#thread 𖤓 vicoya & alessia

[vicoya]

when: recent days with: @alessiathepath where: the olympian library notes: 4 u my love

It'd been years since Coya had stepped foot in the Tower's library. It was strange to think about, considering how much time she'd spent here when she was studying to become an Olympian. The Legion ultimately ended up being the ideal place to learn blood magic, given it's ties to the Blight, but there was only so much they could teach her. The Aetherian's had left many people desperate for solutions, and Vicoya was one such person.

It seemed like every day, a new Legionnaire joined their ranks, a new person for her to protect. The mission to the mines had brought her nearly to her brink - a sign to her that she wasn't strong enough, as is. She hadn't yet told any of her fellow Legionnaires about her plan just yet, for she didn't want to risk them talking her out of it. Her plan wasn't really a plan yet, even. She just knew she needed to become more powerful, and she was willing to do whatever necessary to make that happen.

She'd made the trip to Eterna, hoping the library had updated their tomes on blood magic since she'd last visited. They were normally in a more... restricted area of the library, which she had privy to access as an honorary Olympian. She hadn't expected to find anyone else lurking about, until she rounded a corner to stumble into a familiar face. Their books went sprawling to the floor, but she managed to catch the other witch before they tumbled over, too. "Alessia! Are you alright, dear? Forgive me. I wasn't quite paying attention to my surroundings. Not very Legionnaire of me, I suppose."

[vicoya]

While all Witches at the Tower learned the very basics across the various schools of magic, Coya had never found herself apt to manipulate the elements. They were unpredictable, and she found her deepest connection to nature was with plants given the life that flowed through them. The elements could give and take life in their own indirect ways, however. She normally associated them with the latter. But each Witch had their place, a balance struck between them to keep the world from plunging into another cataclysm.

"I've great admiration for Witches who can tame the elements and bend them to their will. It takes great strength not to let the raw power of the earth overwhelm you." It also took great strength not to overwhelm others with its' potential for destruction. Blood magic was unfortunately associated with grim evils and destruction itself, but Coya never viewed it as such. To manipulate the very essence of life to protect it was ever her goal, and to use such dark magic to bring light to the world gave her purpose. She chuckled at Alessia's choice of adjective. "It is intense, I suppose. There is no purer form of life, between the blood and the soul." She smiled fondly, then. "I suppose I've always been very... passionate about my studies, and my job. You wouldn't be here if you weren't."

Alessia smiled at the title, and the smile was genuine enough someone might have thought she was being sheepish. But the witch wasn't the shy type, and so she amended the automatic smile by curling her lips into a more playful grin as she watched the other help pick up her books. "Oh..." Confused for a moment before it looked like understanding dawned on her features." Sage. Witty." She rolled her eyes, but was grinning again as she took her book back.

"You know, if I was any better at manipulating the body, I'd love to take a look at your book. Though I'm particular to the elements myself." She made to walk, looking back and expecting they'd make their way to a table together. "You didn't strike me as the... blood witch type. Sounds very..." Questionable? Potentially mean? Vicoya came off as the gentlest soul to walk this planet. " --- Intense." Though she supposed Legionnaires had an intense reputation. And, last time Alessia saw Vicoya, she'd been intense enough with her healing she had passed out. It was all rather curious, curious enough she didn't mind to chat. Alessia usually kept to herself in the Tower.

[vicoya]

Vicoya felt like she had reached the limits of what magic the Legion could teach her. Blood magic wasn't entirely unique to Legionnaires, but few others outside the Legion understood it's complexities, nor had the constitution to stomach them. Every Legionnaire had at least one forte with blood magic after all through surviving the Joining, and each of them had a magical concoction of darkspawn blood twisting through their veins. What better than to harness that corruption, and use it to fight against those who had created it in the first place? It wasn't something Olympians, locked away in their Towers, would understand easily. But that didn't mean they hadn't tried, in the years she'd been away. Thus, she'd come to their library in search of new knowledge.

"I'm glad to say I'd expect to see you here, Accepted." Freydis had told Coya of Alessia's acceptance into the Tower, and the healer was always pleased to see young witches succeed. She helped the girl pick up their dropped books, grabbing one about healing potions whilst Alessia grabbed one on blood magic. "We'll see if it's interesting. It might not contain anything I don't already know." Coya's soft smile kept her statement from sounding like a brag. "If you're looking for sage, you've found her." Her smile turned into a satisfied grin, at her pun.

Alessia prided herself on being observant, but that didn't quite happen when her mind was swimming with the list of reagents for a healing potion. Yarrow, sage, dittany... The list and instructions went on and on and the witch was determined to memorize it all. Accepted or not, there were clear weaknesses in her magic and knowledge she wanted to continue studying in earnest. As she mouthed the words and repeated them in her head, another body went colliding into her's and the witch was forcibly extracted from her studying. She nearly snapped at the other one to watch where they were going before she noted the fiery hair. She recognized the soft, kind blue eyes and she could not bring herself to be angry. The healer who had saved her brother and his leg.

"Well, I knew you were an Olympian but I still didn't expect to see you here... Legionnaire." Her tone wasn't unkind in the least, but neither was it full of glee. Instead, she was simply curious. Alessia kept eye contact as she bent down to pick up some of the books. One of them was on blood magic and she did not remember taking that one out. "Or... picking out such interesting reads." She found herself grinning with an inquisitive quirk of her eyebrow as she offered it back to Vicoya.