f o u r. ( VIDEO ) . look again and you'll be startled

[dedikated]

[ It's not that Kate hates video or voice, but generally - for posting - she prefers text. It's easier to sound together when you have time to think of your content.

However, text doesn't really work for what she's about to do here. She's sat in a spire apartment that a few eagle-eyed people may recognise as her own, twirling a pen between her fingers.

The words that come out of her mouth begin awkward and stilted. Although this should be easy, should just be as simple as advertising a new item for the clinic - that's what it was, on the surface, anyway - this is the first public post she's made since the entire mess with the fog, and she's not sure what kind of reaction to expect at all. ]

So.

[ She clears her throat, gets rid of some of the jerkiness in her tone and fiddles with something that's just off camera. This needs to be announced, now that she and Carlisle have finished it. He isn't here with her right now, but she's asked him to keep an eye out for any questions that might arise about how his powers work. ] We've been working on something.

[ She holds up the pen between her thumb and forefinger. ] This is a healing cell - it stores healing power. It can heal your injuries when activated. [ The explanation comes relatively easily, like she's reciting an answer to Dagny. But there's still the distinct, nagging thought that if she doesn't demonstrate it - and, hell, maybe even if she does - that there'll be a million questions from people who know how she was involved last month all asking 'how do we know we can trust you? or this thing?' ] Like this:

[ She drops the pen into her lap and takes out a small knife, and - with a sharp intake of breath - drags it across her palm until it bleeds. Then she picks the pen back up, clicks the bottom and presses it along the cut.

After a moment - and a wince, as Carlisle's healing power burns out of the pen - the injury has disappeared entirely. She clicks the pen once more and withdraws it from where the injury was, almost immediately wiping her bloody hand on her jeans and swallowing. ]

It won't perform surgery but it can heal most basic injuries. Wouldn't recommend it for more than a minor fracture. [ The original prototypes made back home had a tendency to overheat dramatically if used for something more serious, and she expects it to be the same here. ] At most, you'll get thirty uses out of it before it's empty. Needs to be recharged every month, as well. [ Yeah, there's a good amount of drawbacks, but it beats having to panic about first aid supplies? Sort of?

She picks up a handful of other trinkets - a stone here, a ring there - and holds them up. ] We've got ten so far - making more. If you want one, stop by the clinic. Located opposite the Colosseum.

[ And that, Hadriel, is as close as Kate is gonna get to publicly saying sorry for breaking the murdercave. ]

Comments

[dedikated]

[ She'll take that invite. ]

I will. [ What is waiting to be seated now? She'll take her usual chair, thanks. ] Not like it's any different to our tests, is it?

[tongueamok]

I suppose not, save for that you're injuring yourself for people who will possibly be ungrateful for the work you do, especially if they're not inclined to believe you in the first place.

[He can see why, given the whole fog thing, but at the same time, people should always be appreciative of their healers.]

[dedikated]

[ Shrug. At least she tried to minimise that. ] Happened now. [ So what are they going to do about it? ] Nice to know it didn't decide to backfire at the last minute, as well. [ okay so that's impossible but YOU KNOW. ]

[tongueamok]

We tested it enough that I'd have been surprised if it backfired again, though I suppose if that does happen, it'll happen at the worst possible moment.

[He meanders into the kitchen and digs for a mug for her. His own is sitting on the coffee table next to a bottle of wine, a jar of ink, and a dozen papers featuring half-drawn glyphs and assorted runes, all scribbled with varying degrees of clarity and success. If the aroma from his mug is any indication, he's been into that wine, as well as into a few other things.]

[dedikated]

[ And she thought she had a drinking problem. But she is just... going to peer over at those papers, curiously. ]

Always does. [ Note the distraction in her voice, Carlisle. ]

[tongueamok]

[Under several scratch pieces of paper where he's drawn the same symbols over and over -- practice -- is a sheet where he's clearly making a list of them. Under the header of "schools" is a rune for transfiguration, one for reparation, another for abjuration, a fourth for charming -- that's all he's got so far. Whatever one he's been practicing looks a little like a squiggly 3 with some dots above it, but he hasn't labeled it on the final list yet.

There's also a page of circles. Just... circles. Yep.

He calls from the kitchen after there's a loud clunk. That'd be him nearly dropping the mug -- he apparently missed her immediate distraction.]

And I wonder now if people will think they can be even more careless? 'Ah, yes. The clinic will handle my wounds, so I shouldn't bother making sure I don't die.' If they're foolish enough to trust these false gods, they're foolish enough for that, I'm sure.

[dedikated]

[ Okay, so the clunk gets her attention for a moment. But just a moment. She doesn't leaf through the papers underneath, but scans the top sheets idly, wondering what all the doodles are about. ]

If they die, Hope's taking care of 'em. Not us. [ Poor bastard. No one appreciates him. Not even Kate, judging by the way she says that. ]

[tongueamok]

Right. A false sense of security from false gods.

[He makes his way back into the living room with a clean mug that absolutely doesn't have a chip in the porcelain along the bottom. Then he just kind of holds it for a moment.]

Ah. Probably should have asked if you wanted a drink, or if you even wanted one.

[dedikated]

[ Oh Carlisle. ] Wouldn't mind one. [ Is she eyeing that wine? Maybe. ]

[tongueamok]

Of course. Help yourself.

[He hands her the mug, kind of lost in his own head for a second as he rubs at his eye. He probably shouldn't have wine mixed with that Dwarven ale he keeps in his flask.]

