he did not dodge as the lightning crackled through the air... he didn't have to. He forced himself not to wince as it shattered the crystal of a nearby tree, scorching the bark around it in neat, blackened rays. "Good shot!" he said anyway, "That had a lot of power to it - good job." Other than the aim, it had been a well-formed bolt, formed from her own will. That was an improvement worth praising. She had done well.

She'd just missed. Dangerously. "Try holding the destination in mind." he said, trying to give her the best advice he could. "And also focus on where you don't want it to go. Try doing both." Maybe that would help.