An Enchanting Afternoon at Home

Log Info

• Title: An Enchanting Afternoon at Home

• Characters: Ravenstongue, Telamon

• Place: Lupecyll-Atlon home

• Summary: Returning home from Mictlan, Telamon gives Cor'lana a brief report on the incident that he was called on to help with. A discussion ensues over Telamon's spell repertoire, and Cor'lana experiments by using charm person on Telamon (with slightly disturbing results). The two also spend some time discussing the upcoming wedding.

Lupecyll-Atlon home, noon.

Lunch has come and gone, and the Variday noon sees Cor'lana scrubbing plates clean and putting them out to dry in a dishrack. Pothy inspects her handiwork by, of course, shelling peanuts nearby on the kitchen counter. "That was yummy," Pothy says, his tail beginning to wag again as he recalls the meal. "You're getting better at cooking, Lana."

"Thanks," Cor'lana says with a little smile. "I didn't think the soup would be that good, especially since it was a new recipe, but I can occasionally surprise myself."

There's the sound of the door unlocking, the familiar footstep that brings a bright warmth to the lady of the house. Telamon walks in the door, stretching. "I'm home, love!" He hangs up his cloak and doffs his boots, leaving them in the entry hall with his worries.

Raking a hand through his hair, he smiles as he sees Lana and Pothy in the kitchen. "Hey there, you two. Skiel and Vaera say 'hi', by the way."

"Welcome home!" Cor'lana calls out, drying her hands with a small towel and setting it aside as she walks over to Telamon and gives him a kiss hello. "How was your trip? I wish I could have gone, too, but it feels like everything's in overdrive now that it's less than two weeks to the wedding."

"It's true," Pothy says. "Grandfather came over last night and had Cor'lana pick out flowers for a bouquet."

He smiles, wrapping his arms around Lana and tucking her in under his chin. "Honestly, no complaints. Honestly, it wasn't too bad. Granted, I had the best company you could hope for when dealing with angry, aggressive river guardian beasts." He looks wry. "Though I don't know if Mictlan cooking is quite my speed. I found that my resilience against fire doesn't protect me from the peppers they use in cooking."

Oh, she nuzzles into that spot under his chin, all right. It's the natural resting spot for Cor'lana, after all, to the point where it's a wonder that she hasn't worn a groove into the underside of his chin doing so. She snickers a little as Telamon talks about sith-makar cuisine. "Thankfully, you're safe from peppers here," she says. "Even if Pothy occasionally begs me to buy them at the market."

"Come on," Pothy grumbles. "Spicy food is great. It's even more fun when you dare other people to eat it. Nadi would occasionally buy phantom peppers and bet Luthel that he couldn't eat a whole one. One time he did actually try it, and he spent a whole hour dry-heaving while Nadi rubbed his back."

/That/ anecdote gets an even bigger laugh out of Cor'lana. "Luthel? Really? I /can't/ picture him dry-heaving," she says, pulling away a little from Telamon to look up at him. "Angry and aggressive river guardians, huh. I wish I could have been there to tame them with my magic."

She looks at Telamon for just a beat longer. "Come to think of it... Do you know /any/ kind of enchanting magic, Tel?"

Telamon gives Pothy a disgusted look. "No thanks. The old priestess we met with, Miquitlani, told me not to mess with those. Her tlahcos were enough for me. I shudder at the thought of something strong enough to make Luthel sick." He pauses. "Plus, I think Pothy cheats. I don't think he actually can taste the heat in them."

At Lana's question, though, Tel's brow furrows. "...Huh. You know, I don't think I -do-. I have a pretty broad spread -- evocations, conjurations, some illusions -- but I don't think I've ever explored enchantment magic."

Pothy harumphs. "Ordinary birds can't, but I /can/," he says. "As the inheritor's repository of knowledge, I have to know everything, including what poison tastes like, so I can protect the inheritor from poison. You're /welcome/, by the way, because Lana tried to eat poisonous berries when she was five and those probably would have killed her."

"Only if I ate the entire bush, Pothy," Cor'lana replies with a sigh. She looks back at Telamon and gives him sort of a mischievous smile. "Maybe you should pick up a couple of my tricks," she says. "That way, you're not caught totally reliant on that silver tongue of yours."

"Oh, is -that- why you drank the potion that time back when you were Davios Branfeax's familiar? Or was it because it smelled sweet?" Of course Telamon would remember that. He snorts, grinning, before turning his eyes back to Lana's. "It's always a good idea to have plenty of tricks up your sleeve, so to speak."

