He's not expecting the question, but it's like, in asking about magic, Chris has flipped a light switch in the bard, and his demeanor brightens, the light in his eyes a stark contrast to the false, shallow cheer he wears like a mask.
Maybe he's not entirely vacuous, after all.
"Oh! It's kind of... both?"
Not much of an answer, but here, allow him to explain.
"My parents, my brothers, aunts, uncles, whatever-- everyone in my family, we're all Gifted." That's the euphemism for it, back home. The socially acceptable way of saying witch, sorcerer, mage, wizard, magical freak of nature, whatever. "But it's not... It's not really something you can teach, you know? Magic's this really personal thing, it's like..."
How to put it?
"Like a special language between you and the Gift itself. The big fucking..." He looks up and around, at nothing anyone can see. "Beautiful magic aether that's all around us and in everything. So... People like us, we've got to find a way to communicate with it. Not with words-- well, not for most people, but... actions, intention, creation. You know?"
A beat, while he fuels up with a bite of food.
"So--" Wait. Swallow. Take a sip. Okay. "There's a ton of books and, like, scholarly shit about magical principles, philosophy, stuff like that, but no one can teach you how to turn all that abstract theory into--" Vague handwave, complete with finger wiggles. "Magic. They can guide you and help you-- and my family did-- but they can't teach you how to do anything. That all comes from applying the nerdy abstract stuff into your actions. Talents, we call 'em." Talent with a capital-T. "The spells I compose, another bard could perform 'em, but it wouldn't do anything. And I could take another bard's composition, play it for the world, and fuck all would happen. Does that make sense?"
He could keep going. He'd love to keep going. It's probably pretty obvious that this is Jeff's love, his passion, the thing that animates him.
But it'd be rude to just babble on and on, so--
"What's it like for you?"
There's genuine curiosity and interest in his voice. He's not asking as a formality or social nicety, so much as this is definitely a subject he's all in on.
no subject
Maybe he's not entirely vacuous, after all.
"Oh! It's kind of... both?"
Not much of an answer, but here, allow him to explain.
"My parents, my brothers, aunts, uncles, whatever-- everyone in my family, we're all Gifted." That's the euphemism for it, back home. The socially acceptable way of saying witch, sorcerer, mage, wizard, magical freak of nature, whatever. "But it's not... It's not really something you can teach, you know? Magic's this really personal thing, it's like..."
How to put it?
"Like a special language between you and the Gift itself. The big fucking..." He looks up and around, at nothing anyone can see. "Beautiful magic aether that's all around us and in everything. So... People like us, we've got to find a way to communicate with it. Not with words-- well, not for most people, but... actions, intention, creation. You know?"
A beat, while he fuels up with a bite of food.
"So--" Wait. Swallow. Take a sip. Okay. "There's a ton of books and, like, scholarly shit about magical principles, philosophy, stuff like that, but no one can teach you how to turn all that abstract theory into--" Vague handwave, complete with finger wiggles. "Magic. They can guide you and help you-- and my family did-- but they can't teach you how to do anything. That all comes from applying the nerdy abstract stuff into your actions. Talents, we call 'em." Talent with a capital-T. "The spells I compose, another bard could perform 'em, but it wouldn't do anything. And I could take another bard's composition, play it for the world, and fuck all would happen. Does that make sense?"
He could keep going. He'd love to keep going. It's probably pretty obvious that this is Jeff's love, his passion, the thing that animates him.
But it'd be rude to just babble on and on, so--
"What's it like for you?"
There's genuine curiosity and interest in his voice. He's not asking as a formality or social nicety, so much as this is definitely a subject he's all in on.