[OPEN] Trials and tribulations / I've had my share

[pure_radiantics]

Who: Kairi and YOU!
When: March 24th 2017 - April 21st 2017 (January 18th 2019 - March 14th 2019)
Where: Leo's Temple, near the Meeting Hall, the Library, or anywhere else in the Far Shore
What: Training, of the Shinki Spell variety

---
Option A: Training - Leo's Temple, near the Meeting Hall, etc.
[ No matter what day it is, Kairi and her fellow Shinki friends inevitably end up talking about spells. She's kind in her offers to talk about Spellwork after finally being confident in her mastery of several of them, but she always comes back to the same thing...

It's one thing to talk about it, it's another thing entirely to make the spell happen. It requires practice. It requires a real stare-down of one shinki against another, trying to overcome each other's willpower. And Kairi, well...

She's pretty sure that around the time she felt confident enough to explain spells to someone she didn't know that well was around the time that her will to defend against another shinki's spell started to increase too. Now she has another reason to keep up her training - with Hajime gone, she's at her 3rd god, and she doesn't want to lose another. Some of that she knows she doesn't have control over, but the times when she does? Fighting ayakashi? That's when she doesn't want to let Leo down - or by extension, Forrest.

So she'll go wherever her training partner wants to in order to practice today. ]

Option B: Research in a New Age - Leo's Temple, the Library, Hakkai's School, etc
[ The funny thing about knowing so many spells herself was that Kairi started to become even more curious about what other spells were out there. She couldn't contact Kazuma or Yukine anymore, nor Lavi or Izuku, so she resorts to going to the Library to look through the books on her own.

Maybe she'll find a new spell, or maybe she'll find more about the... theory behind spells, for lack of a better word. Kairi knew enough about the magic of her own world now to know that some things were predictable, or advancements of other spells and not really new spells at all. So what kind of "theory" made the Shinki spells work? And could she crack it enough to stop needing to learn individual spell names - especially with her old tutors all gone? ]

Option C: Wild(card) Magic!
[ If it's anything related to spells or magic from your canon's world, that would be cool to talk about! If it's anything else you can think of related to Shinki spells and magic in the Far Shore, that's cool too! ]

OOC: Plot with me at frudence

Comments

B - April 13th

[unlucky7]

[Kairi isn't the only person browsing the library shelf that day. Ginia is wandering through the shelves as well, two books already tucked under her arm. With the amount of topics covered by Ebisu's temple, brushing up on a few topics never hurts. She smiles as she sees Kairi, resting the books on the shelf and whistling and waving to get her attention.

The black suit and dark green tie Ginia is wearing seems a bit formal for the library. Maybe also a little familiar if Kairi pays attention to the attire of the old shinki.]

Hi, Kairi! Browsing or looking for something specific?

C

[cloak]

[Long time, no see. Roxas' attention is caught in his wanderings by the sight of other shinki throwing spells around. They're not familiar to him, but a certain girl with red hair is.

So he gravitates toward them, if only to observe from a distance. A figure clad in solid black with no visible face might be unnerving to some, but when Roxas is among others like him, he doesn't concern himself with it the way he's found he has to with the living.

When they notice him at all, that is.

But whenever he manages to catch Kairi on her own, he does think to greet her, lifting his hand in some semblance of a wave]

Hey, Kairi.

Re: B - April 13th

[pure_radiantics]

[ Kairi is surprised to hear a whistle in the Library, but as soon as she looked up and saw who it was, her surprise turned to an inviting smile. ]

Ginia! How are you? I'm still figuring it out, so I guess you could call that browsing.

[ She pats a seat near her, if Ginia wants to join her. ]

[unlucky7]

Need a second opinion?

[Ginia grabs her books and joins Kairi. The two books are related to fishing; one an older book about the history of fishing in Japan, the other a beginners guide to making lures.]

If it happens to be about fishing, I can point you to a few books.

[pure_radiantics]

Oh, well, definitely not fishing - at least... I doubt it. That would be interesting...

[ She waves a hand in front of her face to dismiss the tangent. ]

I'm actually looking for information about shinki spells. More than the ones we already know about it, I mean.

Re: C

[pure_radiantics]

[ Kairi definitely didn't notice him approaching. That black coat works on Princess of Light too. ]

Oh! You're... Roxas.

[ Which is still confusing to her, but she recognizes that voice well enough. And she is happy to see him waving to her, so she waves back. ]

How's it going?

