TRP: Goro and Larkin (Out of Magic)

JEN

[Setting: Day 388, the castle]

 Larkin couldn't see it happening but judging from the way Goro flung his arms up and released a stream of intelligible cursing, it must've failed again. What the fuck. She got up from her spot by the open window and wandered over to where Goro was fussing over a table full of various spell components to have a look.

Huh. She picked up a piece of crystal, turned in her fingers, then frowned and set it back down. "I thought you were gonna scry on Jessy," she said.

LINA

"Yeah," he snapped, looking at the table instead of her. "I'm working on it."

JEN

"Are trying something new or what? Like- I don't get what you're doing."

LINA

"The fuck would you know about it? You ain't a cleric." He glanced at his prayer book, sitting closed on the table. He probably needed to check the spell, but he didn't wanna do it with her breathing over his shoulder.

JEN

"Hey, fucking chill," Larkin said. "Just wanted to know why you're doing it different."

LINA

"I'm not." He banged a hand on the table and snatched up the prayer book.

JEN

She scowled at him. Fucking- as if she hadn't seen him do this a hundred fucking times. "Yeah, you are. You're skipping that whole-" she whirled a finger in the air, "be my guide and shine your light to lead my gaze this distant place, whatever bla, bla. You know the line. Also," she flicked the crystal across the table, "Don't you usually use a ball? What's with these fucking pieces here?"

LINA

He leafed through the pages of his book, trying to find the prayer for scrying. "No," he muttered, "no, I don't fuckin' use a--what ball? The fuck are you talking about?"

JEN

Well, this was fucking weird. Larkin took a chair, sat across from Goro and leaned forward to look him in the eyes. "Your crystal ball. The one on your shrine. The one you cover with cloth so no one can use it to scry back on you. The one that almost broke when I bumped into the table and it rolled off and you went on a fucking thirty minute tirade on how you need it to do your goddamn scrying. That ball."

LINA

Goro stared at Larkin for a long ass time, trying to figure out what the fuck she was talking about.

She must've... thought something else on his altar was a crystal ball. He didn't remember her almost breaking anything, but... still.

He didn't respond. Just went back to flipping through his book.

JEN

"Hey are you fucking alright?"

LINA

"Uh huh." He found the right page and skimmed over the prayer.

JEN

"So the fuck is going on?"

LINA

Goro didn't answer right away. He read the prayer more closely. He'd never seen half these fucking lines before in his life. It felt like it'd changed yesterday, and then again today.

There was a note, in his handwriting, about how a crystal ball produced a clearer image than a font of holy water. He didn't remember that part from yesterday, either.

"I must be outta magic." He closed the book and set it on the table. He wanted to go check his altar, but not with her watching. "Have to wait 'til tomorrow."

JEN

"How're you out of magic? You haven't cast anything today." Larkin's fingers had found another piece of crystal and she was tapping it on the table. This was weird and she didn't like it at all. Didn't make sense. Something was up.

LINA

"Yeah, I did. This morning. Communed with Mask. It takes up a lotta magic." He started scraping the errant crystals into a pile.

JEN

She tossed the crystal in her hand onto the pile and leaned back. "Does that usually drain you like that? Seems pretty out of the fucking ordinary."

LINA

He shrugged, still not meeting her eye. "Got a lot going on lately. I get tired quicker."

JEN

Larkin gave him a flat look. "Cut it out, man."

LINA

"You cut it out. Fuckin'... leave me alone." He scowled at the table, looking pained.

JEN

"What did I fucking do? Something's up with you and I'm worried, man. Don't gimme that shit."

LINA

"Nothing's up with me. God. Maybe I'm just in a bad fuckin' mood, huh?" He stood up and started collecting his things from the table.

JEN

Larkin kept seated. "Yeah, you sure fucking are."

LINA

Once he had his arms loaded up, Goro skulked off, shoulders hunched.

JEN

[End]

JEN

Title: Out of Magic

Summary: Goro tries scry on Jasmilia and fails. Larkin notices he's doing the spell wrong and points it out. Goro gets upset.