random pointless swirls

[sturdycoldsteel]

The shaper known as Steel is flying down the right side of a road, shoring up the edges of the bluestream that lets her lift herself off the ground as she goes. Sure, she'll be a bit clumsy and weak when she gets to Opri, but she's not planning on doing much more stream-shaping today, so might as well.

She glances at the bluestream (the magical vision blinds her physical vision for a short moment, but not long enough to crash into anything) and determines that this next crossroads is where she needs to turn. She tilts to the right...

...And lands on a patch of orange grass in a forest clearing. This is not the town of Opri. She opens her eyes and ears to the bluestream, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

The bluestream here isn't a nice, orderly, useful pattern like on the roads, or the formless fog that it usually decays to after a while. Instead it's a riot of random patterns swirling around, wispy and confused and obviously not designed to do anything useful.

Steel, deaf and blind for a few seconds thanks to her peek at the bluestream, stands very still and is very confused.

Comments

[alicornucopia]

"That seems a lot of trouble for a drink of water," remarks River. "You could have just scooped some up in your hands."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"It could have had anything in it. Better safe than sorry."

[alicornucopia]

"I drink straight from it all the time."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Yes, but you're not a human. We can be hurt by a lot of different things." She fills a canteen from her backpack. Again though the funnel.

"Would you mind if I stayed around here for a while? It's a really good spot for certain kinds of magic."

[alicornucopia]

"What's in it for me?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Nothing, I suppose. I'll just go back to Promise. Some of the places near her tree were okay."

[alicornucopia]

"Did she feed you?" wonders River.

[sturdycoldsteel]

She declines to answer and flies off.

[alicornucopia]

River chases her.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Steel speeds up. The wonky patterns might be mistaken for dodging.

[alicornucopia]

River's faster.

"C'mon, I won't hurt you."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"You are chasing me. That is not a friendly behavior."

[alicornucopia]

"I won't hurt you," River repeats, and she attempts to land on Steel's shoulder.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Steel shoves the fairy away with a burst of telekinetic force, and flies faster. The extra speed seems to hurt her.

[alicornucopia]

"C'mon, I just want to know who's got you and your orders. Did your master send you to learn sorcery from Promise? She's new, she barely knows any even if she's talented."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"I don't belong to anybody. Leave me alone or I will set you on fire."

[alicornucopia]

River's having trouble keeping up anyway. She falls back.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Steel keeps flying, a little more slowly. When she gets to Promise's tree, she flops onto the ground, grimacing.

[imeanforever]

Promise is sitting in her tree's branches, picking berries. "Are you all right?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"I found a river with nice harmonics, and also another fairy. Who is also a river, apparently. She was friendly enough at first, but when I tried to leave wouldn't leave me alone until I threatened to set her on fire. I used too much magic trying to fly faster than her. I'll be fine in half an hour."

[imeanforever]

"River isn't a river, she just lives by one. She didn't manage to slip you anything?"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"I drank from her river, but purified it first like you said. I probably would have purified it anyway, water safety is part of not-dying-in-the-wilderness 101. I'm starting to believe you about the food thing, she totally acted like it was a thing. The way she was acting it sounds like the river's got something of hers in it."

[imeanforever]

"I think she cultivates some underwater plants."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"That'd probably do it, huh. Well, I purified it. I'm starting to dislike this place. There's no bluestream infrastructure, I can't do things nearly as easily as I'm used to."

[imeanforever]

"You know, if harmonics and bluestream are really exactly the same thing I wonder why there's a rumor that sorcery doesn't work in the mortal world. Weird mutable harmonics shouldn't make it impossible, just awkward."