896/Magic User's Club Practice Session

Magic User's Club Practice Session
Date of Scene:	21 January 2016
Location:	Uminari City - Central Harbor
Synopsis:	Firebird gets a lesson in magic from Miss Blue, and the two discuss learning strategy.
Cast of Characters:	Mikoto Nakajima, Minoke Sato

---

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
It's a bright and sunny January day in Uminari, and classes have let out for the day. The new school term has gotten started, much to the mistaste of many involved, and it keeps the young students busy until mid-afternoon.

Still, there's a couple of hours of sun left, and 'Miss Blue' intends to make use of them. Which leads to the following text message turning up on Minoke's phone:

Up for a practice session? Uminari Harbor, I'll be waiting.

Indeed, she can be found waiting there, well out over the water and skating about on a cushion of mana-infused air. She waves cheerfully as she sees Firebird approach, beckoning her closer.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Minoke Sato got the invitation and rolls down toward the harbor. She sees the mage floating on midair. She goes into an alley, looks around, and activates Swirling Vortex, turning into Firebird. She smiles as she then floats upwards, engulfed in her gravity aura which is both her flight spell AND a defensive standby spell as she floats towards the harbor. "A bit showy, isn't this?" she finally asks as she ends up hovering near you.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Miss Blue skates to a stop, flashing a grin at her young student. "Not really. We're far enough out to be out of casual view, and people are used to odd sights out here. Couple of weeks ago somebody was tossing giant boulders out into the water here." She waves a hand dismissively.

"I did promise you some lessons, did I not? How about we start with a bit of flying practice?" She waves a hand, and a double-dozen motes of light appear, visible over the harbor, each perhaps a hundred yards or more apart, and ranging from mere feet above the water to over a hundred feet up.

"Carnwennan is sending your Swirling Vortex a data packet with the course, I'll need you to tag each point in a specific order. With your hand, not from a distance. Feel up to it?"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "That sounds like it coudl be bad for boats and stuff." She then smiles. "Sure," she states. "At first my aura made me a little dizzy when using it, but I'm used to it now." She taps Vortex as it starts flashing, a black arrow pointing at the 'first' mote of light. "Shall I start now, Miss Blue?" she asks.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
The data packet provided adds a Heads-Up Display to your view, highlighting the next three markers in sequence, numbered in order. "Good to hear," Miss Blue replies. She holds up a stopwatch, although it's mostly symbolic as the Devices will be able to time things much more precisely.

"On your mark... get set... 3... 2... 1... go!"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods as she moves towards the first point of light - quickly gaining speed. She touches the point of light, as her course bends to the next one. Using gravity is a strange way of flying - it almost looks like she's 'falling' but in the direction of her choice as she tags the secnod point, and then has to stop to reorient herself for the third for it's in a complmetely different direction.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Miss Blue hovers near the start line, watching you zoom along from marker to marker. The points are arrange to set you on a slalom, up and down, back and forth. It takes you further out over the water, and fortunately steers well away from incoming boats.

After you get about halfway through the course, it looks like she's been getting sneaky - the marker-points are starting to move. Not far, at first, but enough to make sure you need to think quickly as you fly.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird squeaks. "Hey!" she chirps as she has to quickly ch ange direction and shiver. Sudden course changes don't appeaer to be her strong suit. She missed the 8th point and had to change course to go back. "Damnit," she mutters as she slides back and tags it. She then moves towards the 9th star.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"You're doing good so far," comes Miss Blue's voice over a telepathic channel. The next few markers need a bit of forethought to tag quickly, as each one moves a little faster than the one before. "How're you feeling energy-wise? Still got enough to keep going for a while?"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird smiles. <<I'm alright for now,>> she tells you over that channel as she manages to tag the 9th star. She quick tags the 10th as well. She then approaches the 11th star - then smirks as she holds her hand out. "Distortion Draw," she chants as a small spell circle forms and drags the star to her. She tags it and then moves to the final star.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
And the course is finally over as you tag the last star, and there's Miss Blue waiting for you with a smile, and a report of your time. "Good run, student of mine," she tells you. "You've been practicing flying a lot, I take it?"

She flashes a little grin. "Maneuverability in combat is a very important skill, so we're going to work on it a bit more. I want you to run the course twice more today, then we'll do some shooting practice, alright?"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "Sudden changes of direction aren't really my strong suit..." she muses as she floats there. "I know I cheated when I pulled the 11th star to me..." she cooooos. "But alright - I'll do it again." She then begins to execute the course again - and now her speed is improving.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
The markers are all moving, now, some in different directions, to up the difficulty. But it still isn't too hard - she'll save that for later sessions. She gives you another asessment of the run when you finish, then sends you straight into the third run.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird still seems to have difficulty with sudden shiftings of her flight path, and after the second and third installation she return to you, slumping as she pants. "Ummmmmm...." she murmurs. "Wow - that's tiring. Maybe I do need a different flying spell...."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"I wondered about that," Miss Blue comments as she records your time for the third run. "I know you're most comfortable working with the gravity theme, but there are more efficient ways to handle it. I'll need to work with your Device for a bit to set up something that you can use, though."

