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+---- Thread: [Training] first burn (/showthread.php?tid=12017)
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first burn - Jack - 09-06-2025
[say]"They say that the centre of the maze is where the first Abandoned came into their magic,"[/say] Jack is telling Nova as they crunch through Queen's Gambit, the snow heavy and undisturbed underfoot, the roses reduced to sleeping buds with the colder weather. [say]"Apparently the place amplifies magical power, too. Ain't sure how much truth there is to it, but since we're here, might as well see what the fuss is all about."[/say]
He's been hopeful, too, that the hedge maze will give them less trouble coated in frost and heaped with snow - and so far, so good. The captain's hands are shoved in the pockets of his Kingmaker Coat, the collar turned high and a dark blue scarf looped around his nose and mouth as they walk. They've been at it for almost thirty minutes now, but he can spot flickering light in the near distance, so he senses that they have to be close to the Eye of Fire.
Or they might end up at a deadend with the centre of the labyrinth on the opposite side of the hedge, in which case, things will start to get real creative around here.
RE: first burn - Nova - 09-07-2025
She glances back at Jack, having hopped with one foot into a bank of snow, looking very much like a figure skater with her arms spread and one leg behind her. [Say]"Really?! I was here with Vespy before, but didn't notice anything."[/say] Nova spins, sparkles falling off the glittered red tweed jacket she wears, the puffed cream scarf fluffing out her orange scattered blonde curls.
Then she leaps to the next patch of shimmering snow, the kittens on her boots sinking beneath its surface. She giggles when light refracts on the snowflakes, drawing them closer to the center and their ultimate destination. But despite the innate feeling that they're getting closer, her magic doesn't feel any different, even with her paying attention now. [Say]"How would we know?"[/say] It usually flows freely like a bubbling creek of power that occasionally laps at the banks of her skin, manifesting in flecks of starlight and ice crystals, and for the moment, it sings the same as it always does, like glitter and chaos.
RE: first burn - Jack - 09-10-2025
[say]"Maybe he spooked away all the magic,"[/say] Jack says dryly, continuing onwards as Nova hops from snowbank to snowbank. [say]"Demigods are a different league, after all."[/say] And it's as good an explanation as any, he supposes - the captain isn't sure whether he believes the stories around the Eye of Fire, but he's also seen enough weird shit in his time not to entirely disregard them either.
[say]"Guess we'd have to test it out,"[/say] he reasons. [say]"Maybe hop through the fire ourselves to make sure."[/say] Speaking of which, the glow against the snow and frost-crusted leaves is beginning to grow more intense; up ahead, many of the hedgerows aren't frozen over at all. Before Jack knows it, the centre of the maze is before them, and a large obsidian bowl sits at its zenith.
Within, the eternal fire burns as brightly as any other Jack has seen, looking remarkably inconspicuous, but that doesn't mean anything.
RE: first burn - Nova - 09-10-2025
She can't say whether demigods are better - she feels pretty awesome - but different is a good word. A giggle flows through her smirk, ever the teasing sister even without Vesper present. [Say]"Yeah. He's extra weird."[/say] Nova says all this while perched precariously on one leg, knee deep in snow like a very strange glittering torch that's been propped there.
Hopping into the last tiny pile of melting mush, her face scrunches as she considers his suggestion seriously. [Say]"But I might ruin my outfit."[/say] She bounces out to the grass, inspecting the red tweed of her jacket, curious about whether it would hold up against the flames. Priorities and all.
Then she catches sight of the obsidian bowl and the warmth that permeates through the maze. Her eyes glitter, their blue depths reflecting the blaze as she clasps her hands behind her back, spinning to flash a blinding grin at Jack. [Say]"So, what are we doing today?"[/say] Excitement courses through her, magic already humming in anticipation.
RE: first burn - Jack - 09-11-2025
[say]"Sure is,"[/say] Jack drawls, smirk mostly hidden beneath his scarf as he watches Nova posed like an ice skater for an almost impressive length of time before moving on. Weird, indeed. But then they're both distracted by the Eye of Fire, and the captain is walking slowly around the bowl, as if to take it in from every angle like it might offer up a secret he's not privy to just yet.
