sunmon: (pic#14854125)
a rubiks cube of a person ([personal profile] sunmon) wrote in [community profile] ethyraia2021-07-15 07:44 pm

◣ OPEN ◢

WHO: alina & anyone
WHAT: powers practice! & misc other slice of life opportunities related to thessyx departure, mole mission, and disappearances
WHEN: mid-july
WHERE: the memorial wall or theater roof
NOTES/WARNINGS: none yet

& powers training
[ thanks to balthier and the rest of the aid station workers, alina recovers quickly from her mild sinkhole injuries. the bruising has vanished, and aside from a little weakness that's more a result of taking it easy for a couple weeks than anything else, she moves as she normally would again.

which means she can train as she normally would.

usually, she's either with nina or kirigan, and they try to stay discreet. there's only so much that can be done, however, for keeping flares of sunlight subtle. it flashes like a piece of metal glinting in the sun from the roof of the theater, just out of view, coaxing someone up to fix it. but there's no metal, and there's no sun peeking around or through the dragon's wing, let alone the endless cloud cover. just alina.

standing on the roof, hands out, holding a tiny basketball-sized sun in her palms. sweat beads on her brow, and she gasps, letting it evaporate all at once as her shoulders slump with released tension. her chin drops against her collarbone, her hands to her side, and she turns to walk a few paces like she's just finished running a lap.

using her power makes her skin glow. it leaves her energized, humming. but it's work.
]


& etc.
[ when she isn't training, she can most often be found wheedling the aid station workers to let her go on the trip to the mole habitats — which they are reluctant to do given how much time she'd spent there recently — or cleaning up after the talent at the theater which requires the break down of props and the recycling of costumes for the next show.

elsewhere around the base, she can be found nosing around the bunks and their adjacent lockers. kaz brekker is gone. when she goes looking for him, she finds his locker hanging open, emptied. dread shoots through her like a bolt of lightning. if the general had already found it, then he'd already know that someone from their future had been here. he'd know that there was a chance alina knew, that alina was lying.

a community outreach volunteer finds her sitting down on the bunk opposite that locker, her hand still over her mouth, a deeply troubled expression on her face, and lets her know that the items had been collected to be redistributed.

'i'm sorry,' they say patiently. 'was he a friend?' alina laughed.

later that week, she can be found just outside the base with mud all over her hands and knees. the mud leaves her bare hands red and irritated from its acidity, inherited from the rain, but alina doesn't flinch.
]
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14862947)

training;

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-16 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
You've come a long way.

( nevermind that he knows this already, having witnessed for himself firsthand in the fjerdan woods, when she'd covered herself and the stag and the tracker in a wall of light.

a spectacular sight.

but she doesn't remember that. that's the explanation he's settled on, at least, though some part of him is unable to entirely reconcile himself to the fact that he's had a second chance dropped so tidily into his lap, dragon goo and all. )


Is it easier, now. Calling the light?
morozova: @axisandallies (Default)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-16 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Is that what they call them, the creatures?

( he steps forward. she looks radiant. it's the kind of radiance that goes beyond simply using her power, he thinks. it makes him want to reach out, to press his fingers to her skin, to see if he can feel the sunlight that simmers just beneath the surface.

he doesn't. not yet. instead — )


It's an apt name, if a touch literal.
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14852882)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-17 12:52 am (UTC)(link)
Nepriyatnosti.

( he cocks his head to the side as he watches her as though he's taking her measure. it's an honest answer. whatever his feelings about the creatures, they had caused more than their share of discord, even if they hadn't brought her to direct harm. )

Have you ever given thought to the ways you might shape your light?
morozova: (pic#14876604)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-17 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
I have other words for you.

