In spite of himself, he gets entranced by the mysticism of the display, one hand reaching up like he might actually attempt touching one. What Merlin doesn't know is that this is something normal here; the abilities aren't anything he'll have to hide, not where magic is sometimes even used during daily mundane tasks.
Sizhui's fingertips almost brush a sparkling butterfly as they start to disappear and once it fully vanishes, he withdraws, rubs the pad of his thumb over his other fingers then grins so exuberantly, it's a wonder he can contain his excitement.
From a nearby shelf, he removes a piece of red paper and folds it carefully, meticulously into a pretty haitang flower. After it's finished and set in his palm, Sizhui reaches the opposite hand to hold his first two fingers straight up, eyes shut in concentration, then they reopen as he drifts both digits over the paper. It alights with a brilliant spark, petals suddenly translucent-looking like a miniature lantern that he offers Merlin. See? Everything's fine, nothing to panic about.
His anxiety rises until Sizhui returns with a red piece of paper, carefully
folding it until it becomes a flower. His eyes widen almost comically when
the other uses magic to give it further form and light. He stares , open
mouthed, at it, then at his benefactor before gently taking it in his
hands.
“No ones ever done something like this for me before,” he breathes.
There had to be something. Some way for them to communicate. Merlin
concentrates hard to try and recall anything from the grimmoire that had to
do with languages. Or any of Gaius’ dusty books.
More words fall from his lips in an almost hissing language as his eyes
glow golden for a moment.
“...did it work?”
If it did, then he would be able to speak the other’s language.
Gingerly as possible, he passes the shimmering flower from his hands into Merlin's, tightly pressing his lips so a full-on grin won't overtake his expression. Have a little self-control, comes the soft scolding voice of his master, and yet the edges of his mouth curve anyway.
Disregarding the fact he still cannot understand, “I hope you like it,” Sizhui murmurs, lowering his hands afterward, thumbs rubbing across the length of his fingers. This is the first time he's used that spell and he's delighted it worked alright.
From where he's standing, it seems like something is... well, not concerning, per se, but something's definitely up? Merlin's distracted briefly, rasping a sentence Sizhui's unable to interpret, his eyes suddenly alighting gold again. He waits, patient as ever, then whenever the other male speaks and he can understand him, there's an audible awestricken gasp.
“Considering I was able to comprehend that, I'd say yes!” he chuckles, excitedly clasps both hands together and sighs, whimsical-like. “Magnificent, Merlin.”
He beams, laughing in relief that his spell works. Merlin quickly bows, at
the waist, careful to hold onto the flower.
"Merlin. From Camelot. I'm manservant to Prince Arthur Pendragon. This...is
this magic? Is magic..." The question hangs in his lungs, Merlin almost not
wanting to ruin the moment by asking but he presses on. "Is
magic...legal...here?"
Sizhui returns the gesture with a bow of his own, though his arms are circled in front of himself while he does. However, he immediately straightens at the mention of ‘manservant,’ his expression knitted in confusion.
“Camelot? Prince Arthur?” No, neither of those are familiar, but the mention of magic sure has his attention again, especially when Merlin asks if it's legal. He reaches up, cups a hand around his face to muffle his soft laughter then nods affirmingly. “Yes, magic is absolutely fine to use here.”
"It isn't where I'm from," Merlin says quietly. "Even if you're born with
magic, you're put to death." He shakes his head. No need to bore his new
friend with Camelot's dark past. "I'm not...really sure how I got here,
actually."
Well, not anymore, now that Merlin's mentioned that.
He's immediately pinching his lips together instead after realizing his outward blunder, inclining his head and chewing his cheek thoughtfully. How to fix this? “I'm sorry,” Sizhui starts, upturning his attention again, “but rest assured, you needn't worry about using your powers here.” No one will harm him either way, he'll make certain of it. “And my assumption is that something actually went wrong magic-wise.”
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houseofsushi2020-05-22 10:34 pm
no subject
Sizhui's fingertips almost brush a sparkling butterfly as they start to disappear and once it fully vanishes, he withdraws, rubs the pad of his thumb over his other fingers then grins so exuberantly, it's a wonder he can contain his excitement.
From a nearby shelf, he removes a piece of red paper and folds it carefully, meticulously into a pretty haitang flower. After it's finished and set in his palm, Sizhui reaches the opposite hand to hold his first two fingers straight up, eyes shut in concentration, then they reopen as he drifts both digits over the paper. It alights with a brilliant spark, petals suddenly translucent-looking like a miniature lantern that he offers Merlin. See? Everything's fine, nothing to panic about.
no subject
His anxiety rises until Sizhui returns with a red piece of paper, carefully folding it until it becomes a flower. His eyes widen almost comically when the other uses magic to give it further form and light. He stares , open mouthed, at it, then at his benefactor before gently taking it in his hands.
“No ones ever done something like this for me before,” he breathes.
There had to be something. Some way for them to communicate. Merlin concentrates hard to try and recall anything from the grimmoire that had to do with languages. Or any of Gaius’ dusty books.
More words fall from his lips in an almost hissing language as his eyes glow golden for a moment.
“...did it work?”
If it did, then he would be able to speak the other’s language.
no subject
Disregarding the fact he still cannot understand, “I hope you like it,” Sizhui murmurs, lowering his hands afterward, thumbs rubbing across the length of his fingers. This is the first time he's used that spell and he's delighted it worked alright.
From where he's standing, it seems like something is... well, not concerning, per se, but something's definitely up? Merlin's distracted briefly, rasping a sentence Sizhui's unable to interpret, his eyes suddenly alighting gold again. He waits, patient as ever, then whenever the other male speaks and he can understand him, there's an audible awestricken gasp.
“Considering I was able to comprehend that, I'd say yes!” he chuckles, excitedly clasps both hands together and sighs, whimsical-like. “Magnificent, Merlin.”
no subject
He beams, laughing in relief that his spell works. Merlin quickly bows, at the waist, careful to hold onto the flower.
"Merlin. From Camelot. I'm manservant to Prince Arthur Pendragon. This...is this magic? Is magic..." The question hangs in his lungs, Merlin almost not wanting to ruin the moment by asking but he presses on. "Is magic...legal...here?"
no subject
“Camelot? Prince Arthur?” No, neither of those are familiar, but the mention of magic sure has his attention again, especially when Merlin asks if it's legal. He reaches up, cups a hand around his face to muffle his soft laughter then nods affirmingly. “Yes, magic is absolutely fine to use here.”
no subject
He's laughing?
"It isn't where I'm from," Merlin says quietly. "Even if you're born with magic, you're put to death." He shakes his head. No need to bore his new friend with Camelot's dark past. "I'm not...really sure how I got here, actually."
no subject
He's immediately pinching his lips together instead after realizing his outward blunder, inclining his head and chewing his cheek thoughtfully. How to fix this? “I'm sorry,” Sizhui starts, upturning his attention again, “but rest assured, you needn't worry about using your powers here.” No one will harm him either way, he'll make certain of it. “And my assumption is that something actually went wrong magic-wise.”
no subject
He breathes a sigh of relief, the tense line of his shoulders finally relaxing.
“I’m, I can’t tell if it is magic? Certainly not a spell is have cast. And, as you can tell, not that many people using magic in Camelot.”
no subject
“Something happened on our end? I couldn't tell you what at the moment, but given some time, we might figure it out.”