We've checked out the property a bit (well, honestly, we just kinda looked at it for all of, like, 30 seconds. There really wasn't much to inspect. I suppose we'll do a further inspection when we see the finished product.), and now S and I are heading back to town, once again walking through the sea of green we call plains. Catface has departed, and I don't really know how to feel about that. I mean, on one hand, they kinda scare me, so some part of me is glad they're gone, but on the other hand, it's almost scarier not knowing where they are at any given moment, you know?

And, if I'm honest... they were actually surprisingly pleasant to be around. (Y'know, when they're not committing acts of terror, at least.) I dunno, I kinda feel weird about the whole situation with them. Whenever I think they're pretty cool, I remember the pain in my leg, that stupid little note I couldn't read, and I remember the duke screaming the name of his daughter, the scream of a parent who thought he'd just lost everything. They didn't care about playing with something like that. 

And yet, I've heard them laugh, I've eaten dinner with them, and shared pleasant conversation. I want to see them as a human, as a friend. But it's hard. 

But beyond that, beyond even the memories, I just... 

To them, am I a freak, a monster, like they said? Or is that a simple title, a nickname?

 More than anything, I'd like to be human.

"Right," S began as we walked. "What's next? We've still got a bit of time before night falls."  

Yeah, I suppose it'll be a while before I'm tried enough to go to sleep, guess we got some time to kill, again.

"Oh, yeah. We could practice magic or something, I guess." That seems like a productive use of time, given that we just learned a pretty good deal about magic. (Assuming Catface wasn't lying through their teeth, but, honestly, I doubt that's a possibility.) I think even S might have some new ideas and all that. 

As for me, I'd like to see how far I can push what I already know, specifically, how I can make my tentacle-noodle thingies better as a defensive tool, because, honestly, they haven't been 100% effective in that regard. After I've figured out how to protect myself, I think I'll focus on more practical problems. 

"Should I warp us there now?" I ask S, since I doubt anyone's watching us here.

"Where? Shouldn't we just do it here?" S asked.

I've already opened a hole to the clearing that we've used previously, the one by Starsford. 

I look over at S.

We have an awkward staring contest for more than a few seconds. 

"Alright." 

Once again, we are in the familiar clearing where we practice stuff. Thinking about it, if we just headed out to near the woods that hero kid appeared out of, there'd probably be less risk of someone seeing, but... tradition.

"Right, you've got the basics down, right?" S said, ending his sentence the same way he started it again. 

"Think so." I said.

"Right, in that case I'll be focusing on my own stuff, there's something I want to try out. That said, if you need any help, just ask, alright?" He kinda did the same thing again, but not quite.

I nodded. I'm eager to get the work. I think having my leg broken has given me a newfound vigor. A vigor that will, hopefully, allow me to prevent future bone breakage and, in general other forms of harm against me.

Alright, first, lets just cast the noodle-tentacle thingies.

Alright, got them out, give 'em a bit of a wiggle, yep, they're working as usual. The phrase 'wiggling the tentacle' sounds disgusting, right? I mean, there's nothing inherently nasty about it, but, like... 

No, no, magic. We're doing magic, focus!

Okay, so, I can wiggle and maneuver them a good deal, that's good, that's expected. Now, I'm gonna try some other stuff with them. 

I reach out my arms once again. Time to modify this a bit. I close my eyes, to help me focus.

Okay, so, last time, I imagined body parts or something, right? So, let's see... let's say my standard casting is an arm, or something... This time, lets say, uh, what's that thing between your shoulder and elbow? Somethin' cep... Bicep! Okay, imagine Biceps, but, like, magic... And then, same as before, unleash magic.

Surprisingly, that actually worked, and didn't have any disastrous misfire or something.  And, just as I'd hoped, instead of summoning 4 largish tentacles, I have summoned 8 smaller ones, about a little over half an arms length. This is all well and good, y'know, now I have more appendages I can move independently, that's great, cool, whatever, but I'm not done yet.

I've just confirmed that I can split my noodles in half, and thus create more of them. Like worms. (Ooh, new semi-disgusting adjective unlocked.) 