Eventually, though, he finds nothing, standing opposite Nova on the other side of the bowl and gazing through the flames at her. [say]"I don't reckon it will,"[/say] he says. Ruin her outfit, he means. [say]"An' it's dealer's choice, today. Show me what you got."[/say] What she's learned, how she's improved. Every time they do this it feels as though she's climbed another rung of magical prowess, and Jack has a feeling this will be no different.
RE: first burn - Nova - 09-11-2025
Glad that they can agree (verbally) that she's not the weirdest of her siblings, Nova skips into the center of the maze, a delighted hum coiling through her. She twirls a moment, basking in the warmth and the comfort that her outfit won't be ruined. Even if it is, she'll just bully Jack into buying her a new one, quite confident glitter and incessant whining will be enough to annoy him into spending the money.
But then he's standing across from her, his face flickering in the light of the flames like a challenge - and Nova loves challenges. Bouncing, she claps her hands together, contrasting magics slapping in a sparking sizzle. [say]"Oooh. Okay! I'm gonna send everything at you!"[/say] She only waits a second for her words to sink in before opening her palms and pushing the flames towards him, twining air magic through to stoke them higher for her fire magic to seize, throwing embers and sparks through the clearing without a care for what they may catch.
1/4
RE: first burn - Jack - 09-13-2025
Jack's hands never leave his pockets as he watches Nova through the dancing fire, his smile a small and hidden thing. They're a study in contrasts, the hybrid all frenetic movement and fizzing energy, the captain all stillness and and quiet. But as she confirms she'll send everything at him, his eyebrows bounce up in a mix of curiosity and skepticism - which is about when she combines air and fire to bully the flames at him.
Inclining his head - and using water magic to douse or freeze any embers that get too friendly with his clothing - Jack waits for the flames to lick just close enough to be a problem before his own fire magic gives them a shove back in Nova's direction, as if they're playing a game of tug of war with the Eye of Fire between them. [say]"I picked that one up recently, too,"[/say] he rumbles, manipulating the flame upward before plummeting it down towards her like a comet.
1/4
RE: first burn - Nova - 09-13-2025
Like she's guiding a kite on an ocean breeze rather than a scorching ball of fire, Nova reaches out a hand to swing it around her body with a bright grin of delight. Curls flair and light catches the stars of her cheeks in an orange hue as she spins, the tip of her finger nearly brushing the comet before releasing it back across the firepit towards Jack with a little extra sparkle added.
The glow makes it easy to see the intrigue written across her face when she leans forward on the balls of her feet. [say]"Really?! How many different magics do you have?!"[/say] Is it more than her? How much catching up does she have to do? She knows about the water and lightning, but he doesn't seem to use his abilities as freely as she does, and now she's curious. What other abilities might be just beneath the stoic surface?
2/4
RE: first burn - Jack - 09-14-2025
[say]"A few, at this point,"[/say] Jack says, though it's true that he doesn't exactly put them all on display for people to see and take advantage of. As the sparkling, fiery comet gets slung back across towards him, this time the captain responds by drawing up a wall of wind to shield against it, letting the flames buffet against it until they are finally blown out entirely. [say]"All of the elements, plus lightning,"[/say] he continues, as if having had to mentally count them out.
Plus the first and oldest of his magics, of course, but he's not about to out himself as a telepath to Nova in the middle of a training session.
Still, as if to demonstrate the last element he's yet to show her, for his next trick he attempts to manipulate the earth around her feet, coaxing it into erupting from the ground in an attempt to trap her in place, to stop her dancing around quite so freely.
2/4
RE: first burn - Nova - 09-15-2025
She takes notes as Jack deflects her fire, tilting her head to watch as the sparks fly apart in a swirling pattern of sputtering light. [say]"Ooooh! Lightning's cool! I can make pretend lightning! Maybe one day I'll make the real thing."[/say] In emphasis, she draws a finger through the air, a sliver of purple energy cracking across the air towards him just before his own magic hits her.
