steepwithdead | Folkmore

Ahh. Magic formed through a pledge can be powerful indeed.

[Sort of like a warlock, maybe? Except promised through family, not some sort of god. He can imagine some folks would argue that's much better. (Not him, but he can respect the source.)]

Less weird than you might think.

[The phrasing does make the turtle mull over it somewhat. He never thought of it as a pledge.] Huh, good to know it's not too weird, then. I don't think it's common back in my world. At least not by the Hamato way of handling things.

Protect the world from a great evil, die if you must to ensure it doesn't resurface. A blunt weapon that struck until it shattered, giving the next weapon time to be forged. You added to the next generation's power, I think, when you did that. [He huffs a little.] Pardon the lame metaphor.

It can be both good and bad. Really depends on who the pact is made with.

[Like- Wildmom! Good pact. Murderous betrayer gods, or racist uncles: not so good.]

It's not a lame metaphor if it's accurate. That sounds like a heavy task to put on the shoulders of any family, though. Familial expectations, if you're not happy with the duty you're stuck with... it can be a difficult medicine to swallow. Got a few of those in my family.

We changed the rules after Shredder was gone, but- [He waves his hand, not wanting to spin in circles around that.] that's besides the point.

Lemme guess, a sibling wanted to go on grand adventures instead of tend to the dead?

My brother and middle sister were always more ambitious and adventurous than I ever was. Or still am, even now. They were hoping to be the ones to complete the mission to save home. It must annoy them terribly that they had to be saved by me, the hermit who didn't like to travel.

[That does a fair job of making Leonardo laugh, the is sound bright and pleased. Both of them being middle children in their families means, he is already thinking of helpful ways for Caduceus to irritate his siblings.]

When you get back, I hope you rub it in a little. [He makes a small gesture by pinching two fingers together.] They can consider it their first step into more adventures. You'll have their backs when they need you most.

Well, I don't think I could convince Colton to travel with me, even if I were so inclined. We'd go for a day at most before he'd wander off solo. He's poor company on the road. Calliope, though. I think we could try.

[They bicker too, but in a more familiar way. Colton's a little too removed from Cad's personality for them to mesh well. He loves his brother like he loves all of his family, but he's also self-aware.]

[He leans against the nearest counter in the kitchen, still feeling energetic thanks to that spell. He doesn't want to sit down just yet.] Maybe you two can figure out a trip together when you get back. Depending on what is going on, anyway.

Colton can miss out overall, strike it out on his own doing Colton-y things. [He wiggles his fingers when he says 'things' for emphasis.]

I think after everything is done, I'll want to stay home for... a good long while. But eventually, maybe. I don't know how she'll feel, either. She'd been gone much longer than me.

[Although he doesn't know if she felt that time as strongly- she'd been petrified for most of it, after all. He's been awake and adventuring the whole time.]

Fair. You always gave off homebody vibes. No offense intended. [He offers back with a smile.]

If, I figure out portals between dimensions, I'll come by and say hi at least.

I'm not offended, it's the truth. Had I not been called to leave, I would have happily stayed in my temple for life.

[He's been bitten by adventure now... it was terrifying at first, but now, he can see the appeal, doing good and being with his dear friends, now a second family. Give it a few years after everything's over, and maybe he'll venture off again.]

You'd be very welcome. I could show you around. It isn't luxurious like this place, but I think it's beautiful.

You're happy at home and taking care of things. It makes sense. [Leonardo can't blame him for that. He used to just want to stay at home, sure adventures were fun, but home was different. Safe.]

I'd like to see the temple, the graves and take everything in.

Mm. That's so.

[He's glad Leo understands. Not everyone does.]

There's spells in my world that cross dimensions, of a sort. [They're known as planes, but similar theory.] There could be many ways to travel to other worlds. It would be nice if we could somehow visit the friends we've made here, after.

[With time, the turtle has learned not everyone's calling are grand adventures. Sometimes just finding your purpose is something much simpler.]

Of a sort, huh? How complicated are those kind of spells? [He's naturally curious.] When I was a teenager, before I had control over my magic, I would randomly open portals to places I've never been. Places that didn't seem like earth. Mikey and I... [He trails off for a second, before pressing on.] His magic alone opened a portal for Casey to the past. I could learn more about that and see what I can do at least.