She shows you a playback of a couple of spots where you had trouble. "This is one of the key weaknesses, rapid changes of direction. You're going to need to work on that - dodging enemy fire is going to be important, you can't tank everything on your shield and expect to get through that way."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods slowly, smiling faintly. "Whatever spell I use, it has to be able to be in use constantly. Walking is not possible for me..." She clicks her tongue, sighing softly as she rubs her forehead. "But yes, gravity shifting maybe isn't the best way of travel, but I don't know anything else.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"So it has to be as mana-efficient as possible," Miss Blue muses, nodding. "I'll do some research, check on the spells some of my colleagues use, see how theirs compare to mine and what we can do for you." She claps you on the shoulder.

"And I'm still looking into ways we can work around your wound, as well. It's a very delicate subject, though, so it's going to take some time."

She lets you rest for another minute or two, and offers a bottle of sports drink to help you recover. "Feel up to doing a bit of shooting?"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "Sure," she states softly. "I've veloped a few skills on my own. Mostly involving taking objects around me - or conjuring metal spheres - and firing them at high speeds."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Definitely a useful skill. I like to stack up a lot of little shots and use them in a stream, but sometimes you need a harder single blow to break through a shield." Miss Blue waves a hand, and the various markers coalesce into a series of eight rings, each one perhaps a meter across, numbered in your heads-up display.

"Let's see you put one shot through each, in order. Use whatever spell you want, for now."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods as she chants, "Satellite Shotput." A black magic circle forms under her, and then about a dozen small metal spheres starts orbiting her. "If I have no useful objects to fling, I can create these. Or I can create a large one." She points as she grabs one of the spheres, holds it in her hand. She then lets go as it hovers there, then it fires with startling speed and goes right through the ring and then falls into the water. She then continues with the others.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Miss Blue nods, watching the shots land. This first round isn't so much about accuracy as it is measuring the mana expenditure of each shot. "You've been putting some thought into this, good. And it's probably the best way to go with a gravity-based weapon. I could see arranging some sort of railgun-style propulsion for higher velocity, but that'll be much more mana-expensive. I'll do some work on it and see how big that'll go and if it's worth the effort."

"How are you feeling, as far as energy levels? Up for a bit more, or are you starting to get tired?"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "All I do is accelerate the shotputs to 5 gs. Then I let physics take its course." She sighs softly. "I could accelerate it faster, but that would seem to be fast enough for my purposes." She then finishes the other tests. "I'm getting a bit tired, but I'm alright."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Miss Blue nods. "If you start to get tired enough that you're not sure you can hold your flight, let me know immediately, and we'll stop. I'll help you back to shore. I don't want you falling in that water at this time of year, it's pretty darn frigid."

She waves a hand and the numbers on the targets re-arrange themselves. "I'd like you to do three more rounds of shooting; the targets will re-arrange automatically after each round. Just try to tag the targets in order."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird does the second round and then lowers her hand. "I need a break," she states softly. "I made sure to work on my accuracy first. I thin I bullseyed all the targets... fortunately they weren't moving."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"We'll work on moving targets another time. I wanted to get a feel for your endurance today, more than anything else, and an idea of what spells you had to work with. We've got some good material to work with."

The targets dissipate from sight, the spell released, and she starts towards shore, gesturing for you to follow. "Accuracy's not hard to work on. I'm going to have Carnwennan send Swirling Vortex a series of simulations for you to run. It's all internal, there's no actual spellcasting going on - think of it like Virtual Reality. I'll want you to run at least an hour a day on it when we aren't meeting like this, do you think you can manage that?"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird follows you. "Yeah - I'll do it in my room before bed. It doesn't require anything, does it?" she asks. " I mean - I can do it in teh safety of my bedroom, right?" She moves to find something to sit on and sits on it.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
There isn't anything to sit on until we get to shore, but we can get there in only a few minutes from departing the practice area. "Absolutely. You can do it lying in bed, if you want."

She offers a hand to help you keep up until we reach the shoreline. "Hungry? There's a decent little noodle shop just off the docks."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird smiles. "Yeah - that'd be nice. Should we de-power, or go in like this?" she asks softly. "Ummmmm...." She smiles fanitly.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"It's probably best for us to keep up the disguise, just in case someone saw us. If you're running low enough that you need to drop it, though, we can find a private place for you to change."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "If I can sit without flying for a little while I'll be fine - I dont' want to be seen in the wheelchair in henshin - I'd rather not one of my friends recognize my chair and know who I am." she smiles as she follows you to the noodle shop and then plops down, the black aura winking out as she sighs. "I don't look too weird for here, do I?" she asks.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Strange? Not in the slightest, except for the mask." She chuckles lightly. "Sure, we'll get a few eyes, maybe a few people taking pictures. But that's why we have the disguise spells built into the Barrier Jackets." She slides into her own seat and smiles. "Take your time to rest, we'll be fine."

