01 | Video

[hisbabygirl]

Hello..?

[Have yourself a twelve year old girl testing the water on the shiny new thing and mumbling to herself a little as she does.]

...I hope I'm doing this right.

[Oh right. The people can hear her. Sarah takes a deep breath and gets to talking.]

I uh, gotta say, this is some real crazy stuff going on. I don't even know where to start makin' sense of any of it. The Kedan people, the ones that work here? I think they work here. Live here? I dunno. They explained a lot of stuff but I'm still trying to wrap my head around even being here.

[Sarah pauses. When she speaks again it's with a little less certainty.]

Do they ever make mistakes with who they bring here? I'm not sure I'm the monster fighting type.

[Not real ones anyway.]

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Re: video

[ixis]

[His ears flatten back. God, he gets this a lot.]

I'm a Mobian. A complicated one.

[If only text was viable for someone with a crab-hand. He'd get around this particular faux pas with a lot more grace.]

[hisbabygirl]

[...Oops. Sarah cringes and shuffles back to the console. Her expression is apologetic.]

Sorry! I'm really, really sorry. I've just never met anyone like you before so...

[Yeah she'll just that sentence trail off.]

But um. What were you saying?

[ixis]

[He huffs and his ears remain laid back like some kind of one-horned irritated cat for a good while. It's only midway through his fresh explanation that they go back to normal. As he talks, he gestures with his good hand.]

You are forgiven. I am not used to being amongst so many Overlanders myself, though I usually let it go without comment these days. I'm the odd man out, it seems.

As I had been saying, I've been investigating the summoning spell that calls us to this realm. I have been told that children being conjured is in error, as there is little you can offer in terms of war efforts. I have not had any manner of official confirmation on that just yet; this is gathered information simply from speaking to other foreigners such as you and I. Ones that have been present on the turtle longer.

[hisbabygirl]

[Determined to fix her error from before, Sarah holds to his each and every word. What she hears is a little worrying.]

So I'm a mistake then. Does that mean I'll be sent away?

[ixis]

Perhaps? Though the people who are returned seem to follow no discernible rhyme or reason. I have only been here a short while, but I have seen beings capable of much sent back with little warning.

[His ears flatten back again, the mage now frowning in thought rather than annoyance.]

Have they issued you a caretaker of any kind? You appear...young.

[hisbabygirl]

So anyone can get sent back? Do you think there's something they did to get sent away or is it just, I dunno, random?

[She frowns too. This is a lot to take in and a lot of thinking to be done. At his next question, she shakes her head.]

Nope. It's just me. Or I think it's just me. There's others in the area but I haven't met them yet.

[ixis]

I haven't the foggiest notion at this present time. If you want my professional opinion, I currently suspect shoddy spellcrafting. But time will tell.

[He's still frowning. He doesn't really get kids. Not in that he has no clue how to interact with them, he just treats them like smaller adults. Hence not scaling back his vocabulary, for instance. And the main kid he's had the most experience with was hardly ever face to face! Though that's kind of the case here too, so maybe he's doing better than he feels he is.]

I sssssuppose you have the network to fall back on if you are in any sort of need. I assume you have a better understanding of it than I do.

[hisbabygirl]

Spellcrafting? Like magic?

[She shouldn't be questioning this. Given all she's seen today, magic should be one of the more likely answers to what's going on.]

...Is magic real? Where you're from, I mean.

[And she nods.]

And yeah, I'm pretty good with computers and stuff. Not great, but I can use them just fine. They're pretty standard back home.

[ixis]

Yes, like magic. And yes, it is. I also happen to be the most proficient in it back where I come from, luckily for this turtle and its population.

[Oh good, an excuse to show off; his favourite! With a pointy-toothed grin, Naugus snaps his fingers, conjuring a levitating ball of flame in his palm. It swirls around his hand and soon breaks off into smaller licks of flame, which then solidify into chunks of stone. They continue to orbit his hand like a miniature solar system before he clicks his fingers again and they, in a puff of frost, all snap and shimmer into ice. Leaving them to rotate a bit longer, the mage finally ends the demonstration with a flex of his hand, the ice bits evaporating into steam near instantly.]

Just a small display, mind you. Parlour tricks, really. Just to reassure you that I'm hardly all smoke and mirrors in my claims.

[hisbabygirl]

[Staring. Staring forever. That is the coolest thing she has seen in the history of ever. Her mouth falls open in awe and when she speaks, there's no hiding she's both amazed and impressed.]

Whoa. That's... How did you learn to do that?

[ixis]

A great deal of study and forbidden knowledge, for the most part. Researching magicks is a bit of a passion of mine.

I pity your realm if this is the first you have ever seen any kind of spellwork! What a poor zone indeed if it is devoid of the arcane.

