A short walk

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde smiled at Flynn, hoping his small show of magic had impressed her. He was not certain if it had... It was not really all that much... Though she seemed to have an odd inkling of how magic and reimancy worked... He could try and explain it to her a bit more... "It does not really summon the flame. With reimancy, you can summon something, if it is around. Like this rock here, I used my res to pull the rock over to it. However with the fire, I simply turned my res directly into flame, after slathering it on the rock." As Flynn said what he had done was cool, Clyde blushed a bit, embarrassed, and oddly happy that she approved of his "magic trick." His grin only spread further, as she pretended to clap... Though seeing her, and that she was physically incapable of clapping, made him recall the fact that she was dead, and had no physical form... "It must be hard... Being a ghost... Not being able to touch things... I suppose it does come with some perks... Though it seems to have more downsides... Being able to get so close to someone, but never truly touch them..." As Clyde said this, he blushed once more, not wanting to look Flynn in the eyes... To embarrassed at his own thoughts to do so... Though he did wonder what drove her... What made her cling to what life she could, as she had... Made her hold on, and not pass on and be re-birthed... As the flame on the rock burned out, and the last of the small bit of res was used up, the stone dropped to the ground once more. Clyde did his best to smile, and tried to change the subject from the sad one he had brought up. "Well, that was one thing I can do. I do have some other things I know how to do... Maybe you would like to see one of them?"

[Flynn Maidrus]

Flynn nodded, following what Clyde was saying. It was a bit curious how one could turn their Djed— no, it was called res, into flame. How does that work? She noted his blush. Oh, is Clyde responsive to praise? Flynn thought with a faint grin on her face. She noted his smile as well and thought perhaps it wasn't so odd to see a ghost clap, after all. "It must be hard... Being a ghost... Not being able to touch things... I suppose it does come with some perks... Though it seems to have more downsides... Being able to get so close to someone, but never truly touch them..." Flynn jolted at this, looking at Clyde with wide doe eyes, though he was looking away. Dira, was he trying to sympathize with her? She jerked again when the rock abruptly dropped to the ground. Her eyes returned to Clyde's face, and she saw a forced grin. "Well, that was one thing I can do. I do have some other things I know how to do... Maybe you would like to see one of them?" Her expression turned neutral again as she tried to work out how she was going to explain. Before Flynn began, she gave a sheepish shrug and began in a bashful tone, "It's not so bad. You don't have to fight to survive. Well, you do mentally to hold on, I guess, but other than a couple of triggers and episodes, it's not..." She started again, "Being a ghost hasn't been so harsh to me as it has been to others. I can just exist and not exist. Observe without being observed. It's sort of quaint, if I want it to be. My life stretches on as long as I want it to." Flynn shrugged again, "I want to live long enough to learn everything. I need to find my mentors. I'm alive, though not fully, but I'm not dead. That's what counts." She came to her senses a few moments later. Oh, oh Dira. She wanted to shriek, and her face was precariously slipping into a frown. Yes, it would be a good idea to monologue the tribulations of being a ghost! Oh! Woe, is me, I'm a ghost, oh wooooe.

[Clyde Sullins]

Surely there was something wrong with Clyde... How sad was it, that he found himself attracted to a ghost... So easily blushed at her... A being, whom Clyde could never touch... Not physically... The closest thing he could get to that was allowing her into his body... To share his form and substance... But was it really healthy, to want to do so? It could not be normal... To have a sick bit of enjoyment, over joining with this spirit... But he had felt something... He had not been certain until now... But he had felt it... A touch of something, intimate, as they were joined in the unity of possessed and possessor... But perhaps he only misremembered, or was imagining it... He had tried to change the subject after his awkward words, but still, she had gone on, and explained to him the best she could... She was so patient with him... Did not get angry... Which just saddened him more, knowing they could never be... "So that is what you want as a ghost... Perhaps I could help you with that... But... Would that mean you would be gone? If you finished what you needed to do... Would you simply vanish?" If Flynn was any good at reading people, it would be easy to read Clydes emotions, which were very visible. It was clear on Clydes face that he considered this idea disconcerting... He seemed to be having some inward struggle... For while he found himself wanting to assist her... He was afraid that doing so might make her go away, and vanish... Which he did not want... He was not sure if he could take losing her... He was getting to like her to much... So should he try and help her? And gain her favor? Make her like him by his actions... And risk losing her... Or keep things the way they were, and not give her an excuse to leave and let go... There was no right answer! Suddenly Clydes face shifted to neutrality, before a smile was forced onto it. He had just recalled his earlier promise... He would do his next trick... This next one would not be so easy... He was not very skilled with shielding... And had not tried to create this specific type of shield... But if he did it right, he could shield the rock so it would become un-seeable. It would turn black, and no one would be able to see it, as he blocked the sense of sight upon it. Though unlike with reimancy, nothing would be visible as he worked, and tried to engulf the rock he now picked up within a cloud of djed... Since djed from shielding, was only visible to other shielders, it would seem to Flynn like he was doing nothing... Regardless, he set to work, trying to clear his mind, and send out this cloud of shielding djed, which did not seem to want to come out... "Now for my next trick..." He muttered this quietly, barely loud enough for Flynn to hear... Though his concentration on this new rock he had picked up and was holding between his hands would make it obvious upon what he meant.

