(open) i made a sucker's prayer

[scholiast]

who: lucretia & you
what: tdm prompt + catch-all
when: late march/early april
where: oot n aboot
warnings: warnings for violence re: monster fights

01 everybody was monster fightin' (ota)

(Lucretia has always fought better in pairs than alone.

Its to do with her defensive capabilities; she's extraordinarily good at buff magic, at covering those with more destructive power, keeping them safe as they dive in head first. She can at least hold her own when she needs to but it's trickier. It isn't as fun, either! She likes being in a team.

Regardless, she's grouping creatures together with lightning spells and the odd fireball, trying to keep an eye out for other fighters or innocents about to be caught in the line of fire, anybody who needs a hand or a quick shield. Her elemental magic isn't at the same level as her abjuration work; eventually she falls back, starts to conserve her higher level spell slots.

Anybody who has just found themselves in a sticky situation or just looks like they need an extra hand will suddenly find a neat shield of faith being cast about them.)

Comments

[scholiast]

(She nods. She's always been aware of the circumstances.)

I would have liked to have met you then, but– well. (She makes a vague gesture with her hand. It's up to Eddie how to interpret that; Lucretia isn't willing to go into detail about her relationship with Taako and the way things had swiftly unravelled between them while she had been staying at his house. Back when she first arrived. It feels like a long time ago.)

It doesn't matter. It's good to see you now.

(When he flags down somebody for water, she takes the opportunity to place a coffee order too.)

Oh, spring is when the peak criminal activity starts? I'll keep that in mind if I ever go rogue. (Her lips quirk into a quick, little smile; she's joking, naturally.) I've been busy with work too. Lots happening in the Quaratine lately, lots of... unpredictable magical activity. No doubt you've noticed it.

[bythehand]

Oh. There's just-- one I've only been with for about a day back home. I don't think I'm with them? I mean, I joined, I just don't know it well enough to count it. Officially.

[ It's Weird. Like what's the deal with life, it's Weird. ]

But I appreciate the... not assuming. For the record.

[scholiast]

Gotcha. Who are they?

(Clearly she doesn't think of this as sticking her nose in, more like casual conversation.)

[spellslots]

Best news I've heard all day. Stay close.

[He doesn't want to waste too much time and risk the cultists realizing that he's no longer under their influence, so as soon as Lucretia gives permission, Taako casts a level three bunch of magic missiles at one of the out walls.

It blows out a small portion of it, not enough to do structural damage but enough that Taako can shove his way through the rumble back out onto the street. He looks left and right a few times, as if paranoid he's being followed, then takes off in the direction of the wall and the forest. It's going to be a boring walk, but he doesn't want to risk summoning Garyl or teleporting if it means losing the cultists.]

[scholiast]

(Wait what– oh, okay.

She startles at the explosion, looking up from her half-finished text and watching her wall slowly crumple under the force of the spell. I mean. Yeah, it probably doesn't... matter, not in the long run? It's not like she's coming back here. Glancing up at the wall she belatedly notices there's a single coffee mug stuck very firmly to the ceiling, right in the corner.

Down on the street, she follows Taako mostly in silence, her hands in her pockets, fiddling with her wand. She's trying to prepare herself for whatever they're going to find out there; though it can't be anything more than two desperate people, trying to get a third to join them. Surely they don't want to outright kill Taako, it's an awful lot of bother... but she shouldn't lower her guard either way.)

[bythehand]

[ It's nosy friends 2k18. Poe gets like that sometimes. Not too often. Usually with a lot more impulsive curiosity than anything. ]

Just the Resistance. [ You know. Those dudes, apparently. Does she know? It's always a toss-up. ] I'm gonna stick with them once I get back. You know. Finish the war out and everything.

[ He has no fucking idea what he's supposed to do in that mythical "not in a war or waiting to go back to a war" state of being. ]

[scholiast]

(Hey, having nosy friends is important. Somebody has to push conversation.)

The 'Resistance'? (Psych, it's the first time she's heard of them! So Finn is fighting on the 'good guy' side, realistically.) And what exactly are you resisting?

[bythehand]

Oh. [ When you're so used to your CR and your CR's CR crossing footpaths that you're not even 100% about whether or not your friend knows stuff about the wars in the stars. idk what he expected realistically when he's a cagey dumbass all the time, honestly, the fact that he's a dumbass is why he's even surprised.

Like, oh how do you not know about the War! Says local man who never mentioned the war to his friend? Is he some obnoxious dudebro looking at vinyls in a used bookstore? No, so he has to rectify this. ]

The First Order. Bigger army. Better funding. [ Not that it's hard to get there when the Resistance is like 15 people in the last rebellion's favorite beat-up scooby doo van. Finn is very turn down for what for freedom but he's not delusional. ] They go on a lot about how the galaxy is negligent and chaotic. How they're gonna "restore order". Order looks a lot like killing anyone who doesn't do what you want.

