Dome Sweet Dome

[tongueamok]

Who: Carlisle Longinmouth (tongueamok), OPEN
What: It's a log for the folks who expressed interest in Carlisle's latest gardening project! In short, he made a stupid dome of magic to protect the only two gardens he cares about, and is feeling very good about himself. Make him regret his hubris.
Where: Park
When: November 21st - early December
Warnings: Nothing yet! Heads up for anyone who has met him, but hasn't seen him in the past month: he's a lot more colorful now.


As the days without the gods add up and the city grows colder without power, there may be less and less people braving the outdoors. However, any of those who happen to wander in the vicinity of the park -- or what remains of it, as most of the trees have been removed -- might notice something odd: there are two, translucent domes covering a portion of it, their walls illuminated with a magical energy. Upon closer inspection, one can see the vague shapes of archways and leaves behind these glowing, blue barriers; they're connected to the ground via a stone curb, so any visitors might want to watch their step.

But should someone trip and fall into either dome, they'll find the walls won't keep them out -- they'll slip right through with only a tingling sensation, much like the shock of static, to accompany their passage, the magic wall remaining whole behind them. Within one dome is the memorial park, its various markers and tributes to those who have disappeared from Hadriel protected from the elements beyond the barrier; within the other is a garden, its rows of shrubs, vines, and greenery kept at a comfortable temperature within the magical ward.

And on most days, near the cottage at the center of said garden, one may find the man who conjured these domes, Carlisle Longinmouth. Sometimes, he's pruning away at the twitching, ivy-like vines of his coilers, tossing the trimmings to his pet, Rabbit. At other times, he's knelt near the barrier himself, inspecting the integrity of his magical walls. On more than one occasion, he may be over near a patch of dirt walled off with stones, within it the stalks of still-growing barley. Wherever he may be, there is one constant: he's generally not thrilled to find he has company.

Comments

im so fucking sorry

[pocketspa]

Being one of the people with magic means that while Taako doesn't have unlimited run of the city, he's certainly got more distance than those who have no recourse against the cold. It's not awful out here yet, especially not for a man who considers a cape and a large hat a necessity, but thankfully he can move fairly freely to see the city put back together.

Which is how he finds this bit of magic, and absolutely, truly needs to investigate.

He looks it up and down, fingers sparking with a bit of magic as he pokes and prods at it, eventually sticking his entire hand through in his investigation. And then just his whole goddamn face, ignoring the weird shock as his face goes right through.

"Holy shit!" There he goes, just sticking his face back and forth in this thing. He doesn't even recognize Carlisle is there. He's just kinda fuckin' jazzed this is happening to him right now- hopefully he doesn't catch the point where he sticks his butt in and just his butt, but knowing the two of them, Carlisle will find the absolute worst time to look up and see who's here to antagonize him this time.

Never beeeeeeeeee

[tongueamok]

Carlisle doesn't notice as his latest visitor prods the barrier. Preoccupied with his pruning, he fails to see this near-stranger's face as it juts in and out of his garden. What he does catch, unfortunately, is the aforementioned near-stranger's joyous exclamation, followed by the entrance of his posterior.

It's in moments like these that Carlisle questions the maturity of the people the Door chooses to bring in. Well, perhaps that is unfair to the majority of Hadriel's captives, Carlisle thinks. It's just this fellow in particular whose maturity he's questioning at the moment.

"Have you nothing better to do than to test the limits of my abjuration ward?" he asks tiredly from his spot among the coilers, their vines inching slowly around his shoulders. Another tendril twitches to life from a nearby arch, reaching toward Taako with a slow, nearly imperceptible movement.

GOOD <3

[pocketspa]

An ear goes visible through the edge as he speaks, just the tip of the point before the left side of Taako's face comes to join it. Just that part, though. He's trying to perfectly bisect himself down the middle now just to be a real goof about it.

"Haha oh shit, it's you? Man, what is it about shield wizards that make you all so uptight?" Taako would recognize this man's voice from anywhere, because he'll never pass up the opportunity for bullshit with someone who bites back. "So what, only warmth for you, huh? Pretty fuckin' bold, especially for you, fantasy weenie hut jrs. When'd you find time to do all this?"

[tongueamok]

Carlisle cringes as he sees who the ear (and rear) belongs to, recognizing that voice, as well; he grimaces at being called a 'fantasy weenie hut junior,' because while he doesn't know exactly what that entails, he assumes from the tone that it cannot be meant as a compliment. What he takes the most umbrage with -- and clearly so -- is being called a wizard, his teeth grinding together and his entire body stiffening as though the very word were made of poison.

He bites his tongue, painfully aware this fellow is some acquaintance of Glacius'. For his sake and his sake alone, Carlisle makes his best attempt to behave, despite the obvious displeasure etched into his features.

"I am a cleric," he corrects, getting that out of the way, "and given a month to prepare for our move, I made sure I worked swiftly."

[pocketspa]

It's almost double funny and double the insult that Taako even referred to him as a wizard, considering that's decidedly his title. He did a lot of work to be considered a wizard- this isn't just praying to a god nice enough to give you power. He had to earn it, thanks.

Not that he thinks that way about basically any clerics, ever. Except now for Carlisle, because it's so fun to watch his face turn red.

