[open] welcome to the city

[excaliburden]

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!)

Comments

[fussiest]

Ah, so different faeries also have different capabilities for flying. But who's Merlin?

[ """"merlin"""" ]

[excaliburden]

Oh! He's my teacher in magecraft!

[She beams, clapping her hands a little.]

He's the one who got me started on learning it, and he taught me all of my first spells and things.

I owe a lot to him!

[He kept her company. He took care of her, in a sense. He was her anchor, until he was taken away.]

[fussiest]

[ altria claps her hands. she is gleeful, kaveh thinks, in sharing about this merlin. it had been like so of the craftsman who had her gloves.

altria, kaveh thinks, loves those who are her friends. that's the sort of girl she is. ]

He sounds like a fine individual, generous and knowledgeable both. [ definitely!! yeah!!!! ] I'm glad you had him on your side, Altria. Was he a faerie that flew, or the kind that couldn't?

[excaliburden]

[help

She beams at that, even though she now knows better--even though she's pieced together so many things since then. Even still, "Merlin" is precious to her.]

He wasn't a faerie from Faerie Britain at all! He was from Proper Human History.

Still, he said he could fly easily--with magecraft, though, I think.

[A beat.]

... I suppose he never specified, but I assumed with magecraft. He never got to teach me that spell, though, even though I nagged him about it!

[fussiest]

[ proper human history, kaveh thinks. so faeries are... not a part of proper history? that seems odd, considering that they had a society and a history of their own. he considers this. ]

Did he end up returning to that Proper Human History? Is that why he never got to teach you that spell?

[excaliburden]

Ah...

[She thinks to his last moments--both speaking to her through her staff, and then later.

... Maybe he did. She doesn't entirely know how summoning Servants works in Proper Human History. She's only heard bits and pieces. But the Merlin she knew, at least, is gone--she thinks.]

... Our lessons were interrupted! And he had to go away for awhile. That's when I had to start teaching myself, instead.

[fussiest]

[ oh, kaveh thinks. he looks at her for a moment. he nearly wants to ask - is muramasa gone as well? is there anyone who isn't gone? altria had companions on her journey; were any of them there by the end?

but the weather is nice, and the story must go on. kaveh looks back up to the air and laughs a little. ]

Well, I suppose if you were able to teach yourself magecraft, I ought to be able to teach myself a little bit of flying. [ gingerly, he shakes out his translucent wings. they catch the light and sends it scattering into minute rainbows. kaveh says, ] Ah - before I try again, maybe you should stand a little further away. I don't want to knock you into the river, or fall on you or something like that.

[excaliburden]

[Altria laughs at that, an easy and comfortable laugh, and her confidence feels entirely unfounded as she declares firmly:]

If you fell on me, I'd just catch you!

[Don't look at their height difference, it's fine.

Regardless, despite that, she does back up, giving him some space to work.]

I believe in you, Kaveh! You can do it!

[fussiest]

[ with the confidence of someone who intended to rewrite the world to make it so. kaveh looks at altria. he does, he thinks, feel that confidence in him after all. though it'll be quite embarrassing if he never quite makes it into the air after all her encouragement.

alright. kaveh looks to the river. he finds a rock along the outcropping - after all, perhaps he can jump a little and help with the process. and if he falls, he'll end up in the river - surely that's better than hitting the ground. ]

Alright. Let's give it a second try.

[ kaveh unfurls his wings. this time, he allow them to flap first, a little like a plane warming up its engines. to his surprise, he can feel the generated lift almost immediately. so it's a stationary take-off, kaveh thinks. keeping his centre of balance, well, centered, he looks up, and -

he is in the air.

... not that far into the air. there are five handspans between himself and the ground. but he's hovering. ]

Oh!

[excaliburden]

[Kaveh unfurls his wings, takes it a bit slower, step by step and methodical, and then suddenly, he's hovering.

Altria brightens at that, beaming.

And really, at the joy in his face, the surprise and joy intermingled, she has to clap.]

You're doing it! You're really, really doing it!

[fussiest]

[ kaveh grins, half astounded, half fearful - but entirely awed. the sensation is new. he's never considered what it would be like in flight before. vision-holders have been known to do stranger things with their powers, yes, but dendro isn't the element of the air, and cases of dendro-vision holders taking flight were rarer still.

he flits forward, then tilts back to balance himself once more, swaying precariously in the air as he laughs. ]

Oh, goodness. I'm terrible at this. I don't think I'll be much help in the air. I'm like a newborn bird.

[excaliburden]

[She laughs as well, watching him hover with clear amusement and joy. How can she not take joy in his, after all?]

Well, even newborn birds have to learn how to use their wings.

I think you're doing great, Kaveh! It's not like we're in a rush, so... just take your time!

[fussiest]

I suppose so. But I wouldn't want to take up too much of your time either, Altria. I'm sure you'd like to leave this story...

[ kaveh considers this for a moment. and then, brightening, he maneuvers himself awkwardly towards altria. kaveh holds out his hand. ]

Here, how's this? Hold man hand while I get used to flight, and we can walk as we do so. It'll be as if you are holding a balloon. I'm the balloon, of course.

[excaliburden]

[checks notes for: do balloons exist in faerie britain


inconclusive

She takes his hand regardless, laughing a little.]

Okay! I can tug you along while you get used to it. Just focus on not falling or tumbling down any more hills, okay?

[fussiest]

[ shhh anything can exist if you justify it hard enough. kaveh laughs as well. the rough-hewn pads of his hands slips into altria's, scarred from years of wresting lumber and stone into the shape that dreams of made of. ]

Yes, yes. I'll do my best with your help to avoid hills, and more tumbling. I'm not eager to repeat the experience anyway.

Now... [ kaveh looks up. with the detour, they're not at the bottom of the hill. the river wends ever on, he thinks. but where there's a river, there must be a bridge. ] Let's follow this river for a bit longer, hm? Let me know if you see a bridge.

[excaliburden]

[His are the hands of someone who has worked hard to get where he is--she recognizes it immediately, in the way that like recognizes like. But, of course, her hands are gloves; she can feel the roughness of his hands through the fine velvet, but she's not sure he can feel the same.

It's fine.

She tows him along at a gentle pace, so that he has the chance to catch his bearings, and keeps her eyes peeled.

And, cheerfully, as they walk:]

I suppose the bridge must have some sort of tactical value, for there to be a creature charging a toll to cross it. Right? Perhaps it is the only crossing point for many miles?

[fussiest]

[ the velvet of altria's glove is soft against the palm of his hand. kaveh thinks of the craftsman muramasa, who had overseen each and every stitch of it. it was made with love.

he floats next to altria. the breeze is pleasant along the line of his hair. the hills roll on. ]

I suppose. Traditionally, bridges made excellent places to extract tolls for that exact reason. Though the reason why they'll exact tolls at this particular bridge might not be for reasons of commerce. Have you had to deal with many toll bridges in your time?

[excaliburden]

Not really, no...

[But her head is filled with new fairytales and story book tales, and the troll exacting a toll under the bridge is forefront and center.]

The Queen never really cared about bridges outside of Camelot, so there weren't any tolls or anything like that.

[She tugs him towards the bridge, fearlessly.]

I suppose commerce makes more sense when it's not wartime, though!