Utterly Mad

(written by derg)

Cardin, of course, immediately ignored what Helen had just told him in favour of grabbing Solomon and dragging him back into the lab, holding up the plastic sapphire he'd been using for a mana gem.  He chirps a bit, gently pressing it into his hand and waiting patiently.  Solomon managed a little squeak of protest, being dragged about pretty much the instant Helen was busy with other things, giving a quizzical stare at the now-depleted mana gem, sighing as he fumbled with a small vial. The occasional straggler undead and otherworldly creature stalking the woods had given them an intermittent supply of essence and blood essence, and Helen had taught him the basics of consecrating it. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Cardin shakes his head, chirping an unintelligable response while waiting for Solomon to 'refill' the gem for him.  His wings stretch out a bit as he practically bounces with excitement, grabbing Solomon by the wrist as soon as it looks like he's done and leading him over to the book they were studying, flipping back to the page he was looking at and tapping the line with a talon, starting to cheep out a long-winded explaination before he remembers that nobody besides Melody can understand him.  The avian mutant moves one hand up to rub at his beak nervously as he lets go of Sol's wrist, his sharp talons having dug into his skin a little bit.  He looks a bit apologetic as he gently takes the gem back, holding it close to his chest again, not attempting anything yet.

Solomon sighed a bit at that gesture, concerned as glittering dull essence floated and drifted seemingly by thought, flowing into an steadily restoring that odd perception of radiance to the mana gem. No sooner had he done so then he gave a little yelp of surprise, dragged along back to the workstation in the lab, a bit nervous as he looked back at Cardin.

"Alright, just...be careful, okay? If something happens we might need to ask Helen for help, as I'm not sure either of us can handle whatever might go wrong." he pointed out, a bit uncertain as he tried to puzzle out just what Cardin was up to.

The avian takes a few steps back, bare talons clicking against the floor as he concentrates again, Solomon's hairs standing on end as a strange feeling fills the room, almost but not quite llike static electricity.  Cardin's wings lightly flap a bit as that wind returns again, slightly stronger this time as...  Something starts to form in the air between Solomon and Cardin, not really looking like, well, anything.  The ball of nothing shifts slightly, the 'edge' of it not quite clear.  An identical rift opens up directly behind Solomon, neither of them 'expanding' past being about basketball sized.   Cardin looks surprised for a second, before excitedly chirping and bouncing up and down a bit. 

Without thinking for even a second to maybe realize that this could be a terrible idea, Cardin hops forward, sticking his arm straight through the rift.  He immediately squawks, with the sensation being like his arm, and only his arm, was being dunked into a bucket of ice water, a strange numbness spreading through his limb as it becomes visible from the other hole, feeling around a bit. The mutant gets an idea, leaning in a bit further to be able to reach Solomon's back, tapping him on the shoulder from behind with a curved talon.

Solomon watched warily, nervous as Cardin focused on magic he was rather unfamiliar with. He started to reach for his mask, yet he realized even if he activated it, what would he be looking for, and what could he even do? The need to actually do so however was made moot by the unnatural sensation and the vague image of a wavering mote of unreality, just distinct enough to be perceived with the naked eye.

He froze up, startled by the sight of it as he started to realize what it was. "Wh-Cardin, we really shouldn't be doing things like that, this is exactly the sort o-" He stopped himself only to go wide-eyed at Cardin doing what was probably the dumbest thing possible, jabbing his arm through it. He got about as far as putting a hand on the avian's shoulder with the intent of pulling him back, when he jumped at the hand tapping his shoulder, eliciting an underused fragment of what he'd picked up from studying to translate alchemical texts. "Γαμώ το!"

Cardin visibly restrains himself from laughing, already clearly having too much fun with this for it to be safe, and pulls his arm back, it coming back through both portals easily enough, and with a satisfying 'pop' that cause both rifts to vanish, seemingly...  Dispelled?  There doesn't seem to be much of a trace that they were even there in the first place, even if the spots were viewed through a mask of insight, although there was still a slight, fuzzy hint of them left behind.