fandomhigh | How To Avoid Misadventure, Monday, Period 4

"They say trust must be earned over time," Morrigan stated abruptly once the class had arrived. "This is hogwash."

She wasn't in the best mood. She was a horse, of all things, which was a form she had never learned, nor had any desire to learn. All attempts at regaining her human body were futile, but she could still shift into other animals and back. It was easiest to speak the common tongue as a horse, however, for some odd reason. Horses did not have vocal cords like humans.

"Either you trust someone to have the same goals as you for the moment, or you do not. What they plan to do after your goals have been accomplished, that is not something to concern yourself with when on a quest. If you die now because you did not bring all your resources to bear, it is certain that you cannot be betrayed later."

"Right, you're such a complete optimist," Alistair said. He wasn't rolling his eyes, but only by sheer feat of will. "But she does have a point, I guess. The best friends you'll have are the ones at your side when you're fighting the same evil. Bonds like that can shape in an instant, especially among honorable men and women. That's why the Grey Wardens work: we're all united against the same enemy. Where we're from, who we used to be, that isn't important any longer." He snorted in a sort of... annoyed way. "Being a pony isn't the same thing, just so you know. That's just up there with 'victims of badly placed spells'."

"Honor has no place in practicality," Morrigan pointed out. "Survival does. But, 'tis true, that those fighting with you against some 'evil,'" and yes, you could hear the finger-quotes there. "-are your staunchest allies."

"And so, 'tis time for you to test yourselves. Do you count yourself a good judge of character? If so, then find an ally to light your campfire with." Morrigan's smile probably wasn't friendly. "Do hope they do not set you on fire, and remember, 'tis them that would hold watch while you sleep."

Creepy, Morrigan, very creepy. And yes, she was aware that many of the students were also ponies. It just made the exercise vastly more amusing.

"Creeeeepy," Alistair said, dutifully. "Look, while you get around to this exercise, could someone maybe... scratch my back? I have this horrible itch near my hindquarters."

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Oh, how Kate wished she could stare things into flame. This wasn't the first time she'd wished it, either.

Just because she knew she couldn't, wouldn't stop her from trying, and between that and her all around irritation at her current shape, the consequential dip in control left her magic to coalescing into an invisible cloud of power around her.

Still she glared at her pile of sticks, and they stayed a dry and cold pile of sticks. This was destined to take a while.

Quinn trotted over to the pony who looked as frustrated as she felt. "How do you light a fire without thumbs?" she asked. "I'm pretty sure humans are the only animals that barbecue."

"I'm thinking you just don't light fire," Kate answered. "Unless you're her," she added, nodding towards Angelica with a hint of bitterness.

"You can't breathe flame, right?" A girl... pony, could always hope.

"If I could I wouldn't be looking for a partner," Quinn pointed out, and flopped onto the ground. "This suuuuucks. Why don't I have powers?"

Fat lot of good Kate's were doing her right now. In part, that was likely due to her never learning a spell that would do it. There probably was one. That part almost bugged her more.

"I don't know, do people in your world even have them?"

"No," Quinn admitted. "Which is totally unfair. Karla gets to be a magical unicorn pony."

She flicked her head to the side to look at Kate. "Why, do people in your world?"

"Some people," Kate answered, scuffing the ground near the pile of sticks with a hoof, not really thinking it would help. In actuality, it was about a third of the population in her world used or relied on magic in some way. Considering the depleted world population, that wasn't as many as you'd imagine.

"But there aren't that many decent firebugs." Kate for example, couldn't just pull flame out of thin air.

"Firebugs," Quinn repeated with a louder snort than she meant. (Pony nostrils.) "No, I get to be from the plain old boring world without magic."

She eyed Kate's pile of sticks. "If we had a lens, we could use the sun, right?"

"Hypothetically. Yeah." They could talk in those. "And I could flap my cutesy pink wings and fan it."

"That's teamwork right there." Which was the point of this exercize, and they should definitely pass for that.

"That works. I say we totally passed," Quinn said. "We're horses. What do they want?"

Exactly Quinn. Exactly. Kate nodded, assuming that a mostly rhetorical question, and flicking her braided mane from one shoulder to the other before she sat down at her non-existent fire.

"What's my ally's name?" That was generally a good thing to get from someone you hoped not to set you on fire.

"Quinn," Quinn said, smiling a wee pony smile. "what's my ally's name?"

How To Avoid Misadventure, Monday, Period 4

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire

Re: Exercise 2: Light Your Fire