[Time: Sometime after Nazi Germany world, but before the crew heads off to their next mission.] [Place: In the sanctuary. Probably Yoshiko's room, as she's not really going to go out of her room to teach something. Her room is actually pretty colorful: the walls are lined with wooden shelves, and her bed's in the corner. Small glass prisims line the single desk in the room, and there are a few books in the room as well: It looks like there is room for a lot more, but there hasn't been time to fill the shelves.] [Beyond that, Yoshiko's sitting at the desk, reclining in the chair in ways the chair wasn't ment to bend in: it's a miracle it hasn't fallen apart yet. Her apron is hanging to the side, but other than that she's sleeping from how the book is positioned on her face and her relaxed posture.] [Start away!] * Chess peeks her head into the room. Her hair's tied up into a ponytail and she's wearing a too-large T-shirt and faded jeans. "Yo-shi-ko~," she sings as she looks in. "You awake?" * Yoshiko apparently isn't, but Yuki is. You can see the rabbit ears perk up from on the desk. The rabbit looks at Yoshiko for a few seconds, and then Yoshiko startles and falls back on her chair. "I didn't blow up the dog, honest!" * Chess walks in and leans over Yoshiko's fallen form. "Oh yeah? Then who did?" she laughs. Chess holds a hand out to help her up. * Yoshiko rubs her head. "Oooow. Thanks." She takes the hand and gets up. "The cat. Obviously. I always knew that thing was evil." * Yoshiko is dressed in a simple, short dress and blouse. She smiles at Chess. "So what can I do you for?" I'd like to see the cat that can blow up a dog. Oh, right! I was wondering if you were up for a magic lesson. If you'd rather nap in precarious positions, though, I'll bow out. * Yoshiko brusher herself off. "Oh, magic? Sure! I can teach you all kinds of magic. Even how to pull a rabbit out of your hat!" Yuki stares at Yoshiko at that comment. "Aheh, well. Or I could teach you some more mundane kinds." * Yoshiko motions, and a plush rug pops out of the floor. She sits down on it and pulls out a deck of cards. "So what would you be wanting to learn? And before you ask, I'm not well versed in necromancy... although I do know a thing or two, it's just something I don't really work with." * Chess sits down on Yoshiko's bed and pulls out her notebook from nowhere. "Whatever you think is best would be great. My knowledge is totally theoretical and out of my cousins' old textbooks. Dad's not- wasn't-" She looks conflicted for a moment, then shakes her head. "I wasn't allowed to learn anything at home." Hmmmm... Well, first, you need a source for your power. It has to be something you believe in, or you have a lot of, or have an affinity for. Examples? * Chess is writing down everything Yoshiko says in her notebook as they speak. * Yoshiko smiles. "I use light. Although my M-form also uses Luck. Yuki knows some magic as well, and she uses luck for that." * Yoshiko shuffles the cards. "I think my mother used love for her magic. Love and the stars." Well... I like cats, obviously. And zombies, also obviously. Friend of my aunt's has a zombie cat, that's how I got interested in necromancy. I like... the number two. That's, uh... that's a start. * Chess shrugs. "Sorry, my interests don't really run to things or... concepts, I guess. I really like learning about magical rituals and how everything's put together. They can be very tidy." * Yoshiko hmmms. "Unfortunately, we don't have a cat here. Otherwise I could help you out with that. Still..." * Chess smiles. "I believe in my family. I also have a lot of them. Does that help?" * Yoshiko laughs sheepishly. "Oh, nonono. I'm just thinking. Most of the people who know magic from where I am are youkai who have a very strong affinity to their element. Like a kitsune using illusions, or a spider youkai using traps." I think cats might be the way to go about this. Unless you're unnaturally lucky, or know a lot about something. Or... you know. Not any more or less lucky than anyone else, I think. And I don't know that much out of the ordinary, except from stories my family tells. * Chess frowns. "I don't know why Zomegar picked me out of the lineup, actually. I'm not terribly useful outside of the powers he gave me, and whacking people with tonfa. And some knowledge of necromantic rituals." * Chess 's face brightens. "I know it's frowned upon, necromancy I mean, but I really love zombies. They're so -interesting-, and -unique-." * Yoshiko sighs. "Same reason he picked all of us. I mean, look at me. I mean, sure I know magic and how to throw some lasers, but there are many much more powerful than I from where I'm from." * Yoshiko makes a face. "Well, if you REALLY want to play with it, I'm not going to stop you, but I really can't help you." I know. I'll try to tone it down. Also, my experience with the undead tends to be with ghosts. Not zombies. Ghosts are much more... well, likable. * Chess blinks. "But they have personalities, and don't do as they're told. And they're kind of limited in what they can do physically." Yeah, the personality thing is pretty awesome. And they just kinda chillax, you know? Hang out, drink some te- wait, what do you mean limited physically? I mean, other than the no legs thing. That can be creepy. Oh. Well it's not like I want zombies for conversation partners, there's living people for that. Zombies are for fighting without risking yourself or your own people, or for spying, or suicide bombs- well, I guess it's not suicide if they're already dead. Well, they're not corporeal. That's got to limit them some