mental link; it's a catbus!

[wille]

[ It's an ungodly hour of the night as these things go, with both Misato and Gildor's minds flickering to announce their presence to all. Forceful and unapologetic, for her part, while urgent and unsettling, for his part. They insist on your attention. ]

( Everyone. We found something out there beyond the barrier. It was too dark for us to see much-- )

(Or anything, for some of us, but-- )

( But it's massive-- )

(Big as the shuttles that brought us-- )

( And predatory. At least, it seemed pretty clear that it wanted to take a chunk out of us. Some of you found tracks the other day, right? Let's talk. )
 

Comments

[perroquet]

( Hmm... that isn't a bad idea actually, I do have some fear spells. Haven't used them in a long time, but... )

[ The music shifts as his thoughts do, becoming softer. Still anxious, but more and contemplative. He's balancing several conversations at once, and those at least seem to be calming him somewhat - the wailing organ steadily melds into a much gentler piano. ]

( Or... perhaps no. Bard magic out in the open will just confuse the Rabadoceans and possibly expose our cover. If anything breaks through, we will need to be prepared to fight with spears and... little knives... )

[calhar]

[ Not the response he was expecting. Mat's irritation mingles with bemusement, and it takes him a second to regather his thoughts. ]

( Since when do bards use magic tricks? )

[ Context and the link tell him it's more than that, but that won't stop him asking. ]

( And some of us can do plenty with little knives, mind. There's also plenty of space for running and hiding. )

[perroquet]

( Why, since creation itself! Bard magic isn't mere trickery - it is art. )

[ Irritated bemusement is met with more of the same. Either it's the smybiote's doing or exhaustion catching up to him. Though he realizes a second too late how egotistical that was, and mentally, tiredly, and dramatically sighs at himself. ]

( Apologies. I'm rather biased and beginning to realize bard magic is not very common throughout the multiverse. )

[ He's at least glad that someone else recognizes the title, and at the implied competence with fighting. ]

( I pray we won't have to fight or run from this creature at all, though you are right. If it comes to it, we should have faith in each other's strengths and abilities. )

[calhar]

[ That's a little pretentious, but the thing is — it's totally art. Thom's schooled him on the issue enough times, and he and Rand would be dead if it weren't for that schooling.

Also: bards have the best fuckin stories. ]

( The flaming multiverse. ) [ That's a new word. Not sure if he likes it, honestly. ] ( My part of it's got bards and it's got channeling, but it hasn't got bards that can channel. )

[ 'Channel' has the same connotation as magic, easy to place given the context. But magic for him is still something fantastical, unreal; the thing most people seem to mean when they say it is very real, and it's hardly something he'd call magical. ]

[perroquet]

[ There's a sense of understanding at flaming multiverse. He knows, it's new to him too. But again he finds himself glad to have met someone else who recognizes things familiar to him, even if they hold different names or carry different meanings. ]

( How interesting. In Henge, a bard is defined by their innate ability to cast spells. All bards are musicians, but not all musicians are bards. )

[ It's all just words and labels, but it's the one he's defined himself by his entire life. To hear it used again is refreshing, especially after he's had to use so much of his magic - it's almost validating. But to hear it used differently is strange. ]

( I've met few here who recognize these things. What would your title be, Mr...? )

[calhar]

[ There's a flicker of annoyance at the use of the word 'title', mundane as it is. It's habitual, from being given more titles than he'd care to have. But that isn't the question here, and he skips past it smoothly enough. ]

( Just Mat. And I suppose all our bards are musicians, true, though I'm still not seeing what that has to do with your magic. Bards are gleemen — they travel, and they bring news and entertainment wherever they visit. Do you know how to juggle? )

[ Because really, what kind of bard wouldn't know how to juggle. ]

[perroquet]

[ This one. ]

( No. ) [ Simply stated, matter-of-factly. He’s not very good at throwing things at all. ]

( Just Mat, then. Gildor Helyanwë, at your service and the service of the Nest. I’m no newsman either, though I suppose I technically am tonight... ) [ He and Misato did just wake half of them up with some news, didn’t they? ] ( ...but I can certainly entertain. Bards are expected to uplift, support, and heal, and I’ve learned a variety of spells to help do just that.

Those spells do have a cost though, and I’ve yet to pay it back after all I’ve done tonight. ) [ That is to say, he’s tired. It’s there in the way his mind miss-remembers a note in that ever-present mental music, like sore fingers slipping on the keys. ] ( Magical doors don’t open themselves through technomagical barriers for nothing. )

[calhar]

[ Look, juggling is totally a bard thing and it's the one bard thing Mat's any good at. He's probably about as good at music as Gildor is at throwing things. The explanation of what bards do goes over just fine, though, right up until— ]

( Heal? ) [ He knows channeling can heal. He's just never liked it, and the idea of something as normal and safe as a gleeman getting up to the same tricks is distinctly uncomfortable. As for that last sentence, it sounds like a whole bunch of nonsense, and it takes him a beat to parse that they're back to the barrier. ]

( You can keep your spells to yourself around me, just so we're clear. ) [ It isn't particularly defensive; just setting boundaries. ] ( Now go to sleep before you give us all a blasted headache. )

[perroquet]

( Oh really? Well, if the beast breaks through and mauls us tonight, I’ll try to remember to skip over patching you up. )

[ It’s a half-jest. Having boundaries around magic is fine by him, for the most part. He’s not so chaotic as to push unwanted spells on others - unless it’s done in cases of emergency.

Hopefully there will none tonight. ]

( Goodnight, Mr... sorry. Old habits. Goodnight Mat. I do apologize for the intrusion. ) [ Especially if the news turns out to be nothing to worry about.

His mind recedes back into itself, the music and looming shadow of it fading over the connection, though if Mat were to linger and listen it never goes completely silent. ]