Untangling [Open]

[gifthasacold]

With Celena and Aibghalien's help, Thom looked better than he had since he'd arrived on the ship. The dark circles under his eyes weren't as pronounced, and his fever had cooled slightly.

But there was still a long way to go before he had his Gift under control again, and Roger's magic still raved at the back of his mind, pressing on his temper. He had taken to the less used parts of the ship, trying to keep himself away from any people who might try his patience.

Hydroponics remained his favorite spot for meditation, near Alastirra's garden. He and the draenei had formed a cautious friendship of sorts - the kind where they mostly left each other alone, with the occasional conversation about magical theories between their disciplines. More often than not, Thom spent his time in deep meditation, dropped into his center of magic and slowly pulling his and Roger's magic away from each other.

Sweat dripped down his forehead as he worked, and suddenly he jumped up from his customary seat on a stump and whirled around, throwing out his hand. A ball of orange flame leapt from his fingertips and scorched a blackened groove in the wood.

"Damn."

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Thom whirled, still breathing heavily from his effort of excising the excess Gift. When his eyes found the source of the voice, he couldn't help but stare. "What in the Gods names are you?"

[twilit-midna.livejournal.com]

"Eee hee. What's wrong, handsome? Didn't anyone ever teach you any manners?." She put a small hand to her chin, miming a thinking gesture. "I'm Midna. But you, you can call me... Midna."

So generous of her to give him so many choices.

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"That's a name, not an answer to the question," Thom said. He refused to be baited by comments on his manners - Alanna and His Majesty both told him he had the manners of a goat, but who cared? "I am Master Lord Thom of Trebond, from Tortall. You are singularly unique."

He walked around the creature - she looked almost like a sprite - trying to get a better look at her.

[twilit-midna.livejournal.com]

She rotated about easily in the air to face him as he walked, yawning. "So picky, and so serious."

When he'd gotten about halfway around, she melted into some nearby shadows, her voice echoing up out of them. "So, what'd you do? Mess with dark powers beyond your understanding? Make someone mad enough to put a curse on you? Or do Master Lords of Trebond just make a lot of enemies?"

[gifthasacold]

He spun around again when she disappeared, trying to track down the source of the voice. "Who says I did anything?" he asked. Messing with dark powers beyond his understanding hit uncomfortably close to home - except that he understood the dark powers quite well and still chose to poke at them just because he could.

"You are some kind of shadow creature. A sprite, like an undine or a dryad. Aren't you?"

[twilit-midna.livejournal.com]

She didn't know for sure, of course, but his reaction sure was suspicious. And he certainly seemed as though he hadn't quite meant to toast that poor stump. "Oh, I don't know. Hey, plenty of people delve into dark powers. That doesn't make them bad. Well, not all the time."

Midna reappeared near the scorched piece of wood, examining the damage. "A sprite? Eee hee! Sorry to disappoint you. You can call me an imp, though, if it makes you feel better."

She grinned at him. "I hope you're not planning on trying to summon me or make me do your bidding. That kind of stuff's such a chore."

[gifthasacold]

"If I wanted to, it would not take a very great effort," Thom said dryly, eyeing the imp as she floated around the stump. So many strange things aboard this ship.

"I've come across some small difficulties with my Gift, is all," Thom said. Even admitting that much was a trial, but he was long past the point of denial.

[twilit-midna.livejournal.com]

"Eee hee hee! I'm sure it wouldn't!" This guy sure was full of himself. Not necessarily the first she'd had to deal with.

"'Small difficulties', huh? Well, as long as you don't zap anyone on the ship. Namely, me."

No one ever said Midna wasn't full of herself.

[gifthasacold]

"I am perfectly capable of aiming any byproducts of my experiments away from bystanders - you'll notice the garden is intact."

Thom had never encountered anything like the creature. He had never encountered anything like the ship, but that seemed almost mundane by now.

[twilit-midna.livejournal.com]

She grinned. "Oh, the garden's intact, all right. But should you really be experimenting so close to it? I bet if you ever slipped up..." With that, she motioned briefly with one hand; from somewhere in the garden, no doubt, a raspberry materialized in her small fingers amidst a shower of black and green magical discharge. "The person who owns it wouldn't be too happy with you."

Midna was used to humans! Not necessarily humans with magic like Thom's, though.