Fantasy Primacy [Closed]

[cleopat]

Tamsin frowned and pushed down the childish desire to argue. She wanted to know all the answers, dammit! She wanted to know everything surrounding herself, and all the mysterious that the knife held. It wasn’t fair that her parents died so young, and she didn’t get to learn about her family from them.

Life wasn’t fair, as she knew all too well.

“Are you good to start right now?” Tamsin asked, only too eager to learn more from the mage. She didn’t know if Kirsikka had intended for them to start in the bedroom, or move things outside, but either way, she took out the dagger and looked at it, fingers delicately tracing along the sharp edge.

“I’m not sure how to call out my powers, though,” she admitted, shaking her head. “I’ve never done it without feeling an extreme.” And Tamsin didn’t feel anything too strongly right then. Just general content, and a little bit of perplexity.

 

[Lucyfer]

Tamsin seemed eager to start. Kirsikka chuckled as she looked over the dagger, and rose from where she was sitting. The potions didn't need any immediate attention, and well, it wasn't as if she hadn't worked through literal starvation before. Being on the run was hell.

"Don't worry about that. I'm something of an expert at upsetting people," or making them afraid. Whichever would be easier with Tamsin. "Depending on what you want to test, the dagger, or your powers, we'll need to go outside."

The dagger could likely be tested there. All Tamsin would need to do would be to prick herself, and then prick Kirsikka. Sure, Kirsikka wasn't thrilled about the draining potential - but who else were they going to sacrifice? She'd already had talents trained.

She could endure more.

"So you tell me where you'd like to start, Tamsin."

 

[cleopat]

Tamsin didn’t quite know how to respond to Kirsikka stating that she was an expert at upsetting people. It didn’t exactly make her feel better about everything…but if it worked, and it helped her use her powers, then it would have to do.

Maybe she should make sure Varick didn’t follow them outside and kept an eye on the training, just in case.

“I think I would like to start with testing my powers,” she answered. And as either answer would still require them to move from the bedroom, she headed for the door. “I admit, that’s what I’m most curious about right now, though learning all that I can about the dagger is a close second.”

She ignored any curious glances sent their way as she walked out of the house and to an open area where they hopefully wouldn’t cause any damage to Mikhail’s property. “So…what do I do first?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Powers it was.

Kirsikka followed Tamsin out, and noticed Varick's gaze. It was no surprise that he followed, at a bit of a distance, so he could watch. Kirsikka was just annoyed by it; he was likely going to overreact to anything and everything.

Maybe she could use that.

"You protect yourself, Tamsin." She said it as if it was obvious, as she let the gust of the wind pick up. Mikhail might also be upset, but Tamsin wanted to test. She could hurt Tamsin's feelings, or she could hurt her body.

She went with body.

Not that she'd break out the ice, but with the debris the wind picked up -- small grains of dirt whipping about at stupidly fast speeds -- she wasn't going to make it easy.

Or a non-threat as she'd let the first cuts go towards her hair and face.

The invisibility of the wind and the suddenness, she hoped, would get things started for Tamsin to feel that power and start to use it....but if not, she figured someone was going to rush in like an idiot and she'd find the power to defend them.

 

[cleopat]

Tamsin tensed as Kirsikka warned her to protect herself. The wind whipped up, and she brought her arms up to protect her face. She didn’t immediately know how to protect herself from the wind, and the more small grains of dirt hit her face and got in her eyes, the more annoyed and frustrated she became.

She created a shield back when she and Varick faced that cursed frog. Surely she could do it again?

Tamsin tried to recall how she felt in that moment. There was the fear of the frog, the fear for Varick…But she couldn’t quite bring that same fear forward. It just wasn’t the same. She knew she wasn’t in a situation that warranted fear.

Huffing, Tamsin tried to think about a large shield surrounding her body, as the wind kept whipping around her. She thought for a split second that a shimmer of something started forming in front of her, but it quickly disappeared, so fast that Tamsin wondered if she saw it at all.