[ She walks towards him, so that her apprehension isn't taken the wrong way. ]

[unlucky7]

[Shinki spell information? Ginia sits back in her chair, trying to recall if she's seen anything lately. It doesn't help there's no real rhyme or reason to how the books are arranged. Her luck with searching for books on magics or illusions have mostly turned up card tricks and optical illusion books too.]

Haven't seen anything lately, not for a lack of trying. If you're interested in learning more spells, I could introduce you to some of Ebisu's shinki.

B

[hypomeneo]

[They're after somewhat of the same thing, though Waver isn't quite interested in shinki magic (though he won't turn it down a lecture on it, it all helps) but the magic that governs the very laws of Heaven and nature itself. The deep arts.

... something like that probably won't be here in the library, as it seems the gods would wall it off for their exclusive use, but there should at least be scraps for him to find a direction.]

... oh. Excuse me. You were wanting that book?

[Said book is on a high shelf. Waver is tall and willing to reach.]

[trustheart]

[ooc- continuing off of this. I couldn't figure out a proper date, but it's probably recent?]

[Chris and Luger had really meant to come sooner, but they had been delayed by various things keeping them busy. By now, the two of them had mostly come to terms with each other and settled in as partners, but they at least wanted to get to know Kairi better and see what more they could learn about soulless shinki.

Luger himself was a tall shinki, with white hair, an athletic build, and reasonably handsome features. He gave off an air of calmness and composure, in contrast to Chris's more wild and informal temperament. They arrived at the temple about mid-day, and immediately began looking for Kairi.]

[pure_radiantics]

[ Kairi looks shocked. ]

I... I'm not sure I read your signs right, Ginia. Did you just offer to introduce me to Ebisu's shinki?

[ She puts her hands in her lap, gripping her skirt. How exciting that would be--!! ]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia grins a little at Kairi's shock.]

Yes, I offered to introduce you to Ebisu's shinki.

[She pauses, fingers tapping together excteidly as she tries to figure out who would be the best to introduce. Takami is too nervous, Kiwami too serious. Kimi is always personable, but spells aren't his specialty.]

Aomi is the best when it comes to song spells, but Unmi knows a fair amount of spells too.

A, April 14, midday-ish?

[yasei]

[ So despite the fact that today is not a great day for Obi (remembering things he's not super keen on at the moment, Miss Yona disappearing, the possible need to reevaluate his relationship with his current Mistress) or perhaps because it is not a great day for Obi, he's looking for distractions.

And this is as good as any, he'd say. It's productive and will let the wear of his fingertips rest, after he spent perhaps a bit too long time all at once on carving arrow heads. ]

So, Miss Kairi, which spells do you recommend a guy with only Line experience put his mind to first?

[ There is no trace of the feelings rolling around under the surface of his skin; he's a good actor and used to concealing his emotions. ]

A, umm March the twentyfifth?

[smilingbullet]

The only one I haven't figured out yet of the spells and stuff I know is the song to ward off lightning- you know I'm no good at singing so it's not going all that well..

[ At this point in time, she's bound to know that he can't hold a tone to save his life, and that it is so false, without fail, that if Hibiki heard it she just might instantly die of trauma (you know, literally but not literally literally) and that spells that require even a little while of carrying of a tone is not going to be easy for him. ]

I've got the Bind, Silence, Truth, and Umbra down right along with the Lines and in theory I know Ablution, though, you know how it is with that one, [ It's not exactly the most commonly used spell ] but I'd really like something new that I might actually be able to feel like I'm making some progress on to work with.

[ He practices daily on all the spells that he can practice, but sometimes you want to add new stuff to your repertoire, and D2 still has a long way to go. ]

[cloak]

One of them.

[He tugs at his hood with one hand, as though anyone needs a reminder of what most sets them apart. Their faces look identical, so far as he can tell, and they both look like Ventus. But neither of them dresses in a black coat like he does.

As much as it disquiets people, he's come to think of it as a way to make the difference obvious to others, even if he thinks that contrast is clear. His perspective on this confused even the other Roxas]

I'm okay. What about you?

[pure_radiantics]

[ That makes her frown slightly. ]

I still wish I could call you something so you'd know I was talking to you.

[ She rubs at her arm. ]

Not... my former god, but you. Even if we don't know each other that well... but I don't know what I'm allowed to ask you either.

Re: B

[pure_radiantics]

Oh, would you?

[ Kairi presses her hands together in excitement, rather than raising her voice in the library. ]

I read that book another time I was in here, but it wasn't nearly so high up the last time I found it.

