pawnstorm | OPEN: but a fire within

Entry tags:

OPEN: but a fire within

Who: Lux Crownguard, and you!
When: Mid Delphine (July); before dungeon shenanigans
Where: Caissa
What: Monthly catch-all, I'll be adding to this as the month goes on! If you don't find a prompt that interests you, or have an idea for something fun, message me on

sheepyton so we can plot!
Ratings: PG for the most part, but will change this if need be.
Warnings: Accidental charming may happen, depending on the direction of the thread. Please let me know if this is something that you are okay with when tagging!

♕ o1. A CHARMING DISPOSITION (OPEN)

[ All she wanted was a nice afternoon in the city. A little window shopping, maybe treat herself to a bit of ice cream. Since her promotion a few days ago, she had been working hard, shuttling between the training grounds and the library like a woman possessed. And she was, really. How could she not be? She had power now, and she needed to learn how to use it.

Unfortunately, she learned a few other things first, before mastering her magic. ]

[ There was something about a Queen that was hard to ignore. And for some reason, people really liked to give you things. Like flowers, chocolates, random curios (seriously what is this thing, someone please tell her) and most of allattention. All she did was smile at a few people! Why was everyone suddenly so nice?!

It was getting to be a bit much, her arms were full, and yet, people she met kept piling it on. ~~How was she going to fit all of this in her room?~~ There was a girl behind that horde of things, rest assured, but she wasn't going to be able to carry much more without toppling over at this rate. Please help. ]

♕ o2. WITH HER NOSE STUCK IN A BOOK (OPEN)

[ She was no Bishop, but that didn't mean that Lux wasn't a voracious reader. As a newly promoted Queen, she had a lot to learn about how her new(ish) powers functioned. This meant that she would be hitting the books, hard, and the young Hero could be found in a number of places, buried in a book.

The library, a corner bistro, the cafeteria, the courtyard; in order to master her magic, she had a lot to learn. And not just from magic books—a good magician could draw inspiration from anything that they saw or read.

Which... might explain the odd-titled book she currently held, intently reading. They say that when inspiration hits, one should follow it, but this... was a little odd. ]

[[OOC: Feel free to either come up with a book she's reading, or I can random it for you.]]

♕ o3. MORE OF A CANDY CRUSH GIRL (OPEN)

[ Lux rather liked griffons. While she had never seen one in person, she had come across them in books (maybe some of the books she was reading earlier?), and often the authors romanticized them to be beautiful and majestic creatures. Graceful in the air, their plumage gold as the sun, they were like art in motion. She wished that she could witness such a stunning creature in the flesh.

And today would be her lucky day. ]

[ Today, Lux would learn all about griffons, for better or for worse.

How dirty— ]

[ Bad-mannered— ]

[ And how utterly unmajestic they could be.

They were told to just make sure that the griffons didn't make a mess of anything. Just steer them away from unsuspecting passersby (please watch your heads, that isn't rain you're feeling...), and do so peacefully. And at first she tried. She really, truly did.

But after lobbing a large number of handmade charms at the pretty pests, they still wouldn't go away! They seemed to like the color of her hair (somewhat similar to their own feathers). Or maybe they just liked trolling her, it wasn't actually that hard. Nevertheless! Surrounded by a clutch of beastly beauties, she seemed to be in a bit of a pickle. ]

♕ CLOSED TO ALLEN.

[ Her breath came out in short, measured bursts, her body moving with a rhythm she had nearly forgotten in this place, in her previous state. Since her arrival here, she felt weak. Vulnerable. Like she had lost a part of herself.

She was a Pawn, then. Ordinary. Disposable. The powerful, and at times somewhat wild and uncontrolled, warm and real and powerful magic that coursed within her—a feeling she had known since her childhood—was gone. Severed. And what was left instead was the power of a Pawn. The limiting, dull light of a Pawn.

As if losing her home were not pain enough.

But when she awoke a few days before, she felt something different. Heavy and weightless, tense yet freeing, a light that threatened to swallow her whole if she did not learn to respect it, to master it. It was a startling sensation, not altogether unfamiliar, but different—so very, very different. She had learned to control her own light, reign it in and make it hers. Like the heart of a child, playful and curious, she nurtured it, taught it to sing, to dance, to fight. It served her well.

