Chapter 120: Making It Up
Alexandra Erin on October 26, 2012 in Volume 2 Book 4: The Reinvention of Mackenzie Blaise, Volume 2: Sophomore EffortIn Which Nicki Tries To Pass Mackenzie Notes
I didn’t want to risk losing Professor Stone’s goodwill by being excessively chatty with Nicki, so I just nodded when she asked if I had everything sorted out… as answers went, it wasn’t completely accurate, but it would be better to wait until after class to get into the nitty-gritty.
After a second’s reflection, I said “I’ll tell you the whole story at dinner.” I wasn’t sure that would be enough to get her to join us, but it at least got the subject out there.
It really didn’t seem like I’d missed much during my lost day… we were still refining our designs for our product projects, and there was some kind of portfolio we were supposed to have started… I glanced at Nicki when he mentioned this and she flipped open a folder that had a clipping of a shampoo ad and her own sketch of a bottle with different contours. I guessed we were supposed to be collecting real products and redesigning them, though it didn’t look like we had to go into a ton of detail.
It seemed I would have to play a catch-up a bit with my work outside of class, but it wasn’t like the professor had laid out a whole bunch of secret design principles we would need to master in order to succeed.
I got the full run-down on the portfolio assignment from Nicki when the class ended, and also glanced at her notes… I hadn’t been too confused by anything Professor Stone said, though, so I really didn’t feel like I’d missed anything.
“Do you need me to scribe you off a copy?” she asked me.
“No, I’m good,” I said. “I’m not a huge note-taker myself, so it’s not like I’d be looking at them.”
“That’s an interesting tiara,” she said.
I knew it didn’t exactly fit my style, so what she was really saying was “Why are you wearing that tiara?”
“Yeah, it’s actually part of how I’m solving my attendance problem,” I said. “But it’s also not mine, and I need to go put it away before I do anything else. Will you come to dinner with us tonight?”
The question ended up sounding more formal than I’d meant it to, but that wasn’t necessarily terrible. Formal meant my intentions were explicit. She was invited. She would be welcome.
“Sure,” she said. “Um, same time as last time?”
I would have sworn I could see objections and excuses lining up behind her eyes… not because she didn’t want to go but because she couldn’t believe we’d want her there.
“Yeah,” I said. “My last class is the same every day… if you’re worried about the time, I could come by your dorm when I get out?”
“Okay!” she said. “I’m in Burlew… 208.”
“I’ll see you then, then,” I said.
“Okay.”
We walked out together, which is always awkward when you’ve pretty much already said goodbye, but then we did actually part ways because she had to hurry off to her next class and I had to proceed slowly and carefully back to Gilcrease Tower.
I once again gave thanks for my widely-spaced schedule. It would have been hard enough going straight from design or any other class to Coach Callahan’s without a buffer time in between even without the absolute necessity of taking care of Teddi’s circlet.
With the blank spot in my schedule, I not only didn’t have to rush back to my dorm room but I had time to just hang out there with my thoughts… said thoughts, of course, being about how I would fight Nae.
I decided to try something slightly different with my elemental senses. I’d given up trying to perceive Nae’s motion via air disturbance because she disturbed so little of it, but I didn’t really need to follow her exact position during the whole length of her approach… I just needed to know what she was doing when she got in close. It was hard to see when she was dancing around my legs, and that was when I was most vulnerable to whatever she might pull out.
I’d done simple elemental shielding to keep heat in or weather out… I’d even pulled some impromptu elemental defenses out in some of the actual fights I’d been forced into. What I had in mind now was a shield of air around my legs, but a passive one… not something that would try to hamper Nae, but something that would respond to her presence.
The basic idea wasn’t that complicated. It was just what I did when I reached out and connected to the air around me. This was just more focused and limited, which meant it was something I could realistically bind as a spell. That was important, because the less I needed to concentrate to cast and maintain it, the more I could focus on the fight.
It took me a few tries to work it out, but Mackenzie’s Imperceptible Air Shell (version 1) was more or less operational by the time I had to leave for class. It incorporated the air around me in an invisible cone, aimed downward from my head… well, from my mouth, to be specific. Using my own breath to fill the shell made the connection to the air stronger, though it also meant it took longer for the spell to reach full effectiveness.
That was okay, though. I had a whole magic belt full of energy I could use to sustain it.
Even though I wasn’t doing any enchanting and even though creating elemental-based buff spells was the farthest thing from what I wanted to do, I felt like I was earning Professor Stone’s label for me. This was practical magic… the best results with the least effort. Against a larger opponent I would probably want the area of the spell to be a sphere or cylinder around me, but against Nae I could save energy and fill the spell’s volume with my breath more quickly by keeping things more confined.