[hisbabygirl]

We sure don't have anything like that back home. I mean there's magicians and stuff, but it's all tricks. I don't think any of it is really real.

[Have yourself a small smile, Ixis.]

In any case, I'm glad we're on the same side.

[ixis]

Indeed, child! You have little to fear with one as magnificent as I, Ixis Naugus, defending this land.

[hisbabygirl]

[Quietly she repeats his name in a bid to commit it to memory.]

Thanks, Mr Naugus.

[Because manners are a thing she was raised with.]

This has all been a huge help.

[ixis]

Oh! I, er. Hhhhhh...

[He's actually taken aback for a moment! Being thanked and in such a sincere way? It catches him offguard! But he soon regains composure and dips his head in an improvised bow, smiling in a less toothy manner.]

The pleasure is mine, child.

[hisbabygirl]

[She smiles back, only to realize she hasn't actually introduced herself.]

Oh! My name's Sarah by the way. Guess I got caught up in the talkin' and forgot to say as much.

[ixis]

Hardly amiss, Ms. Sarah. You've found yourself in a trying situation, no doubt with a great deal on your mind. I was much the same when I was brought here.

[Probably a little more panicked violence in his case, but still! Naugus remembers that disorientation and confusion, feeling like you're always catching up with learning about this place and having to digest a lot of information in short time.]

Fear not; you will be safe here.

[hisbabygirl]

[She's glad to of met him, even if it's only through the network. Things may still be confusing and there's still so much to work out, but he's a stable point in the madness.

It's nice to know she's not alone. If they were face to face, he might even get hugged for saying what he just did.]

Thanks. I really mean that.

[There's one more question on her mind.]

Hey um, Mr Naugus? What sector are you living in?

video; (this interaction is so cute weh)

[ixis]

Hrm? The Earth sector. Unit-...? A moment, if you will.

[He rummages around his terminal for a moment, looking for something. He hisses in annoyance when it doesn't turn up immediately and he has to duck down out of sight to look under and around the area. Whatever he's seeking likely fell and now he has to do an undignified little hunt for it. He soon pops back up with a scrap of paper in hand, though! Must have been what he was looking for, as he squints and reads off whatever's on it.]

Earth sector, unit...EA-2D. There we are. I have a preference for such a malleable element, you see.

video; (guh i know right? ;w;)

[hisbabygirl]

[Sarah waits patiently, cringing and smiling and leaning to follow what he's doing without really realizing she's doing it.

When at last he appears, she takes a moment to write that down. Next she'll be digging out one of the pamphlets the Kedan gave her to find herself a map.]

That's not too far away!

[Kinda.]

I'm in the wood sector.

video; (i was not expecting this, but i accept it all the same.)

[ixis]

Well, there you have it! If you are ever in need, you know where to locate me. I suppose there are methods of contact with these infernal devices as well, but I confess a bit of a bias against technology. I use it only for lack of present alternatives.

[Mental note; gotta research more on magical terminal replacements.]

Who knows? Maybe in time, you could prove yourself worthy of being an apprentice of Ixian magic! You would not be the first I've taught.

video; (you and me both C:)

[hisbabygirl]

Whoa... You really think I could learn?

[Welp. Now she's hooked on that idea. At the least it'll be a distraction from all the bad that's happened, and even if she can't use magic, just learning about it sounds fun enough.]

I'm not from where you're from. Is it possible?

video; (this feels like a set-up for a ghibli film.)

[ixis]

I don't see why not. Your realm likely still has the elements, does it not? Fire, water, earth and air? That is the core of my teachings. My last apprentice became quite adept at air manipulation. Boy never seemed interested in applying himself further, but he tried. And I suppose that counts for something.

Barring that, I have other crafts that can be learned or granted. It might be good for one so defenseless to pick up.

...No offense. It's just that you are a very young Overlander.

video; (HAH! I'd watch the heck out of it.)

[hisbabygirl]

[Again, she brightens at all that's being said. He's got her full attention.]

Yeah, the elements are all the same.

[The thought of not being so helpless on this crazy turtle is a huge comfort. Sarah holds up her hands and shakes her head.]

No, no I'm not offended or anything. It's cool. I mean, I'm only twelve and this ain't a situation I ever thought I'd be in.

[Neither is the one back home. Sarah pushes the thought from her mind.]

video; (Makes me wish I could ape the style better to draw that.)

[ixis]

[Naugus tsks and his ears lay flat again, bugged once more by the reminder of kids being summoned here. Why! Why is that a thing. It's pointless and reckless. It HAS to be faulty spellcraft.]

Perhaps your arrival will help me determine why children and other non-combatants are drawn to this zone. But in due time. Rather, the time for adjustment is now. Welcome to Keeliai, Ms. Sarah.