001 ★

[guiltapalooza]

[Willow is on her knees in one of the open spaces of the makeshift dining room-- if it could even be called that-- frowning comically into a hollowed, blackened space used as a fire pit in the stone floor. She has a small fire going, mostly embers; that wasn't the problem. And there was a large, shiny stock pot propped on scavenged bits of metal above it, at an appropriate distance.

The problem was what to put in it. She has water in the pot, and a collection of various herb-looking things and a couple scattered, scraggly vegetable-looking things set out on the floor in front of her. She'd done enough exploring with Buffy in the past week or two to find some of the outdoor areas, and rustle up the things that looked like reasonable approximations of cooking ingredients.]

And then Willow poisoned everyone while trying to make soup, [she says to herself under her breath. No, better do an edibility-detecting spell. Was that even a thing? It was now, because she needed one.

She just needed to... do it. Yeah. She could do that. Willow continues to eye her set up, composing the spell in her mind.]

Comments

[guiltapalooza]

[That was pretty morbid, but then he transitioned right into polite concern, so Willow has a hard time holding it against him.]

Faster, but less fun, [she jokes again.] I wouldn't say I'm having trouble, exactly, but I'm not really sure what I'm doing, either. I was about to come up with a spell to test for edibility.

[oversleeping]

A spell? [Subaru looks puzzled. A spell.... to test for edibility? That's a bit strange, to him.]

[guiltapalooza]

Yeah, I've never had to do one for this before, so I have to make it up myself.

And it's a little important to get wrong.

[oversleeping]

[Fascinating! But Subaru doesn't miss her implications, and he gives her a polite nod.] I'm sorry for distracting you, then. [And then he takes a step back and falls silent.]

[guiltapalooza]

[Wait, she hadn't meant for there to be any implications!]

Oh, no, it's okay. You aren't being distract-y, I was just saying. Poisoning everyone... that'd be bad.

[oversleeping]

[Subaru nods and stops his retreat, though he doesn't step forward again just yet. He smiles as he speaks.] A mass-poisoning would be unfortunate.

[But there's something else on his mind, as well.] I don't know many magic users powerful enough to create their own spells.

[guiltapalooza]

Really? [Faintly startled, turning fully to face him and distracted from her spell-creating herself.] It's a little tricky, sure, but someone had to make up the ones in books originally. Once you've done it enough, it's really not too tricky.

Magic must be pretty different where you're from.

[oversleeping]

It must be. [Though he sounds a little skeptical. Traveling between worlds and all, he's not used to the idea of the fundamental laws of the universe changing like that. Curious, he offers:] Creating new spells isn't common, but those that laid the groundwork for modern spell casting are legendary, when there aren't too many collaborators to count.

[guiltapalooza]

Magic isn't about hard and fast rules, though. Or mine isn't. I mean, it has to act according to the basic laws of physics, but it's more like energy or a force of nature than a programming language.

[She draws her finger through the air as if writing in condensation on cold glass, and a glittering trail of gold light follows it for a few seconds, lighting up the dark grey of the castle.] You can do anything if you know how to tap into it.