lili & kaoru need less money

[coastal]

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[coastal]

[he should like

not let himself be steamrolled

the look on her face is definitely still annoyed but - it's not directed at him.]

I don't care. You shouldn't be hurt at all. You didn't do anything to deserve it.

[dumb stubborn princess... but well, at least her heart is in the right place.

but anyway she can't help but feel like the righteous anger is especially easy to tap into now - and she'd found that her powers that she has no idea how to control really were more easily accessible once she let herself just get angry. she'll try to be more focused now as she has her hands hover over his, palms down, so that the cold can start to radiate from her own palms

... it's not perfect, of course, because lili doesn't know anything about magic. the air around them gets a little bit colder in general, too as a sort of spillover

but most of the cold at least seems to be coming from her hands]

It's not a fix or anything... but it sounds irritating to deal with.

[so she's trying to help him cool it, even for a little. she couldn't just like. say that though.]

[twinsightful]

[He should, give it a day and he'll be back to being catty and argumentative. Still, there's a surprised noise as soon as he notices what's going on and while his fingers try to curl in on his palms he doesn't move them that far. Unlike Lili, he hasn't figured out a secret to tapping into his own powers so he's simply watching.

There's a shiver because cold isn't always welcome, but he doesn't pull back as he's monitoring her movements.]

...thanks. [He stumbles on the word a little, but he flexes his fingers finally.] How did you figure it out?

[coastal]

I got angry.

[ . . . ]

Angrier than usual.

[but at least she thinks that explains the weird steam in their room???? yeah,,

she'll pull her hands back though, because she doesn't want to freeze him over instead. hopefully it'll soothe the burns a little... but she assumes that if he's not protesting then she didn't do a bad thing? maybe?]

Axel knows about magic... so he tried to help me focus. I'm not very good at it yet but... I will be.

[she's so sure of herself??]

[twinsightful]

[There's something akin to understanding in his features that signals the fact that yeah, that tracks. If he's stuck with fire and Lili has ice, then that would explain several things.

He's also getting the sense that Axel knows a lot more than he let on? So cool. His hands feel better given that they're not disappearing into his pockets again, but he's not walking away until Lili moves.]

Sure. [That's not too encouraging, but he's also not sure he wants to stick around long enough for them to get good with these abilities. Magic isn't real? Magic shouldn't be real!]

Is he going to keep teaching you?

[coastal]

He knows nothing about teaching. [they've both? said this? she's going to keep saying it? he's no good? but.] I'll take what I can get, though.

[beggars can't be choosers.... oh how the rich have fallen]

If it's something I have to teach myself, so be it.

He has fire... if you want to bother learning more about yours.

[she also won't blame him if he doesn't want to?]

[twinsightful]

[That's a thought, but that also implies Kaoru wanting to figure out what he's doing. He looks at his own hands, snapping his fingers a little and bringing up a baby spark that's immediately snuffed out. Hm.]

We shouldn't be here long enough that our powers matter. [The goal is to leave, after all.] You haven't met someone with ice yet?

[coastal]

You're not wrong - but if answers aren't appearing, I'd rather be productive.

[... well, and also the fact that this is the first time in her life where she feels like she has the power in her own hands.

that's a little too real though.]

I haven't been asking - I only found out that I could do this toward the end of the day.

[twinsightful]

[Productivity is admirable, which is perhaps why he's a little more than willing to start taking notes and digging around for information. It's what he's good at, truthfully, or at least good enough.]

I started getting the sense this was why we were brought here after analyzing the scroll in the main hall. Along with a scroll for each of us, there's the one with all of those powers listed. I don't entirely understand what they're for, but there are four elements. It wouldn't surprise me if all of us were capable somehow.

[...] Did you meet a woman named Milla at all? She claims she's someone who was once able to control all four of these elements.

[coastal]

The mighty and obtuse lord of spirits? [this could be sacrilegious?] Who can really call themselves that seriously? The things she can say with a straight face...

[she doesn't sound mean about it? just

fucking exhausted]

[twinsightful]

She doesn't know a thing about humanity. [It's said with a bit of amusement.] But she did claim that she doesn't have access to her abilities anymore.

[coastal]

I know.

[said in the tone of "the NERVE"]

And she was so cocky about it! Ugh. Why even boast about all the powerful things you can't do anymore? Did they take her sensibility with her powers?

[twinsightful]

[The worst part is that he laughs.]

She seemed nice even if incredibly oblivious. [Which is still fair game as far as he's concerned.] And naturally she can boast when there's no way for any of us to dispute it. Who could prove her wrong?

[He likes Milla enough but also she wanted to fight him and that was Terrifying.]

[coastal]

[that is the worst part.

because lili is just tilting her head at him? did she say something funny...

and the thing is that she like. agrees? milla does seem nice? lili understands and respects her view on power and responsibility but also nothing is stopping her from continuing this damn conversation]

Do you think she's delusional?

[SHE'S COMPLETELY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS QUESTION AND NOT EVEN INTENDING TO BE MEAN]

[twinsightful]

[They're bad, it's fine. Even if Lili means it 100% seriously Kaoru's still taking this in stride and seemingly falling into some sort of routine.]

She may have hit her head on her way in. She did mention she was put into a "vessel" before we woke up. [A hand comes up to his chin in thought.] But the spirits styled her hair.

[He definitely focused on that part, too.]

[coastal]

Is that where all the effort they put in piecing her together into? Her hair?

[what is this routine

lili's not intentionally giving him anything to work off of she's just saying things]

They couldn't give her oh, I don't know, common sense? An indoor speaking voice?

[twinsightful]

It doesn't fall out of place at all. I tested it. [It's fine. This is seemingly easy and he almost seems to relax a little, like he's used to running commentary with someone else at the expense of other people. But he does turn and start for the library again. Focus. They can multitask.]

You could say the same for that bird that's joined us, too. I'm starting to wonder if our captors put any thought into who they kidnapped.

[coastal]

[oh - yeah, they can head over.

but also:]

I haven't met the bird.

[she's read his profile? but.

like.]

... does he talk? Real human words?

[by her tone it seems like she doesn't know? what she wants the answer to be? help?]

[twinsightful]

[His eyes widen just a bit.]

He uses acronyms and everything. [The bird said IRL and Kaoru lost about 10 years of his life.] He also plays video games.

[1/2]

[coastal]

What?!

[IT'S REAL HUMAN SPEAK]

[coastal]

[ . . . . wait]

What's a video game?

[twinsightful]

[Well now it's his turn, so.]

What. [...it's suddenly occurred to him that she might?? Not be from Earth??] It's a game you play on a screen with software. [That's a terrible explanation, but whatever.]

[coastal]

... software...?

[????

for the record she's totally imagining a silk screen. a paper screen. literally any other kind of screen besides a computer screen]

[twinsightful]

...like data...? [This is about where his usefulness taps out on that, rip.]

[coastal]

[just

this expression, coupled with a tilt of her head

sorry]

[twinsightful]

[. . .]

Never mind. The point is that the bird knows about modern human things. Including games. He's also easy to scare.