All forests are magic.

[daughterofclay]

Who: Jude and YOU
Where: Various
When: backdated to sometime in late August
What: unorthodox gardening and party games, not at the same time
Warnings: underage drinking


SRS PROMPT

Somewhere within the Magicademy grounds, under a tree that looks like it’s on fire, there sits a Jude. Her familiar, Silverfrost, is lounging lazily among the top branches.

She’s concentrating, wand in hand. After a minute, she will start drawing sigils in the air, along with the requisite incantations. Nothing happens for a while -- almost too long a time. Then, suddenly, the red leaves shiver, even though there is no wind on this fine evening. Little by little, the tree begins to...morph -- or rather, grow, specific branches sprouting forth and intertwining with a specific purpose.

It’s the silhouette of a person, though it’s abstract enough to require some interpretation. Still, if you look at it from a certain angle, it’s possible to make out a torso, an arm, an elegant hand resting against the curve of a cheek. The facial features are mere suggestions, but a wreath of leaves winds itself around the sculpture’s head, like a coronet made of rust-stained gold.

Silverfrost gives a soft trill, disturbed from his nap by the movement of branches, and makes his way down to the ground. Which is also the exact moment Jude looks up from her work, her eyes meeting that of her observer. Judging by the sharp look she gives them, she was not expecting company. Judging by the faint flush on her face, she may be... embarrassed?

“...yes?”

----------------
NOT VERY SRS PROMPT

How does Jude end up at these parties? Who knows. More importantly, who cares. She certainly doesn’t, which may be attributable to the fact that she is, for once in her life, quite drunk.

Quite. Drunk.

It also appears as if someone has somehow obtained (stolen? bought? faked?) one of those Intimation Crystals the Sundering Researchers were using for that experiment some time ago. Or at least a device very much like it. The point is, it will light up if you lie, so you shouldn’t lie¹.

Why would this be important? Because currently, the crystal is in Jude’s hand. She sets down her goblet, faces the loose circle of people spread across the room, and pronounces:

“Never have I ever cheated on a test.”

Time to drink up.
_____
^{1. Disclaimer: Crystal may not be a genuine article, approved or tested by magicians who knew what they are doing. Device may require a licensed operator. Improper use may result in false positive readings, ruined nights, drunken fisticuffs, the uncontrollable need to sneeze, stubbed toes, bad hair, and/or death. Please enjoy responsibly.}

[[OOC: So as may be obvious, this is a game of Never Have I Ever! If anyone wants to threadhop around on this prompt and react to other people’s answers/questions, please do! The more chaotic the merrier :>b]]

Comments

[daughterofclay]

"It's just Discovery. Not that hard to discover a branch on a living tree." Sculpture? What sculpture? (Also, she's lying: it was pretty hard.)

That hair, though. She's seen a number of over-the-top hairdos in her time (even sported some, here and there), but that is... truly impressive. She might be the one trying not to stare, now.

[king_of_egypt]

"... Yes," He mused cupping his chin with one hand. "... but I mean I've never seen branches contorted into shapes before." Truthfully, he was a little torn on how much he should question this. On the one hand this seemed like none of his business, on the other..... if she was missing someone it might do her some good to discuss it. "Is he someone you know from back home?"

The staring didn't seem to bother him really. It was the usual response to that quaff of his, besides in his occupation he better be used to others looking at him.

[daughterofclay]

She glances up at the figure, and her gaze may linger a bit overlong on the coronet of leaves. Either way, there's not much point in denying that it is a vaguely human shape.

"No." That's a lie. "Just a dryad, I guess. Something to remind me of home."

...which brings her to a question, actually. "Are you one of the Sundered?"

[king_of_egypt]

It's not a very convincing lie either, not with the way her eyes gazed at her creation.

"Just a dryad," Disbelief in his words, but he likely wouldn't push her to much farther. He was a stranger to her, so not the most ideal person to confide in.

"Mm, yes I am." Nodding to that and dropping his hand back to his side. "I like to keep reminders of home with me as well.... though I'm not in a hurry to return just yet."

[daughterofclay]

"No?" Is it obvious she's relieved they're getting off the topic of trees and dryads? Possibly. But she's also curious; she's not sure she's met many people who aren't on some kind of mission that they'd like to return to. Herself included.

"Why's that?"

[king_of_egypt]

The tree was forgotten for the moment but that didn't mean the subject couldn't resurface. The follow up question gave him a momentary pause as he decided how best to answer it.

"Sure- I would be glad to be reunited with my family and friends," Some of his friends since not all of them resided in the some place unfortunately, "but I feel there is more I could do here."

Feeling that this likely was insufficient as an answer, he added a little more detail, "You see... I already accomplished what I needed to in my world.... and..... passed on."