[ As he pulls the book down for her, she gets a better look at his face. ]

Ah - we haven't met before, have we? I'm Kairi.

[ She used to introduce herself with her title and temple affiliation, but right about now it's still sad to flip to the 3rd title change. ]

[pure_radiantics]

Ah! It's okay, it's okay!

[ Her hands come up a little wildly, trying to lower her expectations. ]

I only know one song spell right now! So I'm sure it's fine! Even if he knew the same spell I do and that's it, I'd really appreciate having a mentor again, to tell me what I could to make song spells more effective in general.

[ She looks a little sad. ]

I miss Kazuma and Yukine, you see... did you ever get the chance to meet them?

[cloak]

Former god?

[What does she mean? Was the other Roxas...?

Well, no matter, he supposes]

I don't know much about myself, other than my name. It'd be strange, being anything else but Roxas.

[Not anyone, but anything, not that he thinks about his particular choice of words in this moment]

Their light is different from mine, and from each other. Just like it's different from yours.

[He lifts a gloved hand, pointing toward her heart. Her light is as clear to him as Ain's darkness is, more so than with most others. How odd]

[pure_radiantics]

[ Kairi was expecting them, so she met them on the lawn of Odin's Temple with an enthusiastic wave. ]

Chris! Hi there!

[ It was a huge castle, but there was still a nice lawn that Kairi could greet them at and walk with them up the grounds. ]

And this must be your shinki. My friend Joy is waiting for us just inside. We'll be able to talk in one of the side rooms or we can go out back to the gardens if you like?

[hypomeneo]

[Thank all that is holy for that. Waver doesn't at all for multiple reasons and honestly the whole damn thing grates.]

Oh.

They need better organization in here. I've found everything but what I'm looking for.

[Waver danger #1: Bitching TM. About harmless things (mostly) but he can and will go on tears to release some steam if prompted. He pluck the book off the shelf to hand it to her. This is Kairi? Ginia mentioned her and Chikusa as the resident spell casting experts for shinki magic.

... maybe she'd have an idea where to look for the root of all the magic running around here.]

And... no, no I don't think so. Waver Velvet. Nice to meet you.

Re: A, April 14, midday-ish?

[pure_radiantics]

[ Lucky for Obi, because they aren't very good friends, even if she did notice a slight dip in his mood, she wouldn't prod him too hard. ]

Oh you don't have to call me 'Miss'!

[ She's blushing at the complimentary formality, though. ]

Bind seems to be the best one. It's what I was taught first, and when I've been teaching other people, they seem to get it easily! It has a nice visible effect on your target - but it actually uses the same hand gesture as Borderline, so you're in luck! A lot of spells do, but Bind is one of them.

[unlucky7]

I'll definitely speak to Aomi then. He's very kind, I think you'd like him.

[All of his shinki are fairly likable and not only because she's biased. But Aomi is sensitive and kind and feels like him and Kairi would be kindred spirits.

As for her question, Ginia shakes her head.]

I've heard of them from a few people, but never had a chance to meet them. What were they like?

no prob

[pure_radiantics]

[ She knows how it is in that it's the kind of spell you hope you don't get any practice with, and yet need to know how to participate in just in case. For the sake of your friends. Yeah, she gets it. ]

Wow! You know so many spells now, D2! We know almost all of the same ones.

[ She presses her fingers together in excitement - an absent Naminé gesture, actually. ]

Have you heard anything about songs? As in - another type of spell, harder to cast? There's that and one other thing I'm thinking about.

[yasei]

But Miss Kairi, you're Miss Kairi.

[ He's more comfortable with that slight formality; only people that come off as rough people, shady people, and people who threaten to call him things like 'sir Caster escape the honorifics. (Though it's probably disrespectful to call the old gods things like Little Mister Ebisu and Little Miss Ammy.) ]

Bind? What's that like, does it create ropes that tie people up or does it tie people together until they get along?

[pure_radiantics]

Sorry, I thought you might've known about that.

[ She folds her hands across her waistline. ]

I used to live with Sora and Roxas in their joint temple complex... with all of their other shinki together, it was kind of like a big family.

[ And she really misses those days. Still, she reaches up one of her hands to where he's pointing, at her heart. ]

You're right, though. Just like I could never have mistaken Riku and Brandon even though they looked alike. I can tell things like that too, how someone's Light is different... and someone's Darkness too. That's saved me a couple of times now, and helped me find friends who were in trouble too.