ways, right? Kinda? They're pretty corporeal usually, if they're capable of taking a humanoid form. Really? I haven't met one, so I was just going by what I'd heard. Oh. Maybe that's different where you come from? But most people don't like it when their friends or loved ones come up to defend other people. Leaves a bad taste in their mouth, you know? And you gotta find corpses too. Most people where I'm from creamate the dead. It could be different between worlds. And most people get buried when they die where I'm from. Well, in Europe, I can't speak for other cultures. Hey, you're also forgetting what it's like for the ghosts. They don't like it when their bodies move without them. What about the ones whose souls have already moved on? It sounds like ghosts are really common where you're from. They are. Kinda. * Yoshiko has quit IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer) * Yoshiko has joined #MCDC (Yeck. Short recap?) [22:21] It sounds like ghosts are really common where you're from.[22:26] They are. Kinda.[22:26] *** Yoshiko has quit IRC: Read error: Connection reset by peer[22:28] *** Yoshiko has joined #mcdc (The magic lesson has turned into a ghost v. zombie discussion!) (Yes it has!) It depends on where you are. I mean, the underworld IS a place you can go where I'm from. So meeting dead people isn't too hard if you know the right person. I don't know about the underworld, or even heaven, but there's definitely a hell where I'm from. But as for ghosts, like I said, I've never even seen one before. * Yoshiko mmms. "Well, I could teach you about ghosts, or I can teach you about magic." She smiles. * Chess waves her notebook with a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Magic, please." Okay. Well. I think you've got something for cats. That'd probably be the best place to start, so you need to find how to focus that. Do I just... think about them, or think about being one? * Yoshiko waves her hand dismissively. "Either one would work, just let me know what you're trying." I'll think about being one, without actually shifting. * Chess lets her legs dangle off the side of the bed, closes her eyes, and thinks. * Yoshiko hmms. "Okay. This is going to be a lot like meditation, but... a little different." She takes a blank card out - it's fairly large and thicker than a basic playing card, but not so large as to require more than one hand to hold it comfortably, nor shuffle it. * Chess 'hms' and opens her eyes again. * Yoshiko glances up at Chess. "Keep at it. First think about the cat, being a cat. Can you do that?" Sure. Should I keep my eyes open? It would probably help you concentrate if you didn't. * Chess closes her eyes again, then. * Yoshiko starts a few etches into the card, which glow briefly but fade, and then the card starts to make a few impressions on itself. "As a cat, you find a sunbeam. What do you do with that as a cat? Don't respond to me, just mentally exercise yourself to do it." * Chess imagines finding a sunbeam, lazing in it, stretching out into the sunlight. * Yoshiko motions, and the impressions get deeper. "Feel the sun on your fur, and through the paw pads of your feet coming from the floor. Smell the air, stretch your claws. What is that? Do you hear something? Smell something? Some sort of prey perhaps? Perhaps you should investigate." * Chess thinks about a lizard skittering nearby. She wouldn't want to leave the sunlight, though, would wait to see if the lizard would come closer. When it doesn't, she imagines getting up quietly and stalking the lizard. * Yoshiko mmms. "It doesn't seem to notice you, skittering back and forth. You must be careful, for any moment it may turn around, and you'll lose your chance. But wait, it looks like it's worked itself into a corner..." * Chess nods. Stupid lizard. She stays back in her imagination, crouched down, waiting for the right moment to strike. It stops to turn around. If you want one more moment, it'll be too late, but right now you have a chance to strike and deal with it. Feel that exhiliration and take it. Take that thought and execute, savoring that hunt. And don't let go of it. * Chess thinks about her body as a cat, how it would be tensed and coiled. She imagines the feeling of freedom as she leaps forward onto the lizard, the satisfaction when she traps it under her paws. As instructed, Chess tries to hold onto the feeling, the joy and smugness that comes with catching her prey. * Yoshiko nods as the impressions take themselves in the card. She takes a quill and quickly, but delicately, etches over the indentations on the card, a stylized cat on the front. Surrounding the cat in the borders, a small set of four runes glow, and then fade. A few seconds after it is complete, Yoshiko nods. "Okay, you may stop now." * Chess opens her eyes, her expression calm and a little happy. * Yoshiko picks up the card and hands it to Chess. "This is your first spell card. The way I learned magic, you use spell cards to focus your spells. Although you can use other focii, or none at all for practiced spells, it is easiest with a focus such as this." * Chess takes the card and examines it. "That's really cool. How do I use it?" You need to execute that exercise you just did, but faster and with more intensity. * Chess flips the card over. "So, practice. I can do that." * Yoshiko snaps and a small tome poofs on the floor. Actually, that's something kinda odd about Yoshiko's books. They're all leatherbound or 'naturally' made. She hands this one to Chess. "This is an easy guide to help you focus your mind, as well. Magic is more in the mind than in the