un: fox rain

[foxable]

[ There's a muffled sound of someone talking, before a rustle and then Fox's voice coming in clearer over the crystals: ]

Alright folks, thanks to our local resident sorcerer, I've figured out a spell I've been meaning to offer. I just want to say that this is totally voluntary - it involves tattoos, which I know not everyone is keen about, but I think considering where we're headed, and how we've been travelling...

Well.

Let's just say I would rather we don't lose people and only find out they fell off a mountain like two days later.

Okay, anyway, so with all that preamble:

I'm offering small 'emergency broadcast' tattoos. I couldn't think of a better name for them, but you know, hit me up if you can think of a better moniker. It can be whatever you want - I can work the runes into a specialized design - or it can be small and hidden somewhere on your person. Essentially, when you aren't able to send out a help signal to the rest of us, and are in grave danger or are severely wounded, it will message our quartz network directly, and let us know that you're in trouble.

It, um, will also let us know if you're alive or dead or not.

Anyway, I know it's kind of morbid, but considering everything we've been going through... Well.

I'd just rather know that everyone's okay, I guess. Especially when we get separated.

So. If you want one, hit me up. If you don't want one, you can always come find me when you change your mind.

Comments

[bearshermark]

Yeah.

I don't have any designs in mind, but I'll give it a little thought. Do you think a shoulder would be good for it?

[foxable]

yeah, should be fine! i do suggest it somewhere that you normally keep hidden, but, like, none of us are going topless in this weather am i right?

[bearshermark]

No, certainly not.

How long does it take?

[foxable]

not long! couple hours.

the spell takes a bit to set up, but you can do other things while i prepare it, then the actual tattooing takes a couple hours

you ever get tattooed before?

[bearshermark]

No, I was born with the one I already have so that doesn't count. I've only really heard of the practice before.

[foxable]

woah, wait

you were born with a tattoo?

can i see it?

[bearshermark]

You didn't notice? Yeah, I mean it's on my left hand so I don't mind.

[foxable]

[ Fox is not the most observant of people when it's not something he's deliberately trying to figure out...]

i mean, there's a difference between a tattoo that you get when you're, you know, at least conscious

and one you're born with

the latter is way more magical than the former

is it enchanted?

[bearshermark]

I guess that depends on what you mean by enchanted. It doesn't do anything, on its own. It's more like a connection that channels magic, sometimes.

[foxable]

trust me, that counts

channels magic from where to where?

[bearshermark]

[Well, it's a little embarrassing to say, but]

From Yggdrasil, through to me and wherever I direct it.

[foxable]

Yggdrasil?

[ There's a few seconds before the next reply comes. ]

huh
i know the name
from my world, obviously, but it's

a lot of norse magic refers to it, it's like a giant tree, i think

is it the same kind of thing in your world?

[ And in the meantime he's going to start wandering around seeing if he can find Eleven. ]

action?

[bearshermark]

[Fox finds him easily enough around their campsite as he's tapping a pen to paper, readying a reply. Then he spots him with a smile that's part relief and waves, closing the journal he'd been using]

Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and the source of all Light and Life in Erdrea. [That sounds almost scripted, like a familiar stretch of phrase] You've heard of it?

action!

[foxable]

[ Fox shoves his own notebook into one of the large pockets of his cargo pants, then swings around to slide down next to Eleven. ]

Um - sort of. Not exactly. I know the name, and it's definitely a tree. And it's tied to a lot of, like, magic myth, if that makes sense. A lot of scandinavian and ancient german magic often call upon it in runes and stuff. I can't say whether the tree actually exists in my world. It's like how Catholic magic invokes angels. Can't tell you if angels exist either, but the belief sure does, and that effects the magic.

I'm guessing in your world it's a lot more than myth, though.

[ He holds out his hands, silently asking for Eleven to show him the tattoo. ]

[bearshermark]

[Eleven offers out his hand for inspection and hums shortly. The mark is dull and dark against the back of his hand, inert but ever-present. Catholic doesn't mean anything to him, but he's heard of angels to make the connection to something religious]

Yes, Yggdrasil is more than myth in Erdrea. She's a giant tree on a floating island. Every leaf on Her branches represents a life.

[foxable]

[ There's a pause as he takes Eleven's hand, his own touch surprisingly gentle, turning it over to look at it. The mark itself seemed standard, but...

Still holding Eleven's hand, he used his other to brush fingers over one of his tattoos - the runes shimmering with a green light before the same light flashed over his eyes. Thus better equipped, he started looking at Eleven's tattoo again. ]

That's pretty incredible, [ He murmured, half to himself, half to Eleven. ] So the tattoo is a conduit, basically, between the tree and yourself and whatever you're working magic on?

[bearshermark]

[He blinks, the flash of green an intriguing use of magic he hasn't seen before]

Ah yeah, in essence. It lights up whenever the connection is made. ..I think it's Her way of looking out for me.

I'm going for a little bit of a loop here, feel free to correct or ask me to alter!!

[foxable]

[ The green light flickers over his eyes as he traces the mark with his finger tips, mumbling quietly under his breath. ]

... I've never seen anything like this, [ He admits, but there's a sort of wonder in his voice as he does so. ] I-- I guess to use a tree metaphor-- I can almost see roots, reaching out beyond you. Like a tether. It- Honestly, it's kind of hard to make sense of.

[ He rubs his thumb over the mark, as if movement would cause something, but frowns a little bit as he watches. He lets out a breath, the green light fades, and he gently releases Eleven's hand. ]

It's almost - I don't know how to describe it. My magic makes sense. For the most part. Yours is like... trying to make sense of a world where suddenly dogs can talk. If that makes sense. I wouldn't even know where to start, if I was going to try to figure out how it worked.

all good!

[bearshermark]

[Eleven listens, half-smiling and half-wishing he could see what Fox does. Roots is likely as apt a description as there ever could be.

He drops his hand to his lap and stares at the mark on it for a few moments, then huffs a laugh]

Yggdrasil has roots scattered over Erdrea that are full of memory, yet She hangs in the sky. I think that makes more sense now, if my mark is a little like that. A magical tether.

[He turns another smile on Fox] This power was granted to me by a Goddess. It's different from other innate or learned magic, even in my world. I think that's the only way I can explain it.

[foxable]

[ Fox does his best to return the smile, but his brows are knit and it's clear his mind is still sorting this information. ]

A goddess.

[ He let out a long breath. ]

How does that work, in your world? Are gods - I mean, I didn't even think they were real, before.

[bearshermark]

[Eleven mulls over his response for a moment; the question more complex than it feels, and the answer moreso]

I'm not sure how it works in other worlds, but Yggdrasil... Her heart is the source of all life in Erdrea. When someone is born, a new bud blooms on Her branches. When someone dies, their leaf withers and falls.

[His cheer falters] In a way, you could say She regulates the cycle of life and death in Erdrea. I think this world must be what it looks like without such a force.