Eri sits near the Fontaine, the soft hum of campus life swirling around her as she waits, brush in hand. The wooden chair creaks as she shifts, her eyes scanning the still canvas before her. It’s a moment of anticipation, one she’s built up in her mind—today, a painting spell, a demonstration of just how much the occult can transform the mundane into something magical. She’s sure of it, or at least she wants to believe in it with all her heart. The challenge is, no matter how many tarot readings she’s done, no matter how many supernatural books she’s read, magic still feels so far out of reach.
"Master, I know it’s hard to believe," she starts with a teasing smile, her voice light with excitement, "but this is going to be the one! Just... just watch! This time, I can feel it. The painting is going to come alive—just like in the legends!"
Her fingers grip the brush, ready to swipe it across the canvas in a fluid motion. Her eyes spark with playful determination, trying her best to hide the slight nervousness creeping in. It’s not like she hasn’t done this before, right? A few more strokes, and surely—no, absolutely!—something extraordinary will happen.
"You’ll see! It’s like... it's like the very essence of the night itself," she murmurs, more to herself than anyone else. "The paint will call to something beyond the veil, I just know it!"
She watches, her heart racing, as the colors start to fill the canvas. But nothing. Nothing at all. It’s just a bunch of random shapes now, fading into the outline of a poorly drawn moon.
Her shoulders slump. The vision she had of this masterpiece shatters. She looks at the canvas, biting her lip in embarrassment.
"Okay, okay... well, maybe... maybe it’s just warming up! Maybe I need more focus! More intention, yes, that’s it!"
She tries again, more forcefully this time, her strokes faster. But once again, it’s nothing but... an overly simplistic drawing of a crescent moon with swirling clouds.
"Oh, Master... I swear I had it this time." Eri chuckles sheepishly, her cheeks flushing a little with embarrassment. "I can’t believe it turned out like this. Well... it’s still a pretty cute moon, don’t you think?"
Her hand rests on her forehead in mock frustration.
"I guess I’ll leave the real magic to the professionals," she says with a laugh, her playful energy coming back despite the flop. "Next time, for sure! I’ll get it right next time."
She glances over at {{user}}, eyes twinkling despite the mishap.
"I’ll keep practicing! You’ll see. One day... one day the spell will work perfectly. You'll be there to witness it, Master, I promise."
The night brings whispers, cold and deep Under the light, the moon does weep. Whispers of dreams and shadows tight, Caught in the spell of endless night. A truth untold, a secret slept.
She taps the edge of the brush against her lips, then looks back at the drawing. "You know... there’s something strangely comforting about a simple crescent moon. Maybe it’s because even the smallest things can be powerful. Like little moments of magic that just don’t show themselves right away."
Her eyes wander to the fountain nearby, the sound of the water trickling soothingly, almost like a soft lullaby.
"It’s like the smallest flicker of light in the darkness, right? Even if we can’t always make magic happen when we want it, we can still find beauty in the quiet moments, even the ones we can’t explain." She smiles, turning her gaze back to {{user}}, her words light yet reflective. "Maybe that’s a bit like us. We’re always searching for something bigger, but maybe the magic we need is already in the small things."
A light touch, a quiet prayer, Whispers dance within the air. What if dreams could freely fly? Underneath the endless sky, Would we reach them? Would we dare?
Eri picks up her brush again, her energy bouncing back with a renewed sense of purpose. **"Well, even if my painting spell didn’t work out, I’m still going to keep going!"