body." * Chess takes it and flips through it, just glancing at a few pages. "Can I take this back to my room?" Now... I don't know what you just learned will really do. Only you know that. * Yoshiko giggles. "Sure, I could just make more!" I'm already pretty good at it. That's why I can do what I do. Is this what you used to do for a living? It's really interesting. * Yoshiko nods. "Well... I ran an apocathery for a living. But this is what I really did, I hunted Youkai and tried to keep the peace. When they did something too weird, anyways." An apothecary sells potions, right? Or medicines? What, you mean like when one decided they should flood the world because they were thirsty? And you showed them there was a well beneath their feet? Yes. To all of that. * Chess starts off with a giggle, but it leads into laughter pretty quickly. "Se-seriously?" * Yuki nods. "You should have SEEN the look on her face! And then she asked if we could go talk to her friend who was making a desert because her oven wouldn't start." That's excellent! Are all youkai like that? * Yoshiko thinks. "Mostly. They can be serious, and a lot of them are nothing more than beasts, but the powerful ones are usually kinda... well, there. I think they're bored most of the time." Were you happy? I was... * Yoshiko sighs. "I was satisfied. Nothing ever really changed. It hadn't for a thousand years, and it was going to stay that way for a thousand more." It was nice just to relax under a tree, read a book, and drink some tea with some friends. How about you? Were you happy? Nope, not at all. * Yoshiko frowns. "Aww, why not?" * Chess splays her fingers across the cover of the book she's holding. "Dad was against me making friends, wanted me to study all the time, got angry if I went to see my aunt and cousins. School was... well, I died when a classmate brought a gun in, so that's how school was." * Yoshiko makes some pockey and holds the open box to Chess. Guns don't look that dangerous. They're just really loud. Did I miss something with them? * Chess takes a few pocky sticks and grins. "I still miss Dad, and the rest of them, but I'm happier here. I wish I could tell them I'm okay. Dad's got a bad track record with family dying." They shoot small metal projectiles at a really high speed. Go through the skin, puncture organs. Nasty things. * Yoshiko takes a pocky and munches on it. "Oh, hmm. That would be bad. Now that you mention it, I hope my dad's all right. I hope he wasn't caught in the explosion." Is that how you died? Some youkai tried to use you for fireworks, maybe? * Yoshiko shakes her head. "Nah, I don't think it was that. I was doing some experimenting in the lab and, well... One wrong mixture and kaboom." Or did something knock me out and knock over some beakers... Something like that. I don't remember exactly, I just know there were some explosions and I hit my head and I'm here. I wonder how everyone else went out... I bet Raxa went down fighting like anything. You'd be surprised. I mean, you'd think I'd be killed fighting, wouldn't you? * Yoshiko shrugs. "That's how I figured it'd happen. One day a Youkai would get careless, or not follow the rules and blip. that's it." I never really thought about dying. I always figured... you know, I'd take my A-levels - that's, um, advanced levels general education certificate, or something - and then I'd go to university, as long as Dad kept funding me. The extent of my child rebellion has always just been running off to Auntie's. Who was your Auntie? You said she knew about magic? * Chess 's entire face lights up. "Auntie Alys. She's saved the world once- well, my world, I guess. She just took time off work when she was a little older than me and started fighting evil supernatural things. She knows all kinds of stuff, and lots of really neat people. I told you she has a friend who's a necromancer, and she's friends with a faerie, and a really amazing wizard." She doesn't know magic, per se, but her two eldest went to a magical school, and they left a lot of their textbooks and things behind when they left home. Wow. That must be really amazing. Yeah. Dad can't stand her. But my mom's dead, so... I've got her, and Dad. What's your family like? Well... I just had my father. He was really reasonable, if overprotective. Mom left when I was... five or six, I think? She just walked away, said she had some business to take care of, and never came back. She was also a magician, and very powerful at that. She didn't teach me magic, but helped me apprentice to someone who would. At six? * Yoshiko sighs. "I miss Imaoka-sensei. If I listened I probably wouldn't have made the mistake that killed me." * Yoshiko nods. "Mom was... busy from what little I remember. She wasn't home much." Family's difficult, no matter where you're from. I think it was the village, though. They didn't take very kindly to travelers, and that's what my mother was. * Chess shrugs and runs a finger on the edge of her card. "Family's difficult," she repeats quietly. She smiles up at Yoshiko. "Thank you so much for helping me. It means a lot." * Yoshiko smiles and lies on her back on the floor with Pocky in her mouth. "No problem. Just don't make me regret it. You need to practice a lot to make it work." I will. Not like we have much to do between missions anyway. Sooooooo truuuuuue. Right? This place needs a library. Maybe I can convince Jack to get books from somewhere. * Chess stands with the book and card. "I'm out and back to my room to practice, then. See you in a few hours?" See you in a 'bit. And yeah, totally needs more books. (Done?) (Done!) [Session done!]