Though their range is shorter, with 8 Noodley-Wormy-Tentaclies (Henceforth known as NWTs, because it sounds like 'newts' and newts are salamanders, which are kinda like lizards, which are kinda like dinosaurs, and dinosaurs are cool. So are dragons. Also, if you say it like N.W.Ts, it sounds like a cool secret government experiment. Either way, it's great.) I can more accurately defend myself against incoming threats. See, the biggest problem with using these as a defensive tool is the insane pushback I receive. I've given up trying to figure out how it works, and am now just trying to figure out how to deal with it. See, I think I can somewhat negate the problem by slamming my bottom NWTs into the ground. I guess it gives me traction, or something? Is that what that word means? Anyways, that leaves me very open to attacks from below, as I can't defend down there when my defense is preoccupied. 

The solution, of course, is simply more defense. Reach doesn't really matter much, I think, since I'm just using them as a shield, anyways, so, I traded quality for quantity. I just gotta make sure they're still maneuverable enough that they can actually block stuff. Some more wiggling, and, yep, they seem good enough. 

Alright, made some great progress, time to take a short break and enjoy cola.

...

Ah, that's the stuff. Y'know, I wonder what else I can get from that weird machine? Could I get other flavors of cola? Other kinds of soda entirely? I guess the only way to find out is just putting them in the machine. That means I need to learn how to write certain key words.

Alright, for the sake of science, I'll need to learn how to write:

• Cola (Done)
• Cherry
• Orange
• Lemon
• Lime
• Root
• Beer
• Ginger
• Ale
• Cream

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure more will come to me in time. Maybe I should seek out the word 'soda', too. Wait, maybe they say 'pop' over here. Wait, what if they don't have a word for it? I suppose that's possible... Does that mean I get to invent the word? How would that work, anyways? How do words come to be?

I take another sip.

Whelp, I dunno. Don't know how I'd figure that out, either, so... back to magic, I guess.

Alright, first order of business is making sure that this idea actually works.

Yep, seems I can create a pretty good defensive barrier with these things. I can have a full frontal defense, a shell on my back, or I can mix both, and go front with 4 and back with the remainder. Actually, that last one might be the best, as these NWTs, while shorter, are still plenty long enough to reach across my torso and my head. The only problem area is...

The entire lower half of my body. 

Hmm. Well, that's a predicament. These smaller NWTs aren't long enough to reach most of my leg, barely getting past the knees, let alone hitting the ground. Instead of fixing my problem, this has exacerbated it. That said, not all hope is lost. The problem is their starting point. It's too high. Actually, all of these start too high. Previously, I had one set of NWTs coming out of the lower part of my torso, and the other set coming out of my shoulders. Now, I have 2 sets coming out of my torso, the new one a little higher, just above my shirt pocket, and the remaining sets, I have one coming out of my shoulder, and one out of my... uh, neck, I guess. Huh, y'know, I didn't really think about that before, but this probably looks ridiculous, doesn't it? How unbecoming of a master of darkness to be. 

Okay, let's start over. I get rid of the NWTs, and close my eyes again. I take a deep breath, and imagine my whole body, standing with my arms reached out. Okay, I'm gonna try to focus my magic at certain points, and release from there. Hopefully, if this works the way I'm imagining, (and, if what Catface said is true, it should,) the NWTs will come out from those points. And... release.

Oh, it actually just worked. Huh. Honestly, I was expecting that it wouldn't. I guess this is pretty basic magic, so I can modify it without needing much more power. Neat, I guess. Man, I hope I learn some more advanced stuff soon. Though, I'm not quite sure how I'll do that, since I don't know anyone else that can use dark magic. Eh, I'm sure something'll happen eventually. Maybe.

Anyways, the new tentacles appear in the following places. One set a bit below the knees, these are the ones that will dig into the ground, one set a bit above the knees, for defense of the lower region, one set on the lower torso, and one set just below the armpits, for defense everywhere else. Oh yeah, this should help a good deal.

That said, it's not perfect. I can't just create a cocoon, or a wall or something. I have to actually maneuver them for them to actually block anything. If someone's more agile with their attack than I am with my NWTs, then I'm still toast. Plus, if I'm being attacked, then, presumably, I'll have to attack back, so I'll have to focus on a lot of things at once. That's the nature of fighting, I guess.  

Well, if it ever becomes I problem, I can just, y'know, leave, and there's not much anyone can do about that. 

Alright, I'm gonna fiddle with these for a while, get a feel for them. After that,

it'll be time for practical problems.