altria "just keep smiling" caster (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
excaliburden) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
citylogs2023-11-12 05:20 pm
excaliburden) wrote in citylogs2023-11-12 05:20 pm
[open] welcome to the city
WHO: Altria Caster (excaliburden) & perhaps you!
WHAT: Help out a gal who just got here and is still getting used to magical city things like powdered sugar
WHERE: Across the city! Namely: a convenience store, park, subway, etc.......
WHEN: Early November
WARNINGS: N/A! Will update if necessary
a. local victorian orphan discovers convenience stores
[You're probably popping into the local convenience store for sensible reasons, like to buy a soda or to grab a few things you're missing for your dinner. Maybe for one of those hot dogs. No judgment.
Either way, you're getting interrupted by a gremlin in young woman form, who comes right up to you as soon as she makes eye contact, holding up... one of those small little packs of powdered sugar donuts.]
Have you ever tried one of these?
[She sounds awed.
There is powdered sugar around her mouth and on her fingers. She seems to have already eaten three of the five in the pack. It's a little bit like a religious experience, honestly.]
b. park break
[There's only so much walking around the city she can do before she gets tired. Even a few days in, it's still a pretty overwhelming place, and despite making many plans with many helpful people upon first arriving, she... has not acted on any of them.
So it is that even though it's either very early in the morning or very late at night, Altria can be found seated on one of the benches in the park, shoulders hunched and hands in her lap. She doesn't seem to be asleep, just... thinking very, very intently.
Of course, if she notices that someone's near, she'll immediately straighten, lifting a hand to wave--but with how deep in thought she is, it isn't hard to sneak up on her, either.]
c. subway
[Using the subway today to get across the city? That's a perfectly normal thing to do.
There's a young woman there as well, nose pressed to the window as she stares out as the train moves, even though it's, you know, underground and there's nothing to see. It's fine--she still seems amazed.
Also, if you hop back on the train a few hours later to go elsewhere, she's... still there. She might be leaning back in the seat, staring at the ceiling, or moving from seat to seat idly, or, in particularly empty times of day, sprawled along two seats at once.
Don't worry about it. Everything's fine here!]
d. wildcard
(Wanna tag in but these prompts don't work? Totally fine, hit me with whatever--or poke me over here to plot something out!)
excaliburden) & perhaps you!WHAT: Help out a gal who just got here and is still getting used to magical city things like powdered sugar
WHERE: Across the city! Namely: a convenience store, park, subway, etc.......
WHEN: Early November
WARNINGS: N/A! Will update if necessary
a. local victorian orphan discovers convenience stores
[You're probably popping into the local convenience store for sensible reasons, like to buy a soda or to grab a few things you're missing for your dinner. Maybe for one of those hot dogs. No judgment.
Either way, you're getting interrupted by a gremlin in young woman form, who comes right up to you as soon as she makes eye contact, holding up... one of those small little packs of powdered sugar donuts.]
Have you ever tried one of these?
[She sounds awed.
There is powdered sugar around her mouth and on her fingers. She seems to have already eaten three of the five in the pack. It's a little bit like a religious experience, honestly.]
b. park break
[There's only so much walking around the city she can do before she gets tired. Even a few days in, it's still a pretty overwhelming place, and despite making many plans with many helpful people upon first arriving, she... has not acted on any of them.
So it is that even though it's either very early in the morning or very late at night, Altria can be found seated on one of the benches in the park, shoulders hunched and hands in her lap. She doesn't seem to be asleep, just... thinking very, very intently.
Of course, if she notices that someone's near, she'll immediately straighten, lifting a hand to wave--but with how deep in thought she is, it isn't hard to sneak up on her, either.]
c. subway
[Using the subway today to get across the city? That's a perfectly normal thing to do.
There's a young woman there as well, nose pressed to the window as she stares out as the train moves, even though it's, you know, underground and there's nothing to see. It's fine--she still seems amazed.
Also, if you hop back on the train a few hours later to go elsewhere, she's... still there. She might be leaning back in the seat, staring at the ceiling, or moving from seat to seat idly, or, in particularly empty times of day, sprawled along two seats at once.
Don't worry about it. Everything's fine here!]
d. wildcard
(Wanna tag in but these prompts don't work? Totally fine, hit me with whatever--or poke me over here to plot something out!)
no subject
... Wow. That's... really something.]
--Oh! Right. I'm Altria. Altria Caster.
[...]