[daughterofclay]

"Ah." It doesn't surprise her as much as it should -- Kazuma's told her about dying -- but this man's pronouncement has a... finality... that Kazuma's didn't (especially since Kazuma'd mentioned dying more than once).

Still, it's awkward. What does one say? 'I'm sorry'? 'I'm sure you had a good life'? In the end, she settles for:

"I suppose that makes sense. The hurdles I'm facing aren't... quite as insurmountable."

...someone please rescue her from this awkward topic. "Is this world similar to yours?"

[king_of_egypt]

It wasn't a pleasant subject to most, so he was never sure whether to gloss over it or avoid it. Perhaps he'd missteped here but she seemed to be taking it in stride so perhaps not?

"... I wouldn't quite think of the afterlife in that way, it's actually quite pleasant." Trying to allay her uneasiness. "I was able to see people I never thought I would again..... my friends, my parents... it's not a frightening place awaiting my return." Sure, he was talking glowingly about death now, but there were some drawbacks. "I thought I was ready to remain in it, until I was brought here."

No help seemed to be on the horizon. "In some ways, but not others. Magic does exist in my world but it manifests in a different way. Also- there's a game here called Fantastic Foils that resembles a game called Duel Monsters in mine." To show her, he reached down to open two small boxes attached to his waist. Then he drew out both a Fantastic Foils deck, and his Duel Monsters deck to show her.

[daughterofclay]

"I don't have anyone I'd really want to see." She mutters it quietly, though, almost to herself.

Also, he looks young to be dead. She's not going to ask about that now, though; if anything, that's an even more awkward conversation...

Instead, she'll step toward him to examine the decks of cards. They look-- interesting. Colourful. She reaches out to touch one, frowning. They remind her of something she's seen a long time ago, somewhere.

"How are they used?"

[king_of_egypt]

He picked up on what she said, and grew solemnly quiet for a few moments.

Also that was along the lines of the the point his friends from Japan had tried to impress upon him. They were part of the reason why Atem was not in a hurry to return to the afterlife their entreaties that he should use this as a second chance of sorts had not been lost on him.

When she examines them, he notes the expression. The question she asks should be a simple one but both games are rather more complicated than they appear on the surface.

"It's a two player game, so each person will have a deck of their own filled with a number of cards that have a variety of effects that can be used doing the course of a game." If she is really interested in learning the rules, he wouldn't mind going into more detail. "This one.." nodding towards the duel monsters deck, "Is made up of spell cards, traps, and monsters... but they can be broken down into more categories after that. It's really a complex game when you get into all the intricacies." He was going to have to play Fantastic Foils more often, especially since it had tangled with his friends before, and they might need his assistance again sometime.

[daughterofclay]

She leans in, her interest actually caught now. Card games were not particularly in vogue among the gentry back home, but they were a common way to pass time within the Court of Shadows -- the spy ring which Jude had once belonged to. She'd learned to play (and cheat at) several games from a scarred goblin called the Roach. It was a skill that she'd... rediscovered at Diatu, particularly as a way to part gullible students from their hard-earned money.

But all of those games had relied on a standard four-suit deck. This is new. She points towards the Fantastic Foils cards. "And this one?"

[king_of_egypt]

Just don't ever let him catch you engaged in such shady endeavors. Atem had never been a great fan of cheaters himself and had beaten many of them at their own games before to bring a halt to such practices.

"This one is called Fantastic Foils and it's a local game." Then he proceeded to go into more detail about it. "It operates similarly- there are monsters within it and spell cards... which can create illusions of their effects without the assistance of technology... though I forgot to mention that for Duel monsters their images can be projected on specially designed duel fields or duel disks via holographic projectors." He usually didn't get into the tech side of it. "A match in duel monsters is called a duel, and in Fantastic Foils it's called a clash."

"... but anyway... Some spells in Fantastic foils will be able to counter others depending on their type. Type plays a greater roll in this game but even certain monsters can hold a variety of effects." It was more like rock-paper-scissors than Duel Monsters in that sense.

[daughterofclay]

Not to worry, she's graduated to different/worse things now.

"I see." It's a complicated explanation, but she's got the gist of it at least. Knowing local customs is useful, though, even if she doesn't think she'll devote time to mastering this particular game.

"And the object of the game?"

[king_of_egypt]

Somehow that doesn't lessen the concern

At least if it comes up in passing conversations she'll know what is being referenced. Honestly, he should be devoting more time to Fantastic Foils than he has been since that game has presented some questionable pitfalls to it. The effects it can produce are magical in nature and when it leads to dimensional pocket space travel... then it really gets your attention.

"To best your opponent using a combination of luck and skill."