entranceway | 002 ↯ video

Um. All right, no one panic, but I may have underestimated these magic closets of ours and accidentally... done something.

_{[Anders' voice, sounding contrite. In the background, an unremitting stream of noise threatens to drown him out--it's meowing, rising and falling at different pitches like a tone-deaf a cappella group trying to harmonize and failing miserably.

The camera settles unsteadily on the hem of his robes before he sets it down and steps back. The source of the caterwauling then becomes apparent: in his arms are four young cats of various shapes and color, two tucked under each arm.

By the sounds of it, more are audible off-screen. Many, many more.]}

I wasn't thinking... Well, I was, I was thinking how much more homey this place would be with a cute cat or two, and then--and then they were just there, and everywhere, and now there are a few more than two. If you have cat allergies, stay off the fourth floor.

_{[As if on cue, a kitten on stubby legs capers across the floor behind him. Anders, noticing movement on the screen, squints closely for a second, then looks for the real thing over his shoulder.]}

One's making a run for it. Alistair! Alistair, catch it, my hands are full.

_{[From somewhere off among the caterwauling comes a response, the owner appearing shortly after--]}

I see it!

_{[Alistair runs past in the background, two cats under one arm and what is presumably another squirming about down his shirt. He comes back into view a moment later, the escapee cradled in his free hand. Shoving the kitten in Anders' face--where it proceeds to bat at his nose--he frowns at the other man.]}

This is getting ridiculous. We can't keep track of all of them. Is anyone coming to-- Ow!

_{[The yelp comes as the squirming under his shirt grows more energetic and with a slightly panicked look Alistair disappears from view again, kittens in tow. The only hint as to his fate comes as an increase in the mewling and the sound of fabric ripping mercifully out of sight.]}

I'm getting to that part!

_{[Anders stares after him, eyebrows drawn up in alarm, before dragging his eyes back to the camera.]}

Uhhh, it's okay, everything's fine, we have things completely under control, but as you can tell, we're in possession of some cats who could use a loving home! Soft, furry cats! Adorable, see? They're domesticated, easy to care for, and make excellent house pets. That one doesn't appear to be a fan of Alistair's shirt, but some are more fashion conscious than others.

I don't know if I can take care of them all. If you'd like to take one, we'll be giving them away free of charge in the ballroom. First floor, you can't miss it! _{[Anders then points a finger sternly, though the effect is mitigated by the wide-eyed kittens holding onto his arm.]} But no funny business. If you consider cats a delicacy, I'm warning you now, we're both heavily armed. People wanting to make mittens out of their fur need not apply.

_{(OOC: Come find the log over here!)}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I mean, I've never t-thought about it being, uhm, a scary thing. It just seems, uhm, normal to us. Before getting to Wonderland, I've only ever t-talked to, uhm, one human, ever, so... I d-don't know about if we're, uhm, perceived b-badly, or by a... cultural standpoint? If that makes sense.

[She's not really sure how to explain herself, but she does sort of raise her hand to her head spines when Anders mentions them. She sort of smooths them over like one would hair- a habit picked up from her girlfriend, who does, in fact, have hair. But when Anders asks about her talents, it's... well, we're back to the drawing board, there.]

Well, uhm, they're spines I guess, but uh... I don't especially have a talent. I mean, I'm not v-very good at magic. Mostly, uhm, I'm a scientist, so... I b-build things, but I can use magic, uhm, in t-that. But I'm not, uh, v-very good at magic, on my own.

[That's not a sore spot or anything, noooo]

I suppose it would seem normal from your standpoint. From what you've described, you and humans don't seem to be on the best terms where you are. That probably goes for most places.

_{[It's certainly the case for Anders' world. Parents raise their children to believe monsters are bad the way the sky is blue. It's certainly true that he's never had the opportunity to debate the details with one of said monsters, aside from the Architect.

The Architect? Not really the best example to live by.]}

Ah, spines, my apologies. But that's a rather funny irony. A being of magic who has difficulty using magic?

