Rules for Me

Log Info

• Title: Rules for Me
• Emitter: Slixvah
• Characters: Slixvah, Patch
• Place: Bardic College
• Time: December 26th, 2022
• Summary: Slixvah and Patch are getting a head start on cleaning up the Yule party the other day. They speak of typically unspoken rules they live by, as well as conundrums of magic and it's seemingly rigid yet haphazard assortment into various labels. Perhaps things might be shaken up, with their recent gains in knowledge.

Bardic College grounds, Morning

Good thing it was that the weather held off. The sun is bright in the sky with fair clouds dotting the blue. The wind present, but not biting. Though, the brilliance of the sun comes from below, as the ice and snow act like a mirror. Not helping this was the festivities from before, scattering the light in more directions.

Things needed to be cleaned up. Frozen cake was in places, chairs and tables needed to be put away. The ice maze...

...Probably might stay for a bit.

Amongst the students was that of an rust red and white egalrin woman, still decked out in full Yule colors wearing two silly hats at the same time. She's got about five chairs held aloft in her animated feathers with one in her hands, carefully stacking each one after another. She's squinting in the light.

"You didn't drink water at all last night, did you?" a tinny voice chastises from within her festive robes.

"... no..." Slixvah quietly groans, putting one chair in place as one feather shields her eyes.

A groan can be heard from Patch at the talk of water. She's pushing a street broom, a collection of mess before her as she moves it into a pile. Even if magics can help clean, it's best to be strategic about its applications. "....should of stuck to the punch." she says, leaning on her broom, and taking a moment to glance towards the duo.

"Wisdom after the crime is a lesson learned?" Patch asks of Fidah's words, grinning with a shrug. She's dressed against the chill, her coat worn, but the cloak was left behind this day. It's not for work. "I appreciate the help cleaning. Others are supposed to show up."

"A lot of those pies Dia made were found all over the city." Patch muses.

"Same, girl, same..." Slixvah sighs, rubbing at her face once the last chair of the trip was stacked with the others. A quiet yet pain-tinged snort. "Tch. Yuup. Mama always let us screw up ta learn our lessons. Too bad I shoulda known this lesson already, but was havin' too much fun ta keep up wit' it."

The egalrin wave a had off. "It ain't nothin', ya'll did loads, least I can do."

As she approaches a table, she laughs a little louder, throwing a look over her shoulder. "Yeah? Were they also found on the faces of statues? I'm sure they'll keep turning up until spring hits where all the lost one's can be smelled."

Patch snorts with a laugh, turning to push her broom once more. It's a rattle of trash produced, but her brushing has a rhythm as she works. "I'm not thinking about the game of 'what's that smell' until the thaw comes." she says, finishing a pile to her satisfaction. All pushed near a garbage bin, a shoved near in meant to help with collection. "I knew it'd be a mess, but then I thought about those who have to collect a lanterns. I think it's fair to do the trash. I know how many lanterns it took." a devious grin flashed. "Likely more than this couple of hours here."

"You coming means a lot too." Patch admits, pausing again as she puts the broom aside, leaning it on a bench. "It's stupid and temporary, and my allegiances might not always be here. It's still my home."

Slixvah scoops up the table, feathers tugging at latches and legs to fold them inwards. "Oooh yeah. Totes not gonna think 'bout that." Her brows furrow, the witch looking upwards to all the lanterns dangling about. A low whistle leaves her. "... yeeeah. That sounds like a pain in tha tail. If we do a bunch of otha' stuff, we can leave tha' lanterns to them," she snickers.

She stops by Patch, the table being folded in half and placed next to the assembled stack of chairs. "'course I'd come. Ya put a lot of work inta makin' this go off without a hitch. And while tha festivities are indeed a silly kind of stupid and temporary, what won't be temporary is tha' memory of all this."

A closed eye smile and a pat on the shoulder reaches the bard. "Home is what one makes it, and I can certainly see ya wantin' ya home ta flourish."

