Tangle
Sarah lay on her back as the sea of ankle length grass rippled around her in the breeze. She raised an arm to point at the sky and scowled in annoyance at the tiny spark of light that shot from her finger like the most unimpressive firecracker in existence.
“That one was bigger,” Bishop calmly stated in a manner not unlike that used to encourage toddlers who were just getting to grips with this walking business.
Sarah huffed, quietly certain that he hadn’t bothered to look up from the book he was reading. “I don’t need you to humour me.” She was frustrated that she’d pulled off a nicely atmospheric light show that feigned a lack of control to get out of a meeting, yet now she could barely summon a spark.
“Why don’t you pivot and practise something not light related?” Bishop turned a page in his book.
She was about to snap back that there was nothing on the hill but grass to practise on and setting it alight seemed to be beyond her at the moment, when Sarah recalled the grass knots the guardians tied when they gathered outside.
Plucking a couple of blades, Sarah held them up and glared at them, willing them to weave themselves into a knot. Her brow furrowed as she pictured the way the knots were tied and tried to channel her magic into replicating the pattern. The grass in her hand quivered slightly before drooping in a blatant attempt to aggravate her.
If she had to deal with a threat, Sarah’s magic was formidable. Even the heightened level of emotion caused by an aggravating advisor served to sharpen her skills, but basic manipulation of objects beyond that was still a work in progress.
“Why is this so difficult?” Sarah dropped the grass and turned her head towards Bishop.
“You think like a human.” Sarah propped herself up on her elbows. “You don’t have a problem with communication crystals.”
Sarah thought about it. “Well, no, they’re just like telephones Above.”
“And you know how telephones work to replicate the technology?” Bishop raised an eyebrow in query.
“No, I just form a crystal and think of talking to someone like I would if I was using a phone.”
Bishop turned another page. “Perhaps you could use that as an example. Stop trying to force your magic to weave the knot as if you were manually tying it and just think of the end result.”
Cocking her head, Sarah glanced at the grass still held in her fingers, thought about the grass knots and laughed in delight as a bright green rope of grass appeared in her hand. The grass wasn’t quite the right type for manually tying a knot, so her creation was soft and fragile, but it was exactly what she had been picturing.
She held the little knot up and wiggled it at Bishop. “Fear my knot tying prowess.”
“Well done. I wonder if your problematic advisor is fond of pretzels.”
labyfic - drabble #181: crooked
Part of the Balance!verse
“That one was bigger,” Bishop calmly stated in a manner not unlike that used to encourage toddlers who were just getting to grips with this walking business.
Sarah huffed, quietly certain that he hadn’t bothered to look up from the book he was reading. “I don’t need you to humour me.” She was frustrated that she’d pulled off a nicely atmospheric light show that feigned a lack of control to get out of a meeting, yet now she could barely summon a spark.
“Why don’t you pivot and practise something not light related?” Bishop turned a page in his book.
She was about to snap back that there was nothing on the hill but grass to practise on and setting it alight seemed to be beyond her at the moment, when Sarah recalled the grass knots the guardians tied when they gathered outside.
Plucking a couple of blades, Sarah held them up and glared at them, willing them to weave themselves into a knot. Her brow furrowed as she pictured the way the knots were tied and tried to channel her magic into replicating the pattern. The grass in her hand quivered slightly before drooping in a blatant attempt to aggravate her.
If she had to deal with a threat, Sarah’s magic was formidable. Even the heightened level of emotion caused by an aggravating advisor served to sharpen her skills, but basic manipulation of objects beyond that was still a work in progress.
“Why is this so difficult?” Sarah dropped the grass and turned her head towards Bishop.
“You think like a human.” Sarah propped herself up on her elbows. “You don’t have a problem with communication crystals.”
Sarah thought about it. “Well, no, they’re just like telephones Above.”
“And you know how telephones work to replicate the technology?” Bishop raised an eyebrow in query.
“No, I just form a crystal and think of talking to someone like I would if I was using a phone.”
Bishop turned another page. “Perhaps you could use that as an example. Stop trying to force your magic to weave the knot as if you were manually tying it and just think of the end result.”
Cocking her head, Sarah glanced at the grass still held in her fingers, thought about the grass knots and laughed in delight as a bright green rope of grass appeared in her hand. The grass wasn’t quite the right type for manually tying a knot, so her creation was soft and fragile, but it was exactly what she had been picturing.
She held the little knot up and wiggled it at Bishop. “Fear my knot tying prowess.”
“Well done. I wonder if your problematic advisor is fond of pretzels.”
labyfic - drabble #181: crooked
Part of the Balance!verse