Active Magic (TatlTails and othyrworld)

"Aww, well thank you!" Jacqueline blushed, her feet kicking a bit in her seat. She really couldn't take a compliment... "I'll do my best. We might even need to use entirely different methods to enchant things depending on how our magic differs, but whatever the case we can figure it out together. Best way to try is to start, after all."

If Dagger could read Flora's mind, he would completely agree with her. He sorely missed the times when he didn't need to transform for weeks or months at a time, it had been far too long since he'd had even a day off from conversing with humans. Sometimes it wasn't so bad, but others... Well, at least this fairy knew when to end a conversation.
 
"Oh Definitely! You use that sing-y mermaid magic, but mine is way different. Maybe we can get Madi to weigh in with stuff. Potions and enchanted items are closer together than raw summoning and enchanting things. Even though I did get a potions lesson. I don't think that'll help me much though, I kept getting distracted." Sequoia stopped to take a breath and finished up her french toast. "When do you wanna start anyway?"

Flora smiled weakly and imagined the disasters that Sequoia could unintentionally start. She was definitely going to set something on fire. Sequoia always managed to set something on fire, although they might've gotten that out of the way already. The incident in the laundry room could keep Sequoia from being completely reckless with her magic. "Be careful while you enchant things. We don't want anyone to get hurt."
 
"Oh don't worry about that, Flora!" Jacqueline was quick to assure the fairy. "I'll make sure nothing too dangerous happens. Trust me, I have many a failsafe in my room. As experienced as I am, I know how easy it is for something to go wrong. So I'll do everything I can to keep us both safe. As for your question, Sequoia, we can start whenever you like."

"I c-can't t-today." Madi reluctantly spoke up, sparing a glance at Luke (poor guy was trying not to look tense, but she could see the worry in his eyes...) before giving the others an explanation. "I c-can't s-sit in. I've g-got a big p-project t-today. S-so..."
 
Flora nodded, feeling much more at ease now that she knew that things were in place. "Of course! It was more of a reminder to Sequoia than you, but thank you for reassuring me." She turned back to her food, ignoring the tongue Sequoia stuck out at her so she could concentrate on finishing breakfast. And concentrate on why Luke seemed kind of off. Her brain told her it was probably nothing, but her gut wanted her to investigate it because it was bored. Her gut sounded too much like Sequoia for her to completely delve into the idea right now, so she filed it away for later and dug into her french toast.

Sequoia was far less hesitant about listening to her gut, hence the reason why she asked: "Oh, what kind of project? Is it something magical? Something spooky?" before turning to Jacqueline and saying "How about tomorrow? I know I'm not doing anything today but I kind of wanna see what games you have around here because that's fun but doesn't take a bunch of teaching like knitting does."
 
"Tomorrow sounds perfect." Jacqueline replied, after giving Flora one more smile in response to her thanks. "It'll give me time to find everything we need."

"I c-can do that." Madi sighed softly. Whether it was from relief or more stress, she was not going to say. "T-tomorrow. Might be t-tired, but I can b-be there. G-gotta make a potion t-today. T-takes all day, g-gotta be ready by t-tomorrow."

Luke didn't jump into this conversation, instead just quietly eating his breakfast, but after Madi mentioned the potion, his head moved in the tiniest of nods. Just enough to seem like it could be a nod instead of a random motion.
 
Huh. Watching Luke quietly eat his breakfast and nod quietly to whatever potion Madi was making was lending evidence to the theory that something was weird. Now all Flora had to do was find out what exactly that was. This house was peaceful and lovely, and Flora didn't see much to be stressed about. There weren't any strange and terrifying creatures roaming the woods, no angry people screaming, no fear of being found by humans or bodily harm. So what could it be? Something related to him, probably. A personal problem.

Sequoia nodded happily, finishing up her thirds and deciding that she would get at least one more serving before she was done for the morning. Maybe two or three more. She was constantly surprised by how much food he could put down before she started feeling sick. "Sounds fun. We can put it off until later, Madi. If you wanna take a day-long nap or something... it's not like we're going anywhere. As long as that's okay with you Jacqueline."

She turned from the girls to Luke, who she realized had been oddly quiet. Maybe it was an off day for him. Those sucked, she made a mental note to give him a good hug before she left to check the closets for board games. "Hey Luke, can I get some fourths?"
 
Luke perked right back up when Sequoia asked for fourths, to maybe about 90% of the energy he'd had before breakfast. "Yeah, yeah!" He gladly told her, before taking her plate and filling it up like nothing was wrong. Getting out of his head had helped his mood more than anything since it had dipped.

"Anything's alright with me." Jacqueline informed Sequoia in the meantime, waiting for a quieter moment to do so. "I have plenty to keep me busy in the meantime."

"I'll b-be fine." Madi insisted, though she did insist weakly. "Y-yeah I'd like to t-take it easy t-tomorrow, but I can st-till do st-tuff. D-don't hold off j-just f-for me..."
 
