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[gemigod]

VOICE | ACTION | LETTERS

Steven lives in Helian's Glade and can usually be found somewhere in the gardens. Letters can be left on his bed, which is made of moss and several supernaturally large blooms, or the drawer filled stump where he keeps his belongings. He is responsive to network communications but prefers not to speak one on one over them.

Comments

[gemigod]

Steven pauses in his step, looking a little confused and offput. He honestly hadn't even really considered it that deeply until Yuya mentioned it. It feels practical, almost stupid that he didn't just start with that, but also... it bothers him.

"I... guess," he says, sounding unsure. He looks down at some nearby flowers, frowning apprehensively.

[hippocarnival]

The flowers don't have feelings, Steven.

He didn't outright deny it, which is what Yuya was expecting, so he looks down at those same flowers and crouches down, reaching for a stem. He presses his fingers to it, crushing a space until the flower tips over from the weak segment.

Yuya looks up at Steven. "Something like that?"

[gemigod]

They're his babies, though!

Steven winces a little when Yuya breaks the flower stem. It's really dumb, but it just feels rude somehow, to damage a living thing just so you can practice on it. Has he always been this weird about plants? Probably not.

He shakes it off, though, and comes over to kneel next to it.

"Um, yeah, that's fine..." He runs his fingers under the stem, helping to support the weight of its blossom. "I guess the most basic thing is that you have to figure out how to push your energy into the wound."

[hippocarnival]

"Hmm..." Yuya draws his hand back, then holds both of them tk hover close to the stem, fingers just brushing it. His brow knits in concentration.

And he focuses.

And focuses.

And focuses.

"... Nothing's happening."

[gemigod]

"That's okay," he laughs. "We just started! I know I didn't get it that fast."

He strokes the stem of the plant thoughtfully.

"Hmm... how about this... what does it feel like to you when you're making an illusion? Do you feel like you have to put energy into it?"

[hippocarnival]

"Mm..." Yuya squints, trying really hard to remember. "I must've at first, right? But how I don't even think about it. They just stay up."

Thankfully, he's gotten enough pestering about his lack of clothes and he hasn't even streaked!!

[gemigod]

"What about your sun globe? You put some of yourself into that, don't you?"

Maybe less literally, but working magic has always felt like something that came from within, for Steven.

[hippocarnival]

Steven puts so much of himself in his magic, doesn't he? Yuya's not sure his is the same--maybe that's why he hasn't figured out healing yet.

He holds his hands out and tries to think like that, pushing the globe out of him. Then his fingertips start to glow, almost sparkling.

[gemigod]

Maybe different people have different ways of doing things magically - which is fine, but Steven hopes that enough of what he understands can apply to Yuya that he'll be able to teach him. If it turns out that they direct their magic in fundamentally different ways, he might be more useless at teaching this than he hoped.

Steven smiles at the sight of the light forming, it in itself being a comforting and familiar presence. He reaches out and cups his hand beneath one of Yuya's guiding it towards the flower.

"Great! Now, try taking the energy you're putting towards the light, and direct it into the flower instead."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya lets his hand be guided closer, more firmly to the stem and focuses on flowing the magic from him to the flower.

His hand starts to dim, and instead the flower begins to glow and sparkle with light. It's not healing, but he got part of it?

[gemigod]

Well, it's something. It's putting energy towards the right object. Steven nods, encouraging.

"Perfect," he says. "Now... try to take that magic... and use it to give the flower strength. Organic things can heal themselves, so all you need to do is give it the power to heal faster and better than it could on its own."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya grins, excited. He closes his eyes so he can concentrate completely, trying to give his strength to the flower. It takes longer, but the pressed part of the stem partly expands again as the external skin heals.

[gemigod]

It's a different approach than what Helian does, in Steven's experience. Helian seems to manipulate the energy of the life-form itself, instead of using her own. Maybe that's more efficient. He isn't sure. Maybe fae just have no interest in giving part of themselves to someone.

Steven can see the stem partially right itself, as Yuya's magic strengthens it.

"It's working," he observes, grinning. Maybe this isn't so hard after all.

[hippocarnival]

"Is it?!" Yuya's eyes snap open, disrupting his attempt but he's too excited to care. He presses his hands to the ground and leans over so he can stare at his attempt closely.

[gemigod]

Steven pulls away his hand from the flower, showing that it can now mostly stand on its own again. It's a little bit droopy, but much better off than it would be with a fully crushed stem.

"Yep!" He beams. "Did you feel any of the stuff I was talking about?"

[hippocarnival]

"I don't know!" He laughs. "Let me keep trying, I'll pay attention this time."

He holds his hands to the stem again, fingers glowing and transfering that to the flower. He feels it more this time, not just because he's paying more attention.

[gemigod]

It's nice to see Yuya happy and excited about something. It was silly to ever feel apprehensive about teaching this. He already knew that, but it's nice to feel it as truth as much as he thinks it.

"Once you get used to it, you can sort of... focus on the stuff that needs the most fixing? And guide it together with your... thoughts, I guess. For deeper wounds, it's better to get the deepest damage first, and then heal towards the surface. But... I'm still kind of figuring that out myself."

[hippocarnival]

"You don't just heal it all at once?" Yuya nudges the flower, trying to push it upright faster. If he ever knew how Steven's healing works, he's forgotten it by now.

[gemigod]

"Because..."

Steven gestures with his hands, unable to get across what he is trying to imply. He sighs.

"It's just like... trying to build on a wonky foundation, you know? At least, that's how it feels to me."

[hippocarnival]

"So you have to fit the foundation first?"

He draws his hands back when the flower's stem is mostly healed, the light in his hands disappearing. The flower still sparkles a little, though. He looks over it proudly.

[gemigod]

"Yeah!"

Steven looks at the flower appraisingly and then smiles.

"You figured that out really fast! Plants are pretty easy... skin is pretty easy, too. It's the inside stuff that gets tricky. I bet you could figure out healing scratches in no time, though."

He rubs his mane.

"...I'm just not sure how to test that without hurting myself."

[hippocarnival]

"Did I?" Yuya rubs the back of his neck shyly, blushing with the praise.

"Uh, but I don't really want you to hurt yourself on purpose. You can call me if you ever prick yourself on the roses again?" Or any other extremely mild injuries.

[gemigod]

On one hand, that's totally reasonable - on the other hand, Yuya seems like he's on a roll. Steven looks down at his hand.

"What if I just..."

He takes his jewel-like nails and drags them across the back of his hand, not hard enough to actually cut himself, but enough to make his skin flush with mild irritation.

"There! Try that."

[hippocarnival]

"Ah--Steven!" He just said--Yuya, of course, grabs Steven's hand in and instant and pulls it close. He goesn't even hesitate before he tries to push more lightly energy to heal it.

[gemigod]

Steven lets him take the hand, watching him work. He can feel the slight warmth of the energy flowing to his hand - but ultimately, it's hard to tell whether the irritation has gone down. Against the bright white skin, the pink tone is still clearly visible.

"It's okay! It doesn't even hurt. It's just a little pink."