“I don’t know what to do!” she called out, hands still up to protect her face. She hadn’t manifested those powers on her own will before, and she didn’t know how to begin to do it now.

 

[Lucyfer]

Tamsin didn’t believe that she was in any real danger. Of course, killing Tamsin would get Kirsikka in trouble, but she could maim her. They had ways to heal maiming. Perhaps not for herself, but for Tamsin. She could break a leg with a tree root. Mikhail might banish her for a day or so, but…well, someone had to pull this power out of Tamsin.

And she saw it, too.

Frustration, fear, anger – it was a potent cocktail of emotions that was starting to stir it. And she cried out.

“Shame about your leg, then,” Kirsikka said and made it obvious when the ground broke apart to pull a tree’s root out of it, so Tamsin would have that much warning. Enough warning, too, as it rose up to wrap around her leg.

Or, it would have, if Varick didn’t decide at that moment to do the stupid, reckless thing, and run in to cut the limb. Kirsikka changed the direction of the limb to stab it at him, fully expecting he’d avoid it. “ENOUGH!” Varick roared as he cut the root.

Of course, it would not be enough.

It was what she hoped for, as she sent the wind at him in a strong gust to knock him back against one of the trees, “Mind your business,” simple, cold.

Enough to piss him off further that he didn’t stay against the tree but pushed right off it to rush her.

Ice shimmered in the air.

‘Come on, Tamsin.’

 

[cleopat]

What Kirsikka said didn’t quite register with Tamsin as the ground broke beneath her, and a limb started to climb up her leg. She began to panic, but then Varick rushed in and tried to play the hero. Kirsikka only turned things onto him.

He was not happy about that, and Kirsikka made it obvious she was more than willing to turn her magic onto him. Her eyes widened as she watched them. Varick could protect himself quite well, but magic, Kirsikka’s magic, was a whole different world. She didn’t know how he would fair against that.

“Wait!” she cried out, reaching one hand out towards them in some fruitless attempt to stop them. But it wasn’t as fruitless as she thought.

A barrier formed between the two before they could strike at each other. The same barrier that she formed to protect herself and Varick on the day her powers first manifested. “Varick!” she called out to get the man’s attention. She quickly understood what Kirsikka was doing before Varick attacked, and she couldn’t bear for him to watch any of that.

“I think you need to go inside and wait. Kirsikka is trying to help me get a hold of my powers, and her methods may be a little…unorthodox for you to watch.” Not if he was only going to attack Kirsikka at the faintest hint of danger towards Tamsin.

 

[Lucyfer]

The icicles never moved towards Varick; there was no need. Tamsin’s panic rose and up went the barrier. That proved the strategy worked, although Varick was none too pleased by Tamsin telling him to retreat. “He could stay. Attacking Varick seems more fruitful than attacking you,” Kirsikka suggested, although Varick’s eyes narrowed.

“Tamsin, did you clarify exactly what Kirsikka was going to do, or how far she was going to go?” Varick demanded.

“No,” Kirsikka answered for her, “that would have defeated the purpose. The magic comes out under extreme emotions. She needed to be confused, panicked, afraid, angry…things like that.” Kirsikka said as if it made perfect sense, as if it were so simple that Varick ought to understand it.

“So how far would you have gone?” Varick demanded.

“Only a little maiming,” as if maiming could be a little.

“That’s—”

“I suggest,” Kirsikka’s voice lowered, “you consider your next words carefully, given the instruction methods I know Primals undergo.”

“She’s not a Primal, and this is not typical of mages.”

“She’s not a typical mage.”

“Is this what was done to you?” Varick snapped.

“No. It wasn’t needed.”

 

[cleopat]

Tamsin grasped onto the feeling she had as she continued to keep the shield up. Maybe she could remember this, now that she was thinking about it, and create it again in the future without the need for extreme emotions. But for now, she didn't trust Kirsikka or Varick to not attack each other, so she kept the shield up between them.

