[PRP] Crunch time (Oliver & Elliot & Horace)

[Melancholies]

Oliver wasn't the type of person to half a** something. If he got into it—really, really dedicated—he typically went all out with it. He could've sent his friends a text message for the next leg of their journey (that being said, he lived with one of the aforementioned friends); but where was the fun in that? He was in a rare mood actually, one that was genuinely grateful, mostly because his hands were intact and everything felt like it was going to be okay.

Maybe.

Which is how he wound up at the kitchen table until all hours of the night making fancy little cards. The next day was subsequently spent sleeping, and then he made sure to mail them off priority in the afternoon, and now here they were. Hopefully Horace would make it over with the box soon; he already had the tea going, the coffee pot full, the cats fed... they were both plump and happy on the cat tower by the window.

He watched his earl grey steep.

"Elllliii," He called out, "You made sure to text Horace about bringing the box too, right?" Oliver had the strange rock Renard had provided for them in his hand, and he was busy turning it over and over between his fingers. "Otherwise this whole thing is kinda pointless. Are you gonna get some coffee? I made it for you." He pouted, but it was mostly playful.

saedusk

cards are like 90% fanfare and decoration

The Semblance of Unity

and 10% "thanks for helping me w/ the hand thing btw meet up on this date"

 

[saedusk]

Receiving a card in the mail from someone you actually, physically existed in the same space with was a bit strange to say the least, but trust Ollie to pull something like that. It made the whole thing that much more endearing, though. Considering how lovely the card was on its own, it was pretty damn impressive.

Eli had absolutely displayed it on his bedside table.

"Of course I did," he replied, emerging from the hallway with Pascal on his heels. It was the pup's turn for breakfast now. He'd just changed out of his clothes from their morning run. "He'll be here soon, I'm sure."

Until then, there was no doubt Eli planned on having a cup Ollie's coffee. It always tasted better when he prepared it. "Your coffee is my favorite, darling," was his reassurance as he poured a cup. He savored the warmth between his hands before taking a sip.

The Semblance of Unity

Melancholies

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

The mail was ridiculously cute and Horace spent quite some time starting at it before it finally made its way to his shoebox of 'good s**t to keep forever' The metal box they'd put the sigil on was honestly pretty heavy, but it made a pretty good cupcake holder.

One day, unbeknownst to any of them, there would be a war. A coffee war over beans and roast and grind and Horace's fancy-a** coffee machine.

He bumped the box into the apartment door. Then again. He couldn't exactly knock.

saedusk

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Is it really?" He looked over at Elliot with wide, owlish eyes. "You're just saying that to be polite." It still made him feel good though, but the knock at the door was enough to distract him.

"Oh, that's probably Horace." Was it bad he took arbitrary sounds at the door for him now? He quickly composed himself to answer the door. Elliot might have been changing out of his morning routine clothes, but Oliver himself was definitely in his pajamas still, his shirt a crisp boring white and his pants light green with tiny Asian pears. His hair was still equally mussy too, even though he'd been up for quite a while now. "Here uh, come in before Pascal starts boofing."

Chai was still sleeping, but Nosey had woken up, her green eyes stark against her fur as she watched the commotion by the door.

The Semblance of Unity

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Too late, Pascal was boofing, but they were small, polite sounds. The smell alerted him to Horace and he knew, he knew this was one of those humans that gave him lots of pets when he bumped his head into his leg. The only thing that kept him from running over immediately was the bites of food he took between boofs. Life was hard when you were a dog with big decisions to make.

"Hellooooo, Acie," Eli called from the kitchen, hands still wrapped around his coffee cup. "Oh, do you two need any help with that box?" It was heavy, he remembered vaguely.

Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"The boof has begun," Horace said, stepping inside. Unlike Oliver, Horace wasn't wearing pajamas, but he figured that wouldn't matter so much. They were just going to test things out, anyway. He moved to the counter and carefully deposited the large box.

"So... hi EllieOllie." Their named kind of ran together. "Are you ready to, uh, vibrate things apart?" Horace waggled his fingers at Nosey, the cute bugger.

saedusk

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Oh shush," He said to Pascal, not that it mattered, "He's too intent on eating anyway. Look at him, he's having such a hard time deciding what he wants. You've really caught him in a catch-22." Ollie laughed a little.

"But yes, we should begin quickly. Odal's due date is approaching," He paused, "That sounds weird. Odal's deadline is approaching. Here, come set it on the living room table. Do you want a cup of coffee? I just brewed a batch." He gave Elliot a glance, "Eli seems to like it anyway. I don't know how you like yours."

He was scampering off, a hundred different things apparently on his mind. It was just one of those days.

saedusk

The Semblance of Unity

 

[saedusk]

"I definitely recommend the coffee." In fact, Eli was already grabbing a cup out of the cabinet. He set it near the coffee pot like a warm, welcoming invitation. It was around that time Pascal finished his breakfast, too, and scrambled excitedly around Horace's legs like it didn't matter if he was trying to walk.

"He ate way too fast," Eli commented, "Hope he doesn't get sick. He's just happy to see you."

Side-stepping away from the counter, he watched Ollie scurry away. He was in such a tizzy, had been all morning, and it was kind of cute. "So what's the plan of attack today? Are we headed for Other Ashdown again?"

Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

"I already had two cups," he admitted sheepishly. Slow down there, Olliebee, he thought, but it was with affection. Still, Horace moved over and took a third cup because he couldn't refuse. It was a bit difficult to move with Pascal scrambling around his legs, but he managed it and also managed to give the doggie some satisfactory pats. (He doubted there was such a concept as 'enough pets' in Pascal's mind, though.) "Who's a good doggie? It's Pascal!" He flopped Pascal's ears around, grinning widely as he did so.