But this feeling was different.

It burned deep within, fueled by some seemingly unending force that she could not name. Passion. Intensity. And something else... what was it?

She had become lax with her morning training since arriving in Caissa. She understood her body, understood its new limits, and was disgusted by her limitations. But now... She had purpose, she had a drive, she had power. Power that guided her. Power that protected her. Power... that terrified her.

The sun had yet to rise, but light danced over the training grounds, sweat dripping from her face. Her breathing slow, methodical, and her staff twirling in her hands, the crystals on either side shining brightly, she flung each bolt with every fiber of her very being, constantly moving in a dance, a pas de deux with the light. Her light. The light that threatened to burn her alive. The light that she would have to break, like a wild horse, lest it break her instead. ]

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[ Truth be told it was for similar reasons Allen had generally gone out either at night or very early in the predawn to train since his arrival in Caissa. For him, it was born out of the very humbling frustration of suddenly feeling weak. And while that wasn't out of the ordinary for him, being the apprentice to such a powerful exorcist General he could render a single enemy powerless where before it had been besting an entire team of them... it stings because he knows he's been nowhere near capable of fighting on the level he once could before.

Also that to be without both the Innocence he was born with yet still carries inert as his left arm and akuma.. means a dead sort of feeling in his left arm, and that his blood's cooled and less alive without them to rouse that sense of needing to exist. Two symbiotic relationships severed.

But as that is something Allen can do nothing about, he's done a very good job of putting his feelings on the matter aside and focused on learning what he can do and how he can fight in a way that's true to himself. And since his new badge a few days prior..

..it's different. Beyond some of the musical inclinations that have been leaking out. Like waking up brighter and more alert; finding himself less breathless when wielding The Fool.

Even if the new (piece of armor??) weapon they bestowed upon him is so frustratingly useless as he's not figured out how it's supposed to do anything he's decided to just train with his sword again today. Though funnily enough, upon first glance he doesn't seem to be carrying any weapon, wearing only the lower half of his issued uniform and a stretchy sleeveless black shirt.

( How strange, his left arm is entirely wine red, disappearing as what seems to be a sort of tribal tattoo up his shoulder and ending in his usual white gloves at the wrist. )

But he has to blink upon entering the courtyard and finding it far more lit up than he would have thought. Bright light projectiles flinging stark shadows against the stone walls as the sun's not yet up. And at the forefront of it, her own shadow flung back so large and sharp by the intensity of the light show she's weaving— ]

Lux..?

[ He doesn't quite call out in full greeting, not wanting to startle her. She looks almost if she were fighting with herself, so great is her concentration. ]

[ That was because she was fighting with herself. Pushing herself hard, a bit harder than she really should, was the only way that she could come to understand, come to control, this power given to her. Her body had grown accustomed to a different sort of magic—similar, but oh so different—and before she could master it, she had to conquer it, learn every little peculiarity. How she could bend it, mold it, shape it to do what she wanted.

To the casual observer, each spell looked the same, prismatic bolts of pure mana crashing against the stone wall. But every few bolts, something would subtly change. The coloration. The speed. The intensity of light. Testing how she could change the flow of her own mana through her staff, and what results she would get, she was more scientist than fighter. She had to know more...

Her body dancing and spinning to some inaudible beat, her movements were light and agile, her blond hair, tied into a simple ponytail, caught in the motion. It was a dance she had done so many times before, but never with such intensity.

But even in deep concentration, she was not completely cut off from what was going on around her. She expected to have the grounds to herself, as most Heroes seemed against early morning training (she really didn't get it...) but hearing a voice echo through the otherwise quiet courtyard, Lux turned, the crystals on either end of her staff still aglow. Breathing a bit heavily, she stood there, looking at him in the dimmed lamplight.

Was that..? ]

...Allen?

[ Allen has been a 300 push-ups before dawn while balancing one-handed and upside-down on the edge of a precariously leaned chair kind of person since he was 15... Getting up dark and early for that is habit. If she pushes herself magically, he does physically.

That she moves like it's a dance draws a curious pause from Allen, head tilting to the side. Lenalee would do that too, as her style of fighting was to dance on the air. She was also the only other exorcist at least as and in many respects more nimble than Allen, though hers was with grace and his more acrobatic.