"No, not just the home." Patch says, her pause coming with an appraisal of Slix as she does that handling of the furniture. It is always a surprise to see what the feathery-witch-woman does with her skillset. "Maybe...." Patch starts at the pat, but she stops just as quickly

Patch takes her shovel, turning to work on her pile with a smirk. She pulls away from that touch with a laugh. She quickly turns to kiss that egalrin woman's beak. "I'm just selfish." her work focused on now that she's had her break and gawk. Yes, shoveling! "It's sweet of you, but I think it's more than the college." she says, shrugging as she dumps a scoop into the bin. "Explaining it? It just sounds silly when spoken. Ever have rules you don't tell others? Things you're afraid to share?"

Slixvah pauses at the sudden peck, her face floofing up as she tries to smooth down the top of her head. "Hah. Nothin' wrong wit' being selfish. I am too to some degree ya know," she coos. There's a look like she's going to yank at that knot about home, but she lets it be.

She crosses her arms, leaning against the bench's back. "More than just the college, she repeats, more like committing that to memory than hankering for elaboration. "Yeah. Got some rules. Dunno 'bout /not/ sharing them, just most folks don't really got my uh... unique? Circumstance ta worry 'bout. What, you got some codes ya live by that ya don't want known?"

She leans down, grinning some. "Are you a paladin in disguise in there?" she teases.

"Not that I don't want known, but if known, can be used to manipulate the system I have." Patch admits, pausing in her work again to look back at Slixvah and her two hats, grinning. "They suit you, ya know?" pointing to the woven baubles with a grin."

"Not switching topics." Patch chimes, assuring that she means to continue. "One of the rules rules I think you know. If I see it, I must do something. The hymn is a strange thing, disturbing or perverting it requires intervention." she notes. "What could someone do if they knew that? Set a trap, and lure." she says, sighing. "There are simple and complex ones, all regarding to Vaire, and The Hymn."

Slix giggles, flopping her head from side to side as the hats wobble about. "Thanks, they're super comfy~! Just like this lovely scarf!" Yep. She still has it on. Probably won't be removed for a long time.

Nowt his brings both brows skyward. "Oh? Intriguing...!" she coos. "That makes sense, gotta keep ya motives close..."

She taps her beak with a finger. "... simple and complex." A glance over. "Is one of them being fashionable?" A joke. "But I can see that. Gotta have some constants ta fall back on, yeah?"

"Somewhat! Wearing the correct thing for the occasion helps, but so does wearing the incorrect. It's about details." Patch drones on. "The saying says it's for good manners. However, fashion is as fleeting as our daily wind. It comes, goes, touches, and is ever changing. Like the hymn." she teases.

"Just because it hasn't occurred in the hymn before, doesn't mean it's not natural." Patch says suddenly. "Rule four." she says, not offering the one for fashion. Another in exchange. "You'd seen that one. Me asking if the shift could be a normal phenomenon." she points out. "Have to keep the work grounded and not speculative. Not ruling out the normal until necessary."

Slixvah laughs, stepping off the bench to fish out some white gloves from her robes. "Sounds like me: fleeting like the daily wind, always changing. Das a good rule."

The new information of rule four makes the egalrin tilt her head to the side. "Huh. Didn't figure tha' was a rule that needs be penned. But tha' makes since. Th' hymn's notes aren't all known, and sometimes ya find a hidden one."

A ponderance, then- "I suppose I gots a number of rules I live by. Guess the one that butts heads wit' some people is: don't entertain foolishness. If someone's bein' idiotic or flimsy, I ain't gonna stick 'round them too much. Wit' my penchant for weird luck, I don't want the wrong people gettin' a good stroke of luck, ya know?"

"That's exactly it. An arrangement unheard. Creativity exists within the boundaries of the hymn. It all exists within that power it has to create and piece the secrets of it together." Patch turning to Slixvah as she lets the shovel clack against the collection bin.

"That's an important rule. I have learned and penned a rule recently much like it." sighing and moving to sit on the bench that Slixvah steps off of. "Real discoveries come from chaos. From us going everywhere, and doing what others think is too much. It looks wrong, stupid, and foolish. However, not without lessons." her words followed with a sigh. "I saw a man die because of inaction, and I realize you and I act as we do, because others err too much on caution."

Slixvah pulls on her gloves, getting them settled before waving a hand to make a spectral appear some distance away. It starts to gather the lanterns slowly. "Same wit' witchcraft. Arcane exploits tha' manipulate shortcuts. It's all there, using tha same rules and boundries. Jus' crosses some weird wires from time ta time."

