daughterofursa | Sol Raveh IC Contact

* i am a weiner

[The message was received by an unknown number.]

[ There's a picture of one of those stone couches here. ]

* see that anywhere?
* need you to test something. for science.
* but mostly to save your lives.

Yes I see it. why?

* time for a leap of faith, buddy. use the fast travel system.
* sit on it and think of the couch near the bridge. REALLY think of it.
* then say bridge, ok? fighting for your life's gonna kill your concentration so make sure you're not being attacked.
* tell someone else in your group what to do and get outta there.

Nothing. Trick to activate?

* nope.
* find a switch that opens up another room before you get flooded with that black stuff?
* beats me buddy.

Edited 2016-03-14 14:45 (UTC)

Working on it. See you soon.

[At some point in the afternoon, a mysterious package is left outside Zuko's door, without knock or notice. It's wrapped in plain, brown paper, in stark contrast to the colorful red ribbons typing everything together. The ribbons culminate in an ornate bow fashioned on the top, and slid between it and the box a notecard can be found.

On the front of the notecard is a (poorly) hand-drawn picture, featuring what looks to be a stick figure Santa Claus and a sleigh of presents.

For some reason, the sleigh is drawn by dogs instead of reindeer.

Stopped at a fork in the road before a sign pointing in many directions, Stick Figure Claus scratches his head and staring at the sign with question marks surrounding his head. Did I make a wrong turn somewhere? his word bubble says, in neat and legible handwriting.

Beneath the drawing, a message is printed in bold letters.

MERRY (BELATED) CHRISTMAS]

[Inside the package, Zuko will find a pair of fingerless, leather gloves inscribed with sigils, along with a note.]

Zuko,
Please find enclosed these leather gloves. As practically the only other person in this castle as driven as I am to win this war, I thought you might appreciate a gift that serves a functional purpose. For comfort and ease of wear, these gloves aren't bulky, but I've enhanced them with reinforcement magecraft. You'll find them incredibly durable even under trying circumstances.

With the physical demands some puzzles present, I figured they'd be perfect, no?

—Rin Tohsaka

[It might be belated, but the gift comes at a good time for Zuko. Her last mission, while technically successful, didn't exactly bolster her spirits. Rob's been laid up in the infirmary ever since, and only after did she learn with certainty that Essei disappeared. Both of them were her responsibility, so of course she's been blaming herself.

At first, she even reads something sarcastic and cutting into Rin's note. Sure, she's "driven," so much so that she lets the people around her be expendable.

She reads it again. Rin wouldn't mean that, that's just Zuko letting her mindset twist things around. Christmas was months ago and Rin still thought to get her a present. A reminder that other people don't see her the way she sees herself. Rin still thinks well of her.

Does she mention any of that? Of course not.]

Thanks for the gloves.

[Reading a certain book she found amongst her things, lying in bed on her stomach, Rin startles when her cell phone chirps at her hip. Ugh. I'll never get used to that... Closing the book shut around a bookmark made of pressed flowers, she blindly fumbles until she finds the phone, turning about to sit upright.

Her irritated grumblings about technology come to a stall when she sees the text message, replaced with a happy smile. Trust Zuko to be thoughtful enough to thank her promptly.]

What do you think? Do you like them?

Yeah. You said there's magic in them?

That's right. Although it would be more accurate to say the gloves were shaped BY magecraft, rather than have it in them. Think of it like a craftsman's tool.

I didn't know you could do that.

[Oh, it never came up? Rin could have sworn it did during the food shortage, when she used it on their food, but maybe she never mentioned it by name, or explained how it worked... Actually yes, that's probably exactly what happened, it's not like a non-mage would get it.]

I can do that with it and much more. It's one of my most versatile spells.

[Be careful, Zuko, if you keep asking she might just nerd out on you. SHE LOVES MAGECRAFT, SOB.]

It has limits, doesn't it?

[Zuko usually doesn't ask about magic, because when she does, she never gets it. Magic is weird.]

With time and constant use, it will wear down. Aside from being impressively durable, however, they're just normal gloves. They're not going to stop a bullet or put out fires or anything.

[Uh. Well the fires generally are not a problem.]

Are there things that stop bullets?

[TOUCHE.]

There are, but they aren't good for wearing on your hands. The materials are too stiff.

Just curious. My world didn't have bullets.

Lucky.

[Bullets and other modern weaponry are often the bane of magi, who are ill-prepared for defending against that type of warfare. Used to the way magi fight one another, to a mage, any other kind of conflict is unexpected.]

Maybe. We had plenty of other dangers.

[...and they probably would have gotten to bullets, eventually. She doesn't have the optimism required to believe otherwise.]

Oh, no doubt.

[Zuko comes from a world where people can bend the elements, after all. That's a beast of combat that's simpler for Rin's mage sensibilities to accept that still offers a unique threat, in its roots in martial arts. It's naturally more efficient than elemental magecraft as well, in terms of raw power. Rin imagines then that the ways you could take it to the next level would be extraordinary, not to mention what other applications could be done with it.]

Do the gloves not suit you then? You said you liked them, but I can modify them if they meet your standards.

[Rin thinks she doesn't appreciate them?]

No they're good. Thanks.

[The voice comes monotone, but in a rush; a trait of someone who's exhausted but wired, and determined to see something through.]

Zuko-san. It's Leonardo. I've got a casualty report.

[Casualty report? He's reporting them to her? All right. Let's brace ourselves for more bad news.]

What happened? Do you need help?

I was out on a patrol with Rin Tohsaka. We suspected the Queen might start trying to take areas back... and we were right. Rin and I were attacked by shadows. We got separated, and she...

[A pause.]

They turned her into one of them.

[Not Rin. Rin is one of the most capable people here, they can't afford this. Zuko should have--

She takes a steadying breath. Don't jump straight to blaming yourself. That's not useful.

Leonardo's pretty new, he might not know how this works.]

That's... happened to people before. It's not permanent.

[If the significant pause on Leo's end is any indication, he hadn't known that at all. His voice remains tight, though the sharpest edge seems to be gone.]

I see. Still... is there anything we can do?

I don't know of any way to "cure" it, if that's what you mean.

Sol Raveh IC Contact

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March 6

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march 18; late (voice)

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