Hardiness. Stickiness? What was the lesson to take from these vines that stubbornly clung to anything they got their stems around? Briar carefully navigated the trumpet creepers he tended in the corner outside the guild hall, a pair of gardening scissors in one hand and the requisite amount of water in a spray bottle at his other. He would hum on every small motion, smiling with lackadaisical softness despite the slight dip to his brow. He was so close to grasping - haha - something, anything, that he felt in his little bones today.

A bubbling thought on each trim and nudge of the flat of his scissors to help keep the plant from wilting on its own weight. It was growing well in the season and along this side of the pillar; Briar was both lucky for its natural habitat as well as the support he received from the guild on request to better pot and care for it. It was only his pleasure, and a pleasure it truly was to foster more color where he touched. A little bit of his mark: a little more vivid a world. They were such a pretty orange in bloom. He smiled, again, and his trail of thought got his little hand caught around the side of the nearest vine, cringing with his tongue between his teeth while carefully navigating his safe detachment. Uwaa ...

Oh. Oh!

He started up with the flash of a lightbulb, the race of his mind moving faster than his legs could keep up; he stumbled, tumbling backward and wheezing out another gasp, landing flat on his bum with a rather characteristic dizziness to his wobbled head. He blinked rapidly, hopefully unseen but otherwise preoccupied, and pawed about for his staff. It had rolled off his back and away in the course of his fall, but he found it on hands and knees and lanced it skyward like the sword of a knight. "I've got it!" He mewled, shifting his weight back and forth until he could use the momentum to rocket himself back onto his feet and -- well, still sort of just catch himself on one, hopping a few paces before he was stable again.

An issue that had surprised him recently was a lack of application for Soul Dew to do more than lift others up; and while he personally enjoyed that aspect of his magic, a recent run in at an outskirts settlement had left him wanting for a more active role. There had to at least be something he could do more proactively in a tussle, and he had just about realized what it was. He looked around quickly, clutching his oak between his excited arms, and caught another out of the corner of his eyes. "H-hello! Uhm, excuse me -- pardon me, pally. Could I bother you for a moment?" A glint in his eyes. "I just need you to stand real, real still."

[ 510 ]

Vesper had a brief respite from his guild duties and decided to enjoy the outside areas of the guild hall. It was a rather beautiful day and the scenery surrounding the garden was something out of a painting. His heart hummed with a fluttering of wings enjoying the relaxing atmosphere, munching down on some delectable sweets from the cafe. He wishes he could go help out in the kitchen, but hasn't worked up the nerve to ask for permission yet. Another quest for another day.

Because today's quest had Vesper being an unsuspecting training assistant. Oh, make no mistake, Vesper had not signed up for this. No, no, no! You see, there was another boy outside in the periphery that caught his attention, practicing his spells, or perhaps creating new ones? A tiny little boy making soft, excited little sounds every time a magic circle appeared to breathe life into a new flower. He was absolutely adorable, even as he somehow managed to stun and daze himself with his own movements, tumbling down to the ground. Vesper would have come to help, but the boy was almost unfazed, bouncing up like a rabbit from his own magic.

That was when it happened... Like a predator looking for a victim after coming to some deranged conclusion on how to use this newly discovered bouncy power. Even as he waddled over, soft feet tamping ever so cautiously, his eyes betrayed his plans. But its not Like Vesper could refuse him... Always looking to please. He got called "pally" by such a soft voice, asking so politely, after all. He stands up and hands the boy a piece of chocolate, almost as a payment to assure his safety. "Uhhh yeah, alright. Like this?" He freezes in place, arms at his side and grins at the little flower mage. "You're not gonna knock me down on my butt, too, right~?"