She was also somewhat terrifying to spar with. And he gets a lopsidedly sheepish grin at the memory, scratching a little at the side of his scarred cheek.. ]

Aah. Good morning. [ Said with brightly polite congeniality as he lets his hand drop, and he'll approach and enter the light now that she's noticed him. He hadn't wanted to startle her before and end up on the wrong end of one of those bolts...

And smiling a little wider, he sweeps a gloved hand to indicate the courtyard. ]

Do you mind company?

Edited (grammar...........) 2016-07-15 05:12 (UTC)

[ Whereas he was comfortable enough in part of his uniform, Lux was dressed much differently, abandoning her typical skirts and feminine style for something more utilitarian. Wiping her brow with the back of her hand, putting a bit of damp hair back in place, her expression softening as he drew closer, settling into a gentle smile. This was a pleasant, somewhat unexpected surprise. She hardly expected anyone to be here so early, and yet... ]

I didn't think anyone would be here so early. Usually people are still sleeping.

[ It wasn't until he was closer that Lux noticed his arm. The color of blood, it looked almost inhuman, unnatural, giving her pause. Another unexpected surprise from the exorcist, and while she did her best not to stare, her gaze kept falling to that arm.

But she pulled herself away when he engaged her again, shaking her head simply. ]

Not at all. Please.

[ Truthfully the only reason he trains in his uniform slacks is because he's too cheap to buy anything different until these are in tatters.. But the formal shirt for training was a bit much so he relented there. This is easier to move in. And less stuffy.

As for his arm... he notices her eyes snag on it. Of course he does; he used to be and to a lesser degree still is quite self-conscious of how other people react to it. It's less ugly than it was when he was a child, though even so the only reason he cares less for covering it up is because people are the Order accepted him as normal with it.

Heroes... it's been hit and miss, his roommate was pretty freaked out and Thunderland gushed uncomfortably over it, but he'll not suffer the self-consciousness for training.

To it though he says nothing; perhaps his smile just becomes a little more distant—in fact unless you looked ever so closely it might just appear a bit warmer and gentler—but it might be a trick of the dim light. ]

Mm. Getting up this early is something I'm used to. "Sleep is for when you've earned it"..

[ He rubs at his neck for a moment. Sheepish. ]

...is something my Master would say. [ Except with Cross it would have included something along the lines of "get out of bed, lazy idiot apprentice". Presuming he had had a bed at the time.

A little more brightly though, he points to her staff. ] Is that your weapon, then?

[Someone needs help. He moves before he can properly think about it, to assist her with carrying some of the boxes and bouquets and whatnot.]

Lemme help a little. [He clears a number of them off of her pile, taking note of who it is as he grabs either the second or third item off of there.]

O-oh, Lux! Where are we taking this stuff to? I'll follow along.

"Hey hey give her some room guys! Don't crowd the lady or you'll crush her underneath all that stuff!"

Lucio's unexpected aid probably didn't make a huge difference, but it was the thought that counted, right?

Wait, no, he just flashed her a wink. He's just as smitten as all these other people, even if he's displaying it in a marginally more constructive way. Someone needs to spray this whole crowd down with a hose.

[ ...Never let her hear that you're too cheap to buy anything, Allen. You might start getting random gifts. Like food. Or pants, apparently. Pants made good gifts, right?

It wasn't fear, repulsion or obsession that caused her to stare, but, rather, curiosity. It wasn't like anything that she had seen back home—reminding her once again that they came from very different worlds—clearly not quite a tattoo, but something different. It was improper to stare, she reminded herself for the third time, and for the most part she did a good job keeping her gaze upward.

But her eyes kept wandering back to his left arm. ]

I wish some of the other Heroes would be so diligent.

[ It was a bit stern, but she still chuckled a bit, resigned to the fact that they were the odd man and woman out.

Lux nodded, the light since dimming from either end of her staff. ]

Yes, although it's a bit different from the one I used to use. The weight is a little uneven, so the balance is a bit odd, but—

[ Twirling it in her hand, she gave it a toss, like a baton twirler (she was right, it didn't quite spin smoothly) the top crystal pulsing with light before she caught it again. ]

I've managed to work around that. I have something else, but...

[ She wasn't quite sure it was a weapon. It looked far too delicate to be useful.

