A pouka lazily floated over from the pond as a Hunter clad in white leathers entered the room. It circled around her head once before nudging up against the Ghost floating by her shoulder, cooing softly. She didn't need its help, but the Ghost clearly did.
Lucid grunted, ducking under the fins of the cuddly pouka. "Would you stop that?" He huffed.
Khalom cupped a hand around Lucid and pulled him towards her chest. "You sure about that?" She asked as he hovered above her palms. "From what I've heard, these guys kind of instinctively know when something's wrong." She eyed him carefully as he wilted. She didn't need the pouka's ability to sense that something was wrong with him, and had been since the Witness used him to connect to the Veil.
".. I'll be fine," he said slowly. He wasn't fine. In time he would be.
But they weren't here for some pouka therapy. Khalom was here to see Osiris.
Outside of working with him during the race to secure the Veil, Khalom had very little experience with "The Grumpy Warlock to end all Grumpy Warlocks," as she referred to him, and the urgency of the matter hadn't allowed for casual interactions. She could sometimes have... problems with grumpy authority figures, but everything she heard about him didn't paint him as a hardass.
Just someone who didn't put up with bullshit and nonsense, which was a problem, considering Khalom was at least 75% bullshit and nonsense.
She approached his corner with as little extra energy as she could manage, holding in the urge to bound and bounce. "Ur, Osiris, sir?" Yes, that was respectful wasn't it? "Could I pester ya?"
Osiris had returned to Neomuna after a time spent back in the Last City, with Saint. It had been... healing, despite the direness of the situation. How long had it been since they had last just spent time together? And he had spoken to Ikora, to Zavala, to Saladin and Shaxx. Renewing old bonds, and explaining the situation as he saw it.
Now he had settled in his corner of the room with the pouka pond, because his work with the Veil could not be delayed forever, no matter how much it filled him with apprehension.
He sat on his low chair, journal open on his lap as he checked through notes, cross-referencing everything that they had seen with his own information, as well as the work of other scholars: Ulan-Tan, Pujari, Toland even. While the man was an arrogant fool who would need to be dealt with, he did have some insight.
He did not notice immediately when Khalom arrived, not until the young Guardian spoke. He looks up at her, eyes narrowed. The Young Wolf, or Fox as Saladin called her. The first to master Strand. An interesting figure from all that he has heard and seen.
"Uh, yeah!" Khalom nodded as Lucid de-compiled. "I've been trying something. Experimenting? I wanted your thoughts on it."
Strand had surprised her. Khalom had always been most comfortable with Void, the yawning abyss of nothing and everything. She did use Arc and Solar on occasion, and had even picked up Stasis to better understand her Fireteam member who had communed with the Pyramid on Europa. But Void just made sense. It was the first Light she had used, the instinctive power that came after Lucid had revived her for the first time. Sure, it needed her hungry and tired, and left her more so afterwards, but the weight of Void in her heart felt like home. It felt like a conversation with a good friend, someone you could talk to hours for and not feel the time passing by. It came to her naturally as breathing.
Strand? Strand was all that and more.
Finding the strange essence on Neomuna, and learning it was everywhere, something had awoken in Khalom, no pun intended. She flew on green threads, bore strange little creatures called Threadlings, and wove armour to protect herself. Those days training with Osiris had been eye opening. Letting go, going with the flow, she already embraced that way of thinking. Strand seemed like a natural extension of her personality and thoughts.
And now that there had been a lull, a tense quiet after the Witness invaded the Traveler, Khalom had some down time to see exactly what she could do with it.
"You know that Woven Armour stuff?" She asked. "There's been a few times where, if I'm moving fast enough, I can almost leave it behind? Kind of like a copy of me." She shook her head. "But when I'm trying to do it on purpose, it just collapses into a useless pile of green spaghetti. You had those..." She snapped her fingers, trying to remember what Forgot-Me-Not had told her. "Reflections? I think? I know it's not the same, but, I was wondering if you could help me make this more solid."
