Magic Is Hard

[unrecovered]

[The best way to improve in a skill was training. Wash knew that. What he hadn't realized was that training went a lot more smoothly with someone who knew what they were doing in charge.]

[This probably explained why his attempts to practice magic in the park had been frustrating and fruitless for the past half hour. He had no experience in magic and no idea what to do - what he had was determination to master a weapon he'd need in order to fight, and a supply of patience that was beginning to run low.]

[His magic was different than most people's, he reasoned. He didn't have to start his own, like Casey, or use what was on hand, like Greg - no, his element was all around him all the time, and all he had to do was make it do what he wanted. Somehow.]

[Anyone who had been watching him for a bit may have seen sweeping and increasingly ridiculous arm motions - movements that might actually look cool if the wind was playing its part, but just came off as badly choreographed interpretive dance without it. Anyone who had been watching for quite a while may have witnessed him yelling at the sky about how one sweater-vested asshole could have at least provided a tutorial.]

Comments

[panspermia]

[You wouldn't think a fanny pack and sandals would be a great outfit for training, but so little about Greg is suited for it that it just brings the whole absurd picture together.

Ever since the incident, Greg's been having a lot of trouble getting his magic to work at all. At first it seemed to be fatigue, but now that his body is rested he's still struggling to get anything to happen. He's not sure how glad he is that Wash is out here, as well; he doesn't work well with someone watching, and it provides him with little solace that he's not the only one struggling. Still, at least he might not feel quite so silly as he would alone.]

You might want to take a breather. It's important to get air flow for your... air flow.

[jonesiseverywhere]

[Casey really didn't come here to make fun of Wash. Honest. He didn't even know he was here, doing a stupid little dance and ranting at the clouds. He just happened to be in the park, looking for something to do. Why was this place so dull when there wasn't a monster attack? At least New York always had patrolling gangs or at least some arguing cabbies to watch.

Anyway, this was almost as good, and even though Casey tried not to laugh, it's pretty obvious that he's holding it in with massive difficulty. Maybe he doesn't know how to do wind magic, but it can't possibly be as hard as Wash is making it look.]

Uh, don't think it's working dude...

[unrecovered]

[Wash froze. Great. Great.. The one person he needed to have some semblance of authority in front of was watching him flail around like an idiot. Perfect.]

[H knew that look, and he knew that tone - he'd learned them well from York. They were the "the only thing keeping me from laughing at you is your fragile self-esteem" combo; given that York had usually followed up on them by laughing at him anyway, Wash didn't have a lot of hope for this situation. He looked at Casey and deadpanned hard.]

Thanks. I hadn't noticed.

[jonesiseverywhere]

[Hey, Casey's only human. He wouldn't WANT to hurt Wash's feelings but...well, it's a law that the greater the authority the funnier it is when they do something silly looking. So yeah, he can't help but laugh.]

Guess I don't have to point out you're trying, like, WAY too hard?

[unrecovered]

[Yep. There it is. Why is he not surprised.]

[Wash closes his eyes for a moment, trying to shake off anger. He's frustrated at himself, at his own lack of ability - that doesn't mean he gets to take it out on Casey, regardless of how ridiculously annoying Casey has chosen to be at this particular moment.]

Okay, if you have a better idea how wind magic works, I'd love to hear it.

[unrecovered]

[Wash stiffens, just for a moment. Just what he wants: witnesses to his failure.]

[But it's Greg, and Greg had witnessed a lot worse from Wash. Still, he doesn't relax very much; frustration keeps him tense and just this side of angry.]

I'll take a breather when I get it right.

[Welcome to the downside of that determination you admired so much, Greg. Freelancer didn't tolerate anything less than the best; some days, it's still hard to get past that.]

[panspermia]

[Greg chews his cheek. Yeah, that determination is pretty admirable in a lot of ways, but this is not its best manifestation.]

How many things do you learn better at when you're stressed?

[He ventures a grin.]

Just a few breaths, man. Nothing's going down right now, you've got time to figure it out.

[unrecovered]

[He turns on Greg, voice low and vehement.]

Don't. Say that. Because the second you say that, something will happen, and I am not prepared to deal with that right now!

[He gets louder and higher pitched as he goes on, which is a default for Upset Wash. Hang out with the Reds and Blues long enough, and you learn to recognize narrative causality and how not to set it off. Though it looks like nothing's happening now - whether that's life cutting him a break or trying to make him look like more of a paranoid asshole than he knows he is already is still up for debate.]

[There's a beat or two of silence, in which things still don't happen and Wash realizes he's snapped at Greg for absolutely no reason. He sighs and slumps, defeated. Definitely paranoid asshole territory.]

I've only gotten it once, and that's when I panicked and thought we were all going to die, and that's not sustainable. I don't- [He pauses and shakes his head. That thought was going nowhere good. Time to switch gears.] How do you do it?

