[ Video | Seelie ]

[commandertoolbelt]

[ The feeds turns on to show Leo, visibly shaken, dirt on his face from where he'd fallen after losing his already tenuous hold on the mountain. He hadn't bothered to clean up yet, too focused on watching the aftermath before hauling out of Unseelie territory to find somewhere relatively safe. ]

We lost Mt. Verla. And the Pyrii... walked right into the Void. Like they didn't have anything left to stay for.

[ With their home gone, he supposes that they really don't. It isn't like they wanted to be saved, anyway. They hadn't even tried, and that disturbed Leo quite a bit, though not as much as seeing them march to their deaths. ]

And I can't... I don't know what happened, if it has something to do with them disappearing or not, but... I can't use my fire. [ His voice trembles as he speaks, looking down at his hands with a shake of his head. ] I tried. Over and over, but I can't do it. I've never... not been able to do it before.

Can anyone else use fire magic? Firebending, or whatever?

[ There's a hesitation, but he asks, ] Is there any way to get it back? Would Shard training help?

Comments

[truesight]

[ so many levels of D: going on right now ]

I'm sure there's a way to fix it, Leo. That's not just magic, it's a part of you. There's no way this place could just take that away from you. [ a beat ] Do you feel different? [ a little huff ] I know you're not okay, but physically? Fire isn't all you had in that arsenal, did you lose anything else?

[commandertoolbelt]

It's not like there are any machines around that I can try... [ Now he's worried; should there be more? Is he missing something else and just doesn't know it yet? How does something like this even happen? ] Uhm... Give me a minute, let me find a fire.

[ The feed cuts, only to turn on a minute or so later. Leo still looks a bit rattled, but now he's more confused than anything, eyeing something offscreen. His voice is steadier now, but quiet, far more solemn than anyone is used to hearing from the blacksmith. ]

The heat still doesn't bother me, and it's not burning me. But I still can't... [ He shakes his head, looking back at Rachel, obviously distressed. ] I still can't summon fire. I don't get it; how does losing a bunch of nymphs just take it away like that? The Blessing of Hephaestus doesn't even have anything to do with them.

[truesight]

Maybe it has to do with how we can gain those types of powers here. I know our shard gives us magic we can tap into, but it's like- Sometimes all we have to do is ask for that kind of thing at the right time, and we get it. Maybe whatever makes that possible is also what makes losing powers possible, too.

But I think it's a good sign you can still handle the heat of a fire. Like it could only be the magical element itself that's gone for now, not your ..ability to create it. If that makes sense? [ she pulls a face ] This would be way more effective if I could be giving you a hug while talking this out.

Basically, I don't think it's you. Maybe what happened just affects how you can use your powers here, but it hasn't actually taken your ability or anything.

[commandertoolbelt]

Even when we had those powers before?

[ That's cheating, if you ask him - cheating and unfair in every way. Fire magic is one thing, but he was born with the Blessing of Hephaestus - suddenly not being able to use it like he used to is unnerving in all the worst ways.

How is he supposed to fight, now? Sure, he has the chain, but fire has always been his primary weapon when he can't trick his way out of a situation. ]

None of it makes sense. I don't understand how it can just... disappear like that when I've had it all my life. Is the magic here really that powerful? [ Don't answer that. He doesn't want to hear it.

After a moment's hesitation, he adds, voice small, ] How am I supposed to get it back? And what if I can't?

[ Leo never realized it meant so much to him before now. It was just... just there, another tool he could use to do what he had to. Now that it's gone, it's like he's lost a huge part of who he is. ]

[truesight]

[ her brows lift a bit, like she's 100% ready to say "well, yeah", but she knows he doesn't want an answer to that. before this conversation, she was impressed by this world's magic - now she's just mad about it ]

I know how it feels to have something like that taken from you. It makes you feel off-balance and disconnected, right? Like something's off even when you're not thinking about it. But you will get it back, I know you will. Leo?

[ she's sort of just babbling for a second before scooting her locket a little closer, and she knows it's not as effective as it would be if they were in person, but she levels her eyes with the camera, in earnest ]

This place might be powerful, but you're stronger. I'll help you figure out what's wrong, and we'll fix it. Okay? That's what you do, right? You're our mechanic. As far as I see it, this isn't any different than the other awesome things you've tinkered with and reinvented. It's going to be tough because it's your own power, but I know you can do it.

voice;

[notyetlegend]

Is that what happened?

[Merida's busy right now so her locket is on audio feed, but there's loud cursing in Gaelic a second later and the sound of something hitting a wall. A few minutes later there's shuffling as she picks her locket up once more, voice sounding a little sour.]

I've been learnin' fire magic an' fire bendin' over th' last year. Guess I won't be usin' that to stop th' fruit an' other things natives have been throwin' at us down here.

voice;

[commandertoolbelt]

So you can't do it either?

[ He'll reserve judgment on whether that's a good thing or not for later. What matters now is finding a way to get it back. ]

There's got to be a way to get it back, though. [ This isn't just some kind of magic for him. Sure, he'd gone without using it for years on end, but it wasn't like he couldn't if he tried. Now, he just can't, and that's scarier than going head to head with Gaea herself.

He sighs. ] You're in Leathann? Rachel said they were throwing curses around there, too.

voice;

[notyetlegend]

Aye, no.

[And now it just felt like a waste of effort. Merida raked her fingers through her hair with a frustrated sigh. She'd never felt this sense of loss before; she hadn't been born with the magic or talent to use fire, but it had been as natural as her hair when she started. Maybe Wan had been right and she should have learned another magic alongside it.]