“Varick,” she said calmly, “I know you want to protect me from harm, but I want to do this.” Oh how she knew he wouldn’t be happy with everything, but she couldn’t let him keep interfering with what Kirsikka had planned.

“I think it may be best for you to go back inside until we’re done.” She finally let the shield fall. “I realize that Kirsikka will do what she can to draw those extreme emotions from me so I can connect with my powers. I realize this and I’m prepared for it.”

Yes, it had been a nasty surprise when Tamsin realized this, but if it works, and if it helps her understand her magic better, then she was willing to face whatever Kirsikka threw at her, and she didn’t want Varick to see that. He may not be able to stop himself from interfering at every little thing.

 

[Lucyfer]

Tamsin lowered the shield of her own accord. ‘Good.’ That meant she had an idea of the feeling and some control over it, but conjuring it on her own might still be difficult. Well, at least Tamsin stupidly agreed to let Kirsikka continue, and told Varick to back off. Varick was pissed by that order, it was obvious.

Kirsikka just gave him a shit-eating smile and a little wave, which he responded with a glare. “Fine,” he said, “don’t come crying to me when you lose a leg.” Varick stormed off towards the cottage, and Kirsikka watched him, before looking to Tamsin.

“I will take your leg, you know.” She said it almost as if she now considered that her next challenge. “I’ll do everything short of kill you, until you get this right and can produce the magic without needing the fear. Are you sure you want to continue?”

Kirsikka would at least let her answer without Varick glowering over her. “If you want more time to think, that’s acceptable as well.” Considering Kirsikka had sprung the attacks on her with no warning, and now she knew how far Kirsikka was willing to go.

 

[cleopat]

Tamsin frowned as she watched Varick storm off in anger. She had seen his anger before, but never because of something she did. Even when she had upset him in the past, he remained calm about it. She didn’t like how it made her feel, but she also didn’t want something else making decisions for her.

She wanted to learn, dammit! She was tired of feeling weak and helpless, and she didn’t want to have to constantly rely on someone else to protect her. That’s why, despite wavering a bit when Kirsikka explained to her what would happen, she answered with confidence, “Yes, I want to continue.”

A part of her was hoping that Kirsikka was lying, that she wouldn’t quite maim Tamsin to get her powers to manifest, but was only saying that to instill some fear into her to help with her powers.

I don’t want to be helpless anymore.

She straightened her form and nodded at the mage. “I’m ready to continue.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Kirsikka was a little surprised when Tamsin was willing to continue immediately, but she nodded, “As you wish,” she was not kidding, however. Tamsin’s hopes were in vain. “Let’s resume where we left off.” Now she had willing consent!

More roots immediately sprouted up from underneath the ground around Tamsin, and Kirsikka did not hold back as she launched them at Tamsin, wielding them more like vines than roots, to wrap around Tamsin’s limbs.

If they found purchase, they would squeeze to shatter bones. It would be slow, to give Tamsin a chance – but Kirsikka would not stop them before the bones broke. This was to test Tamsin, after all – and she was now fully aware of the risks, after all.

Kirsikka really did hope Tamsin would find her power before that, though.

 

[cleopat]

Tamsin’s first instinct when the roots began crawling and wrapping around her was to back up and get away, but that proved futile. They secured around her, and immediately she noticed the pressure of their squeeze increasing with every passing second.

At first she didn’t panic, didn’t think that the pressure would increase to the point of breaking her bones, she only thought of trying to summon something to knock them off, but nothing worked. Within a few seconds, it was clear that Kirsikka truly would do anything to get the powers to manifest, as the pain increased wherever the roots wrapped.

“Wait!” she cried out, panicking. Her powers weren’t doing anything at the moment, but she wasn’t sure what she was even trying to do to get the roots off of her. Fucking anything.

The roots had squeezed tight enough to where Tamsin was sure she was going to bruise. As she let out a scream, the roots disintegrated, freeing her from the pain. “Fuck.” She rubbed her arms, trying to rub away the pain. Nothing broke, but she would definitely be feeling it in the morning.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kirsikka did not wait.