Menus are opened and reviewed, and the fare looks to be about what one would expect of such a restaurant. Miss Blue orders a large bowl for herself, a cola, and some rice balls, and suggests you order anything you like.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird orders herself the same thing and starts to eat. "Hmmmmmm...." she muses softly. "So - what do you think of me so far, sensei?" she asks as she clicks her tongue. "Finding a new way to travel is first priority, I think."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"I agree, it's a huge drain on your mana and that's going to be very limiting in your combat ability." She takes a sip of broth, then starts working on the noodles.

"Your shooter spell is fairly effective, at least. There's room for improvement there, but not nearly as much. For now I'll have you working on speed and accuracy with that... along with target selection."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "What I couldn't show you is that I could fire multiple of those spheres at once. And... I can make any nearby object weightless and fire it too..." She smiles. "I... am careful with my choice of projectiles - I'd hate to wreck someone's car."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"That kind of forethought will serve you well, student of mine." Miss Blue smiles lightly, savoring her noodle soup. "I'll make sure to add multi-shot tests to the next round of simulations."

She leans back in her seat for a bit, relaxing. "How are you doing in school these days?"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird sighs softly as she rubs her forehead. "School and I... aren't really good friends. For a long time, I was... so depressed I didn't care. Seriously. Idid the bare minimum to get by, and a few times I thought of... ending it all. But then when Vortex came into my life - everything changed. I'm even doing better in school."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"I can certainly understand that," Miss Blue agrees. "In your position I'd have issues myself. I'm glad you've started to work your way out of them, though. You're going to want to focus on your maths if you want to do any serious work beyond pre-built spells, there's a reason we have AI computers to help us cast them."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird blinks. "So far I've just used the spells that Vortex has shown me. I have no idea how to make other spells - but I guess a spell is more of a complex equation than some magic hocus-pocus like you read of in a fantasy novel? I guess that what happens when a computer does magic...?"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"Well, it's what happens when you've had thousands of years of high-tech civilization performing the same kind of scientific study of magic that we do of, say, physics and chemistry. In the Belkan Empire, magic was something that almost everyone could use, and it was fully integrated into their society - as much a natural part of everything as, oh, electricity." Miss Blue smiles slightly, and starts in on one of the rice balls.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "But you said that my Device was... Midchildan or something." She blinks. "I guess this Device's culture is the same thing. So... if I could... figure out how this thing works I could create more spells on the fly?" she asks. "I mean, I've asked Vortex to figure out how to do things like how to blast things and it came up with that shooter spell."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Miss Blue nods, "You can, yes. It's got a few basic spells - probably things that the previous owner came up with - but they're clearly not perfectly adjusted for you." She drinks down the last of her broth, the noodles finished. "That's one of the things we'll be working on."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "Yeah - my first priority is to find a better flying spell. That aura is useful but it's... draining." She finishes her own soup, clicking her tongue as she looks down. "My wheelchair is three blocks from here..." She hmmmmmmms. She rubs her forehead. "I don't think the previous owner was paralyzed, but Vortex has no records of who that might be."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"It's entirely possible that they were doing research into gravity, or something similar. It seems to be a rather unusual style from what I've seen of other mages." Not that she's seen all that many, really. But she puts up a good show of knowing what she's talking about. "Worst come to worst, we can call a taxi, but three blocks isn't that far. If all else fails I can carry you."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "I have enough energy to get to my chair," she states. "The rest helps. Maybe I need to see if I can work out a way to fly without the gravity aura." She ponders. "I mean, the aura has other uses. I can lift OTHERS with it as well."

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"That's useful, yes... but again, expensive in terms of energy. Still... you can evacuate wounded from a combat area, or help get civilians to safety... all sorts of applications for that sort of thing."

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "yes. My thought exactly. I'll just have to hash out with Vortex some way to do this. Could you send me what YOU use for your basic flight spell?"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
Miss Blue nods. "I'll be glad to. It'll probably take Vortex some work to adapt it for you, though, since it's Belkan-style." She's not even sure a Midchildan device will be able to read it, but she has her Device send it over anyway.

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "Well, let's see what can happen. Or some other way can be worked out..." she muses. "Thanks again, Sensei. Until next time, maybe?"

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
"It's been a pleasure." Miss Blue rises from her seat, offering her hand to help you up. "Shall I walk you down to your ride, or are you all set?"

Minoke Sato has posed:
Firebird nods. "I'm fine," she states softly. "Thanks for your time." She then floats over to the door and goes to leave.

Mikoto Nakajima has posed:
With a slight bow, Miss Blue leaves you to depart. She pauses for a moment to leave enough money to pay for the meal, then she too takes her leave.