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Re: The Student Becomes the Master [Sivan]
Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2023 4:30 pm
by Torin Kilvin
Torin waited just until the newest member of their little family was out of sight before leaning close to Sivan, meeting his eyes and saying,
"You could sweet-talk anything you wanted into rooting, or any one." It was cheeky and flirting and obvious in his grin how proud he was of himself for both thinking of it and saying it out loud.
When Timon and Bastion reappeared Torin pulled his belt pouch from his waist, tossing it to Timon and telling him to take Bastion and see what was in the kitchen at their favorite tavern. It wouldn't be as good as it had been last year, and it would come more dearly in terms of coin, but Torin was trying to spend money locally where he could. People needed it and he had it and that was reason enough. The two would be back in twenty minutes or so, and they would all eat together at the table in the house. One of the things Torin did not want was for Bastion to imprint on him, and only him, so hard that his loss or displeasure would devastate the lad. He hoped they would come to have a similar relationship to the one he'd formed with his own first teacher but he also wanted Bastion to have good relationships with Timon, Sivan, Aurin, and to maintain his connection with his Coven. A stable support system would have saved Torin a child's lifetime of heartache, so he would do his best to make one for all his students.
Stepping into the runeforge he picked up the papers that held his schematic ideas for making the seeds, as well as the sketches he'd done of golem ideas.
"You want to take these," He pointed to the cooled cast pieces, "Up to the workshop and look over my ideas while we wait?"
A part of him was thinking about kissing and nuzzling at the elf's neck while he did so, but that, he knew from experience, was distracting enough to render the 'study' pointless. So, he would try his best to keep his hands to himself, unless Sivan started touching him, then they could make out for a few minutes in the privacy of the upper floor workshops and go over the schematics after Bastion had headed home for the day.
Re: The Student Becomes the Master [Sivan]
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2023 4:25 pm
by Sivan
So powerful were their sembling abilities, that they could flirt more subtly than anyone; well, Torin still wasn't quite subtle yet, but he was learning, and Sivan was hardly an expert. He flushed a bit, nodding. He busied himself with his notes while Torin made plans with the boys for lunch.
Sivan flushed again.
Khal assured him that the metal was cool enough to touch, and if it wasn't, the elemental would have happily sucked up the excess to burn a little brighter. The elf gathered them carefully; he would clean them off and oil them later.
"Just a moment," he murmured, and took them to his work area, returning with his own alchemical notes to share regarding the seed project. He set those next to Torin's own notes, then put his hand on the nape of Torin's neck and leaned in to kiss a softer part.
It was quick as a moth's wings, light and perhaps a bit tickling, but at the same time, Sivan was more immediate than ephemeral, solid and warm and present. His aura, though, indicated that he was becoming mentally stimulated as he recalled some of his thoughts regarding the project, and could be trusted not to jump Torin's bones - unless given a clear indication.
"I am curious which form of magic would be the safest to use for a first test," he offered as a starting point; it was something they could mull over, and hardly needed to derail whatever thoughts Torin might have wanted to share, but safety first had been drilled into his head from his earliest times in apprenticeship. Especially when it came to trials with a living subject, while alchemy had a half-life, runeforging could make it more permanent, and short-term effects upon a living creature could change them irrevocably.
Re: The Student Becomes the Master [Sivan]
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 3:13 pm
by Torin Kilvin
The runesmith tucked his notes carefully under his arm to help carry some of the cast pieces of the stairs to Sivan's workshop before settling down at his own station there and trying to decide where to start. When he felt a hand, and then soft lips on his neck his eyes closed of their own accord, the better to feel the touch. Also, the better to let his Semblance senses fill him with Sivan. Because he was fully open to the elf's aura he felt the shift of interests and was able to settle himself away from his own baser desires, happily moving in step with his friend towards another mutual interest. It was an interesting dance, between multiple things they both could get absorbed into and lost for hours, and one that neither seemed to ever be fully in control of. They might accidentally trip each other over the edge into love making or pull out of that direction to unexpectedly spend time intended for touch on discussing projects.
Opening his eyes the human shuffled his notes, pulling out the one he believed it would be easiest to start with, Semblance. It wasn't something that almost any of the people who would have access to the Aether Orchard would need, but it was something he and Sivan both knew very well. A place to begin that they could trouble shoot together if anything didn't work out. Timon had enthusiastically volunteered to try out any Semblance fruit they produced and deemed safe, so they had a tester when they got that far.
