diatuooc | Test Drive #7

Test Drive #7

Air Apparent

The fundamental principle of Sundering, that of breaching the barriers between here and there, often manifests as summoning. Simply open a portal and then bring through that which you desire to command. Today's lesson in the magic went slightly wrong, and now a strange creature called an "air imp" stalks around the campus, causing mischief wherever it can. Its powers are not terribly dangerous, but it is a trickster with the swift gusts of air it can conjure, and almost impossible to see since it is the very color of the air itself.

The faculty has made two important announcements. First, do NOT go commando under your robes while this thing is out there. Second, whichever student or group of students catches the imp shall earn five points for the Colormarch for their House or Houses, and shall be taught a special spell of Discovery personally by Professor Trammel.

This reward has the student body in a tizzy, and groups of eager imp-hunters stalk the campus after classes, each of them with a clever idea to get the prize for themselves. Quickly, find a partner and join them!

Only Shooting Stars

Thanks to some horrible twist of fate, a body-swapping magic has caught you in its claws and wrenched you into a form that is not your own. Perhaps you're a familiar now, a blobby owl or a sneaky cat. Perhaps you've taken over the body of that student next to you, who's now looking at you from the eyes that ought to be yours.

There isn't any easy answer for this. You're stuck, for the moment, anyway. All you can do is try to make the most of it... or just get through.

Another Fine Mess

The fervor of the day down Anastara way surrounds a shop that just released their new special product: Airsquiddlies. These curious little toys take the shape of a squid, and through some little trick of magic they catch the air when held up above one's head. Tethered by a string, they drift about a few feet up with their tentacles waving most realistically and slithering around to curiously investigate whatever, or whoever, they find.

By luck, you've managed to get one of these -- and as delightful as it might be, it does come with a couple of quirks. Has its tentacles gotten somewhere you'd rather they not -- a merchant's wares, the hair of a fellow student perhaps? Or maybe you're stuck dealing with a few people who are intent on getting their own Airsquiddly, any way they can since the stores are sold out?

Labwork

Not every magical disaster is caused by some wayward student you don't know. Many of them are caused by you instead. To wit: you're on the spot in one of the magical labs, being called on to demonstrate a technique more advanced than others you've mastered so far. Failure is expected, and the wards should prevent any injury to others from a miscast spell. But will the sparks of your magic just sputter out and die? Or will you inadvertently mispronounce, misform, misshape, or miscalculate in a way that brings chaos to you and your lab partner?

(You could also manage to succeed in casting the spell, but that isn't very fun.)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

March Hare was late to class: A mix of having to adjust to attending classes for the first time in hundreds of years, and of not being used to the consistency of time here in the Tenscore Kingdoms. What he wouldn't give for a good pocket watch!

But no matter! He'd gotten there in the end, and there was no Queen of Hearts here to worry about enraging by being late. March Hare was smiling in an embarrassed manner as he opened the door to the classroom, but the sheepish expression was soon replaced with a look of mild shock.

"Goodness, did I miss something fun?"

"Ah, yes, well I wouldn't exactly call it fun..." Aziraphale trailed off, turning to acknowledge the latecomer. And not finding him immediately around eye-level, he looked down, and down a bit more until he found a rabbit-like creature dressed in human-style clothing.

Curious! Would it be impolite to ask him if he was a rabbit by birth, or had been transformed into such by accidental or intentional spell? Undecided on the matter, he finished up with, "But you certainly missed something. Though I cannot say what, and I even had a hand in the matter."

"So all of this-" he gestured to Aziraphale with one hand "-wasn't intentional? How very peculiar, although... Hmm."

He didn't want to say it, but he supposed no one would try to create such a smell intentionally.

"Well, no use crying over spilled tea, isn't that right?" March Hare concluded with a shrug. "We can clean up and move on from there!"

Edited 2019-07-28 10:18 (UTC)

"Oh, certainly not," he insisted as the rabbit-being asked about the mess being deliberate, especially as it considered his clothes and person. And though he did nod at the sensible suggestion to clean up, Aziraphale had been known to mourn the loss of a good cup of tea, so it wasn't perhaps the best metaphor.