But what kind of personal problems could he have? Oh. Yeah. He was a werewolf. He was transforming today- or tomorrow. If Madi had to make the potion today, he would probably use it tomorrow. Flora wondered why she hadn't considered it earlier and realized it was because the version of a werewolf in her head was nothing like Luke at all. Luke was sweet and kind of goofy and cooked all the time. Werewolves in her head were angry and cruel and... killed rabbits and ate them and stuff. She made a mental note to grow him something he'd like, although she didn't have the faintest clue what that could be.

Sequoia grinned when Luke got all cheered up and grinned even harder when she took in the glorious plate of food in front of her. "Thaks Luke! And thank you, Jacqueline. And don't worry about it Madi. Nobody's going to be mad if you need to take a day off. Self-care is important, yo." Flora snorted- Sequoia knew nothing about self-care- and Sequoia shot her a glare that made her quiet down, though an amused smile was still spread across her face.
 
Madi had to hold down a bit of a smirk herself at Sequoia's silly but well-meaning comments, and just replied "We'll s-see." She didn't want to hold up anyone's plans like that, especially when she wasn't going to be a main player in them. But doing any kind of magic for the majority of a day was draining, so she really might just be too tired the next day to play mediator to a magic lesson. The key word was might, so her decison and her declaration hitched on that.

Luke was just happy to give S'oya more breakfast. He was good at that, giving people food, and it made them happy. He liked that, making people happy and giving them good things. It made him feel better when he started getting scared, scared he could do the opposite. He was a good person, he did good things and made people happy. That was good, everyone was good...
 
Sequoia grinned and munched on her food, making some more concrete plans for the day. More than a dreamy idea that 'board games are fun' anyways because if Sequoia knew anything, she knew that she was going to get distracted by something weird or cool before she ever got around to what she wanted to do. Actually, that sounded kind of fun. It could spark an adventure or- at the very least- give her something really cool to do for a few minutes.

Flora was having similar thoughts, though she had decided to keep a loose schedule instead of letting herself be flung around by chance. Board games could be fun, just as Sequoia had suggested, but she also wanted to grow something for Luke, grow some new flowers for herself, and meditate a little. But what would Luke want? Maybe something he could cook with. Something like carrots or potatoes or spinach, but less common. Something he couldn't get from a grocery store. "Luke, is there anything you... anything you'd like to cook but don't have ingredients for?"
 
"Ooo..." Luke had to think about that answer, the gears in his head spinning around in circles as he tried to find a good answer. So many foods, so many he had and so many he didn't... What'd he been wanting to cook lately?

"Oh, squash blossoms!" He remembered, hopping on his heels from the excitement of having an answer. "Y'can stuff 'em with stuff an' fry 'em an' they're really fancy but I can't find any squash blossoms. An' yuzus! I found some recipes from Japan tha' need yuzu juice but I can't find any yuzus anywhere. An', an' truffles! They're real expensive so I can't get any, but they're so cool an' fancy in stuff an' I always wanted'a try 'em! All sorts'a fancy foods, all over. Lo'ssa recipes. Why?"
 
"I wanted to grow something useful for you. I think I can do truffles and squash blossoms." Flora knew she could do squash blossoms because she could grow squash just fine. Truffles would be a little harder because she didn't really grow mushrooms, but she could probably find a book that explained what they were well enough that she could replicate them. Yuzu was a different story. She'd never even heard of it and had no clue how she could go about growing some, though it seemed like the uses for it were limited.

Sequoia was smiling at her food because it seemed like she and Flora had the exact same thoughts- Flora was just going about comforting in a very different way. Sequoia didn't have much to give but company and hugs and longwinded conversation, and Luke didn't seem the type who could keep up with all the questions she was going to ask. So hugs it was going to be. As soon as she finished this delicious food.
 
That lughtbulb went off slowly in Luke's head, the poor guy unable to even register what was being offered to him for a moment. But his eyes slowly lit up as it hit him, and his jaw dropped as he breathed "Really? Ya really gonna grow me squash blossoms an' truffles?! Real squash blossoms an' real truffles?!"

Luke's infectious joy filled the room, even getting all the way over to Madi. She couldn't help but smile at the touching gesture, especially because she knew as well as anyone how much he'd needed it today. Plus the fact that he might be getting a free supply of truffles (which were so expensive that he'd given up on asking the house for them after one refusal) was just the icing on the cake. If Flora could pull that off, a lot of the meals around here were about to get much fancier.
 
Flora smiled, glad she had offered the right kind of gift. Luke seemed so much happier, and that made her mood lighten considerably as well. Both because seeing people in a bad mood put her in a bad mood and because she had made Luke's day a little brighter. "Well, I can definitely grow you some squash blossoms right away, but it may take me a little while to find the right energy for truffles. I'll still be able to grow them for as long as I'm here once I figure it out, so don't worry about never getting any."

