[Action]

[ledbythewind]

[Anyone who happens to walk by on the road beside House 28 this evening will be treated to a rather unusual sight: a cloud of fireflies hovering around the front lawn, greenish-yellow lights flickering as they fly back and forth, following the movement of a tiny orb of light.

Closer inspection reveals the source of said orb of light as Richard, who is seated in the grass-- he's using a tiny bit of Hyt's power to combine with his own magic (the base for a Holy Lance, not that he's going to cast the entire thing), creating a soft white glowing sphere that hovers a couple of inches above his finger. As he moves his hand to trace mindless patterns in the night air, the orb follows it, and the fireflies follow that in a parade of blinking lights. Richard can't quite hide his amusement at this, reflected in the slight smile on his face. It may be an odd way to spend one's birthday, but to Richard, it's more than fine-- not that he doesn't appreciate what Asbel and the others have done for him. He just needs a little time to himself to unwind after all of that.

But if anyone wanders by, he'll be happy to converse with them. He wouldn't be in a public place if he didn't feel like talking to anyone, after all.]

Comments

[ledbythewind]

[Richard catches sight of Temari as he's tracing yet another pattern in the air; he pauses, then lifts his free hand in a careful wave to avoid disturbing the fireflies too much.]

Would you like a closer look?

[dangerouswind]

[Temari nods and returns the wave quietly.] It's pretty.

[ledbythewind]

Thank you. But I think most of the credit belongs to the fireflies.

[He sends the orb drifting over towards Temari on a slight breeze and the fireflies follow, trailing after it in a lazy parade of lights.]

[dangerouswind]

[Temari watches them with an amused expression, then turns her attention back to him.]

What is that?

[ledbythewind]

It's Filial magic combined with some of my own. I'm not sure which part is attracting the fireflies more, or whether it's just the light itself, but I haven't been able to shoo them off.

[Not that he really minds; they are quite pretty.]

[dangerouswind]

[It takes her a long moment to answer; she has to piece together what words she understood through reading his lips and, honestly, she's a little distracted by the fireflies.]

That all you do? Herd fireflies?

[ledbythewind]

That was more of an unintended side effect than anything else. To be honest, I can't exactly say I mind. It's certainly an interesting new title to add to my repertoire.

[dangerouswind]

Well then, firefly herder, what's your next trick? [He may have noticed by now that she's watching him rather intently. She doesn't turn away when he speaks.]

[ledbythewind]

[Richard has indeed picked up on this fact, but he hasn't noted it as unusual just yet. As far as he can tell, she's just fascinated by the fireflies.]

Let's see...

[With a slight wave of his other hand, he creates another ball of light in that hand; some of the fireflies notice it and move over to hover around it, and when they do so, he moves it away, causing them to chase after it. Now he's got two groups of fireflies, and he draws a different pattern in the air with each hand for them to follow.]

[dangerouswind]

[Her smile is pleased, amused.] Impressive.

[ledbythewind]

[He smiles in return, pleased that she seems to be enjoying this.]

Thank you. I'm really just making it up as I go along.

[dangerouswind]

[She shrugs.] Best way to do it.

[ledbythewind]

[... Richard, where are your manners, you should know better than this.]

Forgive me; I should at least introduce myself. I'm Richard. And you are.