deercountry | Feburary Catch All - Wandering This Month

[ Ange nods. She holds out her hands in front of her. They slowly start to glow with a soft golden light, and then a butterfly - seemingly made out of nothing but golden light - flies up from her hands, flapping through the air for a moment or two before landing on Tara's hand instead. ]

Yeah. I already wasn't that good at it before ending up here though. [ So Ange started already behind - especially compared to Willow, and, she assumes, to Tara. They seem like they've been doing this witch thing a lot better and for a lot longer than she has. ]

But I've also had to rediscover how to use it in this place. And with the nature here being so.. well, I'd say 'different', but it's closer to 'non-existent' sometimes, huh.

[ It's not exactly the most green place around. ]

I can imagine that you might have to figure out how to use it again too. We're all just trying to see how magic works here.

[ Which isn't easy. Ange knows it. But.. ]

And, you know, I never mind having a partner to practice with.

[The magic reminds Tara of Willow's. The pure glow, the seeming ease that she wielded it. It was impressive, reminding her of the first time that she met Willow. Though, Ange's strength and skill matched Willow's much later on.]

Really? I couldn't tell. You seem really powerful. [It wasn't an idle compliment but one rooted from what she could sense in Ange and the potential for even more power.] Non-existent is the right word, I think. Everything is just dark and...tainted, but maybe it's my own feelings coloring that perception.

Is all magic wonky here?

[She smiled, genuinely touched.]

I'd love to practice with you.

[ When Tara compliments her magic like that, Ange can't help but momentarily duck her head slightly, definitely looking flustered about it. She always feels like she's not that powerful at all compared to most other witches where she comes from, so it's honestly kind of nice to hear someone say she seems powerful.

Especially since Tara seems so nice, now Ange just has the chance to have a normal conversation with the other girl. ]

Have you tried going out into the forest here yet?

[ Ange can imagine if Tara already has, but-- ]

If there's any place where you could try to get in touch with nature here, it's got to be there. So if you want, we could try going out there to see if we can find something that resonates with you. It's supposed to be kind of dangerous out there, but I think we should be fine in dealing with that between the two of us.

[That's something she can completely understand. Next to Willow, she feels far from the most powerful witch in the house. It wasn't that big of an issue, but there were times she still felt a little flustered about her abilities.

It just never occurred to her that Ange might be something other than what she was.]

No. I haven't really wandered too far. What's it like?

[Dangerous, probably.]

I've tried the gardens, but that doesn't seem to work too much. Nature here feels off somehow. Usually I stretch myself to feel the energy in the ground like roots, but the ground is kind of tainted.

Yeah, I don't think that's much different out in the forest. [ The tainted ground, she means. Ange remembers seeing blood all over the place here - and with the way blood seems to work in this place, it can't mean much good for the quality of the ground there, she figures. ]

But at least there's some more nature there. There's a lot of trees. If there's a chance for you to feel anything at all from the nature in this place, then I'd say it's somewhere out there.

[ Even if Ange isn't expecting much, since the forest isn't exactly a super lush place, she also thinks it's at least worth a try. It'd be nice if Tara could feel a little bit more comfortable with her magic here, after all. ]

Really? I would have thought there might be monsters out there or like man-eating plants. Nothing ever seems to really be easy here. [She considers this. If the energy was possibly stronger there, she could tap into it. Maybe its magic was stronger there?] I guess I could take a look?

Um, I'm a bit nervous about finding my way alone. Would you consider showing me?

[Trees would be better than bushes and flowers at any rate. The roots would be easier to tap into.]

[ She nods. ]

Oh, there's definitely monsters. [ And she adds that too, though Ange sounds.. weirdly calm about it? Although she's sounded calm pretty much the entire time now, so maybe it's just an Ange thing, who knows. ]

But I don't think it's anything we couldn't deal with if we were out there together, so of course I can come with you. I don't mind at all.

[ Otherwise she'd just be out studying at the Archives between her work shifts, after all. ]

I'm kind of curious about your magic anyway.

[It's definitely strange how calm she is about monsters. Tara can't say she's really ever been the same, even when she helped with patrolling after Buffy died. Meeting them here with her magic wonky, it seemed like a bad idea.

But the forest. If there was anywhere she could tap into the energy forces she drew from, it seemed like it would be there.]

Thanks, I appreciate it. I've never really been so good at fighting.

[She was better than she used to be, but not by much.]

Um...it's nothing really special. Most of what I do is natural magic. Um...meaning it taps into nature and follows the rules set by nature. I don't tend to do manipulation or summonings so much.

I guess that makes us opposites.

[ Not in the monster fighting. Ange was never good at that either. It just wasn't something she really had to ever do back home. But this place and the place before it sure have forced her to adapt real quick.

No, instead it's the magic she's talking about. ]

I've never done nature magic. .. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've never even seen anyone do it where I come from. [ Does it even exist in her world? She has no idea. ] Summoning is what comes easiest for me, but I've been practising with reality manipulation in this place for a while too now.

[It was easy to guess what Ange meant. It wasn't really a surprise either. Willow was much the same, as were other witches she knew. Tara always seemed the odd one out, with strong values and codes that came with her magic.]

My mom taught me all of this. She was special too, like me. I guess it was a family thing. She had a strong sense of what was right and wrong, so she made sure I followed rules for how magic is used and drawn.

She always believed it was gift given to us, so we shouldn't abuse it.

[She shrugged her shoulders. She still missed her mother and it showed on her face. Magic was one of the ways she still felt connected to her.]

I'm not so much "nature" as I just draw its energy. I mean, and I follow the rules as much as possible about the laws of nature. If that makes sense?

Reality manipulation? Not like, manipulating people, I think? But illusions and stuff?

[ She nods. ]

Yeah, not.. manipulating people. [ Ange would hate that sort of power, really. Maybe she could do it if she trained her power that way, but she doesn't even think about it. Just the idea by itself is.. not great.

But that's not the main thing she's thinking about here. Instead she thinks about what Tara told her. About her mother. ]

It must have been nice though, learning magic from your mom. Or.. at least, it sounds nice to me.

Feburary Catch All - Wandering This Month

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