Which reminded her... ]

What about you? Where is your weapon?

[ Something else? He's curious, but...

... her eyes are still wandering...

haah... Lux, he appreciates that you're trying to be polite, but... being so obvious... it's okay, she's someone who could ask...

Coming to attention somewhat, he offers a smile and holds his hand up in front of his face, fingers spread wide. Were his glove off, the cross embedded on the back of his hand would be facing her. ]

It was this, my left hand. [ The one she's been staring at.

...and at the look she'll probably give him for that, he amends: ] Back home at least. A kind of weapon called Innocence.

In this world, I'm afraid it only looks a little different. [ Even and normal, his tone, even if describing something that does bother him if he dwells on it, but Lux isn't someone he wants to burden with that. ] Here, though...

[ Perhaps with a bit more of his usual (as she's seen him) flair, he twists his hand and—magic! (not really)—snaps a card out of seemingly thin air, holding it between fore and middle finger with a small flourish. What seems just a plain poker card (or perhaps not quite that), depicting the somewhat gothic skull of a jester being pierced through by a giant white and black blade.

Eerie script reads "The Fool" in a banner beneath.

But Allen smiles rather blithely, a bit in juxtaposition to the less than warming card. ]

...I have this.

[ Curiosity never killed anyone, and he couldn't really blame her.

His left hand. ]

Innocence?

[ That only seemed to fuel the flame of curiosity. He said that he fought demons of some sort (with Innocence; it felt appropriate at least), but how could he do so with just his hand? It couldn't have been magical in nature; something like that would be more intricate in design. How did it work? She wanted to know...

But again, politeness would reign. She wouldn't press.

"Here, though..."

She blinked a few times as he produced a simple card from thin air, holding it between her fingers for her to see. Stepping forward, the blond took a closer look.

"The Fool?" ]

A playing card?

[ If his was something so mundane... She frowned at him, visibly worried. How could he fight with something like that? He would get hurt, or worse! ]

[ He gives a nod to both questions and his expression softens at her obvious skepticism. Ah, he is used to having to explain even back home, after all. Weird weapons there, weird weapon here.

—weapons. He doesn't even have his gauntlet on him, and he doesn't even know what that one's supposed to do yet. Though at least it looks somewhat more traditional.

He lets his hand begin to drop. ]

To be truthful, they both sound a little strange to most people, probably.

[ It's alright Lux. He is self-aware of that, at least. ]

[ That he seemed so carefree about it didn't help her concern, it only fueled it further. What did he hope to do with something like that? Beat the entirety of Noir in a poker match? The blond sighed, her frown ever growing, concern mounting. ]

It sounds dangerous, to be honest.

[ How could she make him understand that? ]

I don't want to see you get hurt out there. I understand that that's your weapon, but... can't you just, I don't know, go request something a bit more effective? A sword maybe.

[ ...No, he didn't seem the sword type, really. ]

They must have made a mistake.

[ Lux...........................

Lux, ow. ]

[ He sighs for a moment (ah his stung pride....) and shrugs a little. If he has to then...

He spins the card on the tip of his finger for a moment. ]

Perhaps... [ And catching it again, he sweeps his arm out to the side and...

—grips it.

( Conduit. )

Light shoots out, familiar perhaps as that selfsame soft ethereal white one could almost see in their mind's eye from coming into contact Allen's mana, given that it's exactly that. Holy mana searing the air and making it hum and come alive with the energy of it, taking the form of—

( Irony. )

...a great manablade, as long as Allen is tall and nearly as broad as him. White tinging gold and lighting up the courtyard around them.

( Brighter than it has been before, as before it sucked up most of a pawn's reserves just to exist. )

And the light refracts then, forming the illusion of a more tangible sword that shimmers across it. White and gold, like this, and illuminated from within.

( Honestly it's almost more like a plank than a sword... )

And...somewhat ~~cheekily~~ merrily, he spins it around as light as a baton (once, twice) before resting it across his shoulders.

Beaming at Lux. Positively innocently. ]

...it is a little unconventional.

Perhaps n—

[ She was going to scold him a bit (he was teasing her with it now!), but as light erupts from his hand, her expression immediately changes.

Oh. She was going to eat her words, wasn't she?