The rumbling of the ground does quite the opposite of what Jack had intended, her feet bouncing and spinning out of the cracks that open beneath her. She giggles like someone who's playing hopscotch rather than someone facing down one of the most powerful Abandoned in Caido; but as she steps out of a particularly persistent piece of dirt, Nova sends her own barrage of magic Jack's way. Earth ripples and wind buffers in an attempt to throw him off balance.
3/4
RE: first burn - Jack - 09-15-2025
[say]"With the rate you're goin', I don't doubt it,"[/say] Jack says readily, the words quiet but completely honest. [say]"Might not notice it until it's pretty strong,"[/say] he adds, knowing it from experience. [say]"Or unless you find yourself stuck in a lightnin' storm."[/say] Which, much more likely for a man like the captain, but Nova might only realise she's got lightning in her veins when she can create it with her own two hands.
He ought to have known better with the earth magic, really, Jack huffing out a breath behind his scarf that's half amusement, half exasperation, and he releases his hold on the frozen dirt as he realises Nova is just going to keep playing with it. Opting to conserve a fraction of his energy, he raises his eyebrows and is forced back a step or two at her retaliation, an arm coming up against the torrent of wind and earth.
Struck in the shoulder by a hunk of rock, Jack seizes hold of it with his magic and fires it back towards the hybrid, aiming for her middle.
3/4
RE: first burn - Nova - 09-16-2025
Nova is the kind of person that can find a compliment in anything, and Jack's words have her beaming just a little brighter, the constant chiming song of her thoughts a little lighter, her steps dancing a little faster around the fire between them. It feels like he knows that she's already awesome, and her potential is limitless. It's not like she needs his approval, but it hits different coming from someone she considers nearly on par with her own abilities - and has nothing to do with the fact that Jack is kind of somewhat like a shadow of an unofficial father figure.
Whatever he is, he manages to keep his balance and Nova shrugs her shoulders. [say]"I'll let you know if it ever pops up!"[/say] Or strikes? Regardless, she isn't similarly inclined to downplay or hide her abilities like other people.
As she's spinning to face him again, she misses the rock that he'd thrown, squealing as she throws her hands out in unfiltered instinct. Ice laces her fingers while wind and earth buffer against the rock, shoving it back through the fire that her magic drags behind it, right back at Jack.
4/4
RE: first burn - Jack - 09-17-2025
Jack doesn't waste words in confirming that he knows Nova will tell him if she ever comes across that particular element - he won't be surprised if she tells him via a 'friendly' static shock, in fact, though he opts not to say that either. (No need to encourage further chaos where there's already plenty, after all). With the dazzle of her thoughts lighting up the space even more than the snow and fire already do, the captain hops back on instinct as well as she dredges up power by reflex to shoot the stone back at him.
With hands curling into fists, Jack raises them both in a block that's echoed in the sudden smell of ozone in the air; the lightning strike comes down quick and ruthless, blasting the projectile into little more than dust and leaving only small splinters of stone to sting against his cheeks. [say]"I dunno 'bout you,"[/say] he drawls, straightening up, [say]"but I don't feel any more powerful than usual bein' here. You wanna jump through the fire though, just in case?"[/say]
4/4
RE: first burn - Nova - 09-18-2025
She blinks through her own storm of elements to watch as Jack zaps the rock from the air, her ears popping with the pressure as a grin spreads across her face. One word rings through her mind, bright and full of awe: Cool.
Yeah, she wants lightning.
Skipping around the fire to join him on the other side, Nova flicks a piece of dust from his jacket, the bright white of her smile sparkling up at him. Her hands clasp behind her back as she rocks forward on her feet, giggling at his question. [say]"Only if you join me!"[/say] She's pretty sure it won't make a difference, but she's willing to try, nonetheless, especially if it means watching Jack leap through the flames like a Disney princess. Maybe he'll show her more cool tricks she doesn't know.