Voice Testing Post

[use_everything]

Canon

A.

[You may find yourself facing large, heavy gates. Behind the bars, you can easily see the enormous, austere residence spread both tall and wide against a backdrop of a lake, stables and a small, private cemetery. The unbridled horse grazing, unhitched beside a carriage, by a liveried servant is in direct opposition to an obviously futuristic lightflier not far from it.

Even the guard that narrows to nervous attention holds both a sword and a strange, small device.]

And you are?

[The voice comes from behind.

Aral, for his part, neither looks, nor feels the part of the lord. Having taken the long way, treacherous and unmonitored paths and foothills back to the residence, he smells of sap, a chemical tinge of smoke and the exertion it took to get back. His green dress uniform had survived in all but the pressed edges, looking as if he'd intended the slight look of disarray and set jaw.

He lifts a hand, stilling the guard from comment on him, and focuses all of his attention on this newcomer.]

B.

[The Counts and Minsters poured out of the building first. The debates of the evening being traded in words so sharp that they might as well have been blows. Aral followed much more sedately, having taken a bit of time to brief his intelligence officer and leave orders for the evening.

It's by chance he stumbled across a stranger, enough out of place to inspire both caution and curiosity in equal measures.]

You seem lost.

Mask or Menace

C.

[It helped to liken the city to a space station. It had the bustle of a large hub.. the rowdy clash and wild fusion of fashions and cultures that defied any easy identification of a trend or perhaps some anthropological hint as to the people - and species... intelligent and alien, the very thought sent his mind into fits of fantasy and planning at once. It was like water, as far as he could tell. Formless, impossible to grip, but could fill the air around you and sweep one far away should he let it. There were colors and layers fitting the ghem Cetagandan... lack of modesty known to the Betans... the maliable gathering of anything adorned by a Jacksonian mindset...

And yet, nothing that fit anything else.

There was only one way to begin. Diplomatically.]

Might I ask a question?

OTHER

[Pick your poison, or let me know and I'll cater a starter to you.]

Comments

[keep_nothing]

[ She can't deny his point there, not when she feels like she's creaking with every small movement. ]

I think I should somehow practice before putting it to a live demonstration though. How do you make yours happen?

[dendarii]

[ It's a strange, unpleasant experience for someone who doesn't live with it the way Miles. He's just as fascinated by the reverse. ]

Depends ... my teleportation is more of a concentrated effort. For the resizing, I have to strain to go up and relax to go down.

[keep_nothing]

Your teleportation?

[dendarii]

-- Oh, yes. That's the other one. Caveat being I have to follow plumbing fixtures and come out sopping wet at the other side.

[keep_nothing]

Those still seem loads better than my powers.

[dendarii]

Funny, I was going to say the reverse.

[keep_nothing]

I don't suppose there's a way to trade them, is there.

[dendarii]

Not that I'm aware of. Alas. I'd gladly swap.

[keep_nothing]

It was worth an ask.

[ She straightens up (with a slight wince at the deep aches it stirs) and takes another deep breath to finish calming herself down from a few moments ago, ready to concentrate on using this absurd power. ]

So you said it was a concentrated effort. Do you just focus on it, will it to happen?

[dendarii]

[ Miles winces in sympathy. He knows that ache all too well; it's strange to see his mother bear it. ]

Yes, something like that. It's what I'd try first, anyway.

[keep_nothing]

[ She nods, more to herself than to Miles. She even closes her eyes, turning her attention inward, her concentrations floating away from the link. She feels a bit silly doing this, like trying to meditate and having recurring thoughts of if she had turned off the heating plate back home instead. Focus, Cordelia.

She concentrates on the name of the power if not the function; it's not a plasma mirror like she helped haul to Escobar, but she feels like it should somehow function the same. Why else would she get this power in particular. With that in mind, she sticks to what she knows. The field would need a power unit, some way to turn it on ... she imagines a switch in her mind, something she can flick on with a thought—

Miles, meanwhile, should suddenly see some kind of ... iridescence around his mother. Not quite a bubble and no color sifts of any kinds, but there's something surrounding her. Is it as solid as it looks> Or would it shatter like the thin glass it looks like? ]

[dendarii]

[ Oh. That's - rather pretty, in fact. If the telepathic link is still working, she may be able to feel his awe; if not, then his expression says enough. Flashy. Impressive. ]

... It's like a shield.

[keep_nothing]

[ She reopens her eyes when she hears him, not being able to see it from the inside. ]

What?

[dendarii]

It's - rather beautiful, actually. This iridescent bubble all around you.

[ He reaches out hesitantly, stopping just short of touching it. ]

[keep_nothing]

[ Watching his hand, eyes darting around herself too. ]

I don't see it ...

[dendarii]

It's right here. I'm going to touch it, all right?

[ He inches just close enough to make contact. ]

[keep_nothing]

I'm not sure that's—

[ There's a split second when he does touch it, cold and it gives a little under his touch—then it zaps at him, sending a shock through his whole body. ]

[dendarii]

[ Ow. The jolt goes through him - out the other side of his link, onwards towards Aral and/or Gregor. Meanwhile he has the most uncomfortable sense of a rubber band warping somewhere inside his head. He shoots back up to normal - past it by a few inches - and then back down again, slowly wobbling his way back towards baseline. The combination of the two at once was, quite frankly, nauseating. ]

[keep_nothing]

[ Cordelia flinches too, though not because of the feedback along the link, that was reflected away from her. Instead she got the agonizing jolt of Miles' pain at shooting up in size, the ache suddenly becoming agony at the rubber band snapping up and back. She hisses in a breath through clenched teeth. ]

[dendarii]

[ He wasn't kidding about it being worse to get larger. Those few inches above his baseline are worse than anything below it combined. With a faint gasp of his own, he manages to wrestle both powers back under control and settles, solidly, back against the couch. ]

-- Mother? Are you okay?

[keep_nothing]

[ Thanks, son. She takes a couple breaths before speaking, forcing herself still so she doesn't shake in front of Miles. That had hurt. ]

I'm fine. Guess it works, huh?

[dendarii]

Yes ... yes, I suppose it does. No need to test it further.

[ He swallows kind of thickly himself. ]

[keep_nothing]

Good to know.

[ Though she doesn't sound very glad of it at the moment. She eases back into the couch for a moment, needing to relax and let her muscles unwind from the sudden stress. ]

[dendarii]

[ Good job, Miles. Hurting your own mother with your nonsense. His sense of guilt is keen over the link. ]

... Sorry. I hadn't realized how badly that would backfire.

[keep_nothing]

[ She turns her head to face him, only causing a little tweak of ache in her neck. she reaches for his hand, trying to reassure him physically as well as through the link. ]

It's all right. I had an idea, just ... It's fine, Miles. Really.