by Idran1701 » Fri Jun 27, 2008 5:13 am
While Richard eats his meal and watches the surroundings, and Jeridan and Kelne take in the sights at the museum as departure grows ever closer, Sam and Deeum continue their conversation in the bar. Enraptured by even what little the Doman knight reveals from home, she nods, assuring her that a bit of demonstration of her powers here would be allowed.
"Oh, it's gotta be fine if you use magic here, I bet. There's a giant portal and everything already." Pausing thoughtfully, she adds, "Unless it closes giant portals. They probably wouldn't like that."
"I guess. But I don't want to get anyone in trouble and all. I do have to leave here eventually."
"Well, if you don't blow stuff up it's probably fine. What kinda magic can you use? There's lots of different kinds, right?"
Deeum leans back in her chair, thinking on the question before snapping her fingers. "Okay. Let's move somewhere out of plain sight in here." Picking up her drink, she heads to a secluded area further in back, with Sam following just after.
"I can't wait to see this.", Sam says with a grin.
"All right," Deeum says as she sits down, cracking her fingers. "Now, I don't show off for everyone, but since you're kind of stuck here, I'll make the exception."
"Awesome. I can't imagine why you wouldn't, though. If you can show it off, why not? Nothing to stop you back home like there is here, right?"
Focusing her energies, Deeum holds out her palm as she replies. "Mmm... it's complicated. It's like...the more you learn about magic, the more you try not to use it."
"Oh." Mulling over that reply to herself for a bit, Sam soon looks back to Deeum, a bit confused. "Why?"
Meanwhile, Deeum gathers a bit of holy energy into a sphere floating above her hand, glowing like the miniature flashlight it is. "Well, a lot of people tend to use magic for all the wrong reasons."
Her attention caught by the sphere, Sam distractedly nods, her voice drifty as she replies. "Oh. Well...yeah, that stuff I guess. But stuff like this...well, why not walk around like that all the time? It's so cool."
"Well, stuff like this is okay," Deeum says as she bounces the ball of light from one hand to another. "But people use it for more dangerous reasons. Not to mention we don't want to spoil ourselves on doing things the easy way."
Sam shrugs, continuing to watch the ball as it bounces back and force. "I guess so. But it's still neat. Besides, that the good thing about technology and stuff, making it so we don't have to wash our own clothes or make our own bread from scratch or whatever. Why not do the same stuff with magic?"
"Haha, I guess. Maybe it's just my mindset. I'd much rather not rely on magic unless I have to. Or fighting."
"Oh, yeah, there's a bunch of fighting and stuff there, isn't there? Creatures in forests and caves and stuff? Yeah, we don't really have anything like that here anymore."
Setting the sphere on the tabletop, Deeum nods. "Yeah...like I said, I must be used to it. Anyway, what about you? I feel guilty just going on about myself."
After a pause, Sam shrugs. "Eh. There's not really much exciting here really to do, y'know? If you're not in the military, you're not gonna be fighting anything like that. And even then, most of the fighting's over now, thankfully. War's not really the same anyway. There is a continent that's supposed to have abunch of weird stuff on it, but no one lives there."
"Oh?" Letting the sphere fizzle out of existence, Deeum leans in, sipping at her drink. "What do you do?"
"Dunno yet. I mostly travel around, I guess. Kinda...between jobs, I guess." Laughing a bit at herself, Sam takes a drink from her own glass. "I got out of school a couple years ago. I'm trying to work up the money for college, but I keep getting anxious, so I go travelling to see stuff."
"Ah, well, I'm sure you'll find something. I'm sorry you couldn't make it to Gaera. It might be boring to me, but I'm sure you would've had a blast. You need papers to go through the portal?"
"Yeah, it's this whole big security thing. I don't really see why, but eh. And yeah, I thought it'd be a pretty fun trip. I backpacked around Zenobia for a few months, and that was cool. And it sounds like backpacking's kinda like what a lot of people do in Gaera. Only with swords and magic and monsters."
"Well, for the most part Gaera is pretty safe if you stick to the towns. Though some kingdoms can be bothersome to go through."
"What about if you don't?"
"I imagine you could get into some deep trouble. Monster attacks aren't unheard of, after all."
"What sort of things have you fought like that? Any really big stuff? That has to be epic."
Taking a deeper sip, Deeum looks over Sam thoughtfully. Wow, this really does seem to interest her a lot. "Some big stuff, some small...some that I shouldn't have any right to survive, but I likely don't have the time to tell you about it," she says with a laugh. "Man, I don't mean to seem like I'm a hotshot or anything. If anything, I have some friends who get into a lot more than I have."
"Oh, all those other people you came with? I saw some of them walking around."
Nodding, she leans in, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Two of them are actually covered in fur. But they're wearing something that disguises them. Much like what I have."
At this revelation, Sam snickers, the snicker quickly growing into a laugh. "Covered in fur? You're serious? Oh god..."
"Oh yeah. Ever wondered what a cat and a rabbit would look like if it took on a human-like appearance?"
Shaking her head, and barely restraining herself from more laughter, Sam replies. "No, I never did. Sorry, it's just...no, it's nothing."
"What?"
Sam shakes her head more insistantly. "You really don't want to know. It's...uh...an inside joke. For Krynus."
With a strange look to Sam, Deeum takes another sip. "I see. Anything else you'd like to know?"
Grinning, and continuing to slowly drain her own glass, Sam looks off into the distance. "It's hard to decide, really. I mean, there's like...everything I could ask about. Well...um...well, what do you do? If you fight stuff, are you one of those traveling people that goes around doing just whatever?"
"Well...er...let's say I guard very important people. Like my current job is to escort a friend of mine. Can't explain where, though."
"Cool. Like a bodyguard."
"Yeah. Or a knight. Same things."
"You're a knight?"
Deeum's face freezes for just an instant, her mind scrambling to cover. Shit. "What? No, no, I'm just giving examples. I'm just a guard, nothing more. Go do this, get that person, go to that town and so forth."
"Oh. Well...have you bodyguarded for any knights?"
"N-no, they can take care of themselves well enough."
"Oh. That sorta sounds pretty much like what I do now, really. Only without guarding."
"I imagine it's much safer here."
"Yeah, way safer."
Glancing out the window, Deeum sees the lights starting to dim, and realizes it's about time for them to meet at the harbor. "I'm afraid I've gotta go, but let me do one more thing for you before I go. I don't want you to go home without something to tell, you know?" She grins to Sam, who returns it.
"Sure, that'd be awesome."
"How are you feeling for the most part right now anyway? Tired, sore, or anything?"
"Pretty good, I guess. Maybe starting to get a tiny buzz," she adds, with a bit of a chuckle.
"Well...hmm." Standing, Deeum walks around to Sam, poking her with a finger while uttering a chant under her breath. With little fanfare, she begins lightly floating in her chair, a change barely noticed at first. Noticing something up, though, she looks down, seeing the space between her and her chair.
"...Huh?"
"That's what we call flying. Magically. I only gave you enough for about five minutes' worth, but I imagine you can't do that at home, right?"
Staring at the gap between her and the seat, Sam grins even wider. "I...no, I definitely can't." She laughs, still focused. "I think I'm too heavy most of the time. So...how does it work? How do I...um...go?"
"Ever dreamed about flying? It's that feeling. Just imagine yourself being pulled upwards. Same goes if you want to get back to the ground."
Nodding, Sam glances up to the ceiling. Before long, she begins to drift up; a bit faster than she expected, apparently, as she bumps her head. Rubbing at her head, the pain doesn't seem to hurt her mood any. "This is amazing. And you can do this whenever you want? Why do you ever walk?," she adds with amusement, as she drifts back down near Deeum.
"Like I said, I don't use magic unless I have to. But it is nice to get somewhere fast."
"Well, you should!"
Slipping the ring back on, Deeum smiles, happy to see someone enjoying themselves so much. "Thanks for having a drink with me. I hope there are more people like you on this side. And maybe someday you'll make it to Doma."
"Oh, I'm sure there'll be plenty. Most people are pretty okay here. Some are jerks, but most are good." Looking abashed, she adds, "Oh...uh...I don't think I got your name yet."
"Oh, it's Deeum."
Sam nods, floating down to shake her hand. "Thanks for meeting me, and I guess...well, I probably won't see you around. But it was good meeting you. Really, really good."
Returning the handshake, Deeum says, "Who knows? You might find me in Doma doing my job some day."
"Maybe! It's be awesome if they ever actually let me across. And I hope...uh...whoever you're guarding...doesn't...need much guarding. Or something."
"Haha, thank you. And if you ever do get there, I'd like to show you around and show you more of me." With just a slight wince at how the wording came out, Deeum adds nothing, but she does get an amused smile from Sam as she heads to the bar, paying for her drink. "Take care of yourself." And with that, she leaves, heading to the pier to reunite with her companions.