Watching his weapon take form in front of her, she blinks in the light, her eyes having adjusted to the dark. Seeing it materialize, Lux stood there, notable surprise on her face.

A giant sword. Like her brother's...

No, it was different, very different. Nearly flat, it looked more like a bludgeoning object rather than a blade. How something so compact could house something so massive.

...

Oh, he was teasing her now, wasn't he? That smile, the spin of the blade. She made a bit of a face, pouting. ]

...You could have told me it was a sword, instead of letting me make a fool of myself.

Edited 2016-07-15 09:21 (UTC)

[ To which Allen will respond back without missing a beat! ]

You didn't really give me much of a chance to...

[ Oh, but he does rub a little sheepishly at the back of his neck with his free hand though. Haaah—quite the glare, Lux... ]

I was concerned you were going to get killed! Seriously, Allen!

[ ~~She had already gone through that once with a teammate, please... don't make her relive that.~~

She sighed heavily, putting her glare away for now, to be taken out again at a later date. ]

Please don't make me worry like that, I'm not sure my heart could take it.

[ Oh...

His expression softens at that—apologetic—and he takes the sword from his shoulders. It still makes the air hum with mana, not unlikely electricity, but more faintly now with the illusion in place, almost like it dampens it. But he lets the tip of it dig into the ground and lets it rest there, his arm looped loosely around the guard. ]

Mm, sorry. [ And he smiles a little more gently then.

It's kind of her, after all. The concern. It's just a little surprising. ]

It's okay. A sword like this—it's not entirely unlike what I was used to back home.

It's gotten a little bit easier as I am now. I'll be alright.

Edited 2016-07-15 09:41 (UTC)

[ Why wouldn't she be worried for his safety and wellbeing? As far as she was concerned, it was only natural to be.

...That was why he was able to carry her so effortlessly, being able to wield a blade like that took a great amount of strength. She was surprised, given his size, that he was able to do so with such ease. It was a little frightening in a way, to think of what he might have gone through to possess that strength. ]

Not unlike your hand?

[ The question slipped out before she had the ability to catch it. But it was out there now, and hopefully he would not think it too forward, or rude.

But maybe she should change the subject slightly. ]

As you are now? What do you mean?

[ Someone needs a lot of help? Have you seen all this crap she's carrying? Literally, crap. But another man's garbage...

Is probably still garbage, to be honest. But it was well-meaning garbage? ]

Thank you, it's hard to see where I'm going.

[ Oh! Look who it is! She gives Ed an appreciative smile. ]

I don't know what's gotten into everyone today. It's so strange. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all this!

Oh bless your techno pop heart, Lucio! "Oh, thank y—"

Did he really just wink at her? Really? What was with today? Huffing a sigh, she continued to push through the crowd, a bit more miffed than she was before. But at least people were moving a little bit. Careful Luc, your girl's getting away.

[ Well actually, the funny thing is... because it's a blade of his own mana and not metal.. it actually weighs virtually nothing (unless his mana begins to exhaust) which is why he's able to swing it around like he can.

He's kind of a cheater like that.

But she didn't speculate aloud and he is actually far stronger than anyone his build should be, so. None the wiser then. ]

It was my hand. [ Even if she didn't mean for him to answer it he does catch the question and will, saying it a little softly and with perhaps a small sort of mysterious smile.

But he'll answer her other question, because it makes him stand up a little straighter. A little excited almost, perhaps. ]

Ah... the day of the masquerade—I received my badge. I'm a Rook now.

[ Is it something to be excited about? Not as far as ranks and titles, no. But in the sense he can do more now? Yes. ]

It's gotten a little easier since then.

[ Her eyes widening a bit with childlike wonderment, she looked at his left arm again, a bit more thoroughly. Oh, she wanted to ask, she so wanted to ask, but damn her manners, she couldn't bring herself to. ]

You...

[ He should have done something for himself that day! It was something to be excited about, being a Pawn is a frustrating experience! It was for her, and... well, she hadn't actually asked any other Pawns, but she assumed it was the same for them as well! ]

You should have gone out and celebrated, then! Something like that is important!

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OPEN: but a fire within

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of course i am okay with charming.

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/thumbs up! we can either work up to a moment, or have it be instantaneous, whichever you prefer

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