But, as much as he wanted to play with Pascal for ages, they had work to do. "Yeah, I thought we'd try, um, destroying that stone in the box in that other Ashdown. The magic will be most similar to what we will have to work with on the day of. Oh," he said abruptly, opening up the box. "I made cupcakes, too. You're my testers for some modifications I made to a couple of recipes. Vanilla with orange buttercream and red velvet with ermine icing." Maybe they could be celebratory cupcakes if they managed to poof the stone.

saedusk

melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Oliver seemed to hear Horace's thoughts from wherever he had wandered off to, "Not until we finish!" He scrambled back in from the hallway and, presumably, his room. "I mean, when we finish we can have the cupcakes. If I eat them now I won't want to move, and that's counterproductive. Anyway, I definitely think we should do this in Otherworld." He pointed to his cats.

They both stared in response.

"What if we accidentally hurt them? I won't have it." He was awkwardly favoring one side still—his chest was still undeniably bruised—but he seemed to be getting around a lot better. "That being said, I really want to try the red velvet ones. Are you both ready?" He held the stone up, "I'm ready."

He was rocking back and forth on the balls of his heels.

saedusk

The Semblance of Unity

 

[saedusk]

"One more won't hurt." One hand waved dismissively, the other supplied him with yet another sip of his own wonderful coffee. "Just a second, Ollie, let us finish our drinks. I don't think we'll have much time for them once we get started."

Besides, look at Pascal, he was eating the attention up. Throw him a figurative bone for a bit.

"Cupcakes sound like a fabulous prize, though. I'm sure they'll be a wonderful as your cake was." In fact, Eli was already looking forward to trying them. He was quickly becoming a fan of Horace's baking.

A short time later, his cup was all but empty and he set it on the counter. "Alright, I'm finally ready when you are."

Melancholies

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace mumbled something about just liking baking, although the praise made him flush. Then, he busied himself with his coffee.

"I'm ready, too. Take us onward, fearless leader." He grinned at Oliver, then wrapped his arms around the box. "I hope we don't wander a lot..."

melancholies

saedusk

 

[Melancholies]

"Oh please, we shouldn't." He held his hands up like a conductor, "What if I could conduct magic? Isn't that a silly thought..." Yeah, definitely a little razzled, way too high strung. "Anyway, uh..." His hands fell back to his side and he winced a little at his side. "I can cross whenever, so... Maybe I can just... pull you guys over again like the last time..."

And he did just so, the animals vanishing in a blink, time stretching out into entropy. Oliver fell back onto the couch in their living room shortly after. Unlike Horace's house, everything was relatively undamaged. It looked like he wanted to speak, but instead he just shook his head and made a vague hand motion. "Sorry, give me a moment..."

saedusk

The Semblance of Unity

 

[saedusk]

They made it to the other side, to their very apartment on the other side, like it was nothing. This place really was some sort of mirror image of their world, he was learning. For a moment he was distracted by looking around, observing the things that were different or the same. It was when he realized Ollie wasn't hopping back up in that same manic fashion that his attention snapped back to where it needed to be. Maybe making it over here hadn't been like nothing after all.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, taking a seat next to him. "Take as much time as you need. We can start when you're ready."

The Semblance of Unity

Melancholies

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

Horace ruffled Oliver's hair briefly, tugging on the short strands, then smiled and ruffled Eli's, too, which was a little harder because of the length. Take your time. I'm gonna try something.

"So... we'd need to work up to the stone, right? What if we did paper first, then something... organic, I don't know. Then that weird stone Leroux gave us?" Horace shuffled around, looking for a piece of paper. He set it inside the box. With a deep breath, he concentrated. A spark shot out and caught the paper on fire.

Well, s**t, that wasn't what they were supposed to be doing.

saedusk

melancholies

Method Testing

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method testing
Players must roll 1d4 in each post where they test their method of casting. There are three testing stages; you must achieve two successes in each stage to prove your method works for the casting. Each post must be filled out before your method test can be turned in.

Stage One: Concept
In this stage your characters are working with a smaller version of their method to a smaller purpose, such as heating a pot of water or causing someone to float.
1-- A success! Your casting method has proven viable in this small test.
2-- A failure. You did not generate enough power to achieve your test goal.
3-- A failure. Your chosen reagent was not sturdy enough to channel the power and was destroyed.
4-- A failure. There was a large flaw in your casting that prevented you from succeeding.

Stage Two: Prototype
In this stage, your characters are attempting to cast a moderate spell using your method of casting; a moderate spell is something like causing a flower to grow quickly or healing a minor wound.
1-- A failure. Your casting method did not generate enough power; you must adjust your reagents.
2-- A success! Your casting method has proven viable in this larger test.
3-- A failure. Your chosen focal point was not sturdy enough to channel your power and was destroyed, causing you minimal harm.
4-- A failure. There was a small flaw in your casting which must be adjusted before you can succeed.

Stage Three: Final
In this stage, your characters are attempting to cast a large spell using your method of casting. A large spell is something like weather manipulation, teleportation, etc.
1-- A failure. You didn't generate enough power; the flaw was not with your spell.
2-- A failure. Your chosen focal point wasn't sturdy enough to channel your power and was destroyed, causing you moderate harm.
3-- A failure. You blew up your reagents on accident, and must acquire more.
4-- A success! You're ready to use this method of casting in the recreation of the Charter.