( he's teasing her. rather blatantly, at that. a boy tugging on the braid of a girl that he likes. alina has this way of thawing him. wearing down his rough edges until they're polished and smooth.

he should hate this, hate how soft she makes him, but he doesn't. not really. )


Like the Cut. ( a demonstration is clearly in order.

aleksander pauses, debating. )
The Cut is useful, of course, but a Summoner is limited only by their imagination and focus. ( he closes his palm, opens it and a butterfly formed of shadow, wings velvet-dark, flutters into the air. )
Edited 2021-07-17 04:52 (UTC)
morozova: @axisandallies (Default)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-17 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
Generally the practice is to master something smaller before moving onto larger, more ambitious shapes.

( the butterfly dances on the air a moment longer, then melts away like steam. )

Butterflies might not seem like more than a party trick, but you would be surprised at how much focus it requires to not shape an element but hold it for longer than a few moments.
morozova: by @axisandallies (gk-sab3)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-17 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
( he does have the good grace to not look smug. although the corner of his mouth does twitch, briefly ㅡ an almost smile. her frustration is a feeling he knows all too well. )

You are an artist, aren't you?

( he knows she is. leaving aside the rather thorough briefing he'd had on her when she'd first been discovered, he'd seen her drawings. she wasn't just an artist but one of exceptional skill. )

When you were first learning to draw, what were the things you typically made your subjects?
morozova: @axisandallies (Default)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-17 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
Better.

( it's less a rabbit than a child's impression of one, but it's frankly better than many of his earlier attempts.

he's behind her, now. close enough to touch ㅡ and, after a moment's consideration, he does just that. his hands resting at the bow of her hips. )


When I first learned to do this, everything looked a little like I imagine the sea whip must look. Spindly and ribbon-like.
morozova: by @frathouse (pic#14920510)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-17 06:55 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not sure I remember.

( sincerely enough. if he were to guess he'd assume somewhere in the vicinity of five hundred. ) I was ten, perhaps eleven before I could do anything truly impressive.

( not because he'd lacked the ability but because they were traveling often. and often under scrutiny. )

I used to use the shadows to tell myself stories.
morozova: @bangparty (pic#15037785)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-18 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
You are the weapon. I'm just helping you to hone your edges.

( he sounds just like his mother. the irony of this isn't lost on him, though he's grateful baghra isn't here to witness it. baghra had done enough damage already. )

But you have a little time. That is, perhaps, one of the few advantages of this place.
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14857532)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-18 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
I'm very worried.

( his composure doesn't slip so much as he allows it to drop. nothing she's saying hasn't occurred to him already, playing over and over in his mind.

he's not sure, precisely, what will happen if alina is truly from a different point in time. if, perhaps, there's another alina and another aleksander waiting for them. if there is, well... alina's ravka will not be unguarded. he would be there, hunting her.

he doubts she would be comforted to know that, though. to know just what happens after she escapes the little palace. )


But I can either rage against something that cannot presently be changed or I can use that energy toward more useful. Which do you believe helps us more?
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14854933)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-18 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
Don't be.

( his voice softens. ) I can hardly call you my equal and not be willing to hear your thoughts. Even when I'm not used to someone being quite so frank with me.

( baghra doesn't count. )

Impressive. ( it's sincerely said. ) Your power is a living thing. Part of you. This, generally, is difficult for older students to grasp. But you're taking to it like it's second nature.
morozova: [ used with permission ] (pic#14854936)

[personal profile] morozova 2021-07-18 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
Letting go of any part of our past is often easier said than done.

( luda's ghost had haunted him for decades. the fold remains a constant, stubborn reminder of so many of his failures. )

I'm glad that it no longer weighs on you, whatever it was.
ulfrkysst: (fuðork haniast bjalmyr fuð fuðork)

The Mud Prompt

[personal profile] ulfrkysst 2021-07-20 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
[Eivor has just come back from tracking the shredder moles' movements, the fur covering her winingas caked in the same acidic mud. She is carrying a rain shield down at her side, borrowed from Rémi's supply, with her own shield, emblazoned with a pair of ravens, strapped to her back.

She's tired and looking forward to the relative comfort of a hammock, but seeing a girl wandering about out here, covered in mud, is enough to get her to slow her pace.]


Are you well?

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