[Flynn Maidrus]

"So that is what you want as a ghost... Perhaps I could help you with that... But... Would that mean you would be gone? If you finished what you needed to do... Would you simply vanish?" Flynn gave a buckled laughed. Caught up in her own thoughts, she failed to register Clyde’s expression. “I want to know everything. It has become the cynosure of my existence, so I don’t plan on leaving Mizahar soon.” She gestured with an aimless hand and a perplexed expression, “I... wasn’t like this when I was living, I don’t think.” Her shoulder hunched a little when she spoke, “Sorry, I’m not... usually this ambitious. I’m just overcompensating a bit for being a ghost without an unfinished agenda. So I think. Do I ever babble this much? Am I babbling?” Flynn flushed. “Gosh, I think I’m having an existential crisis.” “Fancy that! A ghost having existential problems. Ghosts aren’t even alive anyway! I’m not even corporeal. Are non-corporeal things even real? That’s a dumb question Rom would’ve snapped at.” Flynn huffed, “Sorry, dumb ghostly mental episode. Don’t mind it. I think it’s a bit more of sensory deprivation that’s getting me into this mess rather than holding onto life.” She watched her Soulmist start to froth about agitatedly and remembered herself. She ignored the nonsense going on in her head and resumed to something closer her default expression. Flynn noticed Clyde doing the same thing and tried to focus on that instead. His lips break out into a forced smile. "Now for my next trick..." Flynn watched raptly, anything to give her mind reprieve from battering itself to death quite literally.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde would stand there looking down at the rock, cupping it in his hands... Gazing at it, trying to make the particular misty djed to come out, to be used in shielding... But in this regard, unlike his reimancy, he was not to skilled... While he could send out a wisp of res with the slightest thought... He could not even get a drop of this magic... That thought only proved to perturb Clyde worse, as Clyde did his best to seek inner quiet, and peace, within his mind... But nothingness was not easy to concentrate on... Instead, he focused on the image of a flame... Flickering in his mind, surrounded by darkness... Nothing else existed... He gazed at the rock, as the flame in his mind moved in some unseen wind, bended a bit, and flared a bit larger... This seemed to calm him... Flames had calmed him since he was young... They symbolized protection, warmth... Everything good in his child hood... After almost 10 chimes, Clyde finally did it. Nothing would be visible to Flynn, though a grin would come across Clydes face, as the djed came out of his mouth, and formed a cloud around the rock... He worked it with his will, as it covered the rock, hiding it from his vision under the glistening airy silver djed... He would look up at Flynn for a moment, and nod, before going back to his rock, and his magics... This time he was trying to make it so the rock could not be seen... Which meant tasking the shield to block sight... As he worked, he condensed the djed in tighter, working into it bit by bit what it would do... Finally, after another 5 chimes, it worked, and the shield was complete. The rock would suddenly turn black. It did not disappear, but it could not be seen, and so when it was looked at, it appeared black and hard to see, indistinct. Though it was still clearly rock shaped. Now that he was done though, Clyde worried this magic trick was not flashy enough... He looked up at Flynn, showing her the rock, waiting to see what she thought of his trick... He seemed to want to know what she thought of it more than was probably normal... He panted a bit, this magic had been quite mentally taxing, to concentrate on his task for so long... He really needed to work on that, to be able to meditate deeper and better, to focus more on his magic, and ignore distractions. "Well, there you go, another magic trick. What do you think?"

[Flynn Maidrus]

Flynn sat there stewing in mortification. What did she just do? She told her mind to silence itself and instead tried to focus on Clyde's magic trick. Was it just her or did Clyde seem a bit.. relaxed? It was probably the result of clearing his mind to use res or whatnot. She noted Clyde's smile, though no change in appearance of the rock in his hands. It simply looked as if he was grinning down at the stone. Had his magic not worked? Clyde nodded at Flynn. Well, it seemed like he knows what he's doing, thought Flynn. The stone had turned black, but not invisible. What was the purpose of that? How curious. Flynn had never heard of res or djed interacting with earth elements to turn to black. She floated to the rock, prodding it. As she came closer, she heard Clyde's heavy breathing. "Well, there you go, another magic trick. What do you think?" Flynn ignored his question with more questions, "What kind of magic was that? And do you want to rest?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde's face fell a bit, from Flynns response... Though in hindsight, he supposed that magic, was not nearly as flashy as the other stuff had been... "Ah well... It was supposed to make the rock, to were it could not be looked at, so it blocks sight. That is why it turned that color, the rock is the same, only it cant be looked at... Not sure exactly how that works... Some kind of barrier covers it... So I guess it goes all dark, like none of the light is reaching it." He looked up at Flynn, trying to explain it to her, but failing miserably... His shoulders slumped a bit, as he had been so excited to show it to her, for it to be a failure... "I'm sorry, I guess I was just trying to show off a bit... But I am not very good at that kind of magic. So it tuckered me out a bit. But I will be fine in a few chimes, once I catch my breath so to speak." Clyde walked over to the fire, and sat down, letting it warm him. He looked over at Flynn, trying to smile, but a bit saddened now, that his trick had failed... And his mind wandered back to the last time they had met... When they had joined, and she had entered him... There being had touched... She had been in his mind... and for some odd reason, he wanted to do it again... For some semblance of closeness to her... He supposed it was really the only way that the two of them could be close... "So, what have you been doing since the last time we met? Have you been busy? Any plans for what you want to do in the near future?"

