mortalcoil | IC INBOX

No magic at home. [ He wiggles his fingers at Coil. ]

But here, you can purchase abilities. I just have, like, zero money.

[Coil looks highly skeptical, like he's about to scoff at the idea of someone just buying a magic ability... but as he himself had more or less done that at the fleet, he keeps the comment to himself.

Instead, he only asks, "What kind?"]

I really want to help people. Lup called it.. Abjuration? I think? Protective magic, anyway.

[ It feels silly talking about it, but it's something he really wants to devote his time to. ]

[Carl can feel as silly about it as he wants, but Coil seems interested. He perks up and searches for words for a moment, before finally just spelling out what he wants to say instead of trying to work with the proper signs for them.

"Wards? Shields?"]

[ Carl nods enthusiastically and repeats back 'shields'. ]

I want to learn other things too, in case something comes up.. it'd be nice how to know how to keep someone from bleeding out.

[Okay, that enthusiasm is a little contagious. In talking about wards and shields, Coil points to himself and nods, then holds up two fingers to indicate something small. His magic might be of a completely different school from what they're talking about, but he knows a few ward and hold spells.

And as for keeping someone from bleeding out, Coil points at him and asks, "Know medicine, some?"]

[ Hey, he at least understands that Coil knows some, which makes him a bit more excited. Once he has the ability, maybe Coil can teach him a thing or two. At the question, he looks sheepish. ]

Not enough to say so.

[Coil nods again! He isn't one to ever really get excited over teaching other people things, but there seems to be a good amount of enthusiasm now. Pointing at himself, he switches between he signs and spellings for, "Anatomy, bandage, stitch, emergency."

Which might seem like a little much for a kid who spends his time killing vampires and learning magic to know, but it would have made more sense if Carl had any idea about how Coil's horrible necromancy worked.

He follows it all up with an offer. "Teach?"]

[ He can definitely put everything together, and that makes him all the more enthusiastic. He wants to help, and he wants to be able to use magic where medicine lacks, but he needs a stepping stone. If Coil can help him? All the better. Carl nods, beaming.

"Please"?]

[It's pretty close to a smile, this time. Closer than he usually gets, anyway. He doesn't even notice at first. With how contagious Carl's grin is, he unconsciously begins to mirror it a little before he catches himself.

He looks back down to his notes and nods. "We'll find books," he signs.]

[ He nods and agrees. "We'll find books". Carl sits there and watches Coil work, finishing off the peanut butter in his bowl with a finger. Like a goblin. Really, just content to watch Coil do what he needs to. ]

[Coil manages to work for a few minutes successfully. From the looks of it, he's going through his old journal, reviewing the tangled maze of notes and drawings, and then transcribing them into clearer, newer, expanded versions on the paper he has collected here. Turning footnotes into something he can actually work from, maybe. He is missing his entire library from home, but this will have to do in a pinch.

Only half of his mind is really on his work, though. He's not annoyed that Carl is sitting there, but he is distracted. He can't help thinking about things, chewing on ideas and questions and just the simple fact that he would rather be talking to his friend than doing his homework.

So, eventually, he drops his pen onto the papers in a clear statement of defeat and leans back in his chair to rub his eye again. He signs "bored" with his other hand.]

[ It's quite soothing, watching the rhythmic scribbling on paper even though he's got no idea what Coil's actually putting into writing. Doesn't matter, he enjoys how dutiful Coil attempts to be for a few more minutes. The hour is late, so it's not really a surprise when the other kid does give up. Carl's been watching, face propped up with one hand. When he sees the sign, he huffs out a laugh and takes that as a sign to sit up straight and stretch out a bit.

"That didn't take long." ]

[Coil, who is absolutely that kid who was pressured into settling for nothing less than perfect grades and all the advanced learning he could possibly manage, can't help but get defensive over that. He frowns, looking indignant and gesturing toward the nearest clock.

"Many hours already," he signs, as if Carl had outright called him lazy.]

[ Carl is quick to respond, raising his hands in surrender before signing "it was a joke" ]

I get it, man. It's late.

[ He nods out to the living room with its more comfortable seating. ]

If you don't want to go to sleep, we could always hang out.

[Coil buys himself a minute to try and not feel like a quitter for wanting to stop his studying before the point of falling asleep at the table, busying with straightening up the papers and closing his journal.

Normally, his guilt his more than enough to keep him working until he's ready to drop from exhaustion. But, even with that hanging over his head... he really doesn't want to go back to it right now. As much as he doesn't ever make relaxing a priority, doing nothing but hanging out with his roommate sounds very appealing.

So, with a frown--more at himself than anything--he shrugs like he doesn't care one way or another. Sure, why not?]

[ The good thing about Carl is that he doesn't need to pry about how someone is feeling. Some people don't speak their feelings or.. speak much at all sometimes, and that's fine. He's used to the sullen type, and they're more fun anyway.

Putting his bowl in the sink after getting up to crack his back, Carl shuffles out to the living room and makes himself comfortable on one end of the couch, leaning against the arm and folding his legs up. ]

[That's Coil's favorite kind of person, really. He can awkwardly agree to something he doesn't normally agree to, like 'hanging out,' and not feel too terribly weird about it.

He still feels a little weird, of course. It's close enough to socializing to feel strange. He grabs a cup of water from the kitchen on the way, just to give himself something to do. And once in the living room, he slouches down into a seat on the opposite end of the couch as if he's expecting at least one other person to take up space in the middle.]

[ Okay, now it feels a little weird, but there was a point to this. There's still a ton that they don't know about each other. He nudges Coil in the thigh with his foot to get his attention again.

'Want to play twenty questions again?' ]

[Again, it's not something he typically agrees to, but it's some kind of direction, and that sounds wonderful before the awkward silence can settle in. Because it's not like either of them are great at just striking up conversation on their own.

Perking up a little, he nods and asks, "You have one to start?"]

[ He doesn't, but it's not difficult to come up with one with how little they really know. He sits forward a little bit so he can sign better.

"S-i-b-l-i-n-g-s?" ]

[Coil frowns, hunching up his shoulders for a moment as if he's cold... but it's one of those things that he'd been told a long time ago he should be over by now, so he brushes it off pretty quickly.

"Sister. Younger." He shrugs as if it's nothing. "Dead."

And to try and keep things moving so he doesn't have to think about it longer than necessary, he points at Carl, wordlessly turning the question around to him.]

[ Carl frowns, his expression momentarily crestfallen. He knows how it is to lose someone like that, and he couldn't imagine losing Judith.

'Sister. Younger. J-u-d-i-t-h.' ]

[Coil's brow lifts briefly in interest, maybe surprised to hear that. It's another weird similarity at the very least. Except Carl gives him a name instead of a statement of death, and that in itself is a significant difference.

He takes a drink of water while he thinks about his next question, and motions for Carl to take another turn.]

[ He has to think about his next question, too. It takes him a little bit longer because he doesn't want to linger on family. It's painful for Coil for obvious reasons and doesn't want this to be depressing. ]

Did you know some signing before, or did you learn after?

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