abraxaslogs | [ CLOSED ]

[ Kahlil is familiar enough with the farmlands of Nott. He'd spent quite a bit of time out here late last summer, between trying to help put out the fires and working with the locals to remove dead livestock. He chooses to stay out here, far from the Town Square where the larger demonstrations are being held.

It's not hard to sense the chill coming off the locals where it concerns the castle.

Spellwork isn't what he specializes in, but after his lessons with Yennefer and just absorbing what he's been able to over the months here, these smaller incantations aren't much issue for him. The way the wording must be precise - it's little different from the songs and prayers drilled into him by the Payshmura. The only difference is that casting these in their presence would've gotten him sent to the Holy Road.

Sometimes he doesn't realize how far he's travelled.

At a particular farm he spots a familiar head of spikey red hair near a plot. A family watches the figure from a close distance, eyeing him suspiciously. Kahlil gives them a friendly nod as he approaches, then cocks his head at Reno. ]

How's it going?

[ Reno, meanwhile, is familiar with jack shit. This is the third time he's set foot in Nott, and he's never been on a farm in his life, never mind a city full of 'em. But he makes his way around with the air of someone who has the authority to be here—which he does—and maybe that's why the locals are giving him the stink eye.

Which is right about where he's at when Kyle shows up. Reno unrolls the scroll with the enchantment on it. Don't ask him what he's doing. He's just reading words out, he's no wizard.

He holds up a bunch of peaches that've turned flat as a pancake. ] You tell me.

[ Not great. Whatever. He doesn't see why flat peaches are a problem. They still taste the same. Probably juicy as hell. Can't these local boys just take the help and be grateful? ]

[ A laugh comes from beyond them as Natasha strolls towards them both from the direction of the town. She's dressed simply today, blending in to the best of her ability, but there's amusement in her expression as she takes in Reno's efforts. ]

Is that what fruit looks like where you come from? Huh, interesting.

[ Considering she's now getting the same suspicious glances as the other two, she's going to assume they don't appreciate the attempts of humor at the expense of their produce. Not that she can really blame them, she supposes. It's more interesting to note that Lucifer's observations had been more accurate than she'd realized. The atmosphere from the locals around here had definitely cooled in the time since her last visit. Which was worrisome, and definitely warranted some attention. ]

[ Both eyebrows shoot up nearly to his hairline when Reno holds up the pancake-peaches. He gingerly takes one from the stack as Natasha approaches with more commentary, and he lets out a huff. ]

You two are like magnets. It must be a redhaired-thing.

[ He's still fixated on this.

With a grin he pulls out the written incantation from an inner pocket of his cloak. He doesn't have it memorized, but he says the words with the right pronunciation to fix the mistake - and as the last word leaves his lips the peach begins to inflate from its flattened shape, until it appears normal again. ]

[ Hey, don't knock the flat peaches until you try them.

Reno glances over his shoulder as Natasha approaches. He flashes a grin at her, ignoring the increasing annoyance from the farmers. Magnets, huh? Yeah, probably. You work in the same HQ 24/7, you're bound to run into each other. ]

Maybe we're just too pretty to be kept apart.

[ Their last trip into the field was a hell of a lot more fun, but since Kyle's happy to pick up the slack, he's fine with that. Not his forte. He watches the peach spring back nice and round, before looking over at Natasha. ]

What about you? Any good with this magic shit?

Actually, if that were the case, we'd probably be repelling each other. [ Natasha's comment is amused as she comes to a stop next to Kyle and watches as he fixes the fruit. ] The pretty, on the other hand...

[ She returns Reno's grin, bumping lightly into his shoulder as she crosses her arms over her chest and peers over at the incantation Kyle holds. ]

I'm still learning my way around it, so novice at best. Although the theory of it hasn't been too hard to master, at least. [ Slanting a sideways glance at Reno, her smile curves into more of a smirk. ] Don't worry. Maybe we can make Pancake Peaches the newest rage of the season.

[ He can't argue. They both are very nice to look at. They don't exactly make bad company either. ]

I think you'll need a pretty good pitch to convince them...

[ Those farmers over there, glaring. He gently places the peach back in the crate and grabs another flattened one, offering it to Reno first with a raised eyebrow. ]

Look, all you have to do is pronounce it in the right order.

[ A glance at Natasha. ]

Or do you want to give it a go first?

[ Someone decide. Either way, they should get this done with before the farmers start getting even more irritated. ]

[ At some point, Reno's expecting Kyle's gonna grow tired of their shit and abandon them to the moody bastards on their farms, but for now, Thorne's local delivery boy seems willing to stick around. He'll take it.

Mostly 'cause Reno doesn't do any work he doesn't need to do.

He makes a sweeping gesture at Natasha. ] Ladies first.

[ He sidles up to the next patch of what looks like unripe cherries dangling from a series of thick trees. We need 'em red and ripe, says the guy chewing around his toothpick, and Reno waves him off with all the assurance of a man who definitely did not flatten a bunch of peaches just five minutes ago. ]

Don't worry, old man, we got it.

[ She gives Reno a bemused glance, because she's pretty sure he's just trying to avoid more flat peaches rather than any semblance of decorum. But she reaches out to pluck the piece of paper from Kyle's fingers and glancing over the words. It's not an incantation she's tried before and many of the words are unfamiliar, but she'd just heard Kyle speak them so she imitates his wording...

...almost perfectly, but apparently her pronunciation is just a little off somewhere. Figures.

The peach inflates, returning to its normal shape. And then keeps growing, forcing her to use both hands to support it as it swells to the size of a basketball before stopping.

She blinks at it for a moment before slanting a sideways glance at Kyle. ]

If I pretend I meant to do that, do you think they'd be happy with a bigger crop?

[ At this point, Kahlil isn't surprised when Reno passes on the work to Natasha. It's fine, though. The paper leaves his hand and he settles down on crate, pulling one knee up to watch. Any excuse to leave the castle is usually a good one, even if it's basically for babysitting. Especially with the weather warming up. His skin can use the sun, especially with his recent freedom to use the Gray Space.

Not that he's particularly vain in that way (doesn't think of himself, anyway) but there are people (friends) here who would notice now if he started looking washed out.

He bites back a beleaguered sigh as the peach inflates, preparing himself to fix it again. The farmer with the toothpick, however, shoots him a look that has Kahlil remaining in place. The farmer approaches the enlarged fruit, picking it up. Feeling the fuzzy skin, giving it a sniff. He pulls out a pocket knife and cuts into the flesh, popping the piece into his mouth.

He stares down the two redheads. You can do that again? ]

[ What the hell—

Reno's already poking at the oversized fuzzy fruit before the farmer strolls on over. It looks like the kind of thing that Shinra would grow in its labs. Just, if you added more teeth and limbs to it and maybe a lifetime of test tubular anguish.

Ooh. He likes it, huh? Reno glances at Kyle, then at Natasha, and then back at the farmhand.

He flashes a confident smile before declaring: ] You bet your ass she can.

[ Reno looks expectantly at Natasha. He's being supportive. He's also never hesitated to volunteer someone in his life. Besides, what's the worse that can happen if they screw it up? An annoyed farmer? What's he gonna do, stab 'em with his pitchfork? ]

[ Reno. Never piss off the people who supply your food. It never ends well.

Although with their eyes now on her, she gives a faint grimace before offering the farmer a polite smile. ]

I'll do my best. I think I can recreate it.

[ She's totally bluffing. She's not even sure what she pronounced wrong, but she's pretty sure she can do it wrong again. Hopefully?

She eyes the peach she holds, and then the bushel of them waiting. ] Do you think they need to be flat before I try it? Let's see if I can do it with a regular one.

[ Handing the too-large peach off to the farmer, she reaches for one of the unspelled ones still in the basket and tries again. It works, sort of. While it doesn't get quite as big as the original, it still swells up several times its original size. ]

Ha!

[ She resists the urge to pump her fist in victory. She totally meant to do that, of course. Again. ]

[ There's a small crowd beginning to gather around Natasha and her peaches, murmuring excitedly as they continue cutting up the first basketball sized peach and pass around the pieces.

