( text )

[darkart]

Does there exist documentation or any record concerning the use or effects of magic on the ship? I am interested in notation on repeated instances of magic during menial or daily activities as well as during times of flux as has recently passed, irrelevant to 'type' or origin of said magic.

I have perused the informational guide as well as backread through the network but this technology is not in use where I am from; I am unsure if I have missed anything due to unfamiliarity with the interface.

Comments

private.

[pushfall]

I'm... not sure which statement that is applying to.

private.

[darkart]

A mystery.

Cupcakes?

private.

[pushfall]

Would you like one?

private.

[darkart]

If you set to making them, perhaps tell me and we'll see how far I can duplicate it.

private. 1/2

[pushfall]

I can't decide if that's genius or cheating.

private.

[pushfall]

One of these days cupcakes are going to get dull, too.

private.

[darkart]

I'm being interrogated by an elven king about my magical practices at present, if that livens things up.

private.

[pushfall]

I feel like you're describing a dream I had once.

private.

[darkart]

It is hardly normal even for a wizard.

private.

[pushfall]

How long do people typically live in your world?

Sorry. I snooped.

private.

[darkart]

It isn't locked.

Maybe two hundred years, barring no one drops a house on us. I think the average currently, war time taken into consideration, is about one hundred and forty. Every so often someone will keel over and it turns out they're six hundred or something, but it isn't exceptionally common.

private.

[pushfall]

Still not technically my business.

That's amazing. Have you ever - I mean, has anyone ever sat down and figured out why or what it is that makes that possible? I understand, it's magic, but that's like saying well, the ocean is blue because it reflects the sky and the sky is blue because it reflects the ocean. Your blood is red, too. What makes it so different from the next guy's?

And don't think I didn't catch that Wizard of Oz reference.

private.

[darkart]

In shorthand, 'it's genetic', though my understanding of it is slightly more complex than that, going down past genes to... particles and quarks, maybe. It is not my field. Magic is a dominant trait, anyway, while 'non-magic' is recessive; we are as vastly outnumbered as we are due to many instances of mankind deciding that we're evil, or Satanic, or simply not to be trusted.

It's a lovely film.

private.

[pushfall]

For what it's worth, I wouldn't drop a house on you. I don't think I could lift it, for starters.

I'm not sure I'd want to live that long, but I guess if it's the expectancy then... At least you have a lot of time to get stuff done.

private.

[darkart]

Certainly not.

It's what I was raised with an awareness of, so I've never thought about it being strange. Though I admit it is less than glamorous; a six hundred year old lifespan for someone who is not immortal means a good two hundred years worth of senile old age.

private.

[pushfall]

That's a scary thought. There are definitely people I know I'd never want to see live to that age.

[ Thank you for being slightly less than incriminating in some way, text function. ]

private.

[darkart]

Quite.

[ Ha ha ha like Voldemort ha ha ha. ]

private.

[pushfall]

[ Ha ha ha indeed. ]

My brother, for one. No one deserves that punishment.

private.

[darkart]

You have quite the family.

[ Seeing as she mentioned some of them are here. ]

private.

[pushfall]

They're never boring, that's for sure.

private.

[darkart]

I'm going to go sit with Princess Nuala for a while. Something came up. Would you like to try baking later?

private.

[pushfall]

Yeah sure, that'd be great. I don't think I know her. Is everything alright?

private.

[darkart]

Yes, fine. But I think she may have tried to establish psychic contact with the ship and I'd like to make sure she hasn't wandered off in her own mind.

private.

[pushfall]

Does that mean it actually is alive?

No, wait. Don't answer that. Go ahead and go.

// action

[darkart]

[ Later, product of a few more texts back and forth, and Severus is in one of the kitchens on their floor; 28 is annoyingly trafficked overall, but he's rarely been bothered here. He doesn't know why, maybe people are against preparing food themselves. He doesn't know why he's here now, at that-- the more Claire talks to him, the more he finds himself expecting this to all be some kind of make-believe meant to embarrass him later. It's a paranoid thought and he knows it, but he can't leave it alone. Maybe he'll be able to tell...

Severus waits at one of the kitchen tables, staring at his comms device. Wishing he had cigarettes. Sigh. ]