A sigh. "I suppose we can. I mean, nothing has been destroyed outright, even if these clothes will require a very, very thorough washing. And a lesson has certainly been learned--how NOT to do that spell, even if," he admitted, "I still do not know how TO do it." He paused and looked askance at the other. "Do you? Or..." he added hopefully, "do you know any cleaning spells?" Trying to do things the human-way was certainly fun for clever things like hobbies, but chores were another matter entirely.

Honesly, March Hare was just as likely - perhaps more so - to cry over wasted tea. But all the same, he was hoping to make the man feel a bit better. And to that effect...

"Yes, there we go! A lesson on how NOT to spell! Do a spell, that is. A good way to look at things. As for knowing how to do it myself, it all depends on what spell you were trying to do," he explained. "I was late, you see."

That admittance came with a sheepish smile. He really needed to find a pocket watch!

"Cleaning spells, though... Yes, I-" Wait. Did he know any? He took a moment to try and focus through the Madness that Wonderland had left him with. "No."

"Ah, shame." He had hoped someone would make this at least a tad easier.

"And yes, yes, I suppose you were, weren't you. Punctuality is a virtue," he said, rote, because it was (it fell in with Diligence, the opposition to the sin Sloth)...Of course, he personally knew the fiend who had invented being 'fashionably late' and did not entirely fault him for it, "--'of the bored,' some would say, so I quite understand being late for things when there are so many more, far better distractions. I myself have gotten too invested in a good book or a good meal and nearly missed class." A wistful sigh. This morning's breakfast was so good. He could have spent the better part of the morning partaking of the waffles, if only he hadn't had to get to his studies. And those sausages were just--

...What was he saying? Oh, right.

"As for what I was trying to accomplish, I was trying to turn the pumpkin into a carriage. It seemed fitting, though I believe the original brief suggested something much smaller."

Long ears stood on end, almost alarmingly straight, at the chosen ending to the phrase. However, it wasn't a point he seemed keen on pushing. Punctuality was of the utmost importance to Wonderlanders, yes, but this fellow clearly wasn't one, so why risk riling him up?

"Well, I'll concede that there are many delightful distractions in this place." With that, his ears relaxed...

For about a second, before they perked up again at the explanation of the spell itself. "A pumpkin into a carriage, eh? I like that line of thought! Creative!" he declared, happily oblivious to the reference.

He wasn't sure what about the discussion of punctuality had set off the rabbit-being, but he was content to let the subject drop in favor of keeping things pleasant. The topic wasn't one he was invested in, at least.

"I'm not sure I can take credit for it, much as I would like to. But it is very creative, I have always thought so." He sighed and pouted a little again at the mess, disappointed not in the plant or the components, or even in his own lack of skill right now; just disappointed in the failed outcome. Such high hopes. He was sure it would have worked because he had wanted it to so much. "It would have been so charming if it had worked. I mean, can you imagine it, an adorable pumpkin carriage with vines for wheels and a harness for horses? Properly magical transportation." Alas. He brightened a bit. "Perhaps next time, hm?"

"Oh, charming and delightful, absolutely," March Hare agreed. "We can work on it together, next time! Twice as many hands will make for better spellcasting, I'm quite sure of it."

He paused then, feeling as though he'd forgotten something - not an unusual feeling for him, of course. But when he couldn't come up with what it could be, he just shrugged, and headed toward an empty seat in the magic lab.

Could he, perhaps, have forgotten about clean up?

Clean up was really an issue better forgotten and left for their future selves, or else for someone else. Preferably someone else. Aziraphale rather hoped someone would take it off their hands; a janitor, perhaps. Surely custodial staff existed, even in enchanted schools. Especially in enchanted schools.

"Really? Though I would be a little concerned we might cancel each other out," or cause a worse explosion, with his luck, "but then I can't say I have much experience with multi-person spell-casting."

"Well," March Hare began, "perhaps, perhaps not. I have no experience with spell-casting at all, prior to being here, of course." He mused on Aziraphale's words for a moment. "Does that mean you cast spells where you were before you were here? A bit of an edge there?"

Test Drive #7

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject