Scene #192: Magic Basics, or 'How I stopped worrying and learned to love the CLAW STINGER!'

Owner	Pose
Zephyr Windstar	Zephyr is waiting in the mall parking lot, having had her Device ping Francesca's to meet up again. The wide open area is perfect for her purposes, and a Barrier can stop mundanes from getting hurt, and property being damaged. As Francesca arrives, the older mahou looks over and summons her Device, expanding a Barrier field without any preamble. "Okay, you ready for some actual magic training? Physical conditioning is about 20% of a Mage's combat ability. Don't ever underestimate just slugging someone in the face in a pinch." She says, her Barrier Jacket forming as she pushes off the railing. "But the other 80% is your magical abilities. I'll start off with the most basic of magic spells. The Barret. It's mid-range and versatile, and with proper calculations, can be made to home in on a target, explode like a grenade or simply strike home with hammer-like force, and that isn't an exhaustive list." She summons a quartet of her own Impulse Barret spheres, the purple magic seeming to 'boil' as it vibrates chaotically.
Francesca Leon	Once again, Francesca finds herself at the mall's parking lot. But it's not to shop 'til she drops. Oh no, this is for something far more important than that. "Yo." The girl says as she arrives and the Barrier goes up. Taking that as her cue she plucks her Device from her necklace and transforms into her Barrier Jacket as well. "Ready as I'll ever be." She says, drumming her fingers on the hilt of her sword as she watches the display of Zephyr summoning her Impulse spheres. "Yeah I've got that one spell... Claw Stinger. I should probably figure out more, later, huh."
Zephyr Windstar	Zephyr grins lopsidedly. "No time like the present. I want you to summon as many as you can keep stable... then, try and hit me with them." She brings up her Device defensively. "Don't worry, our magical output is very lopsided in my favour. That's not a bad thing in this case, it means even my mediocre defensive wards should be able to tank your hits until you learn how to bypass them." With that, she stabs the end-spike into the ground, bracing it as a hemisphere of interlocking hexagonal plates forms in front of her. "What I want you to do, it visualize the matrix of the spell. Get your Device to help with that. Your goal in this first exercise is to reduce the mana outlay for each shot. Refine them down until you can shoot without feeling tired."
Francesca Leon	"... Those are words, Zephyr. Those sure are words." Francesca says as her new apparent mentor figure tries to explain how to get things going. Pursing her lips briefly, she looks to her Device. <Don't Worry. I've got you, Kitten.> Mistoffelees says affirmatively. "Alright." Francesca begins to focus though, brow knotting as she works on forming her spell, several purple arrow-shaped barrets appearing as she outstretches her hand. "Okay, I think... I think I've got this part down... Maybe." She says.
Zephyr Windstar	Zephyr chuckles. "Never said I was good at this, but you don't really have many options, 'Kitten'." goads the older mage, bracing herself a bit more. "Anyway, the Device will do most of the heavy lifting in that case, you just need to concentrate. Intention is everything, and the feeling you put into your magic will also affect its strength." She's channeling so much power into her defensive spell the plates are starting to glow a bit more intensely. "Now, shoot." she commands.
Francesca Leon	Francesca sticks her tongue right out when Zephyr calls her kitten. But she obeys. It takes a little focus, but it looks like she gets the hang of things again; working off 'intending' to try and shoot her teacher. One of her barret spells launches, streaking with contrails of purple light through the air before missing Zephyr and her shield completely. "... Okay let's try again." A little more focus, some more concentration- another shot goes streaking from her outstretched hand, plinking into Zephyr's shield.
Zephyr Windstar	< Hit Registered... no damage. > Zephyr gives her axe-shaped Device a frown. "No need to word it like that Dee." she remarks bluntly, then turns her mismatched eyes back to Francesca. "Good. Accuracy comes first, then you can start ramping up the power output. The strongest shot means nothing if it can't hit the target." she compliments. "Took me weeks to be able to shoot straight."
Francesca Leon	"You're pumping everything into defense, of course there's going to be no damage!" Francesca pouts at the announcement. But she nods. Accuracy... Focus on hitting. Deal with dealing damage later. Summoning a few more barrets, she focuses on simply trying to make hits against Zephyr's shield spell, one at a time at first, before she gets a little daring and goes for two at once. Some hit, some miss by inches, but she's getting a rhythm down to it resulting in a moderately accurate shot pattern. She's not Nanoha, but she'll learn. Eventually.
Zephyr Windstar	Zephyr snorts. "Dee's a teasy little priss sometimes. Don't take notice of her." This earns a chime of indignation from the AI, that in turn earns a poked out tongue back. Each shot that lands makes the plates flare in response, the energy absorbing into them as the barrier-type defensive spell does its job and saps the power from each shot that lands. "Good shot spread. You don't want to be perfectly accurate sometimes, a bit of randomness can catch an opponent off guard and help you score hits on evasive targets... even the fastest opponent can't evade a shot they didn't see coming." As the hits start coming in faster and more accurately, she nods. "Good, very good... keep it up as long as you feel able. Learn to feel the limits of your output. Once you've got a feel for were that limit currently is, you can work on expanding it. Your Linker Core is like a muscle. If you exercise it, it'll get stronger."
Francesca Leon	Pausing briefly to catch her breath, Francesca nods at Zephyr's assessment. Not a bad shot spread but not perfect. But that's okay. She's probably going to run out of steam shortly at the rate she's going, and her arm lowers as she pauses for a few breaths, sweat beading on her brow... But if the Linker Core is like a muscle... If her power is fueled by her intentions, desires, and emotions and bonds... Maybe... Just maybe she can push herself a little farther- a little harder. A look of intense focus forms on Francesca's face for a moment as memories come back. Days past, in which she had a home. A loving family. Friends and more... That's when, when it seemed like she had nothing left in the gas tank, when it seemed like she was about to give in and call it quits...? Three more barrets manifest at her hand, launching in a trio aimed for that shield. If Zephyr tanks them Dee will likely register something from THAT.
Zephyr Windstar	The shots land true. THUD, THUDTHUD. < Impact Detected. Barrier fluctuation at 1%. > the Device actually manages to sound impressed. Zephyr grins at that, letting the barrier shell drop. "Even I felt that one, something changed at the end there. That feeling, whatever it was? Keep hold of that. Just, try not to rely on bad feelings too much because they can cause... issues." Whether it's intuition or just general advice is hard to tell. She strides over, and places a hand on Francesca's shoulder. "Good hustle, kiddo, lets go get something to eat."