Snippet #1511381

Faera at some point after that particular song had finished decided that she really was done dancing, because it was making her quite a bit too dizzy for her own liking. By methods not really understood to herself, she managed to get off the bar with what remained of her dignity still intact. Which was really only saying that she did not faceplant into the floor of the taphouse.

Her stomach was turning uncomfortably again, though, and she kind of wished she'd asked Talae for something for her stomach. For someone who spent so much time on poisons, her sister knew a few useful remedies, too. She was thinking maybe it would be a good idea to go outside and get some fresh air (even if she could hear it raining), but her path was blocked by a man falling over.

Well, falling over wasn't really the best way to describe what had happened, actually. Unless you could fall down a... flight of punches. Except there was only one. It's hard to think, she decided, at about the same time as what had actually happened registered with her. Duran had... had punched someone, and then that someone had fallen over! For some reason, Fae found this hilarious, and started giggling. It was full-blown laughter a few seconds later though, and she fell into a nearby chair, clutching her sides.

Part of her (the part that was still capable of not-silly thoughts) was reminding her that such a thing was absolutely not funny in any way, but it was drowned out by whatever was making her head so fuzzy, and so even when she managed to contain herself enough to speak, there was still clear amusement in her voice. "What... did he do? I wanna know becaush... I don't want to get punched. I thought druidsh ushed lotsh of magic, but you... you could probably hurt a dragon with your fistsh. Or your 'bear' handsh!" This brought on further gales of laughter, and she motioned to the other side of the table, which she presumed to include a seat.

"You should sh- sit! Beelzes made me try thish thing called 'brandy' and you should have shome too!"

---

"When you met this older fellow, how much did he teach you? About how your power actually works?" Thanaros questioned carefully. He and Neira were by now on the more residential side of town, a fact that both were aware of, but neither concerned themselves with particularly. Their walking did not have a destination, after all, only the movement itself.

"Well, I know about the difference between tangible and intangible, though I've never used anything tangible on purpose. There have been a few... accidents, though. Other than that, I know where my center is and how to protect it. That was basically all I learned. The rest of it was sort of figuring things out as I went." The nightmarian shrugged; she'd never needed skills other than the ones she had before, so it had never occurred to her to attempt to learn them. "Oh... and I'm pretty sure that Silenced I ran into left something in my head somewhere. I want to get it out, but I'm not so stupid as to go looking for it without knowing how to deal with it properly."

"That's probably wise," Thanaros replied with a nod. He was in his element discussing this sort of thing, so there wasn't an awkwardness to it, really. He'd been half-expecting to have his head bitten off (metaphorically, of course), but it wasn't actually that bad.

"So. What exactly is wrong with my approach?" There was something underlying the question, as though the wrong response would be a bad move for more reasons than one. He ignored it and tried to think of how best to phrase what he was getting at.

"It's best not to rely too heavily on being able to produce one certain state in order to use your power," he explained. "If you have to want to... hurt someone in order to use it, that naturally limits your power."

"Don't you basically do the same thing, only with calm?" she shot back irritably, but he shook his head.

"That's a symptom, not the cause. Using my power stunts my emotions, not the other way around."

She was surprised at that, and it showed in her face. "Is it possible that I am also...?"

"I don't know, but it's something worth finding out. Close your eyes, and try not to think of anything in particular."