it's not your act of creation

[beautifullies]

Who: Claire and closed starters + opens
When: September + October
Where: her house in Solvunn, the Horizon, will add more locations as needed
What: An open where Clarie discovers she can control bees (up to 30 ft), an option to bake bread or garden with her, eventual questing, a handful of closed starters and more!
Warnings: Will update as needed
Notes: Please feel free to match the brackets or switch to prose, tag with your heart. Assume wildcarding is on the table, just message me first or hmu on plurk @ babybananas w/any ideas!




look how cute, how adorable, how perfect

Comments

[suplexer]

[ Tifa accepts the invitation into Claire's garden, admiring it with a quick sweep of her gaze. She hadn't gotten to spend all that much time at Aerith's home before they had to storm Shinra tower and then escape Midgar, but this does remind her of it — an unexpected point of brightness in the slums.

Either way, she turns to watch as soon as Claire speaks up, observing with wide eyes as the bees come streaming forth from their hives and then gather together in an almost orderly group, moving in any direction that Claire indicates. ]

... Wow, I've really never seen anything like that. [ Or heard of a magic that works this way. She does take a step back, not because she thinks the bees will do anything, but there is something unnerving about so many of them buzzing so close to her. She sends Claire an uncertain glance. ] Useful how?

[ Does she just mean it will make her beekeeping hobby easier, or did she have something else in mind?

As for Tifa, she shoots a look down at her hands at that question, then shakes her head. ] Nothing so far. At least not like this. I have been studying some elemental magic with Wanda and Julia. Umm, if you know them.

[ But it really did feel like everybody knew everybody here, especially among the Summoned. ]

[beautifullies]

[ Claire smiles brightly at the mention of Wanda and Julia, even as she moves her hands slowly to direct the bees. ]

I do know them both; Wanda actually made a few new bees for me, enough to get a hive started. That was before the Singularity gave me this magic. Now I can call them from the woods, but I'll have to test my range. I haven't figured it out, exactly.

[ As she explains, the bees have formed a sort of shield around Claire, moving with her when she walks, staying in tight formation. ]

I imagine a person might think twice about trying to get to me through a barrier of bees. I could clear a path, you might say.

[ Her attention turns to Tifa again as she once again waves the bees away, letting them go about their business. ] Have you met Himeka yet? Between her and Julia, I've been able to connect with plant magic fairly well, I think. I'd be happy to pass along your name if you haven't spoken yet.

[ Again, she has to give some credit to the Singularity for gifting her the magic, but she had good teachers who helped her learn how to focus and train herself up, exercising her magic like a muscle. ]

[suplexer]

[ Wanda made bees? Tifa's gathered from their lessons together that Wanda is incredibly powerful, on a level that she's never really seen. Making something from nothing isn't the sort of thing you see every day. And while Aerith had a sort of special power with nurturing plants, she hadn't ever made living creatures.

Tifa's gaze tracks the formation of bees as they follow Claire so closely, not unlike the way any trained fighter would keep tabs on a threat. She knows they're well under Claire's control now, but she makes a good point about their usefulness. ]

I guess that's true. Not many people are going to risk trying to push through that many bees to get to you.

[ Granted, some bees would get hurt in the process. Didn't they die if they used their stingers? ]

Oh! [ She nods firmly. ] Yes, I have met Himeka. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she's skilled at using magic too. It seems like most people here have some talent in it.

[ And if it's possible for anyone to learn here, why not? Although Julia and Wanda definitely knew magic from home; it's why they're such good teachers.

Tifa's eyes flick down to her hands for a moment. ] I've mainly been working on re-learning some elemental magic. The way it worked for me back home, you needed something called Materia to cast it at all. So this is kind of an adjustment...

[beautifullies]

[ Magic bees mean they're heartier, at least according to Wanda, and Claire trusts her. But the bees aren't all magic, and she isn't eager to put it to the test. ] As a last resort, I might take all the help I can get.

[ She does have her bracer first, a gift from Hilda that will provde a magical shield. But as a backup, or if she needs to protect someone else, she has a very last resort. ]

'Kind of' an adjustment feels like an understatement. [ She gives Tifa a wry smile, then nods toward her patio so they can sit, walking toward one of the four chairs. There's a pitcher on the table, the last of her late summer tea blend, iced, and one cup half full, the other empty and waiting. ] At least it was for me. I actively avoided using magic for the longest time. Until I met and got to know Wanda and Himeka.

[ Julia came later, and Claire loves her all the same. ] I'm going to guess not everyone can access this, 'Materia?' [ She gestures to the table. ] Would you like tea?

[suplexer]

[ While Tifa doesn't like the idea that Claire would ever be put into a situation so desperate that she had to make use of that last resort, she understands that there are dangers here. There isn't usually much time for her to catch her breath before something else is going on, and while she hasn't ever felt as if her life was threatened, it's something to keep in mind.