Can I ask--what discipline is yours?
no subject
[There's a pause. Whilst normally it would be as nothing to recite his title and responsibilities by rote, it's come to his attention that his "discipline" is not precisely as welcomed and revered as it is by his own people. Rather, it seems to have quite a negative connotation for some, and he cannot say he entirely blames them.]
My seat is that as Keeper of the Underworld - known also as the aetherial realm - and one who oversees death.
Which isn't to say that I usher people to their untimely ends, mind you. Rather my work deals closely with souls - both those departed and otherwise - as well as monitoring the balance of our star. You may think of aether as an energy which grants life, and one which is also necessary for conjuring magicks, the blood of the planet itself.
no subject
Faerie Britain has no gods, which means no religion. Death is only death. And then the dead corpses become--
--Oh. The energy necessary for magicks?]
You monitor all of that? Isn't that a lot? Does that mean you know a lot of magecraft yourself? You must know lots, right?
[Well, she certainly doesn't seem bothered.]
no subject
Not all at once. And that is precisely why we - the Words and I - keep such dutiful records of our observations.
As I said, my work is mainly concerned with souls, and the Underworld need not be watched every moment of every day. A brief jaunt is generally enough to gain insight on whether or not something is amiss within its depths.
[Though it seems the topic of their conversation is shifting very, very quickly. The man blinks, silent a moment. On the one hand, it's a topic dear to his own heart as it were, and on the other he has a sneaking suspicion that something will be expected of him if he says "yes" and "yes" too quickly.]
Magecraft, you said? I know something of magicks, if that's what you're asking. 'Tis a requirement of all akadaemia students to master the basics.
[So says the most powerful mage of his time. If Hythlodaeus can get away with breezing over the details, then so can he.]
Why?
no subject
Anyway, he is absolutely right about one thing--saying yes means she's absolutely, completely enthusiastically going to ask:]
Really? Can I see? Um, I mean--do you mind showing me?
It's just... I love magecraft! I've taught myself a little, but there's still so much I've never seen before...
[So getting to see something new is very exciting.]
no subject
[What prevents him from refusing immediately has less to do with that, and much more to do with the fact that he has very much been in the same position. Hungering to learn more about magic, to progress to advanced spellwork and to begin weaving his own. Every new lesson a puzzle to be unraveled, and with those mysteries laid low, the search for the next new challenge.]
Out of the question.
[He finally says - firm, and leaving no room for negotiation.]
These are magicks we're talking about, not performance art. And certainly not something to put on for show.
no subject
A-aw... I mean, I guess you don't really have any reason to try to show or teach someone like me, but I was still kid of hoping you might want to--
[... A-ahem.]
--S-sorry.
no subject
[He sputters a bit, attempting to remain firm but not (perhaps) to be needlessly rude about it. Even if he does have his reasons.]
Look. Altria, wasn't it? You can't truly expect me to agree to teach you just like that, or elsewise put on a public demonstration at your behest... For one thing, there are many different magical disciplines represented amongst the populace here, and they are not necessarily interchangeable. The energies required, and the magical laws to which such spellwork is bound vary greatly. Even if I did show you, there is no guarantee you'd be able to use it.
Furthermore, I am not in the habit of expending my aetheric reserves on a mere whim. If you can determine a very good reason or a problem which my magicks would be able to resolve, then (and only then) would I be willing to consider it.
no subject
R... right, of course. That's--of course that's how it works for people who use magecraft...
[She's sheepish, red-faced and a little ashamed. To the faeries back home, magecraft is a nothing, nonsense thing, a waste of time and energy--but of course here, it'd be different. To an extent, that's really exciting to her, that her magecraft might have worth here. But... oops, she really messed up.]
I... didn't realize...
no subject
That being said, it doesn't mean that I'm closed to the idea of discussing the finer points of magical theory. Or whatever variety of magecraft it is that you've been teaching yourself up to this point.
no subject
!!!
She perks up a little, despite the flush still on her cheeks. Oh? Oh...??? Maybe not all hope is lost?]
Really? Really, really, you don't mind? I'd really like that!
no subject
Not at the present, mind you. I think we can both agree that it is very late, and magicks is a topic best discussed with a clear and tranquil mind - not to mention a copious amount of sleep.
Still. I suppose I can be troubled to give you my username. You can use these devices, can't you?
[He pulls out his phone - which is ironic, given that he's had a bit of a time learning all of its functions. And also ironic because his username is simply his name.]
no subject
[Both that it's too late for that now, but also that she can use the device. It's not as "of course" as it sounds. It was a whole lot of trial and error, but it's fine. She got there.]
That--would be great! Thank you very much!