Sequoia had finished her food and decided that fifths would be a bit much. Even if she could probably eat at least three more servings. There was no need for her to be a pig in front of friends. Now she just had to wait until Flora was done, which shouldn't take too long. There were only a few squares of french toast left on her plate and she was done explaining the plants she could grow.
 
Luke was just nodding at everything Flora had to say, knowing he should be grateful for anything she was nice enough to give him. "It's okay, it's okay!" He made sure to tell her. "You don' gotta work too hard, don' work too hard at all! Promise. Anythin' you like's okay, I be happy any way, any way. Thank ya, Flora!"

Wow, he really was lucky. He'd found such good friends here, and even more came in all the time! He'd only known Flora for a few days and she was already giving him such a good gift! Just to be nice! Or at least that's what it seemed like. But for a gift as nice as this, he'd be happy to do something for her to make up for it. Should he? But what should he do?

"I'll make ya the fanciest stuff with it all." He decided, one last nod to let Flora know he was serious about it. "You get ta try first, first dibs. Anythin' you want. Promise."
 
Flora laughed but ducked her head, trying to pull herself out of Luke's ecstatic attention a little. She wasn't used to being paid much attention, even after so many years of performing in the circus. This kind of attention was different. This attention was genuine and deep and actually cared what happened to her. Direct attention came from Sequoia alone, and that was all she was equipped to handle. "You don't need to do all that. It's a gift. And I'm glad you'll let me do this, it gives me something to do."

Sequoia bumped a foot against her leg, smiling softly at her in a gesture of solidarity. It was clear that Flora was a little overwhelmed by Luke being so happy at her, and if she needed Sequoia to distract her a little, Sequoia could do that happily. It let her calm the fear that these new people would steal away her closest friend.
 
Luke could tell Flora was getting embarrassed, he knew that much at least, so he calmed down a bit to help her be less embarrassed. "Okay, okay." He agreed with her, even though he added "I still wanna make you somethin' to thank ya. When ya wanna ask for it, you can. No worries, when you want. ...Not tomorrow, but 'sides then. My gift, for you. Promise."

There goes the sad stuff again, but hey, at least he had nice friends to make nice stuff for after tomorrow was over. That was something to look forward to, something to make the scary parts not so bad. It would be okay, it would be okay.
 
While attention was uncomfortable, having someone react to her discomfort was downright shocking. Flora was used to pushing through these things without outsiders noticing. It took her breath away that someone cared enough to calm down when they obviously needed some happiness right now. When she began to speak, her voice came out a bit warbly. "That's very sweet Luke. Thank you so much. I'm going to go grow your squash blossoms now." She stood up, grabbing Sequoia by the hand and squeezing before she left the room.

Sequoia hesitated for a while before she gave Flora a 'just a sec' sign, placed her plate and Flora's in the sink and picked her way over to Luke. "I know I don't know you super well, but you're my friend and I can tell you're kind of down. Feel better soon, okay?" She wrapped him in a tight hug, hoping she wasn't overstepping her boundaries.
 
Oh no, Flora sounded like she was gonna cry when she left. Crying usually wasn't good, but it might be one'a those nice cries where you got really happy? She did say thank you. But he couldn't really tell, he could only tell she sounded cry-y. He hoped she'd be okay, after she went to grow some plants. She was good at that, it might make her feel better.

He was snapped back to the room when S'oya talked to him, and made sure to tune in and listen closely. ...Oh, now he was happy-cry-y. He let S'oya hug him, and sunk into her hug. S'oya was a good hugger, a strong friend hugger. It was nice, a softer nice than the good favor Flora promised, but both were just as nice. He nodded when she asked him to feel better, 'cause he already did. Nice friends were the best way to not think so hard about bad thoughts.
 
Sequoia sighed in relief when Luke softened into her arms and she squeezed just a little tighter before she let go. Hogging Luke was nice. He was way warmer than Flora, though she still preferred Flora hugs better. Flora hugs made the world so much better because Flora hugs were always accompanied by good advice and gentle words. "Okay good. I'm going to go to the garden with Flora now. I hope today and tomorrow are good for you."

With that, she slipped out into the hallway where Flora was waiting. Flora who looked like she was a little teary and probably needed a good joke to crack her up. And some quality garden time spent growing those squash blossoms. But first, Sequoia needed to come up with that joke. Luckily, she had several on hand. "Hey, Flora, What do you call a three-humped camel?"

Flora sniffed lightly, shooting Sequoia a grateful smile. "I don't know. What do you call a three-humped camel?" This was definitely going to be corny, but she needed something dumb and corny right now. It would distract her from the genuine actions of other people.

"Pregnant!" Sequoia grinned, picking up one of Flora's hands and gently tugging her outside. The fairy snorted, swatting Sequoia on the head with her free hand because she had heard bad jokes before, but that was one of the worst. By the time they walked into the garden, the mood was much lighter and Flora was in no danger of crying.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top