Tel hmmms. "Of course, it's a bit trickier as we have to try and find common ground. We're both sorcerers with vastly different sources of magic and perceptions of such. Wizards always have it easier when they need to share a spell or two. Hmph."

Pothy coughs a little and immediately goes back to his peanuts. Of course he does. He's been caught flat-footed.

Cor'lana, meanwhile, looks thoughtful. "Hmm, well, if I can't /teach/ you how to harness it directly," she says, "perhaps..."

And then the mischievous grin returns to her face again. "Ah, I know. I read about this once--sorcerers may be able to experiment with magic and learn how to do what other sorcerers do if they experience it first-hand. And there is a saying in some enchantment circles: you never know how potent a spell can be until it's used on you. So..."

Cor'lana bats her eyelashes innocently. "Want to get charmed?"

Telamon gives Lana an amused stare. "Didn't we do this last time at the proving grounds, and you made me laugh for a solid minute? Besides, how could you even -tell- I was charmed? I'm already at your beck and call, love." His eyes twinkle merrily. "Still... it might not be a bad idea. Though I'd want to take care doing the same to you -- some of my spells aren't... friendly."

He takes her hand, and walks her out to the living room. Sitting down on the couch, before settling his hands on his knees. "Alright... shall we begin?"

"That was only one of my enchantment spells," Cor'lana says with a grin. "I have more up my sleeve, you know. Not /too/ many more, but enough to make people sweat. And... I won't cast the worst one I know on you, so rest assured you'll be fine. Although I have to admit I have no clue how you'll react, either."

She sits down on the couch and she takes a breath. "Okay. We'll start off relatively easy," she says. "This is a basic charm person spell. I do cast this one with a little more 'oomph' these days compared to when we first met, so... Here goes."

Cor'lana recites the incantation and weaves the magic...

GAME: Ravenstongue casts Charm Person/Persistent. Caster Level: 10 DC: 19

GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (8)+10+6: 24

GAME: Telamon rolls Will+6: (2)+10+6: 18

It's actually really hard to worm through Telamon's defenses. Despite his somewhat reckless temperment, his half-sil ancestry and the seducer's bane bracelet form a potent defense. But it sinks in, finally, and Tel's expression slackens slightly before reasserting itself. "Well, clearly you're the wise one in this relationship. Is there anything I can do to help you, my lady love? Rub your feet, get you a drink?"

It'd be funny, but it's kind of disturbing because it's clear Tel is not -entirely- in his right mind at the moment.

Cor'lana blinks a couple of times as she looks into Telamon's eyes, very clearly seeing that the spell's worked. She blushes, of course, at his offering. "Oh no," she murmurs. "I, umm--I didn't think it'd actually work /that/ well."

Pothy flaps over from the kitchen into the living room, landing on the coffee table. He takes one look at Telamon and says, "Well, Lana, it could be worse. He could offer to kiss the ground you walk on."

"Oh, please, no." Cor'lana is visibly panicked by that idea, and she very quickly murmurs and casts the incantation for dispelling magic, wiping her spell from Telamon.

GAME: Ravenstongue casts Dispel Magic. Caster Level: 10 DC: 19

The spell ends with a soft, unheard-but-felt pop, and Telamon's eyes cross. "Ow. Okay, let's... not do that one again. That was just as unpleasant as the time that snake-bitch did it to me." He rubs his forehead. "It's all right, I did ask for it. But still: ugh. Remind me not to do that."

He leans over to kiss Lana's cheek, to show no hard feelings. "Although I wasn't sure what was my feelings and what was the charm effect. Dangerous waters there."

"Very dangerous waters," Cor'lana agrees, and she takes Telamon's hand, squeezing it a little. Her grip relaxes a moment after, and she sighs, looking down to their hands with their engagement rings. "I am just... glad, that you love me for me and not because of magic. It reminded me briefly of what Ainasse did to Glorenacil when I saw you like that."

She looks back up at Telamon and offers him a little smile. "I, umm. Should I keep going? Should I cast that laughing spell on you again? Or should I demonstrate the worse version of that, which can charm monsters?"

Telamon shakes his head. "Yeah. I don't blame you, I was thinking of that too." He looks at their hands, and raises hers to his lips. "It's one thing to joke about being enchanted, but the reality is pretty ominous once you've seen that in action." His dark starry eyes are soothing, and he puts an arm around Lana's shoulders.

"Let's not. Actually... let's consider theory. When you draw on the magic, what does it feel like you're doing? Wizards seem to be fairly uniform, but sorcerers differ a lot in their perception of mana."

