Just where I'm putting all the flashbacks pertaining to my character!
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Roleplayer001
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8 mos ago
"Never wake me up. Especially if the house is on fire."
Theme
Nicknames/Titles: 'Phoenix' is probably the most commonly used. Has been mistaken for many existent gods, called an angel, and the inspiration for some non-existent deities.
In this life, she has been called 'Roux Allete' and 'Little Red' by those close to her.
Age: When asked about her age, Iravis probably responds with fire in her eyes, her voice rising in volume. "I have received offerings, laughed at Christ's resurrection, turned Latium to ashes, been a companion to Charlemagne in his conquests, and led Tancred over the walls of Jerusalem. I have lived over four thousand years, and am a goddess worthy of worship!"
But her eyes drift downwards after that explanation, her voice suddenly quiet. If she trusts you, she might continue. "I've lived in a cage, a curiosity. Now I've practically become a pet. The most violent thing I've done recently is set fire to the curtains. I just turned seventeen years old..."
Gender: Female
Race: Phoenix
Sexuality: "As a bird, I've always found eagles strangely attractive!"
Year: N/A
Powers: The Goddess has received many over time, but these are the ones she has currently.
Inferno
As a bird of flame, in most of her lives Iravis has been gifted with the ability to wield and manipulate fire. Although able to target an individual, her spells are most useful as an area-of-effect sort of attack. Additionally, the more fire that surrounds her, the stronger she is. This means that fighting in a city grants her an exponential power curve as she burns more of it down. Additionally, it means she is much stronger in deserts and during the day when the sun is out.
Lacrima
As in the legends, the Phoenix is renown for her legendary power of healing. Not only can she never truly die, but her tears are capable of great healing. She also heals faster than normal, having the ability to heal very minor wounds in a few minutes despite having tears. She has never figured out how she respawns, but her dreams are only memories of previous lives.
Phoenix
And of course, she can turn into the phoenix. She hasn't done this yet this life, but she will eventually. In both human and bird form she has enhanced vision and hearing. Lastly, her nails in human form are very, very sharp. Like talons.
A massive winged beast, colored orange with the tips of it's wings becoming first red then leading to blue ends that seem to dance like fire. Its eyes were sapphires, the deepest blue of the Nile.
A storyteller could spend a thousand other lines describing the beast's majesty, the bird's divine presence.
Smite
Honestly, she's never fired the spell. She has no idea what it does.
Strengths: Both of her magic has extremely high potential in both human and bird form. Very few have been able to surpass her, and around age 300 she reaches a nearly unstoppable peak of strength. Additionally, it is very hard to actually burn her.
Weaknesses: Both of her magics are also uncontrollable. If angry, surrounding fires will begin to rise uncontrollably. Her tears of healing can be taken through beatings, allowing her worst enemies to heal from her power. While around 135 she is able to control her full mana at will, but up until then it usually leads to disaster.
Other Skills: Iravis is a skilled dancer and artist, and seems to know all the world's languages. While not every skill transfers from her past lives, she has an incredible sense of grace and balance as if it had been practiced for lifetimes.
She seems to be fairly knowledgeable, especially about history.
Inventory: Typically whatever she has been offered. In this case, the dress featured in the picture.
Also, she has crafted and perfected a spear of Orichalcum, Atlantian Bronze. It is about seven feel long and features a long tip.
Additionally, she has a necklace that was intended as a gift for Livia. After some arguing, Livia returned it. Iravis still hasn't decided to return it.
Master: N/A
Personality: Being praised as a goddess in her dreams, Iravis sometimes forgets that she isn't all powerful. Her mood often depends on what she remembered the night before, leading to a strange randomness where she experiences happiness, sadness, horniness, fear, and all the other emotions throughout the day as she copes with the memories. Iravivs' sarcasm is legendary, largely due to the fact that death is really, really meaningless for her. Although in this life she tends towards being weak and submissive, some days she is extremely confrontational and argues with dragons.
A wise woman told her it was alright to be afraid, but not to let her fears control her. Despite the fact that she firmly believes she is strong, she thinks that if your being overwhelmed, it's okay to ask for help if you aren't ready to face those things yet. In a way, it's her first step to confronting a problem. On the flip side, she tends to depend too much on champions to fight for her causes.
Although Iravis believes it is one of her duties as a goddess to help another even if it causes her own suffering, the Phoenix thinks that it should be done so anonymously and without pride. The less people who know of her kindness, the less who will come begging, after all.
She believes conviction is what lends strength to a person, and one without conviction in any form has no true strength at all.
Despite believing she is above most, Iravis does pay attention to the romantic advances of others if good effort is put in.
Backstory: Born some time before 2000 BC, an Egyptian girl entered an argument with a man who claimed he was a god. Turns out the man actually was Ra, Egyptian bird God of the Sun. As punishment, she was cursed with the inability to die. Her memories rarely go back this far, so she knows very little about her initial life as a human.
Appearing many times in history, she has always favored the Greeks and the Egyptians. But as with humans, she always follows the one she loves first. Her death usually is caused by her love one way or another in the end, but the Phoenix never got angry about it. She believes a few times she has actually approached her ex-lover in the next life and had nice conversations. Henry VIII had her three times, which she thinks is the currently held record.
In this life, for her youngest years she was held captive by a group of corrupt mages, literally having the tears beat out of her. Kept in a room, she was taught about language, math, history and many other things by her captors. Iravis never figured out who was benefiting from her healing magic, and never could figure out why her captors didn't throw her in a literal cage.
The red haired fourteen year old looked up from the book in her hands as her keeper entered the room, but her eyes quickly drifted back downwards towards the pages. The girl saw words on the pages, but her mind had stopped reading as she heard the footsteps approching. Even though it happened every day, she never could get used to this portion of it.
"It's time" She heard her keeper pull out a small bottle. The girl lifted herself from the bed, moving towards a metal chair next to it. The bottle was thrust into her hand as soon as she finished lowering herself onto the uncomfortable throne.
Lifting it to her eye, the red haired girl allowed tears to fall into it. After years of practice, she had managed to be able to cry at will. Once it was about halfway full, the tears slowed and eventually came to a stop. She couldn't force that many out at once. A slap delivered across the face managed to summon a few more, but it wasn't enough to reach her quota.
"... Please ..." For the first time today, she looked into the keeper's eyes in an attempt to beg him to stop. Just not today. A moment later she remembered why that never worked as a fist crashed into her face.
"That's the last time you beg. I want double today."
A look of shock ran across the fourteen year old's face. "I can't..." A punch to the stomach made a few more fall into the bottle, but some of them fell to the floor. As she noticed a hand raised in the air, she instincivly raised an arm in the air to defend herself. A mistake.
An hour later the girl slumped to the floor in a bloody mess as she was finally freed from her bonds. She apologized, but that only earned her a final kick. Animals weren't meant to speak.
The keeper left the room whistling, three bottles clanging against eachother cheerfully as the door closed behind him. He'd be getting a large paycheck today. Selling immortality was profitable, and many were willing to pay a high price for it.
Arthur Wick had found the place. Stepping out of his car he looked at the manor that stood before him. A rather ornate, if aged, affair. A perfect place for such a lair.
"Could you stay in the car please? I'd prefer to go in alone. I'll call if I need help." the man said as the closed the door behind him and started walking across the grounds to the entrance
It was a nice enough looking place. Tall building, simple architecture, a stone tower junting from the side that could equally house an observatory or an medieval armory. Likely a basement filled with long maze like tunnels. Arthur smiled, this could be fun. He walked onwards towards the door, his hand held out to touch and trail along some trimmed hedges growing along the cobble path.
Gall had remained silent most of the ride to their destination. He, had wished he could have used a more efficient form of travel, but Livia had insisted he take the vehicle with Arthur, as much as it displeased him. So while Arthur drove, he simply remained in the back seat, silent for most of the trip unless Arthur spoke directly to him. He wasn’t here to socialize after all. Livia had sent him to watch. Livia couldn’t make it herself, so it was up to him to make a decision here. Act as her eyes and ears.
That was his job, after all. Always had been.
“The Headmistress tasked me to help you.” The undead replied, his otherworldly voice echoing just a bit as he stepped out of the vehicle. “So I will be accompanying you whether you want me too or not.” He followed Arthur up to the front door. If he was capable, a small frown would have formed on his lips.
“You intend to barge in the front door?” The reaper sighed, obviously displeased. “Perhaps a more…stealthy approach is best, here. We do not know what we are up against, and if Sorcha is correct…this...pheonix not the most welcoming sort.”
Of course, he was referring to his skill with Circum magic, and his natural ability to travel between the realms of life and death. He could easily put them right inside without even knocking.
Arthur huffed before retorting, "Come on, liven up a little."
Gall simply stared emotionlessly at Arthur. His eyeless sockets could have probably sent a chill up even a dragons spine.
Arthur walked up the steps to the door before giving a few solid knocks. After a moment the door opened a crack and a man peared his head out slightly before asking, "What is it?"
"Yes, I was wondering, have you any ancient fire birds on hand? Seems I ran fresh out."
A moment of panic ran across the doorman's face. Then his corpse fell to the ground.
"You take the fun out of everything, you know that?" Arthur said staring down at the dead man.
“We’re not here to have fun.” Gall replied from inside the house. His scythe had almost sliced the man in half. “We’re here for business.” He continied, his scythe disappearing back to wherever the reaper kept it. "We shouldn't keep the Headmistress waiting." The reaper then turned, walking back into the house.
"Who says business can't be fun?" Arthur muttered as he stood there, the reaper turning to go further in. "Oi! Wait up. Better yet, how about we split up. Cover more ground. I'll search the mansion, you search the grounds. Sure, that'll work right? Arthur said as he walked into the manor.
The reaper turned slightly, looking over his shoulder at Arthur from inside the house.
“It would be more efficient to stay together.” The reaper replied. Of course, he had his reasons for staying so close to Arthur. Livia had told him too. What reason, he couldn’t imagine. Perhaps she simply didn’t entirely trust him. Perhaps she was afraid he’d simply burn the place to the ground, which was bad considering he was here also looking for…information.
“But…if you have issue with my presence…I shall look upstairs, and you may look down here.” And with that, the reaper was gone. A shadowy cloak enveloping his being until he disappeared completely from view, appearing on the second floor only seconds later - likely surprising anyone had they been up there.
And with that Arthur was standing alone. "Well, I suppose I have a bird to find." Arthur went through the first door he found, walking into a game room, billards table, a few arcade machines, a small bar. And also about six goons, who all turned to look at the pyromancer. "Why hello there. Don't suppose any of you know where I can get my hands on a eternal firebird?"
If Gall was surprised to find the room empty, it wasn’t able to be shown on his skeletal face. He was rather pleased, though. This would be easy if there weren’t many obstacles in his way. No doubt the Pyromancer would be making a ruckus soon enough which would serve as a much needed distraction. He’d be able to do his job quite easily in that case.
Arthur thought they were here subduing some dangerous creature who fancied themselves a god. Which was true, they were. But Livia also wanted to know what exactly she had been up too. A god like the phoenix didn’t stay silent all these years without some sort of plan. With luck, they’d be able to capture the fire bird and stop whatever she was planning.
But on the off chance they weren’t, and the phoenix or Arthur, burned the place down Livia wished to know what she was planning, so she could possibly stop it if it was anything malicious.
The reaper moved silently across the second floor of the house, carefully looking for any signs of life or anyone else that might be up here. He’d end them silently and quickly, before they even knew what happened.
The red haired girl heard some commotion outside the room despite the soundproofed walls. What... ? Her arms shook as she raised herself to her knees off the red stained tile. Suddenly she heard the door slam open loudly, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the teenager as she ducked behind the bed trembling in fear. ... did I do something wrong? Does he need more than three today? She didn't have any tears left to express her fear, so she remained shivering there silently.
Arthur stood in the door frame. He had burnt his way through the guards, most of them could barely be called mages. Finding the key on one of them, along with three bottles that Arthur assumed were important and grabbed, he was adventuring he was allowed to loot, he looked into the room.
It was the deepest room in the manor, past the basement and through a few mazing tunnels. It was a good thing those blokes were defending it or else Arthur may have never found the door. The room itself was rather simple, some books on a shelf, a chair, a bed with a quivering form hiding behind it. Wait one moment.
"Hey there, you alright?' Arthur asked as he walked over. It was a girl, couldn't be older than fifteen. Red hair, covered in bruses and blood.
The teenager didn't look up, still shaking on her knees. She simply nodded yes silently in response, not looking up at him. She wondered for a moment if her keeper had sent someone else in to apologize for him. That seemed unlikely to the red haired girl ... She didn't know why, but she felt a slight comforting ... fire ... appear in her chest.
"Alright. I'm Arthur Wick, who are you? Can you speak? Stand?" Wick asked, he may have been there to find a firebird and capture her but he could hardly let this poor girl alone, she needed help.
The girl managed to stand up, a slight tremble still running through her limbs. She wondered if this was an elaborate test from her keeper to make sure she'd learned her lesson. The red haired girl simply shook her head no in response, thinking that was the safest route.
Arthur stepped up to the girl, and after half a second of thought picked her up in his arms. She couldn't speak, she was beaten and bloody. She barely stood. "For Artemis' sake, I came here to find a bird but I can't leave you here can I? Let's get you out of here, hopefully Gall is having more luck then I am." Arthur would then start walking towards the door to leave. The red haired girl froze in animalistic terror as she was lifted but remained silent in her confusion.
"Hold a moment, Arthur..." Galls voice rang out, as he appeared in the doorway. It was difficult to tell, but his black robe was stained with blood in several places, though the reaper didn't seem to mind. Instead, his head was turned towards the child, his emotionless gaze not betraying his internal debate.
They were here to kill or bring this creature to Livia after all.
“This child…is the one we were sent to…dispose of.” His gaze turned from the child, back to Arthur, obviously waiting to see the pyromancers reaction. Her amber eyes widened in response.
Arthur meanwhile looked down to the girl he was holding, up to the reaper."You're telling me?" Then he looked down at the girl again. "You're the phoenix?" Arthur asked the girl, who didn't respond.
She honestly wasn't sure what was going on. But she doubted it was good based on their conversation.
"Well then. Hey Gall, a question. How combustable are you? For curiosities sake." Arthur asked the reaper as his mind put the pieces together.
“Try it…and your skull will end up as a paperweight on my desk.” The reaper didn’t make a move, however. He had no intention of actually harming the girl unless it was necessary.
"Hey hey, I didn't say I was going to do anything. I was just curious." Arthur said as he took a step forward, "Don't suppose you could move though, I need to get past."
"And what do you intend to do with the girl?" Gall asked, as he stepped aside.
Arthur shrugged best he could without disturbing the girl in his arms, "Get her out of this manor." Walking past the reaper and the burnt corpses Arthur began to make his way out of the tunnels.
The red haired girl finally managed to gather a small voice. "... stop ... I can't leave ..." The red haired girl started to try and push out of his arms, but there wasn't enough strength to dislodge herself from him. Her keeper had told her before that if she left her life would become very miserable.
Arthur stopped moving, the girl was fighting against him, meekly, but she was. "And why not?" the pyromancer asked, a look of equal concern and curiosity in his eyes.
"Keeper said ... he'd ..." Despite her current state, a few tears started falling from the Amber eyes. The teenager started to struggle a bit more, but with any amount of effort the man holding her wouldn't lose his grip.
Gall was going to reply to Arthur, but before he could say anything the girls’ tiny voice interrupted him. He fixed the girl with an eyeless gaze. That probably wasn’t going to help her condition much…but well, there wasn’t much he could do about that, now was there?
“Worry not child…everyone who was residing here has been…taken care of.” With that said, he turned back to Arthur, though made no effort to stop him. “Livia will wish to see her. We should bring her.”
With a sigh Arthur continued walking, "Don't worry, your 'keeper' isn't here anymore. I'll protect you. What's your name? Arthur asked as he walked up some stairs into the manor above.
Eyes still looking downwards, she was surprised to hear that piece of news. ... did he sell me? What happened? After a second, she realized the commotion outside her room had probably been fighting. Were these two going to use her now? The girl shook her head in response to his final question. "... don't have one ..."
Arthur shook his head, "That won't do, how long have you been here?" Arthur asked, a girl without a name. Walking past several more charred bodies the group slowly made their way towards the exit. Flames from the ealier battles were begining to catch, within the hour the manor would be aflame.
Gall mentally sighed. Well, as long as Arthur didn't attempt to flee with the girl he wouldn't do or say anything. One whiff that he might, and his head really would be used as a personal desk ornament. So for now, the reaper simply followed silently.
The trio had just stepped out the door before Arthur stopped, saying "Oh right one more thing. Gall find anything interesting? Because if so I hope you brought it with you." Arthur would then awkwardly adjust his hand so that it was pointing towards the building without upsetting or dropping the girl, and then a torrent of flame poured out, quickly engulfing the front of the building. "There, no evidence that anything happened here, no crime nor crime scene, and no survivors. Now let's go to school"
“Vials of Phoenix tears.” Gall replied. He was reasonably sure that was what they were, at least. He could sense how much…life, was in them. Livia would certainly be interested in the few vials he had collected. “Nothing else important in such a place.” The reaper then watched silently as the pyromancer burned the place to the ground. He wasn’t sure how Livia would feel about that, it could go either way really, but there was no way he was stopping it now.
“We should leave before any curious onlookers see the blaze.”
It had so far been a quiet night, though a bit of uneasiness filled her even if it didn’t show on her face. She had sent Arthur on a rather dangerous mission. Even with Gall present, she wasn’t sure if the two of them alone could handle a creature such as the phoenix. At least, not if it was as powerful as Sorcha claimed it was.
She leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of the tea she was holding in her hand as she waited. Her office was rather large. A plush dark blue carpet covered most of the floor, along with several bookcases a few shelves and things displaying some odd trinket or two. Her desk was sitting against the far wall, purple curtains were drawn over windows behind it. A fireplace was also built into one of the walls.
As uneasy as She was, she was also confident in her familiar and Arthur. She wouldn’t have asked them to do it otherwise, but well, there was always a small chance something could go wrong. Her information on the phoenix was incomplete, after all. She only had one source of information on it. A dragon who had an obvious grudge against the phoenix.
It was a reasonable grudge, though, and one she was inclined to help her friend with.
Hopefully they would return with good news soon.
Arthur stood outside the door, the girl standing next to him and Gall not far behind. Arthur could only see this ending well as he gave three swift knocks on the door.
Well, what a timely arrival. Livia mused silently. She placed her teacup on the desk in front of her.
“It is open.”
The door swung open to reveal Arthur, who stepped in. "I found... her. But I'm pretty sure she isn't what you were looking for Headmistress." Arthur would then step to the side, to allow Livia a whole view of the girl standing near the pyromancer.
The red haired girl had been following Arthur ever since they left the mansion. She had calmed down a little, but still didn't know anything that was going on. She looked up for a moment to examine the new room, but the teenager's eyes returned to the floorboards after a few moments. Wearing a vastly oversized T-Shirt as a dress, she was not the definition of divine in any form of the word.
Livia remained silent as Arthur entered the room. Gall decided walking wasn’t necessary, and had elected to use his Circum magic, appearing behind her. Upon seeing Arthur with the girl, Livia simply picked up her tea once again, taking another sip of it.
“As…Arthur said, there has been an…interesting development.” Gall replied, moving to the desk silently. Livia looked at the girl. This was definitely not what she was expecting. She had been expecting to see some regal looking creature of legend. Not some…child dressed in some over-sized t-shirt.
A few silent words were whispered between the Reaper and Livia, too quiet for the Pyromancer or child to hear, though the reaper did pull a vial out of his robes, and showed it to Livia before she waved him off, disappearing as suddenly as he appeared.
“Hmm…perhaps you should explain, Arthur.” Livia replied.
Arthur shrugged before saying, "Went ot the place, found more then a few unhappy people. They attacked me, I burnt them. After a bit of fighting found a room in the basement, inside was her. Beaten, bloody. A tool for their gain. She doesn't even have a name. Arthur sighed as he looked at Livia. "I don't think your source was very accurate Headmistress."
"Are you suggesting my friend has been lying to me, Arthur?" Livia mused, a small smile appearing on her lips. “And how many times must tell you to call me Livia, hmm?”
Blushing slightly, and moving his hand up to stroke his beard in an attempt to hide it the pyromaster would state, "I am suggesting, Madam, that things are rarely what they seem at first glance. This girl was trapped in a basement being used solely for others profit."
“Madam? Now I’m feeling like an old woman.” Livia pouted, just ever so slightly, though she was mostly just teasing.
“On a more…serious note…Gall has informed me. Likely they were harvesting her tears, correct?” Livia frowned, just slightly as she set her tea back onto the table. “That is…indeed a problem.” She leaned back in her chair, fixing Arthur with a cool gaze. "Gall mentioned you burned the place. Care to tell me why?"
Arthur thought about it. "To be completely honest, I don't really have a good reason. I can tell you that nobody that was involved in the girl's situation survived. Unless somebody was gone that day. Or was fireproof. I suppose you'd prefer the manor not burnt to a crisp? Arthur asked, the barest hint of a smirk on his face.
“Well,” Livia sighed as she reached into her desk and pulled out a rather expensive looking bottle of wine and setting it on the table, pulling out a glass to go with it. “From what Gall said they deserved their fate. However, now we have no chance of finding out who was using the tears and for what purpose.” She poured a glass of the wine. “Of course, it was a rather beautiful manor as well from what I was told. But more importantly...how is the child?”
"I'm pretty sure she can answer for herself." Arthur said as he looked over to the poor girl. "It's alright, Headmistress Livia here is a good person, she just wants to help." Arthur said as he started to lean against the nearby wall.
The red haired girl's eyes darted across the room as she raised them slightly. "... I'm alive ..." She wasn't exactly sure why they were asking, or what was going on. Why did they care?
Oh dear. The poor child looked completely out of her element. Livia frowned slightly, before getting up from her seat. She should probably be sent to bed soon, but she was hesitant to let the child out of her sight at the moment. She trusted Galls judgement that she was in fact the phoenix they were looking for. She must have reincarnated at some point Sorcha didn’t know about. It was hard to imagine what could have killed a powerful creature like the phoenix, however.
“Aha, being alive is very good, isn’t it?” Livia replied to the girl with a soft laugh, taking a seat on one of the sofas. “Perhaps you should take a seat? I have some wonderful tea here, if you want to try some. That offer extends to you as well, Arthur. Unless you’d prefer something stronger?”
The red haired girl slowly moved towards the couch obediently, shaking her head in response to Livia's question. She sat down as far as possible from the strange woman, placing herself against the armrest. It was a comfortable chair, at least.
“Ah…no tea? Tsk. Ah well, I’ll drink it later. Anything for you, Arthur?” Livia replied, no making any attempt to move towards the girl. No need to put more stress on her then she was currently feeling.
Arthur stepped over, sitting between the two women as he said, "I would love some tea. Thank you.'
Without another word, Livia got up from the couch and walked back over to her desk, pouring a cup of tea for Arthur, and grabbing her own wine glass. She brought Arthur the tea, before taking a seat on the opposite sofa, right across from the red-haired girl. She mostly wanted to keep an eye on her. Having Arthur between them wouldn’t exactly help with that.
“So,” She said, taking a sip of the wine. “You do not have a name, child? We can’t very well keep calling you child. I suppose I can simply call you Roux since you have a lovely shade of red hair, but that seems a little silly.”
The red haired girl blushed slightly, curiously looking into Livia's eyes. That compliment wasn't a lie, from what the teenager could tell. They were being ... kind. The ambers soon returned to looking at the floor though, too nervous to hold that gaze.
Something told her that these weren't terrible people. The idea that this was an elaborate ruse set up by her keeper moved towards the back of her mind. "... What's going on? ..." The words hardly left the teenagers mouth, probably barely audible to Livia across from her.
“You are safe, child.” Livia replied simply, resting the wine glass on the table between the sofas. “Those…people that have been…keeping you, have been dealt the punishment they deserve.”
The red haired girl nodded, but more questions popped up into her mind. The sort of questions it would take her years to answer. She decided to ask the one that affected her right now. "... And ... And what now?" The teenager couldn't see how they benifited from this.
Arthur sipped from his tea, looking over to Livia, "That is a good question. We can't really let your... friend learn that she is here can we Livia? Arthur then took another sip, "It's hard to talk about people without names. So how about, I and Lady Fiore here figure out where you can stay, and you answer the second most important question in many RPGs, what is your name? No need to be hasty." Arthur said, directing his comment towards the girl next to him.
The red haired girl nodded slightly. She wasn't exactly so sure why they were so insistent about naming her ... her keeper earlier had said she didn't deserve one. But if they decided she needed one. "... You named me Roux though ..." Livia stifled a small chuckle upon hearing this.
"Called, she called you Roux, not named. It is important to know the difference." Arthur chimed in without even thinking.
“What? I think it’s cute.” Livia replied, a small smile gracing her lips. “Hmm…Rouxia Allete?” she continued after a moment of thought. “Roux for short. Not terrible fancy or anything, but if the child likes it I see no reason too not at least give her that.” She brought the glass of wine to her lips before adding.
“Unless you wish to confuse this poor girl further, Arthur?” She fixed him with a rather cool gaze as she spoke.
Arthur nearly jumped before saying, "I... suddenly..." the look his boss was giving him had Arthur on edge all of a sudden. What's the worse she could do though? Kill him? At least she couldn't read his mind. "I find that choices are best, more so when they are few in number but completely obvious. Rouxia Allete, or perhaps Ari Collins?"
The red haired girl rotated her head slightly as they both started shooting out suggestions. It wasn't helping the situation.
Ari…collins? Livia snickered a bit, placing the wine glass back on the table.
“My, I pity your children…or pets, Arthur.” She teased, giving him a friendly smile as that cool gaze of hers completely left. “But really, confusing the poor girl any more won’t help her any. She’s probably tired as well, so it is probably good we should settle this quickly.” She fell silently for a moment, before turning to the redhead.
“Which name do you like, child? It will be yours, so why not have you choose it?”
The red haired girl's face only had a more confused stare on it as her gaze looked to Livia's face. She didn't want to offend either of her new keepers. She sensed that Livia was the dominant one, but Wick ignited something within her. As if her tired mind decided that it was overloaded, eyes closed and her breathing slowed as her head landed into Wick's lap.
Livia simply sighed, though a small smile still graced her lips. Such an outcome wasn’t unexpected. The poor child was likely completely exhausted.
“Well, that decides that.” Livia replied as she stood, wine glass in hand. “Arthur, I do believe we should let her rest. I’ll have one of the staff bring some blankets.”
Arthur sat there, still as he could. "So.. should I stay here? Or... Help?" Arthur asked as he stared down at the girl's head nestled in his lap. This was not what he was expecting, and he really wasn't fond of it, but he could hardly move and disturb this tired girl.
“As I said…we should let her rest. We have things we must discuss, unless you want a certain dragon finding out about our new guest.” That was a bit more than a suggestion, judging from her tone. Livia was standing near the door to the office now. She had opened it just big enough to speak to a maid standing outside of it. A brief conversation followed, and the maid left to get blankets as she turned back to Arthur.
“Oh, and if you wake her when you get up, I’ll have you work in the cafeteria as an oven~” It was difficult to tell if that playful smirk was being serious about that. As if to make Wick's life harder, the red hair girl wrapped her arms lightly around his waist as she had memories of a life long past.
It had been about ten minutes until Arthur, through great effort, managed to free himself. It was a long siege, give and take, until he was standing, and the girl was sleeping upon a heap of pillows brought in by a helpful maid.
Arthur now stood just outside the room, with Livia, so that they could talk without disturbing the girl. "So, what are your thoughts?" Arthur asked.
“That I was looking forward to some special Arthur Wick cooked pastries and now I won’t get any, tsk~” Livia teased, though the small smile left rather quickly as the conversation took a more serious turn. “More seriously…we should discuss my dragon friend.” Livia replied with a sigh, as she started walking away from her office.
"You know, if you wanted me to cook you something all you needed to do was ask. But yes, your friend. What exactly do we need to discuss?" Arthur asked as he followed but a step behind the headmistress.
Oho, she’d hold him too that offer, then, but now wasn’t the time for such pleasantries.
“Well…that girl obviously is the Phoenix.” Livia replied. “Sorcha would know that immediately if she ever met the girl. The problem is…That girl can barely be over 13 years old. She can’t possibly be the same girl that was responsible for the atrocities Sorcha has mentioned. At least, she has reincarnated since then, and I am not one to believe the sins of her past lives should fall on this girl….Roux….Allete, whatever we decide to name her. I do not believe…Sorcha would be of the same mind, however. Dragons are fickle creatures, and when one has a grudge…well…I shouldn’t have to tell you.” Livia sighed, stopping where she was walking, just outside the door leading out of the building. She was going to see Gall after this, though she should probably use some sleep herself….
“My point is,” She turned to face Arthur with a cold expression. “Sorcha has been my friend for almost thirty years, while I do believe she is a good person at heart…this curse that was placed on her and the grudge could…cloud her judgement. It would be in our best interest if Sorcha never finds out about the child. I will arrange a room for her in a quiet part of the campus where she won’t find her. It also means we’ll have to refrain from having too many people visit her.” She paused for a moment, before narrowing her eyes dangerously at Arthur.
“If Sorcha finds out about the phoenix, as much as it pains me to admit…I may require you to come out of retirement.”
Arthur would follow along, listening silently as they neared the exit to the building. "Understood. I'll be ready. So... do you want some kind of cake or?..." Arthur asked with a bemused smile on his face.
Livia frowned. Now was not the time for such shenanigans.
“I do not believe you are taking this seriously, Arthur.” She replied, walking towards the door. “If Sorcha approaches you, you are to tell her that the phoenix she is looking for wasn’t there. If she doesn’t believe you, then you are to tell me immediately. I will deal with her.” Livia sighed as she finished speaking, though turned back to Arthur.
“However, if you are serious…a cake would be wonderful.”
"I'm rarely ever not serious. Trust me, I understand the situation, and Sorcha won't learn about the girl's existance here. That manor was empty, just some goons smuggling drugs." Arthur said with a smile. "Now if you don't mind, I have a cake to bake." As Arthur said that he stepped out the door, to make the walk to the town.
"It's time" She heard her keeper pull out a small bottle. The girl lifted herself from the bed, moving towards a metal chair next to it. The bottle was thrust into her hand as soon as she finished lowering herself onto the uncomfortable throne.
Lifting it to her eye, the red haired girl allowed tears to fall into it. After years of practice, she had managed to be able to cry at will. Once it was about halfway full, the tears slowed and eventually came to a stop. She couldn't force that many out at once. A slap delivered across the face managed to summon a few more, but it wasn't enough to reach her quota.
"... Please ..." For the first time today, she looked into the keeper's eyes in an attempt to beg him to stop. Just not today. A moment later she remembered why that never worked as a fist crashed into her face.
"That's the last time you beg. I want double today."
A look of shock ran across the fourteen year old's face. "I can't..." A punch to the stomach made a few more fall into the bottle, but some of them fell to the floor. As she noticed a hand raised in the air, she instincivly raised an arm in the air to defend herself. A mistake.
An hour later the girl slumped to the floor in a bloody mess as she was finally freed from her bonds. She apologized, but that only earned her a final kick. Animals weren't meant to speak.
The keeper left the room whistling, three bottles clanging against eachother cheerfully as the door closed behind him. He'd be getting a large paycheck today. Selling immortality was profitable, and many were willing to pay a high price for it.
Arthur Wick had found the place. Stepping out of his car he looked at the manor that stood before him. A rather ornate, if aged, affair. A perfect place for such a lair.
"Could you stay in the car please? I'd prefer to go in alone. I'll call if I need help." the man said as the closed the door behind him and started walking across the grounds to the entrance
It was a nice enough looking place. Tall building, simple architecture, a stone tower junting from the side that could equally house an observatory or an medieval armory. Likely a basement filled with long maze like tunnels. Arthur smiled, this could be fun. He walked onwards towards the door, his hand held out to touch and trail along some trimmed hedges growing along the cobble path.
Gall had remained silent most of the ride to their destination. He, had wished he could have used a more efficient form of travel, but Livia had insisted he take the vehicle with Arthur, as much as it displeased him. So while Arthur drove, he simply remained in the back seat, silent for most of the trip unless Arthur spoke directly to him. He wasn’t here to socialize after all. Livia had sent him to watch. Livia couldn’t make it herself, so it was up to him to make a decision here. Act as her eyes and ears.
That was his job, after all. Always had been.
“The Headmistress tasked me to help you.” The undead replied, his otherworldly voice echoing just a bit as he stepped out of the vehicle. “So I will be accompanying you whether you want me too or not.” He followed Arthur up to the front door. If he was capable, a small frown would have formed on his lips.
“You intend to barge in the front door?” The reaper sighed, obviously displeased. “Perhaps a more…stealthy approach is best, here. We do not know what we are up against, and if Sorcha is correct…this...pheonix not the most welcoming sort.”
Of course, he was referring to his skill with Circum magic, and his natural ability to travel between the realms of life and death. He could easily put them right inside without even knocking.
Arthur huffed before retorting, "Come on, liven up a little."
Gall simply stared emotionlessly at Arthur. His eyeless sockets could have probably sent a chill up even a dragons spine.
Arthur walked up the steps to the door before giving a few solid knocks. After a moment the door opened a crack and a man peared his head out slightly before asking, "What is it?"
"Yes, I was wondering, have you any ancient fire birds on hand? Seems I ran fresh out."
A moment of panic ran across the doorman's face. Then his corpse fell to the ground.
"You take the fun out of everything, you know that?" Arthur said staring down at the dead man.
“We’re not here to have fun.” Gall replied from inside the house. His scythe had almost sliced the man in half. “We’re here for business.” He continied, his scythe disappearing back to wherever the reaper kept it. "We shouldn't keep the Headmistress waiting." The reaper then turned, walking back into the house.
"Who says business can't be fun?" Arthur muttered as he stood there, the reaper turning to go further in. "Oi! Wait up. Better yet, how about we split up. Cover more ground. I'll search the mansion, you search the grounds. Sure, that'll work right? Arthur said as he walked into the manor.
The reaper turned slightly, looking over his shoulder at Arthur from inside the house.
“It would be more efficient to stay together.” The reaper replied. Of course, he had his reasons for staying so close to Arthur. Livia had told him too. What reason, he couldn’t imagine. Perhaps she simply didn’t entirely trust him. Perhaps she was afraid he’d simply burn the place to the ground, which was bad considering he was here also looking for…information.
“But…if you have issue with my presence…I shall look upstairs, and you may look down here.” And with that, the reaper was gone. A shadowy cloak enveloping his being until he disappeared completely from view, appearing on the second floor only seconds later - likely surprising anyone had they been up there.
And with that Arthur was standing alone. "Well, I suppose I have a bird to find." Arthur went through the first door he found, walking into a game room, billards table, a few arcade machines, a small bar. And also about six goons, who all turned to look at the pyromancer. "Why hello there. Don't suppose any of you know where I can get my hands on a eternal firebird?"
If Gall was surprised to find the room empty, it wasn’t able to be shown on his skeletal face. He was rather pleased, though. This would be easy if there weren’t many obstacles in his way. No doubt the Pyromancer would be making a ruckus soon enough which would serve as a much needed distraction. He’d be able to do his job quite easily in that case.
Arthur thought they were here subduing some dangerous creature who fancied themselves a god. Which was true, they were. But Livia also wanted to know what exactly she had been up too. A god like the phoenix didn’t stay silent all these years without some sort of plan. With luck, they’d be able to capture the fire bird and stop whatever she was planning.
But on the off chance they weren’t, and the phoenix or Arthur, burned the place down Livia wished to know what she was planning, so she could possibly stop it if it was anything malicious.
The reaper moved silently across the second floor of the house, carefully looking for any signs of life or anyone else that might be up here. He’d end them silently and quickly, before they even knew what happened.
The red haired girl heard some commotion outside the room despite the soundproofed walls. What... ? Her arms shook as she raised herself to her knees off the red stained tile. Suddenly she heard the door slam open loudly, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the teenager as she ducked behind the bed trembling in fear. ... did I do something wrong? Does he need more than three today? She didn't have any tears left to express her fear, so she remained shivering there silently.
Arthur stood in the door frame. He had burnt his way through the guards, most of them could barely be called mages. Finding the key on one of them, along with three bottles that Arthur assumed were important and grabbed, he was adventuring he was allowed to loot, he looked into the room.
It was the deepest room in the manor, past the basement and through a few mazing tunnels. It was a good thing those blokes were defending it or else Arthur may have never found the door. The room itself was rather simple, some books on a shelf, a chair, a bed with a quivering form hiding behind it. Wait one moment.
"Hey there, you alright?' Arthur asked as he walked over. It was a girl, couldn't be older than fifteen. Red hair, covered in bruses and blood.
The teenager didn't look up, still shaking on her knees. She simply nodded yes silently in response, not looking up at him. She wondered for a moment if her keeper had sent someone else in to apologize for him. That seemed unlikely to the red haired girl ... She didn't know why, but she felt a slight comforting ... fire ... appear in her chest.
"Alright. I'm Arthur Wick, who are you? Can you speak? Stand?" Wick asked, he may have been there to find a firebird and capture her but he could hardly let this poor girl alone, she needed help.
The girl managed to stand up, a slight tremble still running through her limbs. She wondered if this was an elaborate test from her keeper to make sure she'd learned her lesson. The red haired girl simply shook her head no in response, thinking that was the safest route.
Arthur stepped up to the girl, and after half a second of thought picked her up in his arms. She couldn't speak, she was beaten and bloody. She barely stood. "For Artemis' sake, I came here to find a bird but I can't leave you here can I? Let's get you out of here, hopefully Gall is having more luck then I am." Arthur would then start walking towards the door to leave. The red haired girl froze in animalistic terror as she was lifted but remained silent in her confusion.
"Hold a moment, Arthur..." Galls voice rang out, as he appeared in the doorway. It was difficult to tell, but his black robe was stained with blood in several places, though the reaper didn't seem to mind. Instead, his head was turned towards the child, his emotionless gaze not betraying his internal debate.
They were here to kill or bring this creature to Livia after all.
“This child…is the one we were sent to…dispose of.” His gaze turned from the child, back to Arthur, obviously waiting to see the pyromancers reaction. Her amber eyes widened in response.
Arthur meanwhile looked down to the girl he was holding, up to the reaper."You're telling me?" Then he looked down at the girl again. "You're the phoenix?" Arthur asked the girl, who didn't respond.
She honestly wasn't sure what was going on. But she doubted it was good based on their conversation.
"Well then. Hey Gall, a question. How combustable are you? For curiosities sake." Arthur asked the reaper as his mind put the pieces together.
“Try it…and your skull will end up as a paperweight on my desk.” The reaper didn’t make a move, however. He had no intention of actually harming the girl unless it was necessary.
"Hey hey, I didn't say I was going to do anything. I was just curious." Arthur said as he took a step forward, "Don't suppose you could move though, I need to get past."
"And what do you intend to do with the girl?" Gall asked, as he stepped aside.
Arthur shrugged best he could without disturbing the girl in his arms, "Get her out of this manor." Walking past the reaper and the burnt corpses Arthur began to make his way out of the tunnels.
The red haired girl finally managed to gather a small voice. "... stop ... I can't leave ..." The red haired girl started to try and push out of his arms, but there wasn't enough strength to dislodge herself from him. Her keeper had told her before that if she left her life would become very miserable.
Arthur stopped moving, the girl was fighting against him, meekly, but she was. "And why not?" the pyromancer asked, a look of equal concern and curiosity in his eyes.
"Keeper said ... he'd ..." Despite her current state, a few tears started falling from the Amber eyes. The teenager started to struggle a bit more, but with any amount of effort the man holding her wouldn't lose his grip.
Gall was going to reply to Arthur, but before he could say anything the girls’ tiny voice interrupted him. He fixed the girl with an eyeless gaze. That probably wasn’t going to help her condition much…but well, there wasn’t much he could do about that, now was there?
“Worry not child…everyone who was residing here has been…taken care of.” With that said, he turned back to Arthur, though made no effort to stop him. “Livia will wish to see her. We should bring her.”
With a sigh Arthur continued walking, "Don't worry, your 'keeper' isn't here anymore. I'll protect you. What's your name? Arthur asked as he walked up some stairs into the manor above.
Eyes still looking downwards, she was surprised to hear that piece of news. ... did he sell me? What happened? After a second, she realized the commotion outside her room had probably been fighting. Were these two going to use her now? The girl shook her head in response to his final question. "... don't have one ..."
