theriverperson

[theriverperson]

"Witch then," they agreed readily. Language changed so much over the years, they'd long since stopped caring overmuch about minor differences in terminology. A magic user was a magic user was a magic user, no matter the word used.

The outburst though had not revealed anything about Valor's lack of humanity to the River Person. Not over just a bit of confusion, and they had no reason to believe a magic user to be an entirely separate species. They'd seen all sorts of things over their long life.

Well, not in the most recent centuries spent under mountain. At least not regarding the outside world. Still, though.

"They did," they confirmed. "It was human mages," they paused a moment before shrugging and saying, "or witches, if you prefer, the difference is lost on me," and this wasn't even their second or third language, "but it was humans who cast the barrier. For a multitude of reasons, I imagine."

"Uh. Witch, actually," Valor corrected. Mage was a new one. He wasn't quite high powered enough in his magic to have earned that title. He hadn't had the chance to study any more magic since he'd gotten to the human realm.

The implications of magic had all but died out among humankind came as a shock to Valor. He'd thought the human realm had never had any magic, but . . . "Humans used to have magic?" Or maybe- Maybe they weren't actually ones that inherently had magic on their own but were humans descended from witches who had gotten trapped here? That would make sense - he'd heard that witches and humans could have viable children together, and if that was true then it was also possible for them to have bile sacs as well.

His outburst may have revealed himself as not human, but so long as this monster didn't go about telling every other person they met about it, he didn't mind in this particular case. He had already stated that he was a witch, after all.

[theriverperson]

I exist, I just started a new job today so pending replies might be another day or two.

[theriverperson]

"A fair reason," they granted, nodding their head with a bob of that hood of theirs. Not that they particularly minded what reason he had either way, it had just been a convenient conversation opener.

The magic use drew their attention and they watched as the staff vanished and the mantis atop it joined the man on his shoulder instead of vanishing with the rest of it. Curious, they wondered if the staff itself was a magical construct or if he was placing it somewhere and calling it back.

Seeing humans use magic was less unusual for them, who'd been alive along enough to remember them using it for more than just the war, but they understood why younger monsters might hesitate or jump to see such a thing. Personally, they were mostly just intrigued.

"A mage," they comment curiously. "I'd been of the impression magic had all but died out among humankind. I am grateful to find myself wrong, but I can't help but wonder how many of you there are." They were also a bit wary. Human mages had trapped them under the mountain before. Them existing did not mean anyone was in danger, but it did mean they had to be cautious.

That had to be magic covering their face. It looked like the same kind of thing that further concealed the faces of coven scouts or the golden guard where the mask couldn't cover. There was no sunlight reflecting off black fabric like there might have been had it been a cosplay.

And the way they were just . . . floating in one place despite the current of the water. Was that magic, too, or were they simply stuck in a shallow portion of the creek?

This was almost certainly a monster, though. Which meant it was likely safe to use magic in a more obvious way than he had been, and this particularly person didn't seem to mean any harm, so . . .

He looked at his staff, then desummoned it. The shaft disappeared into thin air while the mantis that topped it came to life and landed on his shoulder.

He returned his gaze to the cloaked figure and said, "They can stay out of water for longer. And it's fun to watch them eat in your hand."

[theriverperson]

Allowing the wooden pole they'd been using to pole their raft down the waterway to sink in and merge once more with the wood of their skiff, River casually directs the currents of the water to bring themself a bit closer (they didn't want to yell, that would be rude) and then to keep the skiff still, water simply flowing around where they were.

It was easy, for them. Using their magic to direct the water was as straightforward as moving their arm, especially when it was small amounts like they were directing now and not entire tides.

"Hello," they greeted back with a curious sort of cheerfulness in their voice, and their voice was really all most had to go off of too, seeing as their hood concealed their face with a darkness that was obviously unnatural in its near-totality. True, it was possible to see through it when very close, but people often did not look very close.

"An interesting way to fish," they comment, further amused. "And an interesting fish to be fishing for."

When Valor noticed the cloaked being watching him, he spooked, and stared back. He'd never seen a monster in person before, but based off the pictures he'd seen, they tended to look a lot like the demons of the demon realm (and that had, in fact, been an assumption of his - that they were demons who had crossed into the human realm long ago).

This person also looked like someone that would be more likely to be seen in the demon realm than the human, as cloaks that obscured faces were definitely more common to see there than here, but none of their actual features could be seen. Which meant that either this was a really dedicated cosplayer to be out on the water like this, or this was, in fact, a monster.

Valor dipped the crayfish back underwater and stood, readjusting his bandana to make sure it properly covered his ears. He kept his hand on his staff just in case they meant harm.

". . . Hello?" he ventured.

[theriverperson]

River mostly just ferried their skiff up and down the various waterways whenever they had time to kill. It was nice, being able to see new waters. Getting to know them. How they flowed and moved, the little intricacies that made one different from another.

This particular stream was interesting so far. A stream, yes, not a large river, so it was good their boat was a skiff and not something with a deeper bottom to it. That did better in shallower waters, which streams sometimes could be.

The disturbance of the water did catch their attention, but seeing as it was the crawfish that was summoned and not the water itself, at first they'd took it for a bird snatching something from the water rather than a mage. Still, they curiously watched from a distance once they'd seen it was not just a bird.

Too often did they forget that the sight of a robed figure with a mysteriously dark hood looking at someone was often seen by humans as eerie. They'd grown entirely too used to being seen as reasonably normal, when in the Underground with only other monsters nearby.

@theriverperson

With the emergence of monsters, something entirely unexpected for someone who was constantly learning new things about the human realm and hadn't even so much as heard of them before, Valor found himself being a little more risky with his magic usage than usual. It still might make something of a scene if someone found him using it, but at least he'd no longer be a unique person to point to.

So it was that he was using magic at the stream today. Not for anything serious. He just wanted to hold a crayfish, really, so he was lying on his stomach with one hand in the water, the other holding his staff to cast first a summoning spell and then a calming spell on the crayfish that had crawled up onto him. It snagged the mealworm he'd put on his hand to make up for the disturbance, and Valor just laid there to watch it eat.

[theriverperson]

I’m still alive, just been more active on Discord than Tumblr. Feel free to toss me a message or something if you’re interested in rp.

[theriverperson]

[theriverperson]

https://pin.it/6aGqufU

[theriverperson]

[theriverperson]

fabien_dendievel

[theriverperson]

婉茹 陳

[theriverperson]

婉茹 陳

[theriverperson]

[theriverperson]

by usk.com_usk.com_

[theriverperson]

Aesthetic Moodboards // “Anywhere Is” by Enya

I wonder if the stars sign the life that is to be mine, and would they let their light shine enough for me to follow?

[theriverperson]

Just felt like checking in and seeing how everyone was doing since lots of folks have stuff going on and the heat wave is trying to melt everyone.

[theriverperson]