Though I suppose any foolhardiness will, at the very least, mean we stay useful in this community. Not all of us have talents in other areas.

[dedikated]

[ HONESTLY CARLISLE.

... And not all of us want those other talents. ] True. Will keep us busy. [ Said as she helps herself to a mugful of wine. Not her preferred drink, but whatever. ]

[tongueamok]

If nothing else.

[He helps himself to more wine after Kate is finished. Then he reaches into his jacket, removes that flask of his, and tops his mug off with what's inside. He falls silent as he swirls the mixture in his mug, looking annoyed at it for one reason or another. Or maybe he's mad at himself. It's hard to tell sometimes.]

[dedikated]

[ You'll get a hangover, kid. She just raises a brow at his decision to mix drinks and takes a long sip of hers. ]

What's the notes for? [ More importantly. Notes. Notes that look like some sort of power related thing? Yes pls. Charm her with ur nerdy ways. ]

[tongueamok]

[He will probably be dealing with that hangover tomorrow. For a guy who looks generally pretty thin and sickly, he can handle a lot of alcohol. He's been told it's Dwarven genetics somewhere in his line, but given he's six feet tall and scrawnier than most Dwarven children, he doubts that rumor.

His eyes trail down to his notes, a grimace crossing him.]

They're the desperate praxis of a man doomed to failure.

[dedikated]

[ well, in that case she will pick them up, taking a closer look. ] Howso?

[tongueamok]

Because it's me. [And to him, that is a perfectly acceptable answer.]

It's easy to remember them now, all these runes. Remembering them in the thick of things is the real issue. And even if you know them, you still have to draw them.

[Which, if the way he's been practicing is an indicator, is a part of his problem.]

[dedikated]

[ Runes.

The word is only familiar to her because Diana has mentioned it in her enthusiasm for obscure old religions, and she has no idea what each symbol is meant to mean. ]

What're they used for? [ She doesn't comment on the script because... well, they've both seen her written works. ]

[tongueamok]

[He takes a long drink from his mug. Probably should stop hitting that, Carlisle.]

I have a pupil now. I'm supposed to convey these in a meaningful manner to another person.

[That... wasn't exactly the question, but that's apparently what he's going on about.] And I can list them out just fine with preparation, but did I ever tell you how poor I am with drawing these on the spot? The lines just don't cooperate, and my hands shake because because they're worthless.

[dedikated]

[ Probably. But Kate is hardly the best person to tell another to slow the drinking down.

(Or maybe all those hangovers make her the best. Who knows?) ] Didn't answer my question. [ She points it out with the sharpness of someone who did actually want to know.

But all the same; ] D'you need to draw them on the fly?

[tongueamok]

Sometimes.

[Also not really an answer. He didn't mean to avoid answering her other question either. He sighs.]

They're for my pupil. I mean, they're for glyphcrafting, which she's doing, or trying to do? Doing. Doing is more accurate. Did you know you can just throw whatever you want onto a glyph all willy-nilly and it'll just almost work? Because that's what happened.

[Sorry, Kate. He's kind of rambling.]

[dedikated]

[ Pupil? It's possible to teach things here? She supposes, maybe if those people also have powers. But then, her power has to be calibrated to every wavelength, so that's still surprising enough to make Kate blink. ]

So- [ Sorry, Carlisle, glyphcrafting is not a thing in her world; ] They're... what? Like my enchantments? [ Drawn instead of tapped and imbued, but still a thing that stores power? Or has power? ]

[tongueamok]

Yes- I mean, no? It's glyphcrafting. I don't know how your enchantments work, but we call it charming something, and you can do it through glyphcrafting. Not to the degree you can. Or maybe? Maybe someone with actual talent could.

[He shoves a breath through his nose.]

[dedikated]

[ Okay. Not really an answer, but it also kind of was? UGH she has no idea. ] Right. [ That is not the tone that someone who understands would use. ] Start from step one? [ Here, she'll even give you a piece of paper that isn't completely scribbled over. ] The hell were you teaching her and what happened?

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle just kind of watches the paper sadly as Kate pushes it his way, but he does comply in the end. He grabs one of the brushes lying nearby rathern than his usual pen, and after dipping it into the ink, starts with a small circle.]

I started with mending, just to see if she could even activate the glyphs. She asked me once [he fills in that circle with a symbol that looks a bit like a Y] if I could teach her magic, and while I still don't know if some magic is intrinsic to my world or not, I thought, "Ah, it can't hurt to try, now can it?"

[More circles, and a triangle in the circles. Maybe it's the alcohol or maybe it's his unsteady hands, but boy, is he bad at drawing circles.]

And it works, and that's just great. I've managed to teach someone something. But then she starts going on about some other language she can write in and how those letters have meaning. And before I know it, she's inscribed them in the glyph [probably between the outer and inner circle, if the way he taps the end of the brush there is an indication] and it works. Not exactly the way she wanted, but the fact that it got even close when she's got next to no experience with glyphcrafting is astounding.

[There's venom in that last word. He grips the brush between his hands and snaps it with a little effort, dropping the pieces onto his newly-made glyph.]

[dedikated]

[ carlisle, you should go into politics. you're very good at rambling while saying absolutely nothing at all. except for maybe the fact that you're somewhat jealous? ] So... she's good at it? [ that was said in the most 'what is the problem' tone imaginable from kate. isn't a good student most teachers' dream? ] ... Those circles s'posed to be that wobbly?