Arthur shook his head, "That won't do, how long have you been here?" Arthur asked, a girl without a name. Walking past several more charred bodies the group slowly made their way towards the exit. Flames from the ealier battles were begining to catch, within the hour the manor would be aflame.
Gall mentally sighed. Well, as long as Arthur didn't attempt to flee with the girl he wouldn't do or say anything. One whiff that he might, and his head really would be used as a personal desk ornament. So for now, the reaper simply followed silently.
The trio had just stepped out the door before Arthur stopped, saying "Oh right one more thing. Gall find anything interesting? Because if so I hope you brought it with you." Arthur would then awkwardly adjust his hand so that it was pointing towards the building without upsetting or dropping the girl, and then a torrent of flame poured out, quickly engulfing the front of the building. "There, no evidence that anything happened here, no crime nor crime scene, and no survivors. Now let's go to school"
“Vials of Phoenix tears.” Gall replied. He was reasonably sure that was what they were, at least. He could sense how much…life, was in them. Livia would certainly be interested in the few vials he had collected. “Nothing else important in such a place.” The reaper then watched silently as the pyromancer burned the place to the ground. He wasn’t sure how Livia would feel about that, it could go either way really, but there was no way he was stopping it now.
“We should leave before any curious onlookers see the blaze.”
It had so far been a quiet night, though a bit of uneasiness filled her even if it didn’t show on her face. She had sent Arthur on a rather dangerous mission. Even with Gall present, she wasn’t sure if the two of them alone could handle a creature such as the phoenix. At least, not if it was as powerful as Sorcha claimed it was.
She leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of the tea she was holding in her hand as she waited. Her office was rather large. A plush dark blue carpet covered most of the floor, along with several bookcases a few shelves and things displaying some odd trinket or two. Her desk was sitting against the far wall, purple curtains were drawn over windows behind it. A fireplace was also built into one of the walls.
As uneasy as She was, she was also confident in her familiar and Arthur. She wouldn’t have asked them to do it otherwise, but well, there was always a small chance something could go wrong. Her information on the phoenix was incomplete, after all. She only had one source of information on it. A dragon who had an obvious grudge against the phoenix.
It was a reasonable grudge, though, and one she was inclined to help her friend with.
Hopefully they would return with good news soon.
Arthur stood outside the door, the girl standing next to him and Gall not far behind. Arthur could only see this ending well as he gave three swift knocks on the door.
Well, what a timely arrival. Livia mused silently. She placed her teacup on the desk in front of her.
“It is open.”
The door swung open to reveal Arthur, who stepped in. "I found... her. But I'm pretty sure she isn't what you were looking for Headmistress." Arthur would then step to the side, to allow Livia a whole view of the girl standing near the pyromancer.
The red haired girl had been following Arthur ever since they left the mansion. She had calmed down a little, but still didn't know anything that was going on. She looked up for a moment to examine the new room, but the teenager's eyes returned to the floorboards after a few moments. Wearing a vastly oversized T-Shirt as a dress, she was not the definition of divine in any form of the word.
Livia remained silent as Arthur entered the room. Gall decided walking wasn’t necessary, and had elected to use his Circum magic, appearing behind her. Upon seeing Arthur with the girl, Livia simply picked up her tea once again, taking another sip of it.
“As…Arthur said, there has been an…interesting development.” Gall replied, moving to the desk silently. Livia looked at the girl. This was definitely not what she was expecting. She had been expecting to see some regal looking creature of legend. Not some…child dressed in some over-sized t-shirt.
A few silent words were whispered between the Reaper and Livia, too quiet for the Pyromancer or child to hear, though the reaper did pull a vial out of his robes, and showed it to Livia before she waved him off, disappearing as suddenly as he appeared.
“Hmm…perhaps you should explain, Arthur.” Livia replied.
Arthur shrugged before saying, "Went ot the place, found more then a few unhappy people. They attacked me, I burnt them. After a bit of fighting found a room in the basement, inside was her. Beaten, bloody. A tool for their gain. She doesn't even have a name. Arthur sighed as he looked at Livia. "I don't think your source was very accurate Headmistress."
"Are you suggesting my friend has been lying to me, Arthur?" Livia mused, a small smile appearing on her lips. “And how many times must tell you to call me Livia, hmm?”
Blushing slightly, and moving his hand up to stroke his beard in an attempt to hide it the pyromaster would state, "I am suggesting, Madam, that things are rarely what they seem at first glance. This girl was trapped in a basement being used solely for others profit."
“Madam? Now I’m feeling like an old woman.” Livia pouted, just ever so slightly, though she was mostly just teasing.
“On a more…serious note…Gall has informed me. Likely they were harvesting her tears, correct?” Livia frowned, just slightly as she set her tea back onto the table. “That is…indeed a problem.” She leaned back in her chair, fixing Arthur with a cool gaze. "Gall mentioned you burned the place. Care to tell me why?"
Arthur thought about it. "To be completely honest, I don't really have a good reason. I can tell you that nobody that was involved in the girl's situation survived. Unless somebody was gone that day. Or was fireproof. I suppose you'd prefer the manor not burnt to a crisp? Arthur asked, the barest hint of a smirk on his face.
“Well,” Livia sighed as she reached into her desk and pulled out a rather expensive looking bottle of wine and setting it on the table, pulling out a glass to go with it. “From what Gall said they deserved their fate. However, now we have no chance of finding out who was using the tears and for what purpose.” She poured a glass of the wine. “Of course, it was a rather beautiful manor as well from what I was told. But more importantly...how is the child?”
"I'm pretty sure she can answer for herself." Arthur said as he looked over to the poor girl. "It's alright, Headmistress Livia here is a good person, she just wants to help." Arthur said as he started to lean against the nearby wall.
The red haired girl's eyes darted across the room as she raised them slightly. "... I'm alive ..." She wasn't exactly sure why they were asking, or what was going on. Why did they care?
Oh dear. The poor child looked completely out of her element. Livia frowned slightly, before getting up from her seat. She should probably be sent to bed soon, but she was hesitant to let the child out of her sight at the moment. She trusted Galls judgement that she was in fact the phoenix they were looking for. She must have reincarnated at some point Sorcha didn’t know about. It was hard to imagine what could have killed a powerful creature like the phoenix, however.
“Aha, being alive is very good, isn’t it?” Livia replied to the girl with a soft laugh, taking a seat on one of the sofas. “Perhaps you should take a seat? I have some wonderful tea here, if you want to try some. That offer extends to you as well, Arthur. Unless you’d prefer something stronger?”
The red haired girl slowly moved towards the couch obediently, shaking her head in response to Livia's question. She sat down as far as possible from the strange woman, placing herself against the armrest. It was a comfortable chair, at least.
“Ah…no tea? Tsk. Ah well, I’ll drink it later. Anything for you, Arthur?” Livia replied, no making any attempt to move towards the girl. No need to put more stress on her then she was currently feeling.
Arthur stepped over, sitting between the two women as he said, "I would love some tea. Thank you.'
Without another word, Livia got up from the couch and walked back over to her desk, pouring a cup of tea for Arthur, and grabbing her own wine glass. She brought Arthur the tea, before taking a seat on the opposite sofa, right across from the red-haired girl. She mostly wanted to keep an eye on her. Having Arthur between them wouldn’t exactly help with that.
“So,” She said, taking a sip of the wine. “You do not have a name, child? We can’t very well keep calling you child. I suppose I can simply call you Roux since you have a lovely shade of red hair, but that seems a little silly.”
The red haired girl blushed slightly, curiously looking into Livia's eyes. That compliment wasn't a lie, from what the teenager could tell. They were being ... kind. The ambers soon returned to looking at the floor though, too nervous to hold that gaze.
Something told her that these weren't terrible people. The idea that this was an elaborate ruse set up by her keeper moved towards the back of her mind. "... What's going on? ..." The words hardly left the teenagers mouth, probably barely audible to Livia across from her.
“You are safe, child.” Livia replied simply, resting the wine glass on the table between the sofas. “Those…people that have been…keeping you, have been dealt the punishment they deserve.”
The red haired girl nodded, but more questions popped up into her mind. The sort of questions it would take her years to answer. She decided to ask the one that affected her right now. "... And ... And what now?" The teenager couldn't see how they benifited from this.
Arthur sipped from his tea, looking over to Livia, "That is a good question. We can't really let your... friend learn that she is here can we Livia? Arthur then took another sip, "It's hard to talk about people without names. So how about, I and Lady Fiore here figure out where you can stay, and you answer the second most important question in many RPGs, what is your name? No need to be hasty." Arthur said, directing his comment towards the girl next to him.
The red haired girl nodded slightly. She wasn't exactly so sure why they were so insistent about naming her ... her keeper earlier had said she didn't deserve one. But if they decided she needed one. "... You named me Roux though ..." Livia stifled a small chuckle upon hearing this.
"Called, she called you Roux, not named. It is important to know the difference." Arthur chimed in without even thinking.
“What? I think it’s cute.” Livia replied, a small smile gracing her lips. “Hmm…Rouxia Allete?” she continued after a moment of thought. “Roux for short. Not terrible fancy or anything, but if the child likes it I see no reason too not at least give her that.” She brought the glass of wine to her lips before adding.
“Unless you wish to confuse this poor girl further, Arthur?” She fixed him with a rather cool gaze as she spoke.
Arthur nearly jumped before saying, "I... suddenly..." the look his boss was giving him had Arthur on edge all of a sudden. What's the worse she could do though? Kill him? At least she couldn't read his mind. "I find that choices are best, more so when they are few in number but completely obvious. Rouxia Allete, or perhaps Ari Collins?"
The red haired girl rotated her head slightly as they both started shooting out suggestions. It wasn't helping the situation.
Ari…collins? Livia snickered a bit, placing the wine glass back on the table.
“My, I pity your children…or pets, Arthur.” She teased, giving him a friendly smile as that cool gaze of hers completely left. “But really, confusing the poor girl any more won’t help her any. She’s probably tired as well, so it is probably good we should settle this quickly.” She fell silently for a moment, before turning to the redhead.
“Which name do you like, child? It will be yours, so why not have you choose it?”
The red haired girl's face only had a more confused stare on it as her gaze looked to Livia's face. She didn't want to offend either of her new keepers. She sensed that Livia was the dominant one, but Wick ignited something within her. As if her tired mind decided that it was overloaded, eyes closed and her breathing slowed as her head landed into Wick's lap.
Livia simply sighed, though a small smile still graced her lips. Such an outcome wasn’t unexpected. The poor child was likely completely exhausted.
“Well, that decides that.” Livia replied as she stood, wine glass in hand. “Arthur, I do believe we should let her rest. I’ll have one of the staff bring some blankets.”
Arthur sat there, still as he could. "So.. should I stay here? Or... Help?" Arthur asked as he stared down at the girl's head nestled in his lap. This was not what he was expecting, and he really wasn't fond of it, but he could hardly move and disturb this tired girl.
“As I said…we should let her rest. We have things we must discuss, unless you want a certain dragon finding out about our new guest.” That was a bit more than a suggestion, judging from her tone. Livia was standing near the door to the office now. She had opened it just big enough to speak to a maid standing outside of it. A brief conversation followed, and the maid left to get blankets as she turned back to Arthur.
“Oh, and if you wake her when you get up, I’ll have you work in the cafeteria as an oven~” It was difficult to tell if that playful smirk was being serious about that. As if to make Wick's life harder, the red hair girl wrapped her arms lightly around his waist as she had memories of a life long past.
It had been about ten minutes until Arthur, through great effort, managed to free himself. It was a long siege, give and take, until he was standing, and the girl was sleeping upon a heap of pillows brought in by a helpful maid.
Arthur now stood just outside the room, with Livia, so that they could talk without disturbing the girl. "So, what are your thoughts?" Arthur asked.
“That I was looking forward to some special Arthur Wick cooked pastries and now I won’t get any, tsk~” Livia teased, though the small smile left rather quickly as the conversation took a more serious turn. “More seriously…we should discuss my dragon friend.” Livia replied with a sigh, as she started walking away from her office.
"You know, if you wanted me to cook you something all you needed to do was ask. But yes, your friend. What exactly do we need to discuss?" Arthur asked as he followed but a step behind the headmistress.
Oho, she’d hold him too that offer, then, but now wasn’t the time for such pleasantries.
“Well…that girl obviously is the Phoenix.” Livia replied. “Sorcha would know that immediately if she ever met the girl. The problem is…That girl can barely be over 13 years old. She can’t possibly be the same girl that was responsible for the atrocities Sorcha has mentioned. At least, she has reincarnated since then, and I am not one to believe the sins of her past lives should fall on this girl….Roux….Allete, whatever we decide to name her. I do not believe…Sorcha would be of the same mind, however. Dragons are fickle creatures, and when one has a grudge…well…I shouldn’t have to tell you.” Livia sighed, stopping where she was walking, just outside the door leading out of the building. She was going to see Gall after this, though she should probably use some sleep herself….
“My point is,” She turned to face Arthur with a cold expression. “Sorcha has been my friend for almost thirty years, while I do believe she is a good person at heart…this curse that was placed on her and the grudge could…cloud her judgement. It would be in our best interest if Sorcha never finds out about the child. I will arrange a room for her in a quiet part of the campus where she won’t find her. It also means we’ll have to refrain from having too many people visit her.” She paused for a moment, before narrowing her eyes dangerously at Arthur.
“If Sorcha finds out about the phoenix, as much as it pains me to admit…I may require you to come out of retirement.”
Arthur would follow along, listening silently as they neared the exit to the building. "Understood. I'll be ready. So... do you want some kind of cake or?..." Arthur asked with a bemused smile on his face.
Livia frowned. Now was not the time for such shenanigans.
“I do not believe you are taking this seriously, Arthur.” She replied, walking towards the door. “If Sorcha approaches you, you are to tell her that the phoenix she is looking for wasn’t there. If she doesn’t believe you, then you are to tell me immediately. I will deal with her.” Livia sighed as she finished speaking, though turned back to Arthur.
“However, if you are serious…a cake would be wonderful.”
"I'm rarely ever not serious. Trust me, I understand the situation, and Sorcha won't learn about the girl's existance here. That manor was empty, just some goons smuggling drugs." Arthur said with a smile. "Now if you don't mind, I have a cake to bake." As Arthur said that he stepped out the door, to make the walk to the town.
The teenager's eyes were shifting back and forth as they ran across the words before her. She found herself reading on a bed again as she had done most days in the manor.
Four days ago Livia had brought her to a small two story home after she had woken up from her rest on the sofa. Two full bathrooms, two bedrooms with plenty of bookshelves and a desk. A living room and a small kitchen along with a sitting area. A balcony faced outdoors to overlook a backyard. After assuming that this was Livia's home, she was told that it was actually belonged to her now.
Coming fully furnished, it only had one major issue. Chairs. It had taken the teenager almost ten hours to move the eight objects, but she managed to stack all of them outside in the front lawn as far from the door as possible. She hoped her new keepers wouldn't mind her tossing them out.
So, she found herself reading a book on ancient egyptian costuming and tailoring that was already on the shelf. The redhead wasn't exactly sure why, but the topic interested her. Luckily, it proved to be relevant.
Honestly, Livia was probably enjoying pampering the redhead just a little too much. She had never had any kids in her forty seven years of existence, and perhaps it was a little much…but well, she couldn’t exactly deny it was a little pleasant.
…aha, if her younger self could see her now…
She shook her head, smiling softly as she approached the door to the home and entered quietly. Or at least, she would have if she didn’t notice a stack of chairs sitting as far away from the door as possible. This caused her to pause, trying to figure out what exactly the girl had been doing with them. Did she simply not like chairs? After a few moments though, she simply sighed, and continued into the house.
“Hrm…well, at least their stacked in a semi-artistic manner…” Livia mused as she entered. She’d have the chairs moved elsewhere before the weather damaged them. For now, she had more…important business to attend too. Now, where was the little roux at?
After a few moments of searching, Livia found her in her usual spot. Reading a book on a rather exquisite bed, if she did say so herself.
“Ah…little Roux,” She called out, knocking lightly on the door to the room to announce her presence. “You are doing well today?”
The one called Roux was startled despite the adequate warning she had been given. Amber eyes lifted up to see Livia knocking on an already open door out of courtesy. After a moment the teenagers eyes dropped slightly as her head nodded in afffirmation. Without her old keeper there, the old bruises had healed for the most part at what would normally be considered an unnatural rate. The red haired girl felt more ... alive. Roux closed her book, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. A small glass of water and a small bottle filled with some liquid sat on her bedside table. She lifted up the bottle, nervously holding it out for Livia to take.
Upon having the obvious bottle of phoenix tears up to her, Livia only sighed. Really, was she just…trained to cry like that? Livia shook her head, a bit upset, though it wasn’t at the girl. At least those injuries of hers had healed.
“Child…Roux,” Livia walked over to the girl, careful not to make any movements that would startle the girl. She would have grabbed a chair, but they were busy being a new piece of modern art outside. Instead, she opted to sit next to the child. She had hoped she had gotten to the point where she was comfortable around her. Roux moved slightly away, but she didn't run off or panic at Livia's approach.
“These are your…tears, correct?” Livia asked, gently taking the bottle as she sat. She of course, had no intention of taking them. “Hmm…may I ask why you are giving them to me? Just becasue I'm probably considered an old woman to most doesn't mean I need these~”
After a quick nod to confirm they were her tears, Roux's legs kicked back and forth slightly as she responded quietly to the next question. " ... You're my keeper now ..." To the girl, she was surprised why the older woman didn't ask for more. With four days to produce them, two more were sitting in the cabinent drawer in case her new keeper demanded extra. She decided not to mention those.
After a few moments the young girl wondered if she had accidenly insulted the older woman. That wouldn't be a good thing. Did she not want to be old? Was her present not adequate? Roux closed her eyes as she looked away, instinctivly preparing to be hit for her failure.
Oops.
Looks like she may have chosen the wrong choice of words there. Smooth Livia. She sighed inwardly. She had no intention of actually hitting the girl of course, despite how she may have been flinching.
“Rouxia, I am not upset.” She replied softly. “I simply have no need of your tears.” She continued, studying the bottle with a small smile, before holding it back out towards the redhead. “Neither I, nor Arthur have need of them.”
It took a few moments after Livia spoke for the girl to stop her internal panic. Seeing the outreached hand, the red haired girl took the bottle back nervously, legs kicking back and forth as they had been before. A short time bit of time went by and she decided to hold onto it rather than put it away, placing the bottle into her left pocket. After an awkward silence, the amber beads looked into the headmistresses' eyes curiously, head tilted slightly and red hair running over her right shoulder.
It was hard to tell if the girl was wondering why they didn't want the tears or if she was wondering what the purpose of this visit was today.
Well, that was settled. She hoped the girl understood that she didn’t need to force herself to cry any more here. She might have to be a little…firmer with her words If she didn’t, as much as she feared that might upset the child. At least she wasn’t completely put off by her now. She was able to look her in the eye now, without feeling threatened.
“At any rate,” She said, standing up as she gave the roux a small smile. “I would like to take you shopping today. I will not be having anyone under my care dressing in such rags. We need to buy you some proper clothes.”
The one called Roux looked down again to the floorboards again, a little bit nervous about leaving the house. She considered these to be nice clothes. But she nodded, pushing herself off the bed and nodding in confirmation. If Livia felt like playing dress up, the red haired girl wouldn't complain.
As the pair headed towards the mall, the red head found herself caught between some combination of curiousity and terror. She found herself looking around for a few heartbeats, taking everything in she could possibly see. Then the amber eyes would look back toward's the ground at Livia's feet, following them obediently a from a few steps behind.
Eventually the girl named Roux found herself being guided up a staircase into a small store, The Vetement. Clothes racks consumed most of the store's space with only a single article of clothing in a single style hanging from its racks. A long wallside wooden desk along the left side had several chairs pushed into it along with sketchpads and colored pencils scattered across it's surface. In a small clearing towards the right side of the store were two circles with various symbols etched in them. A tone that tried to sound irritated, but betrayed a sense of welcoming echoed from a counter just beyond the circles. "What brings the headmistress here today?" The man's deep voice boomed.
“Ah, Le Clothe.” She greeted the man with a friendly smile. “Normally I’d be here spoiling myself, but I have someone else who’s getting spoiled today.” Thankfully, the little roux didn’t run off anywhere, though Livia was hoping she might actually at least try to…interact with her surroundings a bit.
"This girl? Don't spoil her too much, she'll only grow out of them." A sigh and a more gentle tone escaped his mouth as he addressed the teenager. "Fine, run along the racks and find something you like. Just be sure to look through the racks for a sample you think is cute or draw something out in the sketchpad. The more detailed, the better." After some hesitation, the girl named Roux found herself looking up to Livia as if seeking confirmation.
“Well you heard the man, Roux. Whatever you want,” A small smile formed on her lips. “Someone will end up paying for it~”
The redhead headed off to the racks. The teenager searched slowly at first, as if not wanting to insult either one of them by dismissing anything too quickly, but eventually she had mastered the art of shopping and dissapeared into the forest of clothes. "You know, I am a little jealous of you."
Livia knew the story. The man's adopted son had suffered a lifelong ailment that had forced the thirteen year old to be bedridden most days. Even the school's head nurse had tried to cure the sickness, but all she could do was lay off the symptoms for a few days. Every time his child returned though, the illness would only appear faster than the previous one. A trained eye would guess that the bedridden child had a year to live.
“Oh?” Livia laughed softly as she watched the redhead disappear into the clothing, attempting to find something. “I suppose I am just rather lucky.” Livia replied with a sigh, a sad smile appearing on her lips. It was well known to the man that she was in fact, unable to have children of her own. It was simply a topic that had come up once when discussing his son – he was probably one of the few people who knew. “The redhead…has had a rather difficult life.”
Not that she had ever really wanted children, but age does make one regret things they had never done in their youth.
Fall in love and have a family, for example.
“I shall do my best, but…I’ve never done this before and I fear I may not be up to the task of raising her.”
The man's tone approached something resembling sincere. "Allow me to offer you one piece of advice. I've always think it's best to trust your instincts. You can always put up an act of fancy words, but it's the small things that affect them. If someone's stopped on the side of the road, do you pull over to try and help them? Or do you continue on your vacation, and enjoy yourself?"
Realizing he was rambling, the tailor regained his pride and his voice returned to something along the lines of sarcastic. "A thousand kid's lives you run, and you are seriously worried about this redhead? Surely others have had worse lives." It wasn't clear or not he was talking about his own child or others in the world.
“Aha, you are correct, but my relationship with my students is different. Most don’t really…well, know me, you could say.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I am most certainly concerned for all of them, but for the most part I’m probably not even a normal part of their day.” She turned her heads to the clothing, eyes scanning for signs of the redhead.
“This little Roux, however...I can’t say her life has been worse than any others because I do not know all my students on a personal level.” She replied, giving Le Clothe a small frown. “However, little Roux here…after hearing from Gall and another teacher what she went through…you could say I feel a little…I suppose I simply wish to protect her.”
He shrugged in response, and after a few moments changed the subject to something much less significant, some simple small talk as the two passed their time.
Little Red went around the store, choosing various long dresses off the shelves, and a few knee length ones as well. She ended up sticking mostly to the colors of green and red, along with one or two in white. They matched her hair well.
Eventually though, she seemed to be looking for something that couldn't be found. Roux headed over to the long desk, hesitating upon seeing the chairs. She spent a little time mustering her courage, but she started to stack the chairs on top of eachother towards one side. The red head intended to use the other side for planning out a design in one of the sketchbooks. The tailor simply rolled his eyes. He'd seen stranger habits in his time.
She was having a fairly pleasant conversation with Le Clothe. She was a bit thankful it had moved on from something less serious. However, she had to raise an eyebrow at what she noticed the little redhead doing. She didn’t wish to startle the girl, but well…stacking chairs like that could be a bit dangerous, and at this point she was fairly certain the redhead wasn’t stacking them for fun. She excused herself from conversation with Le Clothe, and walked over to the redhead.
“Hmm…I would complement you on your impeccable chair-arranging skills, but I doubt you are trying to make some form of modern art.” Livia quietly spoke as she approached the child. “Roux, what exactly are you doing?” Her voice was soft, trying to be as non threatening as she could manage.
The one named Roux jumped slightly, despite the tone. She lowered the chair she was holding to the ground. She knew what she was doing was ridiculous when she thought about it, but the objects were a painful reminder of a life that was her experience less than a week ago. She wasn't sure how to respond, so she instead opted to look at the ground, embarassed. '... I ..."
She put two fingers together, clearly deep in thought. It took her a minute, but she finished her sentence. "... don't want them near me ..."
Livia quickly put two and two together, and gave the child a small smile. It was obviously something from her captivity. However, as much as she’d like the child to simply not have to deal with this…that was probably not a good idea in the long run. She wasn’t much of a psychologist…but she could do her best here.
“I understand.” She replied simply, and after a moment, the older woman knelt down to the child’s level. “Being afraid of something is okay. I can’t say I have things I’m not afraid of either, especially when I was your age.” She gave the redhead a small smile. “But, losing to your fears is never a good thing, Little Roux. You are strong, I do not think there is anything you can’t face if you wish. You’ve endured a lot to be here now, haven’t you?” With that said, Livia stood giving a small sigh. She hadn’t expected to deal with something so…serious at the moment, but she couldn’t say she minded.
“Besides, if you ever need help with anything…all you have to do is ask someone who cares about you, do you not?” She offered the Roux another smile, before moving over to the chairs herself, lifting one with relative ease, and brought it over to the place she had been stacking them.
Little Roux lowered her eyes, believing she was being lightly scolded by her new keeper. But any fear the teenager had promplty disappeared as Livia decided to help her move the remaining chairs. After the two stacked the chairs up, the red headed girl walked briskly to the other side of the desk, distancing herself from the evil objects as much as possible.
A few seconds later and an assortment of artistic supplies were spread before her, and the redhead assembled a face of incredible concentration as she bit her lip focusing her thoughts. A second later, a small grin spread across the girl's face as she started to draw.
It was probably the first thing resembling a smile she'd given off in a long time.
The only thing surprising about how she drew was the speed at which she did it. It wasn't as if her hand moved at a supernaturally fast rate, but rather that she never had to turn the pencil over to erase a mistake. The sort of skill that one spent lifetimes perfecting - which unknown to the red head, she had.
A few minutes passed, and a detailed image assembled itself on the page. A larger, taller version of herself was featured, perhaps a few years older than she was now. It wasn't out of the question, but it was obviously a little idealized.
A knee length dress of red on the top, suddenly trasforming to black as it passed the hips and had cuts up the sides to allow movement. At the very bottom of the hemline, thin curves of red headed up from the bottom which gradually dissapeared as they approached the top. Black thighhighs were added, along with extended gloves for each arm. A black collar with a thin red stripe through the middle provided additional support to the outside straps that supported the dress. A few finishing details and several red wavy belt things added later, the girl appeared satisfied as she eyed her handiwork with a critical eye.
Livia was glad that was over with. She hoped she had done well in explaining things to little roux, but…well, that was that. She seemed happy, so that was enough for now. Onto the dresses, then.
The headmistress kept quiet as the girl started drawing. Well, she was certainly good at it. In fact, if she wanted too she could probably become an excellent artist judging from how well she was drawing. She wondered if some of her skills from her previous lives were kept between them. Would memories do the same, then? That might…be problematic if she remembered Sorcha.
Well…she’d deal with that if it happened. For now, she needed to get her some proper clothes.
“My, you certainly can draw well. Is this what you want, then? It’s certainly…ah, unique.” She replied. Not that it was bad, really. It was just something she hadn’t seen before.
After a moments hesitation, the shorter girl nodded. Grabbing a rather full basket of various garments, the two headed up towards the counter. "... Fire-resistant fabric..."The tailor nodded, raising an eyebrow at Livia to make sure she was ready to pay for this. After recieving a confirmation from the headmistress, he informed little Roux to head to one of the circles and wait.
After Roux obediently headed to one of the circles on the floor, the tailor pulled various boxes of cloth onto the other as he observed each sample of clothing.
He pressed his foot down onto the floor and instantly the girl's clothes changed on her body. The sweatpants and T-Shirt fell into a neat pile on the side as a long red dress appeared on the headmistress' adopted daughter. After yelping the first time in surprsise to a stifled laugh from the tailor, it became a routine as various bits of cloth dissapeared from the bins only to find themselves clinging to her a moment later. Some articles of clothing took more than one time as the tailor 'trimmed' them to perfection, but eventually they worked through all the sample pieces.
He observed her drawing, raising an eyebrow. A gruff voice came from Le Clothe's throat. "Well, I'll be damned. This girl actually can draw. You'd be surprised how much 'interpretation' I have to do with some of them." It still took the tailor several tries to create what the girl was requesting, but eventually he finished. "You know the rules. Bring the old articles back and I'll give a fifty percent materials discount. She should grow quickly, so I want you to remember that." He headed behind the counter, handing the headmistress a reciept. The twenty dresses ended up costing around ten grand. The girl was wearing her personally designed dress now, looking more than a little pleased with the outcome.
Livia simply observed silently. She was quite used to the process herself, so it wasn’t anything new to her. She simply waited for the process to complete, and for the little Roux’s dress to be completed. Thankfully, it didn’t take Le Clothe long to finish. As usual, he was very good at his job. Now, there was only the matter of the bill. When Le Clothe handed it to her, the headmistress simply sighed. Wow. Okay, that was not the amount she had been expecting. She knew it was going to be expensive, but...Well…
“You like the dress, then little Roux?” It was obvious the girl did like it. She had to admit, it was a fairly pretty article of clothing. “Then I will pay for it, since I think this is a special occasion.” She replied, a small frown forming on her lips. “But next time, you will chose something cheaper, or pay for it yourself, understand? And I do not mean with those tears of yours, either.”
Little Roux looked down as she was scolded, nodding in response to Livia's statement. The tailor gruddingly wished them a good day as the two headed towards the door after paying. Just before they finished leaving though, the footsteps behind Livia stopped in their tracks.
“Hmm, I was thinking we could get some lunch while we were out as well, any preferences, Roux or-?” Upon noticing the girl had stopped following her Livia turned to see what the little girl was doing.
The teenager was reaching into her the sweatpant's pocket as she searched for the bottle of phoenix tears. She had overheard parts of their conversation, and had realized during their small talk that the tailor had a dying son. Grabbing it firmly, little Roux reached out as she seemed to contemplate leaving it on the window sill for the tailor to find as he did his rounds at the end of the day.
At first, Livia was a little confused. She didn’t even notice the girl had brought the bottle of tears with her. There really was no reason for them to be here, after all. The headmistress frowned, unsure of what to say or do. The Roux looked like she was contemplating something, but Livia didn’t know what…unless she had heard the conversation earlier involving Le Clothe’s son.
“Your tears?...” They…well, they could in fact help Le Clothe’s son, couldn’t they? Phoenix tears could heal almost anything. “You want to do something with them, Roux?”
The one called Roux barely in response. She felt most people would recognize that they weren't human at first glance, and an alchemist would probably realize what they were fairly quickly. After tilting her head for a moment in thought, she nodded with a bit more conviction.
…ah, being a parent was a bit draining, wasn’t it?
“Well…they are your tears, Roux.” Livia replied. “And your tears are indeed special. They can heal almost anything. I cannot force nor make you leave them. That is up to you, dear.” Livia paused for a moment. She considered Le Clothe a friend, and she’d have given him the tears herself…she had a few vials Gall had brought back, as well. They could do something good for once and save someone’s life. So that just boiled down to what little Roux here wanted to do.
“Do you want to use them to save someone, Roux?”
Roux paused for contemplation after hearing the headmistresses words. The teenager understood suffering better than most, and if she could end another's at the price of a little time and some painful memories, she felt she should. The girl nodded again, getting on the tips of her toes as she placed the vial onto the window sill, looking at them for a moment before returning her eyes to the ground again.
“You are a good child,” Livia smiled gently. She was even more convinced now that the roux wasn’t the tyrant that her past life could have been.
“So there is no need to constantly look at the ground.” She continued with a small laugh. With that out of the way then, the Headmistress turned her attention back to Le Clothe. The girl may have had good intentions, but she should probably at least tell him about it in the most subtle way she could, before someone else came along and grabbed it.
“Aha, sorry for taking up space in your store, Le Clothe.” She replied with a slight bow. “The Roux had something she wanted to ask.” She gave him a friendly smile. “And I think…there is still hope for your son to recover.” She made a small gesture towards the window with the bottle sitting on it.
“Come along then, Roux. We don’t want to waste any more of Le Clothe’s time.” She continued before he or Roux could say anything, and ushered the girl out of the store.
The tailor later put two and two together. Any time the 'Little Roux' returned to the store, she mysteriously always recieved a 90% discount to account "for the honor of allowing a goddess to wear his garb".
Four days ago Livia had brought her to a small two story home after she had woken up from her rest on the sofa. Two full bathrooms, two bedrooms with plenty of bookshelves and a desk. A living room and a small kitchen along with a sitting area. A balcony faced outdoors to overlook a backyard. After assuming that this was Livia's home, she was told that it was actually belonged to her now.
Coming fully furnished, it only had one major issue. Chairs. It had taken the teenager almost ten hours to move the eight objects, but she managed to stack all of them outside in the front lawn as far from the door as possible. She hoped her new keepers wouldn't mind her tossing them out.
So, she found herself reading a book on ancient egyptian costuming and tailoring that was already on the shelf. The redhead wasn't exactly sure why, but the topic interested her. Luckily, it proved to be relevant.
Honestly, Livia was probably enjoying pampering the redhead just a little too much. She had never had any kids in her forty seven years of existence, and perhaps it was a little much…but well, she couldn’t exactly deny it was a little pleasant.
…aha, if her younger self could see her now…
She shook her head, smiling softly as she approached the door to the home and entered quietly. Or at least, she would have if she didn’t notice a stack of chairs sitting as far away from the door as possible. This caused her to pause, trying to figure out what exactly the girl had been doing with them. Did she simply not like chairs? After a few moments though, she simply sighed, and continued into the house.
“Hrm…well, at least their stacked in a semi-artistic manner…” Livia mused as she entered. She’d have the chairs moved elsewhere before the weather damaged them. For now, she had more…important business to attend too. Now, where was the little roux at?
After a few moments of searching, Livia found her in her usual spot. Reading a book on a rather exquisite bed, if she did say so herself.
“Ah…little Roux,” She called out, knocking lightly on the door to the room to announce her presence. “You are doing well today?”
The one called Roux was startled despite the adequate warning she had been given. Amber eyes lifted up to see Livia knocking on an already open door out of courtesy. After a moment the teenagers eyes dropped slightly as her head nodded in afffirmation. Without her old keeper there, the old bruises had healed for the most part at what would normally be considered an unnatural rate. The red haired girl felt more ... alive. Roux closed her book, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. A small glass of water and a small bottle filled with some liquid sat on her bedside table. She lifted up the bottle, nervously holding it out for Livia to take.
Upon having the obvious bottle of phoenix tears up to her, Livia only sighed. Really, was she just…trained to cry like that? Livia shook her head, a bit upset, though it wasn’t at the girl. At least those injuries of hers had healed.
“Child…Roux,” Livia walked over to the girl, careful not to make any movements that would startle the girl. She would have grabbed a chair, but they were busy being a new piece of modern art outside. Instead, she opted to sit next to the child. She had hoped she had gotten to the point where she was comfortable around her. Roux moved slightly away, but she didn't run off or panic at Livia's approach.
“These are your…tears, correct?” Livia asked, gently taking the bottle as she sat. She of course, had no intention of taking them. “Hmm…may I ask why you are giving them to me? Just becasue I'm probably considered an old woman to most doesn't mean I need these~”
After a quick nod to confirm they were her tears, Roux's legs kicked back and forth slightly as she responded quietly to the next question. " ... You're my keeper now ..." To the girl, she was surprised why the older woman didn't ask for more. With four days to produce them, two more were sitting in the cabinent drawer in case her new keeper demanded extra. She decided not to mention those.
After a few moments the young girl wondered if she had accidenly insulted the older woman. That wouldn't be a good thing. Did she not want to be old? Was her present not adequate? Roux closed her eyes as she looked away, instinctivly preparing to be hit for her failure.
Oops.
Looks like she may have chosen the wrong choice of words there. Smooth Livia. She sighed inwardly. She had no intention of actually hitting the girl of course, despite how she may have been flinching.
“Rouxia, I am not upset.” She replied softly. “I simply have no need of your tears.” She continued, studying the bottle with a small smile, before holding it back out towards the redhead. “Neither I, nor Arthur have need of them.”
It took a few moments after Livia spoke for the girl to stop her internal panic. Seeing the outreached hand, the red haired girl took the bottle back nervously, legs kicking back and forth as they had been before. A short time bit of time went by and she decided to hold onto it rather than put it away, placing the bottle into her left pocket. After an awkward silence, the amber beads looked into the headmistresses' eyes curiously, head tilted slightly and red hair running over her right shoulder.
It was hard to tell if the girl was wondering why they didn't want the tears or if she was wondering what the purpose of this visit was today.
Well, that was settled. She hoped the girl understood that she didn’t need to force herself to cry any more here. She might have to be a little…firmer with her words If she didn’t, as much as she feared that might upset the child. At least she wasn’t completely put off by her now. She was able to look her in the eye now, without feeling threatened.
“At any rate,” She said, standing up as she gave the roux a small smile. “I would like to take you shopping today. I will not be having anyone under my care dressing in such rags. We need to buy you some proper clothes.”
The one called Roux looked down again to the floorboards again, a little bit nervous about leaving the house. She considered these to be nice clothes. But she nodded, pushing herself off the bed and nodding in confirmation. If Livia felt like playing dress up, the red haired girl wouldn't complain.
As the pair headed towards the mall, the red head found herself caught between some combination of curiousity and terror. She found herself looking around for a few heartbeats, taking everything in she could possibly see. Then the amber eyes would look back toward's the ground at Livia's feet, following them obediently a from a few steps behind.
Eventually the girl named Roux found herself being guided up a staircase into a small store, The Vetement. Clothes racks consumed most of the store's space with only a single article of clothing in a single style hanging from its racks. A long wallside wooden desk along the left side had several chairs pushed into it along with sketchpads and colored pencils scattered across it's surface. In a small clearing towards the right side of the store were two circles with various symbols etched in them. A tone that tried to sound irritated, but betrayed a sense of welcoming echoed from a counter just beyond the circles. "What brings the headmistress here today?" The man's deep voice boomed.
“Ah, Le Clothe.” She greeted the man with a friendly smile. “Normally I’d be here spoiling myself, but I have someone else who’s getting spoiled today.” Thankfully, the little roux didn’t run off anywhere, though Livia was hoping she might actually at least try to…interact with her surroundings a bit.
"This girl? Don't spoil her too much, she'll only grow out of them." A sigh and a more gentle tone escaped his mouth as he addressed the teenager. "Fine, run along the racks and find something you like. Just be sure to look through the racks for a sample you think is cute or draw something out in the sketchpad. The more detailed, the better." After some hesitation, the girl named Roux found herself looking up to Livia as if seeking confirmation.
“Well you heard the man, Roux. Whatever you want,” A small smile formed on her lips. “Someone will end up paying for it~”
The redhead headed off to the racks. The teenager searched slowly at first, as if not wanting to insult either one of them by dismissing anything too quickly, but eventually she had mastered the art of shopping and dissapeared into the forest of clothes. "You know, I am a little jealous of you."
Livia knew the story. The man's adopted son had suffered a lifelong ailment that had forced the thirteen year old to be bedridden most days. Even the school's head nurse had tried to cure the sickness, but all she could do was lay off the symptoms for a few days. Every time his child returned though, the illness would only appear faster than the previous one. A trained eye would guess that the bedridden child had a year to live.
“Oh?” Livia laughed softly as she watched the redhead disappear into the clothing, attempting to find something. “I suppose I am just rather lucky.” Livia replied with a sigh, a sad smile appearing on her lips. It was well known to the man that she was in fact, unable to have children of her own. It was simply a topic that had come up once when discussing his son – he was probably one of the few people who knew. “The redhead…has had a rather difficult life.”
Not that she had ever really wanted children, but age does make one regret things they had never done in their youth.
Fall in love and have a family, for example.
“I shall do my best, but…I’ve never done this before and I fear I may not be up to the task of raising her.”
The man's tone approached something resembling sincere. "Allow me to offer you one piece of advice. I've always think it's best to trust your instincts. You can always put up an act of fancy words, but it's the small things that affect them. If someone's stopped on the side of the road, do you pull over to try and help them? Or do you continue on your vacation, and enjoy yourself?"
Realizing he was rambling, the tailor regained his pride and his voice returned to something along the lines of sarcastic. "A thousand kid's lives you run, and you are seriously worried about this redhead? Surely others have had worse lives." It wasn't clear or not he was talking about his own child or others in the world.