...Hmm. [Yeah, Caduceus lifts a brow at the last bit of commentary, unsure of what to say on that. From sessions with Casey, he knows what that particular portal did. Maybe it's a bad idea to poke that particular bear. Research could (in theory) be harmless, though...] Doing that in this world might not be a great idea. Be careful.

[He knows from Draxum's experience, and Donatello as well- trying to open portals to other worlds here ends with violence and misfortune. One must be very careful. It's luck Caleb and Essek didn't blow up the house when they were messing around with it, during their time here. Anyway.]

I know a spell that can shift people across planes of existence- other worlds within the same universe, essentially. But the way it works is by attuning to an object from that plane. So I'm curious if it could be expanded to other universes, given the correct attuning object. It's never been tried because, well. Objects from other universes were not accessible in mine, that we know of.

I'm gonna aim to get a little stronger before I try anything too extreme. I don't think its my time to head out here anyway. So, no rush to try any portals between dimensions. [He promises easily enough. Aware without the right power behind it, he wouldn't get far. Unaware of the issues Draxum or Donatello ran into.]

Huh. Whenever we get sent back, or there is an option, I could probably slip you something of mine? To use as some basis anyway. I know the yokai used to have these little tokens that were used for teleportation. I never got to learn how they worked, but, whenever I get home, I could dig into that too.

It'd be a shame to end up in the wrong place because you rushed things. Or for something else to go wrong. That happens sometimes.

[This world is unpredictable at best. He's the type to bide his time and play it safe, so. Easy advice to offer.]

Might be interesting to explore, at least. Just in case. I don't know how well it works on items conjured from this world, though. Hasn't worked for me yet.

[Since anything he calls to this world should be "from" his plane of existence... the spell hasn't worked as intended so far.]

Fate has a cruel sense of humor, so, I hear you. [Knowing his luck, he'll land somewhere not particularly pleasant or be horribly maimed by pushing his luck with magic.]

I'm going to take a shot in the dark that everything here has Thirteen's magic all over it. So, we're just stuck speculating. Makes me wonder if we'd take any of it back with us. We're changed fundamentally as we come in, will it be stripped away as we go-?

Hard to say. I've seen and heard that both options are possible- we may remember, or we may not. Maybe it'll only feel like a dream, maybe the changes forced on us will carry through.

[Wings would probably be useful, in his world. It wouldn't be a terrible thing. Remembering would be alright, and in truth, he has gotten stronger during his time here. Maybe he could help the rest of the Nein with their missions better now. It doesn't sound so bad.]

I'd like to carry all of this- [He presses his palm against his chest, struggling to articulate the feeling properly.] with me. Good and bad.

Even this stupid fight with Donnie, it's still... more time with him. Something I can fix. Instead of just a memory. When I go back with Casey, I don't think Donnie would go with us. I'll take what I can get.

Edited (actually, lemme make this worse, LMAO) 2025-11-10 04:57 (UTC)

Ah...

[That, he imagines, would be a hard pill to swallow. Another goodbye to be made. For him to not join them, it would be as if he'll die all over again.]

It's good to cherish and try to hold on to these extra memories. Borrowed time is precious. Things can change over time, though. Maybe you should wait until this conflict is resolved before you worry about any of that.

[Especially with no clear way to get them back to their worlds safely, anyway.]

After you've saved the future, it's hard not to think about it. [He bats back, trying for a joke even if it doesn't land.]

You're right though. I should just... try to fix this. Instead of getting into a fist fight in his lab and calling him a stupid piss baby to his face. [He didn't call him a piss baby, but he was REALLLLLY thinking it.]

[...Wow, that... really is a fight with a brother, huh.]

What do you think "fixing this" would entail, at this point?

[No one in this family functions. The question does take the wind out of Leonardo's sails completely. His irritation drying up.]

I don't know. I thought, if he apologized to Casey, there could be progress. He won't though.

He's not willing to apologize?

[He's not especially surprised, but it is unfortunate.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject