dead to the power of two | OPEN

[runeing]

Who: celen's boys (aka charles and viktor), you?
Where: viktor's lab, lupin, the farm
What: viktor finally loses the battle against his illness and comes back. meanwhile, charles is learning magic (badly).
Warnings: death and dying, mentions of child abuse



PROMPTS IN COMMENTS.

▷ charles.
▷ viktor.

Comments

magic practice ▷ OTA

[incorrigibles]

[ this particular day finds charles at the farm — he is done volunteering for the day, and instead sits there in the middle of the field, heedless of the cold february weather. in front of him is a large tome that, when he lifts it up, one might see reads major arcana ii at the back. ]

No, [ he mutters, ] Nope, that's not it. Hold on, let me try this again —

[ who is he talking to? apparently the sheep who is hanging out nearby, or maybe just himself. in any case, he starts to recite something — latin, perhaps, by the sound of it — and it makes a golden cord appear right in front of him... only, the cord lashes forward, twirls itself tight around his leg and tugs him until he falls flat on his face on the ground. then, it simply disappears in a flash. ]

... Ow. [ lifting his head, charles looks up and straight at one of the farm cats, sitting right there and looking at him. it makes a sound like prrr, and charles glares at it. ]

Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, furball.

[ and then, only just noticing you there, ] Oh. Uh, how long have you been there?

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal had been squinting for the most part. human magic is so odd sometimes. wands and books, staffs and rods. but then magic isn't an innate quality for them as it is with dragons. ]

Long enough, it seems, to be confused.

What are you doing?

[incorrigibles]

What does it look like?

[ he mumbles this not-actually-a-real-question in a somewhat petulant tone, like, yeah, he knows it looks bad, and the fact rafal has to ask is just more proof of that. he pushes himself up to a sitting position, and runs his hand through his hair before he actually answers, ]

Trying to learn magic. It's going... uh, reckon it's going pretty poorly, so far.

[nilhilistic]

What sort of magic was it?

[ it didn't look like anything he was familiar with. ]

[incorrigibles]

Uh, [ says charles, intelligibly, and looks down at the book, still open there on the ground in front of him. ]

The read-out-a-spell kind...?

[ yeah, this is his answer. it's a good thing he's only researching for a specific spell instead of broadly trying to learn, otherwise it might be bad times for aldrip. ]

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal gives him a flat look. ]

I meant, what were you attempting? Elemental magic? Conjuration? A tracking spell?

[incorrigibles]

Uh, [ charles repeats, and scratches the side of his neck. ]

I guess conjuration would be the closest to it? It's like a trap, sort of. Except it only seems to want to trap me and no one else.

[nilhilistic]

Because you are a ghost?

[ he's assuming. [

What are you trying to trap?

[incorrigibles]

Nothing, [ he sighs as he wipes a hand across his face, accidentally smearing some of the soil that stuck on his hand when he fell on his cheek. ]

I mean, I was trying a spell my best mate can cast back home, one that holds supernatural creatures in place... but since it's just tripping me up, I'm calling this a failure.

[nilhilistic]

[ hmm. ]

May I see?

[incorrigibles]

Yeah, please do.

[ he picks up the book and hands it to rafal — he will see that the text is mostly in latin, a spell to be recited, with emphasis on the right pronunciation and stress placed on words, the cadence of speech... none of which charles had exactly right. ]

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal obviously doesn't know latin, but he's read spellbooks. knows his letters. he flicks through the pages for a moment, thoughtful. ]

If this isn't the language you usually speak, then it might be a matter of intonation.

[incorrigibles]

Huh, [ says charles, and blinks — yeah, it's true, isn't it? when edwin's chanting, it sounds different than simply reading it all out. ]

You know what, you might have a point. I didn't think of that. Maybe I'll give it another go. [ though then he looks at rafal and grins sheepishly. ] Later? I don't want it to accidentally hit you.

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal waves off this concern. ]

I highly doubt it can do much to me.

But it's up to you.

[incorrigibles]

Right. Dragon, forgot.

[ alright, so he doesn't need to be concerned... so he might as well try again. this time, he tries to pay attention to the inflection, to the cadence of his voice — trying to mimic what he remembers edwin sounding like, not simply reading out the words.

and though it's still not a complete success, this time the golden cord appears and hovers in the air for a moment before coiling down and dropping, then disappearing in a flash.

charles whoops. ] That was brills! [ don't mind him as he bounds over to rafal to draw him into a side hug, ] Thanks, mate, that totally helped!