Osiris has eschewed mentoring and teaching for many years. Since his exile certainly, knowing that his Cult will hang on his every word and yet hear none of it. But even before then... it had become uncomfortable, cut into his already limited time, and as rumours had spread about him, people had become wary.
Returning to teaching since arriving on Neomuna has been a strange experience. Not unpleasant, but... strange, like putting on a set of clothing that has not been worn in a long time.
"Of course," he agrees, and sets aside his book. He stands up to face the young Guardian, listening to her story. Copies... interesting. It makes sense he supposes; he has known that the Light is capable of such for centuries. That the Darkness can do so is not much of a surprise. "Reflections yes, projections of Light. That these collapse when you try to 'do it on purpose' would suggest that your grip is too tight. Too much focus can be detrimental."
Khalom perked up as he agreed. Now that the urgency of the situation had died, now that mastering Strand in time was no longer of the essence, she hadn't expected him to say yes so readily. She just had no one else to ask given that, as far as she knew, only she and Osiris had any knowledge and skill with it.
"Don't tell my Fireteam leader that," Khalom laughed with a shake of her head. "She's always on my ass about paying attention and getting distracted by whatever whatever." Artemis was always dragging Khalom's focus back to the matter at hand, and she was thankful for that honestly. In return, Khalom kept Artemis from getting too buried under her duty. Part of why they made a good match.
"We, uh, might not want to do this here, though," she added, face darkening to a deep purple. "Sometimes it... explodes?" Khalom was glad that the population of Neomuna wasn't around, and that no one was around to be caught in the crossfire. Or see her more embarrassing failures that resulted in her being tangled in a yarn-barf of Strand strings.
"I did not say that you should drop your focus altogether," Osiris replies. "Merely that focusing too intently on Strand itself is likely to cause problems." It is like breathing in a way; if you really stop and think about it, try to make it something which is managed consciously, then it tends to become erratic.
"I remember your experiences while learning it," Osiris replies. "We can go to the retreat if you prefer." That area is clearer, and probably less likely to cause collateral damage.
Khalom suppressed a soft snicker, and made a mental note that Osiris took her joke literally. She'd have to take care not to let her humour get out of hand, or be too hard on him with it.
"I much prefer it, yes," she nodded. "Both for my dignity, and as to not cause any damage to these cute lil'guys." She gestured towards a few of the pouka who had begun to fly closer to herself and Osiris. "I don't think I could forgive myself if I hurt em." She brushed her hand along one, which purred in response and followed as Khalom began to walk from the Hall of Heroes.
"Joking aside, I think how Strand works is why I took to it so well," she said, unable to keep herself from filling the silence. "I've never been as good with Arc and Solar, which need a lot of of a guiding hand than I found Void did, and I barely even touched Stasis." She held her hand out and thin green threads briefly became visible. "I'm not that good of a thinker. Rhythm makes more sense to me than patterns." She let the Strands go and glanced back at Osiris. "You can feel them, too, right? Is it different for you? I know even the same Light can work different between Guardians..."
The puka have indeed become very fond of Osiris, enough that one of them curls against his cowl briefly as he moves to leave. It had been disconcerting at first, especially their bouts of drawing up memories, but he has become... fond of them, in his own way. The companionship is pleasant.
"I think you may underestimate their survival capabilities," Osiris says. They certainly seem extremely hardy, and more attuned to the weave than humans.
"The elements of the Light seem to be more... chaotic. You must exert your will to avoid them becoming uncontrollable. Even a candle can become a wildfire that devours a forest given enough fuel and freedom." He thinks that need for control had been part of what led to his struggles over recent months, and with Strand. He had never truly been able to 'let go' lest his Light cause incalculable destruction. "Stasis, Strand, they are more ordered, albeit in different ways. From what I have gathered, stasis requires more fine understanding and acceptance of the order and control that you impose on the world and other people. Strand requires the acceptance that you are merely one part of the universe." That you too will be carried along by something greater than yourself.
"I mean... did you hear the news story of the pouka getting stuck in the storm drain?" Khalom gave a wry grin. "I'm not sure I wanna go testing their survivability." She patted a nearby pouka in farewell as she and Osiris walked away from the pouka pond. Maybe one day the Last City could have its own pouka pond. Light knew that many of its people needed it.
"I think I know what you mean," she continued, thinking on what Osiris had said. "Void draws so much from me. If I'm not careful, next thing I know I haven't slept in forty eight hours or haven't eaten in twice as long." Lucid was usually her means to remember to take care of herself, but if she was on a long mission, or really focused on it... "I've never felt like I was exerted my will though. It's more a conversation? Give and take." Void was Light, but it was *weird* Light, from what she understood. Which, of course, technically wasn't much. Khalom hadn't spent much time studying the subject.
"I like that though... accepting my place in this crazy world." She smiled lazily.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2023-07-30 06:04 pm (UTC)Lucid grunted, ducking under the fins of the cuddly pouka. "Would you stop that?" He huffed.
Khalom cupped a hand around Lucid and pulled him towards her chest. "You sure about that?" She asked as he hovered above her palms. "From what I've heard, these guys kind of instinctively know when something's wrong." She eyed him carefully as he wilted. She didn't need the pouka's ability to sense that something was wrong with him, and had been since the Witness used him to connect to the Veil.
".. I'll be fine," he said slowly. He wasn't fine. In time he would be.
But they weren't here for some pouka therapy. Khalom was here to see Osiris.
Outside of working with him during the race to secure the Veil, Khalom had very little experience with "The Grumpy Warlock to end all Grumpy Warlocks," as she referred to him, and the urgency of the matter hadn't allowed for casual interactions. She could sometimes have... problems with grumpy authority figures, but everything she heard about him didn't paint him as a hardass.
Just someone who didn't put up with bullshit and nonsense, which was a problem, considering Khalom was at least 75% bullshit and nonsense.
She approached his corner with as little extra energy as she could manage, holding in the urge to bound and bounce. "Ur, Osiris, sir?" Yes, that was respectful wasn't it? "Could I pester ya?"
no subject
Date: 2023-07-30 11:52 pm (UTC)Now he had settled in his corner of the room with the pouka pond, because his work with the Veil could not be delayed forever, no matter how much it filled him with apprehension.
He sat on his low chair, journal open on his lap as he checked through notes, cross-referencing everything that they had seen with his own information, as well as the work of other scholars: Ulan-Tan, Pujari, Toland even. While the man was an arrogant fool who would need to be dealt with, he did have some insight.
He did not notice immediately when Khalom arrived, not until the young Guardian spoke. He looks up at her, eyes narrowed. The Young Wolf, or Fox as Saladin called her. The first to master Strand. An interesting figure from all that he has heard and seen.
"You may. Is it about Strand?"
no subject
Date: 2023-07-31 12:20 am (UTC)Strand had surprised her. Khalom had always been most comfortable with Void, the yawning abyss of nothing and everything. She did use Arc and Solar on occasion, and had even picked up Stasis to better understand her Fireteam member who had communed with the Pyramid on Europa. But Void just made sense. It was the first Light she had used, the instinctive power that came after Lucid had revived her for the first time. Sure, it needed her hungry and tired, and left her more so afterwards, but the weight of Void in her heart felt like home. It felt like a conversation with a good friend, someone you could talk to hours for and not feel the time passing by. It came to her naturally as breathing.
Strand? Strand was all that and more.
Finding the strange essence on Neomuna, and learning it was everywhere, something had awoken in Khalom, no pun intended. She flew on green threads, bore strange little creatures called Threadlings, and wove armour to protect herself. Those days training with Osiris had been eye opening. Letting go, going with the flow, she already embraced that way of thinking. Strand seemed like a natural extension of her personality and thoughts.
And now that there had been a lull, a tense quiet after the Witness invaded the Traveler, Khalom had some down time to see exactly what she could do with it.
"You know that Woven Armour stuff?" She asked. "There's been a few times where, if I'm moving fast enough, I can almost leave it behind? Kind of like a copy of me." She shook her head. "But when I'm trying to do it on purpose, it just collapses into a useless pile of green spaghetti. You had those..." She snapped her fingers, trying to remember what Forgot-Me-Not had told her. "Reflections? I think? I know it's not the same, but, I was wondering if you could help me make this more solid."
no subject
Date: 2023-08-01 06:25 pm (UTC)Returning to teaching since arriving on Neomuna has been a strange experience. Not unpleasant, but... strange, like putting on a set of clothing that has not been worn in a long time.
"Of course," he agrees, and sets aside his book. He stands up to face the young Guardian, listening to her story. Copies... interesting. It makes sense he supposes; he has known that the Light is capable of such for centuries. That the Darkness can do so is not much of a surprise. "Reflections yes, projections of Light. That these collapse when you try to 'do it on purpose' would suggest that your grip is too tight. Too much focus can be detrimental."
no subject
Date: 2023-08-02 07:34 pm (UTC)"Don't tell my Fireteam leader that," Khalom laughed with a shake of her head. "She's always on my ass about paying attention and getting distracted by whatever whatever." Artemis was always dragging Khalom's focus back to the matter at hand, and she was thankful for that honestly. In return, Khalom kept Artemis from getting too buried under her duty. Part of why they made a good match.
"We, uh, might not want to do this here, though," she added, face darkening to a deep purple. "Sometimes it... explodes?" Khalom was glad that the population of Neomuna wasn't around, and that no one was around to be caught in the crossfire. Or see her more embarrassing failures that resulted in her being tangled in a yarn-barf of Strand strings.
no subject
Date: 2023-08-05 06:00 pm (UTC)"I remember your experiences while learning it," Osiris replies. "We can go to the retreat if you prefer." That area is clearer, and probably less likely to cause collateral damage.
no subject
Date: 2023-08-06 01:01 am (UTC)"I much prefer it, yes," she nodded. "Both for my dignity, and as to not cause any damage to these cute lil'guys." She gestured towards a few of the pouka who had begun to fly closer to herself and Osiris. "I don't think I could forgive myself if I hurt em." She brushed her hand along one, which purred in response and followed as Khalom began to walk from the Hall of Heroes.
"Joking aside, I think how Strand works is why I took to it so well," she said, unable to keep herself from filling the silence. "I've never been as good with Arc and Solar, which need a lot of of a guiding hand than I found Void did, and I barely even touched Stasis." She held her hand out and thin green threads briefly became visible. "I'm not that good of a thinker. Rhythm makes more sense to me than patterns." She let the Strands go and glanced back at Osiris. "You can feel them, too, right? Is it different for you? I know even the same Light can work different between Guardians..."
no subject
Date: 2023-08-08 11:29 am (UTC)"I think you may underestimate their survival capabilities," Osiris says. They certainly seem extremely hardy, and more attuned to the weave than humans.
"The elements of the Light seem to be more... chaotic. You must exert your will to avoid them becoming uncontrollable. Even a candle can become a wildfire that devours a forest given enough fuel and freedom." He thinks that need for control had been part of what led to his struggles over recent months, and with Strand. He had never truly been able to 'let go' lest his Light cause incalculable destruction. "Stasis, Strand, they are more ordered, albeit in different ways. From what I have gathered, stasis requires more fine understanding and acceptance of the order and control that you impose on the world and other people. Strand requires the acceptance that you are merely one part of the universe." That you too will be carried along by something greater than yourself.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-23 03:48 am (UTC)"I think I know what you mean," she continued, thinking on what Osiris had said. "Void draws so much from me. If I'm not careful, next thing I know I haven't slept in forty eight hours or haven't eaten in twice as long." Lucid was usually her means to remember to take care of herself, but if she was on a long mission, or really focused on it... "I've never felt like I was exerted my will though. It's more a conversation? Give and take." Void was Light, but it was *weird* Light, from what she understood. Which, of course, technically wasn't much. Khalom hadn't spent much time studying the subject.
"I like that though... accepting my place in this crazy world." She smiled lazily.