“Aha, you are correct, but my relationship with my students is different. Most don’t really…well, know me, you could say.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I am most certainly concerned for all of them, but for the most part I’m probably not even a normal part of their day.” She turned her heads to the clothing, eyes scanning for signs of the redhead.
“This little Roux, however...I can’t say her life has been worse than any others because I do not know all my students on a personal level.” She replied, giving Le Clothe a small frown. “However, little Roux here…after hearing from Gall and another teacher what she went through…you could say I feel a little…I suppose I simply wish to protect her.”
He shrugged in response, and after a few moments changed the subject to something much less significant, some simple small talk as the two passed their time.
Little Red went around the store, choosing various long dresses off the shelves, and a few knee length ones as well. She ended up sticking mostly to the colors of green and red, along with one or two in white. They matched her hair well.
Eventually though, she seemed to be looking for something that couldn't be found. Roux headed over to the long desk, hesitating upon seeing the chairs. She spent a little time mustering her courage, but she started to stack the chairs on top of eachother towards one side. The red head intended to use the other side for planning out a design in one of the sketchbooks. The tailor simply rolled his eyes. He'd seen stranger habits in his time.
She was having a fairly pleasant conversation with Le Clothe. She was a bit thankful it had moved on from something less serious. However, she had to raise an eyebrow at what she noticed the little redhead doing. She didn’t wish to startle the girl, but well…stacking chairs like that could be a bit dangerous, and at this point she was fairly certain the redhead wasn’t stacking them for fun. She excused herself from conversation with Le Clothe, and walked over to the redhead.
“Hmm…I would complement you on your impeccable chair-arranging skills, but I doubt you are trying to make some form of modern art.” Livia quietly spoke as she approached the child. “Roux, what exactly are you doing?” Her voice was soft, trying to be as non threatening as she could manage.
The one named Roux jumped slightly, despite the tone. She lowered the chair she was holding to the ground. She knew what she was doing was ridiculous when she thought about it, but the objects were a painful reminder of a life that was her experience less than a week ago. She wasn't sure how to respond, so she instead opted to look at the ground, embarassed. '... I ..."
She put two fingers together, clearly deep in thought. It took her a minute, but she finished her sentence. "... don't want them near me ..."
Livia quickly put two and two together, and gave the child a small smile. It was obviously something from her captivity. However, as much as she’d like the child to simply not have to deal with this…that was probably not a good idea in the long run. She wasn’t much of a psychologist…but she could do her best here.
“I understand.” She replied simply, and after a moment, the older woman knelt down to the child’s level. “Being afraid of something is okay. I can’t say I have things I’m not afraid of either, especially when I was your age.” She gave the redhead a small smile. “But, losing to your fears is never a good thing, Little Roux. You are strong, I do not think there is anything you can’t face if you wish. You’ve endured a lot to be here now, haven’t you?” With that said, Livia stood giving a small sigh. She hadn’t expected to deal with something so…serious at the moment, but she couldn’t say she minded.
“Besides, if you ever need help with anything…all you have to do is ask someone who cares about you, do you not?” She offered the Roux another smile, before moving over to the chairs herself, lifting one with relative ease, and brought it over to the place she had been stacking them.
Little Roux lowered her eyes, believing she was being lightly scolded by her new keeper. But any fear the teenager had promplty disappeared as Livia decided to help her move the remaining chairs. After the two stacked the chairs up, the red headed girl walked briskly to the other side of the desk, distancing herself from the evil objects as much as possible.
A few seconds later and an assortment of artistic supplies were spread before her, and the redhead assembled a face of incredible concentration as she bit her lip focusing her thoughts. A second later, a small grin spread across the girl's face as she started to draw.
It was probably the first thing resembling a smile she'd given off in a long time.
The only thing surprising about how she drew was the speed at which she did it. It wasn't as if her hand moved at a supernaturally fast rate, but rather that she never had to turn the pencil over to erase a mistake. The sort of skill that one spent lifetimes perfecting - which unknown to the red head, she had.
A few minutes passed, and a detailed image assembled itself on the page. A larger, taller version of herself was featured, perhaps a few years older than she was now. It wasn't out of the question, but it was obviously a little idealized.
A knee length dress of red on the top, suddenly trasforming to black as it passed the hips and had cuts up the sides to allow movement. At the very bottom of the hemline, thin curves of red headed up from the bottom which gradually dissapeared as they approached the top. Black thighhighs were added, along with extended gloves for each arm. A black collar with a thin red stripe through the middle provided additional support to the outside straps that supported the dress. A few finishing details and several red wavy belt things added later, the girl appeared satisfied as she eyed her handiwork with a critical eye.
Livia was glad that was over with. She hoped she had done well in explaining things to little roux, but…well, that was that. She seemed happy, so that was enough for now. Onto the dresses, then.
The headmistress kept quiet as the girl started drawing. Well, she was certainly good at it. In fact, if she wanted too she could probably become an excellent artist judging from how well she was drawing. She wondered if some of her skills from her previous lives were kept between them. Would memories do the same, then? That might…be problematic if she remembered Sorcha.
Well…she’d deal with that if it happened. For now, she needed to get her some proper clothes.
“My, you certainly can draw well. Is this what you want, then? It’s certainly…ah, unique.” She replied. Not that it was bad, really. It was just something she hadn’t seen before.
After a moments hesitation, the shorter girl nodded. Grabbing a rather full basket of various garments, the two headed up towards the counter. "... Fire-resistant fabric..."The tailor nodded, raising an eyebrow at Livia to make sure she was ready to pay for this. After recieving a confirmation from the headmistress, he informed little Roux to head to one of the circles and wait.
After Roux obediently headed to one of the circles on the floor, the tailor pulled various boxes of cloth onto the other as he observed each sample of clothing.
He pressed his foot down onto the floor and instantly the girl's clothes changed on her body. The sweatpants and T-Shirt fell into a neat pile on the side as a long red dress appeared on the headmistress' adopted daughter. After yelping the first time in surprsise to a stifled laugh from the tailor, it became a routine as various bits of cloth dissapeared from the bins only to find themselves clinging to her a moment later. Some articles of clothing took more than one time as the tailor 'trimmed' them to perfection, but eventually they worked through all the sample pieces.
He observed her drawing, raising an eyebrow. A gruff voice came from Le Clothe's throat. "Well, I'll be damned. This girl actually can draw. You'd be surprised how much 'interpretation' I have to do with some of them." It still took the tailor several tries to create what the girl was requesting, but eventually he finished. "You know the rules. Bring the old articles back and I'll give a fifty percent materials discount. She should grow quickly, so I want you to remember that." He headed behind the counter, handing the headmistress a reciept. The twenty dresses ended up costing around ten grand. The girl was wearing her personally designed dress now, looking more than a little pleased with the outcome.
Livia simply observed silently. She was quite used to the process herself, so it wasn’t anything new to her. She simply waited for the process to complete, and for the little Roux’s dress to be completed. Thankfully, it didn’t take Le Clothe long to finish. As usual, he was very good at his job. Now, there was only the matter of the bill. When Le Clothe handed it to her, the headmistress simply sighed. Wow. Okay, that was not the amount she had been expecting. She knew it was going to be expensive, but...Well…
“You like the dress, then little Roux?” It was obvious the girl did like it. She had to admit, it was a fairly pretty article of clothing. “Then I will pay for it, since I think this is a special occasion.” She replied, a small frown forming on her lips. “But next time, you will chose something cheaper, or pay for it yourself, understand? And I do not mean with those tears of yours, either.”
Little Roux looked down as she was scolded, nodding in response to Livia's statement. The tailor gruddingly wished them a good day as the two headed towards the door after paying. Just before they finished leaving though, the footsteps behind Livia stopped in their tracks.
“Hmm, I was thinking we could get some lunch while we were out as well, any preferences, Roux or-?” Upon noticing the girl had stopped following her Livia turned to see what the little girl was doing.
The teenager was reaching into her the sweatpant's pocket as she searched for the bottle of phoenix tears. She had overheard parts of their conversation, and had realized during their small talk that the tailor had a dying son. Grabbing it firmly, little Roux reached out as she seemed to contemplate leaving it on the window sill for the tailor to find as he did his rounds at the end of the day.
At first, Livia was a little confused. She didn’t even notice the girl had brought the bottle of tears with her. There really was no reason for them to be here, after all. The headmistress frowned, unsure of what to say or do. The Roux looked like she was contemplating something, but Livia didn’t know what…unless she had heard the conversation earlier involving Le Clothe’s son.
“Your tears?...” They…well, they could in fact help Le Clothe’s son, couldn’t they? Phoenix tears could heal almost anything. “You want to do something with them, Roux?”
The one called Roux barely in response. She felt most people would recognize that they weren't human at first glance, and an alchemist would probably realize what they were fairly quickly. After tilting her head for a moment in thought, she nodded with a bit more conviction.
…ah, being a parent was a bit draining, wasn’t it?
“Well…they are your tears, Roux.” Livia replied. “And your tears are indeed special. They can heal almost anything. I cannot force nor make you leave them. That is up to you, dear.” Livia paused for a moment. She considered Le Clothe a friend, and she’d have given him the tears herself…she had a few vials Gall had brought back, as well. They could do something good for once and save someone’s life. So that just boiled down to what little Roux here wanted to do.
“Do you want to use them to save someone, Roux?”
Roux paused for contemplation after hearing the headmistresses words. The teenager understood suffering better than most, and if she could end another's at the price of a little time and some painful memories, she felt she should. The girl nodded again, getting on the tips of her toes as she placed the vial onto the window sill, looking at them for a moment before returning her eyes to the ground again.
“You are a good child,” Livia smiled gently. She was even more convinced now that the roux wasn’t the tyrant that her past life could have been.
“So there is no need to constantly look at the ground.” She continued with a small laugh. With that out of the way then, the Headmistress turned her attention back to Le Clothe. The girl may have had good intentions, but she should probably at least tell him about it in the most subtle way she could, before someone else came along and grabbed it.
“Aha, sorry for taking up space in your store, Le Clothe.” She replied with a slight bow. “The Roux had something she wanted to ask.” She gave him a friendly smile. “And I think…there is still hope for your son to recover.” She made a small gesture towards the window with the bottle sitting on it.
“Come along then, Roux. We don’t want to waste any more of Le Clothe’s time.” She continued before he or Roux could say anything, and ushered the girl out of the store.
The tailor later put two and two together. Any time the 'Little Roux' returned to the store, she mysteriously always recieved a 90% discount to account "for the honor of allowing a goddess to wear his garb".
As usual, the one named Little Roux was kicking her legs slightly as she read through the pages of her book. She had gradually started building up a small collection from the library, and the shelves were being filled as time passed.
Someone eventually came by the front of the two story house and removed the chairs that had been stacked in the lawn. A week had passed since her arrival, and despite the trauma she'd experienced the teenager was starting to become a bit more trusting her new keepers. Somewhere in the back of her mind though was still asking what the two had to gain from this.
Still though, the small two story house was certainly large enough for little Roux to be able to enjoy reading a book about the crusades on her bed, so her eyes were glued to the pages as the soft tapping of rain bounced off the window.
Arthur stood at the door to the house, rain plattering down gently on his hat. It was a mild rain, though he knew it would only get stronger. Arthur really had wished he had gotten the chance to come by sooner, but with classes he only had so much time to spend. With a deep sigh, he knocked on the door, three quick strikes to hopefully alert Roux of his presence. Engrossed in her book, of course the red haired girl didn't notice the knocking from outside.
Arthur stood there, waiting. Well, seems the girl didn't hear. Arthur walked around the house, until he reached a window. Staring intently through the window, luckily the curtains were open, and after staring into the window soon Arthur was gone, teleported through and into the room. May not have been a key, but at least it worked.
Arthur sized up the room, rather curious that something that was more or less a closet would have a window, but then again Arthur wasn't an architect. Could be if he wanted to, but he wasn't. Regardless he would step out of the room, and slowly, quietly sneak upstairs. The pyromancer was soon standing at the door to what could only be the bedroom. The door slid open soundlessly, and Arthur looked in to see Roux, laying on the bed reading.
At least she was reading, it's always good to read, Arthur thought as he watched, leaning against the doorframe. He didn't bother to make any noise, to let the girl know he was there. Arthur just stood there quietly, watching. After about a minute of standing however Arthur grew bored of standing, "Lovely weather eh?"
Despite the adequete warning, the red headed girl seemed to jump slightly as she was startled. After a few moments of looking outside, the girl nodded slightly before closing her book and placing it back down on the bed.
Figuring he hadn't just come here to talk, Roux removed herself from the bed and walked up to a few feet away from Sir Wick, Amber eyes examining the floorboards as she wondered what she would be doing today. If they wanted to go somewhere, the girl was happy she had her own custom made dress for the job.
"Nothing to say? Please, no need to be shy, you'll find I'm quite the good conversationalist. Regardless, we are going to be going out in that weather, I'd suggest dressing into something else, unless your content with getting that dress wet." Arthur said, stroking his beard really quick while adding, "I'll be waiting outside. Come join me when you're ready." The man would then turn, closing the door behind him before exiting the building.
Still not entirely sure of what was going on, the fourteen year old looked down at her dress. It had been constructed for use in this sort of situation, and despite it's appearence it was constructed of rather strong and durable fabric.
There was always a time to put things to the test. She drank a little water from her windowstand, and after a few moments decided to run down the stairway out into the rain, meeting with her savior.
Arthur was a few feet past the door, and looked back over his shoulder towards it when he heard it open. "Come along, I've got something fun planned for today." Arthur would then start walking, before slowly picking up pace, until he was jogging rather quickly through the rain, which while still mild, had indeed gotten stronger. Lighter footsteps followed behind, running after the man with longer legs.
The two ran, Arthur leading them farther and farther away from the school grounds, before long they were in the wilderness of the mountains, running along paths that clung against the stone, up and down rain slick stairs carved into the ground, over flimsy wooden bridges.
Arthur stopped. The two of them stood in the middle of a clearing, about twenty feet across. The grass was short, blackened already as if it was burned before and often. The trees that guarded the clearing were tall, though not so much so that one couldn't see the imposing peaks of the mountains nearby.
"I love that little jog. And such a nice clearing. I come out here every weekend, just to let loose. But today, today is a special case." Arthur said, "Want to know why little red?"
The little girl was too busy catching her breath to be ready to respond when she was asked that question. Despite her natural fitness, a run of a few miles was a draining experience for her. Although she was curious about why they were out here, so she managed to nod slightly towards Sir Wick as she gasped for air. Looking around, she noticed they were in a small clearing within the woods.
Arthur was clearly giddy, he was practiacally jumping up and down. "I love this weather!" He shouted towards the heavens, before composing himself. "But yes. We are here for a reason. I have a question for you. What are you? I'm sure you know humans don't shed all healing tears. Your a bright enough girl to know that." Arthur asked.
She was sure that this man was crazy. They were both splattered in mud, and the teenager was still trying to bring some air back into her lungs. Her legs burned from the longest run she'd ever done in her life. And he ENJOYED this.
It took her a minute, but eventually she gathered enough breath to be able to manage some sort of response. "... I ... I don't know ..." She honestly didn't know. Was there a reason to drag her out here for several miles to tell her this though?
Arthur stood there, letting the rain come down for a moment before replying, "You're a bird." The girl blinked several times. Then for the first time in her life, she let out a small laugh as she had difficulty processing his claim.
"I'm telling the truth though. Your a bird. You've spent all your time reading in that house haven't you? Have you come across the tale of the phoenix?" Arthur mused, a smile still upon his face.
After a few seconds of thinking, she nodded. She'd heard of the legendary beast: a powerful reincarnating flaming bird of such majesty some confused it for God. Tears of healing ... As her thought came across that line, she looked up at him. She had guesses about where this was going.
"You're a bird little red. A bird with the power of fire itself within you. If you'd like, I could help you wake up some of that power." Arthur said.
The one called little red looked up with amber eyes into his, thinking about his offer. She was still a little stunned about his claim, but the Phoenix realized it made sense. She thought about her time in the manor, where her old keeper bruised her every day. If she had power, would that have been able to happen? She couldn't bring herself to hate the old man despite what he'd done to her ... but ...
A quick nod towards Arthur indicated her decision.
Arthur nodded in turn, "Good. Good. Now, you tired after that run here right?" She nodded in response, although her breathing had slowed down a little. "Good. Now, shout. scream, yell. Express your anger, kindle your fury! Show the sky and earth how mad you are! Come on, scream!" Arthur shouted, demanding anger from the girl standing in front of him.
The red haired girl jumped away from the sudden shouting, cowering slightly from the loud and deep voice. She had to strongly resist the urge to run away and curl up into a ball somewhere. The lady keeper had told her not to let her fears own her, so Little Red let out all the anger she could muster. "... chirp ...?" If she was a bird, maybe acting like one would help?
Arthur was about to shout again, to help this girl get angry. But then again... she chirped. Arthur stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. "You've spent... your entire life hidden away. Treated like an animal, harvested for tears... Beaten, bloodied... and all you can do is chirp? Arthur stood there a moment longer, before finsihing, "You know, if I was in your postion, I would be screaming loud enough for the people across the entire mountain to hear me."
Arthur sighed before saying, "Just... scream louder. Please be angry, it'd really help get us started."
The girl looked down as she was chastised for failing to be angry, idly kicking a small nearby rock to see if that would satisfy Sir Wick's desire for rage. To make it a bit more convincing, she mustered a bit more courage and let out a slightly louder "... Chirp ..."
Arthur grinned, "If your going to chirp, I suggest you do so louder. I think your giving birds a bad name with that weak impression. Come on, your on the right track!" Arthur said, nearly shouting at the end of it again. She took another step back as he raised his voice.
As the rain poured down onto the back of her head, the teenager found herself become a bit more frustrated with Sir Wicks requests. What was up with this guy? Why did he keep on shouting at her to become angry. She kicked two more small stones with a bit more force unconciously.
Arthur's grin widened. Sure, Roux stepped back, but she was also still kicking rocks. She could get angry. He just needed the right trigger. Shame he didn't know her better, he'll have to improvise. "Come on, don't step away! If you run here, if you run now, then your running right back into that life you had a week ago, do you want that?! Do you want to be a slave!?!" Arthur shouted as the rain started pouring even harder.
The girl's eyes went downcast, but she obediently didn't judge from where she stood. He asked if she wanted to be a slave. The fourteen year old didn't hate that life just a week ago, did she? Then why did it seem like so long ago? Why did she prefer these keepers so much more, despite the instructions they gave her? Small fists clenched, amber eyes were covered by their lids. A few tears started falling from them, her old life conflicting with her new one.
In a way, her old life had been safer. Inside constantly, the young girl didn't have to worry about some crazy man dragging her off into the forest to scream at things. Sure she was injured, but no one was around there would really kill her. She'd been a reasource to them, so they wouldn't toss her out. Her new keepers refused any motivation like that, meaning their current kindness was on a whim.
Still though. This was her first time experiencing the rain. It was cold, sending a shiver up her spine. But it was new. So were the clothes that she'd been shopping for with Livia. And she wasn't treated like an animal, any bruises or aches she had being her own fault. They even believed she deserved a name, and granted her the identity of Roux until she chose one for herself.
And she'd probably saved the life of Le Clothe's child. That was worth something.
She raised her head, eyes opening briefly to a new shade of gold. "No." It was spoken firmly with divine conviction, if not stated loudly. The trees that'd she'd been backing towards before responded however, embers flying for a few moments before suddenly bursting into flame.
"Good. You feel that? That fire in you? That rage with threatens to flow forth and set this world to tinder?" Arthur would straighten his form, stand almost like a soldier in some army before saying, "Bottle it up. Know of it. It is a constant threat, to your foes, and yourself. To your friends. To many powerful beings have fallen simply because they let that power go unchecked. It is iron, unrelenting. But it must be tempered."
Taking a step forward Arthur would say as he returned to a more relaxed pose, "Now. Calm down. It would be a great shame if such a lovely glade was burned down don't you agree?"
Little Roux looked over her shoulder to see what he was talking about. Fire consumed several trees, each one a habitat for many creatures. She'd probaby just slain thousands of smaller souls for the simple purpose of practicing some of her power. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the world burn before her. After a few seconds they returned to their normal amber shade before they closed, more tears dropping from them. The fires stopped expanding, then were put out naturally by the rain.
That wouldn't stop her from learning this art. She wouldn't go back to her old life. But she understood what he meant by a need to be tempered.
Little Roux sat on the ground, curling up into a small ball despite the mud being splattered by the falling raindrops. Placing her head onto her knees, more of the panacea flowed from the two ambers.
Arthur walked over to the girl. Kneeling down beside her, he said "I know. My introduction wasn't any better. At least you don't have to fight an oversized fireproof puppy though." Wick said as he laied one of his hand over the shoulders of Roux. "You know, I love the rain, but I'm starting to get sick of this mud, and I can't imagine that dress is very warming. Let's get you back home." Arthur said as he stood, encouraging for Roux to stand as well.
A minute passed. And another. Little Roux didn't move. As the third on passed though, she rose to her feet and started walking home, tears still falling from her downcast eyes and joining the growing puddles on the ground.
Arthur was wet, and tired, but also rather proud. He sat in his house, a simple little affair on the outskirts of the town. He had returned there after escorting Roux to her own home. Arthur sat in his chair, the good one. It was a nice chair, a leather rolling chair. Sadly it was a rolling chair, and very easily toppled over when Arthur leaned back too far. he had good balance, but spooky black spirits rising from the floorboards tend to counteract that.
While Arthur was righting himself and his chair the spirit, Livia's it made clear, passed Arthur a letter before returning to the ground below. Arthur sat himself again and tore open the piece of parchment before reading the paper within. It was a very formal request for his presence, which could only mean that Arthur had done something wrong. No doubt she knew what had happened half an hour prior, could Arthur do anything without someboby knowing? And he had just changed into these nice dry clothes, if only there was a way to get to the Headmistresses office without stepping into the rain. And after thinking about it for a moment, Arthur was gone.
Standing outside the door, he gave three solid knocks.
The door opened by itself, allowing Arthur access to her office. It looked the same as it always did. Except for the chair that was sitting in front of her desk. As soon as Arthur would enter, the door would firmly shut behind him, likely the work of more of her watcher spirits. Livia herself, was sitting behind her desk reading a book about ancient Norse culture. Likely about something Sorcha had recommended.
“Ah, Arthur. Glad you could make it in such a timely fashion.” She greeted him with a friendly tone. “Take a seat, if you don’t mind.”
Arthur walked up to the desk and sat himself down in the chair. It was a rather nice chair all considering, not as good as the one Arthur had been relaxing in a few minutes prior but perhaps that was just the atmosphere. "How's your day going?" Arthur asked almost jokingly.
“Well, it was going wonderful.” Livia replied with a sigh. "Such a lovely day today, I think. A little rain is always good for people. I was dearly looking forward to it ending on a good note. Sorcha and I had just finished have a rather nice dinner with some very exquisite wine she had been saving.” She closed her eyes as she leaned back in her chair to get comfortable. “Really, I was hoping to end it on a high note. But…well…what do you know. One of my darling little spirits alerted me that you were doing something to my little roux.”
She opened an eye, and suddenly the room would seem to grow colder for Arthur.
“Tell me…what was your intention? Telling a frightened girl like her that anger and rage is a good thing. Are you completely out of your mind? Or did you drown it with so much alcohol before you cleaned your life up that you can’t think of the long term ramifications of your actions?” Her voice was calm and even, but sharp as an ice pick. It was easy to tell she wasn't pleased.
Well, Arthur couldn't say he didn't know this was coming. Then again, Arthur has been teaching at this school for nearly a decade now, how could the headmistress not already have at least a basic understanding of his teaching methods?
Regardless, "My intention. A wonderful question. My intentions were to spark a fire. If I may ask a question in return headmistress? How do you build a fire?"
“Oh? You start a fire with a match if I’ve been doing it right all these years.” She coolly replied. “I am well aware of your method of teaching fire. Using anger to create a spark. It is not something I approve of, but it has worked well so far and I have no place to comment on someone’s path to their own power even if I have seen a much better method for Pyromancy.” She continued, closing her one eye again with a sigh. “That, is not why you are currently sitting before me on the verge of losing your job. Perhaps you’d like to take a guess as to the actual reason?”
"Is it because that cake was so good last week that you'd like to make a large order?" Arthur said without thought.
Livia simply frowned.
“People in your precarious position do not get to make jokes, Mr. Wick” She emphasized his last name with a harsh tone. In all her years of knowing him, this was probably the first time she actually used his last name.
Arthur simply smiled.
"I find that people in my postion should make jokes more often, Lady Fiore." He replied. "Of course, I do value my job, and have clearly shown that I'm not good at guessing games. I would like to know why exactly I'm sitting here madam."
Livia fixed him with a cool, still clearly displeased gaze as she leaned forward in her seat, resting a hand on her desk as she ignored his obviously antagonistic comment.
“Among other things, you do not think about the long term ramifications of your actions. That is the reason you are currently sitting here.”
Arthur, in turn, leaned back in his seat. Casually, he said, "And what are those ramifications? If you think that I'm going to let little red become an inferno of pent up anger then perhaps you need to spy on more then just the first lesson madam."
“So you did think about it, and you did it anyways. You even told her she’s a powerful creature that was revered as a goddess at the same exact time.” Her voice took a slightly dangerous tone as she spoke. “That’s not helping your situation, Mr. Wick. Tell me…what do you think a frightened child who has been abused most of her life could do if she’s told she’s something people consider a powerful goddess on the same day she’s told anger is a good thing, hmm?”
Arthur took a moment to think before saying, "A lot of things. Burn down buildings, perhaps even cities. Maybe even give some militaries a run for their money if she's a quick learner. That's why I'm going to watch her, and train her. Because anger can be a good thing. Kept in check."
“Anger,” Livia’s voice was low. “Is never a good thing, Mr. Wick. It does nothing more than blind a person. A fire started with such emotions burns hot, but it will inevitably burn everything, even the user itself and their comrades no matter how good they are.” She fixed him with a cold gaze. “Have you ever thought, that the reason your comrades died to the dragon, was because of you and your weak flames fueled by such a petty emotion?”
Arthur sat there, quiet. Deathly so. In fact, his inner voice pointed out that it had been years since he was so quiet. He mentally told that voice to be quiet, because of course commenting on it ruined the quietness.
"You should know how much I would enjoy burning this office to the ground. I wouldn't stop afterwards. I would proceed to burn every single thing I came across until there was nothing left."
A deep sigh.
"Perhaps if I had not known Ethan I would do that. But I know what happens when you act with nothing but anger in your soul. I know too well what happens when someone gets angry."
If Arthur had actually attempted to burn her office, she’d have killed him before he could have even taken a step. Or Gall would have, the moment he sensed danger at all. However, instead she simply sighed and leaned back in her seat, resting her arms on the armrests.
“Then why do you insist on using it? Pyromancy is tied very closely to ones emotions. There are other emotions one could use to fuel it. To…ignite it. And if you do not believe me, then I can only assume you drowned your brain too much with alcohol to consider or think about.” She sighed again, shaking her head. This was pointless and getting them nowhere.
“At any rate,” She began her voice returning from its cold tone to a more neutral one. “Because of your insolent behavior, you are no longer permitted to be alone with my little roux. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Wick? I will be present at any more training sessions, and you will discuss everything you will be telling or teaching her beforehand. And if I find out that you have disobeyed me in any way…” The door to her office creaked open, making it obvious that she was done discussing this.
“You’ll lose more than just your job. Do I make myself clear?”
Arthur weighed his options. Standing, he walking over to the door, holding it open to step out. But not before turning his head back towards Livia, "So she's your little Roux now? That's an interesting train of thought." And before anything more could be said Arthur stepped out, closing the door behind him.
Livia simply frowned, a small snarl actually forming on her lips as he left. She truly did have such high hopes for him. She actually in fact sort of liked him, and now he had gone and blew it. Livia stood, and poured herself a glass of wine as she walked over to a bookshelf and removed a book from it. If anyone else were to attempt to come in, they would find the door locked and completely immobile. From now until Arthur retired, he’d be constantly watched by one of her spirits.
There was no way he was getting around that.
Someone eventually came by the front of the two story house and removed the chairs that had been stacked in the lawn. A week had passed since her arrival, and despite the trauma she'd experienced the teenager was starting to become a bit more trusting her new keepers. Somewhere in the back of her mind though was still asking what the two had to gain from this.
Still though, the small two story house was certainly large enough for little Roux to be able to enjoy reading a book about the crusades on her bed, so her eyes were glued to the pages as the soft tapping of rain bounced off the window.
Arthur stood at the door to the house, rain plattering down gently on his hat. It was a mild rain, though he knew it would only get stronger. Arthur really had wished he had gotten the chance to come by sooner, but with classes he only had so much time to spend. With a deep sigh, he knocked on the door, three quick strikes to hopefully alert Roux of his presence. Engrossed in her book, of course the red haired girl didn't notice the knocking from outside.
Arthur stood there, waiting. Well, seems the girl didn't hear. Arthur walked around the house, until he reached a window. Staring intently through the window, luckily the curtains were open, and after staring into the window soon Arthur was gone, teleported through and into the room. May not have been a key, but at least it worked.
Arthur sized up the room, rather curious that something that was more or less a closet would have a window, but then again Arthur wasn't an architect. Could be if he wanted to, but he wasn't. Regardless he would step out of the room, and slowly, quietly sneak upstairs. The pyromancer was soon standing at the door to what could only be the bedroom. The door slid open soundlessly, and Arthur looked in to see Roux, laying on the bed reading.
At least she was reading, it's always good to read, Arthur thought as he watched, leaning against the doorframe. He didn't bother to make any noise, to let the girl know he was there. Arthur just stood there quietly, watching. After about a minute of standing however Arthur grew bored of standing, "Lovely weather eh?"
Despite the adequete warning, the red headed girl seemed to jump slightly as she was startled. After a few moments of looking outside, the girl nodded slightly before closing her book and placing it back down on the bed.
Figuring he hadn't just come here to talk, Roux removed herself from the bed and walked up to a few feet away from Sir Wick, Amber eyes examining the floorboards as she wondered what she would be doing today. If they wanted to go somewhere, the girl was happy she had her own custom made dress for the job.
"Nothing to say? Please, no need to be shy, you'll find I'm quite the good conversationalist. Regardless, we are going to be going out in that weather, I'd suggest dressing into something else, unless your content with getting that dress wet." Arthur said, stroking his beard really quick while adding, "I'll be waiting outside. Come join me when you're ready." The man would then turn, closing the door behind him before exiting the building.
Still not entirely sure of what was going on, the fourteen year old looked down at her dress. It had been constructed for use in this sort of situation, and despite it's appearence it was constructed of rather strong and durable fabric.
There was always a time to put things to the test. She drank a little water from her windowstand, and after a few moments decided to run down the stairway out into the rain, meeting with her savior.
Arthur was a few feet past the door, and looked back over his shoulder towards it when he heard it open. "Come along, I've got something fun planned for today." Arthur would then start walking, before slowly picking up pace, until he was jogging rather quickly through the rain, which while still mild, had indeed gotten stronger. Lighter footsteps followed behind, running after the man with longer legs.
The two ran, Arthur leading them farther and farther away from the school grounds, before long they were in the wilderness of the mountains, running along paths that clung against the stone, up and down rain slick stairs carved into the ground, over flimsy wooden bridges.
Arthur stopped. The two of them stood in the middle of a clearing, about twenty feet across. The grass was short, blackened already as if it was burned before and often. The trees that guarded the clearing were tall, though not so much so that one couldn't see the imposing peaks of the mountains nearby.
"I love that little jog. And such a nice clearing. I come out here every weekend, just to let loose. But today, today is a special case." Arthur said, "Want to know why little red?"
The little girl was too busy catching her breath to be ready to respond when she was asked that question. Despite her natural fitness, a run of a few miles was a draining experience for her. Although she was curious about why they were out here, so she managed to nod slightly towards Sir Wick as she gasped for air. Looking around, she noticed they were in a small clearing within the woods.
Arthur was clearly giddy, he was practiacally jumping up and down. "I love this weather!" He shouted towards the heavens, before composing himself. "But yes. We are here for a reason. I have a question for you. What are you? I'm sure you know humans don't shed all healing tears. Your a bright enough girl to know that." Arthur asked.
She was sure that this man was crazy. They were both splattered in mud, and the teenager was still trying to bring some air back into her lungs. Her legs burned from the longest run she'd ever done in her life. And he ENJOYED this.
It took her a minute, but eventually she gathered enough breath to be able to manage some sort of response. "... I ... I don't know ..." She honestly didn't know. Was there a reason to drag her out here for several miles to tell her this though?
Arthur stood there, letting the rain come down for a moment before replying, "You're a bird." The girl blinked several times. Then for the first time in her life, she let out a small laugh as she had difficulty processing his claim.
"I'm telling the truth though. Your a bird. You've spent all your time reading in that house haven't you? Have you come across the tale of the phoenix?" Arthur mused, a smile still upon his face.
After a few seconds of thinking, she nodded. She'd heard of the legendary beast: a powerful reincarnating flaming bird of such majesty some confused it for God. Tears of healing ... As her thought came across that line, she looked up at him. She had guesses about where this was going.
"You're a bird little red. A bird with the power of fire itself within you. If you'd like, I could help you wake up some of that power." Arthur said.
The one called little red looked up with amber eyes into his, thinking about his offer. She was still a little stunned about his claim, but the Phoenix realized it made sense. She thought about her time in the manor, where her old keeper bruised her every day. If she had power, would that have been able to happen? She couldn't bring herself to hate the old man despite what he'd done to her ... but ...
A quick nod towards Arthur indicated her decision.
Arthur nodded in turn, "Good. Good. Now, you tired after that run here right?" She nodded in response, although her breathing had slowed down a little. "Good. Now, shout. scream, yell. Express your anger, kindle your fury! Show the sky and earth how mad you are! Come on, scream!" Arthur shouted, demanding anger from the girl standing in front of him.
The red haired girl jumped away from the sudden shouting, cowering slightly from the loud and deep voice. She had to strongly resist the urge to run away and curl up into a ball somewhere. The lady keeper had told her not to let her fears own her, so Little Red let out all the anger she could muster. "... chirp ...?" If she was a bird, maybe acting like one would help?
Arthur was about to shout again, to help this girl get angry. But then again... she chirped. Arthur stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. "You've spent... your entire life hidden away. Treated like an animal, harvested for tears... Beaten, bloodied... and all you can do is chirp? Arthur stood there a moment longer, before finsihing, "You know, if I was in your postion, I would be screaming loud enough for the people across the entire mountain to hear me."
Arthur sighed before saying, "Just... scream louder. Please be angry, it'd really help get us started."
The girl looked down as she was chastised for failing to be angry, idly kicking a small nearby rock to see if that would satisfy Sir Wick's desire for rage. To make it a bit more convincing, she mustered a bit more courage and let out a slightly louder "... Chirp ..."
Arthur grinned, "If your going to chirp, I suggest you do so louder. I think your giving birds a bad name with that weak impression. Come on, your on the right track!" Arthur said, nearly shouting at the end of it again. She took another step back as he raised his voice.
As the rain poured down onto the back of her head, the teenager found herself become a bit more frustrated with Sir Wicks requests. What was up with this guy? Why did he keep on shouting at her to become angry. She kicked two more small stones with a bit more force unconciously.
Arthur's grin widened. Sure, Roux stepped back, but she was also still kicking rocks. She could get angry. He just needed the right trigger. Shame he didn't know her better, he'll have to improvise. "Come on, don't step away! If you run here, if you run now, then your running right back into that life you had a week ago, do you want that?! Do you want to be a slave!?!" Arthur shouted as the rain started pouring even harder.
The girl's eyes went downcast, but she obediently didn't judge from where she stood. He asked if she wanted to be a slave. The fourteen year old didn't hate that life just a week ago, did she? Then why did it seem like so long ago? Why did she prefer these keepers so much more, despite the instructions they gave her? Small fists clenched, amber eyes were covered by their lids. A few tears started falling from them, her old life conflicting with her new one.
In a way, her old life had been safer. Inside constantly, the young girl didn't have to worry about some crazy man dragging her off into the forest to scream at things. Sure she was injured, but no one was around there would really kill her. She'd been a reasource to them, so they wouldn't toss her out. Her new keepers refused any motivation like that, meaning their current kindness was on a whim.
Still though. This was her first time experiencing the rain. It was cold, sending a shiver up her spine. But it was new. So were the clothes that she'd been shopping for with Livia. And she wasn't treated like an animal, any bruises or aches she had being her own fault. They even believed she deserved a name, and granted her the identity of Roux until she chose one for herself.
And she'd probably saved the life of Le Clothe's child. That was worth something.
She raised her head, eyes opening briefly to a new shade of gold. "No." It was spoken firmly with divine conviction, if not stated loudly. The trees that'd she'd been backing towards before responded however, embers flying for a few moments before suddenly bursting into flame.
"Good. You feel that? That fire in you? That rage with threatens to flow forth and set this world to tinder?" Arthur would straighten his form, stand almost like a soldier in some army before saying, "Bottle it up. Know of it. It is a constant threat, to your foes, and yourself. To your friends. To many powerful beings have fallen simply because they let that power go unchecked. It is iron, unrelenting. But it must be tempered."
Taking a step forward Arthur would say as he returned to a more relaxed pose, "Now. Calm down. It would be a great shame if such a lovely glade was burned down don't you agree?"
Little Roux looked over her shoulder to see what he was talking about. Fire consumed several trees, each one a habitat for many creatures. She'd probaby just slain thousands of smaller souls for the simple purpose of practicing some of her power. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the world burn before her. After a few seconds they returned to their normal amber shade before they closed, more tears dropping from them. The fires stopped expanding, then were put out naturally by the rain.
That wouldn't stop her from learning this art. She wouldn't go back to her old life. But she understood what he meant by a need to be tempered.
Little Roux sat on the ground, curling up into a small ball despite the mud being splattered by the falling raindrops. Placing her head onto her knees, more of the panacea flowed from the two ambers.
Arthur walked over to the girl. Kneeling down beside her, he said "I know. My introduction wasn't any better. At least you don't have to fight an oversized fireproof puppy though." Wick said as he laied one of his hand over the shoulders of Roux. "You know, I love the rain, but I'm starting to get sick of this mud, and I can't imagine that dress is very warming. Let's get you back home." Arthur said as he stood, encouraging for Roux to stand as well.
A minute passed. And another. Little Roux didn't move. As the third on passed though, she rose to her feet and started walking home, tears still falling from her downcast eyes and joining the growing puddles on the ground.
Arthur was wet, and tired, but also rather proud. He sat in his house, a simple little affair on the outskirts of the town. He had returned there after escorting Roux to her own home. Arthur sat in his chair, the good one. It was a nice chair, a leather rolling chair. Sadly it was a rolling chair, and very easily toppled over when Arthur leaned back too far. he had good balance, but spooky black spirits rising from the floorboards tend to counteract that.
While Arthur was righting himself and his chair the spirit, Livia's it made clear, passed Arthur a letter before returning to the ground below. Arthur sat himself again and tore open the piece of parchment before reading the paper within. It was a very formal request for his presence, which could only mean that Arthur had done something wrong. No doubt she knew what had happened half an hour prior, could Arthur do anything without someboby knowing? And he had just changed into these nice dry clothes, if only there was a way to get to the Headmistresses office without stepping into the rain. And after thinking about it for a moment, Arthur was gone.
Standing outside the door, he gave three solid knocks.
The door opened by itself, allowing Arthur access to her office. It looked the same as it always did. Except for the chair that was sitting in front of her desk. As soon as Arthur would enter, the door would firmly shut behind him, likely the work of more of her watcher spirits. Livia herself, was sitting behind her desk reading a book about ancient Norse culture. Likely about something Sorcha had recommended.
“Ah, Arthur. Glad you could make it in such a timely fashion.” She greeted him with a friendly tone. “Take a seat, if you don’t mind.”
Arthur walked up to the desk and sat himself down in the chair. It was a rather nice chair all considering, not as good as the one Arthur had been relaxing in a few minutes prior but perhaps that was just the atmosphere. "How's your day going?" Arthur asked almost jokingly.
“Well, it was going wonderful.” Livia replied with a sigh. "Such a lovely day today, I think. A little rain is always good for people. I was dearly looking forward to it ending on a good note. Sorcha and I had just finished have a rather nice dinner with some very exquisite wine she had been saving.” She closed her eyes as she leaned back in her chair to get comfortable. “Really, I was hoping to end it on a high note. But…well…what do you know. One of my darling little spirits alerted me that you were doing something to my little roux.”
