[open]

[starvelingsoulless]

 [Alexis hasn't interacted with anyone since they got here, really, nothing much; they've kept to themselves in abandoned buildings, warehouses and slums.  Places most people don't look too hard at.  They sleep during the day and come out at night to not risk anything, shoplift and steal, hunt the wildlife - but -- this time their curiosity's started running red-hot, today.

Magic.  Could they really have magic?  The water they drink has given itself up kindly, occasionally, as if commanded - but - that's not enough.  They need more proof to make it clear.

So it's come to this: Alexis, slightly after twilight, kneeling on the grass at the park and focusing intensely as they guide water around their fingers, shaping it, sharpening it -- at a loss to the outside world, entirely concentrated on the task at hand.  The grass around them is damp, but if one looks closely...the water between their hands almost looks like a blade.

But, after all, they're too entrenched in their task -- it's not like they're going to notice anyone creeping up.]

Comments

[raisethemoon]

[Luna, meanwhile, enjoys the park simply because it's a bit more like home. This city IS fairly large and diverse in its settings; it has that much over Traverse Town. As usual, she's steadfastly ignoring the humans and their stares, but the sight of one kneeling alone on the ground is unusual enough to grab her attention. Could they be hurt?

The alicorn trots a bit closer, taking no care to move stealthily. Ah no, they're not hurt. They're controlling water! One of the other outsiders, then.]

Good evening.

[1/2]

[starvelingsoulless]

[Alexis barely reacts to the noise, at least vocally -- but their arm swings towards Luna in a sharp, controlled movement, water following the arc. It collapses after less than a second, of course, but where it came the grass is cut in a mirror of the liquid.]

- !!

[2/2]

[starvelingsoulless]

...

You're a horse.

Alright, then. Alright.

[raisethemoon]

An alicorn, but thank you for noticing.

I was given control over water as well. You're making good use of it. [By forming weapons, yes.]

[starvelingsoulless]

Semantics. Horse is a horse, iffen it talks or it doesn't, or it's got wings.

..Mm. Figured I'd see what I could do with it. It's -- tiring.

[Well, what else would they do, with the knife hanging from their belt?]

[raisethemoon]

[Luna's eyes narrow slightly.] I see. Forgive me, I am unaccustomed to speaking with apes.

Magic is always tiring, when you begin to use it. 'Tis like any muscle.

[starvelingsoulless]

What, you tryin' to bother me? No worse than what the L.B.s spout. Admittedly, they're the size of yer hoof, but same principle.

Mm. Where I'm from, magic isn't a thing in any shape or form. I'm not sure if the rules still apply here, but I won't risk sunlight. Unfortunately -- that comes with a lack of mentors.

[raisethemoon]

The "L.B.s"?

And what is the problem with sunlight?

[starvelingsoulless]

Rats. [Alexis shrugs.] Smart rats.

Y'can't go back to the surface once you've died; something about the sunlight doesn't like you much anymore. Dunno if the sunlight here's the same, but 'm not stupid enough to try.

[raisethemoon]

I...suppose that is sensible.

[So they only go out at night? Stars above, now she's going to start feeling responsible for them.]

I am Luna, Princess of Night. In my homeland, at least. [She didn't create what's falling around them now. That would bother her more if not for her time in the world of dreams; at least now it's a familiar feeling.]

[starvelingsoulless]

Well, nice meetin' you, princess -- don't think I've met a princess before. Maybe once, but that might've been a dream. She wasn't particularly kind, at least.

Alexis Tucker. [Alexis nods their head in greeting.]

[raisethemoon]

A pleasure, I'm sure.

Do you often travel within dreams?

[starvelingsoulless]

...? Ah, no, I'm not one much for the honey. It's just -- circumstances make me unsure if I ever met her at all or if I imagined it.

[raisethemoon]

Honey?

I keep watch over the dreams of my subjects every night - in my world, 'twould not be unheard of to meet others there.

[starvelingsoulless]

Not a relevant question. Something from -- my world. Obviously, not yours.

...sounds intriguin'. Wish my world had somethin' like that.

[raisethemoon]

Does it not?

I find that few human worlds do, if any. But it sounds a dangerously unregulated system - like your ecosystems as well, I suppose.

[starvelingsoulless]

I'm not sure what you're gettin' at, but I hunt for a living.

...I don't really think much about how many things could murder me, because generally they do it once and then I get smarter than them.

[raisethemoon]

[She was referring more to how they just let the weather run wild. Hunting happens.]

You get murdered frequently?

[starvelingsoulless]

[Shrug.]

Occupational hazard.

[raisethemoon]

[Sigh. You know what she meant.]

Are you human? Because in my experience, they tend to be very mortal.

[starvelingsoulless]

Well, yes, but -- it's. Different, where I'm from. You can come back.

If you couldn't, I wouldn't be here.

[raisethemoon]

How is that possible?

[Belatedly, Luna remembers the concept of tact.] If I may ask.

[starvelingsoulless]

Couldn't tell you. [Again -- a shrug.] Don't think anyone actually knows a reason; that's just how it works.

[raisethemoon]

So your people are...immortal? In a sense?

[starvelingsoulless]

...Not quite.

I can't see the sun. Something about the surface -- doesn't like any of us who die there. We can never go back up.

As I said -- dunno how it works, here, but...I don't want to die to the sun.

[raisethemoon]

[Luna nods thoughtfully.]

I have been nocturnal for most of my life, while the rest of the population is diurnal. It can grow lonely to see so few others. Could you test it by exposing a small part of your body to the sun, or would any amount be fatal under normal circumstances?

[starvelingsoulless]

[Water is forming, beading, on the grass around Alexis; a thin ring, barely noticeable, but likely unintentional.]

Not a lot come back from the surface. Couldn't tell you the rules -- most of them are too shaken up -- it's not worth the trial. Not unless someone I know makes it here, and it doesn't seem like that'll happen.

[raisethemoon]

Well. At least you have these communication devices. And I hear there are many places to stay beneath the city.

[starvelingsoulless]

...There is that, yes. I've been -- staying unobserved, I think? The warehouses are quiet, in general, but I venture out for food and drink.

Well. Food. I don't -- I mean -- I can get my own water. Yes.

[Alexis stares very intently at the ground. Hahaha, words, so easy, right.]

[raisethemoon]

Ah yes, of course!

[Ah, she's been there. She'll ignore it and forge ahead!] If you require aid, do feel free to ask. In situations such as this, 'tis always better for the offworlders to form a community. Especially here - we cannot rely on the city's inhabitants.

[starvelingsoulless]

Mm. I don't need other people -- I'm fine by myself. But...thank you for the offering.

I should go. It's not good to stay for too long.

[raisethemoon]

...if you are certain.

[She's not, and that's clear, but she's hardly going to detain them; she stands and makes as if to go herself.]

Perhaps we may compare our work on water magic sometime.

[starvelingsoulless]

...Perhaps.

[But the way Alexis says it makes it clear it's not really an option -- not for them. They're gone exceedingly quickly, scaling a nearby building and off into the night fast as can be.]

[raisethemoon]

[Well. That was fun.]