She continued with the pressure, however slow, until power burst forth. It was a disorganized blast, but it was still enough to eliminate the roots. Tamsin cursed, but Kirsikka didn’t allow that to be a resting point.

Oh no – Tamsin was showing she could manifest it under duress, so she had to keep Tamsin in duress until she understood the feeling well enough. More roots pulled up from under the ground, but this time they did not try to vine themselves around Tamsin. That would have been too easy, and too slow.

Kirsikka pointed them like spears, and let them jab at Tamsin to impale her. Not in any immediately fatal places (although she acknowledged the wrong jab into a thigh could turn that way), but still at quite damaging and harmful places.

‘Keep going, Tamsin.’

 

[cleopat]

Tamsin thought she would have a moment to catch her breath, but nope. Kirsikka proved to be ruthless, and very scary, when the roots moved for her again. But instead of the slow, twisting roots from earlier, these aimed to maim, or perhaps kill.

She didn’t want to find out.

Her first instinct was to dodge, and dodge out of the way she did, but one root managed to graze her arm enough to cause her to cry out. There was blind panic for a moment when she realized the vines wouldn’t stop, and she would be forced to dodge them until she grew exhausted, unless she could figure out what the fuck to do.

She tripped and fell onto the ground, but before the roots could attack, a shield manifested around her, protecting her from the attacks.

“What is going on out here?” an angry voice sounded from the doorway. Mikhail stood there, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Kirsikka. “When Varick stomped upstairs to his room without a word, I just figured you two got into another argument. But it seems that you’re trying to kill our bard here.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Tamsin managed to manifest the shield at the last moment, before Mikhail arrived as an interruption.

Kirsikka dropped the roots and looked to Mikhail. She wasn’t surprised by his anger, “I have Tamsin’s permission,” Kirsikka said first, since that was the most important piece, “She wanted to learn how to use her magic. It manifests under extremely stressful emotions, such as fear, anger, panic…,” she shrugged, “I considered insulting her, but that damage is rather lasting, so I decided to just harm her physically.”

The logic was sound.

That didn’t mean Mikhail was going to like it, or approve, at all. “I know between you and Malina, she could probably be healed.” Well, Kirsikka had to keep some doubt present so Tamsin would still be afraid. If she assumed it would all be fine, that would lessen the fear she had of the assault.

Kirsikka couldn’t have that.

“I did warn her she could be maimed.”

 

[cleopat]

Mikhail looked from Kirsikka over to Tamsin, who dropped the shield. “Probably?” she squeaked out, staring wide-eyed at Kirsikka.

“There’s no probably,” Mikhail sighed. “We would’ve healed you.” Tamsin looked relieved at the news. “And you’re bleeding,” he added, pointing to where the vine grazed her arm.

Tamsin looked down, and indeed saw blood staining her sleeve. “Oh, I didn’t even notice.” But as the adrenaline wore off, she could feel the pain slowly spread. The wound wouldn’t scar or cause a tremendous loss of blood, but it definitely did not feel great at the moment.

Mikhail looked back at Kirsikka, the same unamused expression from before gracing his features once more. “You know there are other ways to manifest one’s power. Stressful emotions are just one way, but I know the Ordo Sors taught you more than that.” He chastised her like a father chastising a child. He didn’t appreciate anyone getting intentionally hurt under his roof. “Or have you forgotten already? Did Dravon teach you these methods?”

 

[Lucyfer]

No surprise Mikhail put to rest Tamsin’s doubts, but they probably wouldn’t be difficult to stir up again. Tamsin didn’t know the extent of Mikhail or Malina’s healing capabilities. It could be something beyond their skill that happened.

Mikhail’s lecture was also no surprise, and she rolled her eyes as he brought up other methods.

Of course, he wouldn’t remember they didn’t work for her.

Of course, he was always right back to demonizing Dravon.