Handing the sheet of parchment over he answered the question, which so neatly matched his own train of thought it made him smile admiringly up at his lover as he did.
"Semblance, I think. Since we share it, we can both keep track of progress and its the least likely to cause any harm if we somehow mess it up." He paused to let Sivan read, knowing that he would offer comments without having to be asked now that they were used to flowing ideas between them. The connection of their work together was at once remarkable and felt so natural that sometimes Torin couldn't remember who had said what, or if they had ever spoken certain ideas aloud or they had just passed between their minds without need for language.
Re: The Student Becomes the Master [Sivan]
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 4:10 pm
by Sivan
Sivan sat beside his friend as they looked over their shared notes. He didn't spend too much time reading; this was not their first conversation on the topic, and two master semblers could have a profound conversation without uttering a single word. He glanced sidelong at the young human, blue eyes seeking their like.
"All the same, I think I will have Exael on alert, or perhaps Aurin would be willing to observe the testing. My worry is that since we don't know exactly why your threshold sickness was so traumatic, I would like to know if there is any way the fruits of our labors might cause the same to someone else, or whether we can understand that mechanism and avoid it. Either Exael or Aurin ought to be able to follow Timon into the Aetherium or... wherever his soul might go... and bring him back safely."
Sivan realized his hand was on Torin's wrist - not the flirtation of a coquette, but a firm grasp as if he would keep Torin from disappearing into dangers they didn't understand once more. He had been too worried to even enjoy the advances the Smith had made upon him, his Lord of Metal and Magic. Likely, he wouldn't have understood the advances in any event.
"Perhaps we could speak to Jacq and Lady Kala, as well," he suggested. "I believe he has initiated people before, and she seems quite the master of the art as well. It just seems... more input would be wise for us to collect before we risk Timon's mind."
Then he realized he hadn't removed his hand from Torin's wrist. The loose shackle became a gentle caress. He smiled, too comfortable with Torin to truly be embarrassed.
Re: The Student Becomes the Master [Sivan]
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2023 5:15 pm
by Torin Kilvin
The human nodded along, feeling a little contained, held down, and therefore safe, when he felt the solid warmth of a hand on his wrist.
"I had thought about that." Because they still didn't know why his threshold sickness had been so bad (unaccountably so, according to the study he'd done later) he had decided that it shouldn't be his own Semblance that was cast into the seeds.
"I was hoping that you would provide the Semblance that will go into the seed, or seeds, if we do more than one. Having someone who could follow Timon into anywhere he might accidentally trip into is exactly what we should do." He agreed,
"Though I don't believe there will be any threshold sickness with them, you never know with high-level magic, particularly from multiple disciples." All that he had read, including first-hand accounts, suggested that the user would be able to access and manipulate the magic of the fruit for about an hour, without going through anything like initiation, but Sivan was right to be cautious.He made a note to speak to Aurin about it. How different might his own initiation have been had his master been able to follow him?
"Do you think we should make various levels, like, not start out with Master level fruit? But make one tree at each level so people can ease into it? Renault has also said he would try the Semblance fruit. He's got his own Runes, so he at least understands aether manipulation. Perhaps he should try first?"
Nodding again, at the suggestion of asking more people about it he made notes to ask Jacq and Kala as well. Aurin's own initiation into Semblance had been unusual, though in a different way from Torin's. Suddenly he wondered if that might have affected what had happened to him. He might make quiet inquiries with other mages and books, but he doubted he would ever mention it to his master. The last thing he wanted was to cause the blame spiral Aurin would endure if it turned out to have been his fault, however unintentional.
Without thinking about it he shifted his arm closer to the elf when the hold on him was loosened, a wordless request to remain held.
"I'll talk to Aurin, Kala and Jacq about the consequences of our experiment, but I don't see any reason not to begin work on the Semblance seeds, do you? Do you need anything for the alchemy?"
It was Torin's desire, so he intended to pay for it, however much Sivan seemed to be enjoying the work.
Re: The Student Becomes the Master [Sivan]
Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2023 2:32 pm
by Sivan
At the wordless request, Sivan reached out and intertwined his fingers with Torin's.