There's these coins with bad luck curses on them, aye. Probably other things, but mostly th' coins an' fruit.

voice;

[commandertoolbelt]

It doesn't make sense. All fire just... disappears because the Pyrii do?

[ They should have tried harder to save them. Leo thought he'd been getting the hang of it, too... ]

Maybe you guys should look into shields or something, or I dunno, reflection magic? Is that a thing here? And I don't mean, like, mirrors or anything, but that whole "I'm rubber, you're glue" thing.

[ He's rambling, but if it'll help him stop thinking about the loss, he'll take it. ]

voice;

[notyetlegend]

Not even my fire runes work.

[She couldn't comment on that, but it did make her wonder if that meant other things would disappear too. Were the will o the wisps going to vanish? Were the naiads? Bandersnatches? The Void was close to Leathann. What would disappear if it got swallowed up too?]

Someone I know knows luck magic, but he can't be everywhere at once. [She wouldn't ask that of Diarmuid either.] If I used a speed rune, maybe I'd be able to dodge...

( video. )

[marred]

[ as someone who relies a little more on himself and less on anything he could possibly conjure (which isn't anything, in his completely biased opinion), luke isn't so sure if he gets it. after breaking his leg over a year ago, he'd felt a little loss. his power was in his legs, just as leo thought his was in his fire. but his leg had healed. luke's not so sure if leo's fire will. ]

[ luke isn't so sure what to do, but, then again, when the kids at camp had come to him when they'd needed someone to talk to, he always found something to say. words were his forte; while he may not have been at mount verla to help, stuck in leathann with the animals and george and martha, luke's begun to value friends over grabbing a shotgun to try and spook the void from approaching his doorstep. leo's a friend. assisting stubborn refugees can take a backburner to this. ]

Are you old enough to drink?

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[commandertoolbelt]

[ He could use about ten drinks right now. ]

...If we're going by Drabwurld standards? Yeah.

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[marred]

[ the drabwurld may accept leo as "legal", but it's not the drabwurld police he's worried about. there's martha, and she's a hell of a lot scarier than any beast the drabwurld could throw at either of them. luke looks uneasy as he continues to press. ]

And if we're going by mortal standards ... You're not, like, fourteen, right?

[ george and martha may have kept tabs on leo during the last year, but, sometimes, his snakes suck at informing luke of any recent developments with the demigods of the drabwurld. the cows are a little better at it, given how many times they've rewritten hot in here to feature leo valdez, front and centre. ]

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[commandertoolbelt]

[ deep sigh. mortal legalities are hardly his biggest concern right now, luke, why are you doing this to him?? ]

Seventeen.

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[marred]

[ he's trying to be responsible! leo can hear some singing in the background, george and martha swaying in one another's non-existent arms on a table. athee barks, but luke simply shrugs off the fact that leo's close to being legal in australia. it's close enough; being good at numbers isn't a hermes thing, anyway — nor is abiding by the rules. ]

Are you in Caer Glaem?

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[dyingisnotdead]

[Loras frowns. At least his own abilities haven't disappeared.]

If there is anything I can do for you, I will.

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[commandertoolbelt]

[ Leo shakes his head. ] I don't know if there's anything I can do. But thanks.

I can still work in the forges, though. Still can't be burned. So I can do some work for Cothromach, if you guys need it, like I said before.

[bealright]

When I first arrived, I lost most of my car-- [ She catches herself, then corrects. Semantics ] Magic. But I've been getting some of it back, so maybe... maybe it isn't for forever?

[commandertoolbelt]

I didn't lose mine at all, though - not before this. I didn't even know I could.

[ He takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. ]

How are you getting it back? I heard that Shard training might be able to help, but... [ If there's anything he can do, he wants to know. ]

[bealright]

We're already so far away from home, and to lose our magic too? It's not nice, is it?

[ Sakura shakes her head, sniffling.]

I... I don't know. It just came back! [ Sakura's not feeling particularly helpful right now.] I'm sorry.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ He laughs, the sound bitter. Not nice? ] That's putting it lightly.

I guess I'll just ask around, see if anyone's got any suggestions - or if there's someone who can help me figure out how to use my shard better. If that's what it takes, I want to get on it ASAP.

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[psalmed]

Sometimes we can not control what goes on around us. I am sorry for you.

[That he had to see it, that he is feeling loss. That everything has happened. And he's clearly shaken. She wants to reassure him. There is still magic but not his magic.]

If there is anything I might do for you...

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[commandertoolbelt]

[ It isn't magic where he comes from, though - it's just him, suddenly losing that is like a shock to his whole system. What is he supposed to do now? ]

It's because we lost the Pyrii, I think. I didn't know they were even connected, or I - I would've tried harder.

[ Not that it would have done much either way. There's only so much any one person with so little training can do. He shakes his head, clearly frustrated. ]

I don't even know where to start.

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[psalmed]

When we look back it is easy to say what we should have done or might have done.

[But sometimes it changes nothing at all. Lia knows from her own example that you can't live in regrets. But she hates this. For all of them.]

Nor do I. Nor will many. But you...will find your way. I wish I knew something to help you.

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[commandertoolbelt]

It's hard not to sometimes.

[ There are so many mistakes he's made that he still looks back on and wonders, What if? His mother, firing on New Rome, cracking open the fortune cookie, losing his hold on Mt. Verla...

There are reasons he tries to run. It just doesn't always work. ]

I mean, I know how to start a chemical fire. I've still got vials of Greek fire from home that I haven't used up yet. But it's not the same.