sixthiterationlogs | Simple Hearts Will Be Prized Again

WHO: Alex Price, Karen Page, Kat, YOU (OTA)
WHERE: Inn Records, Kat's House, Schoolhouse, Somewhere Outdoors
WHEN: Dec 1-15th
OPEN TO: Karen, Kat, OTA
WARNINGS: Mention of Dead Animals (Mice)

Lions, Tigers and Bears Sound Quaint (For Karen Page)

Alex has been spending more and more time in the inn since discovering the records, especially since Tony's mining expedition and the snake hunt. Mostly, he's been adding to what notes he can- especially for the ones he's been studying up close- mostly the fever snakes, since he's been handling those so much lately, but there have been pages on the snake bats and peacock cats added as well, since he's had so much experience with them up-close of late.

It's the ice mice that have him here today, with some anatomical sketches (including some that are clearly drawn from references of dissections) and as many of the field notes he's taken that he thinks will be useful. He isn't expecting to find someone else when he comes in, but smiles pleasantly when he spots a familiar face.

"I was starting to think this place was being haunted by the ghost of a librarian," he remarks to the woman he'd met in the corn. "It's Karen, right?"

King of (Birdlike) Cats for Kat

The peacock cats tracks aren't exactly like a domestic cat's, but they're similar enough that Alex can, after a couple of hours in the woods, he's able to locate a clowder (or would it be a flock?) of them. Most of the adults want nothing to do with him, and the juveniles are jumpy- except one, which has him confused at first, until he notices the way it's favoring three out of four legs.

When he arrives at Kat's door, the peakitten's left forpaw has been bandaged. Having just come from the wild, it's a good deal less plump than the litter he'd been fostering. Despite the frostbite, which he thinks might be the result of a failed attempt at preying on an ice mouse, and maybe some slight malnutrition, there are no other problems he can identify with the cat.

Boudica had just about thrown a fit with an unfamiliar cat in the house for as long as it had taken to bandage the poor thing up (he'd sacrificed one of his pillowcases for the cloth), so it'd been clear he couldn't keep it. Kat was the first person to come to mind- her notes on the animals here were enough to convince him that she wouldn't have any issue taking care of it, and she'd mentioned being interested in one.

Of Ice Mice and Men OTA

The mice in the schoolhouse are getting bold, if you ask Alex. Not quite as bold as he's used to mice being, given the... unique nature of the Aeslin mice that lived with his family. Thinking of their songs, their little shouts of "HAIL!" and the countless hours of theosophical debate almost makes him feel bad about the small knife he sends flinging through the air at the one he sees skittering across the plank wood floors, skewering it in place.

They're keeping his knife-throwing skills sharp, at least. Pun not intended.

Where There's Smoke... OTA

Like most people in the village, Alex is the type of person who runs towards screaming, so when he hears a surprised shout and the FWOOMF sound of something spontaneously combusting, he does just that. The fire isn't terribly large- enough that between the stomping of heavy hiking boots and armfuls of snow, he's able to smother the flame before it does too much damage.

"Are you alright?" he asks, checking his boots for signs of the treads melting, and finding them mostly intact. "No burns or anything?" It was hard to tell if the shout had been in pain, panic or both.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I can't blame you for not expecting spontaneous combustion," Alex assures him. "It's alright- people started doing the Firestarter thing around the same time those mice started showing up." Which he has some theories about, but actually capturing the mice to see if they're carrying some sort of bacteria or fungus that causes pyrokinetic powers hasn't been easy.

Especially now that Boudica is really honing her hunting instincts. He's never seen a cat go right for the kill so fast- no toying with her prey, just CHOMP, almost like she knows something's up with them.

"I don't think we've met, by the way. I'm Alex."

"Actually, it was more the fact that the spontaneous combustion happened when I know I am no longer equipped to cause such that was surprising," Reeve commented, still looking rather thoughtfully at the charred grass and the little bits of ice still clinging to the bush. How intriguing.

But of course that was hardly the thing to focus on here. He could test out this strange occurrence at a later time, perhaps a more secure area, such as by the river that he had seen in one of his walks. So instead he turned his full attention to the man and offered his hand out. Because it was rude not to greet another person without a hand shake.

"We have not. I am a recent arrival as it were. My name is Reeve, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Alex. Thank you for your assistance. Given your description of the situation I suppose it would have been unlikely that I suddenly found myself splashing water on the flames with a thought."

After Reeve's explanation, Alex makes what he considers to be an educated guess. "Elemental magic? A housemate of mine is a magic-user when he's back home- I imagine that being without that would take some adjustment." He looks to the smoking pile of ash and ember that they just put out. "As would getting just part of what you're used to back, I guess."

"Having it back without the proper equipment is the more jarring experience, I assure you," Reeve answered, finally turning his back on the burned area to get himself focused. "Would it be correct to assume that such is not a common occurrence here?"

If it was, Reeve was going to have to be prepared for the strangeness that could happen. Being a materia expert meant handling magic wasn't too shocking for him, it was more that he would have to be prepared for it to happen without being necessarily expected.

"That makes sense," Alex agrees easily enough. He's thinking more in terms of spell components, but some sort of mystical battery one needs to refuel would make just as much sense. Magic always seems to have one cost or another.

"The mice and fire specifically, are new. Animals and people doing things you're not used to are about par for the course, I'd say." Here and at home, he can't help but think.

"What would life be without a little shock now and then?" Reeve asked, because he really wanted to be pragmatic about it.

However life had to have something predictable to it, doesn't it? He held his hand out again, trying to force the magic out. But no, nothing.

"How often do things like this happen then?"

"I've only been around a couple months- but last week a woman tried to get me to punch her to see if her force-field powers were still working," those hadn't been Wynonna's exact words, but they're all the ones Alex is willing to repeat. She'd reminded him far too much of his youngest sister to feel safe trying to take a swing at her.

"So... often enough, I guess?"

"Force field powers?"

Now that was interesting. How was that even a thing? Well, he supposed he could point out Protect or Reflect spells, but he'd accept that for what it was given.

"Well, I see there are no more mice around here. Perhaps I should head inside and try very hard not to set fire to things. Or perhaps practice burning things. I should have reasonable control because of my previous experience with materia."

"It seems to be something that comes with being assigned red scrubs when you get here. By the sounds of it, there's something that goes with each color- everyone's capable of something they're not back home." He points down to his own black scrub pants and shirt.

"In theory, anyway. I still haven't figured mine out at all." Probably because it involves physical contact with other people (not that he knows that) and Alex isn't exactly a people-person. Especially a touchy-feely one.

"Any idea of what blue means?" Reeve asked as he considered his hand. What would it take to call the fire? Could he shape it in ways he had not before? This might require some degree of experimentation.

Alex shakes his head. "No idea whatsoever. Other people of all scrub colors seem to be getting fire powers, so that's not it. Given how close it all started to the mice arriving, they seem connected."

Alex begins to consider their surroundings, and starts to clear an area inside a particularly deep patch of snow, where he begins to pile wood- some of it dry, some not. Any fire they build will put off a lot of smoke, but it won't flare up faster than they can (hopefully) handle.

"What are you doing?" Reeve asked, standing still to watch the man. Clearing the snow, piling wood, which clearly was something the man had intended to do before if he had wood with him.

How interesting and odd of a man.

Simple Hearts Will Be Prized Again

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject