abraxaslogs | • OPEN •

[it would probably be best not to spur hilda on with the whole issue of altaïr naming the lizards, or even about the fact that the treehouse has a particular storybook quality to it—with all the modern amenities one could think of, of course.

wanda puts a hand inside the tank, letting one of the lizards climb atop her palm.]

I should name them after gems, then. [if that were the case; she pulls back, leaning against the couch, and letting the lizard grow comfortable as it wraps its short tail around her warm pulse.] What kind of enchantments were you thinking of?

[ The thought of Wanda running with a suggestion of hers makes her face light up. It also probably had to do watching as one of her little lizards immediately takes to her new mother, soaking up her warmth. ]

I have a whole book about them in the Horizon if you need ideas. But I'm sure that whatever you come up with will be perfect, Wanda.

[ Hilda follows suit, reaching a hand into the tank to scoop up the remaining lizard. It scuttles up her hand and once it sits in her palm she brings it close to her body. ]

Nothing too complicated but I want to try and make them fun. Like something that could light up, or something that could help you find your way if you're lost like a compass or a wayfinder. [ There's a hint of excitement that seems to spark in her voice, something she can't quite dampen despite herself. ] I was reading about some spells that might be fun but I haven't had a chance to try them.

You know, I don’t think I’ve been to your Horizon.

[it’s a strange thing, considering how close they’ve become; it’s probably because it’s always been easier, between them, to wait to meet in person. that excitement of getting to see each other, face to face.

this really is what having something akin to a best friend is like, isn’t it?]

I’d like to take a look. You’ve always got a good eye for gems and precious stones.

[—and then, there’s the bit about the enchanted objects. they definitely sound like exciting little trinkets to have. to make, too.]

You should do them. Even as prototypes. —is that from a power you’ve acquired here in Abraxas?

Really? [ That seems to take her by surprise. For some reason she would have thought that Claude would have taken her for a tour. ] Now that you mention it I haven't been to yours either. I mean, I guess it's not just my domain. It was Sylvain's first and he did most of the work if I'm being honest.

[ Credit where credit is due after all. ]

Although I had a lot of spare time in the last couple of weeks, I created some of my home, Goneril. [ She blushes slightly, an almost bashful smile fluttering to her face. ] I'd love it if you could come visit.

[ It feels a little silly to say as much. She'd like to think that Wanda would feel welcome to visit any time she wanted because they were friends. More than that, really. ]

I don't know if I'd call it a power.

[ Her tone is light, airy, like she isn't trying to take it too seriously. ]

It's just reading some books and hoping that the runes and spells work. I don't think I could cast them without enchanting something or working the design for it into the object. It's definitely nowhere near anything you can do.

[wanda just smiles at that.]

I'd be happy to visit. [especially since hilda seems particularly keen about the fact that she's created some of her home—of goneril. wanda isn't sure what she is bound to expect, but a home is a home. and while she lacks that for herself, she understands just how important it is.] It's a date.

[just the kind of easygoing terminology she replicates from more modern sitcoms, of best friends offering the friendliest of banter to signify just how meaningful the commitment to it is.

she gently rubs a finger over the head of the lizard she's holding, listening to hilda.]

Let's not compare ourselves.

[that's not fair, given that wanda can just will something to be. it's not beautiful in the same sense as someone putting in the work and effort and creativity into it.]

I bet there would be more value in something you work hard on to make. If not a power, then a skill.

[ Wanda's response only furthers the pleased colour on her cheeks. and her smile spreads wide and bright across her face. It has everything to do with knowing that she'd be likely one of the first not from Fodlan to see a piece of her home. She hadn't bothered trying to recreate the estate even though she knew she could. But something so grandiose hadn't felt right at the time.

As for the comparison, well it's easier said than done not to; a difficult task when she had grown up with Holst as a brother. She had been doing it since a young age without even knowing it. ]

I don't know if I'd call it a skill. [ The thought of her having any skills is a difficult thing to accept. She blows some air out of her lips. ] I've ruined so many pieces and had to start over because they didn't work. Materials are so expensive! Who would have thought?

[ She tilts her head curiously to the side. ]

Have you always been able to cast your magic like that?

[ah, hilda, always so down on herself. wanda just looks over at her friend with fondness, sitting up straighter and crossing her legs under herself, so that the young lizard can clamber on the folds of her skirt.

also, is hilda rich back in her world...? the thought never crossed her mind before. of course materials are expensive.]

That's just how art works, I think.

[it's a little amusing.]

And no, not always. For many years it was just telepathy and telekinesis. I never even thought there was anything magical about it. [a short nod] But it goes to show how little we know about even ourselves.

No wonder artists are always looking for patrons. I guess that's why muses and patrons are often two different things.

[ She can't help but sound bemused. Does her voice also betray an air of realization that she'd had months ago upon arriving here without a piece of gold to her name that things did, in fact, cost money and not only that but that gold was finite? That can be left up to Wanda's interpretation. ]

That isn't true though if you're someone like Jesper. He's able to conjure materials out of thin air just like you.

[ She's jealous really. Now that seems like a useful power. ]

So your magic just sort of...evolved then? Is that the right word for it?

[ She leans back to rest against the back of the couch, albeit a little gingerly, pain prickling slightly on her face as she does. Hilda is quick to try and hide that however. The lizard in her hand seems to sense it though and skitters closer towards her as if that will somehow bring her comfort. ]

[muses and patrons, it sounds like something wanda would read in a book about a life that could never be hers. suppose so, she thinks, but ultimately thinks that there is beauty in being able to create art despite the scarcity of materials. perhaps jesper would help hilda out with creating those materials she would need.

wanda is not about to mention that she creates coins on the fly when she really needs it; inflation is not her end goal, and the last thing she wants to do is get in trouble over capitalism.]

People train every day to get better at using their weapon of choice or to get stronger. Same thing with my powers. I’d train with it to use it better — and it’d just grow from there.

[it’s less simple than that, but there’s no real intent to want to get into it. agatha’s words echo in her mind when she thinks of her magic as magic. there’s a light frown, though, and wanda’s expression pinches a touch.]

You fought one of the monsters that came through the rift, didn’t you?

[ The answer, simple or not, works. It's not as if magic is foreign to her of course but the sort of magic she's familiar with is more nature aligned. Fire, thunder, light, darkness – forces of nature that can be conjured from thin air. It's so different from the magic Wanda is capable of. Of the New Magic in the Free Cities.

Hilda catches the pinched look on her friend's face but before she can read into it more, Wanda's question gives her pause. And of course the pause gives rise to mild panic. Pain pricks at her again like the claws of a dragon dragging lightly into her wounds. ]

I fought a couple of them. Not on purpose, mind you.

[ It's not admitting to anything but it's not lying either. She looks to Wanda. ]

Did you?

— yeah.

[wanda wonders if, based on the panic rising in hilda, if she expects to be chastised. or if something else is the matter altogether. with a light shake of her head, wanda studies her friend for a moment.]

I just want to make sure you're okay.

[because, in the end, that's what friends do.]

I know you're not unfamiliar with danger, but I can still worry.

[at this, wanda offers hilda a small smile.]

[ Panic gives way to worry when Wanda answers her manifested as a little line between her forehead. Forcefully she smothers her panic that doesn't serve her here.

She's never seen Wanda fight, seen only a sliver of what she suspects her magic can do. Without ever seeing that though Hilda knows Wanda is more than capable - but she knows that anything can happen in a split second to even the most capable, talented fighter.

She reaches out to clasp Wanda's hand. ]

If you can worry then so can I. Did something happen? You'd tell me if something did, wouldn't you?

I—

[she pauses, considering her words.]

I can't remember if something did. Not clearly, anyway. [and then a shake of her head, holding hilda's hand in return and squeezing it.] I think it's something I would rather forget. It was a rough month.

[for all of them, she thinks.]

[ Wanda's answer is less than comforting but her worried expression doesn't betray the niggling sense that her friend is hiding something from her. It's a familiar sense, one developed after years of friendship with Claude. But Wanda is not Claude and if there's anything that Hilda had learned over these last months is that her insecurities would not make her doubt her friends again.

And she isn't wrong. Her hold on Wanda's hand is fierce even though her lips lift humorlessly. As she does, Wanda might get a flash of gnashing, terrifying teeth and claws bigger than Hilda digging into flesh. ]

I'll say. Do you think Matt will be mad if we get some dessert beforehand? I think we both deserve it.

[wanda does get a flash of gnashing, terrifying teeth and huge claws digging into flesh. wanda feels the ghost feeling of what pain that would cause, and it frightens her— frightens her to think how close many of her loved ones could be to death at any given time.

green eyes, welled in tears, look up at hilda's words, and she nods.]

Yeah.

[they can do with something sweet. as her hand tightens on hilda's, so does a tight smile lift into her expression. they'll get their dessert and be comforted in the fact that they are here, together, at the moment. to wanda, it's not that they're unwilling to speak to one another truthfully—it's just that some things are too close to one's heart to put into words that won't shred it into bloody bits.

perhaps they will manage, too, a genuine smile, amidst their dessert and baby lizards.]

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