"There are any number of experiments I would be interested in conducting... various levels of mastery, as well as whether the results would be different depending on which master sembler offers up their magic, whether it would augment our abilities if we ate the fruit, whether it affects the uninitiated differently from someone who already has runes, and..." He laughed; once it might have been embarrassed, but now it was just quiet delight in shared passions.
"I would suggest we have Aurin or Renault ward the room so Timon will only have a small space full of all the new sensations rather than a wide world... And have Exael and Aurin on hand to bring them back if necessary. Whatever safety precautions we think of before then.
"As for what I need, I have enough to get started. I am waiting on a couple of reagents, but Timon assures me they should be here within a few days, which shouldn't affect the timeline. And, of course, I can ask the spirits to help accelerate growth, keep the trees happy. But... that comes later."
First, the fruit; if the fruits of their labor paid off, the seeds could be planted and they needn't repeat the work countless times. This was a case of the fruit coming before the tree - which was at least similar to the paradox of the chicken and the egg. He wondered if they could modify a chicken to lay magical eggs. That might require the help of a necromancer, which was apparently within Lady Kala's wheelhouse, but he only knew her in passing. Torin would have to talk to her.
Fruit first; then, if successful, they would have plenty of notes to help them develop magical avian incubators.
Re: The Student Becomes the Master [Sivan]
Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2023 5:11 pm
by Torin Kilvin
The smith nodded along, curling the fingers not occupied making notes appreciatively around the hand that held them.
The time seemed to go instantly, and, before they knew it, Timon was calling,
"We've got lunch, so stop kissing or plotting or whatever, and come down."
From the yard.
Torin might once have been mortified but now he only colored faintly and grinned over at Sivan sheepishly before reluctantly, and then, realizing how hungry he was, eagerly, making his way down for the shared meal.
After they ate he kept his promise to Bastion and the afternoon was spent in the runeforge. The boy couldn't be allowed to do anything with the magic, not yet, there were a great many lessons and theory he needed to understand before he would even be allowed to handle the heavily Scrivened tools, but Torin could explain what he was doing and let him observe with both his mundane and magical senses.
If he stood quite close behind Sivan while they worked together to begin the process which would take weeks of careful adjustment and adding of alchemical substances, well, it was quite a small space to work in, even when there wasn't a third person crowded in. And, if his hands lingered on elvish hips while said elf used a tiny brush was used to coat what would eventually be a magical seed with the first of many layers, he needed to keep still and not let his hands accidentally bump anything, didn't he?
It was a good day, Bastion had not balked at any of the simple, manual labor he'd been assigned, though Torin knew he wasn't as interested in it as he was in the runeforge. He'd also appeared to be fulfilled by watching the magical work. It felt like a good fit. There was still a lot Torin needed to learn about his apprentice, but there was time, years, in which to learn.
Re: The Student Becomes the Master [Sivan]
Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2023 12:24 am
by Sivan
Sivan just smiled, then stole a brief kiss just so they could say they had if Timon asked. When Torin led the way downstairs, Sivan deftly climbed onto his back; perhaps it was elven grace and agility, but it just suddenly seemed like he was their, his arms around Torin's chest, his legs hitched over his hips. The smith didn't even have to hold him up.
Whimsy brought them downstairs and they lunched, just the four of them.
Later, he held up the vial for Bastion to semble; when the lad showed interest, he promised that once his studies with Torin were moving right along, he might start teaching him the basics of alchemy so he wouldn't have to rely on an alchemist for many of the more basic things a runeforger—or even a mundane blacksmith—could put to regular use. But eventually, he had to separate himself. Crafting the distillations necessary for the seed project would require more concentration than he could expect from himself with a new apprentice underfoot, even with Torin instructing him.
So it was later that he was putting the first finishing touches on a seed. There would be many more, of course; the process would take time and care. Torin and he had those in spades.
Finally satisfied, he released the seed into the waiting dish and set the forceps aside. Then, he removed his gloves, set them aside, and turned within the grasp of Torin's hands to face him, arms coming around his shoulders, nose to nose.
"It was a good day, my love," he said quietly, the music of his accent making poetry of the simple statement. "Aurin would say we did a lot of seeding today."
Even his day-weary laugh was music.
Re: The Student Becomes the Master [Sivan]
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2023 3:20 pm
by Rune
R E V I E W
Points: 10 Each, may be used for Runeforging or Alchemy
Injuries/Ailments: None
Loot: None
Notes: Its becoming practically domestic in that workspace.
Mod XP: None