[nilhilistic]

[ rafal is so startled that he freezes. ]

What is this, what are you doing?

[incorrigibles]

[ oh, uh, did he fuck up, hold on, ]

It's... a hug? Well, not a proper one —

[ the logical next step is, of course, actually turning so he can pull rafal into a quick, actual hug.

he pulls back with a smile. ] That okay?

[bulleting]

[Caitlyn visits the farm often enough, thanks to it being the official lodging of her white chocobo, Toby. She used the lands near the farm for training, too, but today she's happily spending time riding the bird she doesn't spend nearly as much time with as she would like.

They've been riding for some time, but knowing the bird needed to rest and eat, they were trotting back towards the barn when she noticed a familiar face seemingly get...tugged into the air then fall flat onto his face?? Caitlyn raises a curious brow, bringing Toby to a stop a few feet away from the ghostly disaster.]

Long enough to see you face plant in the dirt. [Caitlyn fights back a smile. She would dismount and offer to help him up, but...ghost, yeah? Not much use in trying if her hand is going to go right through him.]

Are you alright?

[incorrigibles]

Great, [ says charles, in a despairing tone — played up just a little, though, because if she's going to laugh at him, he might as well lean into it. ]

I'm aces, except for the way my ego might never recover.

[ as he pushes himself up, he presses his hand on his chest like it hurts to say that... but he's also fighting a smile, now. ]

[bulleting]

[Caitlyn's not laughing!! At least, openly, anyway. She's trying her best to keep her smirks on the downlow!!]

Don't worry, your secret is safe with me.

[And likely Vi, if she's honest. There isn't much they don't share with each other, these days. He does appear to be okay, so there's that, at least.]

Does it-- how.. [She pauses, taking a second to formulate the words she's trying to find before she speaks again.] Do you feel pain? Since you're... dead, technically speaking?

[incorrigibles]

[ his grin, meanwhile, finally breaks through — he nods, then. ]

Counting on that, Cait. [ sorry, he's just absorbed the shortened version of her name from scott and vi... does he even remember it's not her full name? anyway, the question makes his smile dim but not disappear, as if to show her he's not at all offended that she's asking. ]

Nah, I don't. I mean, it's possible to hurt me with the right tools, but... normal stuff like this, no.

[bulleting]

[For a time, there really weren't many that even called her Cait. Her family was so proper, it was always full first names only. Then there was Jayce. He started the nicknames, then Vi walked into her life. Vi was the first step in opening up her world, and once they found themselves here, making a life for themselves, making friends, Caitlyn isn't very surprised that the nicknames have lasted. She quite likes it. It's proof of how much her world has changed.

She finally dismounts from her chocobo, grabbing his reigns and leading him closer. The chocobo tilts his head curiously at Charles and squawks, and quickly busies himself with poking at the ground.]

That's... fascinating. So specific items can affect your...aura? [She really has no idea what to even call his visual state. Because he's definitely there. And yet transparent enough to disappear through walls and be unable to drink.

There are spirits in Runeterra, and are a big part of Ionian culture and life, but she's mostly just heard those things in stories. She's never really witnessed them in her life, but that's hardly the same thing as what Charles was.]

[incorrigibles]

[ meanwhile, charles blinks at the chocobo — it's definitely not an animal found on earth... but that's maybe for later.

right now is for grinning at caitlyn as he nods. ]

Sort of, yeah. I mean, I do exist, just... uh, in varying degrees of corporeality?

[ as she has already witnessed in lupin, he can very much either pass through objects or touch them like he's fully corporeal. ]

[bulleting]

And yet, not enough for a drink?

[Look, Caitlyn hasn't forgotten his visit to the bar. She's thinking of ways to make that a possibility, but it does help, learning more about how it all works.]

Is it dependent on your circumstances? As in, where you are at the time? Or if you're around something particularly "spiritual"?

[She's genuinely curious how close this affliction relates to what she knows of spirits, okay!! But it was mostly lore from Ionia that her father told her, and she had no idea how much was truth and was what simply folklore.]

-- Sorry, if I'm prying. You don't.. have to answer. I'm genuinely curious. We have spirits in our world, but it's not such a common occurrence where I grew up.

[incorrigibles]

Yeah. Dumb, innit? Technically, I can eat, but it just all tastes like ash, so not much point to it.

[ he smiles at her as she's backtracking, trying to apologise for her curiosity — it's an easy thing, to shake his head. ]

Nah, it's fine. I don't mind. It's all about concentration. I can choose how corporeal I am, or how incorporeal. I could float up right now, and the only reason I don't is because I choose not to.