So while she appears uncertain at first, she does give Claire a firm nod. ] Better safe than sorry, that's for sure.

[ When it's clear that she's being invited to sit, Tifa follows Claire over to the patio and settles into a chair across from her. ]

Why did you avoid it? Just because you didn't have any experience with it?

[ That's a fair enough reason, honestly. Magic must seem intimidating to someone who's never used it before. ]

Materia is pretty expensive and you have to have some sort of weapon to slot it into, so that's one way that its use is limited. It's also a finite resource. [ There's also the question of how it's produced, but she won't get into all that. Tifa shoots Claire a smile. ] And oh, some tea would be great. Thank you so much!

[beautifullies]

[ Claire pours for both of them. It's fragrant, with a light ginger taste, blackberry leaves and lemon balm, rosehip seeds, and white tea. ] Help yourself to anything here. [ The tray has honey for sweetener, a bowl of complimentary blackberries, soft cheese and crackers. Almost as if she'd known eventually there would be company.

Only once they're settled does she explain, but first she acknowledges the Materia. ]

It makes sense then, that you wouldn't necessarily know how to perform magic inherently. As for avoiding it, in the time I'm from, magic is feared. Women are persecuted for it the most, and typically for reasons that involve challenging something a man said. Knowing too much, healing someone a little too well for the church's liking meant you must be in-cahoots with the devil for such knowledge.

[ She speaks from experience, from nearly burning at the stake, but that's a depressing tale she keeps tucked way for now. ]

I didn't trust how...freely it was used at first. I thought it must be for a certain type of person, surely not everyone. But slowly I realized no one would arrest me for grinding herbs for salves and teas.

[ Claire regards Tifa with a tilt of her head. ]

How do you feel about it? Being able to so freely learn?

[suplexer]

[ It's impressive how Claire simply had this all ready, almost as if she had been expecting company. It does give Tifa a moment of pause as she casts a glance around them, wondering if she's accidentally put Claire into some sort of awkward situation. Maybe she'd been waiting for someone else, but then Tifa came by and she'd invited her into her garden out of politeness.

Before Tifa can say anything about that possibility, Claire begins to explain why the use of magic had given her pause. There does end up being a reason beyond it being something foreign, and a frown takes over Tifa's expression as the explanation continues.

It didn't take much for society to find a reason to blame women for something, and Tifa doesn't hold back on a sigh as she takes a sip of tea, then adds a spoonful of honey to it. ]

It sounds like the whole magic thing was just an excuse to target people. I'm sorry you had to live through something like that.

[ Tifa makes a soft humming noise in response to Claire's question. ]

To be honest, I was also pretty surprised when I realized that just about everyone here can use magic. It didn't take me too long to realize that it would be helpful to relearn how to cast a few spells, though, and I was lucky enough to have people offering to teach me almost right away.

[ Other women, funnily enough. It's good to know that they can all look out for each other here, and Claire is just another example of that. ]

[beautifullies]

[ What Claire doesn't know, what she can't know unless or until she goes home, is that the magic is there inside of her, waiting to be used for the first time while acting as midwife. Traveling the through the stones has changed her, given her the ability, but back home, she hadn't learned how to tap into it. ]

You're not wrong. Most of those people just so happened to be women with strong opinions.

[ Claire listens, nodding along as Tifa speaks, then she gives a soft chuckle. ]

You know, you've made me realize that I started building my little circle around magic; Himeka and Wanda led to meeting so many others, and now that little circle feels like an entire community.

[ She doesn't mean to sound so sentimental, but she can't help it. And the longer she's here, the more it means to her that those people are still here with her. ]

I only wish I could get to those who aren't here in Solvunn.

[ A frown touches her lips before raising her cup to take a sip of tea. ]

I've never lived anywhere with borders quite like this.

[suplexer]

[ Tifa rolls her eyes, because of course they just so happened to be women with strong opinions. It's unfortunate to realize that a prejudice like that extends beyond the borders of worlds, but she can hope it's not a universal thing.

The fact that they have a whole community of magically-inclined women here in Solvunn is a nice realization to have, though. Back home it was really just Tifa and Jessie surrounded by a bunch of guys (and Merle, but that was different), and it's only recently that Tifa's had people like Aerith and Yuffie to commiserate with, so Solvunn has been a fresh breath of air in that sense. ]

I really like that we're all so eager to support each other, too. Wanda and Himeka were so nice and welcoming to me when I first got here and that's only continued.

[ She doesn't mind the sentimentality at all.

As for the comment about borders, Tifa chews at her bottom lip and takes a sip of her tea, eventually nodding. ]

Where I'm from it isn't always the easiest thing to get around, but there definitely aren't borders that are this strict. Shinra keeps an eye on things, I guess, and you might need paperwork to enter or leave certain cities, but here it's a lot harder. At least we have Nocwich...?