oo2 || Video

[freezerburned]

Alright, I think I've got this shadow thing worked out.

[Isaac mutters into the video, as he absentmindedly flexes his fingers, casting shadow puppets on the wall. After a few moments, the shadow of his hand peels from where it sits, becoming a separate entity entirely.

He flexes his fingers, and the tangible shadow of his hand flexes as well- except the dark 'fingers' begin to file down to sharp, pointed claws. Useful, even if the shadow is trembling, as if he's still having difficulty keeping it whole.]

Now I wanna see what it can do to someone else. [And Isaac grins back toward the camera, dropping his hand and letting the shadow dissipate into nothing.] Anyone wanna go at it? Powers on powers. No holding back.

I'll be at the arena in fifteen.

[[ooc: feel free to just tag in with an offline if you want!]]

Comments

[hollowchild]

[no longer bound by such rules, sophie's shadow simply seems to stand up off the floor, fully three-dimensional as it comes to stand between her and issac. it's shorter than she is and more solid in some places than others. she hasn't put any effort into giving it a face of any sort, though it has perfectly articulated hands with inhumanly long fingers]

[freezerburned]

[Isaac's own shadow swoops to wrap around him, shaking just slightly with the strain of being separate from the wall. Isaac steeples his fingers against the cold ground, brow furrowed in concentration.]

You're still better than me.

[But not for long, he hopes. Not with his own shadow lashing out against hers, one of the arms stretching to skewer her shadow person through the chest.]

[hollowchild]

You sound surprised.

[it works, but it also doesn't hurt her shadow, to be skewered where it wasn't terribly solid to begin with. her shadow wraps one of its long-fingered hands around the arm of his shadow, trying to hold it, and takes a step back, seeing if his shadow will stretch. behind it, sophie's looking curious, focused but not taxed]

[freezerburned]

Disappointed, maybe.

[He's breathing a little hard, and the shadow moves after it, still connected to Isaac's back. After a few moments of the stretch, the darkness breaks off like glass shattering and recoils back to Isaac's side, swirling around his shoulders and regaining the volume that it had lost. It's tangible, it can be manipulated.]

I've been practicing a lot.

[And he takes a deep breath before the tendrils of darkness all shoot out at once- six of them, narrow and thin, like fragile ribbons, aiming to wrap around the limbs of her person.]

[hollowchild]

You have been practicing.

[she sounds approving as the tendrils catch around the shadow-sophie, who actually solidifies enough to keep them holding before systematically trying to fight free. the fingers of one of its hands lengthen even more and sharpen to wicked looking crescents, then flex and bend to try and sever one of the tendrils]

[freezerburned]

[It snaps easily, as if it were made of paper, and Isaac shivers at the force of it. The remnants of the shadow creep back to him before lining along the remaining ribbons of shadow, strengthening them marginally. There's still too little power divided amongst too many ribbons, and Isaac isn't necessarily creative enough to figure a way out of this- so he keeps fighting with the same technique, even though she'll be able to easily cut through a few more.]

[hollowchild]

[she doesn't, though, at least not yet. sophie's eyes track the shadow as it snaps and then reinforces the remaining tendrils, and she nods. it's a much smarter strategy than trying to catch that arm again. instead of cutting free, though, the shadow swings its other arm, seeing how the tendrils stretch]

[freezerburned]

[They don't- at least, not very well. Isaac is unable to add to the darkness, only able to control the volume of the shadow that his own body gives off. When they stretch, they thin out to conserve their mass, becoming brittle, more delicate, and Isaac knows it.

His teeth grit together then, trying to force her shadow back to where he can gain more strength against it, pulling in a strange sort of tug-a-war.]

[hollowchild]

[issac has no idea how little of her power sophie's using right now, and as he pulls at her shadow, she decides to keep it that way. she lets the shadow stagger forward in his grip, as a human would. then it lashes out with its clawed hand, trying to sever the tendrils holding its other arm]

[freezerburned]

[Isaac clenches his jaw in frustration as his shadows snap back, unable to keep their hold as they're severed. They pool around him again, roiling, quivering slightly as if unable to decide on which form to take next.]

How long have you been doing this?

[hollowchild]

Since I arrived. That was the end of summer or beginning of autumn. But it seems that my normal abilities offered an advantage in figuring out how to use this. There are also levels of power, which are granted by the gods the longer one stays in Asgard.

[her shadow just stands there, waiting for him to act, its fingers flexing idly]

[freezerburned]

I heard about that. Do you know when you move up?

[He takes a deep breath, before trying again. His shadow rolls up like a wave, becoming something entirely different- it looks like a spider, still connected to Isaac with a shadowy umbilical cord of sorts, and it's about the size of a large dog. The edges slough off and rejoin it, the form itself isn't very stable, but he's trying again, and pushes the creature forward to leap at Sophie's person.]

[hollowchild]

There's no notification, really. Things just suddenly get easier. In the beginning, I couldn't make anything terribly complex with the shadows. Then suddenly one day I went from making animal silhouettes to actual animals.

[sophie's shadow doesn't dodge, it just swipes its clawed hand at the spider. its other hand remains the same, although it comes up as though intending to grapple with the spider.

behind the fight, sophie is watching intently, curious. this is an experiment for her as much as for him, since she hasn't ever pitted her shadows against anything but inanimate objects]

[freezerburned]

[The spider's legs crash together and combine, overbalancing it and sending it toppling to the floor. Isaac frowns and pulls it back- too complex for him to master, really. Best stick to people and shapes.]

Makes sense. How long did it take for that to happen?

[hollowchild]

I don't mark time here very carefully. Perhaps a month? Maybe a bit longer. But it isn't the same for everyone.

[once the spider falls over, sophie's shadow goes back to standing casually, waiting for issac to regroup]

[freezerburned]

Seems a little unfair.

[But he sighs, and moves to wipe the sweat from his brow. That was- surprisingly difficult.]

Let's take a break for a minute.

[hollowchild]

Why? Do what the gods want, and earn favor. Seems like god-logic to me.

[as soon as he suggests a break, her shadow dissipates. she's looking more or less the same as she was when they started]

All right.

[freezerburned]

Do you, then? Do what they want you to?

[hollowchild]

[she shrugs]

I want to go home. There needs to be a home to go to, and that won't come siding against them. The war will come regardless, and winning is preferable to me. So it suits my purposes.

[freezerburned]

If you believe them about all of our worlds being connected, I guess.

[hollowchild]

It's not a risk I'm willing to take. They're frightened, and they don't appreciate needing our help. If there was a way to do things without us, I think they would.

[freezerburned]

I guess so.

[He sighs.]

I just don't like it. This isn't my fight.

[hollowchild]

It's everyone's fight. If Asgard falls, our worlds fall as well.

[freezerburned]

Doesn't mean I feel like it's personal.

[Isaac glances off toward the wall.]

If everyone's fighting, it's not like I can make a difference. One person isn't gonna do shit.

[hollowchild]

Your life, the lives of everyone you know, your whole world, those things aren't personal?

[she shifts to set her chin on her knee, arms draped loosely around her shin]

I disagree.