[Flynn Maidrus]

"Hmm.. yeah, I kinda get it! It's... a barrier against light and sight?" Flynn noticed Clyde's sloped shoulders and drained expression. What was wrong? Er, had she done something again? "That's pretty cool and useful!" It was probably because he was tired out. He didn't seem quite as well versed in this magic as the previous type. "I'm sorry, I guess I was just trying to show off a bit... But I am not very good at that kind of magic. So it tuckered me out a bit. But I will be fine in a few chimes, once I catch my breath so to speak." "What's the point of showing off? I'm not going to think any less of you." She floated over, while sitting Indian style, next to him. He looked a bit absent-minded, lost in thought. What was he thinking about? Flynn didn't want to bother him out of his trance. "So, what have you been doing since the last time we met? Have you been busy? Any plans for what you want to do in the near future?" She pushed at the dirt with her Soulmist, fingering the outlines. Little knots or triangular fractals. "Hm. Well, I'm not really a busy ghost I suppose. I have a permit for fortune telling here, but other than that I don't have a job. I'm rather lazily self-employed, anyway. And I don't sleep, so that's a lot more time. I visit the Temple of the Black Sun sometimes, it looks so marvelous." She flecked specks of dirt at Clyde's shoe, still tracing the patterns on the dirt. "How about you?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde smiled, as Flynn tried to pretend like what he had done had been amazing... When in fact, he knew it was not... But he tried to make light of it, and brush it off. To smile back at her, like her words had uplifted him... But it was hard, considering he knew how much of a failure his magic had been... But he was a bit surprised at hearing she would not think less of him, for not being as good with this other magic... And the surprise showed on his face. He looked up at her, his eyes big, and stumbled on his words a bit, before looking away, and with a bit of shame speaking. "Cause... Cause... That's all I am good for... Magic... That's all that makes me different, and useful... If I am not good at magic, I am just a waste... And since I have no other way of proving my skill... Well... I just... Wanted to impress you with my magic, so you would like me..." A bit shocked even at himself, for his own admission and openness, Clyde looked awhile, blushing a bit, having been more honest with her, than he usually was... Telling her such a private thought, of something he had not even realized was true, until he said it to her. He supposed this was a big realization though, of something about himself. Perhaps he had finally discovered why he had been so focused on magic his entire life, and on being the best and getting better with it... Because he felt if he did not, then he was a waste, and no one would care for him, or want anything to do with him. Perhaps that was also why when he had lost his magic, he had gotten so depressed, and felt like he had lost who he was... He listened to her next words, happy at a change of subject, and leaped upon the chance to change the topic. Unfortunately, the answer of course brought him back to magic. "Me? Well I... Just studying I guess. I am a student at the institute. I study there. Work on some special magics. Try to make myself useful." Clyde coughed, and finally brought his eyes back to the ghost. Suddenly, looking at her, her form which he could see was a bit translucent, he was reminded of the last time they had been as one... "Do you... Do you... Ever think of the last time we... You know... Combined? Whatever you call it. I suppose in some ways it was unpleasant and hurt, but... It was also kind of nice... Being so close to you, so intimately connected... It was like we were one, and I could feel your will trying to control and manipulate me... From inside... Do you think... Do you think we could try that again sometime?"

[Flynn Maidrus]

Clyde was giving her wide-eyed deer eyes and Flynn wanted to melt or cry. They were as dangerous as a begging puppy look, to her. She was saved when he looked away to trip on his words. She stayed quiet when his words turned self-critical. What could she say that sounded sincere? What would help? Flynn didn't think what he said was true at all of himself, or of anyone. She was sure if she moved to speak, her mouth would freeze in a gaping shape. She watched as Clyde turned introspective. Once she spoke, he seemed happy to move on from the subject. Flynn burrowed away the information for a while, to be brought up later. "Do you... Do you... Ever think of the last time we... You know... Combined? Whatever you call it. I suppose in some ways it was unpleasant and hurt, but... It was also kind of nice... Being so close to you, so intimately connected... It was like we were one, and I could feel your will trying to control and manipulate me... From inside... Do you think... Do you think we could try that again sometime?" Flynn stopped Materializing for a moment, shocked. It had been a knee-jerk reaction, but she stayed for a moment until realizing that if she seemed invisible any longer Clyde would be concerned. She was sure her face showed how flustered she was. Her hand twitched as if it wanted to cover her face. "Erm.. yes, sure."