@Spriggs27Marshall raised one of his eyebrows briefly, almost in shock. Most student would've taken the compliment, or at least brushed it off as nothing unusual. But to react by all but calling an instructor stupid? This child could play Goneril in a modern retelling of
King Lear and not need a day of acting training. Not to mention the sudden tenderness she developed on being complimented by another student.
"Well, I had intended that to mean 'pretty good for your age,'" he replied as he idly spun a small frozen crystal into being over his index finger,
"But if you'd prefer I could go a little further and tell you that your humanoid constructs are only barely a step above the creatures. The surface may be solid and somewhat detailed, but once you go all of a quarter inch beneath it the inner ice has formed with almost no cohesion to it, just layers of thin sheets pushing against each other. Yes, even your self-portrait. In fact, it's the most glaring of them. The result..."He spun the crystal he'd been toying with in between his thumb, middles, and index fingers, glanced toward the statue Kris had made of herself, and raised his arm slightly. With the smallest preparatory motion of his forearm he hurled the crystal like a dart. He applied very little additional force to it, using his abilities mostly to ensure its course was straight and swift to its target; the center of the statue's chest. It struck true, and for the briefest of moments it seemed nothing happened. Within seconds, however, the entire upper torso shattered and turned to frozen dust, leaving nothing but the legs, waist, and a single hand with its wrist remaining.
"... is that once the surface is broken, the fragility comes readily to light."He paused for a brief moment to return her stare, his expression neutral and unyielding. Before she could raise another objection, or speak a slight, or repeat the same old, tired rebuttal, he resumed speaking.
"And before you refer to your stepping stones for the third time in ten minutes, that is no excuse. The elements are our tools, particularly for ice wielders like us- a poorly made tool will fail when it's needed, and an improperly made stepping stone will send its user back to the bottom of whatever hole they're trying to escape or mountain they intend to climb."He stood up and willed the chair he'd been using to melt away.
"Furthermore, Ms Sterling-Silva, you have come to a great misunderstanding of what this exercise was about. This isn't some pissing contest for you to pretend to lord over, nor is it an arbitrary test of your potential or limits. It's a way for us to see what you are capable of on your own so we know where to start with helping you grow. But don't worry, you've shown me more than enough for today. Unfortunately, your biggest obstacle is not one that I or any instructor on the planet can aid you with; you're conflicted with yourself. You project an air of superiority to everything around you, but you want to be better than you are. You see this academy as a punishment and begrudge it at every inch, but I think you know that you don't have any other means to show up whoever it is back home that you really want to spite. Your ice reflects that, and until you come to terms with yourself, even the basics won't get through." He turned, climbed up out of the pit, and glanced back toward her once more.
"Personally, were I in your position, I'd make the best of my circumstances and do my damndest to get what I could out of it. But, it is your choice. You can either apply yourself and, just maybe, learn something- or you can continue refusing to bother and, ah, how did you put it? Oh, yes, squander your potential and waste your time.""Oh, and if I may be candid? If that technique is how the best ice elementalists in your land teach, your siblings have my pity." And with that, he was gone.
kittyluna45
AlteredTundra