"Ooh, a cleric, how fancy. I stand by what I said, every abjuration specialist I've ever met is a mess of rules and notebooks, full stop." He finally steps all the way in, putting his hands on his hips and observing the area. "So you put it over what, the park? Not your house? Are you gonna live here now? Also, you know everyone can see it and jam their hands in here. You didn't hide it, uh, at all."

[tongueamok]

"I didn't intend to hide it," Carlisle cuts back, his teeth still grinding together. Some of Taako's assessment of him -- a mess of rules and notebooks, in particular -- is absolutely correct, even if some of his other assumptions are painfully far from their marks. Carlisle is, unfortunately, an anomaly in many ways, even in comparison to those from similar worlds.

Still trying to shake off the initial insult -- honestly, some people were never taught what you should and shouldn't call someone in public -- he remains in his spot as Taako looks around, his eyes never leaving the elf before him. "My house needn't the warmth my plants do." Also, his icy roommate would prefer it be cold, but that's neither here nor there.

[pocketspa]

"So you're not one of those people nice enough to broadcast it, but not selfish enough to hoard it. What's even the point then?" It's dubious anything he says is something he actually means by this point, but that's most conversations with him. "Guess you're not doin' enough to save that orchard Rosie was soooo workin' hard to get runnin' again. Did you talk to her?"

He's just idly looking at the plants now, starting to formulate a plan in his head of how he's going to get a certain plant into this biodome. "You can be mad at me all you want, but what has she ever done to you?"

[tongueamok]

If Taako is hoping to play upon Carlisle's conscience, he'll find the clergyman has more than enough guilt already; he'll have to get in line.

"She knows where my garden is," he answers flatly, his eyes narrowing just before he turns his back to the elf to head further into his garden, the coilers around his shoulders releasing him without much strain. He has work to do. "And should she wish to speak with me, she may do so herself. The orchard is not under my purview."

[pocketspa]

Look at these two. Assuming the other is better than they are. Wonderful.

Taako trots in after, because he'll be here until he's kicked out just for the sake of causing a scene, but isn't disturbing anything other than the other man. He has a certain fondness for plants thanks to his own cleric. "Look, my man, I'm just saying. What's all that uh, great power whatever? I'm not saying you have to get it all stocked, I mean, whatever on that right? but you won't do it for the plants?"

[tongueamok]

"They are plants provided as one would feed for livestock," Carlisle remarks dryly as he passes under another archway, the vines on the structure reaching slowly for him, then for Taako once he is past. "These are my plants, and I have a duty to them. The orchard has plenty who would look after it, and some of them no doubt magicians."

He might be a bit of a recluse, but Carlisle has no illusions about being the only magic user in town. His inferiority to most of them, given his proclivity for healing and nearly nothing else, is a knife constantly in his back, a blade twisting at his spine and feeding his embittered behavior. Save for his occasional feats of glyphcrafting, Carlisle is painfully aware he has very little to offer anyone in comparison to many of the casters in town.

But in truth, he does have much he could offer, and has long been blind to it for fear of failure. Proud as he may be of his ingenuity, he reminds himself — constantly— that it could fail at any time. That he could fail. If he ruins his garden, it's only his plants that suffer. People can't depend on accursed beings like him, he's told himself for years. Perhaps one day, he'll learn otherwise.

"You are a magician," he continues softly. "You handle it."

[pocketspa]

He's watching the way the plants move and reach as he goes with a degree of vested interest. Taako's never been this guy, but his cleric was. He misses the effect of seeing plantlife curled around him, the way he'd laugh and talk to them in... sometimes ways he'd like to forget. Carlisle is definitely the more composed of the two, but that just makes him want to dig in deeper, see where the man will push back the more he presses. Just waiting for a reaction. A sign.

So he sighs when Carlisle is so subdued, crossing his arms with a roll of his eyes. "I'm not just a magician, dude, I don't do fakey-fake stuff. I'm a wizard. Which you seem to take sooooo much offense to." He lets his words dig in again, gesturing with his hand as he speaks. "But I'm not a nature dude. I do transmutation. So I mean, if you want the plants to be not plants, I can totally make that biz happen, natch. But I don't do all this. Better left to you in your nerd dome."

[tongueamok]

Again, there's no real reaction to the obvious jab of 'nerd dome;' however, tension visibly mounts him at 'wizard' once more, his fingers curling as though he finds the very word more repugnant than Taako himself. Given the fellow was just sticking his rear in and out of the barrier, that is quite a feat.

"Fine," he bites back, still trying to hold his temper. Glacius is apparently fond of this elf and his sister, after all, and he can manage some manners if only for that reason. How long he will manage them is the question. "Then those with the orchard are welcome to plead their case to me if they so desire. Until then, perhaps you can transmute some not plants into plants for them."

[pocketspa]

Carlisle, the fact you are even attempting manners makes you the better guy here, full stop. But he still notices that reaction- what is with him and the term? Taako carries it like a badge of honor, a recognition of his accomplishments, everything he fought for to keep himself alive. It's hard to learn magic. Even harder without some kind of schooling. And while the twins eventually made it to an academy, being a wizard was always the goal. He's maybe taking it a bit more personally than he has to.

"Fine, gosh. I can maybe do that. Loooootta magic though." He raises an eyebrow at Carlisle and thinks about taking his leave, but then absolutely doesn't. "Which you know, I learned how to do. At wizard school. Which is for wizards. Because I am one. A wizard."