Kahlil ends up with a slice, and chews on it thoughtfully as he watches this all play out. One farmer is even checking out the pancake-shaped ones with curiosity instead of annoyance.

This could've gone so much worse. ]

What about the cherries? [ he reminds, helpfully. ]

Edited 2023-06-02 19:58 (UTC)

[ With a glint in his eye, Reno watches her work. He's rooting for her to succeed, really. He might also just find it amusing if the fruit turned into a square instead. Frankly, he thinks all this is better served in a lab environment, but who's he to tell a bunch of civilians they can't have their magic peach balls?

He steals a slice and munches. Pretty good. ]

I think we've found you a new job. [ As for the cherries...

He walks over and stands under them. Is he gonna give it a try? Probably has to. He frowns, peers at the words, and gives it a whirl. They do not, in fact, grow any bigger. But there's a weird popopop, each stem sprouting a new cherry fruit until the entire branch tips over from the weight of the whole damn thing.

Whether that's what they want or not, Reno gestures at his accomplishment like he's brought them a miracle. Ta-da. ]

[ She'd taken an offered slice of peach from one of the older farmers, casting him a warm smile in gratitude as she pops it into her mouth. It's pretty good, and she's relieved whatever magic she'd apparently mis-cast hadn't ruined that part of it.

She does exchange a relieved look with Kyle, however, because yeah, that could have gone way worse. It probably could have gone better, too, but she'll still take it as a win.

She follows along after Reno, however, munching on another slice of peach as she watches him try again. Hopefully with better luck this time. Although when the cherries start multiplying like popcorn she lifts a hand to her mouth to try and stifle a quick laugh. ]

Well. That does count as multiplying the crop, I'm pretty sure.

[ The literal popping cherries makes Kahlil laugh-snort, nearly choking on the slice of peach he was trying to swallow at the same time, and he pounds on his chest with a slight cough before glancing at Natasha. ]

Technically? I think so.

[ The farmers are quick to inspect these too, and by now Kahlil wonders if perhaps they might not press their luck any further with them. But like the peach, they pass along the multiplying cherries, pushing for opinions on the taste.

Kahlil is handed one, and he chews around the pit thoughtfully before spitting it into his palm. Strangely, it immediately begins sprouting there, a small green stem and leaf emerging from the center. ]

[ Sure as hell does. Reno doesn't want to hear any complaints from the farmers. He munches on the offered cherries—until Kyle's palm starts to grow its own little leaf.

He leans over with a frown, a couple of cherries still in his mouth. Then he spits his own seeds out. Both of 'em, leaving red streaks on his hand and...well. There they go. Sprouting.

He glances at Kyle, then Natasha. ]

Guess they're really multiplying. [ Tch— ] This isn't gonna be a problem, is it?

[ Are they gonna hear from Thorne later on about how their entire town's covered in popping cherries? Should they just take off before everybody starts pointing fingers? ]

[ Natasha stares at it a moment before lifting her hand and making a gesture, speaking a word she's heard Stephen use a dozen times in their magical lessons when she inevitably casts something wrong. Which is more than she's going to admit to either of them. But mostly because Stephen delights in giving her a hard time in magical training in revenge for her combat lessons. She supposes that's only fair.

The magic dispels, stopping the multiplication or cancelling it from continuing further, but not reducing the effects Reno had made on the tree. She gives a furtive glance around to make sure the farmers hadn't noticed anything odd. ]

That could make a hell of a problem if someone swallowed one of those and it continued doing that. But I think as long as we stop the spell before it gets too out of hand, it should be okay? [ She hopes? ] That is, if you can even cast it again.

[ Someone more skilled than the three of them could probably figure out a way to shift Reno's work into something truly great, probably. And sure, they are potentially a choking hazard, but he gives Natasha a sly, amused look when she pulls that dispelling incantation out of her proverbial pocket.

He glances at Reno, conspiratorially. ]

She's been holding out on us.

[ CLOSED ]

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