I didn’t have a tiny sparring partner to test the spell out against… it was possible that Shiel or Hazel would be in their rooms, but they shared a suite with Nae and I really didn’t want to tip my hand. Ideally she would have no idea that I was using magic… I didn’t think it was cheating, of course. Pala had to be aware I was using elemental magic and she hadn’t said anything about it.
In the absence of having someone else to try moving into my cone of air, I tried moving around the room, feeling my invisible tendrils of air coiling around the legs of the desk and the chair or pushing against the flat surface of the wall. It worked better than I’d hoped, really… it was like having a bunch of really sensitive fingers reaching out to explore anything that got too close to my legs.
I tried to make a point of walking past people on my way to class, both so I could make sure it worked as well for interpreting moving shapes and to verify that other people couldn’t feel when they broke the spell’s perimeter. It seemed to be working as expected.
I was feeling pretty psyched in a level-headed and grounded sort of way by the time I was changed and ready for fighting, but my bouts with Nae actually went more or less the same as they had been going. I did have an easier time avoiding her when she got past my defenses, but my general game plan was still to take care of her before she got in close enough to even trigger my spell.
She brought me down less often since I had a second line of defense, but it didn’t quite make me untouchable… she was quick and agile enough to compensate.
And still there was the feeling that she was holding back, still she wasn’t bringing her teeth or claws into play. She didn’t even seem to be trying to line up a bite anymore… had she given up on the idea, or was she just confident enough now that she could do it?
Whatever the case was, I felt like I was winning more often than she was, and my advantage only grew towards the end of the class as I got better at responding to what my air shell was telling me. She never seemed disappointed or frustrated when I won, either… just patient, in a way that was unnerving.
The impetus was really going in my direction when Palacalled a halt to the class.
“Good luck tomorrow,” Nae said as I headed off to change back into my real clothes.
“You, too,” I said.
Yep… she definitely had something planned.
Coach Callahan wouldn’t have put her in the special section just because she was short, and I don’t think we would have been paired off together if our fighting skills were that mismatched. Though maybe we were both in the “not technically very skilled, but promising” category… I could see that one accommodating a wide range of skill levels.
Whatever was up, I had my invisible ace that I doubted she knew about, and I wouldn’t hesitate to get as physical with her as I had to if she decided to go for the unarmed combat option. A kick from me would inflict real injury, but injuries could be healed. I had no interest in harming her… I didn’t even enjoy hurting her. It was just part of the class. I had to win if I wanted my A, and more than that, I’d need to impress upon the coach that I would do whatever it took to win.
I felt a little guilty about it, though… in a way, I owed Nae my life. During a time when her lover Caron had me over a barrel… in fairness to her, I’d pretty much bent over it myself… Nae had reined her in and made sure I could hold up my side of our lopsided deal and avoid paying the very hefty default penalty.
Nae had indirectly saved me again when Amaranth realized that she was a kobold, which made Caron’s relationship with her a dangerous taboo. Amaranth would never have used that information, but Caron hadn’t been able to be risk that.
It didn’t do to dwell on the past, though, and not just because it was past… for me to win, Nae would have to lose. I had so much riding on this class, but what might Nae have on the line? How much did she need this grade?
I had to hope that the stakes were lower for her than they were for me, because the alternative didn’t bear thinking about.
Hey, folks… special request for folks in the Omaha area with room in their lives for a cat, please check this out. Thanks!
so why is callahan completely ok with mack using magics but was pissed that baby palladin did that one time?
(…or we just assuming the god slaying abomination hasn’t noticed yet and shit’ll eventually hit the fan when she sees the enchanting and buffs? (seems less likely even if she isn’t a mage and seems to tend twords the “if met with obstacle headbutt said obstacle until it ceases to be one, walls included” fighting style she’d at least have enough experience with such things to get an idea of when they happen))
edit–
also:
first(non author)
Because this is a no hold barred /class/ not an actual torment for gladiators that has rules. Actually I think the only rule for this class is “take the other person out first”.
Reading your comment again I think you might be referring to the time that Gloria in 445: Blessing, Curse; used prayer to block the pain Callahan was using as a teaching tool. In that instance Callahan was using mockboxes that caused pain but no debilitation so that they would learn to endure increasing pain of injuries.
Agreed the point was to test their natural endurance, besides I don’t see the point of a pain resistance buff if dispelling it means a sudden crippling dose of pain.
Perhaps, if Gloria had dispelled it herself instead of Callahan smashing it to pieces with profanity, it wouldn’t have backfired like that.