“The Ordo Sors has many methods for mages such as yourself, Mikhail,” Kirsikka reminded, “for me, their methods hindered my growth, and made me the laughingstock of the school for years,” before she became the prodigy, before Dravon clicked on to how to help her. Her magic was obvious in ways it wasn’t for others, but trying to learn the methods of the schools had fucked with that natural ability. “Dravon never needed to use these methods with me. I was using magic peacefully before we ever met, so I knew how it felt.”

Spying through mirrors, before she truly knew how she was doing it – but she knew how to bring it up, again and again. Dravon was just the one who caught her. The one who traced it back, and dragged her to the school to learn.

“You’re more than welcome to try to teach her your ways,” Kirsikka offered, “I told you before I’m not a teacher – but she is learning.” There was no denying that, either. She was finding the power, before impending doom.

 

[cleopat]

Tamsin interjected before Mikhail could get in another word. “It’s okay, Mikhail. I want her to continue teaching me, because I think her methods are actually working.” The last shield felt easier to create, and she was certain she was beginning to understand that innate feeling of creating the magic.

It would certainly be nice, so that Kirsikka wouldn’t have to keep threatening her health in order to manifest something.

Biting the inside of his cheek in consideration, Mikhail looked at Tamsin for a moment. Eventually he sighed, and his shoulders sagged a little in defeat. “Fine, if that’s what you want, then I won’t stop you.” Tamsin beamed at him. “But I will sit and watch, in case things inevitably go south.” He looked at Kirsikka with that, not hiding his true thoughts on the matter.

But ultimately he couldn’t stop them from training, even if he was unhappy with it. Sure, he could threaten to kick them out, but he couldn’t do that. Not when their lives were at stake.

“And I will not be the one to explain to Varick why there is blood on Tamsin’s sleeve,” he added as he sat down next to a tree. “He already looked pissed off enough as is.”

“I’ll take care of that part,” Tamsin said with a wave of her hand.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘Inevitably, hm?’ Well, that sounded like an invitation to turn up the heat to Kirsikka. If he acted at all like Varick, this was only going to go south for Mikhail. Which she’d be upset about, but he did it to himself. “I don’t mind explaining,” Kirsikka noted, “he doesn’t scare me,” nor did she care about his opinion.

As Tamsin agreed, though, she nodded, “Let’s turn it up a notch since clearly you have someone to watch. Can’t have you thinking you’ll be safe just because of that now, can I?” she pulled the water from the air, keeping the smile on her lips, “so let’s go with something Mikhail would struggle to help with.”

Naturally, that meant the water became ice.

Hundreds of small icicles. Sharp, and they’d become quite dangerous and deadly as the sizes varied, some small, some quite a bit larger. “Make sure to protect yourself,” and she wouldn’t just leave it at the icicles she’d throw at Tamsin.

Eventually, she’d freeze the ground to make it slick. To make evasion difficult.

 

[cleopat]

Mikhail could do nothing but sigh and sit back and watch the disaster unfold. Even though Kirsikka said she had no plans on maiming Tamsin enough to kill her, accidents could happen. Disasters were unpredictable. He would remain on his guard well enough to stop a serious accident from happening.

Kirsikka was frustrating, one thing that hadn’t changed over their years apart.

Tamsin gulped, not liking the smile that stayed on Kirsikka’s face. It was tinged with a hint of madness.

Her first instinct with the icicles thrown her way was to dodge them, but the more she dodged, the more she realized how difficult that was becoming as the ice hindered her movement. Oh, and I never learned how to walk on ice.

Mikhail tensed when he realized one wrong move and an icicle could impale Tamsin in a spot where no one was equipped to heal. But he willed himself to not do anything yet.

Come on, Tamsin. Stop avoiding and do something! With the building panic, Tamsin shot one hand out, and a gust of strong wind ripped through the icicles flying towards her, sending them flying in different directions, all avoiding her.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kirsikka didn’t slow the ice after Tamsin’s gust of wind. So far, someone had interrupted every time she’d pressed, allowing Tamsin a break. She didn’t want to give Tamsin a break, because Tamsin had to learn to keep drawing up the power, and keep it constant. She was already proving she could manifest it in many different ways, but so far, nothing elemental.

