open post - m⋆a⋆g⋆i⋆c

[callmeles]

© TESSISAMESS

m⋆a⋆g⋆i⋆c
Finally, after what seems like far too long and after some much-needed meditation, Piper was ready, finally, to dive into where her powers stand. Your character can find her in some gym (either in New Orleans or Adonis' stupid penthouse in London) or somewhere fortified against fireballs with some handy targets nearby. She may not look like she could use the assistance but it never hurts to have the company and someone to challenge her to push herself more. Or to throw things at her to see if she can move them away or set them on fire or any number of things. Okay so maybe she could use the assistance and Adonis was currently doing other more "important" things.

All characters are welcome or if you have a character who wants to have some magic practice, I welcome that as well! She'll be happy to train with another! And if we have a verse, I'm more than happy to work it in! Looking at you Will and all of our verses - gym at the abattoir that just pops out of nowhere? Y/Y? ♥

Piper's Current Abilities

As a note, unless it's something huge or unusual, she doesn't need spells to do any of the below things.

Assumed CR is a GO! She's been around for a little bit, gaining connections and contacts - she could have run into your character along the way. Let's do this thing.

Comments

[callmeles]

It was his seemingly effortless use of his abilities and the sheer vastness of said abilities that Piper both admired and envied. Envied specifically the "seemingly effortless" part and not the vastness part. She'd had that once and maybe it'll take time but she'd gain more as time went on. She was sure of that now. Maybe not to his extent but there was a reason he was the Sorcerer Supreme.

Piper snorts at the question without taking her eyes off her palm. "Yes because nothing screams Piper more than passive and mild," she says dryly with a little smirk. "There are other schools of thought, I know but this one has been the easiest for me to wrap my head around."

She's so focused on her palm that she doesn't notice the barometric pressure building and how the once sunny skies have grown cloudy.

"Huh," she says and glances up toward the sky before glancing over at Strange and looking him over in his robes. "And here I thought they were all your good robes."

"Is it a good or bad sign that I may not be able to form a water ball but I can maybe make it rain?" She pauses. "Literally."

[portalling]

“Kind of both,” Strange muses, shaking out the sleeves of his robes, hands pressed against his knees. The skies are darkening further, grey clouds building over their heads; he can feel another few light patters landing in his dark hair. With a faint irritated flicker, he flicks a hand and a pale runic shield shimmers into place over him, like a magical umbrella. She can see the shape of it as the drizzle hits the shield and slides right off.

Thinking aloud over Piper’s issue: “It takes a great deal of power to affect a larger, broader area like a rainstorm. But a water ball in your palm takes careful finesse and control. Magic, in the end, requires both. I’m starting to get the impression,” he says, sending her another considering look, “that you’re good about the power part but notsomuch with control.”

That was what fire could become so easily, after all: a flame devouring fuel, an out-of-control forest blaze.

[callmeles]

"You weren't a fan of playing in the rain were you," she asks, though suspecting she knew the answer. Playing in the rain had been one of her favorite things growing up, so she wasn't too bothered by the raindrops that fell onto her. It was her magic after all that had summoned it.

She tilts her head to the side as she considers what he's saying about power vs. control and why certain things are easy vs more difficult. "That would make sense," Piper says after a long moment, looking up at the sky.

"So we know I have the power to burn or at least my brain thinks I still do when it defaults to something large scale like this," she motions with her hand. "It's needing to work on the control of it... and learning how to change the water to snow."

Piper's mouth quirks up ruefully. "Grand gestures were always my style, apparently. Go big or go home."

[portalling]

“Exactly. Say you’re a heavy hitter used to punching something with full force, and now you need to do the exact same thing but make it a butterfly tap.” Does this metaphor make any sense whatsoever? Fuckit, whatever, he’s already committed to it: “You’re used to gross motor control, but you need to get accustomed to fine muscle movements instead.”

Archly, “I used to be a surgeon, so unsurprisingly, my skills lie with the latter. I wonder—”

Strange stirs from his meditative floating and unfolds his legs, stretching them out and gently landing on the rooftop instead as he considers. He’s rarely been put in the position of teacher like this, but he finds that he’s been warming to it. He’s shit with the kid novices at Kamar-Taj, but Piper sasses him right back and she doesn’t burst into tears if he’s a little sharper than usual, so he likes working with her. And he has an idea:

“Do you paint or play any musical instruments?”

[callmeles]

Piper nods as she considers his words and the metaphor, cracking a smile. She understood the point he was trying to make.

She never thought that could be one of her issues but it did make sense. Did it have something to do with her magic recognizing that Jordan / its other half wasn't around and so it was trying to make up for it? She wasn't sure but there was something to it, she was sure.

"Yeah, I can see where starting rain storms wouldn't be your style," she says, her tone teasing and then watches as he stands on the rooftop.

Out of all the teacher's that she could have gotten when arriving, she was glad she'd gained Stephen's attention. She'd needed someone who could challenge her and prompt her to think of magic in different ways. Obviously what had worked before didn't always work now.

"I used to draw and paint a little bit back in high school. Writing was more my style though." She considers it. "I always thought one day I'd learn an instrument but I'd be unsure where to even start."

crawls out of the grave

[portalling]

“This might sound like absolute nonsense, like power of positive thinking visualising-your-way-out-of-depression bullshit, but I genuinely think this might help: if we get you practicing an instrument at the Sanctum, or painting. Get used to working with small, precise movements, like thin shards of ice, rather than levying all your magic at once. It’s like… a tap, open too far.”

He’s constantly fishing for metaphors to fit the training, to parse and make sense of her-their situation, but the more he ruminates on it, the more he likes the tap thing. Piper-and-Jordan as a pair of Chosen Ones had been a torrent, a flood. That magic was presumably still there, still trying to force its way through narrower pipes, but now with only one person to guide it.

There’s an ominous rumble, the clouds thickening further. As if to underscore Strange’s point, the drizzle roils and— the sky opens up completely, a torrential downpour as if the clouds have just unleashed buckets of water solely on Piper, drenching her to the bone. He makes a startled noise and then steps closer, further into her personal space than he’d ordinarily go, but enough for his runic umbrella to cover her as well.

A little too late, though.

I've missed you!!! /crawls out of her own grave/

[callmeles]

When the words 'power of positive thinking' slips from his lips, Piper can't help but laugh. But, what did she have to lose? Maybe there was something to working with small movements vs. turning on a hose at full blast.

It was, as she thought about it further, something that made the most sense and really made it click.

And it was then that the torrential downpour unleashed on solely her.

She stood there shocked. She hardly notices when he steps into her personal space to share his umbrella with her. After a beat of silence, dripping wet she starts to laugh. Fully laugh.

"Well. That's not how - not how I expected our training to go today," she says between laughs, unconsciously setting a hand on his arm.