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: 2023-08-02 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.