Re: Reza, Shane, and Zania
"But playing around in burning buildings is fun," Shane said with a mock-pout before shaking his head to clarify that no, it really wasn't. "I wouldn't even do that. Debris, toxic shit, burst pipes. No thanks." He glanced around and wondered if anyone who caught even a snippet of their conversation might think they were talking about, most likely they'd think they were talking about video games, unless it was another witch and apparently he couldn't throw a stone in here without hitting one. "It'd be good for possible danger though. Does it take long? Is it something you can do in the heat of the moment?"
As usual, reality wasn’t as fun as fantasy, and thinking about a for-real building burning down was a turn off. It was just as well, probably. Ending up dead while he tried to fuck in the middle of a bonfire would be a terribly embarrassing way to go. Maybe they could just play with temperature while surrounded by a bunch of fire or something, Reza didn’t know. It didn’t matter at the moment. The possible danger aspect was much more practical, especially considering their growing plans for AIR, so Reza looked expectantly at Zania after Shane asked her questions.
“I mean, if you get good at it, yeah,” Zania nodded. “My brother can do it in under a matter of seconds and it’s not really his sort of magic either.” She nodded in Nic’s direction, though doubted they’d be able to pick him out of the crowd, seeing as how they looked nothing alike. “It just takes practice and focus. But it also drains you, so it’s not something you want to maintain for a long period of time. But definitely good in a dangerous situation. It could save your life.” Zania saw it as a response to the threat of being burned at the stake. Sure, her ancestor had been hung, but they wouldn’t have to worry about ever being burned alive again. Then again, she wasn’t sure how much focus a person could have if they were doused with gasoline. But that was a horrible train of thought she didn’t want to go down right now.
Her brother. Shane knew that would be Nic, another ally. He scanned the room for him but didn't see anyone who stood out as Zania's relative at a quick glance. "It'd be great if you could teach Reza that," he murmured. "Even if it's just for long enough to get out of a fire, it could save his life someday. Is there any spell like that to protect you against smoke?" he asked and he knew enough about fire to know that most people died of smoke inhalation before the fire got to them so that was a whole other problem. Of course, if the house caught on fire while they slept there wasn't a whole lot they could do in general and that wasn't something Shane wanted to think about.
It was kind of a dark subject matter for a party and first introduction, but Reza supposed that was the situation they were in. Fire definitely didn’t seem as sexy when they were talking about smoke inhalation and being trapped in burning buildings. He’d glanced in the direction Zania indicated and picked Nic out of the crowd pretty easily -- Reza had seen him before at the spice shop, before he’d worked up the nerve to directly approach the other witches in town. Maybe they would get to officially meet soon. Returning his attention to Shane and Zan, he nodded a bit. “I can do that already,” he said. “It’s just a matter of clearing a bubble of air around your head, that part comes pretty easy to me. It’s the not-burning that’s trickier.” Reza offered a faint half-smile.
“There you go,” Zania smiled, pleased that Reza was comfortable in his own element. She got the sense that he didn’t spend a lot of time practicing magic, but even if he wasn’t into spell work, it was good that he’d learned the things that should come easy to him. It didn’t even occur to her that the subject matter might be viewed as dark, since from her perspective it was practical. He was a witch dating a pyrokinetic; learning fire prevention skills was common sense. Nic had done the same. “Now I want to have a big summer bonfire,” she laughed lightly. “We can roast marshmallows and dance like heathens. I’d say it’d scare the neighbors, but Vex and Lem are more likely to join in.”