every bait and switch was a work of art
Safrin watched Kaisel with a gaze that could have bent galaxies. Silent as moonlight and just as searing, her expression gave away nothing at first—not disdain, not approval, only the slow sweep of appraisal from his boots to the crown of his head. But there was something in the way he stood his ground, the effort behind the breath he remembered to take, the passion that finally flared in his voice. And something in the way Koa looked at him too—like he was proud. That counted for something.
"Kaisel Ashborn," she repeated, her voice a low purr, not mocking but deliberate, tasting the syllables like starlight over a new horizon. She stepped forward slowly, the air warming around her with each breath. "You want to fight for what you love?" she mused, circling him like a constellation finding its orbit. "To cleave with the air itself..." She stopped just before him, her presence oppressive in its beauty, in the sheer weight of being seen by her. Safrin’s hand lifted—not to touch him, not yet, but to draw a single arc of starlight through the air. It shimmered like the edge of a blade, flickering with ghosted movement.
"I could indeed make you something devastating," she murmured, the blade spinning now like a whisper of power in the air beside her. "But before I do, I need to know you understand what it is you're asking for." Her gaze shifted—just slightly—to Koa and softened for a moment, before she looked back to Kaisel.
"Here is what you must do."
Kaisel has been given a quest! He must
1. Complete a thread encountering something that isn't quite what it seems
2. Complete a thread protecting something/someone he loves
3. Complete a training thread focusing on fighting with regular knuckle knives
4. Have someone use their air magic on him.
"Kaisel Ashborn," she repeated, her voice a low purr, not mocking but deliberate, tasting the syllables like starlight over a new horizon. She stepped forward slowly, the air warming around her with each breath. "You want to fight for what you love?" she mused, circling him like a constellation finding its orbit. "To cleave with the air itself..." She stopped just before him, her presence oppressive in its beauty, in the sheer weight of being seen by her. Safrin’s hand lifted—not to touch him, not yet, but to draw a single arc of starlight through the air. It shimmered like the edge of a blade, flickering with ghosted movement.
"I could indeed make you something devastating," she murmured, the blade spinning now like a whisper of power in the air beside her. "But before I do, I need to know you understand what it is you're asking for." Her gaze shifted—just slightly—to Koa and softened for a moment, before she looked back to Kaisel.
"Here is what you must do."
Kaisel has been given a quest! He must
1. Complete a thread encountering something that isn't quite what it seems
2. Complete a thread protecting something/someone he loves
3. Complete a training thread focusing on fighting with regular knuckle knives
4. Have someone use their air magic on him.
you're the one prize i'd cheat to win
