[video]

[blastiafreak]

[The video's not very clear when it comes on; it's dark and gloomy, showing hints of thick dust and cobwebs--a glimpse of a window reveals deep fog--and then it shifts to Rita's wide-eyed face. When she speaks, she's trying very hard to pretend she's calm...and failing pretty horribly.]

I-is anyone else stuck in this weirdo place? I mean, it's not like I need help or anything, but-

[A loud creak and sudden clatter of footsteps interrupts her, the shutters to the window abruptly blowing open, and she jumps with a yelp.] Aah--! Uh--it's not sc--just where's the exit, already?!

[Maybe realizing that the video's still recording her little freak-out, she quickly shuts it off.]

[ooc: Tags slow forever. ._. Sorry!]

Comments

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ ...Good enough. ]

Oh... [ He sounds a little shocked but interested when she says that. ] That's amazing, though. I didn't know mana could change a material like that. [ If Suikoland knows about colours and wavelengths, it's news to Tyr anyway. And it's cool in that he never thought of it before. ]

action; ♥!

[blastiafreak]

[...Sob. She does explode stuff...]

[She nods. It's probably not common knowledge outside of mages and other scientists in her world.] Yeah. It won't react with just anything, so I have to make the paper myself, too.

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ But she's still in one piece afterwards!! Even if...she's still way too close! ]

Really? It sounds like a lot of work to do that, too... [ Everything is interesting. ]

action; ♥!

[blastiafreak]

[Y-yeah-!! And she'd totally never do it again, right?!]

Hmm...Well, it's a bit of a pain. It takes up a lot of time, but it's not like I'm going to get this stuff anywhere else. [At least Tyr's interested! She probably wouldn't bother trying to explain, otherwise.]

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ Never! She learns from her mistakes! ]

[ He used to just want to learn purely so he could repay her and...know at least something about blastia if she ever left, but he became really interested somewhere along the way. ] Yeah... I guess you're the only one that would know how to do it.

How is it made, anyway?

action; ♥!

[blastiafreak]

[So there's never a second time-!]

[Learning out of interest is better anyway, or so Rita thinks.] This stuff's made from metals, and...

[She trails off, taps her chin, then nods.] I can show you later, if you want. Once we mix the materials for a core, they have to set for a while.

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ Or one where it's right in her face! ]

[ Tyr would agree. It makes him want to learn much more. When she says she can show him how it's done later, a little part of him is excited, while another part of him thinks it might be really dull. ]

All right. That'll give us some time, at least... [ Rather than sitting on their hands! ] Are we going to make both of the cores at once?

action; ♥!

[blastiafreak]

[Right! She'd never let that happen!]

[...It probably is pretty dull, but they might as well use the time.]

No, I can only make one at a time. This thing- [and she points to the second machine] -uses temperature and pressure to form the core. It can't do multiple cores at once.

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ Yeah! Careful and distant is Rita's way! ]

[ Tyr's thoughts exactly... He nods along with what she says, somewhat disappointed they have to do them separately. ] Oh... So it's not exactly like an oven, either...

action; ♥!

[blastiafreak]

[And slow and steady!]

[Rita thinks it's a bit of a pain, too, but she shrugs.] No. Heat alone won't compress the materials--we need them to be dense. But a simple core like this won't take as long as something like your bodhi blastia.

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ Of course!! ]

[ That makes sense, he guesses, for something to go from one state to the stone-like state he thinks of cores as having, they'd have to be compressed. ] Of course.

...How long did this take anyway? [ Lifting his left wrist. ]

action; ♥!

[blastiafreak]

[As always-!]

[Glancing at his blastia, she easily remembers the time necessary for that. Her response is quick and casual.] About twenty-four hours.

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ Safety is what she strives for! ]

So this new core will only take about twelve, right? [ Twelve hours doesn't sound so bad. They could go to bed and it'd be done when they get up-! ]

action; ♥!

[blastiafreak]

[It's something she's always conscious of-!]

Less. It doesn't need to be as dense and complex, so three or four hours should be good enough. So let's get started. [She offers him a bit of a smile, then moves towards the first machine--the condenser--and a tube sticking out of the side. She attaches the flask, then opens a valve to allow the mana to flow in with a hiss. Like a thick, heavy gas, it flows into the flask, slightly luminescent and pale blue.]

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ Without fail! >:< ]

Okay. [ That sounds even better to him. Maybe later on he'll wonder if she's sleepy, but right now, he's just interested in working. He watches the gas flow into the tube in a dumbstruck sort of manner. It looks weird, and he thinks about how it's always in the air so...it shouldn't be dangerous even though it almost looks like smoke. He can't look away. ]

action; ♥! And time for sleeeep~ Good night!

[blastiafreak]

[Without error!]

[Since her eyes are fixed on the piece of red paper within the flask, she misses the expression on his face. Mana continues to collect for a few seconds until the tip of the paper shifts to purple. As soon as it changes, Rita closes the valve, and the colour continues to creep up the rest of the paper.] There--you saw, right? This shows that we have enough.

action; ♥! Good night~!

[stargathering]

[ Without explosions! ]

[ He nods quickly. ] Yeah, I saw it. [ And it's still cool to see it change colours. If she hadn't explained earlier, he'd think it was just like dye. ] Now do we use the binder, or...

action; ♥! Morning~

[blastiafreak]

[Especially without explosions!]

Yeah, that's right. [She smiles, then passes him a measuring cylinder. Since he decided to get it, she's decided he should have no problem pouring it out, right?] We need fifty millilitres. Oh, and we need an aer crystal, too...

action; ♥! Good morning~♥

[stargathering]

[ So careful!! ]

An aer crystal?

[ She didn't mention that before. He glances up at her before returning his attention to the binder and cylinder. He doesn't have any problem taking off the lid, but he's still really slow and careful about it. ]

action; ♥! /o/

[blastiafreak]

[Safety first~!]

[Rita removes the tube from the flask and replaces it with a rubber stopper so that the mana remains trapped.]

Yeah. It's a tiny, solid piece of aer, and it'll help catalyze the crystallization of the mana.

action; ♥! \o\

[stargathering]

[ Don't forget!! ]

[ He leans in close when he begins measuring. With this, he actually wants to be as exact as he can. ] I see... You mentioned something about aer before... That's what it's used for?

action; ♥!

[blastiafreak]

[Never ever!]

[She glances over, and nods to herself as she watches him. Precise measurements are important to her, too.] This is what I use it for now, but it used to be the fuel for blastia and the substance that comprised the cores. Using it like this won't give us the same problems we had before--a massive, world-wide aer imbalance.

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ It's impossible! ]

Ah, right. [ He remembers now. That's all he says until he has the binder measured out and set aside, though. ] Are you sure it's okay like this, though? Even though it's only a little...

action; ♥!

[blastiafreak]

[No reason to even think about it!]

[She reaches for the binder he poured out and uncaps the flask so she can start adding.] I'm certain. It only became a problem in our world because the blastia needed such massive amounts for fuel. A little bit like this won't upset the balance.

action; ♥!

[stargathering]

[ because it's natural?! ]

[ He nods and watches as she pours it in. ] I get it... There probably aren't even enough blastia in the City to make it a problem anyway...