[jonesiseverywhere]

[Annoying is just the state Casey lives his entire life in.]

Well, why doncha do whatever you did when you did it the first time?

[Yeah, the first time everyone was about to die, but he must be able to remember how he made the wind work. Casey didn't have any problem doing (admittedly weak) (at first) fire once he figured out he could.]

[unrecovered]

[That is the worst idea ever. Of all time. Wash levels Casey with a flat stare.]

You have got to be kidding me.

[panspermia]

[Greg flinched back, startled. Wash hadn't snapped at him like that since their first conversation. Thankfully, they knew each other well enough by now that Greg knew he wasn't actually mad with him, but it sure rankled the alarm bells. Lesson noted, Wash was not in a jokes mood.

Usually, this would be the moment he insisted, yet again, that he didn't know, and more often than not it was just the same--accidental bursts during panic. That, however, was the last thing Wash needed to hear right now. He needed to think of something, for Wash's sake. ]

Well... I guess... uhh. [It was all well and good to want to give a good answer, but he had yet to put together anything useful.] I-I dunno. It hasn't happened a whole lot on purpose. But... [ He furrows his brow. If he considers that first time, in the bar, he can at least come to one conclusion. ] ...freaking out definitely wasn't the key.

[jonesiseverywhere]

[Casey gives an innocent shrug.]

What? I'm serious! You sayin' you don't have a clue what you did?

[raisethemoon]

That would have been too helpful.

[Watch Luna.

Watch Luna leading a thin stream of water away from the general direction of the river.

She's carrying some rocks in it.]

[unrecovered]

Right now? No such thing.

[He's not even surprised Luna snuck up on him - she either announces her presence or comes from right the hell out of nowhere, and he's kind of gotten used to it. He sighs and turns around, and-]

[Why does Luna have rocks]

[He does not trust those rocks]

What are you doing with those?

[unrecovered]

[That stare is not going anywhere.]

I panicked, Casey. I thought we were all going to die. That's not happening again.

[unrecovered]

[First he'd snapped at Greg, then he'd put him on the spot. He was just great at this whole friendship thing, wasn't he.]

Yeah, I kind of figured.

Look, I- [He pauses, reconsiders] -it's not your fault I'm having a shitty time with this. I shouldn't have yelled at you.

[panspermia]

No... It's all right. I get it. [After everything that's happened to the both of them, feeling helpless and on edge is pretty understandable.]

Let's think this through, all right? Magic's more about what's goin' on in your head than anything else, so we better get our heads on right.

[jonesiseverywhere]

S'not what I meant.

[You can practically see the wheels turning behind his eyes.]

Look, lots of people can do magic without having to freak out, right? So the panic musta made you do somethin' else and that caused the magic. We just gotta figure out what it was!

[letteropener]

Would you like some help?

[Poor Celestia can see what he's doing wrong, is certain she can help, but... that lingering specter of a friendship he remembers and she does not still lies between them. More on his side than on hers, but that side might be enough to reject her presence.]

[The princess rarely hesitates, but she hesitates now, not quite willing to come closer.]

[unrecovered]

[Yeah, and that's what worries him.]

I-

[Lost control. Lost the one thing that keeps Epsilon from submerging him in someone else's memories. That's not an avenue he wants to explore. His throat works for a moment, and he breaks eye contact.]

I don't know what I did. That's part of the problem.

[unrecovered]

[Wash stops, and buries his face in his hands. For a moment, all he wants is for people to just leave him alone. He's tired of fucking up, and even more tired of people seeing it.]

[But he doesn't know what he's doing - that much is obvious - and it's Celestia. She's capable, and she's offering to help, and right now, that's what he really needs. It's not like he can damage his pride much more than it already is. When he replies, his voice is muffled.]

Yes.

[letteropener]

[The pony relaxes visibly, stepping forward to approach him more properly with a much more calm air of serenity and kindness than she'd worn a moment before.]

Do you have a clear picture in your mind of what you are trying to do?

[unrecovered]

[He lets his hands drop and faces her. If he looks frazzled, it's because he's been at this for hours without a result.]

I- no.

[And now he feels like an idiot.]

[unrecovered]

[Magic's about what's going on in your head-]

[It's all Wash can do to keep a straight face, because bitter laughter is not the correct response to that statement. Still, if that's the case, no wonder he sucks at this.]

Okay?

[jonesiseverywhere]

So we just gotta figure it out...

[Seems pretty easy! They can recreate the situation, just without the "almost dying" part. There's a tree nearby, and it gives Casey an idea.

He jogs the few steps over, grabs the lowest branch, and shakes it. If you turn your head, and squint at the shadows a bit, it kind of looks like a skinny Nox hand attacking Casey. A little.

Well, attacking Casey's shadow.

Close enough.]

OK, make like that shadow is a Nox and it's attacking. That oughta jog somethin'!