Not even that gust of wind – it wasn’t really wind, it was just pure energy that happened to move the wind with it.

So Kirsikka spun wind back, taking those icicles thrown off the path and sending them right back at Tamsin once they’d reached a good distance away. The shattered shards flew back towards her, as did new ones.

And she began to erupt icicles from the ground to hinder Tamsin’s ability to step away.

‘Stand and fight, Tamsin.’

The wind around Kirsikka herself grew colder as she naturally began to plunge into those horrid depths where the true ice lived within her. She recognized it, and tried to keep herself focused and present, so that the cold snap wouldn’t happen. Oh sure – she could direct it – that was no lie to Tamsin – but Mikhail wouldn’t like her to do that sort of damage to any part of his property.

So she pulled back, just a bit, intending to take some of the water and use it as just that – to dump water on Tamsin. To make her colder. To make her easier to freeze to a spot, as well.

 

[cleopat]

Tamsin didn’t expect the ice shards to be directed back at her, along with some newly formed ones. They caught her off guard, and a few managed a few slices on her face and body. She instinctively brought her arms up to guard her face from further damage. When she realized the attacks kept coming without a moment’s reprieve, her breath quickened and her heart pounded in her chest.

The icicles popping up from the ground caused her to stumble and land on her knees and hands, frustration quickly mounting. Come on, stop being so pathetic and helpless. Do something!

She didn’t realize until a second too late of the water hurling her way until she was drenched, the icy temperature already setting deep in her bones.

In that moment something switched in Tamsin’s brain, as if the cold water provided by Kirsikka acted as the catalyst. The frustration reached a tipping point, that frustration with herself for not being stronger or braver. The sensation of tingling pressure grew beneath her skin, and she couldn’t stop herself before she released a large wave of purple energy towards Kirsikka with a cry, obliterating the icy shards into dust.

 

[Lucyfer]

Tamsin was flailing. Faltering. Mikhail did nothing, for which Kirsikka was glad. She didn’t back down, but continued to pummel Tamsin with strikes. At least Mikhail could see she really wasn’t trying to kill Tamsin – it would not be hard for her to do so. She did plan to turn up the chaos by freezing Tamsin to the spot, but Tamsin finally got her shit together.

This was new.

Tamsin didn’t just defend herself, and the magic she used now had form and visuals. It was also coming right for her.

Kirsikka threw up a quick icy shield, expecting that to be enough. A collision, and it’d dissipate.

Except it didn’t. The ice shattered and it kept moving through as if it had just gone through paper, not slowed, and Kirsikka wasn’t sure if it was weakened, but she knew that feeling of panic was too real to ignore and so she quickly channeled a gust of wind to blow it aside, blow it to pieces – or just make sure it wasn’t a head-on strike.

This was now something she didn’t understand, which was as interesting as it was scary, but she had volunteered for this, knowing the risks when magic was forced out of someone in such a chaotic way.

 

[cleopat]

You can do it. You can destroy her.

It wasn’t her own thoughts that echoed in her head, but she didn’t recognize that in the moment. Her hands started to raise in preparation for another spell of magic to shoot her way, but the sound of Mikhail’s voice snapped her out of her trance, and she lowered her hands, unaware of her thought.

“Okay, I think that’s enough,” he announced, standing up and moving closer to Kirsikka, who stood closest to him. “You don’t want to wear her out too much on her first day, do you?” The question was entirely rhetorical, as he knew how Kirsikka would answer that.

Truth be told, he felt apprehension with the cold Kirsikka channeled during the last series of attacks.

“And it looks like Tamsin needs to put on dry clothes before she catches her death, and get those small wounds taken care of,” said Drazhan, who was leaning against the door, where he had been watching them for the last few minutes as he grew bored of the silence inside the cottage.

At Drazhan’s words, Tamsin recognized how drenched and cold she was. “Yeah…yeah, that sounds good.”