She opened an eye, and suddenly the room would seem to grow colder for Arthur.
“Tell me…what was your intention? Telling a frightened girl like her that anger and rage is a good thing. Are you completely out of your mind? Or did you drown it with so much alcohol before you cleaned your life up that you can’t think of the long term ramifications of your actions?” Her voice was calm and even, but sharp as an ice pick. It was easy to tell she wasn't pleased.
Well, Arthur couldn't say he didn't know this was coming. Then again, Arthur has been teaching at this school for nearly a decade now, how could the headmistress not already have at least a basic understanding of his teaching methods?
Regardless, "My intention. A wonderful question. My intentions were to spark a fire. If I may ask a question in return headmistress? How do you build a fire?"
“Oh? You start a fire with a match if I’ve been doing it right all these years.” She coolly replied. “I am well aware of your method of teaching fire. Using anger to create a spark. It is not something I approve of, but it has worked well so far and I have no place to comment on someone’s path to their own power even if I have seen a much better method for Pyromancy.” She continued, closing her one eye again with a sigh. “That, is not why you are currently sitting before me on the verge of losing your job. Perhaps you’d like to take a guess as to the actual reason?”
"Is it because that cake was so good last week that you'd like to make a large order?" Arthur said without thought.
Livia simply frowned.
“People in your precarious position do not get to make jokes, Mr. Wick” She emphasized his last name with a harsh tone. In all her years of knowing him, this was probably the first time she actually used his last name.
Arthur simply smiled.
"I find that people in my postion should make jokes more often, Lady Fiore." He replied. "Of course, I do value my job, and have clearly shown that I'm not good at guessing games. I would like to know why exactly I'm sitting here madam."
Livia fixed him with a cool, still clearly displeased gaze as she leaned forward in her seat, resting a hand on her desk as she ignored his obviously antagonistic comment.
“Among other things, you do not think about the long term ramifications of your actions. That is the reason you are currently sitting here.”
Arthur, in turn, leaned back in his seat. Casually, he said, "And what are those ramifications? If you think that I'm going to let little red become an inferno of pent up anger then perhaps you need to spy on more then just the first lesson madam."
“So you did think about it, and you did it anyways. You even told her she’s a powerful creature that was revered as a goddess at the same exact time.” Her voice took a slightly dangerous tone as she spoke. “That’s not helping your situation, Mr. Wick. Tell me…what do you think a frightened child who has been abused most of her life could do if she’s told she’s something people consider a powerful goddess on the same day she’s told anger is a good thing, hmm?”
Arthur took a moment to think before saying, "A lot of things. Burn down buildings, perhaps even cities. Maybe even give some militaries a run for their money if she's a quick learner. That's why I'm going to watch her, and train her. Because anger can be a good thing. Kept in check."
“Anger,” Livia’s voice was low. “Is never a good thing, Mr. Wick. It does nothing more than blind a person. A fire started with such emotions burns hot, but it will inevitably burn everything, even the user itself and their comrades no matter how good they are.” She fixed him with a cold gaze. “Have you ever thought, that the reason your comrades died to the dragon, was because of you and your weak flames fueled by such a petty emotion?”
Arthur sat there, quiet. Deathly so. In fact, his inner voice pointed out that it had been years since he was so quiet. He mentally told that voice to be quiet, because of course commenting on it ruined the quietness.
"You should know how much I would enjoy burning this office to the ground. I wouldn't stop afterwards. I would proceed to burn every single thing I came across until there was nothing left."
A deep sigh.
"Perhaps if I had not known Ethan I would do that. But I know what happens when you act with nothing but anger in your soul. I know too well what happens when someone gets angry."
If Arthur had actually attempted to burn her office, she’d have killed him before he could have even taken a step. Or Gall would have, the moment he sensed danger at all. However, instead she simply sighed and leaned back in her seat, resting her arms on the armrests.
“Then why do you insist on using it? Pyromancy is tied very closely to ones emotions. There are other emotions one could use to fuel it. To…ignite it. And if you do not believe me, then I can only assume you drowned your brain too much with alcohol to consider or think about.” She sighed again, shaking her head. This was pointless and getting them nowhere.
“At any rate,” She began her voice returning from its cold tone to a more neutral one. “Because of your insolent behavior, you are no longer permitted to be alone with my little roux. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Wick? I will be present at any more training sessions, and you will discuss everything you will be telling or teaching her beforehand. And if I find out that you have disobeyed me in any way…” The door to her office creaked open, making it obvious that she was done discussing this.
“You’ll lose more than just your job. Do I make myself clear?”
Arthur weighed his options. Standing, he walking over to the door, holding it open to step out. But not before turning his head back towards Livia, "So she's your little Roux now? That's an interesting train of thought." And before anything more could be said Arthur stepped out, closing the door behind him.
Livia simply frowned, a small snarl actually forming on her lips as he left. She truly did have such high hopes for him. She actually in fact sort of liked him, and now he had gone and blew it. Livia stood, and poured herself a glass of wine as she walked over to a bookshelf and removed a book from it. If anyone else were to attempt to come in, they would find the door locked and completely immobile. From now until Arthur retired, he’d be constantly watched by one of her spirits.
There was no way he was getting around that.
Fire. Flames consumed life around the red headed woman. And she smiled.
The one known as little Roux saw fire in her hand. With the power to consume everything.
It took her a moment, but she realized that she was laying down in her bed, bedsheets alight with a small fire.
After a little panic, the teenager managed to put out the small fire with the assistance of a glass of water placed on her bedside. After that fiasco was finished, she curled up into a ball, shivers running through her body. Simply a bad dream?
But this one had been coherent. And very real. It wasn't random splotches of visuals, but rather a single countinous stream of time. She'd been killing people, raiding a small village out in some desert land.
And enjoying it. She didn't know how, but she somehow knew it was out of an act of petty vengeance, over something that today she would consider trivial.
Arthur's words ran through her head ... these probably weren't simple dreams. Were they memories? All of her dreams probably were, if that was the case. And that terrified her. She remained curled up for about an hour, a large pillow between herself and her knees as tears rolled down her eyes.
Eventually she ended up on the doorstep to the headmistresses house. After being here for over half a month, she'd realized where the place was.
Arms wrapped tightly around a pillow and wearing a lightweight simple short dress for pajamas, the red headed teenager found herself on the doorstep of Livia's house, unsure whether or not to knock.
It took her ten minutes of standing there in the cold, but eventually a small fist tapped the door harmlessly.
Livia was currently sitting in her room, laying in her bed reading a rather interesting book about some Native American mythology. Something about some ice creature called a windigo. A legend she had read many times, but reading about such things never really got boring for her. Beside her bed, was a table, on it sat an empty bottle of wine and a lamp that illuminated the room.
Honestly, she had probably drunk just a little too much, but well, even she had to decompress sometimes. Really a bad idea since she should still be keeping a close eye on Arthur, but after that days’ work she was feeling it. Ugh, dealing with the board and getting them to be reasonable about the funds for next year, events, not to mention Sorcha complaining about her slowly dwindling horde of treasure.
That was a usual between the two of them of course, but today it just seemed more annoying than usual. Ah…she could use a vacation. Or at least some sleep. Sleep was good.
And she was about to as well, until one of her spirits alerted her to someone standing outside of her door, followed by an almost inaudible knock. For the love of…who was visiting her this late. She wasn’t even properly dressed!
Well, whatever, she had better go see who it was.
She made her way to the door quickly, and was a little more than surprised to find little Roux standing there, tightly holding a pillow in her arms and dressed in an adorable little white dress, similar to the one she was wearing.
Well, at least the child had good taste.
“Ah…Roux, what are you doing here?” She asked, obviously a little tired. “Ah…never mind that come in, come in. You’ll catch a cold out there.” She replied, ushering the girl into the house.
After a few moments, the girl followed her keeper inside. After closing the door behind them, Livia lead the little Roux to the living room. It was a fairly well decorated, featuring large amounts of purple.
As they entered, the red haired girl pointedly avoided any of the chairs and stood up, holding the pillow tighter. "... Keeper ..." She tried not to, but a few tears started to fall from her downcast amber eyes as she looked into the carpet, forming small splotches on the pillow.
Well, this was certainly not what she had expected. She was too tired to really want to deal with this, but…she couldn’t just leave the poor girl there, crying.
“Oh, Roux…” She knelt down to the childs level, giving her a friendly, but somewhat tired smile. “What is the matter, dear?” She placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Roux recoiled slightly from the touch. A broken, quiet voice responded to her question."... do dreams ..." With Livia down to her own level, she found it easier to look her in the eyes. "... feel so real ...?" Now that she was looking at the teacher, bags beneath her eyes would reveal that she hadn't slept for quite some time.
Livia didn’t remove her hand from the girl, even though she recoiled slightly. She could understand why the girl was afraid of being touched, but that was something she was going to have to grow out of. The question that followed after, however, was a bit of a cause for concern. Damn it Arthur…telling her she was a phoenix and how to control her fire before she was mentally able to handle it…
For now though, the poor dear looked like she hadn’t slept in a while…she should do something….hrm…tea was no good…so maybe something…Well…what kid didn’t love sweets? She had some…chocolate or something around here, didn’t she?
“Hm…depends. Sometimes dreams can feel very really, but…Your dreams are special, Roux.” She gently replied, giving her a small smile, not commenting on the bags under the child’s eyes. "Can you sit on the couch for me? I am going to get you a little...treat. I will only be a moment then we can talk.”
The young teenager nodded slightly as the woman spoke, listening carefully. The girl was glad that she didn't have to ask about the problem and that her keeper was willing to explain it. A few seconds later she was on the couch, leaning into the pillow she was hugging lightly as she waited for the headmistress to return.
Livia wasn’t gone long. From another room, the sound of various dishes and other things could be heard being moved as Livia moved about. A few moments later, she returned. In one hand was a saucer looked like what remained of a cake. In the other, was a tea cup filled with something that was supposed to help people relax.
Well, it always helped her relax anyways.
She took a seat a little ways away from roux, handing her the cake in the process, and setting the tea on a coffee table in front of it. The little roux seemed to look at the cake with a bit of confusion, tilting her head in the process.
“Go on, eat. It’s delicious~”
Roux set the small platter on top of a flattened pillow, looking again at Livia for confirmation before grabbing a slice and eating the fluffy center first and moving out towards choclate icing on the outside. It was a little messy. A small smile spread across her face, and after licking her lips to pick up the extra icing that remained there she took a sip of the herbal tea before setting it down.
Livia wasn't wrong about it calming her down. The combination of the herbs and the choclate did work as a relaxing agent, some of the panic and terror leaving the girl's eyes and the tears stopped completely. The Pheonix's eyes raised slightly as she waited for Livia to explain.
Livia was quiet while the redhead ate. She was trying to think of how to word this delicately. Unlike Arthur who just blundered into things without a plan or tact, she liked to think she was better at explaining things. That, and being half asleep at the moment wasn’t making this easy so she was trying to make her brain work.
“Hmm…Arthur has already told you…what you are, hmm? The phoenix of legend.” She replied quietly. “I wish Arthur would have consulted me before telling you, it would have made this so much easier…” she mumbled, shaking her head. Being slightly intoxicated was making her chatty. “But that does not concern you, Roux. At any rate…as I said, your dreams are special. Or…at least they’re not dreams at all.” She had no proof really, but it was only a logical conclusion to come too.
“Probably memories of your past lives….chances are they will be both good, and…those which are unpleasant. You…saw something unpleasant, did you?” It was another logical conclusion to come too. Why else would she have found her way to her house, crying on her door step this late at night?
Roux became a bit more downtrodden as Livia countinued to explain what was going on. So her suspicions were confirmed then. The horror that the tea removed had returned, but worse. Wide amber eyes looked at the table in front of her. "... Old keeper ..." a few seconds passed as the red haired teenager tried to pick up the cup of herbal tea, but her hand shook and she only knocked it to the floor. Luckily, it was empty enough that it didn't spill out.
"... said I was a monster ... he wasn't wrong, was he ...?"
Goddamn it Arthur, this was exactly the thing she wanted to avoid until the girl was more stable! She had to refrain from pressing a hand against her forehead in frustration and mild annoyance. If she didn’t know, she could have just passed the dreams off as exactly that, until the girl asked, or until she was well enough to handle it!
“Roux,” Livia replied gently, placing a hand on the girls.“I cannot say for all of your past lives, but I cannot lie either…beings who have lived as long as you, are bound to have done something that could be called bad by some.” She released the girls hand, and placed another gentle, but firm hand on her shoulder again as she gave the girl a small smile.
“But let me tell you, Little Roux. You, are nothing like your previous lives. You, are you. Whoever you want to be. From what I’ve seen, you are a wonderful person who cares about others. Saved the life of someone you’ve never even met without any obvious benefit to yourself. Tell me Roux, does that sound like something a monster would do?”
Roux tried to listen calmly as Livia answered her question. Tried. Her eyes remained large, her body seemed to shake from some unseeable cold. The last part of her explanation calmed the teenager down a little, but not a lot. The redhead shook her head in response, pulling her legs up off the floor and curling up again. She pressed one side of her head into the pillow, allowing the other half of her face to look in Livia's direction.
That explanation couldn’t have been easy.
But Livia was never one to lie, no matter how comforting or how preferable one would be.
Livia quietly moved closer to Roux. She wasn’t really one much for hugs or other forms of affection like that, but…well, sometimes that was all someone needed to be cheered up just a bit.
Livia placed a comforting hand on the girls head.
“I know, that’s not an easy thing to hear, Little Roux.” She softly replied. “But I will say again…you are not your past lives, and you are not a monster. Now…” What time was it? It certainly seemed late. She’d probably need to get some sleep if she wanted to wake up on time. There was an important meeting she had to deal with tomorrow with some nobles or something. Not to mention the girl looked like she could use some actual, much needed sleep.
“If you are up for it…you can sleep here tonight, if you want. My bed is rather comfortable, and it can certainly fit both of us.”
The little Roux remained curled up, shaking her head no in response. While this keeper was kind to her, she didn't feel that comfortable with Livia. But the redhead did speak something quietly in appreciation for the information. "... Thanks ..." A bit of time passed as the girl seemed to wait to say something else. "... you're a nice keeper ..." The red head's eye looked towards the front door, wondering if she should leave the house.
Livia couldn’t help but to laugh softly.
“Well, that’s fine if you don’t want too.” She replied, giving the redhead a smile. “I’m not going to drag you up there with me.”
With that, she stood, giving Roux a light pat on her shoulder as she did so.
“Please, I think it would be best if you stayed here tonight, though. I do not have a second bed, but I wouldn’t mind sleeping on the couch – wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done it. I still sometimes fall asleep sitting in the chair in my office if I’m really involved in my work. Gall still scolds me for it to no end. He’s quite the worrying little bonehead sometimes.” Yeah, okay, the alcohol was still making her chatty again. She cleared her throat, before continuing.
“But…yes. And please, Roux…call me Livia. I am not your keeper…if you wanted to, you could even call me-” Woah, okay, bad alcohol. Bad. Bad bad bad. Stop right there. “At any rate, you can sleep here if you want.”
Roux nodded a slightly, laying her pillow against one of the armrests and leaning her head against it, closing her tired eyes. She wasn't trying to be her keeper? Then who was she? Why did she care so much? Should she ask them? Gradually she calmed down, breathing slowing a little bit at a time. Did it really matter? It was hard to tell if she had drifted off or not when she spoke the next words with some level of fondness.
"... Sorchy Sparky ..."
…Sorchy…Sparky? What an odd name. She had to wonder if that was what Roux was calling her. Meh. She was tired and slightly drunk, so she’d think about it later. For now, she got up, and got some blankets from her room. She brought them back down and covered the redhead with them, before finally getting to bed herself.
The one known as little Roux saw fire in her hand. With the power to consume everything.
It took her a moment, but she realized that she was laying down in her bed, bedsheets alight with a small fire.
After a little panic, the teenager managed to put out the small fire with the assistance of a glass of water placed on her bedside. After that fiasco was finished, she curled up into a ball, shivers running through her body. Simply a bad dream?
But this one had been coherent. And very real. It wasn't random splotches of visuals, but rather a single countinous stream of time. She'd been killing people, raiding a small village out in some desert land.
And enjoying it. She didn't know how, but she somehow knew it was out of an act of petty vengeance, over something that today she would consider trivial.
Arthur's words ran through her head ... these probably weren't simple dreams. Were they memories? All of her dreams probably were, if that was the case. And that terrified her. She remained curled up for about an hour, a large pillow between herself and her knees as tears rolled down her eyes.
Eventually she ended up on the doorstep to the headmistresses house. After being here for over half a month, she'd realized where the place was.
Arms wrapped tightly around a pillow and wearing a lightweight simple short dress for pajamas, the red headed teenager found herself on the doorstep of Livia's house, unsure whether or not to knock.
It took her ten minutes of standing there in the cold, but eventually a small fist tapped the door harmlessly.
Livia was currently sitting in her room, laying in her bed reading a rather interesting book about some Native American mythology. Something about some ice creature called a windigo. A legend she had read many times, but reading about such things never really got boring for her. Beside her bed, was a table, on it sat an empty bottle of wine and a lamp that illuminated the room.
Honestly, she had probably drunk just a little too much, but well, even she had to decompress sometimes. Really a bad idea since she should still be keeping a close eye on Arthur, but after that days’ work she was feeling it. Ugh, dealing with the board and getting them to be reasonable about the funds for next year, events, not to mention Sorcha complaining about her slowly dwindling horde of treasure.
That was a usual between the two of them of course, but today it just seemed more annoying than usual. Ah…she could use a vacation. Or at least some sleep. Sleep was good.
And she was about to as well, until one of her spirits alerted her to someone standing outside of her door, followed by an almost inaudible knock. For the love of…who was visiting her this late. She wasn’t even properly dressed!
Well, whatever, she had better go see who it was.
She made her way to the door quickly, and was a little more than surprised to find little Roux standing there, tightly holding a pillow in her arms and dressed in an adorable little white dress, similar to the one she was wearing.
Well, at least the child had good taste.
“Ah…Roux, what are you doing here?” She asked, obviously a little tired. “Ah…never mind that come in, come in. You’ll catch a cold out there.” She replied, ushering the girl into the house.
After a few moments, the girl followed her keeper inside. After closing the door behind them, Livia lead the little Roux to the living room. It was a fairly well decorated, featuring large amounts of purple.
As they entered, the red haired girl pointedly avoided any of the chairs and stood up, holding the pillow tighter. "... Keeper ..." She tried not to, but a few tears started to fall from her downcast amber eyes as she looked into the carpet, forming small splotches on the pillow.
Well, this was certainly not what she had expected. She was too tired to really want to deal with this, but…she couldn’t just leave the poor girl there, crying.
“Oh, Roux…” She knelt down to the childs level, giving her a friendly, but somewhat tired smile. “What is the matter, dear?” She placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Roux recoiled slightly from the touch. A broken, quiet voice responded to her question."... do dreams ..." With Livia down to her own level, she found it easier to look her in the eyes. "... feel so real ...?" Now that she was looking at the teacher, bags beneath her eyes would reveal that she hadn't slept for quite some time.
Livia didn’t remove her hand from the girl, even though she recoiled slightly. She could understand why the girl was afraid of being touched, but that was something she was going to have to grow out of. The question that followed after, however, was a bit of a cause for concern. Damn it Arthur…telling her she was a phoenix and how to control her fire before she was mentally able to handle it…
For now though, the poor dear looked like she hadn’t slept in a while…she should do something….hrm…tea was no good…so maybe something…Well…what kid didn’t love sweets? She had some…chocolate or something around here, didn’t she?
“Hm…depends. Sometimes dreams can feel very really, but…Your dreams are special, Roux.” She gently replied, giving her a small smile, not commenting on the bags under the child’s eyes. "Can you sit on the couch for me? I am going to get you a little...treat. I will only be a moment then we can talk.”
The young teenager nodded slightly as the woman spoke, listening carefully. The girl was glad that she didn't have to ask about the problem and that her keeper was willing to explain it. A few seconds later she was on the couch, leaning into the pillow she was hugging lightly as she waited for the headmistress to return.
Livia wasn’t gone long. From another room, the sound of various dishes and other things could be heard being moved as Livia moved about. A few moments later, she returned. In one hand was a saucer looked like what remained of a cake. In the other, was a tea cup filled with something that was supposed to help people relax.
Well, it always helped her relax anyways.
She took a seat a little ways away from roux, handing her the cake in the process, and setting the tea on a coffee table in front of it. The little roux seemed to look at the cake with a bit of confusion, tilting her head in the process.
“Go on, eat. It’s delicious~”
Roux set the small platter on top of a flattened pillow, looking again at Livia for confirmation before grabbing a slice and eating the fluffy center first and moving out towards choclate icing on the outside. It was a little messy. A small smile spread across her face, and after licking her lips to pick up the extra icing that remained there she took a sip of the herbal tea before setting it down.
Livia wasn't wrong about it calming her down. The combination of the herbs and the choclate did work as a relaxing agent, some of the panic and terror leaving the girl's eyes and the tears stopped completely. The Pheonix's eyes raised slightly as she waited for Livia to explain.
Livia was quiet while the redhead ate. She was trying to think of how to word this delicately. Unlike Arthur who just blundered into things without a plan or tact, she liked to think she was better at explaining things. That, and being half asleep at the moment wasn’t making this easy so she was trying to make her brain work.
“Hmm…Arthur has already told you…what you are, hmm? The phoenix of legend.” She replied quietly. “I wish Arthur would have consulted me before telling you, it would have made this so much easier…” she mumbled, shaking her head. Being slightly intoxicated was making her chatty. “But that does not concern you, Roux. At any rate…as I said, your dreams are special. Or…at least they’re not dreams at all.” She had no proof really, but it was only a logical conclusion to come too.
“Probably memories of your past lives….chances are they will be both good, and…those which are unpleasant. You…saw something unpleasant, did you?” It was another logical conclusion to come too. Why else would she have found her way to her house, crying on her door step this late at night?
Roux became a bit more downtrodden as Livia countinued to explain what was going on. So her suspicions were confirmed then. The horror that the tea removed had returned, but worse. Wide amber eyes looked at the table in front of her. "... Old keeper ..." a few seconds passed as the red haired teenager tried to pick up the cup of herbal tea, but her hand shook and she only knocked it to the floor. Luckily, it was empty enough that it didn't spill out.
"... said I was a monster ... he wasn't wrong, was he ...?"
Goddamn it Arthur, this was exactly the thing she wanted to avoid until the girl was more stable! She had to refrain from pressing a hand against her forehead in frustration and mild annoyance. If she didn’t know, she could have just passed the dreams off as exactly that, until the girl asked, or until she was well enough to handle it!
“Roux,” Livia replied gently, placing a hand on the girls.“I cannot say for all of your past lives, but I cannot lie either…beings who have lived as long as you, are bound to have done something that could be called bad by some.” She released the girls hand, and placed another gentle, but firm hand on her shoulder again as she gave the girl a small smile.
“But let me tell you, Little Roux. You, are nothing like your previous lives. You, are you. Whoever you want to be. From what I’ve seen, you are a wonderful person who cares about others. Saved the life of someone you’ve never even met without any obvious benefit to yourself. Tell me Roux, does that sound like something a monster would do?”
Roux tried to listen calmly as Livia answered her question. Tried. Her eyes remained large, her body seemed to shake from some unseeable cold. The last part of her explanation calmed the teenager down a little, but not a lot. The redhead shook her head in response, pulling her legs up off the floor and curling up again. She pressed one side of her head into the pillow, allowing the other half of her face to look in Livia's direction.
That explanation couldn’t have been easy.
But Livia was never one to lie, no matter how comforting or how preferable one would be.
Livia quietly moved closer to Roux. She wasn’t really one much for hugs or other forms of affection like that, but…well, sometimes that was all someone needed to be cheered up just a bit.
Livia placed a comforting hand on the girls head.
“I know, that’s not an easy thing to hear, Little Roux.” She softly replied. “But I will say again…you are not your past lives, and you are not a monster. Now…” What time was it? It certainly seemed late. She’d probably need to get some sleep if she wanted to wake up on time. There was an important meeting she had to deal with tomorrow with some nobles or something. Not to mention the girl looked like she could use some actual, much needed sleep.
“If you are up for it…you can sleep here tonight, if you want. My bed is rather comfortable, and it can certainly fit both of us.”
The little Roux remained curled up, shaking her head no in response. While this keeper was kind to her, she didn't feel that comfortable with Livia. But the redhead did speak something quietly in appreciation for the information. "... Thanks ..." A bit of time passed as the girl seemed to wait to say something else. "... you're a nice keeper ..." The red head's eye looked towards the front door, wondering if she should leave the house.
Livia couldn’t help but to laugh softly.
“Well, that’s fine if you don’t want too.” She replied, giving the redhead a smile. “I’m not going to drag you up there with me.”
With that, she stood, giving Roux a light pat on her shoulder as she did so.
“Please, I think it would be best if you stayed here tonight, though. I do not have a second bed, but I wouldn’t mind sleeping on the couch – wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done it. I still sometimes fall asleep sitting in the chair in my office if I’m really involved in my work. Gall still scolds me for it to no end. He’s quite the worrying little bonehead sometimes.” Yeah, okay, the alcohol was still making her chatty again. She cleared her throat, before continuing.
“But…yes. And please, Roux…call me Livia. I am not your keeper…if you wanted to, you could even call me-” Woah, okay, bad alcohol. Bad. Bad bad bad. Stop right there. “At any rate, you can sleep here if you want.”
Roux nodded a slightly, laying her pillow against one of the armrests and leaning her head against it, closing her tired eyes. She wasn't trying to be her keeper? Then who was she? Why did she care so much? Should she ask them? Gradually she calmed down, breathing slowing a little bit at a time. Did it really matter? It was hard to tell if she had drifted off or not when she spoke the next words with some level of fondness.
"... Sorchy Sparky ..."
…Sorchy…Sparky? What an odd name. She had to wonder if that was what Roux was calling her. Meh. She was tired and slightly drunk, so she’d think about it later. For now, she got up, and got some blankets from her room. She brought them back down and covered the redhead with them, before finally getting to bed herself.
Arthur stood at the door to Livia's office. It was about three weeks since the day he told little Red what she was, and now it was probably best to both atone for mistakes and prove that mistakes weren't made in the same action. For all the sense that made, Arthur told himself mentally. Well, regardless.
Arthur knocked, three solid knocks to announce his presense.
“Mr. Wick, please do come in.” The door opened as she spoke. Her office looked the same as always, though a window was open and there was a small stack of paperwork on one side of the desk. It was probably obvious she had knew he was coming for quite some time.
“I take it you have something you wish to discuss?” She asked from her seat.
Arthur stepped into the room, before saying, "Swords. Or maybe spears? Axes? I've not decided yet, not my descision anyways. Regardless, I thought of a productive way to use a fire, well, I didn't think of it, some guy a few thousand years thought of it but I remembered it is a thing." Arthur took a breath before saying, "To be more precise, I'd like to train little Red how to do some blacksmithing, forge some iron and what-not. Could be a useful skill."
Livia assumed it was something regarding the redhead, but she didn’t think he’d have the gall to ask to teach her how to forge a weapon.
“No.” She bluntly replied. “Do you want to know why? A few nights ago, Roux came to my house in tears, because of some…bad ‘dreams’.” She fixed him with a serious stare. “But you know what? They weren’t dreams, Mr. Wick. They are memories of her past lives. And I had to tell her, that in a past life she most likely killed a bunch of innocent people because someone told her she’s the mythical phoenix of legend.
I will not be letting you teach her how to forge a weapon in her current state.”
Arthur mused over this for less then a second, "So, what's your plan if people come for her? Want to hurt her?" Arthur asked.
Livia gave a small laugh of amusement.
“Like anyone who is possibly looking for her will have the audacity to come here and take her right from under my nose. They’d be dead before they even reached the main campus.” The tone of her voice made it quite clear she wasn’t joking about that fact, either.
“My plan was to ease her into her identity as she grew older so she could handle it without being traumatized. Teach her how to control her flame first, then tell her. That was my plan. A bird must leave its nest eventually and she is no exception, but there is an order to things, Mr. Wick. An order you decided to ignore because you’re a short sighted fool who doesn’t think about the consequences your actions can have. Which you are still apparently doing, since you even suggested this.”
"Fool I may be, but there is still a gap in your logic madam. Even with death itself as your guardian you will die some day, as will I. She'll outlive us both. Then who protects her? Hell, she'll outlive just about everything on this planet but this lifetime is the one that's important right now." Arthur chuckled to himself before adding, "Following a strict order to things is boring ma'am. You'll disagree with that of course, in fact the moment I end my sentence you'll remark on it. But not until I finish what I have to say, because there is an order to things eh. I've made mistakes, but people have hard times growing without them. Regardless, your Roux won't always be on this mountian, nor will you always be alive. The girl needs to be able to defend herself, and if she can be taught discipline at the same time then it's only better."
Livia seemed amused at the comment about her dying someday.
“My death will not be any time soon. Chances are, I’ll live longer than you. You’ll be an old man before I’m an old woman, Mr. Wick.” She didn’t elaborate further on what she meant by that, however, and she didn’t say anything about the order of things either. Mostly because she didn’t want to prove him right.
“You and I agree that she should. You simply want to rush things before the girl is ready. Trial by fire works well if it’s needed. I’m not going to say that it doesn’t, I’d be a hypocrite if I did. For normal people it can be a good thing. For someone like Roux who is a legendary beast akin to a god, however…I cannot condone such methods. The potential for something to go horribly wrong is just too great. Not to mention she does remember Sorcha on some level, and if she remembers her then…well, I don’t have to tell you what trouble that could make.”
Livia sighed. He probably wasn’t going to let this go, was he? Such a troublesome subordinate he was being. But fine. Perhaps a compromise could be reached?
“However…I will allow it. On one condition.” She grabbed a pen from her desk and began writing something on a piece of paper sitting in front of her. “Roux has been…well, she’s not been all that happy as of late thanks to these dreams. They are distressing her. Constant nightmares, and I haven’t been able to…well, I’m no psychologist. If. if you, yourself, can do something about them without any outside help. I shall allow you to teach her blacksmithing. I’ll even deem you capable enough of being able to handle her without being supervised, though you’ll still need to tell me what you wish to teach her and how.” She stopped writing, and looked at Arthur.
“That is the deal you have been offered, and the only way I will accept it.”
"Sure." Arthur said. He really needed to get an easy button for himself, sometimes such a button is just needed. Regardless, he was sure he could help Little Red with her dream problem, her having problems like that were just the reason he wanted to teach her to smith anyways. Well, that and weapons are cool, but none the less.
"I am quite fond of dreams anyways, should be simple."
“Good.” Livia replied. “Then I should remind you that any use of telling her to use ‘anger’ to ignite her flames or deal with her dreams at all, will count as failure as well. And Mr. Wick…” She narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. “If you make them worse again, you can say good bye to your job, and any work you might find in other academies. You are dismissed, and needless to say I or Gall will be accompanying you when you attempt this.”
Arthur would then bring his hand up to the bridge of his nose and start rubbing it, "How do you expect me to solve such a problem with the tactless reaper or my boss right behind me? Stress isn't easy to ease if you are also stressed you know. Whatever, let's go right now. Unless you don't have time for your Roux right now?" Arthur said.
Livia smiled.
“If you’re not as hopeless as I believed, then you should figure something out, Mr. Wick. And if it wasn’t obvious from the papers on my desk I am indeed busy, so if you intend to go now, then Gall will accompany you. And don’t worry. I’m not an idiot, and neither is he. He will simply be there to observe.”
The one called Roux as usual was laying down on her bed, flipping slowly through pages and not really reading. Exhaustion artistically expressed itself beneath her eyes.
The nightmares and butchery hadn't stopped, and her knowledge of what was going on only terrified her further. The red headed girl couldn't manage to avoid sleep completely, but she succeeded at keeping it down to about four hours a night.
Arthur was in front of little Red's house, Gall not far behind him. Giving a quick knock as curtsy he then just stood there a moment before teleporting to the other side.
“Arthur, hold a-” Gall sighed as Arthur teleported in, and moved right to the girls Bedroom before he could even say anything. He was going to attempt to make this easier on the man, but if he was going to be impatient as he was…then, he wasn’t going to tell him the spirit Livia had watching him currently wasn’t doing its job. She had given him the task of watching him today, since keeping up such a spirit could be annoying for herself.
Mr. Wick would then head up the stairs before standing at the doorframe to the girl's bedroom again, watching as she read. He would have remained quiet a minutes longer had he not known that Gall would say something.
"I heard your having less then wonderful dreams little Red." Arthur said.
Instead of helping, the reaper simply watched quietly from a few feet behind Arthur. He had to wonder if the girl would even remember him.
Little Roux was startled at Sir Wick's sudden appearence, unable to resist jumping slightly. As always they knocked, and as always her reading was interupted.
The Phoenix didn't know why but after the visit to teach her two weeks ago, the pyromancer had kept his times short and kept her training to a minimum. Also, Keeper Livia had come along each time. Had something happened? She noted the skeleton behind him, and questioned if that was the same one who'd been along at the time of her rescue. The confused girl couldn't really tell, but his prescence made her uncomfortable ... but she'd seen scarier things than a skeleton recently.
The crimson haired girl quickly nodded in response, eyes drifting back to her book for a second before closing it and looking in the general direction of the other two.
Arthur stepped into the room, a shame there weren't any chairs would certainly make life easier. Then again, little Red couldn't have good memories with chairs.
So Arthur did the next best thing. He leaned against a free bit of wall. "What are the dreams about?" Arthur asked.
The girl looked down, obviously ashamed of her past live's actions. It took her a few seconds to respond, but eventually she managed to muster up the ability to form words about how she felt. "... I've killed ..." Her sleepy eyes widened slightly as she though a bit more about it. "... many innocent people ..."
Arthur nodded, it was understandable. "You feel bad about it. That's alright, it proves something important." Arthur would stare at Roux, his blue-grey eyes looking into her amber, "It proves your not the monster you're clearly thinking you are. Savage monsters are those who don't know the pain of remembering." Arthur said firmly, before breaking his gaze to look up at the ceiling, his hat pressing against the wall behind him. Roux simply looked down a little further in response.
“Headmistress has already attempted telling her that.” Gall replied quietly. “The bright one here also has saved a strangers life with her tears, which Livia also has mentioned to her that is not something a monster would do.”
"Oh did she? Seems reasonable, nice simple way that is sure to convince most reasonable people that they are not bad." Arthur gave a short sigh, "Do you have any good dreams little Red?" Arthur asked without taking his eyes away form the ceiling.
The one called little Red contemplated for a few moments, trying to remember the last time she had a 'good' dream. In the entire three weeks since her potential as the firebird had been unleashed on the innocent trees, the teenager probably had three nights worth of decent sleep. When she headed over to Livia's house for help, she'd already had three nights worth of horrors. The one that sent Roux there was just the worst one that occured yet.
The red haired girl shook her head no.
Arthur leaned against the wall, letting silence drape itself over the room for a moment. Something peaceful about quiet. Something also quiet unnerving.
"Why not?" Arthur asked plainly.
The young teenager thought about it, raking her mind for a possible reason for why her memories were all so awful. The longer she thought though, the closer she drew to a single possible conclusion. Only one explanation made sense to her.
"... maybe ... maybe there isn't anything good ..."
"Hmm..." Arthur didn't like that answer. "I can't believe that. Life does not work that way, there are bad times, and good times. One leading into the other, and onward, until life itself ends. You just need to find the good dreams." Arthur mused.
Roux countinued to look downwards, feeling that she had failed one of the people who had saved her from her old keeper. His fire was warm, and she could feel it. He meant well, and she couldn't feel any hositlity from that flame of his.
Still though, he was probably right. In the nightmares she had, she had noticed that her thoughts were rather archaic and time seemed to go back very far. By simple probability, he was correct.
But the red head wondered why all her dreams were so negative then. Undoubteldy she'd been an evil tyrant in her memories, but was she really one in this life? Would it make sense for this life to be special? "... I see ..." Still though, did he have a plan about how to solve this?
"So I suppose the question then is how does one look for a memory?" Arthur continued to muse. "Which is a good question indeed for those of us without magic directly relating to dreams and the mind."
"Right about now I really wish Brandon wasn't eaten by a dragon. He'd have a answer that sounds so simple that it's a marvel nobody else thought of it." Arthur said, thinking aloud.
The girl looked up, a little interested in his tale. "... By a dragon ...?" The red head tilted her head, a little curious about what he was talking about.
Without missing a beat Arthur continued, "Oh yeah, Brandon was a good guy too, shame his magic did no good against the black scaled beast. Thing just moved its head over him and he was gone."
The litttle Roux frowned slightly, wondering why it didn't work. She couldn't resist asking the world's simplest yet most annoying question. "... Why? ..."
"Good question. Dragon didn't bother to eat anyone else, claws and fire for them. But Felske got eaten. Maybe she thought Brandon looked tasty? Who am I to question the taste buds of a dragon?"
Arthur then turned his gaze away from the ceiling though, looking at little Red with a glint in his eye, "That wasn't what you were asking though was it?
I suppose it'd be best to start at the beginning. Or at least near the beginning. Me and some friends acted as... adventurers. We were a bunch of thrill seeking mercs looking for money and fame. But the life span of those kind of people isn't very long sadly, and we said yes to the wrong job..." Arthur sighed. "A cave. One that some simple detection spells said was full of gold and silver. Our job was to make sure it was safe, ensure there weren't any hostile dog sized rats or angry cultist or something. After a little bit of walking through tunnels though we stepped into a massive cavern, just full of gold. Mountains of the stuff, gold and silver in the form of coins, goblets, I'm pretty sure there were some golden swords in there too."
"Before we had time to realize what was wrong with that picture though we heard the roar, and the largest of the gold mountains exploded. From under it came out a massive black monster, and actual monster, of a dragon. It looked at us with piercing green eyes and without speaking started attacking us."
Arthur took a breath before continuing, "The first to go was our healer, lovely girl, grabbed up in the beast's claws before we could react. Life squeezed right out of her. Brandon was next, he tried to link minds with it, show it some nightmares and force it to submit. Guess the Dragon wasn't easily scared. You know how Brandon died..." Arthur would suddenly move his hand, forming a fist to beat on his chest once before lowering it again, continuing his story passionately, "We fought on for a bit after that, our tank leading the charge. Man was a masochist, sadist too, knew how to take a hit and give one. Even after his armor was gone and most of his flesh burnt off he was swinging at the dragon with his axe, bless that man. But his body didn't keep up with his spirit, he died too. Then it was just me, Payton, and his familiar." Arthur took another breath, the long story starting to take his breath away.
"Payton used magic based around cards, how he got his familiar, beat the cat-girl in a card game and the two signed up right then and there, or so I was told. Anyways Payton was throwing cards at the dragon, he was getting worried, we all were. The cat was on the Dragon's back, clawing and biting at it while screaming insults, until the beast threw itself against a wall, crushed poor Kitty, the fire breath afterwards didn't help."
"Payton, and me for that matter, didn't exactly take Kitty's death well, she was a good friend. We both just threw what we had at the dragon, but it shrugged off most of the hits, and then, and this was rather rude, sweeped one of its claws threw a nearby hill of gold, and threw it at us. I barely avoided getting hit, but Payton was crushed under the weight. On my own, with my friends dead, I started shouting at the dragon. Damn thing finally talked then. Taunted me, my dead friends. I threw myself at the monster, threw every inch of my power at it. My fire, against its fire. I don't know how I survived that, but here I am. I'm alive. Wish I could say as much about my friends. But what can one do eh? The past is the past. No point dwelling on it, no point dwelling on the future either. I'm living here, right now, and there isn't any other way I'd rather live." Arthur finished. Been awhile since he told that story. At least he was sober this time, normally details go missing or are added when alchol is helping tell the tale. Regardless, Arthur kept leaning against the wall, casually catching his breath and waiting to hear a reaction.
The listened quietly as one of her keepers spun out his tale. The man was a good storyteller, and for a moment the teenager seemed to understand his hurt. Losing one's friends was a bad experience, and the redhead was fairly certain she'd lost her fair share during her lifetimes, if any had been close enough to be called that.
Still though, it gave her a bit of peace somehow. It was a simple way of viewing things, but the fact that he hadn't managed to save his friends didn't control his life many years later.
The girl hopped out of the bed in a fluid motion, and after contemplating for a moment approached a few feet in front of him and felt the comforting fire of his soul. Putting her fingers together in thought, she responded in a single word, "... Thanks ..."
"Why of course." Arthur said as he bowed his head. "Twas my pleasure. Anything else you may need of me little Red?" the pyromancer asked with a grin on his face.
Little red looked up at him, examining his face really for the first time. It may have been hard to tell, but those amber beads looked upon him with a twinge of admiration. "... when's the next time you'll come ...?" Her fingers were still playing with each other as she waited for an answer.
"As soon as I can little Red."Arthur replied, before adding, "Of course, if you ever want to get out of this house you could ask Livia about coming over to my place, it will always be open for you. We'll even have a chair barbecue if you like." Arthur would then stand up properly, saying, "I do have a bit of paperwork though. A shame, but tis the life of a teacher." Walking away, navigating past both Roux and Gall Arthur would make his way fo the exit.
Gall admitted, that was rather nicely handled. If he was capable of having a small smile formed on his skeletal face, he would have. Instead however, he simply bowed to the redhead.
“A pleasure to see you doing well, but I have business myself.” With that, he followed back after Arthur. He had no business remaining here, after all.
“Hmm…that was rather nicely handled, Arthur.” Gall said to him. “It seems you didn’t need my help after all.”
Arthur knocked, three solid knocks to announce his presense.
“Mr. Wick, please do come in.” The door opened as she spoke. Her office looked the same as always, though a window was open and there was a small stack of paperwork on one side of the desk. It was probably obvious she had knew he was coming for quite some time.
“I take it you have something you wish to discuss?” She asked from her seat.
Arthur stepped into the room, before saying, "Swords. Or maybe spears? Axes? I've not decided yet, not my descision anyways. Regardless, I thought of a productive way to use a fire, well, I didn't think of it, some guy a few thousand years thought of it but I remembered it is a thing." Arthur took a breath before saying, "To be more precise, I'd like to train little Red how to do some blacksmithing, forge some iron and what-not. Could be a useful skill."
Livia assumed it was something regarding the redhead, but she didn’t think he’d have the gall to ask to teach her how to forge a weapon.
“No.” She bluntly replied. “Do you want to know why? A few nights ago, Roux came to my house in tears, because of some…bad ‘dreams’.” She fixed him with a serious stare. “But you know what? They weren’t dreams, Mr. Wick. They are memories of her past lives. And I had to tell her, that in a past life she most likely killed a bunch of innocent people because someone told her she’s the mythical phoenix of legend.
I will not be letting you teach her how to forge a weapon in her current state.”
Arthur mused over this for less then a second, "So, what's your plan if people come for her? Want to hurt her?" Arthur asked.
Livia gave a small laugh of amusement.
“Like anyone who is possibly looking for her will have the audacity to come here and take her right from under my nose. They’d be dead before they even reached the main campus.” The tone of her voice made it quite clear she wasn’t joking about that fact, either.
“My plan was to ease her into her identity as she grew older so she could handle it without being traumatized. Teach her how to control her flame first, then tell her. That was my plan. A bird must leave its nest eventually and she is no exception, but there is an order to things, Mr. Wick. An order you decided to ignore because you’re a short sighted fool who doesn’t think about the consequences your actions can have. Which you are still apparently doing, since you even suggested this.”
"Fool I may be, but there is still a gap in your logic madam. Even with death itself as your guardian you will die some day, as will I. She'll outlive us both. Then who protects her? Hell, she'll outlive just about everything on this planet but this lifetime is the one that's important right now." Arthur chuckled to himself before adding, "Following a strict order to things is boring ma'am. You'll disagree with that of course, in fact the moment I end my sentence you'll remark on it. But not until I finish what I have to say, because there is an order to things eh. I've made mistakes, but people have hard times growing without them. Regardless, your Roux won't always be on this mountian, nor will you always be alive. The girl needs to be able to defend herself, and if she can be taught discipline at the same time then it's only better."
Livia seemed amused at the comment about her dying someday.
“My death will not be any time soon. Chances are, I’ll live longer than you. You’ll be an old man before I’m an old woman, Mr. Wick.” She didn’t elaborate further on what she meant by that, however, and she didn’t say anything about the order of things either. Mostly because she didn’t want to prove him right.
“You and I agree that she should. You simply want to rush things before the girl is ready. Trial by fire works well if it’s needed. I’m not going to say that it doesn’t, I’d be a hypocrite if I did. For normal people it can be a good thing. For someone like Roux who is a legendary beast akin to a god, however…I cannot condone such methods. The potential for something to go horribly wrong is just too great. Not to mention she does remember Sorcha on some level, and if she remembers her then…well, I don’t have to tell you what trouble that could make.”
Livia sighed. He probably wasn’t going to let this go, was he? Such a troublesome subordinate he was being. But fine. Perhaps a compromise could be reached?
“However…I will allow it. On one condition.” She grabbed a pen from her desk and began writing something on a piece of paper sitting in front of her. “Roux has been…well, she’s not been all that happy as of late thanks to these dreams. They are distressing her. Constant nightmares, and I haven’t been able to…well, I’m no psychologist. If. if you, yourself, can do something about them without any outside help. I shall allow you to teach her blacksmithing. I’ll even deem you capable enough of being able to handle her without being supervised, though you’ll still need to tell me what you wish to teach her and how.” She stopped writing, and looked at Arthur.
“That is the deal you have been offered, and the only way I will accept it.”
"Sure." Arthur said. He really needed to get an easy button for himself, sometimes such a button is just needed. Regardless, he was sure he could help Little Red with her dream problem, her having problems like that were just the reason he wanted to teach her to smith anyways. Well, that and weapons are cool, but none the less.
"I am quite fond of dreams anyways, should be simple."
“Good.” Livia replied. “Then I should remind you that any use of telling her to use ‘anger’ to ignite her flames or deal with her dreams at all, will count as failure as well. And Mr. Wick…” She narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. “If you make them worse again, you can say good bye to your job, and any work you might find in other academies. You are dismissed, and needless to say I or Gall will be accompanying you when you attempt this.”
Arthur would then bring his hand up to the bridge of his nose and start rubbing it, "How do you expect me to solve such a problem with the tactless reaper or my boss right behind me? Stress isn't easy to ease if you are also stressed you know. Whatever, let's go right now. Unless you don't have time for your Roux right now?" Arthur said.
Livia smiled.
“If you’re not as hopeless as I believed, then you should figure something out, Mr. Wick. And if it wasn’t obvious from the papers on my desk I am indeed busy, so if you intend to go now, then Gall will accompany you. And don’t worry. I’m not an idiot, and neither is he. He will simply be there to observe.”
The one called Roux as usual was laying down on her bed, flipping slowly through pages and not really reading. Exhaustion artistically expressed itself beneath her eyes.
The nightmares and butchery hadn't stopped, and her knowledge of what was going on only terrified her further. The red headed girl couldn't manage to avoid sleep completely, but she succeeded at keeping it down to about four hours a night.
Arthur was in front of little Red's house, Gall not far behind him. Giving a quick knock as curtsy he then just stood there a moment before teleporting to the other side.
“Arthur, hold a-” Gall sighed as Arthur teleported in, and moved right to the girls Bedroom before he could even say anything. He was going to attempt to make this easier on the man, but if he was going to be impatient as he was…then, he wasn’t going to tell him the spirit Livia had watching him currently wasn’t doing its job. She had given him the task of watching him today, since keeping up such a spirit could be annoying for herself.
Mr. Wick would then head up the stairs before standing at the doorframe to the girl's bedroom again, watching as she read. He would have remained quiet a minutes longer had he not known that Gall would say something.
"I heard your having less then wonderful dreams little Red." Arthur said.
Instead of helping, the reaper simply watched quietly from a few feet behind Arthur. He had to wonder if the girl would even remember him.
Little Roux was startled at Sir Wick's sudden appearence, unable to resist jumping slightly. As always they knocked, and as always her reading was interupted.
The Phoenix didn't know why but after the visit to teach her two weeks ago, the pyromancer had kept his times short and kept her training to a minimum. Also, Keeper Livia had come along each time. Had something happened? She noted the skeleton behind him, and questioned if that was the same one who'd been along at the time of her rescue. The confused girl couldn't really tell, but his prescence made her uncomfortable ... but she'd seen scarier things than a skeleton recently.
The crimson haired girl quickly nodded in response, eyes drifting back to her book for a second before closing it and looking in the general direction of the other two.
Arthur stepped into the room, a shame there weren't any chairs would certainly make life easier. Then again, little Red couldn't have good memories with chairs.
So Arthur did the next best thing. He leaned against a free bit of wall. "What are the dreams about?" Arthur asked.
The girl looked down, obviously ashamed of her past live's actions. It took her a few seconds to respond, but eventually she managed to muster up the ability to form words about how she felt. "... I've killed ..." Her sleepy eyes widened slightly as she though a bit more about it. "... many innocent people ..."
Arthur nodded, it was understandable. "You feel bad about it. That's alright, it proves something important." Arthur would stare at Roux, his blue-grey eyes looking into her amber, "It proves your not the monster you're clearly thinking you are. Savage monsters are those who don't know the pain of remembering." Arthur said firmly, before breaking his gaze to look up at the ceiling, his hat pressing against the wall behind him. Roux simply looked down a little further in response.
“Headmistress has already attempted telling her that.” Gall replied quietly. “The bright one here also has saved a strangers life with her tears, which Livia also has mentioned to her that is not something a monster would do.”
"Oh did she? Seems reasonable, nice simple way that is sure to convince most reasonable people that they are not bad." Arthur gave a short sigh, "Do you have any good dreams little Red?" Arthur asked without taking his eyes away form the ceiling.
The one called little Red contemplated for a few moments, trying to remember the last time she had a 'good' dream. In the entire three weeks since her potential as the firebird had been unleashed on the innocent trees, the teenager probably had three nights worth of decent sleep. When she headed over to Livia's house for help, she'd already had three nights worth of horrors. The one that sent Roux there was just the worst one that occured yet.
The red haired girl shook her head no.
Arthur leaned against the wall, letting silence drape itself over the room for a moment. Something peaceful about quiet. Something also quiet unnerving.
"Why not?" Arthur asked plainly.
The young teenager thought about it, raking her mind for a possible reason for why her memories were all so awful. The longer she thought though, the closer she drew to a single possible conclusion. Only one explanation made sense to her.
"... maybe ... maybe there isn't anything good ..."
"Hmm..." Arthur didn't like that answer. "I can't believe that. Life does not work that way, there are bad times, and good times. One leading into the other, and onward, until life itself ends. You just need to find the good dreams." Arthur mused.
Roux countinued to look downwards, feeling that she had failed one of the people who had saved her from her old keeper. His fire was warm, and she could feel it. He meant well, and she couldn't feel any hositlity from that flame of his.
Still though, he was probably right. In the nightmares she had, she had noticed that her thoughts were rather archaic and time seemed to go back very far. By simple probability, he was correct.
But the red head wondered why all her dreams were so negative then. Undoubteldy she'd been an evil tyrant in her memories, but was she really one in this life? Would it make sense for this life to be special? "... I see ..." Still though, did he have a plan about how to solve this?
"So I suppose the question then is how does one look for a memory?" Arthur continued to muse. "Which is a good question indeed for those of us without magic directly relating to dreams and the mind."
"Right about now I really wish Brandon wasn't eaten by a dragon. He'd have a answer that sounds so simple that it's a marvel nobody else thought of it." Arthur said, thinking aloud.
The girl looked up, a little interested in his tale. "... By a dragon ...?" The red head tilted her head, a little curious about what he was talking about.
Without missing a beat Arthur continued, "Oh yeah, Brandon was a good guy too, shame his magic did no good against the black scaled beast. Thing just moved its head over him and he was gone."
The litttle Roux frowned slightly, wondering why it didn't work. She couldn't resist asking the world's simplest yet most annoying question. "... Why? ..."
"Good question. Dragon didn't bother to eat anyone else, claws and fire for them. But Felske got eaten. Maybe she thought Brandon looked tasty? Who am I to question the taste buds of a dragon?"
Arthur then turned his gaze away from the ceiling though, looking at little Red with a glint in his eye, "That wasn't what you were asking though was it?
I suppose it'd be best to start at the beginning. Or at least near the beginning. Me and some friends acted as... adventurers. We were a bunch of thrill seeking mercs looking for money and fame. But the life span of those kind of people isn't very long sadly, and we said yes to the wrong job..." Arthur sighed. "A cave. One that some simple detection spells said was full of gold and silver. Our job was to make sure it was safe, ensure there weren't any hostile dog sized rats or angry cultist or something. After a little bit of walking through tunnels though we stepped into a massive cavern, just full of gold. Mountains of the stuff, gold and silver in the form of coins, goblets, I'm pretty sure there were some golden swords in there too."
"Before we had time to realize what was wrong with that picture though we heard the roar, and the largest of the gold mountains exploded. From under it came out a massive black monster, and actual monster, of a dragon. It looked at us with piercing green eyes and without speaking started attacking us."
Arthur took a breath before continuing, "The first to go was our healer, lovely girl, grabbed up in the beast's claws before we could react. Life squeezed right out of her. Brandon was next, he tried to link minds with it, show it some nightmares and force it to submit. Guess the Dragon wasn't easily scared. You know how Brandon died..." Arthur would suddenly move his hand, forming a fist to beat on his chest once before lowering it again, continuing his story passionately, "We fought on for a bit after that, our tank leading the charge. Man was a masochist, sadist too, knew how to take a hit and give one. Even after his armor was gone and most of his flesh burnt off he was swinging at the dragon with his axe, bless that man. But his body didn't keep up with his spirit, he died too. Then it was just me, Payton, and his familiar." Arthur took another breath, the long story starting to take his breath away.
"Payton used magic based around cards, how he got his familiar, beat the cat-girl in a card game and the two signed up right then and there, or so I was told. Anyways Payton was throwing cards at the dragon, he was getting worried, we all were. The cat was on the Dragon's back, clawing and biting at it while screaming insults, until the beast threw itself against a wall, crushed poor Kitty, the fire breath afterwards didn't help."
"Payton, and me for that matter, didn't exactly take Kitty's death well, she was a good friend. We both just threw what we had at the dragon, but it shrugged off most of the hits, and then, and this was rather rude, sweeped one of its claws threw a nearby hill of gold, and threw it at us. I barely avoided getting hit, but Payton was crushed under the weight. On my own, with my friends dead, I started shouting at the dragon. Damn thing finally talked then. Taunted me, my dead friends. I threw myself at the monster, threw every inch of my power at it. My fire, against its fire. I don't know how I survived that, but here I am. I'm alive. Wish I could say as much about my friends. But what can one do eh? The past is the past. No point dwelling on it, no point dwelling on the future either. I'm living here, right now, and there isn't any other way I'd rather live." Arthur finished. Been awhile since he told that story. At least he was sober this time, normally details go missing or are added when alchol is helping tell the tale. Regardless, Arthur kept leaning against the wall, casually catching his breath and waiting to hear a reaction.
The listened quietly as one of her keepers spun out his tale. The man was a good storyteller, and for a moment the teenager seemed to understand his hurt. Losing one's friends was a bad experience, and the redhead was fairly certain she'd lost her fair share during her lifetimes, if any had been close enough to be called that.
Still though, it gave her a bit of peace somehow. It was a simple way of viewing things, but the fact that he hadn't managed to save his friends didn't control his life many years later.
The girl hopped out of the bed in a fluid motion, and after contemplating for a moment approached a few feet in front of him and felt the comforting fire of his soul. Putting her fingers together in thought, she responded in a single word, "... Thanks ..."
"Why of course." Arthur said as he bowed his head. "Twas my pleasure. Anything else you may need of me little Red?" the pyromancer asked with a grin on his face.
Little red looked up at him, examining his face really for the first time. It may have been hard to tell, but those amber beads looked upon him with a twinge of admiration. "... when's the next time you'll come ...?" Her fingers were still playing with each other as she waited for an answer.
"As soon as I can little Red."Arthur replied, before adding, "Of course, if you ever want to get out of this house you could ask Livia about coming over to my place, it will always be open for you. We'll even have a chair barbecue if you like." Arthur would then stand up properly, saying, "I do have a bit of paperwork though. A shame, but tis the life of a teacher." Walking away, navigating past both Roux and Gall Arthur would make his way fo the exit.
Gall admitted, that was rather nicely handled. If he was capable of having a small smile formed on his skeletal face, he would have. Instead however, he simply bowed to the redhead.
“A pleasure to see you doing well, but I have business myself.” With that, he followed back after Arthur. He had no business remaining here, after all.
“Hmm…that was rather nicely handled, Arthur.” Gall said to him. “It seems you didn’t need my help after all.”
Fires of Creation, Noble Roses, First Incarnation
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Roleplayer001
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8 mos ago
Is a roaring flame reduced to a surviving ember still the same fire?
The ember starting a new blaze of the same burning soul?
Does wisdom acknowledge shifts of time or origins of history before the other?
They still called themselves Romans. The Goddess felt that calling this state after an Empire blessed by Pantheons was an insult, and those outside felt the same.
Others called it the Greek Empire, but that name had already passed with Iskandar. Some referred to the state by the prize gem of Constantinople, to the exclusion of it's jagged edges. Some called it the Orthodox Empire, but Rus had many Orthodox as well.
The Turks had been encroaching on the empire for years, gradually pressuring the border. Today was intended to fix that, and perhaps reverse it. The Ecimunal Patriarch under the Emperor called upon the Papacy for some 300 knights to defend the borders of combined Christandom.
Forty Thousand arrived, answering the call of their mutual God. The red haired woman saw the Baslius shower gifts on some, resulting in many a Catholic swearing some degree of fealty in return for this support. Others looked away, unwilling to accept bribes but who lacked the heart to scold those who would journey with them to the holiest of cities.
Tancred de Hautville was one of those who refused, but he did so loudly. He said they had a lack of faith, and critised the lack of Christ's fire in their hearts. For many this was a source of discomfort.
But the Goddess liked the brave. When the dancing started that night, the Phoenix accepted his offered hand. The musicians increased speed until all others were forced off the floor.
Ten further times they moved their fingers faster, trying to blow out the flames of this match.
But these two passionate fires stayed on until the player's fingers bled, feet moving with divine grace. When they were forced to leave the floor, they visited each other until the next day.
Forgoing a Basileus weak enough to call rivals for aid and embracing the hands of one who's soul burned as brightly as her own, Iravis set off the next day on a Crusade against those who still defiled her homeland.
I am using Deus Lo Volt as the primary source regarding people's character. Incase it wasn't obvious, this is about the first crusade. This isn't class, so for those of you who haven't taken AP World history this is for you.
Greek/Orthodox/Constantinople: The Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, located in modern day Turnkey and Greece.
Turks: This time period is pre-Ottoman, so in this case I am referring to Seljuk Turks. By this time they had dominated Mesopotamia and parts of Persia (modern day Iran)
Basileus: Another title for Emperor, used mostly by the Byzantine Empire
Orthodox: After the collapse of the Pentarchy, Catholics and Orthodox were born out of the remains. While the official schism occurred later, the two churches had been unofficially separated for centuries by this point. Two critical points are that the priests can marry and have beards.
Greek/Orthodox/Constantinople: The Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, located in modern day Turnkey and Greece.
Turks: This time period is pre-Ottoman, so in this case I am referring to Seljuk Turks. By this time they had dominated Mesopotamia and parts of Persia (modern day Iran)
Basileus: Another title for Emperor, used mostly by the Byzantine Empire
Orthodox: After the collapse of the Pentarchy, Catholics and Orthodox were born out of the remains. While the official schism occurred later, the two churches had been unofficially separated for centuries by this point. Two critical points are that the priests can marry and have beards.
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Iravis and Tancred finally arrived outside the metropolis. After raiding heathens around the countryside, Tancred had decided to arrive to aid in the siege of Antioch. Right now, the pair stood over a hill, viewing the Crusading camp.
"A state of despair before our eyes?" Before the Phoenix was the picture of poverty. The camps were filthy, supplies were low, and it was quite obvious by the burial ground nearby that some had died to due fighting between the besieged and the besiegers along with more natural causes.
"A test from God, souls sent to the holy ghost." Tancred responded, steadfast in his faith.
"Infedels sent shrieking straight to hell?" Iravis stated, hopeful that the armies intended to liberate her homeland were succeeding.
For now, the warrior to her right hadn't realized what the Phoenix really was, but he was fairly sure she wasn't normal. A blessing from god perhaps, the red hair representing the fire of Christ. The Southern Italian spoke with some anger. "Many more martyrs than hellbound, I believe." The pair turned their steeds and forces to the camp, rejoicing at the arrival of the rising warrior and his riders.
When they arrived in camp, Tancred of Hautville asked the leaders why they hadn't taken the city by storm yet. The Phoenix waited outside, wondering why they had failed so far. The Crusader returned, fury in his eyes.
"They say Antioch 'is so well fortified that it need not fear attack by machinery nor the assault of man, even if all mankind came together against it.' I asked what they had done so far. They have blocked the Dog's gate against a sortie, and have built Malregard," the nobleman gestured to a pitiful fortress of earth, "in order to establish a more permanent siege. I told them they were cowards, hesitant to die in the name of the lord."
Iravis always had to stop herself from laughing at this man. He took his faith very seriously, even insistent that the army bring as few mages as possible because God himself would grant victory to Christ's army, and crush the infidels.
Tancred's passionate fire was still ... inspiring though.
The way the Hautevillian fought ... the Goddess thought that perhaps he was right. Taking on ten enemies with only a single retainer was not a challenge for this well seasoned fighter, moving faster and striking harder than most mortals could managed. She wondered.
That night the camp decided to celebrate the arrival of a rising legend and his reinforcements. Iravis danced with Tancred again as the musicians' fingers bled. The Goddess convinced him later that night to hold off his assault until victory was certain, stating that patience was a virtue of the Bible, and the Heavens rewarded those who waited.
It would be months until they took the city, but that was time spent with a strong man.
"A state of despair before our eyes?" Before the Phoenix was the picture of poverty. The camps were filthy, supplies were low, and it was quite obvious by the burial ground nearby that some had died to due fighting between the besieged and the besiegers along with more natural causes.
"A test from God, souls sent to the holy ghost." Tancred responded, steadfast in his faith.
"Infedels sent shrieking straight to hell?" Iravis stated, hopeful that the armies intended to liberate her homeland were succeeding.
For now, the warrior to her right hadn't realized what the Phoenix really was, but he was fairly sure she wasn't normal. A blessing from god perhaps, the red hair representing the fire of Christ. The Southern Italian spoke with some anger. "Many more martyrs than hellbound, I believe." The pair turned their steeds and forces to the camp, rejoicing at the arrival of the rising warrior and his riders.
When they arrived in camp, Tancred of Hautville asked the leaders why they hadn't taken the city by storm yet. The Phoenix waited outside, wondering why they had failed so far. The Crusader returned, fury in his eyes.
"They say Antioch 'is so well fortified that it need not fear attack by machinery nor the assault of man, even if all mankind came together against it.' I asked what they had done so far. They have blocked the Dog's gate against a sortie, and have built Malregard," the nobleman gestured to a pitiful fortress of earth, "in order to establish a more permanent siege. I told them they were cowards, hesitant to die in the name of the lord."
Iravis always had to stop herself from laughing at this man. He took his faith very seriously, even insistent that the army bring as few mages as possible because God himself would grant victory to Christ's army, and crush the infidels.
Tancred's passionate fire was still ... inspiring though.
The way the Hautevillian fought ... the Goddess thought that perhaps he was right. Taking on ten enemies with only a single retainer was not a challenge for this well seasoned fighter, moving faster and striking harder than most mortals could managed. She wondered.
That night the camp decided to celebrate the arrival of a rising legend and his reinforcements. Iravis danced with Tancred again as the musicians' fingers bled. The Goddess convinced him later that night to hold off his assault until victory was certain, stating that patience was a virtue of the Bible, and the Heavens rewarded those who waited.
It would be months until they took the city, but that was time spent with a strong man.
In this part I'm referring to the Siege of Antioch during the first crusade. The Guardman is named Firouz, and Bohemond later became the Prince of Antioch.
Malregard is the name of the fortress the crusaders built outside the city during the siege.
Tancredis of house Hauteville.
Malregard is the name of the fortress the crusaders built outside the city during the siege.
Tancredis of house Hauteville.
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It was six in the morning, Arthur walking to little Red's house. He helped the girl with her dream problem, got the okay from the taskmaster, and now he could get Red on the right track. It was early, the sky grey though if that was from a low sun or a promise of rain was yet to be known. Well, was probably known to some weather mage or something but Arthur didn't care today he got to do some blacksmithing. Not only that, but teach a young mage with no place in the world how to do it too. Ethan would be proud.
Finding himself at the door to the house Arthur considered his options. Either she was awake, and reading. Or she was asleep. Either way she wasn't going to open the door without him knocking for several minutes. So Arthur just did the reasonable thing and teleported inside. Once again treading up the stairs he would slowly and soundlessly open the door to the girl's room.
The girl was breathing slowly when he showed up, curled up into a small ball beneath three blankets. A thin, short, and white dress covered her body as she slept peacefully. It had been about 4 and a half weeks since she had arrived here, and her life had been much more peaceful since Arthur showed up.
The nightmares didn't go away, but for some reason the little Roux figured out how to handle them. The panic upon waking would only last for a few minutes rather than hours, and it was obvious that he had helped her somehow. Right now though, she remained unaware of his presence.
Arthur stood leaned against the doorframe. He didn't like waking people up, and with the way little Red's dreams worked it would be even ruder to do so. But then again Arthur was here for a reason, so after about two minutes of awkwardly leaning in a doorframe and thinking Arthur moved one of his hands over to the door and knocked on it a few times while saying, "Hey Red, wake up."
Somehow her dream had finished just in time, and the girl had started to pass into the next stage of sleep. So when Arthur knocked on the door, the girl woke up with a yawn. And like most teenagers she grabbed a pillow and covered her head, thinking it was far too early for her to wake up like this. The redhead didn't even really hear the voice, lost to her sleepiness.
Arthur watched as the girl attempted to avoid waking up. He couldn't blame her, he was, and sometime still was, the same way. "Hey little Red, would you rather have a sword or a spear? Or maybe a hammer, though your not really big enough for one of those..." Arthur asked, his tone gentle so as to not jar the half sleeping girl.
The one called little red responded instinctually before becoming completely awake, voice filled with annoyed anger. "Peasant. Never wake me up. Especially if the house is on fire!" The voice itself was a little different, as if it had come from a more confident version of herself in the past.
A few moments passed though before it seemed that her normal personality returned. The girl started to get up slowly, and realizing that Arthur had arrived spoke in a more respectful tone. "... sorry ...!" It was hard to tell if she was apologizing for what she had said, or not getting out of bed and being ready when he arrived. She took a minute to contemplate Arthur's question. "... a spear ... why ...?" She stumbled slowly towards the dresser, fumbling through clothes to wear for the day.
Arthur would look in a direction away from the girl out of respect before replying, "Just curious. Good choice though, makes my life easier. Anyways we are going to be more or less booked for the rest of the day, and I suspect that you'll not have energy to do anything when you get back home tonight so if you have any important sidequests do them now. I'll meet you downstairs." Arthur would joke before turning to go into the living area downstairs, closing the door behind him.
The girl blinked for a moment as she watched him leave, curious as to what they planned to be doing. It would have been at least helpful to know so that she could pick out something decent to wear. After a few moments, a green dress reaching to just below the knees appeared on her body and she started to do some basic morning maintenence. A few minutes later, little red was down the staircase and waiting for Arthur to explain what was going on.
Arthur had sat himself on a couch in the living room. At least the girl didn't hate all sitting devices Arthur mused to himself as he took in the room's atmosphere. Turning his head Arthur saw little Red in a simple green dress.
Standing, Arthur would say "Well then, we best be on our way. We're going to town." The pyromancer would then walk over to the door, holding it open for the teenager. The girl nodded obediently, walking quickly after him.
The two of them would walk the short distance to town in silence. Rather than stepping into the expansive mall however Arthur led Roux right past it, and onwards to the outskirts of the town. Turning and walking into a back alley Arthur would walk to the far end of it before knocking three times on what looked to be a patch of wall, the only thing on said wall being a bit of graffiti deplicting a handlebar mustache. After a moment the wall would swing inwards, and Arthur turned to look at Roux saying, "I love this place. Come on." before stepping through the entrance.
Little red followed him inside, looking at a small sign inside that revealed the places name, Schwerkunst. The teenager felt the forges heat, but it was a fairly comfortable to the girl. The valuted ceiling included a vent for exhaust, and a large room featured many small workshops inside half walls that seperated each of the work spaces.
Her eyes returned to the ground eventually, waiting for her savior to explain why they were here.
Arthur was walking up to a nearby table covered in leathers and other protective equipment and starting picking through it. "The owner, friend of mine. He isn't here, isn't going to be for awhile. Aparently decided to go to Japan to find some legendary sword or something. Or maybe just something about watching a lot of anime, either way. So till he gets back he's letting me use the place, and today I'm going to teach you how to work metal little Red. Ah, this look like it'll fit." Arthur said pulling out a leather appron that looked just a bit too big for Roux and held it out to her, "Put this on eh? And... this. This too." Arthur added as he continued to pull out a pair of gloves and a set of protective goggles.
The redheaded girl took the items from him, equiping each one quickly as they were individually handed out. Soon a protected version was looking at the forge, curious about what they would be doing in there. Were they making a spear?
Arthur garbed himself in leathers as well before going to one of the work stations. "Well, let's get started eh? Go grab that hammer, I think that's one of the ones with less scary enchantments on it." Arthur pointed at one of the hammers while grabbing a piece of iron from a nearby pile.
Roux nodded, grabbing the hammer he had pointed out, picking it up and turning back to face him, awaiting his following commands. She'd never done something like this before.
Taking the hammer Arthur would then move the piece of metal and move it into the fire. After a moment he pulled it out and started slamming the hammer against the hot metal, shouting over the hammer's ring as he did so, "First, I'm going to show you what you do. Then your going to make one yourself."
The Phoenix nodded, looking on as Arthur worked the metal. Soon a simple spear began to take shape, a point forming. The man added fine details as time went on, sharpening the point and refining the design. The tip gradually became narrower, adding more mass towards the end. At the end it was a simply crafted, but precisely formed specimen. The little girl eyed it for a short while, nodding.
There was no way she would be capable of replicating that on the first try, despite her artistic talent.
Arthur stopped to look over his work. It was a good spear, nothing like Sorrow's Reach, but matching Ethan's skill wasn't a simple task.
"Now. Your turn." Arthur said as he handed the phoenix the hammer and tongs. Arthur would take a single step away and simply watch.
The little girl looked at him, but he seemed adamant about not helping her. He had started by picking a piece of metal out of the pile, so the girl grabbed the first piece that caught her eye.
Orichalcum. Atlantian Bronze. Favored by the medditerranean pantheons, it was a natural instinct for her to pick the familiar metal.
She lowered the spear into the forge, watching the piece heat up as she left it in there. It gradually turned red and ... there! ... is it ready ...?
The red haired questioned every piece of her work, and spent nearly three hours producing a shaped outline, far longer than it had taken Sir Wick to do. The little girl was about to continue onto the next step, when another object caught her amber eyes. She pointed at a small bin filled with various gemstones and fine rocks, looking at Arthur for approval.
Arthur stood there and watched, remaining as emotionless as he could while he mentally appraised the girl's work. She had formed a relatively good piece, far from a masterpiece but if this was little Red's first time at a forge it was rather impressive. Then again, she might have worked a forge before Arthur mused. Or been the forge.
Regardless the girl caught sight of a nearby bin of precious gems and stones and looked at Arthur. "Not yet little Red. That's a fine piece you have there but it can be better. When you have a perfect spear tip then you can add some decoration." Mr. Wick said.
The girl lowered her head slightly as she was denied, but returned to perfecting her work. It was surprising how much work it seemed to take in order to form the simple tool, her right arm shaking from the constant strain of pounding time after time on the object. Just as it felt ready to fall off, the damn thing was finished. To finish it off, she grabbed some nearby linen and wrapped the metallic blade in cloth. Five hours after starting, she had finished her first piece at the forges.
Observing the piece, she raised it to Sir Wick for approval. It wasn't perfect, but it was surprisingly well done considering the complete lack of experience.
The tip wasn't short, but rather a long, wide piece designed for causing maximum damage to flesh.
The pyromancer looked at the spear head. It was certainly well made, even despite the fact that the girl had never even been to a forge before, Arthur doubted her 'keepers' let her visit one at any point.
The girl was a natural that much was for certain. Maybe it had to do with fire, maybe one of her past lifes devoted her life to smithing and Red happened to retain some skill with it. Either way, "Good job Red. How about we take a break, have something to eat." Arthur said as he stepped away from the work area and made his way for the exit, stripping the leather protection off himself while he walked and setting it on the table at the door.
Roux followed her teacher out of the shop, wrapped spear tip in hand as they headed towards their next destination.
The two of them were walking through the mall, Arthur found it was always a good place from which to just pick a meal and eat. Standing at the border of the food court Arthur asked, "So little Red, what are you hungry for?" After some hesitation, she quietly asked for whatever he was having. "That is a good question..." Arthur mused, unsure himself what he would eat. He was really hoping the girl would have a first choice so he could just have what she was having but clearly that wouldn't work.
After about a minute of looking over the various stalls Arthur made a choice. Pizza was always a good choice, and personal pizzas were cute and tasty. Walking up to a place that made such a dish Arthur proceeded to order a hawaiian pizza with cheese filled crust before looking down to the girl next to him and asking what kind she wanted.
She looked at him, and upon observing the menu read olives. Those were familiar. "... Olives ...!" Somehow, she managed to sound a little excited despite her normally quiet tone.
Before long the two were sitting at one of the many tables in the food court, personal pizzas before them. Arthur was halfway through a slice, which made up a quarter of the pizza before setting down the pizza and asking, "So little Red. Did you have fun this morning?"
The one called little red almost didn't hear his question. She followed his example, grabbing the food with her hands and eating the divine bites.
She hadn't had anything so tasty in her life. Maybe the hunger from pounding at the forge was being an incredible sauce, but this combination of tomato, olives, and cheese was delicious. The satisfied girl hardly managed to catch his question, but nodded eagerly in response as she enjoyed her food.
Arthur nodded to himself when Roux confirmed her enjoyment to him. "Good. You feel that feeling in you? That hard work, all leading up to a single piece of metal? That's creation. It is fire." Arthur said as he returned his pizza to his mouth to take several more bites. The girl nodded, waiting for him to continue.
After a moment Arthur had finished the first slice and its cheese filled crust before continuing, "Fire is life and death both. One doesn't exist without the other. Some think fire is just a novel toy to burn their foes with. Of course you and I know better though eh?" Arthur said as he picked up his next slice and began to bite into it.
This time the girl nodded more enthusastically, understanding what he was getting at. At this point though, she was a more captivated by the pizza, smiling widely as she consumed the new flavors.
Arthur simply ate, smiling. This girl was without a doubt an interesting one. He looked forward to training her further. Rather than say anything more Arthur just kept eaten, and let little Red keep eating. Once the pizza was finally gone Arthur said, "Okay, there is still plenty of time today. Time to go back to the forge."
The teacher student pair returned to the forge. Sir Wick taught little red how to finish the spear, and the girl wrapped the pole in fine linen in order to provide a better grip. And he even let her decorate it with a saphire, ruby, and emerald in a metalic band to help hold the pole onto the stabbing tip.
And a spoon. She didn't understand why, but the pyromancer insisted she create a spoon. The small elegant work took hours, as he didn't accept her attempts until it was perfect. And then he kept it. When she finally arrived home that evening, she collapsed on the sofa downstairs, unable to get above the steps and into her bedroom.
Arthur was standing at the door to the headmistress' office. Once again a spirit of the more frightening sort had sneaked up on him and delivered the message that Livia wished to see him. And once again Arthur teleported over without too much thought. Opening the door Arthur took a step in while saying, "So, how is your day going Livia?"
“Oh, stopped knocking have you, Arthur?” She gave him a friendly smile. “I might actually feel a little offended if I wasn’t thoroughly impressed with you at the moment.” The headmistress leaned back in her seat, wine glass in hand as she took a sip of it. Gall was standing just behind her, silently observing as always.
“So you could say my day is going quite well. Please, do take a seat.”
Arthur walked the distance across the office to the chair convientantly in front of the desk. The pyromancer sat in the seat quietly, waiting for the headmistress to say what she wished.
“Nothing to add? No witty remark or something? Oh you’re disappointing me now, Arthur.” She chuckled. “Care to guess why you’re here?”
Arthur smirked as he brought one of his hands up to his beard, "If a guess had to be made I think I'd say... creation." Arthur said with a clearly amused voice.
“Hmhm, well,” She smiled. “You’re not completely wrong.” She placed the wine glass on the desk. “I have to say, I am thoroughly impressed with the way you’ve handled this situation. You even went against a direct order when I told you no weapons on the first day. Not many people would have gone against a direct order, even if they thought they could have a better outcome. So, very well done indeed, Arthur.” Livias smile left. Her voice took a more serious turn.
“But that’s not the main reason I’ve called you here. Indeed, you have done well. I was skeptical at first, but you are a man that does what he believes to be best without thinking too much about it. While I cannot entirely agree with your methods, they are necessary. Really, if everything was run by thinking about every little possible outcome, most organizations would never get anything done. They’d spend most of the time debating over what color to paint the walls.”
She sighed after finishing, giving a small glance over to Gall.
“Are you sure, Livia?” He asked. “I do think he is capable, but…” Livia silence Gall with a motion of her hand.
“Was this not your idea to begin with Gall?” Livia replied. “You’re the one who said he might be useful, so hush.” Gall simply nodded and returned to silence as Livia turned back to Arthur.
“So…what do you know of Gods, Arthur?”
Arthur watched, and listened. Seemed like they intended to give him something, weather a gift or major responsibility was hard to say.
"The gods? Not much, not often one gets to have a conversation with one after all. Would love to though, I bet it'd be an interested chat."
Asking what Arthur knew about the divine. Well as Arthur said he didn't know much, never bothered to know. So long as he was a decent person he'd end up in a nice enough afterlife and no more thought was needed besides that.
“Well, that might depend on your definition of ‘God’.” Livia replied. “Little Roux is considered to be a god, after all. So is Sorcha. Minor ones, to be sure, but still gods.” The headmistress sighed, turning slightly to Gall.
“Make sure no one interrupts us.” She commanded. The reaper nodded, disappearing in his usual fashion.
“Before I continue, let me make myself very clear. Anything we are about to discuss, you are not to tell anyone outside of this room. Sorcha, Gall, and I are the only ones you may speak to about this, and only when you are certain no one is listening. And once I tell you, you are committed to this cause. This would be your only chance to walk away, but if you intend to look after Roux, then you will be involved eventually.”
Responsibility it was then. Well, why the hell now? "Alright. I'm not walking away." Arthur said, his smirk growing wider.
“Excellent.” She grabbed her glass of wine again, taking a sip before continuing. “Then…perhaps I should tell you the story of how Sorcha, my old friends and I met.”
Finding himself at the door to the house Arthur considered his options. Either she was awake, and reading. Or she was asleep. Either way she wasn't going to open the door without him knocking for several minutes. So Arthur just did the reasonable thing and teleported inside. Once again treading up the stairs he would slowly and soundlessly open the door to the girl's room.
The girl was breathing slowly when he showed up, curled up into a small ball beneath three blankets. A thin, short, and white dress covered her body as she slept peacefully. It had been about 4 and a half weeks since she had arrived here, and her life had been much more peaceful since Arthur showed up.
The nightmares didn't go away, but for some reason the little Roux figured out how to handle them. The panic upon waking would only last for a few minutes rather than hours, and it was obvious that he had helped her somehow. Right now though, she remained unaware of his presence.
Arthur stood leaned against the doorframe. He didn't like waking people up, and with the way little Red's dreams worked it would be even ruder to do so. But then again Arthur was here for a reason, so after about two minutes of awkwardly leaning in a doorframe and thinking Arthur moved one of his hands over to the door and knocked on it a few times while saying, "Hey Red, wake up."
Somehow her dream had finished just in time, and the girl had started to pass into the next stage of sleep. So when Arthur knocked on the door, the girl woke up with a yawn. And like most teenagers she grabbed a pillow and covered her head, thinking it was far too early for her to wake up like this. The redhead didn't even really hear the voice, lost to her sleepiness.
Arthur watched as the girl attempted to avoid waking up. He couldn't blame her, he was, and sometime still was, the same way. "Hey little Red, would you rather have a sword or a spear? Or maybe a hammer, though your not really big enough for one of those..." Arthur asked, his tone gentle so as to not jar the half sleeping girl.
