April and Topaz || Holi Prep (Backdated)
Mar. 11th, 2022 01:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsApril helps Topaz prepare for Holi, and contributes to some of the more creative balloon ideas. Backdated to March 11.
There was a rare Closed sign on the mansion library doors. They weren't locked, but the sign was generally enough to discourage anyone who wasn't joining Topaz in the back office. It was easier than trying to do anything in her suite - more space, less cat.
"Hullo," she said cheerfully when she saw April. She was sitting on the ground with a funnel and water balloons, pouring sand into them.
"Hey, nice to meet you in person." April hovered across from the other woman, left arm already swirled black and blue as she snapped her spinneret into place. "This looks like a lot of very messy fun."
"Have you ever celebrated Holi?" Celebrate was a bit generous since it was just a color war, but it was a celebration for Topaz, at least.
April shook her head no. "We had some fun, colorful street fairs, but not specifically for Holi. Tell me a little about it?"
Topaz gestured for her to sit as she continued working on balloons. "There's a religious aspect - the night before, you perform rituals in front of a bonfire and pray away any internal evil. I'm a bit lapsed and haven't practiced that part in years. That would be the seventeenth this year. The eighteenth is where the color stuff comes in. It's the celebration of the end of winter, the triumph of good over evil, and eternal and divine love. And of course the best way to celebrate that is by throwing color bombs at each other."
"I can certainly think of worse ways to celebrate," April replied with a small smile, taking a seat at the other woman's gesture. "Not particularly religious, but I can get behind the celebrations that promote the good and bring joy. So you set them up for people to throw and also as surprises?"
"Yeah. Traditionally it's just throwing things at each other, but in a mansion full of mutants and magic users, I've always thought it was appropriate to step things up a little with traps here and there. One year I set up a bunch of magical color landmines."
"Fun and educational, then. Situational awareness training. My webs and ability to get to the high places are gonna help with that?" She concentrated on her webbing as she talked, trying to regulate the speed and guide it with her hand into something resembling a balloon. "Some holding sand, others holding the balloons?"
"I like it. Do you need a balloon for a mold?"
"I think I'd pop it," April replied, looking at her creation dubiously. It was at least mostly container shaped, even if the round was a bit misshapen. But it'd dissolve, so that wasn't a strong concern. "Want to try a little bit of sand in the first ones I make, see if there's any weird sand and web interactions?"
"Sure." Topaz finished with the balloon she was filling, tied it up, and reached for one of the many bags of sand sitting on the floor around them. "Do you want me to pour it in, or do you want to?"
April held out the roundish webbing with a smile. "You can pour, I'll make a top for it after? It stabilizes fast enough that twisting it into a knot isn't really an option."
Topaz carefully positioned the filter over the opening, then gently pulled a handful of sand in. "How's it look?"
"Good." April tilted it carefully in her hands, watching the sand roll smoothly over the webbing. "No initial reaction, that's good. We can let it sit while we fill the balloons?"
"Sounds good." Topaz grabbed a couple bags of sand to put between them, and another package of water balloons for April. "We don't have to fill all of them. I... went a little overboard, I'll admit."
"I don't know about overboard, but I do suppose there are only so many doorways and public spaces worth having sand flung about." April started filling the balloons methodically, keeping an eye on the webbed one as they worked.
"That's where getting creative comes in." Topaz looked at the web ball. She assumed it would be fine, since it was just sand, but she had no idea what the webs were made of, and it wasn't her department.
"It's organic," April said, catching the other woman's look at the ball. "I mean, don't ask me specifics, but the properties are close to actual spider's silk. It just dissolves after a few hours. Dad's speculation is that it can only survive outside the host so long." She switched sand colors, setting up another row of balloons and methodically filling them. "What sort of creative things do you do with them?"
"Little bit of magic." There was definitely a smug note in her voice. "Invisible pressure plates, trip wires, rigged door knobs. One year I animated some stuffed animals and had them go around with balloons. Their dexterity wasn't the best, but it was the intent that counted."
April's eyes were a little wide at the admission, hands still as she looked at Topaz. "That's pretty cool. I wonder... maybe too late to experiment, but I wonder if you could magic the web balls to make them last longer."
"We've got a couple days, I think we can experiment a little." Topaz shrugged. "The worst that happens is we don't have anything for Holi accidentally come up with for you to actually use in a fight or something. Win win."
"Sounds good to me. How's your magic work?" April couldn't remember if she'd met a magic practitioner before, at least not one she could ask questions.
"I draw power off emotions. Mostly with permission unless it's an emergency, then it's act first, apologize later." She squinted as she poured some more sand into a funnel. "For small things I can use my own, but fights are rarely small."
April tilted her head as she thought about it. "It's interesting that you can get so many effects by using emotion as the power, instead of just enhancing or muting. Sounds like something that would take a lot of hard work. Seeing magic in action sounds pretty neat, at least like this."
"It has its uses. You'll hate it once you've been here long enough, it causes a lot of problems." Topaz finished the balloon and set it aside. "None of them are our fault, at least. Anymore."
"I am not surprised that something powerful is also troublesome. Magic, powers, position... super great until they're terrible." April rolled her eyes. "But I also wouldn't be here without some combination of that, so I can't really complain. Weird magic portal had great timing, but I'm not gonna walk up and thank it anytime soon."
"I could certainly live without that thing existing," Topaz muttered. "That's one thing that is kind of my fault, but it's mostly a magical book's fault."
"Did you read Latin to the--wait, is Buffy a thing here? If not, nevermind," April shook her head. "I mean, I'd probably be dead without it, but I wouldn't want to take an extended trip in it."
"It is, but you'll have to talk to Doug about pop culture references." Topaz shrugged, tying up another balloon. "How's the web balloon doing?"
April looked over to the balloon, noting a pile of colored dust where it had sat. "Well, nothing is melted," she said, swiping her fingers through the sand and rubbing them together. "No immediate burning or itching, feels like regular colored sand. Looks safe enough to use to me?"
"Brilliant. It's not a real holiday if there isn't a slight risk of something going wrong, anyway."
There was a rare Closed sign on the mansion library doors. They weren't locked, but the sign was generally enough to discourage anyone who wasn't joining Topaz in the back office. It was easier than trying to do anything in her suite - more space, less cat.
"Hullo," she said cheerfully when she saw April. She was sitting on the ground with a funnel and water balloons, pouring sand into them.
"Hey, nice to meet you in person." April hovered across from the other woman, left arm already swirled black and blue as she snapped her spinneret into place. "This looks like a lot of very messy fun."
"Have you ever celebrated Holi?" Celebrate was a bit generous since it was just a color war, but it was a celebration for Topaz, at least.
April shook her head no. "We had some fun, colorful street fairs, but not specifically for Holi. Tell me a little about it?"
Topaz gestured for her to sit as she continued working on balloons. "There's a religious aspect - the night before, you perform rituals in front of a bonfire and pray away any internal evil. I'm a bit lapsed and haven't practiced that part in years. That would be the seventeenth this year. The eighteenth is where the color stuff comes in. It's the celebration of the end of winter, the triumph of good over evil, and eternal and divine love. And of course the best way to celebrate that is by throwing color bombs at each other."
"I can certainly think of worse ways to celebrate," April replied with a small smile, taking a seat at the other woman's gesture. "Not particularly religious, but I can get behind the celebrations that promote the good and bring joy. So you set them up for people to throw and also as surprises?"
"Yeah. Traditionally it's just throwing things at each other, but in a mansion full of mutants and magic users, I've always thought it was appropriate to step things up a little with traps here and there. One year I set up a bunch of magical color landmines."
"Fun and educational, then. Situational awareness training. My webs and ability to get to the high places are gonna help with that?" She concentrated on her webbing as she talked, trying to regulate the speed and guide it with her hand into something resembling a balloon. "Some holding sand, others holding the balloons?"
"I like it. Do you need a balloon for a mold?"
"I think I'd pop it," April replied, looking at her creation dubiously. It was at least mostly container shaped, even if the round was a bit misshapen. But it'd dissolve, so that wasn't a strong concern. "Want to try a little bit of sand in the first ones I make, see if there's any weird sand and web interactions?"
"Sure." Topaz finished with the balloon she was filling, tied it up, and reached for one of the many bags of sand sitting on the floor around them. "Do you want me to pour it in, or do you want to?"
April held out the roundish webbing with a smile. "You can pour, I'll make a top for it after? It stabilizes fast enough that twisting it into a knot isn't really an option."
Topaz carefully positioned the filter over the opening, then gently pulled a handful of sand in. "How's it look?"
"Good." April tilted it carefully in her hands, watching the sand roll smoothly over the webbing. "No initial reaction, that's good. We can let it sit while we fill the balloons?"
"Sounds good." Topaz grabbed a couple bags of sand to put between them, and another package of water balloons for April. "We don't have to fill all of them. I... went a little overboard, I'll admit."
"I don't know about overboard, but I do suppose there are only so many doorways and public spaces worth having sand flung about." April started filling the balloons methodically, keeping an eye on the webbed one as they worked.
"That's where getting creative comes in." Topaz looked at the web ball. She assumed it would be fine, since it was just sand, but she had no idea what the webs were made of, and it wasn't her department.
"It's organic," April said, catching the other woman's look at the ball. "I mean, don't ask me specifics, but the properties are close to actual spider's silk. It just dissolves after a few hours. Dad's speculation is that it can only survive outside the host so long." She switched sand colors, setting up another row of balloons and methodically filling them. "What sort of creative things do you do with them?"
"Little bit of magic." There was definitely a smug note in her voice. "Invisible pressure plates, trip wires, rigged door knobs. One year I animated some stuffed animals and had them go around with balloons. Their dexterity wasn't the best, but it was the intent that counted."
April's eyes were a little wide at the admission, hands still as she looked at Topaz. "That's pretty cool. I wonder... maybe too late to experiment, but I wonder if you could magic the web balls to make them last longer."
"We've got a couple days, I think we can experiment a little." Topaz shrugged. "The worst that happens is we don't have anything for Holi accidentally come up with for you to actually use in a fight or something. Win win."
"Sounds good to me. How's your magic work?" April couldn't remember if she'd met a magic practitioner before, at least not one she could ask questions.
"I draw power off emotions. Mostly with permission unless it's an emergency, then it's act first, apologize later." She squinted as she poured some more sand into a funnel. "For small things I can use my own, but fights are rarely small."
April tilted her head as she thought about it. "It's interesting that you can get so many effects by using emotion as the power, instead of just enhancing or muting. Sounds like something that would take a lot of hard work. Seeing magic in action sounds pretty neat, at least like this."
"It has its uses. You'll hate it once you've been here long enough, it causes a lot of problems." Topaz finished the balloon and set it aside. "None of them are our fault, at least. Anymore."
"I am not surprised that something powerful is also troublesome. Magic, powers, position... super great until they're terrible." April rolled her eyes. "But I also wouldn't be here without some combination of that, so I can't really complain. Weird magic portal had great timing, but I'm not gonna walk up and thank it anytime soon."
"I could certainly live without that thing existing," Topaz muttered. "That's one thing that is kind of my fault, but it's mostly a magical book's fault."
"Did you read Latin to the--wait, is Buffy a thing here? If not, nevermind," April shook her head. "I mean, I'd probably be dead without it, but I wouldn't want to take an extended trip in it."
"It is, but you'll have to talk to Doug about pop culture references." Topaz shrugged, tying up another balloon. "How's the web balloon doing?"
April looked over to the balloon, noting a pile of colored dust where it had sat. "Well, nothing is melted," she said, swiping her fingers through the sand and rubbing them together. "No immediate burning or itching, feels like regular colored sand. Looks safe enough to use to me?"
"Brilliant. It's not a real holiday if there isn't a slight risk of something going wrong, anyway."
