partay

[steelmagnolias]

 [Well, Ren's here, just as he said he'd be. He'll buy drinks for any adults still alive that want to imbibe, but there's also a number of sodas in a cooler available for anyone who's a minor or just doesn't want to drink. He's also brought in some snacks from Yotsukoshi and a few of those crab buckets, although anyone else is certainly free to contribute their own food and drink to the pile. 

Ren finishes up his cigarette before setting up, letting it extinguish before everyone arrives. Look, he's being good, there's only one in the ashtray. 

Joey's got one of her dance routines planned, Ren already also had the King's Game set up, or people can just mingle.

It's just not good to be lonely.]

Comments

[theirmagic]

Oh, yes, eventually I managed to fix it, but... I was trying to turn it into a giant dog... ugh, it's so embarrassing. The entire town saw it. I was dared by one of the other kids. She said I couldn't do the Metamorphie Faciesse spell. And... well, they were right. I was terrible at it.

[ Ugh, it's not a story she remembers fondly... ]

[incrediblystressedout]

I am positive that dog had the time of his life. For a shiba, being ten feet up's practically like flying a plane. Who cares about the other kids if the spell made someone happy, right?

[theirmagic]

He did seem rather happy. I recall very clearly he drooled on someone's head.

[incrediblystressedout]

See? The important thing is, a dog had fun.

[theirmagic]

Maybe, but my teacher didn't exactly see it that way...

[ Small laugh. ]

[incrediblystressedout]

Given the choice between a happy dog and a happy teacher, I think one's a lot more important, personally.

No offense.

[theirmagic]

Hah, I suppose that's true, I just wish my grades hadn't bit the dust over the incident...

[beguiledcard]

[ He's blinking... and then she might catch a soft snrk from off to the side. There's a hand discreetly clamped over his mouth, and just a tiny bit of color on his face. He'd been trying to hold it in!!!

She'd seemed genuinely embarrassed, and he didn't want to make it worse...

but hey you managed to make this guy laugh, so... congrats??? ]

[theirmagic]

[ No, go ahead and laugh. ]

I wish you could have seen the owner, he was lifted right up into the air, still attached to the leash... it was rather startling, if funny.

[beguiledcard]

[ There's a soft chuckle to follow her next words, and he finally gives in enough to stop hiding his mouth. ]

I really wish I could have seen it, too, actually...

[ A small smile. It's a bad joke -- one of those puns Kurama was talking about, earlier... but... ]

I'm sure you really lifted his mood.

[theirmagic]

Oh, yeah, I really lifted his mood all the way to the stars...

[ A snicker. ]

I was so startled by my mistake at the time I didn't find it very funny in the moment, but in hindsight, it really is quite silly. Now, the time I accidentally turned my potion into a mandrake was far worse...

[beguiledcard]

And now he'll always remember the day you unleashed your magical skills on his pet.

[ ...and to think these puns would be way more ridiculous if they were in a much more lighthearted setting. ]

Hm? A... mandrake?

[theirmagic]

Large, terrifying, living plants. They're... capable of eating people. I didn't even know it was POSSIBLE to do such a thing, but my potion almost ate me alive that time.

[beguiledcard]

[ Oh. ]

I'm... glad you weren't eaten...

[ AN UNDERSTATEMENT, BUT...

Also he's teasing when he says: ]

I'm a little afraid to know what was on your mind when you managed to create something like that.

[theirmagic]

It was less "on my mind" and more "completely the wrong ingredients", I think. I was still an amateur and neither of my parents were potion majors...

[ A small chuckle. ]

[beguiledcard]

[ He gives her a fondly exasperated smile. ]

I see...

[ The exasperation melts away into pure fondness. ]

The more mistakes we make, the more we learn, right?

[theirmagic]

I wasn't always good at them like I am now. I learned. I used to be very... unfocused. Certainly, I had drive, but drive alone doesn't mean you're going to put the right things into the potion...

[beguiledcard]

[ He releases a quiet, sheepish sound. ]

That sounds almost like my best friend, back home. He's driven... but focus is a struggle for him. Granted... giving up is the last thing he'll let himself do.

[ Ahhhh but talking about Ryuji has him feeling sad. So... ]

Your stories have me wishing I could learn how to do some of this stuff. I wouldn't mind creating a giant plant or two.

[ He's kidding... obviously... ?

... No he's... actually not... ]

[theirmagic]

Akira, are you saying you'd like to learn magic?

[ SPARKLING. ]

[beguiledcard]

[ Oh. ]

Actually...

[ Faintly sheepish twist of bangs. ]

I'd love to.

[theirmagic]

[ SHE LOOKS. SO EXCITED. ]

What school? What kind of study would interest you? Predictive magic? Culinary magic? Spells that alter the environment? Creature languages? Healing magic? Potions? If you can narrow down what kind of field of study you'd be most interested in, I could probably give you the basics for tutoring to get you up to speed.

I did it for Atsuko every day.

[beguiledcard]

[ WOW THAT'S A LOT OF OPTIONS...

Okay. Um. HM. ]

I'd let you pick the school, actually... because I trust your opinion on that.

[ Okay, actually, this is? Really exciting??? And one is standing out above the rest. His chosen route is...

Waaaaaait for iiiiiit.... ]

Culinary.

[theirmagic]

Oh, you want to learn the Culinary Arts!

[ She claps her hands together excitedly. ]

I could teach you some things with potions, since they tend to cross. I don't have any textbooks WITH me for the curriculum, but I remember a lot of what Professor Finnelan taught. I would be happy to teach you the basics. We'd have to start small before going into anything advanced, though.

You know, things like taking an apple and turning it into something different tasting without changing it's basic structure. The big advantage of Culinary Magic is that you can keep an object, at its... ahem, if you'll forgive the joke, same at its core as anything else. It's that you're changing its internal structure, in most cases. So instead of having to buy some sugar and mix an apple in, you can simply take an apple you bought and use a potion or spell to make it naturally sweeter, or more bitter, or even taste like something completely different!

[ Can you tell she really loves teaching, because she does. ]

As for where you could go to learn, there's a lot of good places. Oh, I wish Luna Nova wasn't an all-girls school, I would love to take you there... it's got such an excellent staff... I wonder if I could convince them to make an exception...

[beguiledcard]

[ See that widening grin, Chariot? See how it happens right at the "core" joke? He loves puns... ]

Hmm.... Sadly, I'm not sure I'm cut out for drag.

[ Is he seriously contemplating wearing dresses to go to her school??? ]

But, this all sounds incredible...

[ Now that he's not honest-to-god imagining himself in a dress, he's actually wearing a brighter expression! He smiles and nods. ]

Hey, as long as I can keep you as a friend and have you for a tutor somehow, I'm okay with wherever I wind up.

[ And now he's flashing her a small grin. ]

I'm glad you're excited about this, too. Let's get started as soon as we have the time.

[ourmagic]

You know, if you wanted to wear a dress that badly, I COULD just let you borrow one of mine.

[ Is she teasing, or serious, who knows. ]

Homeschooling exists, of course. As long as you're not using one of those terrible internet "do-it-yourself" magic kits... better to learn from a real witch.