She plods down next to Patch. One wing loosely draping around the bard while one hand continues to manipulate the spectral one. "Precisely," she concurs, nodding along with it. "Over caution causes hesitation. Hesitation leads to misfortune. Having knowledge of what is to come is the enemy of misfortune. Going headfirst into chaos begets lessons. That's where you and I shine," she smiles, then rubs Patch's shoulder reassuringly. "Alas. That will happen, sadly. Hopefully their death will be a lesson to those involved."

"It's true, but how bards and wizards draw on it is far different." Patch says, grinning as the magics Slixvah used to conjure the specter draw her interest. She watches it lazily, shaking her head. "I try to be practical, and do work the hard way at times. Inspiration comes through dedication, but... that really helps." Patch's admission coming with a wide grin.

"I boggle at how logical the arcane becomes at a certain level. A complex set of rules and math. It really stifles the creativity, but I study it because it's good to know." Patch offers, changing the topic. "You may not fit in completely, but I find the witch to be somewhere between the lot of us. Your magics often make me wonder if there 'should' be a separation of such in magic."

Slixvah chuckles, working through helping getting a slight head start on the lanterns from her relaxing spot on the bench. "Inspiration does come through dedication, but also inspiration comes from just upending the whole table and seeing what happens," she croons.

A glance sideways to Patch. A sly grin in her eyes. "Does it stifle creativity?" she prods. "Or does having the rules and math in place make it a fun challenge to bend and break? Knowing the rules makes it easier ta bend them."

That makes Slixvah crane her head back to look up to the sky. "A separation," she echoes. "In what manner? Its classification?"

Patch nods at the prod. "It's all looked at and categorized into boxes." seizing on Slixvah's last words. "Each community, and some of those that fall between not truly talking about it. Bits of knowledge, inspiration, and raw computation missing a future breakthrough in understanding as thoughts and circles stay separated."

Patch looks up, grinning to Slixvah as she stands, and dusts off her grey trousers. "I thought about your situation, and how you'd wanted to find a place for witches. My answer to that is, why is there different places to begin with?" she offers of her ponderings. "I think we need a wizard and sorcerer to round out discussions, but with things coming unwoven. My thoughts on it all has changed."

Slixvah chuckles. "We put things inta boxes because we try ta understand what we cannot. It's easier ta comprehend labels. Sadly, some folks try to not grasp at incomprehensible because they fear what they cannot comprehend." She taps her skull. "Hence why Fifi shovin' stuff in there is a bit rough sometimes."

Her gaze follows Patch as she stands up, Slix cross one leg over the other. "Unwoven..." she muses. "... hrm. Perhaps it need not be all in their places. But instead a gradient? But alas, with it comin' undone, allegedly, who's ta know what it'll set into? Malleable. Curious. Scary. Exhilarating."

Wings shove against the bench, and she gets to her taloned feet, some sun catching her eyes, making her squint in a smarting pain. "Like trying the mystery punch the cooks brewed up. Never again."

"And once seen and noticed. Why ignore it?" Patch notes with a nod, stepping towards Slixvah as she stands. A sudden change in course, putting her before the rust-colored Egalrin, looking up into those blue eyes. "Unwoven is dramatic. Changing?" she compromises with a grin. "And it is exhilarating. Very."

"For with what's coming we'll be needing all sorts to puzzle it. If you wanted to start building something. I think now is the time." she mentions, shrugging. "Don't hesitate. Seize Inspiration." she says with a bemused tone.

"Let's go find some of the others. Likely the punch got them too." Patch's joke not untrue. "We'll get back to this in a bit. Let's make tea and rally forces." offering Slixvah a hand.

Slixvah blinks as her personal space is broached unexpectedly. But not unwelcome. "It cannot be ignored," she states in double speak, eyes half lidding as a hand reaches up to gently ruffle at the elf's hair. "Yeah. I'll... put some thought towards buildin' something. See what I can do. Might as well find that inspiration and tackle it."

A grin break across her eyes. "Heh. Yeah. Tea time and recruit. We've done plenty. Break time!"

The egalrin takes the proffered hand.

-End Scene-