Had she done so herself,she may have been able to better control the pain as it was released from her suppression spell.It would still be debilitating to her though. I.M.H.O.
she may also have been planning on keeping it active until Jilly released the effect of the mock boxes cancelling all pain they had caused
I think Gloria was calling on divine protection, the power of something else. Mack is calling on her own power. To Gillian Gottmorder, that would probably be a huge difference.
typo:
“going in my direction when Palacalled a”
That was ominous.
I think Nae has enchanted her nails and teeth, so as to cause real harm to Mack.
And suddenly I wish I lived in Omaha and wasn’t allergic to cats.
I don’t think Nae is that malicious.
One typo: “Palacalled” needs a space.
I love the way magic works in your world, and the way they study it like engineering students would study science in this world!
I wish the UK here wasn’t so far away from Omaha, she looks a real nice lady kitty and just hope she gets a good home.
As usual, now can’t wait for the next bout with Nae, just what has she got up her sleeve eh?
Sounds like Mackenzie might want to invest a little time researching kobold fighting techniques.
Nae isn’t just going to bite Mackenzie’s leg. Nae’s going to freaking tear the whole leg off. Mackenzie better get used to the idea of using these “air fingers” as an “air crutch” because it’s going to be her legs after Nae gets her first few real attacks in.
Nae is agile, quick and small, she isn’t super strong just tough because of her physiology. Anyway I don’t think the students are supposed to be using magic to circumvent the mockboxes to inflict real harm on their opponents.
I am wondering though did Callahan explicitly tell Mack she had to win or does Mack just have to show marked improvement to get the grade?
If it devolves to actual long-term harm, Callahan WILL step in and it will not be pleasant for whomever ‘cheated’. Because Callahan will be there and you bet she will be watching.
I doubt Nae would need to. She only needs to inflict debilitating pain with those teeth and “kill” Mack with a follow-up hit with a dagger. Besides which, if Enchanted Metal Teeth are on the table then “Mack’s Easily Perceptible Skin of Tooth Melting” is.
An Earth Spell to make Mack’s skin resistant to magic based teeth/weapons…hmm.
Mack has been playing defense, maybe she SHOULD think nasty and come up with a Tooth Melting™ Spell.
BTW, if a novice enchanter can start with a metal blank and enhance it’s “sharpness” until it becomes a knife, why can’t an expert start with a chain and enhance it’s sharpness to create a chain-saw ?
Mackenzie’s Air Shell
Isn’t the only thing that’s
Imperceptible
The Giant’s Dorm?
Yeah, except it’s Nicki staying there, not Pala.
Having said that, I sure hope Nicki doesn’t hurt her hand…
Me thinks there be more to Nicki, then has been shown so far.*aside from “lusting”for Mack*
This has been a long month… I really hope he gets well soon.
Likely Erm meant that in reference to Rich Burlew, the “Giant in the Playground.”
He writes a webcomic based on D&D (which is quite good and worth a read if you have the time to catch up on some serious backlog glut), was one of the finalists for Wizards’ competition that resulted in the Eberron campaign setting, and runs a site about tabletop gaming called “Giant in the Playground Games.”
Yeah.
Unless I’m mistaken, Anthony picked up on that reference with the “hurt her hand”, because Richard Burlew is currently on extended hiatus due to a hand injury.
(By a weird coincidence, as of last week, so is Jeph Jacques of Questionable Content. Something is going after my favorite web cartoonists. Tell Randall Munroe to be careful with his drawing hand.)
“It seemed I would have to play a catch-up a bit with my work outside of class” – play at catch-up, or play catch-up, maybe?
“but Caron hadn’t been able to be risk that” – to be at risk of that, or just, risk that, maybe?
I would say “willing to risk that”.
I am wondering if AE has done an outline of Our Mack’s infernal abilities and talents?
Cause I was speculating about what sort of predatory behavior would be useful in a limited combat situation?
For example: sight hunters tend to notice motion over patterns. Not just that possible prey is moving about but that in group, injured/elderly/newborn/handicapped individuals either move against the group direction of movement or with noticeable difference in keeping formation.
Such important functions such as scent/taste and sound have been covered or at least broached in previous chapters. What I am curious about would be if there are any novel talents yet untapped or matured to usefulness?
Just as a wild guess, since Nae eats rock, I’m guessing she can bite Mackenzie’s staff in half, which leaves Nae armed and Mackenzie with only her arms.
Would spectral copies of armor leave real or illusory wounds if struck by them?
Like if someone was punched by a spectral gauntlet, would the fist behind the gauntlet still cause damage?
I assume in that sort of case, i.e. hard armor, the damage would be illusory, but I’m wondering how it would work with the spectral gym clothes.