[311]

Briar looks at the chocolate, at him, at the chocolate again - and accepts it with a dorky grin & excitably slinky arm, popping it between his lips before tamping backwards to make space between them. "Gee, I really appreciate it! All of Blue Pegasus has been so nice - I promise to pay this forward to you, so thank you for your patience~" You never turn down kindness / you always give it to others. A mantra to live by as the chocolate disappeared past his pink lips and becomes drowned out by the glow of the magic seals appearing around him. "Oh, but, uhm --" A blush, tittering shyly and glancing away before he could meet the other's eyes again. "N-no. Sorry about all that ... ehe. I just need you as medium. Really, really appreciate your time."

He starts off silly - sillier than he needs to be, for sure - by poorly spinning and tapping his staff like he was doing a little show, ra ta ta ta, and catches himself only a few in with a blush on his cheeks and a sheepish smile at the other boy. Briar contained excitement very poorly. It had to go somewhere. He had to work up the proper flow to mold his magic into something - something real - and that came with its own trials he now worked through. A kick of his heels against the cobblestone and a visualization. He breathes out, lifting his staff higher into the air with both arms, and rocks in place on his soles.

His eyes close and furrow and he feels his mana in this moment. He plucks at it, flinching at the effort it weighed on him spiritually, but he continued to mold. Briar's magic was honed through his love for his gardens and tended the same way he did his plants. You had to nurture it. He hummed between his teeth, parting his mouth open with a fleck of chocolate still on his tongue. The first few seals from his focused state misfired by a fair amount - appearing at random locations with bluish-green glows and spilling out the ethereal grasp of his vinework - but they strayed closer to his lovely assistant on each cast, sweat building on Briar's brow. He shifted, his staff tilting lower on each flick of magic, and he eventually held it flat between his hands horizontally.

He clutched it with one hand under and the other over, whitening at his knuckles from the support of its weight and the pressure of his mana, and he tried again. A seal opened beneath him and under Vesper, flickering with the sound of rain, and then a splash. Just one, another. Rippling through the circle, shimmering, and then solidifying on each point. Another breath, low to concentrate as if aiming the barrel of a gun. At the height of this exhalation - while everything felt still and the only sound was the vibration of his magic - he spoke. "I name you the Trumpet Creeper." Barely a whisper.

It was as if the real flower nearby could sense its kin, shuddering on their vines from an unseen breeze. Vines slogged and shivered out of the seal at Vesper's feat, increasing in size and speed rapidly -- and within moments, he was stuck in their trappings, coiled around each limb. They didn't hurt, but their constriction was a barrier to movement enough to offer firm feedback. They glistened without the sensation of wetness, catching the light to sparkle in semi-translucent waves.

Briar sneaks a peek and the sight brings his eyes fully wide again, his cheeks flushed from exertion and elation in equal measure. "Oh boy, oh boy!" He exclaims, breaking himself both out of the spell trance and its sustainment. The vines tremble and melt away, every drop of dew from their lianas evaporating on contact with the ground. "Oh boy!! Yes! Goodness gracious golly gee willikers, thank you!" His smile is brighter than the red of his cheeks, a rosy tint in all with blooming stars in both eyes. "That's - that's all I needed. Gosh! Oh wow. Phuuu. That felt great. Thank you, really, thank you. I did'na mean to bother you from your day, pallie, really, but it meant lots to me. If you ever need anything around here, too, please ask for me. We're guildmates, aren't we?"

He scampered over to shake Vesper's hand before turning to run off, bouncing between his feet like a particularly excited puppy. "I have to go take some notes on this'm before I go and forget it all, ehe. Golly, being a guild mage is great. Please, please take me up on helping you sometime -- I just -- uhm, I really gotta - oh boy. Uwehh. I'll practice this until it was worth your time today! Thank you!!" He chirped on each hop, barely containing anything if he had 'til now.

He turns to run, giggling, and make it a few prances before he looks back with brighter eyes and a surprised look. Stumbles, stalls. Hops a few feet on one foot from the shift in momentum, offering a nervous titter and a grin from end of his mouth. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry! I'm Briar! Briar Càidh!" And his momentum carries, hugging his staff away with glee.

[ 897 | 1407 | Learning C-Rank - Name of Trumpet Creeper | Exit ]