He pauses, both at how readily he'd admitted his uncertainty and at how easily he had forgotten that he had a bonafide witch in town. His nerves must be getting to him.
"I just kept seeing this formation in my dreams," he admits, figuring he might as well own up to the whole thing. "I figured I might as well make it happen when I was awake."
She nods in acknowledgement as she steps closer, before very carefully stepping over the line of candles so that she can see what it looks like from the inside. Sigils can be very powerful things, but they can also be quite dangerous when you don't know where they're coming from.
He's half-joking, half-serious. But Stefan keeps multiple fire extinguishers in his room for Reasons now, and none of them are particularly good.
The circle was a complete one, with symbols representing life, fidelity, wisdom, and trust. Stefan's nothing if not precise: he'd copied each symbol until they were perfect replicas from old grimoires.
"I'm not sure. I'm guessing this either strengthens my powers or makes the truth clearer?" He pauses. "I didn't have powers as a human, so this is all new to me."
Freya nods in agreement as she looks everything over, before moving to sit next to him. "When I was first learning to control my magic, I caused a lot of damage that I didn't mean to. Unfortunately, setting fires can be part of the growing pains, one way or another. You seem to be going through the same."
He grimaces at the idea. “Yeah, like delayed puberty.”
Turns out, when a guy is immortalized at seventeen, his body and brain hadn’t quite finished developing – and magic only seemed to exacerbate everything. As he was learning the hard way.
More seriously, he peers over at her, “How’d you manage to get it all under control?”
It's really the simplest and most efficient solution. She caused a lot of damage when she was learning, but eventually she did learn. That's the important thing.
"They aren't wrong when they say that practice makes perfect."
So much for a magic answer. Stefan sighs, slumping his shoulders as he inadvertently extinguishes his circle of candles. In the pitch-black darkness, it's easier to hide his disgruntlement, but - well, he also can't see a damn thing.
"Damn." He reaches out towards the nearest candles and re-lights them. "There really isn't an easier way?"
She laughs, before shaking her head. "Unfortunately not. Unless you want me to bind your magic so that you can't use it at all." There is no cheat sheet for magic. Only practice, or no magic at all.
Go figure. The one time he wanted an easy solution, it wouldn't appear like magic.
"I think I'll pass," he says with a disappointed sigh, reaching out and re-lighting a few more candles, this time with slightly more finesse. "Like you said. Practice makes perfect."
"I was hoping you'd say that." She smirks a bit as she watches him, before leaning back and look at the woods with a soft sigh. "I've missed open areas like this. The world used to be so much more quiet."
He follows her gaze, only to look up at the sky and its lack of brilliant stars. Even out here in Mystic Falls, light pollution had caught up with the woods - and what had once been a glittering canopy was now a clear dark sky.
"They're still out there." Stefan grins conspiratorially as he gets the rest of the fiery circle going - and in turn, mimicking the glittering canopy of stars he had seen as a boy. "You've just gotta look a little harder."
Freya smirks a bit at that grin, watching as the lights sprung up around them. Magic is always a bit of a turn on, even if she so rarely dates actual witches, and she can't help when that smirk turns into a grin.
"Oh really? Are you going to recreate the Norwegian sky over a thousand years gone?"
"I was thinking more, Mystic Falls, a hundred and fifty years ago..." He raises his eyebrows as he settles in his circle. "But if that's what you want, that's exactly what you're gonna get."
He just has to focus on what he imagines those constellations to be, and project them up on the night sky a la some astral projection (see! He's been reading, kind of!), right? One small problem: he knows Mystic Falls better than Norway, and so even with his best attempts, the false, glittering stars and constellations resemble his home more than Freya's.
"You just... might have to describe it," he admits with a small huff.
She laughs a bit as the stars don't quite line up, before shaking her head as she looks up and leans into his shoulder. "No, this is fine. You should stick with what you know. It'll be easier to maintain the spell."
When he gets better at it, she can really try to challenge him, but until then they can just focus on the basics.
Easier, she says, as if maintaining this canvas wasn't already exhausting.
Yet her laughter's worth it, and Stefan can't quite help laughing along with her as he shifts the constellations (North Star and all) back towards what he remembers of his childhood. Some days, that seems like forever ago - and then he hears his heartbeat, and how sweaty his palms feel from a simple astral projection and the reality hits him all over again.
So he says, as if this were the easiest thing, "If you're sure."
A prouder man might’ve refused the help, but Stefan knows – and trusts – Freya’s offer with his entire heart. He doesn’t think twice about accepting her hand, and lightly intertwining his fingers in hers.
“Thanks.” He beams at her. “For being here for me.”
She nods in agreement, before offering a small smile. "It's my pleasure. It's nice to have another witch to spend time with." She hasn't had that kind of community ... ever. Even if it's just one other person, she intends to enjoy it while it lasts.
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deathlessness) wrote2017-06-25 03:31 pm
no subject
He pauses, both at how readily he'd admitted his uncertainty and at how easily he had forgotten that he had a bonafide witch in town. His nerves must be getting to him.
"I just kept seeing this formation in my dreams," he admits, figuring he might as well own up to the whole thing. "I figured I might as well make it happen when I was awake."
no subject
"Has there been anything else in the dreams?"
no subject
He's half-joking, half-serious. But Stefan keeps multiple fire extinguishers in his room for Reasons now, and none of them are particularly good.
The circle was a complete one, with symbols representing life, fidelity, wisdom, and trust. Stefan's nothing if not precise: he'd copied each symbol until they were perfect replicas from old grimoires.
"I'm not sure. I'm guessing this either strengthens my powers or makes the truth clearer?" He pauses. "I didn't have powers as a human, so this is all new to me."
no subject
no subject
Turns out, when a guy is immortalized at seventeen, his body and brain hadn’t quite finished developing – and magic only seemed to exacerbate everything. As he was learning the hard way.
More seriously, he peers over at her, “How’d you manage to get it all under control?”
no subject
It's really the simplest and most efficient solution. She caused a lot of damage when she was learning, but eventually she did learn. That's the important thing.
"They aren't wrong when they say that practice makes perfect."
no subject
"Damn." He reaches out towards the nearest candles and re-lights them. "There really isn't an easier way?"
no subject
no subject
"I think I'll pass," he says with a disappointed sigh, reaching out and re-lighting a few more candles, this time with slightly more finesse. "Like you said. Practice makes perfect."
no subject
no subject
"They're still out there." Stefan grins conspiratorially as he gets the rest of the fiery circle going - and in turn, mimicking the glittering canopy of stars he had seen as a boy. "You've just gotta look a little harder."
no subject
"Oh really? Are you going to recreate the Norwegian sky over a thousand years gone?"
no subject
He just has to focus on what he imagines those constellations to be, and project them up on the night sky a la some astral projection (see! He's been reading, kind of!), right? One small problem: he knows Mystic Falls better than Norway, and so even with his best attempts, the false, glittering stars and constellations resemble his home more than Freya's.
"You just... might have to describe it," he admits with a small huff.
no subject
When he gets better at it, she can really try to challenge him, but until then they can just focus on the basics.
no subject
Yet her laughter's worth it, and Stefan can't quite help laughing along with her as he shifts the constellations (North Star and all) back towards what he remembers of his childhood. Some days, that seems like forever ago - and then he hears his heartbeat, and how sweaty his palms feel from a simple astral projection and the reality hits him all over again.
So he says, as if this were the easiest thing, "If you're sure."
no subject
Whatever makes maintaining the spell easier for him. She knows what he's attempting is quite difficult, so every little bit helps.
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“Thanks.” He beams at her. “For being here for me.”
no subject