video 💎 un: Tohsaka Rin

[defenceless]

[the video opens to display the... somewhat incriminating desk of one rin tohsaka. are those vials and knives? yes, those are vials and knives. a few of the vials contain weird-colored liquids but don’t think about it too much.

apparently this is no reason for a tiny cygnet not to be hopping all over everywhere, chirping happily and nibbling away at a slice of apple rin holds between chopsticks. the gray downy baby swan wears a black collar inlaid with beautiful amethysts and diamonds. lazily leaning her cheek onto her hand, she speaks.]

I’ve developed a means of repelling that godawful holiday plant and withering any sprigs of mistletoe in your immediate vicinity. Simply state clearly,

"Verkümmern, Mistel."

And they’ll die. The catalyst for the enchantment has been sprinkled all across Chantes, so the spell should work wherever you are. Just don’t say the words wrong; I can’t be held responsible for what might happen, in that case.

[r.i.p. thirst. anyway, rin reveals a strange object that those more modern-familiar in alastair will recognize as a bedazzler gun.]

Now, then.

[rin sets down the apple (much to baby swan's dismay!) and calls to the servant carrying a tea tray behind her.]

Archer.

[a tall man in black armor and a pink apron glances over his shoulder. only his back is visible.

she spins her finger, gesturing for him to turn around. he does so with a rather impressive line face. there's a sword bedazzled out of shiny silver rhinestones stuck right to the front of his apron, just at chest level. rin faces the network again.]

Can anyone tell me what this [she lifts up the bedazzler gun and frowns in disgust/confusion.] is? The designs it creates are awfully tacky.

((OOC: The mistletoe-deactivating spell words will actually work, per discussion with the mods! Feel free to do whatever you want with it. Archer may reply to some tags/threads in this post.))

Comments

[adlantisag]

Supplies for magic?

[ So Rin is planning to eat her when she's older, ok. ]

[defenceless]

Yes. You understand, feathers— blood, I suppose. Eggs.

[looking very professional for you right now, kida. sitting in her chair, rin lifts up a finger as she rattles off ideas.]

Perhaps I could even train her to hunt for gems.

[adlantisag]

[ Kida's experience with magic is incredibly limited despite her out-of-the-ordinary origins, but she's seen feathers and similar objects in Sieglinde's study, so it's not that much of a surprise to hear them come up again. ]

How would you train her to hunt for gems? [ Tiny mining duck... ] How do these things aid your magic?

[defenceless]

[ah, if only someone could tell her how to teach a swan to dig in the dirt for rare jewels. all her problems would be solved...]

Very carefully and painstakingly, I imagine. Magecraft benefits a lot from different ingredients. For example, an unfertilized embryo could be incorporated into a healing spell...

[ARE WE SURE SHE IS BETTER THAN THE PEOPLE WHO JUST WANT TO KILL THE SWAN]

[adlantisag]

[ WE'RE NOT BUT THAT'S OKAY. ]

I...see. So you intend to mate her, and collect the eggs.

[ You do you, Rin. ]

How do these items help your spells, exactly?

[defenceless]

Well, I wouldn't have to necessarily mate her, even, once she matured to the point that she could lay eggs.

It'd take too long to go into detail about all the ways a magus prepares her ingredients and concocts her creations.

[adlantisag]

Ah, female yapik do that as well; she really is like a lizard. You have been studying magic since you were small, Rin?

[defenceless]

Ya... pik...?

[never heard of those, before. but, saying that, rin's voice softens.]

From the day I was born, I was guided down this path. That of a magus.

[adlantisag]

[ Kida's face softens. She understands what it is to not be given a choice. It's what individuals make with the hand they're dealt that's important. ]

And what does that meant to you--to be a 'magus'?

[defenceless]

[no, rin was never given a choice.

she embraces what she is, however. she became a magus because she welcomed the challenge. the practice of magecraft tests her and is fulfilling for her. she wouldn't have come this far if she wasn't satisfied with her selected "path", every step of the way.

the duality is weird. she was born to be a magus, but there's also no other role she was built better for. all of rin's regrets are not necessarily tied to magecraft itself.]

You're going to ask a question like that? Well, I guess the answer will be pretty long. Are you okay with that?

[she sounds as if she's perfectly willing to talk about it.]

[adlantisag]

I told you, did I not? That I know nothing of magic.

[ It stands to reason it's a topic of interest to her, when she understands so little, and it seems to vary so greatly from practitioner to practitioner. That is the essence of the question: what is 'magic' in Rin's world? How does it function, how is it taught and used? ]

I have time, Rin.

[ Said with some dry amusement. She's eight thousand years old--what else does she have but time? ]

[defenceless]

If you insist. [she's almost happy.] I was born with the ability to cast magic. It's not something everyone has, even in my world. Even then, you have to have special training to learn how to use magecraft or you risk toying with death. Parents pass traits on to their children, right? In my case, I inherited my "magic circuits", and the responsibility to carry my family's legacy into the future.

That's what being a magus means to me—or, at least, part of it. I'm here because of others who worked hard all their lives and I'm going to accomplish great successes to hand down to my child, too. I'll bring honor to the Tohsaka name. My father's goals are the correct ones, for a magus. We strive to achieve a glimpse of the core of all things.

[the holy grail war comes in there, though she does not mention it.]

But I'll also do my best just for me. I know I'm skilled. I will never take my magic beyond its limits. I won't endanger innocent people. Being a magus equates with strength and elegance for me. The challenge is fulfilling for me. My life is never boring. Most of all, it's my own.

I owe my parents that.

one million years later

[adlantisag]

[ She wasn't sure what answer she was expecting, if anything at all--but.

She likes this. It's a similar kind of pressure, she supposes. Inheritance, descendancy, bloodlines. The responsibility that comes with power. The price of prestige.

My life is never boring. Most of all, it's my own. There are some--and some days, Kida included--that might argue elsewise, or perhaps that's simply the disconnect between their realities. Kida's life has never entirely belonged to her. She shares it with her people and her city, a constant weight but one she bears with pride. ]

A glimpse of the core of all things...? [ A poetic turn of phrase; she isn't sure how literally she's meant to interpret it. ] Whatever understanding you seek, I am certain your tenacity will bring you to it, Rin.

even later (aka it's okay it's always okay i will backtag forever) + also we can probs end it here!!

[defenceless]

(( ooc: please note that because i suck i flubbed up canon a bit here—tbh, canon isn't that clear about what rin knows and not—but rin is not aware her family's goal is to reach the core of all things! so just assume she's either making something up or she never said it quite that way. thanks! c: ))

[yes, a glimpse of the core of all things... or something like that. she doesn't really know for sure. her father died before he was able to share too much with her. rin brightens, though, upon hearing kida.]

You think?

[faintly, she wonders what kida herself must be dealing with.]

Thank you. That's very kind of you to say.