Cor'lana's eyes grow warm as Telamon kisses her hand, and she is more than happy to lean into his embrace. She nuzzles her head against his briefly and lets out a small sigh of contentment.

Then he poses the question, and Cor'lana looks somewhere between reflective and bashful, her eyes darting from him back down to her hands. "Well," she says, "I usually... think of Mother when I cast anything. She was the one who first taught me how to cast magic, and I always wanted to be like her when I was little. So I usually end up picturing my mother's magical power--and then I picture /myself/ using that power, willing it into reality, combined with the incantation I choose to use."

She looks at Telamon and she says, "Honestly, I think the reason my enchantment magic might be so effective is that... I bake a lot of my anxiety into those spells. I look at my target and think: 'I want you to like me. I want you to approve of me. I want you to hear what I have to say and to look past my mistakes when I stumble over my words. I want you to look at me like I could be your friend and you don't want to hurt me.' Those are the loudest thoughts in my head when I cast charming magic."

Telamon rests his cheek against her head, listening. "That makes sense... and I hope one day you won't need the anxiety, the worry. That you can leave it behind." He gives her a squeeze, and smiles. "Your mother was an interesting woman. There are worse people to emulate, for all her flaws."

He considers for a moment. "It's always the stars with me, obviously. In my head, I look out at those stars, and I reach for just the -right one- that has what I need... whether it's just light, or a fireball, or something else. Call it down from the heavens to do my bidding. And the stronger I get... the further out I reach."

There's a deeper sort of happiness that wells up in Cor'lana's face and voice as she says, "Well, that's the thing. You, Grandfather, my cousin's family, your family, all of our friends--I've gotten to be so much less anxious about talking with people because of all of the people I have in my life now who like me. Who /love/ me. I do draw on the old feelings of anxiety to cast those spells, but it's just stepping back into that state for a moment."

She leans in and kisses Telamon's cheek. "That's a long way of saying that there's never been a time where I felt uncomfortable around you. Moments of tension or indecision, yes, but never discomfort. Maybe it's because I always found the stars at night to be impartial judges." She grins at her own remark.

His fingertips stroke her hair, as Tel leans back in the sofa, smiling at the kiss. "Alright. I'm reassured. I just... don't want you to ever feel out of place. Especially here, or wherever our home will be."

He nods at her words. "I know what it's like to be nervous, wondering if you're making the right call. Or if you've fouled something up." Tel's eyes glint. "A little bit of caution's a good thing, but letting it blossom into self-doubt is a bad idea. Measure, then act -- and decisively." He looks at her speculatively. "So, what kind of flowers are you picking out for the bouquet?"

"I don't feel out of place so long as you're around," Cor'lana says, nuzzling into him a little more. Whether out of guilt for charming him or simply that she's just taken to a feytouched whim for affection, she seems to want to be close to him for the moment. "You and the stars in your eyes, the heaven of the night sky--they give you power, of course, but they give me the power of knowing I'm safe, too."

Pothy speaks up on the flower matter first. "Lavender, of course," he says. "Enough to smother a small child in it."

"In other words, you, Pothy," Cor'lana says with a snicker. "But I also picked violets, peonies, and white and lavender roses. Grandfather seemed to approve."

It's warm and comforting, being here with her. Telamon contemplates the flower options, nodding slowly. "I like the variety. And it'll contrast well with your dress. I haven't heard from Aryia of late, but I'm sure she'll have things ready by the wedding day." He scratches his chin. "Oh, and father is in town, so heads up. He'll probably visit at some point, when he gets the chance -- he's with the Mythwood diplomats hammering out an agreement with Alexandria. Busy, but not unduly so."

He lifts his head to grin at her. "It's been an amazing year for me. I'm looking forward to the next one being truly spectacular."

Cor'lana returns the grin, looking into those starry eyes that inspire an easy sort of poetry for her words. "I'm looking forward to it, too," she says. "After all, it'll be our first year as a married couple--as Lupecyll-Atlon."

Pothy looks between the two of them. "Does that mean you'll take Telamon's father out to the Rosalian Rose? Does that I mean I get to go this time?" His voice is like a little pout in bird form.

Cor'lana can't help but snicker. "Yes, Pothy, we'll see about you coming along, but you can't eat my cousin's parents out of house and home. One plate and one plate only. Promise?"

"Promise," Pothy says. "Anything to get in there."

"We'll hold you to it, then," Cor'lana says. She looks back to Telamon and grins. "I think that means we have another date at the Rose in our future."