[ Or who, in some cases, haven't done anything at all. ]

[causational]

I would've liked to have met you too.

[A little shrug, and a slightly rueful smile.]

I guess I just never wanted to risk putting anyone in between myself and Taako. We don't talk much, and I'm not really sure what he thinks of me, or how he feels about me, you know? I'm sure it's not bad, but... [Another shrug.] He's Cisco's best friend and my ex, and I just didn't want to have Cisco stuck between us.

[A laugh, then he lets it go, waving his hand as if to brush off the topic.]

You're right. It doesn't matter. Thanks. And, uh, yeah. I mean, I guess they all crawl out of the woodwork, like, I dunno, bears coming out of hibernation or something. Must be all the good weather giving them energy.

[At that last bit, though, he raises his brows and leans in a bit.]

Yeah, I've noticed it, but I've never paid a lot of attention, beyond what affects my job, you know? I know pretty much nothing about magic, so I can't do much about it either.

[scholiast]

(In all honesty, when so much of the CR has War going on in their life it's hard to tell who is fighting what and for whom and also where? Lucretia tries to write all of these things down to keep track but sometimes even she gets mixed up. Thankfully, what Finn is saying about the First Order is blissfully unfamiliar to her. This is brand new information!)

Ah, (she says,) that kind of 'order'.

(Sometimes the big bad isn't as comically evil as a monstrous entity trying to swallow entire planets whole. Sometimes the big bad is just a bunch of people with really terrible ideals and better weapons than you.)

How... is the fight coming along?

[scholiast]

(Lucretia's more than happy to laugh with him and move along too, as she's in no position to be able to comment on what happened between Taako, Cisco and Eddie. She's trying to be less nosy now that she's older. It's not becoming for a woman of her age, or whatever.

Also, the whole thing just seems kind of awkward! But at least Eddie can chuckle about it at the end of the day. Lucretia hums, and gratefully accepts her coffee as it's brought over to her, wrapping both hands about the cup for comfort.)

That's where we differ; magic is my job. Containing this kind of magic is my job. I've been flat out.

(She manages a tired smile, though.) But we've been making strides, so. Hopefully we can square everything away soon. I feel like I need a vacation, you know?

[bythehand]

[ He pulls a face. It might be a near thing that he doesn't do the hand-teetering ehhhhh gesture about it. ]

Well. We're down to one ship and maybe fifteen people. But we're alive and we're pretty stubborn. [ Arguably the most stubborn collection of people he's ever fathomed, which is saying something. ] I've liked my odds a lot less for things that didn't end up killing me. I think we're gonna make it.

[scholiast]

Well, if every else is as tenacious and hopeful as you are, I don't doubt that you'll pull through.

(She isn't saying this to be kind. Lucretia knows all too well what a small handful of people can pull off with the right skills, the right energy.)

[bythehand]

[ Lucretia is so... Good. She's just good and smart and kind and wonderful, as a person. That's the whole truth on that. Finn knows it. Case closed. ]

I appreciate it. I've been trying to work on my hopefulness. [ Somewhere in the city, Poe stops what he's doing and is proud of Finn for doing an optimism. ]

[scholiast]

(Hey can she get that in writing? It's for a friend.)

It's hard to nail, huh. I don't think I'm quite there yet myself.

[causational]

[Truth is, it's an awkward topic and Eddie's not entirely sure he wants to know how Taako feels about him, what he might say, if Lucretia happens to know that kind of thing. It's not that Eddie is above it, because he's not, he's always been a bit petty, a bit too concerned with self-image, a little too worried about what people think of him. It's curiosity, and it's a little bit self-sabotage, and he recognizes that, and so he can laugh at himself.

Eddie's brows raise when she mentions that magic and containing it is her job, that she's been busy.]

I bet. Things have seriously been a big mess on the magic front. I've dabbled a bit, but the work you guys have been doing, at Gramarye... [A pause, and then, awkwardly.] ...that's where you are right? Sorry. I'm letting my mouth get away from me.

Anyway. It's been great. Way better than the RPD could've done on its own. You deserve a vacation.

[bythehand]

[ In exchange for an ornately decorated 'fuckwit' plate, yes. ]

Good to have good company in the meantime. Be a little easier once this flooding settles down, maybe.

[scholiast]

(Done and done.

Lucretia gives him a good natured elbow.)

Uh, yeah. Fingers crossed.