_{[If he notices her discomfort, he doesn't show it. Alphys, you're a curious creature.]}

I'm Anders, by the way. Mage, Grey Warden, and now... purveyor of cats, I suppose. Do you come with a name as well?

Well, we've developed c-completely separately for thousands of years, so... a-any sort of impressions of, uhm, each other are a l-little outdated.

[She fidgets a bit more and tries to take his next statement in stride, laughing a little nervously.]

Well, n-not everyone is good at magic, you k-know, there's different, uhm, m-magical levels, and it is s-something you still have to learn. I'm just, uhm... n-not very talented, at it.

[At least he changes the topic, sort of, and she knows how to answer this one.]

M-My name is Alphys. It's n-nice to meet you.

[... wait. mage. wwwwwait he said this earlier too wait]

So... y-you can do human magic? What's it l-like?

_{[Maybe those impressions are outdated where she's from--his are a little more fresh. But this is him keeping his mouth shut and trying to keep an open mind. Moving right along...]}

Don't take it personally, Alphys. It's just as ironic for a mage to have difficulties handling magic.

_{[Are Jowan's ears burning yet? Anders manages to pull off a casual shrug despite working to get a better grip on a kitten that's busy trying to climb over his arm.]}

It's very human-y? And magic-y?

I mean it's not l-like it's a thing that's, uhm, taught, exactly. You just sort of... practice? It's hard t-to explain, I d-don't know. I'm just... weird, I guess.

[Haha well, she knows she's weird, what kind of monster can't deal with monster bullets? Sticking to science makes it easy. Makes her look less odd. Makes it easier to deal with in shutting herself away in her lab. She tries to shift away from the topic, gesturing to try to illustrate her next point.]

I mean, like... i-is it primarily elemental, or physics b-based? Can you move things w-with you mind or i-is it more fireballs? Is it, uhm, more personal to the p-person or is everything something all magically inclined p-people could learn? Do you have specific s-stances and use staffs??

[She's a little excited about this- she's always wanted to know. Human magic sounds awesome.]

Well, that's your first problem. Learning magic on the fly is guaranteed to go poorly.

_{[Not even Anders, primed with a flippant remark for organized institutions, can speak against the Circle's interests in educating young mages. Feeling out magic by gut instinct means nothing without formal training and the discipline to go with it.

But he has to remember--monsters. He probably shouldn't be too quick to hope they organize themselves and develop schools of magic after seeing the fruit of the Architect's labor with his own eyes.

Safer to stay out of those murky waters, he thinks. It's why he doesn't mind focus shifting to a topic he's familiar with.]}

I use a staff, yes, though you probably don't want to be in a situation where you have cause to see one up close. They're popular for combat. _{[And for other non-fighting purposes, but it sounds more dramatic this way.]} People born to magic like me have choices in how they develop it and what they want to study--some are better at some areas than others, just like anything else.

Well, t-the basics are taught in school, it's just... I don't think I c-can explain this. It's been a long time s-since I was going through, uhm, primary school, and all that.

[She's thankful for the topic change though. Human magic sounds soooo coooool.]

So do humans use m-magic mostly for fighting? Not for just... d-doing stuff?

[And they're the combative ones? Monsters learn magic for just... living, in society, and interacting with each other. So few of them learn it to fight each other, though it seems some of what they'd convey as 'greetings' could still be seen as 'attacking' in a human's eyes.]

_{[Monsters in primary school. Will wonders never cease. He huffs a breath of laughter at that, but opts to shake his head instead of pursue that line of conversation. He's already peppered her with a bunch of questions; it's only fair he answer a few in return.]}

Oh, we do stuff, too. Some of it's even interesting stuff if you're into magical theory. Healing. Enchanting. Arcane study. But magic's not exactly welcomed back home. Being able to use it makes us the weird ones, not the other way around.

_{[So there you go, don't feel too bad about your lack of talent for it, Alphys. It's a toss up whether Anders or Alphys would be spit on more on in the market square.]}

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