jikan_rpg | [catch-all] i know i can be so cold

[A blessing from the gods sounds similar to how many would describe Visions, a gift granting one power within an element - not quite magic, but close enough that he can see humans referring to it as such. Scaramouche wonders then if the woman is from Teyvat, but without a Vision or any kind of identifier that would tie her to a nation it's impossible to tell. He's talked to enough refugees to know Teyvat isn't the only world with such rules, there's plenty out there with various similarities in one area or another.

It's a question he could ask, but it's of no interest to him just how many in Nippon are from his world. The who was far more important and she wasn't anyone he recognized, the world she hailed from wasn't nearly a priority to ask.]

It's much the same where I'm from, though I don't see why anyone would want attention from the gods. Nothing good can come of it.

[Scaramouche has no love for gods, a fact that he's been more than happy to make known here, albeit if solely because he was living with one.

His free hand settles on his hip, listening as the woman expresses her interest in the magic here, how she's begun to learn it. He wonders what she's chosen to start with, or if she's someone that's decided to attempt everything at once.]

It is. I'm certain you'll pick it up in no time at all, plenty of spells are simple enough... are you learning for anything specific? Or simply because magic is finally available to you.

Mm. I wouldn't want the attention of my own, but I don't think they're all bad.

[Drawing Murata's attention could only mean bad things, she thinks, and her tribe had not fared well travelling through Natlan. She had done nothing to help them when they were attacked and hounded into Mondstadt, either. But there... meeting the Anemo Archon had at least shown her that some of them could be kind.

At his question though, she switches immediately to the new topic.]

I chose to study 'Kaze' first... I want to surprise a friend with it.

[Venti would be thrilled when he finds out, but she wants to get enough proficiency with it to be able to impress him! Eventually she would undoubtedly move on to other things, but her first thought when presented with her options had been that avenue of study.]

But it's... slow going. I didn't have much opportunity for study back in Natlan, or Mondstadt, either.

I've yet to meet a good one.

[While Scaramouche hasn't met a large amount of gods the ones he has met aren't anything special. There is the possibility he hasn't given them a chance, but he's been burned by one that he hasn't exactly tried to warm up to the ones he's met. He's better than stupid gods regardless.

The choice to learn Kaze first because of a friend piques his interest, the mention of very familiar nations only hooking more of his attention. That cleared up where she was from rather quickly, which only makes him wonder if the friend Vennessa is learning for is also someone from Teyvat. There's certainly enough of them around for it to be.]

You're from Teyvat.

[His lips quirk into a small knowing smile.]

Kaze is quite the choice for your first steps into magic. What spells are you working on? I may be able to help.

Oh-- yes, I am. You too?

[She could assume, but there seem to be so many people from Teyvat here that perhaps he simply knows the names of the countries she mentioned and figured it out that way.

Though she is curious about how he might answer that, she takes quickly to the next topic and hesitates just for a moment before she answers him. Until now she hasn't really tried to ask any of the other refugees for help - partly out of stubbornness, really - and her pause is only because she wonders if he might think her foolish for how little she's managed to achieve so far.

But then she decides she doesn't care, and he will either help her or not regardless.]

Wind manipulation. Only simple things. I can't seem to get the chanting right...

I'm from Inazuma.

[The Harbinger confirms with a nod. Though the outfit he's currently in doesn't scream Inazuman, it did surprisingly have what was essentially an Electro emblem on it - something that has made him question why the outfits he transforms into look the way they do.

Learning Kaze for wind manipulation definitely sounds like a step towards doing what Anemo users could, and Scaramouche thinks that whomever the friend that spurred this on was, they were also from Teyvat. There's only one he can think of that uses an Anemo Vision, but he knows there's plenty more people about that he has yet to meet. That the friend uses Anemo is pure speculation regardless.]

While chanting isn't primarily what I do, I have been studying Kaze as well - admittedly more for things like teleportation and combining it with the other elements.

[But control of the winds was an important enough aspect of Kaze that it wasn't something he could skip over. Certainly not when he intended to master as much of this world's magic as he possibly could - at least before growing bored. If he would ever grow bored of it.]

Are you having difficulty remembering the words? Or is it the pronunciation? Perhaps another method would suit you better.

[While Vennessa's initial reasons for starting with Kaze were admittedly fairly narrow-minded in terms of what she wanted to achieve with it, since she has started her studying of the techniques she's found a certain excitement in having that kind of power.

Something she had never though she would have.]

I'm not sure what it is. [She isn't well-travelled or well-learned but she is bright and quick to pick up new things. It's more like...]

It's like a mental block. I've been so used to not having a Vision... never needing one. I wasn't even sure I ought to try to learn magic here at first.

[Vennessa shakes her head, and she feels silly as she realises what might be at the root of her problems. Silly, and yet... it makes sense.]

I didn't do anything to earn it.

[Offering assistance seems as though it's going to be difficult, Vennessa not being fully certain as to what's causing the trouble to begin with. Her chanting may be off, she might be saying everything entirely wrong, it may be that an entirely different casting method is required, or merely a mental block as she says.

Having just met, Scaramouche knows little of her, it could be any one issue, a combination or none of them. Aside from playing nice and perhaps boredom, there's little reason for him to want to help - he can't help but wonder what spurred him to offer in the first place, but he has offered so he may as well follow through.]

Why do you need to have earned it?

[The question seems as good a starting point as any. The magic of this world bore some similarities to what existed back home, however it was far more readily available to people. He can't see why the need to earn the right to use it would even be a concern. It wasn't some gift to be bestowed upon only those the gods deemed fit for it.]

Because anything given freely can easily become a shackle.

[Vennessa does not, and has never believed in taking things given to her on a platter. She fights for things, earns them, not accepting them simply because they were handed to her without her having done something to deserve it.

But she doesn't give her answer sounding like she feels hard done by. It's simply the way she sees the world. Even freedom, when given freely, is just another chain. She had said as much to Venti when he had offered to break her free of her imprisonment what feels like only weeks ago.

She had never earned a Vision either and she wasn't bitter about that - the attention of the gods had never been something she desired - but the same thing applies.]

Being brought here at all was strange enough, but then being told I can wield magic, too? Surely you can understand why I might be wary of it.

[Any sensible person would be wary of it, as far as Vennessa is concerned.]

A smart way to think.

[It's a way of thinking he can't disagree with, to be suspicious of something as powerful as magic merely offered up to those pulled from their world. To be wary of any untold costs is something those that aren't desperate should consider. There's little Scaramouche can argue in terms of caution, it's almost refreshing to speak with someone who isn't a complete fool, yet also isn't so cautious for it to be overbearing.

Caution isn't going to help learn magic however, and if the idea of something free twisting and tying her down is what's blocking her ability to use magic correctly then it needs to be dealt with. Not a particularly easy feat when assuaging fears and concerns is something he rarely ever has to do. He doesn't really have the temperament for it.

The Harbinger's brows knit in thought as he considers just what he could say that might provide even the slightest bit of help.]

...But is it truly free if you have to put in work to learn it, and even then it's entirely possible to never master or be able to use it efficiently. You could easily harm yourself and those around you if you don't do it correctly. The ability to learn is free, the magic itself not so much.

[She thinks about what he says, mulling it over with a small frown furrowing her brow. Maybe he has a point in what he's saying.]

Maybe I have been thinking about it the wrong way.

[She curls her forefinger against her lower lip, then taps it there lightly. A little smile pulls at one corner of her mouth, then she lets out a laugh.]

You're right.

[The idea of being able to do magic when she had never had such a gift granted to her in Teyvat had always sat wrongly, as if she had somehow been given something that she shouldn't have had. But this man is right, putting it that way, and the laugh wasn't directed at him but rather at herself.]

I think I'll feel strange about for a while, one way or another. [Vennessa looks down at her hands, giving a little shake of her head as she murmurs half to herself.] Maybe I need to stop worrying over whether or not I deserve it.

[Easier said than done, but she can try.]

I'm Vennessa, by the way. It's nice to meet you.

Your thoughts have merit, but they aren't the only thing to consider.

[And it's that lack of considering other aspects of the situation that he feels is causing perhaps more wariness than is actually needed, though that could be his own views on magic skewing his judgment. Still the woman seemed sensible enough to not let what she was wary of happen.

That she finally agrees with him has the Harbinger offering up a small smile, not necessarily pleased that he could help, but finding some amusement from it.]

That's normal. Going from a life without it to suddenly having it and more. However not worrying so much is a good step.

[If any was holding back her learning, that seems like it would be the biggest factor. Little as he knows about her, and the many possible reasons it could be, mental block certainly contributed. To think herself undeserving of magic wasn't going to help in any way.

The woman offers up her name, and for a moment Scaramouche considers if he should give his own. Normally he doesn't, content with being nameless unless asked, but he finds their conversation has been pleasant enough - even if she had interrupted is training.]

Scaramouche.

[In the future, her ability to easily take on the ideas of others and blend them in to her own thinking to arrive at a new conclusion would likely be very useful as she leads the rebellion against the aristocracy and later forms the Knights of Favonius.

She smiles when he gives his name.]

Scaramouche. That's an interesting name.

['Interesting', she says, but her tone gives nothing to the idea that she might have heard it before. Nor does her expression or body language. It isn't a very Inazuman name, she knows that much, but she can acknowledge that it might not even be his real name at all.

And that if it isn't, it's none of her business.]

Well, it's my pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry for... interrupting what you were doing here.

[The reaction to his name is warmer than he's used to, a pleasant smile and tone making it clear enough that she's not heard it before. Whether that means she knows little of the Fatui or not he can't tell, not everyone is going to know the name of every Harbinger. There's little the immortal can offer up in terms of how interesting the name is, simply waving it off.]

It's nothing special.

[And really it isn't. It's the name he was given for his role, holds value within the ranks, incites caution in those that know of it. A name taken to forgo all he was before, as though he hadn't renamed himself prior to joining the Fatui, choosing to forget who he was.

Scaramouche finds that Vennessa is rather polite, seeming almost startled as he expects no apology for interrupting his training. Bizarre behaviour for someone he's just met that knows next to nothing about him.]

It's fine, I needed the break anyway.

Ah! Well, in that case.

[She looks around the small grove and her eyes follow the path away from them, knowing what lies in that direction. There's a small smile on her face as she follows the path in her mind and she thinks about the shrine that she had passed on the way here. When she had first arrived here she had had little knowledge of what these shrines were, but she has taken the time to learn and how to treat them with the proper respect.]

There aren't many shrines in such good repair out this way, but there's one not far from here. [Vennessa had passed a few others on her journeys- broken, untended - but that one looked so well cared for.]

Did you do that?

OPEN		CLOSED
East ■ Love is Blind ■ A Boy and his Bug West ■ Visions of the Future		■ For Kazuha ■ For Ei ■ For Diluc

[catch-all] i know i can be so cold

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