The one called little red responded instinctually before becoming completely awake, voice filled with annoyed anger. "Peasant. Never wake me up. Especially if the house is on fire!" The voice itself was a little different, as if it had come from a more confident version of herself in the past.
A few moments passed though before it seemed that her normal personality returned. The girl started to get up slowly, and realizing that Arthur had arrived spoke in a more respectful tone. "... sorry ...!" It was hard to tell if she was apologizing for what she had said, or not getting out of bed and being ready when he arrived. She took a minute to contemplate Arthur's question. "... a spear ... why ...?" She stumbled slowly towards the dresser, fumbling through clothes to wear for the day.
Arthur would look in a direction away from the girl out of respect before replying, "Just curious. Good choice though, makes my life easier. Anyways we are going to be more or less booked for the rest of the day, and I suspect that you'll not have energy to do anything when you get back home tonight so if you have any important sidequests do them now. I'll meet you downstairs." Arthur would joke before turning to go into the living area downstairs, closing the door behind him.
The girl blinked for a moment as she watched him leave, curious as to what they planned to be doing. It would have been at least helpful to know so that she could pick out something decent to wear. After a few moments, a green dress reaching to just below the knees appeared on her body and she started to do some basic morning maintenence. A few minutes later, little red was down the staircase and waiting for Arthur to explain what was going on.
Arthur had sat himself on a couch in the living room. At least the girl didn't hate all sitting devices Arthur mused to himself as he took in the room's atmosphere. Turning his head Arthur saw little Red in a simple green dress.
Standing, Arthur would say "Well then, we best be on our way. We're going to town." The pyromancer would then walk over to the door, holding it open for the teenager. The girl nodded obediently, walking quickly after him.
The two of them would walk the short distance to town in silence. Rather than stepping into the expansive mall however Arthur led Roux right past it, and onwards to the outskirts of the town. Turning and walking into a back alley Arthur would walk to the far end of it before knocking three times on what looked to be a patch of wall, the only thing on said wall being a bit of graffiti deplicting a handlebar mustache. After a moment the wall would swing inwards, and Arthur turned to look at Roux saying, "I love this place. Come on." before stepping through the entrance.
Little red followed him inside, looking at a small sign inside that revealed the places name, Schwerkunst. The teenager felt the forges heat, but it was a fairly comfortable to the girl. The valuted ceiling included a vent for exhaust, and a large room featured many small workshops inside half walls that seperated each of the work spaces.
Her eyes returned to the ground eventually, waiting for her savior to explain why they were here.
Arthur was walking up to a nearby table covered in leathers and other protective equipment and starting picking through it. "The owner, friend of mine. He isn't here, isn't going to be for awhile. Aparently decided to go to Japan to find some legendary sword or something. Or maybe just something about watching a lot of anime, either way. So till he gets back he's letting me use the place, and today I'm going to teach you how to work metal little Red. Ah, this look like it'll fit." Arthur said pulling out a leather appron that looked just a bit too big for Roux and held it out to her, "Put this on eh? And... this. This too." Arthur added as he continued to pull out a pair of gloves and a set of protective goggles.
The redheaded girl took the items from him, equiping each one quickly as they were individually handed out. Soon a protected version was looking at the forge, curious about what they would be doing in there. Were they making a spear?
Arthur garbed himself in leathers as well before going to one of the work stations. "Well, let's get started eh? Go grab that hammer, I think that's one of the ones with less scary enchantments on it." Arthur pointed at one of the hammers while grabbing a piece of iron from a nearby pile.
Roux nodded, grabbing the hammer he had pointed out, picking it up and turning back to face him, awaiting his following commands. She'd never done something like this before.
Taking the hammer Arthur would then move the piece of metal and move it into the fire. After a moment he pulled it out and started slamming the hammer against the hot metal, shouting over the hammer's ring as he did so, "First, I'm going to show you what you do. Then your going to make one yourself."
The Phoenix nodded, looking on as Arthur worked the metal. Soon a simple spear began to take shape, a point forming. The man added fine details as time went on, sharpening the point and refining the design. The tip gradually became narrower, adding more mass towards the end. At the end it was a simply crafted, but precisely formed specimen. The little girl eyed it for a short while, nodding.
There was no way she would be capable of replicating that on the first try, despite her artistic talent.
Arthur stopped to look over his work. It was a good spear, nothing like Sorrow's Reach, but matching Ethan's skill wasn't a simple task.
"Now. Your turn." Arthur said as he handed the phoenix the hammer and tongs. Arthur would take a single step away and simply watch.
The little girl looked at him, but he seemed adamant about not helping her. He had started by picking a piece of metal out of the pile, so the girl grabbed the first piece that caught her eye.
Orichalcum. Atlantian Bronze. Favored by the medditerranean pantheons, it was a natural instinct for her to pick the familiar metal.
She lowered the spear into the forge, watching the piece heat up as she left it in there. It gradually turned red and ... there! ... is it ready ...?
The red haired questioned every piece of her work, and spent nearly three hours producing a shaped outline, far longer than it had taken Sir Wick to do. The little girl was about to continue onto the next step, when another object caught her amber eyes. She pointed at a small bin filled with various gemstones and fine rocks, looking at Arthur for approval.
Arthur stood there and watched, remaining as emotionless as he could while he mentally appraised the girl's work. She had formed a relatively good piece, far from a masterpiece but if this was little Red's first time at a forge it was rather impressive. Then again, she might have worked a forge before Arthur mused. Or been the forge.
Regardless the girl caught sight of a nearby bin of precious gems and stones and looked at Arthur. "Not yet little Red. That's a fine piece you have there but it can be better. When you have a perfect spear tip then you can add some decoration." Mr. Wick said.
The girl lowered her head slightly as she was denied, but returned to perfecting her work. It was surprising how much work it seemed to take in order to form the simple tool, her right arm shaking from the constant strain of pounding time after time on the object. Just as it felt ready to fall off, the damn thing was finished. To finish it off, she grabbed some nearby linen and wrapped the metallic blade in cloth. Five hours after starting, she had finished her first piece at the forges.
Observing the piece, she raised it to Sir Wick for approval. It wasn't perfect, but it was surprisingly well done considering the complete lack of experience.
The tip wasn't short, but rather a long, wide piece designed for causing maximum damage to flesh.
The pyromancer looked at the spear head. It was certainly well made, even despite the fact that the girl had never even been to a forge before, Arthur doubted her 'keepers' let her visit one at any point.
The girl was a natural that much was for certain. Maybe it had to do with fire, maybe one of her past lifes devoted her life to smithing and Red happened to retain some skill with it. Either way, "Good job Red. How about we take a break, have something to eat." Arthur said as he stepped away from the work area and made his way for the exit, stripping the leather protection off himself while he walked and setting it on the table at the door.
Roux followed her teacher out of the shop, wrapped spear tip in hand as they headed towards their next destination.
The two of them were walking through the mall, Arthur found it was always a good place from which to just pick a meal and eat. Standing at the border of the food court Arthur asked, "So little Red, what are you hungry for?" After some hesitation, she quietly asked for whatever he was having. "That is a good question..." Arthur mused, unsure himself what he would eat. He was really hoping the girl would have a first choice so he could just have what she was having but clearly that wouldn't work.
After about a minute of looking over the various stalls Arthur made a choice. Pizza was always a good choice, and personal pizzas were cute and tasty. Walking up to a place that made such a dish Arthur proceeded to order a hawaiian pizza with cheese filled crust before looking down to the girl next to him and asking what kind she wanted.
She looked at him, and upon observing the menu read olives. Those were familiar. "... Olives ...!" Somehow, she managed to sound a little excited despite her normally quiet tone.
Before long the two were sitting at one of the many tables in the food court, personal pizzas before them. Arthur was halfway through a slice, which made up a quarter of the pizza before setting down the pizza and asking, "So little Red. Did you have fun this morning?"
The one called little red almost didn't hear his question. She followed his example, grabbing the food with her hands and eating the divine bites.
She hadn't had anything so tasty in her life. Maybe the hunger from pounding at the forge was being an incredible sauce, but this combination of tomato, olives, and cheese was delicious. The satisfied girl hardly managed to catch his question, but nodded eagerly in response as she enjoyed her food.
Arthur nodded to himself when Roux confirmed her enjoyment to him. "Good. You feel that feeling in you? That hard work, all leading up to a single piece of metal? That's creation. It is fire." Arthur said as he returned his pizza to his mouth to take several more bites. The girl nodded, waiting for him to continue.
After a moment Arthur had finished the first slice and its cheese filled crust before continuing, "Fire is life and death both. One doesn't exist without the other. Some think fire is just a novel toy to burn their foes with. Of course you and I know better though eh?" Arthur said as he picked up his next slice and began to bite into it.
This time the girl nodded more enthusastically, understanding what he was getting at. At this point though, she was a more captivated by the pizza, smiling widely as she consumed the new flavors.
Arthur simply ate, smiling. This girl was without a doubt an interesting one. He looked forward to training her further. Rather than say anything more Arthur just kept eaten, and let little Red keep eating. Once the pizza was finally gone Arthur said, "Okay, there is still plenty of time today. Time to go back to the forge."
The teacher student pair returned to the forge. Sir Wick taught little red how to finish the spear, and the girl wrapped the pole in fine linen in order to provide a better grip. And he even let her decorate it with a saphire, ruby, and emerald in a metalic band to help hold the pole onto the stabbing tip.
And a spoon. She didn't understand why, but the pyromancer insisted she create a spoon. The small elegant work took hours, as he didn't accept her attempts until it was perfect. And then he kept it. When she finally arrived home that evening, she collapsed on the sofa downstairs, unable to get above the steps and into her bedroom.
Arthur was standing at the door to the headmistress' office. Once again a spirit of the more frightening sort had sneaked up on him and delivered the message that Livia wished to see him. And once again Arthur teleported over without too much thought. Opening the door Arthur took a step in while saying, "So, how is your day going Livia?"
“Oh, stopped knocking have you, Arthur?” She gave him a friendly smile. “I might actually feel a little offended if I wasn’t thoroughly impressed with you at the moment.” The headmistress leaned back in her seat, wine glass in hand as she took a sip of it. Gall was standing just behind her, silently observing as always.
“So you could say my day is going quite well. Please, do take a seat.”
Arthur walked the distance across the office to the chair convientantly in front of the desk. The pyromancer sat in the seat quietly, waiting for the headmistress to say what she wished.
“Nothing to add? No witty remark or something? Oh you’re disappointing me now, Arthur.” She chuckled. “Care to guess why you’re here?”
Arthur smirked as he brought one of his hands up to his beard, "If a guess had to be made I think I'd say... creation." Arthur said with a clearly amused voice.
“Hmhm, well,” She smiled. “You’re not completely wrong.” She placed the wine glass on the desk. “I have to say, I am thoroughly impressed with the way you’ve handled this situation. You even went against a direct order when I told you no weapons on the first day. Not many people would have gone against a direct order, even if they thought they could have a better outcome. So, very well done indeed, Arthur.” Livias smile left. Her voice took a more serious turn.
“But that’s not the main reason I’ve called you here. Indeed, you have done well. I was skeptical at first, but you are a man that does what he believes to be best without thinking too much about it. While I cannot entirely agree with your methods, they are necessary. Really, if everything was run by thinking about every little possible outcome, most organizations would never get anything done. They’d spend most of the time debating over what color to paint the walls.”
She sighed after finishing, giving a small glance over to Gall.
“Are you sure, Livia?” He asked. “I do think he is capable, but…” Livia silence Gall with a motion of her hand.
“Was this not your idea to begin with Gall?” Livia replied. “You’re the one who said he might be useful, so hush.” Gall simply nodded and returned to silence as Livia turned back to Arthur.
“So…what do you know of Gods, Arthur?”
Arthur watched, and listened. Seemed like they intended to give him something, weather a gift or major responsibility was hard to say.
"The gods? Not much, not often one gets to have a conversation with one after all. Would love to though, I bet it'd be an interested chat."
Asking what Arthur knew about the divine. Well as Arthur said he didn't know much, never bothered to know. So long as he was a decent person he'd end up in a nice enough afterlife and no more thought was needed besides that.
“Well, that might depend on your definition of ‘God’.” Livia replied. “Little Roux is considered to be a god, after all. So is Sorcha. Minor ones, to be sure, but still gods.” The headmistress sighed, turning slightly to Gall.
“Make sure no one interrupts us.” She commanded. The reaper nodded, disappearing in his usual fashion.
“Before I continue, let me make myself very clear. Anything we are about to discuss, you are not to tell anyone outside of this room. Sorcha, Gall, and I are the only ones you may speak to about this, and only when you are certain no one is listening. And once I tell you, you are committed to this cause. This would be your only chance to walk away, but if you intend to look after Roux, then you will be involved eventually.”
Responsibility it was then. Well, why the hell now? "Alright. I'm not walking away." Arthur said, his smirk growing wider.
“Excellent.” She grabbed her glass of wine again, taking a sip before continuing. “Then…perhaps I should tell you the story of how Sorcha, my old friends and I met.”
Little Roux was tired after the day's training with her teacher, casting fireballs at several inanimate objects and doing some basic spearwork. It had been three days since she'd made the piece of art, but she didn't feel like she was progressing at all. The fourteen year old stumbled into her house in the afternoon, tired limbs barely managing to hold support her body.
An hour long bath in near boiling water managed to force those pains to dissapear. Wrapping a towel around herself, Little Roux hopped onto the bed, pulling open one of her books to read, legs kicking in the air happily for a minute or two.
The redhead enjoyed the entertainment, but something just bothered her. It took an hour before Little Roux finally managed to place it. It was coming, and she knew it. She just didn't know when.
She hadn't seen her Keeper in over a week. The headmistress would undoubtedly pop in at some point, forcing the girl to put the book down and go on some adventure. Then when she returned from that adventure, she'd have to start again from an inconvinent spot.
So instead, Little Red decided to take initiative and visit Livia for the first time without a reason. She finished her chapter, placed a small pencil in as a bookmarker, and headed off to do some personal work.
It took some time, but the girl ran a braid of thick hair down her back, dressing in a long, formal, and red dress for the night that exposed her shoulders and the top of her pack to the world. Since she'd returned to the forge, she'd managed to even create some small amber earings that matched the color of her eyes.
All in all, Roux was well dressed for the evening. She picked up the Atlantian Bronze spear on the way out, and headed over to Livia's office.
Livia was just finishing up her work for the day. Honestly, work had been keeping her rather busy and she was still a bit concerned leaving Roux’s education and training in Arthur’s hands would be problematic. That said, he was also quite capable, and though she disagreed with his methods, she really couldn’t criticize him too harshly. Before, she had mostly been upset that he tried to essentially undermine her authority by doing something with Roux without consulting her first.
Well. That and it was common courtesy to ask someone’s guardian permission before doing such things, and all things considered she did consider herself Roux’s guardian.
She should go visit the redhead after this. See how she was doing. Perhaps teach her a bit about what it meant to be a ‘god’, and that just because she was considered to be one didn’t mean she had to be all haughty, arrogant, and angry, like some were known for.
Perhaps for later, for now, she had some things to take care of back at her home, she just had to finish this little paperwork, though.
The one named Little Roux eventually found herself in the hallway in front of Livia's door. The girl hesitated for a few moments before delivering a few small taps on the gates to Livia's realm.
Well, she had intended to finish the paperwork, but it seemed like little Roux was actually paying her a visit. Well then, no reason to say no.
“Come in.” She said, putting away a stack of paper in a drawer. “The door is open, as always.” At least, it was very ever rarely locked unless she was in the middle of something important.
The little girl walked in, approaching Livia's desk and peering over it to see the woman behind it. A quiet voice addressed the headmistress "... hello keeper Livia..." The truth was that the spear-wielding fourteen year old didn't know what her plans were, why'd she dressed up, or even why she had the spear. Had she come to talk about it? Give the woman an update? Go out to dinner? She wasn't sure.
“Hello, Roux. What are you doing here?” Livia replied, getting up from her chair, walking to the front of her desk. “I was just finishing some paper work, but I can have Gall do it later.” She chuckled, noticing the weapon in the girls’ hands.
“Oh, did Arthur teach you to make that?” She said, a small smile forming. Of course, she already knew that he had. “It’s quite a lovely spear.” She also wasn’t fond of such weapons, however, but…well, she couldn’t exactly say that to her right now, could she? No sense in crushing the little girls enthusiasm. It was obvious she at least enjoyed blacksmithing to some extent.
Roux nodded in response, a small smile forming in response to the praise about her weapon. Still though, she didn't really have an answer for the first question. The fourteen year old looked down to her feet as she came up with an appopriate response. "... I ... I came here to visit you ..." It wasn't a lie, at least.
Came here…to see her? Wow, uh. Well, Livia didn’t usually get casual visitors. This was actually a bit new for her. She actually looked rather surprised for a moment before her face returned to its usual smile.
“Is that so? Well, I can’t really deny a visit from you, can I?” She softly laughed. “Alright then, that paperwork can wait. Are you hungry? I know a very good place in town.” The red haired girl nodded, having been too busy looking at the ground to notice Livia's slip up.
Roux followed a few steps behind Livia into the small town after the headmistress had her drop the spear off. The pair walked into an italian resturant, the Il Cibo.
A low flat ceiling hung fancy fans, the dimmed lighting perfect for a more romantic setting, or a fancy dinner. Between ornate internal pillars were herbs and shrubs of all sorts, providing privacy between the customer groups. A set up of several magical instruments played quiet music in the background, never failing to miss a note. On the inside, there was practically a dresscode.
Behind a small counter was a well dressed man, short in stature and wide in the smile, he was the definition of a cheerful employee. Whether he had mastered the art of acting or was actually so interested in delivering good service was a mystery to everyone.
Knowing Livia as a frequent guest, the Host gave a small bow and delivered an appropriate greeting.
"Madammuzel Headmistress, I hope your day has been joyful. Would you prefer a table or a booth?" In response to that question, little Roux gave a slight tug on the Headmistress' dress.
Livia greeted the man with a friendly smile.
“Indeed it has, Monsieur.” Livia replied as she felt Roux tugging on her dress. Well, she knew what the girl was concerned about. As much as she’d like to comfort Roux and get a booth…well, she couldn’t be afraid of chairs forever, could she? With a small smile, she turned to Roux, kneeling to get to the other girls level.
“Now Roux,” She softly said. “I know you don’t like them, but you can’t stay scared of chairs forever. I’ll be there as well, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re a brave girl, aren’t you? You can conquer something as silly as a chair easily.”
The red haired girl looked down as she was chastised for her irrational fear, only managing a one quiet one word response. "... no ..." She didn't feel brave, and wasn't exactly sure why Livia called her brave. What had she done to deserve such a word?
Livia continued to smile softly, turning to face the host.
“A table, please. A quiet one towards the back if you don’t mind.” Livia said, not wanting to hold them up unless she had too. She then turned back to Roux.
“Not brave?” Livia placed a hand on Roux’s should. It was a light one, meant for both comfort and encouragement, though if Roux wanted to remove it she could fairly easily. “Roux, I don’t know where you got the idea that you’re not brave from. You’re one of the bravest girls I’ve met. Or do I need to remind you of how excellently you conquered those chairs in your home? Or the other day in The Vetement? I don’t think a girl who wasn’t brave would face what she was afraid of head on.”
Roux actually removed the hand, a little upset at Livia's cheerful insistence about her character. It was a stupid fear. She knew it was a stupid fear. It wasn't as if the chair at the place had been the thing that made her cry. Or yelled at her. Or beat her. Or r...
After a few seconds, it seemed as if the girl was entering a slight state of shock. "... Please ..." The red haired girl wasn't sure if this was a response from a flashback or a plead to Livia.
The host looked at the two, wondering what was going on. "Madammuzel, is everything alright?"
Oh dear. Not good. This had disaster written all over it. Livia frowned, but not at Roux. She turned to the waiter, before giving him a stern command. “Be quiet please. If you could perform your job elsewhere for the moment. This child is having a bit of a panic attack, I fear.” That said, she dearly hoped this didn’t escalate. The chances for something going terribly wrong was great, but she could evacuate everyone herself without moving from this spot, if she had too. The host moved away, performing his job of moving new customers as far away as possible from the scene. Most of them seemed eager to be seated to eat and away from the problem, so he didn't have a hard time moving them.
She then turned back to Roux, trying to think of something she could say to the girl. How did someone handle a panic attack? Well, the first step was obvious. Not to startle them, or make any loud noises.
Honestly? For the first time in a long time…Livia was at a complete loss as to what to do. A comforting hug was out of the question. Roux would obviously not like that. She could always attempt to calm her using her magic in some way, but that felt a bit…dirty. So, Livia did what she had done best for years. She talked.
“Little Roux…can you hear me?”
The girl collapsed and curled up into a ball, muttering various words beneath her breath. Images passed through her mind of this life, going earlier and earlier and earlier and ...
A few words rose out above the rambling, seeming to be the voice of Roux but not at the same time. "... I can't ... I can't ..."
Well things were spiraling out of control fast. Seemed the girl was having a bit of a panic attack. Tsk. Seemed she made a bit of a mess of things. She had to resist the urge to shout some sense into the girl, but that would only make things worse. So how could she fix it?
“Roux. Listen to me.” She spoke in a quiet, but firm voice. She honestly didn’t know what entirely she should be saying here. She had never really dealt with a panic attack before. She should…try to bring her out of whatever nightmare she was stuck in shouldn’t she? “Whatever you’re seeing, it’s already happened, okay? You’re not there anymore.”
A few tears fell out of her eyes as Livia tried to calm her down, but some of the color started returning to her skin. Roux's arm raised as the brushed off the tears, seeming to have returned to consiousness. "... but I am ..."
Despite that response, the girl managed to return to a standing position after a minute, and her quievering limbs eventually came to a stand still. Amber eyes looked up to Livia, blinking as they obvserved the older woman for a few seconds. Then the girl's stomach growled conviently, bringing up the next topic on it's own. The red haired girl looked down a little, flushing with some embarrassment.
Livia sighed. Well, at least nothing terribly bad happened.
“I am sorry, Roux. I did not mean to cause you distress.” She softly said with a smile, chuckling softly as the girls stomach growled.
“Let us get that Booth then, alright? Sounds like a much better idea than those nasty old chairs, hmm?” She motioned for the waiter, to return, and told him she would like a booth instead of the table she originally had planned. The red haired girl nodded with some enthusiasm and then the Host led them towards their table. He was curious about what was going on, but it wasn't a big issue and it wasn't worth angering the headmistress to ask about it.
The pair was seated and handed their menus, and the girl's eyes went over the words before forming her own. "... keeper I'm ... I'm sorry about ..." Roux's fingers started to run through her braid, seeming to play with it slightly out of nervousness.
Aside from a group of young teenage boys, probably the children of noblemen, making a small ruckus a few yards away as they seemed to start arguing about something in attempted hushed tones, the resturant was largely quiet and surprisingly calm. If there was a place to talk, this would be it.
“Aha, do not worry Roux. It is fine. I should not have pushed the issue, so it is my fault. Maybe we can burn some chairs together at a later date, hmm? That might make you feel better.” She softly chuckled. Being a usual here she didn’t need to look at the menu. “But that doesn’t matter. This is supposed to be a fun little outing, isn’t it? So let us enjoy this. See anything you want?”
She’d have that talk about what it meant to be a ‘god’ at a later date. For now, she had probably stressed the child a little too much with that incident.
The scarlet haired girl scanned the menu for a few minutes, nodding and pointing at an item on the menu, a meal including spicy pasta and a side salad. It wasn't overly expensive, considering all of the items she could have picked.
Roux licked her lips in anticipation, and then blushed again as she realized how rude that was.
Livia laughed softly.
“No need to be embarrassed, Roux. The food here is delicious.” Livia replied. She was getting some Chicken Scarpariello herself. Of course, with some exquisite wine and a salad as well.
“So, your training has been going well? I apologize for not being there myself, but Arthur knows what he is doing and running this school can be quite time consuming.”
Roux nodded, thinking for a moment before responding. "... I feel like I should be progressing faster ..." In a way, she felt like as if she was failing the man who had saved her.
If Livia had been keeping up with Arthur however, she would know that this was a completely false perception of her training. The Pheonix had been progressing at a stunningly fast rate with her flames, already reaching a level of strength that would normally be possessed by a sixth year student after only 4 weeks since her first time even using the power. It wasn't difficult for her at all to blast small or medium sized targets.
So instead, her teacher had decided to start focusing on control in leiu of strength until she could handle it. Visits to the forges were part of that, and the girl had refined the spear more since her first time making it.
The red haired girl still had a long ways to go before she had reached Arthur level with that, but at the rate she was progressing it wouldn't be a surprise if she caught up to him by 20. The teenager was also clearly gifted with the spear, and Arthur would be getting the feeling that she was rusty warrior rather than a new student.
Her footwork was excellent, and it was obviously one of the better retained things from her past. If the girl wanted to, she could dodge out of blows from a vastly more experienced fighter with ease.
For both trainings though she remained relatively timid during the sparring sessions though, and she seemed to lack dedication to any blow that actually had a chance of landing.
“There is such a thing as working too hard, you know.” Livia replied. “No sense in over working yourself.” Not that she had a lot to talk about in that area. She could go for a long, relaxing break from work herself, really. Not that it was ever going to happen. Some things, she just couldn’t leave up to Gall to run.
“From what I’ve heard, you’re doing quite well.” Her timidity aside, she was anyways. As far as she cared though, that was good. No one in her opinion, should wish to harm another with a weapon of any sort, though they should also realize that at times, one had no choice.
Another talk for later, then.
“Anyways, don’t worry about it too much. You’re not going to disappoint me or Arthur. Indeed, I’m certain you’ve already impressed him a lot.”
The girl nodded uncertainly, but a small smile appeared as a result of the praise. Of course, she didn't say anything. Roux started to think back to the books she had been reading, wondering when she'd have to get some new ones. Would that mean visiting a library? Maybe she could ask later about having Livia bring her some ... It seemed as if for this moment the red head's thoughts drifted off to somewhere else, but not in a negative manner.
Livia simply smiled, and returned to her own thoughts. Well, at least everything turned out alright for the most part. Perhaps she’d maybe see someone talking to Roux about this chair problem of hers. She was no psychologist, after all. Neither was Arthur. They could help with her abilities and confidence, but…well. She supposed she could always ask Gall. The reaper usually gave sound advice.
It wasn’t long however, before the food arrived. Spicy pasta, two salads, and her own Chicken Scarpariello and a delicious looking glass of some expensive wine. She thanked the waiter, who gave a small bow and left.
Aside from a few words from Livia, and even less words from the fourteen year old, the meal went by peacefully. The food was delicious, and the slight spiciness of her own dish was enough to give the meal a kick without making it overwhelming. Other customers were served, the noble teenagers were still causing a minor ruckus, all of them trying to hide the fact that they were. They seemed to be ganging up on one of their own, failing miserably at their gestures towards ... the table Livia and Roux were sitting at. Roux could hear what they were saying, but couldn't quite put it together ...
As the two started to wrap up their meal and waited for their check, the nobleman nearest their table was suddenly pushed out by his friends, sent stumbling towards the ground. He shot them a murderous look, but proceeded to brush off his fine robe as he raised himself from the floor. His 'friends' were trying to surpress laughter to the best of their ability, delivering commanding gazes that made it very clear he would not be returning until he had accomplished his task.
The blond haired boy couldn't have been more than fifteen, but he walked over to one of the plants near a pillar. Across from Livia, Roux tossed a look over to the blond kid, gears in her minds turning as she tried to figure out what was going on.
The nobleman began to cast a spell, chanting in latin as he placed a hand on the plant.
Well, now this was certainly…interesting. She didn’t know what this nobleman was doing, but he looked just a little suspicious. Especially since he was just in an argument with his friends. She doubted he was up to anything devious. Probably just some noble kid thinking he could get away with doing some small prank or something, and it was obvious they were his target.
Well. Two can play at that game.
Without even glancing at the other kid, Livia simply took a casual sip of her wine. At the same exact moment, the plant the kid was grabbing moved just a foot away from him.
The nobleman blinked, and tried approaching the plant again, sure his mind was playing tricks on him. At this point, his friends couldn't contain their laughter, and an explosion of laughter filled the room. A few of the other customers started looking on, wondering what exactly was happening.
As soon as the kid approached the plant, it would again move just far enough to be out of his reach. Livia, simply continued continued to drink.
The other customers by this point were laughing too, understanding what was going on. The kid refused to give up however, chasing after the plant in a mad insistence upon getting his goal. Then he tried jumping at another plant, which also seemed to be possessed and moved away.
Within five minutes the entire resturant was dying of laughter at the plant chasing noble, who by this point was running out of breath. Some of them seemed to know what was going on. It seemed like he tossed a look for mercy over to his commrades, who decided against giving him any sort of mercy. A look of concern started to cross Roux's face.
Suddenly, the plant teleported in front of the table the headmistress and the red haired child were sitting at. The wheezing nobleman seemed to make one last attempt at the plant, trying to grab it's leaves and mutter latin beneath his breath as he did so.
The plants moved back to their original locations, which at this point seemed to confuse most of the customers as well. The boy, finally realizing that the source of this could be the ... his eyes widened as he realized this was, in fact, the headmistress.
“My, I’ve never seen someone dance with a plant before.” Livia mused, giving the boy a soft smile. “It was quite entertaining, really. I think you could make a decent living doing it.” She teased further, emptying her wine glass before laughing.
“I do apologize for putting you through that, but you really should pay more attention to who you’re messing with.”
The boy simply looked up at the headmistress, gulping as he realized that if he didn't talk fast he'd be a goner. "Headmistress ... I ... wasn't ... messing .... with .... you" the words barely came out of his mouth between ragged breaths.
Livia simply laughed more.
“No need to be so cautious. I’m not angry or anything. I just needed some entertainment, really. I’ve yet to have a day off in quite a while. I perhaps did get a little carried away.” She sighed, setting the wine glass on the table.
“But that doesn’t matter. What were you trying to do with that plant, hmm?”
The nobleman's cheeks started flushing, and he started to look as nervous as Roux when she first arrived. "... spell ..." Was the only audible word that managed to leave his lips. Some of the older couples in the room started to realize where this kid was going, and decided to sit back down and show the poor nobleman some mercy. The younger ones were wondering why the older ones were sitting down, and Roux simply didn't understand what was going on.
A spell? Well…that much was obvious. Did…did he want to ask Roux out? Well….Livia didn’t entirely know how she felt about that…on one hand it could be fun. On another hand, she had no clue who this boy was, and it could be dangerous. With a sigh, she gave the kid a small smile and decided to give him some mercy himself.
The plant which he had originally been attempting to use the spell on, moved back towards him, bumping into his back before sliding away a few inches.
“Why don’t you show us, then?”
The boy turned around, working his magic on the plant. Roux couldn't see what was going on, but Livia would be able to tell that he was using Bratus magic to create ... flowers? The moment the first one formed, the normally civilized resturant started whistling. The boys blush only spread further as he glanced over his shoulder to take a look at the red haired girl, who by this point had an idea of what was happening.
A series of cirmson and amber roses formed, the boy spending some time creating them and perfecting them. The moment he turned around, his friends started cheering him on. And then the rest of the room did. The Host didn't mind the interuption at this point, because he was cheering too although keeping a careful watch of the situation to make sure it didn't get out of hand.
Livia simply gave him a warm smile, clapping softly as the flowers bloomed. Well, he was indeed a talented student. She decided to help him out a bit and get Roux to say something.
“Roux, I’d say those are some lovely flowers. Wouldn’t you?” Still, she had to wonder what exactly the child’s intentions were. Just a friendly flower was fine, but if he was after anything more…like say, some sort of date with Roux or something…well. She’d make sure he knew his place.
The resturant silenced as the headmistress spoke, and the cheering started only for it to fall silent as they listened to hear every word from the nobleman's mouth. For a moment the kid just seemed to mutter under his breath, but now that the room was quiet he managed to muster quite the perfomance as he kneeled in front of the redhead, extending the flowers upwards.
"I give these to you, although they are not worthy of your divine grace." In this case of course, he was referring to her looks, not her actual status as a minor diety. Roux looked up to Livia, nodding in agreement that they were in fact pretty flowers. But a look of confusion ran across her face, a flush extending down her neck. She had no idea what to do about this. The resturant started cheering though, obviously wanting a happy ending to this.
Livia looked at Roux. Well, this had turned out to be interesting. She certainly should be getting to know other people aside from her and Arthur. Perhaps this could be a good thing, then. She’d just have to be careful of this kid. Seems like she’d have to encourage Roux, though.
“You should take it, Roux. It certainly is a thoughtful gift.” She quietly said to the girl.
The red haired girl nodded, gently taking the flowers from the kneeling nobleman and returning a small smile. The blond haired nobleman decided to be brave at this point and press his luck. "Would ... Would it be possible for us to meet ..." The resturant went wild, but the friend's table gasped in silence and started high fiving eachother at the possibility of having her join their group. Of course, the bullied child wasn't going to share. "... at greater leisure in the near future? ... Possibly in a more private setting?"
Of course, compared to a resturant worth's of peoples staring at you, a park would be considered private. Roux sat there, unsure of how to answer.
Okay, the flower was certainly thoughtful, but she wasn’t going to assent to such a thing so quickly. Especially with someone she didn’t know.
“Now,” She replied sounding a bit stern, fixing the boy with a cool, somewhat threatening gaze. It was easy to tell she was a bit…well, cautious of the boys offer. “That is a very thoughtful offer. Roux certainly could use someone her age to…play with.” She definitely could use some time other than staying alone in a room for eight hours and training with Arthur. Still, she wasn’t about to just leave her alone with him. Not when she didn’t even know the kid.
“Does that sound fun to you, Roux? You certainly could use some time aside from training.”
Due to Livia's encouragement, Roux nodded. The resturant exploded in cheers, those with drinks tapping glasses and returning to their own buisness. After exhanging pleasantries and arranging a 'play date' the following week with the Headmistress, the nobleman left to his friends both cheering him on and feeling extremely jealous.
He never actually gave our his name. Livia and him had agreed on a time, a place, and he seemed to understand the fact that they weren't going to be completely alone.
As he left, Roux looked up to Livia, the confusion returning to her face. "... what ... what just happened ...?"
Livia simply laughed.
“Really, Roux. I do believe you’ve just made your first friend.” Livia replied. Yes, this was probably a good thing indeed. Roux needed someone to hang out with that was her own age. Perhaps she should think about getting her into Montagne after all…
An hour long bath in near boiling water managed to force those pains to dissapear. Wrapping a towel around herself, Little Roux hopped onto the bed, pulling open one of her books to read, legs kicking in the air happily for a minute or two.
The redhead enjoyed the entertainment, but something just bothered her. It took an hour before Little Roux finally managed to place it. It was coming, and she knew it. She just didn't know when.
She hadn't seen her Keeper in over a week. The headmistress would undoubtedly pop in at some point, forcing the girl to put the book down and go on some adventure. Then when she returned from that adventure, she'd have to start again from an inconvinent spot.
So instead, Little Red decided to take initiative and visit Livia for the first time without a reason. She finished her chapter, placed a small pencil in as a bookmarker, and headed off to do some personal work.
It took some time, but the girl ran a braid of thick hair down her back, dressing in a long, formal, and red dress for the night that exposed her shoulders and the top of her pack to the world. Since she'd returned to the forge, she'd managed to even create some small amber earings that matched the color of her eyes.
All in all, Roux was well dressed for the evening. She picked up the Atlantian Bronze spear on the way out, and headed over to Livia's office.
Livia was just finishing up her work for the day. Honestly, work had been keeping her rather busy and she was still a bit concerned leaving Roux’s education and training in Arthur’s hands would be problematic. That said, he was also quite capable, and though she disagreed with his methods, she really couldn’t criticize him too harshly. Before, she had mostly been upset that he tried to essentially undermine her authority by doing something with Roux without consulting her first.
Well. That and it was common courtesy to ask someone’s guardian permission before doing such things, and all things considered she did consider herself Roux’s guardian.
She should go visit the redhead after this. See how she was doing. Perhaps teach her a bit about what it meant to be a ‘god’, and that just because she was considered to be one didn’t mean she had to be all haughty, arrogant, and angry, like some were known for.
Perhaps for later, for now, she had some things to take care of back at her home, she just had to finish this little paperwork, though.
The one named Little Roux eventually found herself in the hallway in front of Livia's door. The girl hesitated for a few moments before delivering a few small taps on the gates to Livia's realm.
Well, she had intended to finish the paperwork, but it seemed like little Roux was actually paying her a visit. Well then, no reason to say no.
“Come in.” She said, putting away a stack of paper in a drawer. “The door is open, as always.” At least, it was very ever rarely locked unless she was in the middle of something important.
The little girl walked in, approaching Livia's desk and peering over it to see the woman behind it. A quiet voice addressed the headmistress "... hello keeper Livia..." The truth was that the spear-wielding fourteen year old didn't know what her plans were, why'd she dressed up, or even why she had the spear. Had she come to talk about it? Give the woman an update? Go out to dinner? She wasn't sure.
“Hello, Roux. What are you doing here?” Livia replied, getting up from her chair, walking to the front of her desk. “I was just finishing some paper work, but I can have Gall do it later.” She chuckled, noticing the weapon in the girls’ hands.
“Oh, did Arthur teach you to make that?” She said, a small smile forming. Of course, she already knew that he had. “It’s quite a lovely spear.” She also wasn’t fond of such weapons, however, but…well, she couldn’t exactly say that to her right now, could she? No sense in crushing the little girls enthusiasm. It was obvious she at least enjoyed blacksmithing to some extent.
Roux nodded in response, a small smile forming in response to the praise about her weapon. Still though, she didn't really have an answer for the first question. The fourteen year old looked down to her feet as she came up with an appopriate response. "... I ... I came here to visit you ..." It wasn't a lie, at least.
Came here…to see her? Wow, uh. Well, Livia didn’t usually get casual visitors. This was actually a bit new for her. She actually looked rather surprised for a moment before her face returned to its usual smile.
“Is that so? Well, I can’t really deny a visit from you, can I?” She softly laughed. “Alright then, that paperwork can wait. Are you hungry? I know a very good place in town.” The red haired girl nodded, having been too busy looking at the ground to notice Livia's slip up.
Roux followed a few steps behind Livia into the small town after the headmistress had her drop the spear off. The pair walked into an italian resturant, the Il Cibo.
A low flat ceiling hung fancy fans, the dimmed lighting perfect for a more romantic setting, or a fancy dinner. Between ornate internal pillars were herbs and shrubs of all sorts, providing privacy between the customer groups. A set up of several magical instruments played quiet music in the background, never failing to miss a note. On the inside, there was practically a dresscode.
Behind a small counter was a well dressed man, short in stature and wide in the smile, he was the definition of a cheerful employee. Whether he had mastered the art of acting or was actually so interested in delivering good service was a mystery to everyone.
Knowing Livia as a frequent guest, the Host gave a small bow and delivered an appropriate greeting.
"Madammuzel Headmistress, I hope your day has been joyful. Would you prefer a table or a booth?" In response to that question, little Roux gave a slight tug on the Headmistress' dress.
Livia greeted the man with a friendly smile.
“Indeed it has, Monsieur.” Livia replied as she felt Roux tugging on her dress. Well, she knew what the girl was concerned about. As much as she’d like to comfort Roux and get a booth…well, she couldn’t be afraid of chairs forever, could she? With a small smile, she turned to Roux, kneeling to get to the other girls level.
“Now Roux,” She softly said. “I know you don’t like them, but you can’t stay scared of chairs forever. I’ll be there as well, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re a brave girl, aren’t you? You can conquer something as silly as a chair easily.”
The red haired girl looked down as she was chastised for her irrational fear, only managing a one quiet one word response. "... no ..." She didn't feel brave, and wasn't exactly sure why Livia called her brave. What had she done to deserve such a word?
Livia continued to smile softly, turning to face the host.
“A table, please. A quiet one towards the back if you don’t mind.” Livia said, not wanting to hold them up unless she had too. She then turned back to Roux.
“Not brave?” Livia placed a hand on Roux’s should. It was a light one, meant for both comfort and encouragement, though if Roux wanted to remove it she could fairly easily. “Roux, I don’t know where you got the idea that you’re not brave from. You’re one of the bravest girls I’ve met. Or do I need to remind you of how excellently you conquered those chairs in your home? Or the other day in The Vetement? I don’t think a girl who wasn’t brave would face what she was afraid of head on.”
Roux actually removed the hand, a little upset at Livia's cheerful insistence about her character. It was a stupid fear. She knew it was a stupid fear. It wasn't as if the chair at the place had been the thing that made her cry. Or yelled at her. Or beat her. Or r...
