ledbythewind | [Action]

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[Richard is up early this morning, out and about before most of the rest of the household is even awake. He's not about to let his odd sensitivity to any sort of wind stop him from getting things done-- instead, he simply bundles himself up until he looks more like a walking pile of coats and scarves than anything else before making his way in to the center of town for a shopping trip. Of course, the downside of said bundle of outer layers is that it's a bit hard for him to see, meaning that he might occasionally stumble into people or objects before he even realizes it...

His first stop is the grocery store, where he can be found consulting a list and selecting ingredients. Okay, maybe making a black forest cake is a bit ambitious on his end, but he wants to give it a shot anyway. It SOUNDS delicious, if nothing else.

Then he heads to the item store to grab a few more things, even though he'd already picked out his main present some time ago. Perhaps a new toy for Tiger Festival as well...

Of course, then he realizes that his recipe calls for cherry liqueur, which requires a stop by Good Spirits to pick some of that up.

Finally, he heads back home to House 28, where housemates will find him in the kitchen baking something that smells very delicious and very chocolatey. The end result may be a little lopsided and the frosting job definitely leaves something to be desired (maybe he should've whipped that whipped cream a bit more, it seems a little runny), but at least it smells good?]

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[Richard's reaction is more instinct than anything else-- he takes that yelp to be a cry of pain rather than surprise and thus immediately calls up Sona's power to launch a small wave of water at Isamu with the intent of dousing that flame before it can cause him further harm.

Of course, it's a little too big to be all that precise, so Isamu's hand won't be the only thing getting soaked here...]

[...Aaaand Isamu is now drenched.

The fire is out, but who can say if it's the shock or the water that did it. He blinks, staring dully at Richard.

He supposes he should be grateful?]

[Whoops. Well. At least Isamu is in one piece and no longer on fire. That's a good thing, right?]

... are you all right?

I think it's out.

[So deadpan.

He looks down at his hand. It's a little pinkish, but otherwise not burnt too badly.]

Here, let me.

[He lifts his own hands up to Isamu's, and within a few seconds the familiar glow of Nala's healing will issue from them.]

I'm sorry-- perhaps we should have taken this in stages instead.

Tch...

[He lets Richard heal him, frowning the whole time.]

What stages? Neither of us know symbology.

Starting with something less dangerous than fire, for example.

[Isamu's frown matches Richard's own. Yes, it's a good thing that Isamu can tap into his powers now, but that was hardly the result he had been expecting.]

If you suggest I try healing again, I swear to god...

[He sighs.]

Fire is the only thing I've been able to do! I mean. Yeah, I guess it was the first thing I tried...

What about light? I seem to recall you being able to make a successful pact with Hyt. That isn't something most people here are capable of-- you should take advantage of that fact.

Isn't this completely different, though?

[He frowns, creating a ball of light in his hands with Hyt's magic.]

Why would I try and mix the two?

Different or not, it means you have an affinity with light. Hyt doesn't agree to teach just anyone, you know. Even I had difficulty convincing him to work with me.

I don't see why that affinity wouldn't extend to symbology as well.

Because they're... separate things...?

[Yeah, he doesn't know either.]

But I'd have to start from scratch. I haven't worked with it at all using symbology yet.

You haven't tried it at all?

[He's curious. He'd thought Isamu would've given it a shot.]

Well... no.

[He rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck.]

I guess I wanted to try going for the stuff the spirits wouldn't let me do already, you know?

The stuff you think the spirits won't let you do already.

[Because he very firmly believes that Isamu is capable of a lot more if he just puts his mind to it.]

You made a pact with the most difficult spirit to work with. There are people who have been here for years and still haven't managed to do that much. I'd say that means you have more potential than even you realize.

Or maybe it just likes my eyes.

[Blandly. Then he sighs again.]

I still don't know what to do, or what spells should come naturally. [He holds his hands out at his sides, exasperated.] I can't just start, I dunno, calling down rays of light or anything.

[As he says this, a single light beam zaps the ground near his feet.]

[Richard has his mouth open to say something when that sudden ray of light striking the ground makes him jump.

He looks at Isamu...

... then down at the ground...

... then back at Isamu again.

And then he starts laughing.]

You can't, can you?

[Isamu stares at the ground where the ray had hit with a baffled expression.]

... That was a fluke.

[He's not even sure how it happened.]

A successful fluke. I'd say that's proof of what I've been saying.

Do you know how you managed it?

[He'd clearly done SOMETHING right.]

No? I dunno. I was just thinking about what sort of spells an element like light might be able to do that didn't involve illusions.

More than you might think.

O divine spear...

[And he shifts, settling himself into a casting position while he charges up one of his own spells. This one is a particularly involved spell, meaning that it takes several seconds to prepare, and for a moment it will look like nothing is happening.]

... run my enemy through!

[Then, with a wave of his hand and a cry, he unleashes it on empty air a good ten feet away from them both.]

Holy Lance!

[Now, what was that again, Isamu?]

[For his part, Isamu just watches the spell go with a light frown.]

... It isn't really necessary to say stuff with it, right? I mean, I'm not sure I'm feeling the whole invocation thing.

[Smiling, Richard lowers his arm.]

Not unless you want to. I find it adds a certain flair to the spells.

[Translation: he just wants to make them sound all dramatic.]

Oh it adds flair, alright.

[A certain flair that he could do without.]

I just think yelling out the name of an attack lets the enemy know what's coming, and that gives them too much of a chance to prepare a counter.

Can you just think it in your head? Like what was it I said before...

[Something about rays, wasn't it? At that thought, another two light beams strike down. More than one, because he's a little more focused.]

[Richard's eyebrows go up, and then he smiles again. Yes, Isamu is making excellent progress so far, more than even he'd been expecting.]

You can do whatever you like as long as you don't interrupt your concentration. That is the most important part of using magic-- you need to focus enough to be able to prepare the spell. However, it can make casting difficult if the battle is a particularly hectic one.

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