After a few seconds, it seemed as if the girl was entering a slight state of shock. "... Please ..." The red haired girl wasn't sure if this was a response from a flashback or a plead to Livia.
The host looked at the two, wondering what was going on. "Madammuzel, is everything alright?"
Oh dear. Not good. This had disaster written all over it. Livia frowned, but not at Roux. She turned to the waiter, before giving him a stern command. “Be quiet please. If you could perform your job elsewhere for the moment. This child is having a bit of a panic attack, I fear.” That said, she dearly hoped this didn’t escalate. The chances for something going terribly wrong was great, but she could evacuate everyone herself without moving from this spot, if she had too. The host moved away, performing his job of moving new customers as far away as possible from the scene. Most of them seemed eager to be seated to eat and away from the problem, so he didn't have a hard time moving them.
She then turned back to Roux, trying to think of something she could say to the girl. How did someone handle a panic attack? Well, the first step was obvious. Not to startle them, or make any loud noises.
Honestly? For the first time in a long time…Livia was at a complete loss as to what to do. A comforting hug was out of the question. Roux would obviously not like that. She could always attempt to calm her using her magic in some way, but that felt a bit…dirty. So, Livia did what she had done best for years. She talked.
“Little Roux…can you hear me?”
The girl collapsed and curled up into a ball, muttering various words beneath her breath. Images passed through her mind of this life, going earlier and earlier and earlier and ...
A few words rose out above the rambling, seeming to be the voice of Roux but not at the same time. "... I can't ... I can't ..."
Well things were spiraling out of control fast. Seemed the girl was having a bit of a panic attack. Tsk. Seemed she made a bit of a mess of things. She had to resist the urge to shout some sense into the girl, but that would only make things worse. So how could she fix it?
“Roux. Listen to me.” She spoke in a quiet, but firm voice. She honestly didn’t know what entirely she should be saying here. She had never really dealt with a panic attack before. She should…try to bring her out of whatever nightmare she was stuck in shouldn’t she? “Whatever you’re seeing, it’s already happened, okay? You’re not there anymore.”
A few tears fell out of her eyes as Livia tried to calm her down, but some of the color started returning to her skin. Roux's arm raised as the brushed off the tears, seeming to have returned to consiousness. "... but I am ..."
Despite that response, the girl managed to return to a standing position after a minute, and her quievering limbs eventually came to a stand still. Amber eyes looked up to Livia, blinking as they obvserved the older woman for a few seconds. Then the girl's stomach growled conviently, bringing up the next topic on it's own. The red haired girl looked down a little, flushing with some embarrassment.
Livia sighed. Well, at least nothing terribly bad happened.
“I am sorry, Roux. I did not mean to cause you distress.” She softly said with a smile, chuckling softly as the girls stomach growled.
“Let us get that Booth then, alright? Sounds like a much better idea than those nasty old chairs, hmm?” She motioned for the waiter, to return, and told him she would like a booth instead of the table she originally had planned. The red haired girl nodded with some enthusiasm and then the Host led them towards their table. He was curious about what was going on, but it wasn't a big issue and it wasn't worth angering the headmistress to ask about it.
The pair was seated and handed their menus, and the girl's eyes went over the words before forming her own. "... keeper I'm ... I'm sorry about ..." Roux's fingers started to run through her braid, seeming to play with it slightly out of nervousness.
Aside from a group of young teenage boys, probably the children of noblemen, making a small ruckus a few yards away as they seemed to start arguing about something in attempted hushed tones, the resturant was largely quiet and surprisingly calm. If there was a place to talk, this would be it.
“Aha, do not worry Roux. It is fine. I should not have pushed the issue, so it is my fault. Maybe we can burn some chairs together at a later date, hmm? That might make you feel better.” She softly chuckled. Being a usual here she didn’t need to look at the menu. “But that doesn’t matter. This is supposed to be a fun little outing, isn’t it? So let us enjoy this. See anything you want?”
She’d have that talk about what it meant to be a ‘god’ at a later date. For now, she had probably stressed the child a little too much with that incident.
The scarlet haired girl scanned the menu for a few minutes, nodding and pointing at an item on the menu, a meal including spicy pasta and a side salad. It wasn't overly expensive, considering all of the items she could have picked.
Roux licked her lips in anticipation, and then blushed again as she realized how rude that was.
Livia laughed softly.
“No need to be embarrassed, Roux. The food here is delicious.” Livia replied. She was getting some Chicken Scarpariello herself. Of course, with some exquisite wine and a salad as well.
“So, your training has been going well? I apologize for not being there myself, but Arthur knows what he is doing and running this school can be quite time consuming.”
Roux nodded, thinking for a moment before responding. "... I feel like I should be progressing faster ..." In a way, she felt like as if she was failing the man who had saved her.
If Livia had been keeping up with Arthur however, she would know that this was a completely false perception of her training. The Pheonix had been progressing at a stunningly fast rate with her flames, already reaching a level of strength that would normally be possessed by a sixth year student after only 4 weeks since her first time even using the power. It wasn't difficult for her at all to blast small or medium sized targets.
So instead, her teacher had decided to start focusing on control in leiu of strength until she could handle it. Visits to the forges were part of that, and the girl had refined the spear more since her first time making it.
The red haired girl still had a long ways to go before she had reached Arthur level with that, but at the rate she was progressing it wouldn't be a surprise if she caught up to him by 20. The teenager was also clearly gifted with the spear, and Arthur would be getting the feeling that she was rusty warrior rather than a new student.
Her footwork was excellent, and it was obviously one of the better retained things from her past. If the girl wanted to, she could dodge out of blows from a vastly more experienced fighter with ease.
For both trainings though she remained relatively timid during the sparring sessions though, and she seemed to lack dedication to any blow that actually had a chance of landing.
“There is such a thing as working too hard, you know.” Livia replied. “No sense in over working yourself.” Not that she had a lot to talk about in that area. She could go for a long, relaxing break from work herself, really. Not that it was ever going to happen. Some things, she just couldn’t leave up to Gall to run.
“From what I’ve heard, you’re doing quite well.” Her timidity aside, she was anyways. As far as she cared though, that was good. No one in her opinion, should wish to harm another with a weapon of any sort, though they should also realize that at times, one had no choice.
Another talk for later, then.
“Anyways, don’t worry about it too much. You’re not going to disappoint me or Arthur. Indeed, I’m certain you’ve already impressed him a lot.”
The girl nodded uncertainly, but a small smile appeared as a result of the praise. Of course, she didn't say anything. Roux started to think back to the books she had been reading, wondering when she'd have to get some new ones. Would that mean visiting a library? Maybe she could ask later about having Livia bring her some ... It seemed as if for this moment the red head's thoughts drifted off to somewhere else, but not in a negative manner.
Livia simply smiled, and returned to her own thoughts. Well, at least everything turned out alright for the most part. Perhaps she’d maybe see someone talking to Roux about this chair problem of hers. She was no psychologist, after all. Neither was Arthur. They could help with her abilities and confidence, but…well. She supposed she could always ask Gall. The reaper usually gave sound advice.
It wasn’t long however, before the food arrived. Spicy pasta, two salads, and her own Chicken Scarpariello and a delicious looking glass of some expensive wine. She thanked the waiter, who gave a small bow and left.
Aside from a few words from Livia, and even less words from the fourteen year old, the meal went by peacefully. The food was delicious, and the slight spiciness of her own dish was enough to give the meal a kick without making it overwhelming. Other customers were served, the noble teenagers were still causing a minor ruckus, all of them trying to hide the fact that they were. They seemed to be ganging up on one of their own, failing miserably at their gestures towards ... the table Livia and Roux were sitting at. Roux could hear what they were saying, but couldn't quite put it together ...
As the two started to wrap up their meal and waited for their check, the nobleman nearest their table was suddenly pushed out by his friends, sent stumbling towards the ground. He shot them a murderous look, but proceeded to brush off his fine robe as he raised himself from the floor. His 'friends' were trying to surpress laughter to the best of their ability, delivering commanding gazes that made it very clear he would not be returning until he had accomplished his task.
The blond haired boy couldn't have been more than fifteen, but he walked over to one of the plants near a pillar. Across from Livia, Roux tossed a look over to the blond kid, gears in her minds turning as she tried to figure out what was going on.
The nobleman began to cast a spell, chanting in latin as he placed a hand on the plant.
Well, now this was certainly…interesting. She didn’t know what this nobleman was doing, but he looked just a little suspicious. Especially since he was just in an argument with his friends. She doubted he was up to anything devious. Probably just some noble kid thinking he could get away with doing some small prank or something, and it was obvious they were his target.
Well. Two can play at that game.
Without even glancing at the other kid, Livia simply took a casual sip of her wine. At the same exact moment, the plant the kid was grabbing moved just a foot away from him.
The nobleman blinked, and tried approaching the plant again, sure his mind was playing tricks on him. At this point, his friends couldn't contain their laughter, and an explosion of laughter filled the room. A few of the other customers started looking on, wondering what exactly was happening.
As soon as the kid approached the plant, it would again move just far enough to be out of his reach. Livia, simply continued continued to drink.
The other customers by this point were laughing too, understanding what was going on. The kid refused to give up however, chasing after the plant in a mad insistence upon getting his goal. Then he tried jumping at another plant, which also seemed to be possessed and moved away.
Within five minutes the entire resturant was dying of laughter at the plant chasing noble, who by this point was running out of breath. Some of them seemed to know what was going on. It seemed like he tossed a look for mercy over to his commrades, who decided against giving him any sort of mercy. A look of concern started to cross Roux's face.
Suddenly, the plant teleported in front of the table the headmistress and the red haired child were sitting at. The wheezing nobleman seemed to make one last attempt at the plant, trying to grab it's leaves and mutter latin beneath his breath as he did so.
The plants moved back to their original locations, which at this point seemed to confuse most of the customers as well. The boy, finally realizing that the source of this could be the ... his eyes widened as he realized this was, in fact, the headmistress.
“My, I’ve never seen someone dance with a plant before.” Livia mused, giving the boy a soft smile. “It was quite entertaining, really. I think you could make a decent living doing it.” She teased further, emptying her wine glass before laughing.
“I do apologize for putting you through that, but you really should pay more attention to who you’re messing with.”
The boy simply looked up at the headmistress, gulping as he realized that if he didn't talk fast he'd be a goner. "Headmistress ... I ... wasn't ... messing .... with .... you" the words barely came out of his mouth between ragged breaths.
Livia simply laughed more.
“No need to be so cautious. I’m not angry or anything. I just needed some entertainment, really. I’ve yet to have a day off in quite a while. I perhaps did get a little carried away.” She sighed, setting the wine glass on the table.
“But that doesn’t matter. What were you trying to do with that plant, hmm?”
The nobleman's cheeks started flushing, and he started to look as nervous as Roux when she first arrived. "... spell ..." Was the only audible word that managed to leave his lips. Some of the older couples in the room started to realize where this kid was going, and decided to sit back down and show the poor nobleman some mercy. The younger ones were wondering why the older ones were sitting down, and Roux simply didn't understand what was going on.
A spell? Well…that much was obvious. Did…did he want to ask Roux out? Well….Livia didn’t entirely know how she felt about that…on one hand it could be fun. On another hand, she had no clue who this boy was, and it could be dangerous. With a sigh, she gave the kid a small smile and decided to give him some mercy himself.
The plant which he had originally been attempting to use the spell on, moved back towards him, bumping into his back before sliding away a few inches.
“Why don’t you show us, then?”
The boy turned around, working his magic on the plant. Roux couldn't see what was going on, but Livia would be able to tell that he was using Bratus magic to create ... flowers? The moment the first one formed, the normally civilized resturant started whistling. The boys blush only spread further as he glanced over his shoulder to take a look at the red haired girl, who by this point had an idea of what was happening.
A series of cirmson and amber roses formed, the boy spending some time creating them and perfecting them. The moment he turned around, his friends started cheering him on. And then the rest of the room did. The Host didn't mind the interuption at this point, because he was cheering too although keeping a careful watch of the situation to make sure it didn't get out of hand.
Livia simply gave him a warm smile, clapping softly as the flowers bloomed. Well, he was indeed a talented student. She decided to help him out a bit and get Roux to say something.
“Roux, I’d say those are some lovely flowers. Wouldn’t you?” Still, she had to wonder what exactly the child’s intentions were. Just a friendly flower was fine, but if he was after anything more…like say, some sort of date with Roux or something…well. She’d make sure he knew his place.
The resturant silenced as the headmistress spoke, and the cheering started only for it to fall silent as they listened to hear every word from the nobleman's mouth. For a moment the kid just seemed to mutter under his breath, but now that the room was quiet he managed to muster quite the perfomance as he kneeled in front of the redhead, extending the flowers upwards.
"I give these to you, although they are not worthy of your divine grace." In this case of course, he was referring to her looks, not her actual status as a minor diety. Roux looked up to Livia, nodding in agreement that they were in fact pretty flowers. But a look of confusion ran across her face, a flush extending down her neck. She had no idea what to do about this. The resturant started cheering though, obviously wanting a happy ending to this.
Livia looked at Roux. Well, this had turned out to be interesting. She certainly should be getting to know other people aside from her and Arthur. Perhaps this could be a good thing, then. She’d just have to be careful of this kid. Seems like she’d have to encourage Roux, though.
“You should take it, Roux. It certainly is a thoughtful gift.” She quietly said to the girl.
The red haired girl nodded, gently taking the flowers from the kneeling nobleman and returning a small smile. The blond haired nobleman decided to be brave at this point and press his luck. "Would ... Would it be possible for us to meet ..." The resturant went wild, but the friend's table gasped in silence and started high fiving eachother at the possibility of having her join their group. Of course, the bullied child wasn't going to share. "... at greater leisure in the near future? ... Possibly in a more private setting?"
Of course, compared to a resturant worth's of peoples staring at you, a park would be considered private. Roux sat there, unsure of how to answer.
Okay, the flower was certainly thoughtful, but she wasn’t going to assent to such a thing so quickly. Especially with someone she didn’t know.
“Now,” She replied sounding a bit stern, fixing the boy with a cool, somewhat threatening gaze. It was easy to tell she was a bit…well, cautious of the boys offer. “That is a very thoughtful offer. Roux certainly could use someone her age to…play with.” She definitely could use some time other than staying alone in a room for eight hours and training with Arthur. Still, she wasn’t about to just leave her alone with him. Not when she didn’t even know the kid.
“Does that sound fun to you, Roux? You certainly could use some time aside from training.”
Due to Livia's encouragement, Roux nodded. The resturant exploded in cheers, those with drinks tapping glasses and returning to their own buisness. After exhanging pleasantries and arranging a 'play date' the following week with the Headmistress, the nobleman left to his friends both cheering him on and feeling extremely jealous.
He never actually gave our his name. Livia and him had agreed on a time, a place, and he seemed to understand the fact that they weren't going to be completely alone.
As he left, Roux looked up to Livia, the confusion returning to her face. "... what ... what just happened ...?"
Livia simply laughed.
“Really, Roux. I do believe you’ve just made your first friend.” Livia replied. Yes, this was probably a good thing indeed. Roux needed someone to hang out with that was her own age. Perhaps she should think about getting her into Montagne after all…
It was a calm day, mostly quiet. She had taken some time off today for one very specific thing. And that was to talk to both Arthur and Iravis about the ‘definition’ of godhood, and what it meant to be a ‘god’. No doubt it would become relevant sooner rather than later, and she very much didn’t want to delay talking about it any further. However, she also didn’t wish to go ahead and talk about it without consulting Arthur first. It was common courtesy, after all. They were both sort of her guardians, and even though he had went ahead with that training without consulting her first, she wasn’t going to be as petty as to do something like that herself.
So she had called Arthur to her office to discuss exactly that. How exactly they should approach this. It was a bit of a delicate subject, after all. She wanted to steer Roux towards the path of a loving, nonviolent god. That would be best for everyone, and if she could steer her down that path…then perhaps there was just enough of a chance that she could also get Sorcha and her to reconcile at a later date.
Thoughts for later, however. For now, she should speak with Arthur.
“Well, glad you could make it on time, Arthur.” She said to the pyromancer, her back to him as she watched a few students from the window. She turned walking to the seat behind her desk. “Apologies for calling you here on such short notice, but I need to discuss something with you that I feel will become relevant sooner rather than later.” She poured herself some tea from a pot, sliding it and an empty cup over to Arthur, letting him have some if he wanted it.
“A rather sensitive subject, I think, especially for Roux.” She took a sip of the tea before continuing. “And that is what exactly it means to be a god. I feel as though I should consult you on this matter, since we are both her guardians.” Livia fell silent, waiting for Arthur to reply.
Arthur had been called to the headmistress' office. And now he was sitting in the chair he had become rather aquainted with lately again, listening to Livia's words while he poured himself a cup of tea.
"Seems fair enough." Arthur said before taking his first sip of tea. "So what's your plan?" Arthur asked.
“That is what I wanted to talk to you about.” She replied. “I was going to take her someplace where we could quietly discuss without interruption. Here is no good, I suppose we could do it at her home, though.” She continued, before shaking her head. “But that doesn’t matter at the moment. I simply would like to inform her that a god, is a being that should care for all manner of life. Even those that do not worship and directly oppose it. A being that uses violence in a last resort, and that her flames are meant to protect and help people. Not to harm them.” She finished with a sigh.
“Perhaps I am being rather dramatic, but that is simply what I would wish to convey to her.”
Arthur listened, before saying "Perhaps.", almost a whisper to himself.
Livia simply gave Arthur a somewhat unimpressed look.
“No opinion at all? Input? You do in fact, spend more time with her than I do, so I would expect you would know the best way to approach this.”
Arthur sat there quietly for the most part. His mind was elsewhere, taken away by Livia's train of thought.
"Sorry. But I feel the need to ask, does a god need to care for all manner of life? I'm not saying murdering anything that the god in question doesn't agree with. But there are people out there who shouldn't be protected. People who do in fact need to pay for their actions. Should a god love them?" Arthur questioned, no hint of humor in his voice.
“Well, certainly. But I'm not talking about those people, though personally I would dislike killing anyone unless I must." Livia replied. "I am talking about the other people. Those who might disagree with them, or hold different beliefs? Or need I remind you what one of Roux's past lives has done in regards to killing hundreds of innocent men, women, and children?”
A slight grin found its way to Arthur's face, even if it was uncalled for. He couldn't even understand why. "You can't say everyone and then cut a part out of it and ignore it." Arthur said, "And of course killing others just because of something like faith is rude, be you god or mortal."
Really.
That was what he was going to say?
“Oh you know what I meant, you insufferable man.” She replied with a huff, giving him a mildly annoyed look. “Besides, where did I even say that a god shouldn’t kill, when it’s necessary? I was simply saying that a god should take into account more than just the immediate situation, or something other than petty arguments or grievances into account. More than just her own emotions.”
Arthur merely shrugged at the mention of his inability to be suffered. It was an art form.
"Then it seems we're in agreement. Killing random people equals bad, killing bad people equals reasonable. What's next on the agenda Headmistress Fiore?" the man asked, clearly enojoying himself at this point.
Arthur’s loose concept of ‘bad’ was more than a little annoying. Concepts such as good and evil were irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Still, such an argument would likely be as pointless as trying to put out a fire with grease.
“While I do not share your sentiments on the ‘killing bad people is reasonable’, I suppose that is alright.” She replied with a sigh. “The next thing I think, is that we should discuss this with Roux. What do you think would be the best way to do it?"
"I think the best way to tell her, would be to sit in a room with her. And tell her. And if she listens then that is good, and if she doesn't then she wasn't going to regardless. Simple isn't it?" Arthur said, his voice an odd combination of serious and joking.
“You do no really understand, Arthur. If she doesn’t listen then we must find a way to teach or make her listen.” She replied, shaking her head. “But I suppose you are right. We should at least tell her and see how she reacts first.”
As expected, Roux was reading happily on her bed, dressed in the clothes she designed herself. A Phoenix decorated the cover, apparently written by an academic mage who had sought to learn as much as possible about the mythical creature.
It was odd though, reading a history book over two hundred years old with the subject matter as yourself. Still though, education was helpful.
What wasn't expected was a blond nobleman laying down to her right, reading on about a different subject. Both of them seemed so utterly engaged that it probably would have taken the apocalypse occuring outside for either of them to notice Sir Wick or Livia entering.
It didn’t take Livia or Arthur long to reach Roux’s home. It looked like she was currently having a reading session with her new friend. A small smile formed on Livia’s lips, but they were here on business, so for now, he would have to leave.
“Ahem,” Livia cleared her throat, knocking on the door rather loudly to get both of their attention.
“Having fun, Roux?” Livia asked. “I apologize for the intrusion, but Arthur and I would like to speak to you about something.” She looked over to the nobleman, giving him a small smile.
Arthur was standing behind Livia, though not for long. He was then in little Red's room, leaning himself up against a patch of wall. "Alone if you two don't mind." The teacher said nodding towards the boy.
The nobleman nodded, blushed, and grabbed his book. He contemplated doing something for his month long friend, but instead settled for waving goodbye, which Roux returned after a few seconds.
Then the red haired girl looked down to the floorboards, a blush running across her cheeks. It was fairly embarassing to have her keepers find her like this. "... I enjoy my books and ... talk about what...?" She had improved a bit more with another month of recovey, almost able to form complete sentences. The young teenager moved to sitting on the edge of her bed, kicking her legs back and forth as she waited for them to explain.
Livia simply eyed the boy as he left. She was warming up to the lad ever so slowly, but she was still a little cautious of him. As long as he wasn’t causing trouble, she would allow them to be alone together. One whiff of trouble though, and he’d find himself…well, removed from the academy.
Livia took a seat on Roux’s bed, a enough room between the two of them to be somewhat close, but hopefully wouldn’t make the girl feel uncomfortable. Livia hummed for a moment. There really was no easy way to address this…so she simply got right to the point.
“Do you know what a ‘god’ is, Roux?” The one she was speaking to nodded in response, wondering where this was going.
“Oh? Well, then perhaps you can tell me what you think they are then.”
After a moment of thought, the girl responded. "... powerful beings ... worthy of being worshipped ... like Ra ..." The girl muttered the words out one after another, thinking of a good definition to give out.
The girls answer wasn’t wrong, though it wasn’t the answer she was hoping for. There was a chance this conversation could go horribly if she wasn’t careful.
Hmm…
”Aha, well. That’s certainly true.” She replied. “Indeed, one must be strong to be a god. But is that all, that makes a god what they are?”
The red haired girl pondered for a moment, considering what Livia could be getting at. "... They bless the good and punish the immoral ... gods have that right ..." A more moral standpoint.
“Do they, though, Roux?” Livia replied. “Does a god truly have a right to be judge, jury, and executioner?” Perhaps it was a bit too large of a concept for a child to grasp at the moment, but she continued anyways. “Does a god have a right to decide what is moral or immoral? Would you say they could kill someone simply for believe differently than they do?”
Arthur had kept his head down, staring at the floor while his hat concealed his face. "And what if a person is immoral? Do they have the right then or does the person with death itself behind them think nobody should die?" Arthur said casually without raising his head. He was mostly just saying that for the sake of arguing at that point, but Livia really shouldn't believe she was the one in control because nobody was, Arthur just wanted to prove that.
Livia shot Arthur a bit of a glare.
“Immorality, cannot be simply defined by one person and one person alone. Or a god, for that matter. Would you say killing someone to protect your family is immoral, Arthur? Would you say a woman who sells herself for money, is immoral if it’s what she truly wishes, or has to do? It’s close minded to think your way of reasoning and thinking is ever the only acceptable and correct one.” She sighed, this was getting a little off topic, but she couldn’t exactly say she was going to let it go so easily.
“And Death comes for all, eventually, Arthur, no matter what one may do to preserve it. But this doesn’t matter. What do you think, Roux?”
"... gods judge mortal souls ... they choose morality then ..." Roux looked up at Livia, eyes suggesting that this was not a fact to be debated, and that she absolutlely believed it to be true.
Livia looked at Roux with an equally stern gaze, suggesting that this wasn’t a universal law at all.
“Hm…well, if that is true, Roux…then by judgements of some gods, I should probably be dead.” She replied rather sternly. Honestly, she had never interacted with the gods – much. She had met…a few divine beings in her rather short life. She wasn’t fond of them, to be honest. In fact, you could say if there was one thing in this life she hated, it was them.
She had received a rather dangerous threat from a god once. Something about her misusing the souls of the dead. She hadn’t really been paying attention a lot about that one.
“So you consider me to be a bad person, then Roux?”
Roux looked to the side. It was clear that she had a thought, but chose against saying it. Instead different words came out of her mouth. "... mortal hearts turn quickly ..."
“That is not what I asked, Roux.” Livia replied, voice growing much sterner, an air of seriousness to it. “If a god, any of them, said I was immoral and that I am a bad person…would you agree with them? Would you blindly follow them and their decision? Would you consider me a bad person, then? And I will not be having you lie or dodge the question – you will answer truthfully.”
The crimson haired girl turned her head towards Livia, amber eyes looking towards the floorboards, tears forming in her eyes.
Arthur sighed, this wasn't going to end well. Better he be the one in the firing line at least, little Red wasn't old enough for this kind of conversation.
"Livia, stop." Arthur said sternly. He didn't get to be stern often, inside he was actually a bit giddy.
Livia shot Arthur a gaze that would have made an enraged Oni think twice about interrupting her.
“Arthur. You have a concern?” She was hoping the foolish man wouldn’t have interrupted, but it was fine if she did.
“I would like to hear her answer.” She continued. “Whatever the answer is, I will not be upset. If she believes me to be a bad person, then that is that. I cannot change her mind. In fact, I would rather know now rather than later. You think I will kick her out or something? I would feel more insulted if she was merely pretending to like me.”
Arthur merely shrugged, "Did I say why? Your going too hard at it, and talking too much." Arthur would raise his head and look over at Roux, "It's okay. Livia doesn't lie, at least I've not caught her in any. Please speak your mind, it's the only way to get this over with." Arthur would then return to look at the floor, letting his red hat hide his thoughts.
"... Four thousand years ago, I too had a mortal soul filled with magic. I challenged the gods ..." A few seconds passed, the Phoenix thinking about what she should say next. "... They brought my sins forward. Many have been slain because of my sins were brought to light. Wrath ..." She shook, terror filling her veins. "If I ever manage to enter the Duat, I know my heart is far heavier than a feather." When her eyes met Livia's, they were colored brown.
“Roux…” Livia quietly replied.
Those eyes seemed different. She couldn’t say…what, exactly, but they didn’t seemed to be of that girls she was previous speaking too. Not to mention, her entire manner of speaking was off. Roux was rarely able to form three complete sentence.
Still, even if she suspected something, she wasn’t just going to make a huge deal out of it. If this was a memory or something from her past lives, then she would treat her the same.
“Perhaps in a previous life, you were a terrible person. But you are not your past lives, are you? You are you. And I am certain if you were to be judged for your sins, you would be found lighter than a feather.” She smiled.
Arthur listened. Of course, he was lucky enough to have enough free time to partake in things like video games. And books. And random internet hijinks. Regardless he knew the cues. "Livia, when was the last time Red here remembered a single piece of her memory coherently?"
Arthur internally was jumping with glee, not only did he get to be stern, but he also got to be smart. That's two things he wasn't allowed to be often enough.
"So my question is, who exactly are we talking with now, because at the moment it doesn't sound much like little Red?" Arthur asked casually, as if such a thing happening was common.
The brown eyed girl tilted her head, letting off a seemingly mischevious smile as she decided to allow the pair of teachers some conjecture, jumping off the bed in a spin and looking out the window.
“Tsk. You really think I wasn’t going to notice, Arthur?” She said to him. “If I would hazard a guess, I would assume we are speaking to Roux’s first life, here.” There wasn’t much else that it could be, aside from another previous life. At any rate, Livia was not too concerned with it.
In fact, she was curious. She hadn’t felt this…compelled in a long while to learn something.
“Not that it truly matters. Indeed, I’m actually rather quite curious as to your thoughts on this matter, whoever you are.”
The one who was possibly not Roux shrugged. "... A question for a question. A fair trade?" She spun around, facing them now.
“Indeed, that seems fair.” Livia replied.
"Fair enough. As the senior, I will go first." So she answered their question.
In ancient egyptian. Based on the amount of time it took for her to finish speaking, she had provided quite the answer. A smile spread across her face, proud of having won her little clever game.
"My turn..."
Arthur looked up at this girl. "Clever, but if your going to be answering in some dead tongue then Livia will too, and then I'll be sitting here having no idea what you two are saying and neither of you would be better off. So let's just ignore and put away the stupidity for a moment and have some basic kindness." Arthur interrupted. He was staring at this not quite Red. Brown eyes. Roux had amber, and they were gold when she got angry. Arthur couldn't help but wonder if there were more hues waiting to be found.
"Tell me, what is the difference between the heart, the mind, and the soul? Me and Roux share the same soul, so if I reach the scales, who's crimes will be weighed?"
Livia actually seemed rather amused by the girls reply, and question. Oh, that’s how she wanted to play this game, hmm? How adorable. She would engage in a battle of wits with this entity, then? She had to say she was getting more and more curious as to this personality.
However, now wasn’t the time for that. She had just been posed a rather…delicious question. A small smile formed on her lips as she pondered the answer for a moment. It wasn’t a simple answer, but it wasn’t a hard one.
“I shall have my little spirits remember your words, and perhaps brush up on my ancient Egyptian, but regarding your question…” She paused, thinking about her reply for only a moment.
“The heart? Well, in my experience it is what drives humans to accomplish their desires” She replied. “The mind is what makes a person who they are. Defines how they go about things. The soul…could be considered the very being of a person. Their true nature that not even the heart nor the mind can cloud.” She smiled.
“So in that regard…if you were weighed, all of your lives would be taken into account. But what would you define as a crime, hmm? Even the worst atrocities can be committed with the best of intentions. I know that all…to well.” Livia replied with a small laugh, though she didn’t elaborate.
“But…perhaps, because you reincarnate your soul isn’t the same as the last, hmm? After all, you change ever so slightly with each one, do you not? Wouldn’t that change your soul as well? Perhaps if you do make it to the scales…perhaps, as they say, a miracle will occur or some such, and all your individual souls will be weighed as separate people. Who can say? None of us here have truly ever died, so who can say for certain, hmm?”
The brown eyed woman nodded. "Not a bad answer. If we are going to continue talking though, you're going to have to bring some drinks in here ..." She looked down at her body, eyes widening a bit. "... how many years have passed for this incarnation, exactly?"
Arthur chimed in, "I'd like to ask a question as well, and for good measure I'll answer one now. As far as I can tell, about fourteen or so? No older than sixteen, no younger than thirteen. Livia could you get some drinks?" Arthur was grinning, he loved this kind of thing. Best part was when he got to be both coy and blunt at the flip of a coin, made it more fun.
“Ordering me around now, are you Arthur?” Livia replied, giving him a small smile. “Do not forget who your boss is.” A black, skeletal messenger spirit surfaced in the room, and Livia waved it off, bowing before it left the way it came, going back to Livia’s home to fetch a bottle of the best wines she had.
She didn’t like younger children drinking, but well, the opportunity for information was just too great for her to pass up.
“The drinks shall be here shortly. My lovely little spirit shall not be long.”
The oldest woman curtsied towards the pyromancer, gesturing for him to continue.
Arthur stood there for a moment. Then he finally got around to saying, "I don't actually know what to ask. No, wait, got a question. How's your day going?"
Livia’s jaw opened slightly, the woman fumbling with words for a moment before she regained her composure.
“Really Arthur? You can ask this person any question you want…and you waste one on its day? Such a wasteful question. Have you no desire to learn? For knowledge? For discovering some hidden secret that has been long forgotten?”
Livia realized that she had gotten a bit carried away.
“Ahem, apologies, but really…such a question is rather wasteful.”
The brown eyed woman raised an eyebrow at Arthur, and then actually started laughing when Livia berated him. "Honestly? I was enjoying my book. At least this incarnation was." A few seconds went by as the woman seemed to think about what to ask next. "Let us continue then, but to make it fair we both keep to this language."
Arthur returned to looking downward, mostly to hide his ever expanding grin. "I have plenty desire to learn, and I learned that Red was having a good day. I don't need to be the magus supreme armed with the secrets of a dead race or anything. I'll give the turn to you Livia, maybe you can show me what kind of questions should be geting asked eh? Not before answering more deep and meaningful questions though. If anyone wants to know the time or the weather though I call dibs."
The brown eyed goddess seemed to pout at this, frowning slightly. "The blessed of Ra always care for life. Your fire burns." A gesture towards the woman. "This woman though? Nothing."
Nothing? Hah, she wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by that, but it mattered not.
“Trying to say that I am empty and have no care for life,” Livia chuckled, though it wasn’t a question. “Quite rude, I think, but it matters not.” Livia hummed silently, thinking of some question she could possibly ask.
Something relevant to her interests.
“…how does one kill a god?” She asked after a moment. “Surely as an immortal goddess you have some insight into it.” She asked, a small smile forming on her lips. “And do not tell me it cannot be done. I have seen it happen. Twice, actually. Minor gods. Nothing like Thor, Odin, or your precious Ra, or that silly Jackal that is angry with me for messing with souls of the dead.” She paused for a moment as the spirit brought back several bottles of wine and three glasses for them to drink from.
It sat the bottles on the ground, while Livia took the glasses from it before it disappeared.
“For a normal human…killing a god would be quite the feat. Even a minor one, if they are at their peak power. Certainly there has to be ways to make it…easier?” Even with her abilities, she would never stand a chance against an actual god if they wanted to as they say, smite, her.
The woman shrugged. "Killing a god? Honestly, overwhelming firepower usually does the trick." She smiled at her rather lame pun, then countinued. "Realisticly? It's easier with non-magical methods. A sword of adamantium in the hands of a hero, or a spear with bathed in the blood of an upstart would be a better choice." She seemed to pause as if thinking about elaborating, but then decided not to. The glass of wine passed her lips, the fourteen year old's body taking in the liquor.
Arthur peeled himself away form the wall long enough to grab a bottle of wine, glasses were too boring and drinking from bottles was more fun anyways. Returning to his leaning postion the pyromancer said eagerly, "Any good questions for me?"
The woman nodded, deciding to ask them a question in return after taking another sip of the wine. "Are you two dating, and if not, why?" Changing the pace of such a session was always fun.
“No, because he’s an insufferable idiot who acts before thinking.” Livia quickly replied, barely even letting the goddess finish.
Arthur laughed, not long or hard, but he did. "Rather be an idiot. At least I don't overstep my bound- Actually nevermind I do do that. But at least I know better than to think I have control over the things happening around me." Arthur took a swig from his bottle, "And how dare you steal that question, I wanted to answer it." Arthur remained leaning against the wall, letting silence settle for a moment before saying, "Don't suppose you or any of the ones that came after ever met someone called Ethan, fallen angel, black wings, likes spears?" Arthur mused. Of course he doubted it was likely but might as well get the out there questions out of the way first then move on to the more pressing ones. Also gave Arthur time to figure out what the pressing questions actually were.
The goddess shook her head no, although a bit sadly. Feeling his fire, she could tell that was something personal. Another sip of the wine. "What are your-" A finger pointed towards Livia, "-feelings about Roux, the current version of me? In detail."
A small smile formed on Livia’s lips.
“In detail? My my, that’s quite the request.” She replied, taking a sip of the wine herself. “Such a complicated question. One with an answer two people here might not like, but I am not one to lie. Concern. Fear. Anger. Hate. A little of everything, I think.” She took another sip of the wine, formulating a better response for the goddess.
“She is a good child. A little…conflicted. Some gentle steering down the right path is all she needs. Hence the start of this little discussion about what it means to be a ‘god’. I think she could have great potential, even potential to undo all the past sins you or your other lives may have committed.” Livia sighed as she continued. “Concerned…perhaps because as someone who is unable to have children themselves, I think of her as my own even if that thought is rather silly. Anger, for what one of her past lives has supposedly done to one of my dear friends. Hate…simply because I do not like arrogant fools who strut about and claim divinity. She has yet to do such a thing, but I feel it perhaps may be inevitable.” She took another sip, fixing ‘Roux’ with a rather harsh glare.
“Fear…because if she does become some arrogant, vengeful god who does nothing other than kill for petty vengeance and other useless reasons,” She sighed. “Then I am fearful of what she could do, and the fact that I will kill her with my own hands, if I must.” She took another sip of wine, as if what she just said wasn’t a huge deal at all.
“I do hope that is good enough for an answer.”
A bow of her head told the other woman it was her turn, and the goddess drank again from the wineglass. At this point she stopped standing, instead jumping onto the bed and rolling around in the sheets, giggling slightly. Somehow, the wineglass in her hand did not spill during any of this. It was almost as if the answer didn't matter to her, and she was simply wanting to make Livia feel a little uncomfortable.
Livia didn’t seem entirely disturbed at all by the girls’ question. Or rather, if she was, she wasn’t showing it.
“Hmm...” Livia sighed, taking a drink from the wine. She was a little disappointed. It wasn't often one got to speak with someone as...old as this. “I'm rather disappointed, if I must be honest. You're not giving me any difficult questions at all. But ah well, Tis my turn.” She mused, tapping a finger against her glass. Earlier when she had asked her first question, Arthur had so conveniently decided to interrupt, he had asked a question as well.
Which meant, there was also a very good chance that the girl answered his questions instead of hers.
“Well…since I can’t be sure whose question you answered earlier when you pulled your little Egyptian speak on us, I think I will ask again, just to be entirely sure. Do you think gods truly decide what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’? What is moral and immoral? You may be a little biased, but I would still love to hear your answer regardless.”
The goddess held up a finger, looking up and thinking of the best way to explain this. "This is more complicated than you imagine. A twenty year old man in this age would be considered immoral for intercourse with a fourteen year old, correct?" Her tone suggested that this was a somewhat honest question.
“Indeed, they would be by the majority.” Livia replied.
"When I travelled for my performances though, that occured more than once. Would you consider those men immoral for the same reasons?" The Phoenix spoke, a slightly philosphical tone coming across.
Arthur kept his head down, he feared that if his smiled had grown any larger he would actually get hurt from it.
This was actually fun to listen to, Livia trying her hardest, not Red being clever. Arthur chimed in, "No. I may not agree with them but what is right or wrong varies between groups and time. That fact has always been the case. Mind if I ask a question now?"
"I'm thinking, well, talking to myself inside my head, and I'm finding it rather annoying to keep saying not Red, so... what's your name? Or assuming it is something no sane person could pronounce in this time and age then what would you prefer to be called?"
“Arthur…was that question not directed at me?" Livia frowned, fixing Arthur with a bit of a glare.
“But indeed. I would not.” She said, turning back to Roux. “What is considered Immoral or Moral varies between cultures, groups, and religions. Which is why the gods ever deciding what is solely moral or immoral, is completely ridiculous. Judging someone to be sinful from their own selfish perspective, is folly."
First, the goddess answered Arthur's question. "The heavens call me Iravis Ustrina, so that is probably the most appropriate name if you are addressing this soul." Maybe she was drunk, but she didn't end up considering this to be a question.
She turned to Livia, a more stern look on her face. When she ended up speaking, her tone was insulted. "And of course, the gods don't change either, and the pantheons don't divide their territory to compensate for that. When one passes into the beyond, they usually choose to go to their 'home', so you won't have some hedonistic viking ending up attempting the Duat." The woman was rolling her eyes, but she ended up rising from the bed, falling down in her drunken state, then heading over to a drawer.
The goddess opened it, scrambling to find something inside of it, with a book and fifteen bottles of Phoenix tears falling onto the bed pointlessly. After a few moments, she seemed to pull out a necklace with a metal cylinder at the bottom along with two small human figurines on the side, the bases of them inscribed with egyptian script. "It always amazes me how much I remember. It's quite obvious Roux cares about you." The brown eyed woman approached Livia, tossing her the necklace.
Livia listened quietly. She didn’t really learn anything she hadn’t already contemplated herself in her own studies years ago. Plus, having the Grand Lich of the Reapers as her familiar, earned her some very valuable insight into the nature of the soul.
What she wasn’t expecting, though, was what this ‘Iravis’ was currently handing her. She caught the necklace, and looked at it. She had seen similar things before, though never in person. Descriptions, usually, in a dusty old tome.
“This is…”
One of the very few times in her life, Livia was genuinely speechless, and said nothing to the woman.
“I…see…” Was the only word she was able to manage in reply.
The woman shrugged, spinning around to place the things away she had taken out. Perhaps they didn't care about the fact that Roux had continued to produce the vials despite the fact that it was no longer neccessary. The woman jumped back onto the bed, looking towards the floorboards. More wine entered her body as the liquid passed her lips. "My turn. I feel like I'm missing some plot though, so I'm curious. Why did you seek this incarnation out in the first place?"
Arthur took another long swig. He was starting to feel it, but he considered himself rather capable of holding his spirits.
"Oh that's an easy one. Livia here has a dragon of a friend who wanted you dead, and she sent me to do it. Course I couldn't go killing any kids so instead we decided to not throw any younglings to their certain doom. Right Livia?" Arthur laughed.
Livia sighed at Arthur’s rather…limited explanation.
“I have a friend, who is indeed a dragon. Ages ago, one of your reincarnations slaughtered hundreds of innocent men, women, and children simply because they didn’t want any competition for their god. This was…around the first crusades, I believe. You won’t find any record of it in history books, but if you know where you are looking…you can find evidence of the events. I intended to bring the phoenix so she could answer for what she had done, but…” Livia took a drink from the wine glass.
“Instead of a power hungry phoenix, we found an abused child. I was not about to throw her to an enraged dragon.”
The red haired girl lifted her face after they had finished talking, cheeks flushed from drinking the wine. After a few moments, the glass rolled off her fingertips and shattered against the floor. Amber eyes looked back at the two of them, tears filling them up. "... oh ..."
The two of them had meant to kill her for their friend. Of course they did. No one risked their lives to save anothers. Little Roux's eyes returned to the floorboards, and then she planted her face into the bed, sobbing.
The only reason they'd taken her in was pity.
Arthur jumped into action in less than a second. He was on the bed, comforting the girl in one of the best ways he knew, giving her a hug. Not a fierce one that would be given to a brother on a battlefiled, nor a tender one given to a lover, but a soft hug given to one's child.
"Tis alright little Red. Tis alright."
The red haired girl tried to push away, but there was no strength in it. Tears countinued to roll down her face, soaking Arthur's shirt. "... get ... out ..." Anger tried to fill her voice, but only saddness ended up speaking.
Livia had figured that question was a trap to say the least. If Arthur hadn’t opened his big mouth she could have danced around it, or at least worded it more delicately. Next time, if she ever got to meet with this person, she was going to make sure Arthur kept his damn mouth shut. He didn’t have the mental ability to outsmart one hundreds of years older than he.
"Roux…” She began quietly. Perhaps it was better to go ahead and get this out of the way, however. But what could she say here? A hug wasn’t something Roux liked, but leaving would probably be just as bad, if not worse.
“I’m…not going to lie, Roux. What you heard was the truth. Did we take you in out of pity? I suppose if you want to call it that, we can.” She continued with a sigh, falling silent for a few moments. “Honestly, I’m unsure what I can say. It’s a rare feeling, for one such as I, especially since I have been rendered mostly speechless twice in the past few minutes.”
Livia looked at the necklace she was holding, bringing it up to her eye level.
“Even after you made this for me, Roux. Here I am upsetting you. I suppose I am a terrible person after all, aren’t I?”
Arthur spoke, sharply, "Livia, your not a bad person. You aren't suited for this though. Leave. I on the other hand with remain here, remain quiet, and do nothing whatsoever." Arthur would then twist himself around so that he could lay on the bed and sat there staring at the ceiling, one arm postioned perfectly to allow someone to cradle into it.
“Hmph, not suited for it? This entire situation is because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut and think about your words when you were conversing with someone who is clearly your intellectual superior.” Livia rather, harshly snapped, before her own eyes fell to the floor.
Perhaps he was right though. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for this entire thing. She had thought she had been doing rather well, but…perhaps she wasn’t? Or maybe this was just a onetime thing where she could do nothing? She hated that, but she supposed there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
“I…apologize, Arthur. That was a bit uncalled for.” She shook her head, and laid the necklace on the bed, she looked over to Roux. “I suppose…I will leave then. Once…perhaps if you feel better, and if you forgive us for this, I’ll be more deserving of this…”
And with that, Livia headed for the door as a messenger spirit grabbing all of the wine bottles and glasses, before taking them back to wherever they came from.
Roux sat there, laying up for a few moments. Arthur's fire was warm. It was comforting. It was like life itself. After a few minutes, she fell over into's Arthur's offered cradle. Tears rolling down her eyes.
Ten minutes afterwards, the Phoenix recovered her composure. Little Roux stood up, grabbed the spear on the wall. "... Let's go ..." She refused to be something taken pity on.
"Why of course." Arthur said.
When they trained that day, amber eyes somehow seemed brighter than normal, and yet filled with pain.
So she had called Arthur to her office to discuss exactly that. How exactly they should approach this. It was a bit of a delicate subject, after all. She wanted to steer Roux towards the path of a loving, nonviolent god. That would be best for everyone, and if she could steer her down that path…then perhaps there was just enough of a chance that she could also get Sorcha and her to reconcile at a later date.
Thoughts for later, however. For now, she should speak with Arthur.
“Well, glad you could make it on time, Arthur.” She said to the pyromancer, her back to him as she watched a few students from the window. She turned walking to the seat behind her desk. “Apologies for calling you here on such short notice, but I need to discuss something with you that I feel will become relevant sooner rather than later.” She poured herself some tea from a pot, sliding it and an empty cup over to Arthur, letting him have some if he wanted it.
“A rather sensitive subject, I think, especially for Roux.” She took a sip of the tea before continuing. “And that is what exactly it means to be a god. I feel as though I should consult you on this matter, since we are both her guardians.” Livia fell silent, waiting for Arthur to reply.
Arthur had been called to the headmistress' office. And now he was sitting in the chair he had become rather aquainted with lately again, listening to Livia's words while he poured himself a cup of tea.
"Seems fair enough." Arthur said before taking his first sip of tea. "So what's your plan?" Arthur asked.
“That is what I wanted to talk to you about.” She replied. “I was going to take her someplace where we could quietly discuss without interruption. Here is no good, I suppose we could do it at her home, though.” She continued, before shaking her head. “But that doesn’t matter at the moment. I simply would like to inform her that a god, is a being that should care for all manner of life. Even those that do not worship and directly oppose it. A being that uses violence in a last resort, and that her flames are meant to protect and help people. Not to harm them.” She finished with a sigh.
“Perhaps I am being rather dramatic, but that is simply what I would wish to convey to her.”
Arthur listened, before saying "Perhaps.", almost a whisper to himself.
Livia simply gave Arthur a somewhat unimpressed look.
“No opinion at all? Input? You do in fact, spend more time with her than I do, so I would expect you would know the best way to approach this.”
Arthur sat there quietly for the most part. His mind was elsewhere, taken away by Livia's train of thought.
"Sorry. But I feel the need to ask, does a god need to care for all manner of life? I'm not saying murdering anything that the god in question doesn't agree with. But there are people out there who shouldn't be protected. People who do in fact need to pay for their actions. Should a god love them?" Arthur questioned, no hint of humor in his voice.
“Well, certainly. But I'm not talking about those people, though personally I would dislike killing anyone unless I must." Livia replied. "I am talking about the other people. Those who might disagree with them, or hold different beliefs? Or need I remind you what one of Roux's past lives has done in regards to killing hundreds of innocent men, women, and children?”
A slight grin found its way to Arthur's face, even if it was uncalled for. He couldn't even understand why. "You can't say everyone and then cut a part out of it and ignore it." Arthur said, "And of course killing others just because of something like faith is rude, be you god or mortal."
Really.
That was what he was going to say?
“Oh you know what I meant, you insufferable man.” She replied with a huff, giving him a mildly annoyed look. “Besides, where did I even say that a god shouldn’t kill, when it’s necessary? I was simply saying that a god should take into account more than just the immediate situation, or something other than petty arguments or grievances into account. More than just her own emotions.”
Arthur merely shrugged at the mention of his inability to be suffered. It was an art form.
"Then it seems we're in agreement. Killing random people equals bad, killing bad people equals reasonable. What's next on the agenda Headmistress Fiore?" the man asked, clearly enojoying himself at this point.
Arthur’s loose concept of ‘bad’ was more than a little annoying. Concepts such as good and evil were irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Still, such an argument would likely be as pointless as trying to put out a fire with grease.
“While I do not share your sentiments on the ‘killing bad people is reasonable’, I suppose that is alright.” She replied with a sigh. “The next thing I think, is that we should discuss this with Roux. What do you think would be the best way to do it?"
"I think the best way to tell her, would be to sit in a room with her. And tell her. And if she listens then that is good, and if she doesn't then she wasn't going to regardless. Simple isn't it?" Arthur said, his voice an odd combination of serious and joking.
“You do no really understand, Arthur. If she doesn’t listen then we must find a way to teach or make her listen.” She replied, shaking her head. “But I suppose you are right. We should at least tell her and see how she reacts first.”
As expected, Roux was reading happily on her bed, dressed in the clothes she designed herself. A Phoenix decorated the cover, apparently written by an academic mage who had sought to learn as much as possible about the mythical creature.
It was odd though, reading a history book over two hundred years old with the subject matter as yourself. Still though, education was helpful.
What wasn't expected was a blond nobleman laying down to her right, reading on about a different subject. Both of them seemed so utterly engaged that it probably would have taken the apocalypse occuring outside for either of them to notice Sir Wick or Livia entering.
It didn’t take Livia or Arthur long to reach Roux’s home. It looked like she was currently having a reading session with her new friend. A small smile formed on Livia’s lips, but they were here on business, so for now, he would have to leave.
“Ahem,” Livia cleared her throat, knocking on the door rather loudly to get both of their attention.
“Having fun, Roux?” Livia asked. “I apologize for the intrusion, but Arthur and I would like to speak to you about something.” She looked over to the nobleman, giving him a small smile.
Arthur was standing behind Livia, though not for long. He was then in little Red's room, leaning himself up against a patch of wall. "Alone if you two don't mind." The teacher said nodding towards the boy.
The nobleman nodded, blushed, and grabbed his book. He contemplated doing something for his month long friend, but instead settled for waving goodbye, which Roux returned after a few seconds.
Then the red haired girl looked down to the floorboards, a blush running across her cheeks. It was fairly embarassing to have her keepers find her like this. "... I enjoy my books and ... talk about what...?" She had improved a bit more with another month of recovey, almost able to form complete sentences. The young teenager moved to sitting on the edge of her bed, kicking her legs back and forth as she waited for them to explain.
Livia simply eyed the boy as he left. She was warming up to the lad ever so slowly, but she was still a little cautious of him. As long as he wasn’t causing trouble, she would allow them to be alone together. One whiff of trouble though, and he’d find himself…well, removed from the academy.
Livia took a seat on Roux’s bed, a enough room between the two of them to be somewhat close, but hopefully wouldn’t make the girl feel uncomfortable. Livia hummed for a moment. There really was no easy way to address this…so she simply got right to the point.
“Do you know what a ‘god’ is, Roux?” The one she was speaking to nodded in response, wondering where this was going.
“Oh? Well, then perhaps you can tell me what you think they are then.”
After a moment of thought, the girl responded. "... powerful beings ... worthy of being worshipped ... like Ra ..." The girl muttered the words out one after another, thinking of a good definition to give out.
The girls answer wasn’t wrong, though it wasn’t the answer she was hoping for. There was a chance this conversation could go horribly if she wasn’t careful.
Hmm…
”Aha, well. That’s certainly true.” She replied. “Indeed, one must be strong to be a god. But is that all, that makes a god what they are?”
The red haired girl pondered for a moment, considering what Livia could be getting at. "... They bless the good and punish the immoral ... gods have that right ..." A more moral standpoint.
“Do they, though, Roux?” Livia replied. “Does a god truly have a right to be judge, jury, and executioner?” Perhaps it was a bit too large of a concept for a child to grasp at the moment, but she continued anyways. “Does a god have a right to decide what is moral or immoral? Would you say they could kill someone simply for believe differently than they do?”
Arthur had kept his head down, staring at the floor while his hat concealed his face. "And what if a person is immoral? Do they have the right then or does the person with death itself behind them think nobody should die?" Arthur said casually without raising his head. He was mostly just saying that for the sake of arguing at that point, but Livia really shouldn't believe she was the one in control because nobody was, Arthur just wanted to prove that.
Livia shot Arthur a bit of a glare.
“Immorality, cannot be simply defined by one person and one person alone. Or a god, for that matter. Would you say killing someone to protect your family is immoral, Arthur? Would you say a woman who sells herself for money, is immoral if it’s what she truly wishes, or has to do? It’s close minded to think your way of reasoning and thinking is ever the only acceptable and correct one.” She sighed, this was getting a little off topic, but she couldn’t exactly say she was going to let it go so easily.
“And Death comes for all, eventually, Arthur, no matter what one may do to preserve it. But this doesn’t matter. What do you think, Roux?”
"... gods judge mortal souls ... they choose morality then ..." Roux looked up at Livia, eyes suggesting that this was not a fact to be debated, and that she absolutlely believed it to be true.
Livia looked at Roux with an equally stern gaze, suggesting that this wasn’t a universal law at all.
“Hm…well, if that is true, Roux…then by judgements of some gods, I should probably be dead.” She replied rather sternly. Honestly, she had never interacted with the gods – much. She had met…a few divine beings in her rather short life. She wasn’t fond of them, to be honest. In fact, you could say if there was one thing in this life she hated, it was them.
She had received a rather dangerous threat from a god once. Something about her misusing the souls of the dead. She hadn’t really been paying attention a lot about that one.
“So you consider me to be a bad person, then Roux?”
Roux looked to the side. It was clear that she had a thought, but chose against saying it. Instead different words came out of her mouth. "... mortal hearts turn quickly ..."
“That is not what I asked, Roux.” Livia replied, voice growing much sterner, an air of seriousness to it. “If a god, any of them, said I was immoral and that I am a bad person…would you agree with them? Would you blindly follow them and their decision? Would you consider me a bad person, then? And I will not be having you lie or dodge the question – you will answer truthfully.”
The crimson haired girl turned her head towards Livia, amber eyes looking towards the floorboards, tears forming in her eyes.
Arthur sighed, this wasn't going to end well. Better he be the one in the firing line at least, little Red wasn't old enough for this kind of conversation.
"Livia, stop." Arthur said sternly. He didn't get to be stern often, inside he was actually a bit giddy.
Livia shot Arthur a gaze that would have made an enraged Oni think twice about interrupting her.
“Arthur. You have a concern?” She was hoping the foolish man wouldn’t have interrupted, but it was fine if she did.
“I would like to hear her answer.” She continued. “Whatever the answer is, I will not be upset. If she believes me to be a bad person, then that is that. I cannot change her mind. In fact, I would rather know now rather than later. You think I will kick her out or something? I would feel more insulted if she was merely pretending to like me.”
Arthur merely shrugged, "Did I say why? Your going too hard at it, and talking too much." Arthur would raise his head and look over at Roux, "It's okay. Livia doesn't lie, at least I've not caught her in any. Please speak your mind, it's the only way to get this over with." Arthur would then return to look at the floor, letting his red hat hide his thoughts.
"... Four thousand years ago, I too had a mortal soul filled with magic. I challenged the gods ..." A few seconds passed, the Phoenix thinking about what she should say next. "... They brought my sins forward. Many have been slain because of my sins were brought to light. Wrath ..." She shook, terror filling her veins. "If I ever manage to enter the Duat, I know my heart is far heavier than a feather." When her eyes met Livia's, they were colored brown.
“Roux…” Livia quietly replied.
Those eyes seemed different. She couldn’t say…what, exactly, but they didn’t seemed to be of that girls she was previous speaking too. Not to mention, her entire manner of speaking was off. Roux was rarely able to form three complete sentence.
Still, even if she suspected something, she wasn’t just going to make a huge deal out of it. If this was a memory or something from her past lives, then she would treat her the same.
“Perhaps in a previous life, you were a terrible person. But you are not your past lives, are you? You are you. And I am certain if you were to be judged for your sins, you would be found lighter than a feather.” She smiled.
Arthur listened. Of course, he was lucky enough to have enough free time to partake in things like video games. And books. And random internet hijinks. Regardless he knew the cues. "Livia, when was the last time Red here remembered a single piece of her memory coherently?"
Arthur internally was jumping with glee, not only did he get to be stern, but he also got to be smart. That's two things he wasn't allowed to be often enough.
"So my question is, who exactly are we talking with now, because at the moment it doesn't sound much like little Red?" Arthur asked casually, as if such a thing happening was common.
The brown eyed girl tilted her head, letting off a seemingly mischevious smile as she decided to allow the pair of teachers some conjecture, jumping off the bed in a spin and looking out the window.
“Tsk. You really think I wasn’t going to notice, Arthur?” She said to him. “If I would hazard a guess, I would assume we are speaking to Roux’s first life, here.” There wasn’t much else that it could be, aside from another previous life. At any rate, Livia was not too concerned with it.
In fact, she was curious. She hadn’t felt this…compelled in a long while to learn something.
“Not that it truly matters. Indeed, I’m actually rather quite curious as to your thoughts on this matter, whoever you are.”
The one who was possibly not Roux shrugged. "... A question for a question. A fair trade?" She spun around, facing them now.
“Indeed, that seems fair.” Livia replied.
"Fair enough. As the senior, I will go first." So she answered their question.
In ancient egyptian. Based on the amount of time it took for her to finish speaking, she had provided quite the answer. A smile spread across her face, proud of having won her little clever game.
"My turn..."
Arthur looked up at this girl. "Clever, but if your going to be answering in some dead tongue then Livia will too, and then I'll be sitting here having no idea what you two are saying and neither of you would be better off. So let's just ignore and put away the stupidity for a moment and have some basic kindness." Arthur interrupted. He was staring at this not quite Red. Brown eyes. Roux had amber, and they were gold when she got angry. Arthur couldn't help but wonder if there were more hues waiting to be found.
"Tell me, what is the difference between the heart, the mind, and the soul? Me and Roux share the same soul, so if I reach the scales, who's crimes will be weighed?"
Livia actually seemed rather amused by the girls reply, and question. Oh, that’s how she wanted to play this game, hmm? How adorable. She would engage in a battle of wits with this entity, then? She had to say she was getting more and more curious as to this personality.
However, now wasn’t the time for that. She had just been posed a rather…delicious question. A small smile formed on her lips as she pondered the answer for a moment. It wasn’t a simple answer, but it wasn’t a hard one.
“I shall have my little spirits remember your words, and perhaps brush up on my ancient Egyptian, but regarding your question…” She paused, thinking about her reply for only a moment.
“The heart? Well, in my experience it is what drives humans to accomplish their desires” She replied. “The mind is what makes a person who they are. Defines how they go about things. The soul…could be considered the very being of a person. Their true nature that not even the heart nor the mind can cloud.” She smiled.
“So in that regard…if you were weighed, all of your lives would be taken into account. But what would you define as a crime, hmm? Even the worst atrocities can be committed with the best of intentions. I know that all…to well.” Livia replied with a small laugh, though she didn’t elaborate.
“But…perhaps, because you reincarnate your soul isn’t the same as the last, hmm? After all, you change ever so slightly with each one, do you not? Wouldn’t that change your soul as well? Perhaps if you do make it to the scales…perhaps, as they say, a miracle will occur or some such, and all your individual souls will be weighed as separate people. Who can say? None of us here have truly ever died, so who can say for certain, hmm?”
The brown eyed woman nodded. "Not a bad answer. If we are going to continue talking though, you're going to have to bring some drinks in here ..." She looked down at her body, eyes widening a bit. "... how many years have passed for this incarnation, exactly?"
Arthur chimed in, "I'd like to ask a question as well, and for good measure I'll answer one now. As far as I can tell, about fourteen or so? No older than sixteen, no younger than thirteen. Livia could you get some drinks?" Arthur was grinning, he loved this kind of thing. Best part was when he got to be both coy and blunt at the flip of a coin, made it more fun.
“Ordering me around now, are you Arthur?” Livia replied, giving him a small smile. “Do not forget who your boss is.” A black, skeletal messenger spirit surfaced in the room, and Livia waved it off, bowing before it left the way it came, going back to Livia’s home to fetch a bottle of the best wines she had.
She didn’t like younger children drinking, but well, the opportunity for information was just too great for her to pass up.
“The drinks shall be here shortly. My lovely little spirit shall not be long.”
The oldest woman curtsied towards the pyromancer, gesturing for him to continue.
Arthur stood there for a moment. Then he finally got around to saying, "I don't actually know what to ask. No, wait, got a question. How's your day going?"
Livia’s jaw opened slightly, the woman fumbling with words for a moment before she regained her composure.
“Really Arthur? You can ask this person any question you want…and you waste one on its day? Such a wasteful question. Have you no desire to learn? For knowledge? For discovering some hidden secret that has been long forgotten?”
Livia realized that she had gotten a bit carried away.
“Ahem, apologies, but really…such a question is rather wasteful.”
The brown eyed woman raised an eyebrow at Arthur, and then actually started laughing when Livia berated him. "Honestly? I was enjoying my book. At least this incarnation was." A few seconds went by as the woman seemed to think about what to ask next. "Let us continue then, but to make it fair we both keep to this language."
Arthur returned to looking downward, mostly to hide his ever expanding grin. "I have plenty desire to learn, and I learned that Red was having a good day. I don't need to be the magus supreme armed with the secrets of a dead race or anything. I'll give the turn to you Livia, maybe you can show me what kind of questions should be geting asked eh? Not before answering more deep and meaningful questions though. If anyone wants to know the time or the weather though I call dibs."
The brown eyed goddess seemed to pout at this, frowning slightly. "The blessed of Ra always care for life. Your fire burns." A gesture towards the woman. "This woman though? Nothing."
Nothing? Hah, she wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by that, but it mattered not.
“Trying to say that I am empty and have no care for life,” Livia chuckled, though it wasn’t a question. “Quite rude, I think, but it matters not.” Livia hummed silently, thinking of some question she could possibly ask.
Something relevant to her interests.
“…how does one kill a god?” She asked after a moment. “Surely as an immortal goddess you have some insight into it.” She asked, a small smile forming on her lips. “And do not tell me it cannot be done. I have seen it happen. Twice, actually. Minor gods. Nothing like Thor, Odin, or your precious Ra, or that silly Jackal that is angry with me for messing with souls of the dead.” She paused for a moment as the spirit brought back several bottles of wine and three glasses for them to drink from.
It sat the bottles on the ground, while Livia took the glasses from it before it disappeared.
“For a normal human…killing a god would be quite the feat. Even a minor one, if they are at their peak power. Certainly there has to be ways to make it…easier?” Even with her abilities, she would never stand a chance against an actual god if they wanted to as they say, smite, her.
The woman shrugged. "Killing a god? Honestly, overwhelming firepower usually does the trick." She smiled at her rather lame pun, then countinued. "Realisticly? It's easier with non-magical methods. A sword of adamantium in the hands of a hero, or a spear with bathed in the blood of an upstart would be a better choice." She seemed to pause as if thinking about elaborating, but then decided not to. The glass of wine passed her lips, the fourteen year old's body taking in the liquor.
Arthur peeled himself away form the wall long enough to grab a bottle of wine, glasses were too boring and drinking from bottles was more fun anyways. Returning to his leaning postion the pyromancer said eagerly, "Any good questions for me?"
The woman nodded, deciding to ask them a question in return after taking another sip of the wine. "Are you two dating, and if not, why?" Changing the pace of such a session was always fun.
“No, because he’s an insufferable idiot who acts before thinking.” Livia quickly replied, barely even letting the goddess finish.
Arthur laughed, not long or hard, but he did. "Rather be an idiot. At least I don't overstep my bound- Actually nevermind I do do that. But at least I know better than to think I have control over the things happening around me." Arthur took a swig from his bottle, "And how dare you steal that question, I wanted to answer it." Arthur remained leaning against the wall, letting silence settle for a moment before saying, "Don't suppose you or any of the ones that came after ever met someone called Ethan, fallen angel, black wings, likes spears?" Arthur mused. Of course he doubted it was likely but might as well get the out there questions out of the way first then move on to the more pressing ones. Also gave Arthur time to figure out what the pressing questions actually were.
The goddess shook her head no, although a bit sadly. Feeling his fire, she could tell that was something personal. Another sip of the wine. "What are your-" A finger pointed towards Livia, "-feelings about Roux, the current version of me? In detail."
A small smile formed on Livia’s lips.
“In detail? My my, that’s quite the request.” She replied, taking a sip of the wine herself. “Such a complicated question. One with an answer two people here might not like, but I am not one to lie. Concern. Fear. Anger. Hate. A little of everything, I think.” She took another sip of the wine, formulating a better response for the goddess.
“She is a good child. A little…conflicted. Some gentle steering down the right path is all she needs. Hence the start of this little discussion about what it means to be a ‘god’. I think she could have great potential, even potential to undo all the past sins you or your other lives may have committed.” Livia sighed as she continued. “Concerned…perhaps because as someone who is unable to have children themselves, I think of her as my own even if that thought is rather silly. Anger, for what one of her past lives has supposedly done to one of my dear friends. Hate…simply because I do not like arrogant fools who strut about and claim divinity. She has yet to do such a thing, but I feel it perhaps may be inevitable.” She took another sip, fixing ‘Roux’ with a rather harsh glare.
“Fear…because if she does become some arrogant, vengeful god who does nothing other than kill for petty vengeance and other useless reasons,” She sighed. “Then I am fearful of what she could do, and the fact that I will kill her with my own hands, if I must.” She took another sip of wine, as if what she just said wasn’t a huge deal at all.
“I do hope that is good enough for an answer.”
A bow of her head told the other woman it was her turn, and the goddess drank again from the wineglass. At this point she stopped standing, instead jumping onto the bed and rolling around in the sheets, giggling slightly. Somehow, the wineglass in her hand did not spill during any of this. It was almost as if the answer didn't matter to her, and she was simply wanting to make Livia feel a little uncomfortable.
Livia didn’t seem entirely disturbed at all by the girls’ question. Or rather, if she was, she wasn’t showing it.
“Hmm...” Livia sighed, taking a drink from the wine. She was a little disappointed. It wasn't often one got to speak with someone as...old as this. “I'm rather disappointed, if I must be honest. You're not giving me any difficult questions at all. But ah well, Tis my turn.” She mused, tapping a finger against her glass. Earlier when she had asked her first question, Arthur had so conveniently decided to interrupt, he had asked a question as well.
Which meant, there was also a very good chance that the girl answered his questions instead of hers.
“Well…since I can’t be sure whose question you answered earlier when you pulled your little Egyptian speak on us, I think I will ask again, just to be entirely sure. Do you think gods truly decide what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’? What is moral and immoral? You may be a little biased, but I would still love to hear your answer regardless.”
The goddess held up a finger, looking up and thinking of the best way to explain this. "This is more complicated than you imagine. A twenty year old man in this age would be considered immoral for intercourse with a fourteen year old, correct?" Her tone suggested that this was a somewhat honest question.
“Indeed, they would be by the majority.” Livia replied.
"When I travelled for my performances though, that occured more than once. Would you consider those men immoral for the same reasons?" The Phoenix spoke, a slightly philosphical tone coming across.
Arthur kept his head down, he feared that if his smiled had grown any larger he would actually get hurt from it.
This was actually fun to listen to, Livia trying her hardest, not Red being clever. Arthur chimed in, "No. I may not agree with them but what is right or wrong varies between groups and time. That fact has always been the case. Mind if I ask a question now?"
"I'm thinking, well, talking to myself inside my head, and I'm finding it rather annoying to keep saying not Red, so... what's your name? Or assuming it is something no sane person could pronounce in this time and age then what would you prefer to be called?"
“Arthur…was that question not directed at me?" Livia frowned, fixing Arthur with a bit of a glare.
“But indeed. I would not.” She said, turning back to Roux. “What is considered Immoral or Moral varies between cultures, groups, and religions. Which is why the gods ever deciding what is solely moral or immoral, is completely ridiculous. Judging someone to be sinful from their own selfish perspective, is folly."
First, the goddess answered Arthur's question. "The heavens call me Iravis Ustrina, so that is probably the most appropriate name if you are addressing this soul." Maybe she was drunk, but she didn't end up considering this to be a question.
She turned to Livia, a more stern look on her face. When she ended up speaking, her tone was insulted. "And of course, the gods don't change either, and the pantheons don't divide their territory to compensate for that. When one passes into the beyond, they usually choose to go to their 'home', so you won't have some hedonistic viking ending up attempting the Duat." The woman was rolling her eyes, but she ended up rising from the bed, falling down in her drunken state, then heading over to a drawer.
The goddess opened it, scrambling to find something inside of it, with a book and fifteen bottles of Phoenix tears falling onto the bed pointlessly. After a few moments, she seemed to pull out a necklace with a metal cylinder at the bottom along with two small human figurines on the side, the bases of them inscribed with egyptian script. "It always amazes me how much I remember. It's quite obvious Roux cares about you." The brown eyed woman approached Livia, tossing her the necklace.
Livia listened quietly. She didn’t really learn anything she hadn’t already contemplated herself in her own studies years ago. Plus, having the Grand Lich of the Reapers as her familiar, earned her some very valuable insight into the nature of the soul.
What she wasn’t expecting, though, was what this ‘Iravis’ was currently handing her. She caught the necklace, and looked at it. She had seen similar things before, though never in person. Descriptions, usually, in a dusty old tome.
“This is…”
One of the very few times in her life, Livia was genuinely speechless, and said nothing to the woman.
“I…see…” Was the only word she was able to manage in reply.
The woman shrugged, spinning around to place the things away she had taken out. Perhaps they didn't care about the fact that Roux had continued to produce the vials despite the fact that it was no longer neccessary. The woman jumped back onto the bed, looking towards the floorboards. More wine entered her body as the liquid passed her lips. "My turn. I feel like I'm missing some plot though, so I'm curious. Why did you seek this incarnation out in the first place?"
Arthur took another long swig. He was starting to feel it, but he considered himself rather capable of holding his spirits.
"Oh that's an easy one. Livia here has a dragon of a friend who wanted you dead, and she sent me to do it. Course I couldn't go killing any kids so instead we decided to not throw any younglings to their certain doom. Right Livia?" Arthur laughed.
Livia sighed at Arthur’s rather…limited explanation.
“I have a friend, who is indeed a dragon. Ages ago, one of your reincarnations slaughtered hundreds of innocent men, women, and children simply because they didn’t want any competition for their god. This was…around the first crusades, I believe. You won’t find any record of it in history books, but if you know where you are looking…you can find evidence of the events. I intended to bring the phoenix so she could answer for what she had done, but…” Livia took a drink from the wine glass.
“Instead of a power hungry phoenix, we found an abused child. I was not about to throw her to an enraged dragon.”
The red haired girl lifted her face after they had finished talking, cheeks flushed from drinking the wine. After a few moments, the glass rolled off her fingertips and shattered against the floor. Amber eyes looked back at the two of them, tears filling them up. "... oh ..."
The two of them had meant to kill her for their friend. Of course they did. No one risked their lives to save anothers. Little Roux's eyes returned to the floorboards, and then she planted her face into the bed, sobbing.
The only reason they'd taken her in was pity.
Arthur jumped into action in less than a second. He was on the bed, comforting the girl in one of the best ways he knew, giving her a hug. Not a fierce one that would be given to a brother on a battlefiled, nor a tender one given to a lover, but a soft hug given to one's child.
"Tis alright little Red. Tis alright."
The red haired girl tried to push away, but there was no strength in it. Tears countinued to roll down her face, soaking Arthur's shirt. "... get ... out ..." Anger tried to fill her voice, but only saddness ended up speaking.
Livia had figured that question was a trap to say the least. If Arthur hadn’t opened his big mouth she could have danced around it, or at least worded it more delicately. Next time, if she ever got to meet with this person, she was going to make sure Arthur kept his damn mouth shut. He didn’t have the mental ability to outsmart one hundreds of years older than he.
"Roux…” She began quietly. Perhaps it was better to go ahead and get this out of the way, however. But what could she say here? A hug wasn’t something Roux liked, but leaving would probably be just as bad, if not worse.
“I’m…not going to lie, Roux. What you heard was the truth. Did we take you in out of pity? I suppose if you want to call it that, we can.” She continued with a sigh, falling silent for a few moments. “Honestly, I’m unsure what I can say. It’s a rare feeling, for one such as I, especially since I have been rendered mostly speechless twice in the past few minutes.”
Livia looked at the necklace she was holding, bringing it up to her eye level.
“Even after you made this for me, Roux. Here I am upsetting you. I suppose I am a terrible person after all, aren’t I?”
Arthur spoke, sharply, "Livia, your not a bad person. You aren't suited for this though. Leave. I on the other hand with remain here, remain quiet, and do nothing whatsoever." Arthur would then twist himself around so that he could lay on the bed and sat there staring at the ceiling, one arm postioned perfectly to allow someone to cradle into it.
“Hmph, not suited for it? This entire situation is because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut and think about your words when you were conversing with someone who is clearly your intellectual superior.” Livia rather, harshly snapped, before her own eyes fell to the floor.
Perhaps he was right though. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for this entire thing. She had thought she had been doing rather well, but…perhaps she wasn’t? Or maybe this was just a onetime thing where she could do nothing? She hated that, but she supposed there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
“I…apologize, Arthur. That was a bit uncalled for.” She shook her head, and laid the necklace on the bed, she looked over to Roux. “I suppose…I will leave then. Once…perhaps if you feel better, and if you forgive us for this, I’ll be more deserving of this…”
And with that, Livia headed for the door as a messenger spirit grabbing all of the wine bottles and glasses, before taking them back to wherever they came from.
Roux sat there, laying up for a few moments. Arthur's fire was warm. It was comforting. It was like life itself. After a few minutes, she fell over into's Arthur's offered cradle. Tears rolling down her eyes.
Ten minutes afterwards, the Phoenix recovered her composure. Little Roux stood up, grabbed the spear on the wall. "... Let's go ..." She refused to be something taken pity on.
"Why of course." Arthur said.
When they trained that day, amber eyes somehow seemed brighter than normal, and yet filled with pain.
OP
Roleplayer001
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8 mos ago
Versions of Iravis:
Original:
Brown Eyed
Clever, Enjoys games of intellect over drink
Talkative
Irasacha:
Blue-Haired, Phoenix form also blue
Ruby Eyes
Caring in her own way, but demands disclipline
Mortal
An olive shade of skin ran across her body, and her figure was thin all around. The blue of a raging fire colored her mane, a long braid running over her left shoulder. Despite being out camping, she was also surprisingly clean, a thin white dress had no stain upon it, and her skin carried no dirt. The lack of wet hair suggested this was not from a recent bath, however.
Phoenix
A towering winged beast, blue feathers extending from it's body, shades turning brighter and brighter as the feathers approached the edges of it's wingspan. Ruby eyes like the soul of a fire starred out at the world, taking it in.
A bard could spend a thousand years describing the creature, and would still fail at describing her divine appearence.
Crusader:
Aztec:
White Haired, Phoenix form primarily white
Roux:
Original:
Brown Eyed
Clever, Enjoys games of intellect over drink
Talkative
Irasacha:
Blue-Haired, Phoenix form also blue
Ruby Eyes
Caring in her own way, but demands disclipline
Mortal
An olive shade of skin ran across her body, and her figure was thin all around. The blue of a raging fire colored her mane, a long braid running over her left shoulder. Despite being out camping, she was also surprisingly clean, a thin white dress had no stain upon it, and her skin carried no dirt. The lack of wet hair suggested this was not from a recent bath, however.
Phoenix
A towering winged beast, blue feathers extending from it's body, shades turning brighter and brighter as the feathers approached the edges of it's wingspan. Ruby eyes like the soul of a fire starred out at the world, taking it in.
A bard could spend a thousand years describing the creature, and would still fail at describing her divine appearence.
Isaracha sat down on the ground silently, wondering what she would say. After about five minutes the blue haired woman started talking. "It's an awkward experience, waking up on a mountain one day, with no memory of anything occuring before. Humans usually have families, people to take care of and look after them. I never had anyone to do that for me. I don't know how I made it, but I sort of wandered around, travelling the world."
A slight smile crossed her face as she thought about the memories. "After five years, someone decided I was important, and called me a goddess. They brought me to a temple dedicated to Ra, God of the Desert sun, and explained to me that I was his earthly messenger while he shines in the sky. I was taught to perform rituals, although I felt like I already knew them instinctually. I was powerful, above those damn mortals, and I knew it. Sometimes other dieties would come by, say hello." The blue haired woman tossed up a glance at the dragon. She couldn't know, but she guessed that the teenager had some relation to this story.
The woman started talking again. Telling some story about herself. The dragon frowned further. She was better than those humans, certainly. That was just nature. She was meant to be a predator, meant to crush those stupid humans beneath her feet. To kill them, if they so much as looked at her funny.
She didn’t know who Ra was, nor did she care. The only gods she cared about resided in Valhalla. She didn’t care much for the so called other gods that resided in the southern lands.
What was the point of this story anyways? She wasn’t just going to magically start talking to the woman. She did, however, acknowledge her presence to show that she was, in fact, listening, by giving a small grunt of dismissal.
"Eventually some emperor saw a comet, and decided that the entire empire should convert to some upstart faith. Christian bastard. Gradually followers, people who had owed their allegience to me started to dissapear. Soon, soldiers began to show up to the temple, trying to persecute my followers. So I smited them. I burned them to the ground. And then I killed the converts too, thinking them faithless cowards. Imperial mages arrived eventually though, so I fled after the temple's preist kicked me out for my own good."
"For fifty years I saught vengeance. I flew to Rome, burned it a bit, and ran. Gaul, Brittania, Greece, and other places were laid waste before me. I was pissed. I raided people, stole their possessions, and killed them. Towns were set ablaze easily in my wrath. It would have taken a significant portion of the Imperial Legion to kill a phoenix, and they had too many problems from other mortals pressing on their borders to handle me."
Sorcha was growing impatient. She couldn’t stand this womans voice any longer.
“If you have a point, make it, or leave me alone.” She growled. “Preferably the latter.”
The goddess ignored Sorcha's comment, continuing. "Some bastard managed to get me with an arrow. I was in Gaul at the time, but I flew North, pulled the arrow out of my neck, and tried to heal it the same way I healed you. Before I could manage it though, I passed out from blood loss."
"I was prepared for my next incarnation, so when I woke up in the room of some Sorcerer named Myrddin I was a little more than shocked ..."
A slight smile crossed her face as she thought about the memories. "After five years, someone decided I was important, and called me a goddess. They brought me to a temple dedicated to Ra, God of the Desert sun, and explained to me that I was his earthly messenger while he shines in the sky. I was taught to perform rituals, although I felt like I already knew them instinctually. I was powerful, above those damn mortals, and I knew it. Sometimes other dieties would come by, say hello." The blue haired woman tossed up a glance at the dragon. She couldn't know, but she guessed that the teenager had some relation to this story.
The woman started talking again. Telling some story about herself. The dragon frowned further. She was better than those humans, certainly. That was just nature. She was meant to be a predator, meant to crush those stupid humans beneath her feet. To kill them, if they so much as looked at her funny.
She didn’t know who Ra was, nor did she care. The only gods she cared about resided in Valhalla. She didn’t care much for the so called other gods that resided in the southern lands.
What was the point of this story anyways? She wasn’t just going to magically start talking to the woman. She did, however, acknowledge her presence to show that she was, in fact, listening, by giving a small grunt of dismissal.
"Eventually some emperor saw a comet, and decided that the entire empire should convert to some upstart faith. Christian bastard. Gradually followers, people who had owed their allegience to me started to dissapear. Soon, soldiers began to show up to the temple, trying to persecute my followers. So I smited them. I burned them to the ground. And then I killed the converts too, thinking them faithless cowards. Imperial mages arrived eventually though, so I fled after the temple's preist kicked me out for my own good."
"For fifty years I saught vengeance. I flew to Rome, burned it a bit, and ran. Gaul, Brittania, Greece, and other places were laid waste before me. I was pissed. I raided people, stole their possessions, and killed them. Towns were set ablaze easily in my wrath. It would have taken a significant portion of the Imperial Legion to kill a phoenix, and they had too many problems from other mortals pressing on their borders to handle me."
Sorcha was growing impatient. She couldn’t stand this womans voice any longer.
“If you have a point, make it, or leave me alone.” She growled. “Preferably the latter.”
The goddess ignored Sorcha's comment, continuing. "Some bastard managed to get me with an arrow. I was in Gaul at the time, but I flew North, pulled the arrow out of my neck, and tried to heal it the same way I healed you. Before I could manage it though, I passed out from blood loss."
"I was prepared for my next incarnation, so when I woke up in the room of some Sorcerer named Myrddin I was a little more than shocked ..."
Crusader:
Aztec:
White Haired, Phoenix form primarily white
Roux:
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