Blissfully Free and Hopelessly Lost [Open}

[Kit Heron]

Through the exchanges, Kit still stood, feeling nervous and awkward as Vanessa stated her intentions, then Dáire hit back, seemingly offended at the suggestion that he and his own would not be capable of keeping Kit safe. It was tense, and the young mage found himself holding his breath, as the Elf spoke.

Vanessa's response was ... surprising. As the magic entered the exchange, the smell of burning, and a wave of heat, making Kit take an involuntary step back. From his wide eyed reaction, you'd have thought him a simple farm boy, not an actual mage with a head full of years of study.

And then it was gone, and he let out a long, loud breath. He rubbed his temple a little, the sense of the magic had made his head tingle, though it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. He looked between the three people and realised everyone had stopped talking.

"Well ... that was ..." He cleared his throat. "That was really quite something, Professor." He said, politely. "Very impressive. And, I appreciate what you are saying, I really do. I might not be ... accustomed to life in this city, but I know what they do to magic users, or at least I have read what they do, anyway. And yes ... I maybe shouldn't have said a word, and then no one would be arguing." He stood a little straighter. "Jen Adá ... she was an Elven mage ... from a long time ago. She said 'Making a decision brings with it a little wisdom, some foolishness, many lessons, and hopefully some good luck. The only surety is that those who make no decisions lose out on whatever will or can be.' So I think ... I suspect you're expecting me to choose what I want to do?" He glanced around

"I left my mas- my old home, because I wanted to learn more about the world. Not just magic, although I would be lying if I didn't confess that it wasn't at the top of my list. But I also want to experience the city, and be a part of something." He glanced to Dáire and Artemis. "I believe - and hope - that the Professor can teach me things and help me, and I would like to study under her guidance." Then he turned to the Fae. "But I want to stay here. Mist- Dáire, I mean, was kind to bring me here, even knowing what I was. And Artemis has offered me a place to rest my head. I would like to be here, and to be around these people." He gave a small shrug. "I understand not everyone gets what they want ... but that's ... well, that's just me."

He pinched his forefinger when he had finished speaking. It might have been the most he had spoken in a week!

[Artemis Black]

The room was very quiet as Kit finished his rather diplomatic and insightful dissertation. Artemis couldn’t help himself, the rush of energy he felt had given him a second and third wind. He hopped from the bed in a smooth movement, throwing his arms out wide and waiting a fraction of a moment for the recognition he expected in Vanessa’s eyes.

Her lips twitched more than her eyes moved, but he took it as his answer and stepped in to wrap his arms around her in a brief but very firm hug. She squeaked and Artemis laughed before stepping back and turning to look at Dáire.

“Cundo, you mustn't be so testy with guests, it makes me want you more than is proper,” he said with a wink for the Kerasokan, then he spun around. “Lady Vanessa, I apologize for being so friendly, but it is not often one gets a chance to surprise a bard and feel the soft breasts of a beautiful woman in the same moment.”

When Vanessa’s lips twitched into a smile he laughed again. “Also, your fire, I did not even feel it. I would love to know more about it. My allergies are often so terrible for this sort of thing.” He spun on Kit, “And you, boy, you need to take some of the pages out of your ears and listen. Did she say a word of you leaving? No, she offered to teach. I offer the same.”

He looked over his shoulder to Vanessa again. “Though I ask you teach him a ways away from me, unless his magic is the same as yours.”

[Dáire]

Dáire was done with the whole ordeal by this point, his arrigivation draining from him like water from a leaky bucket . He barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes in a truly childish manner, only half listening while Vanessa tried to insist he was missing something, but he was pleased that she’d agreed with him to let the boy speak for himself. He was no child after all and shouldn't be treated as such by any of them, no matter how young he may come across.

Today was one of those days that he didn't feel all his two centuries old- no, he felt both fifteen and five hundred all at the same time. Been here and done that, again, and again, sometimes the occasions longer ago that he felt like recalling, and yet people questioned his understanding of the world he’d navigated for longer than they could hope to live. It could all become quite tiring, but it was often the way of his line of work.

He drew one of the ornate daggers from his waist, the sculpted silver of the pommel and guards catching the flickering lantern light as he proceeded to clean his nails idly, arms still encircling Artemis’, his attention glancing up occasionally as Kit said his piece. He was finding he liked the kid more, the longer he was around him. He wasn't a stupid kid, which did make him wonder how he knew so little about how to navigate people, and then chose this city of all places to call his new home.

Dáire was totally unprepared for the sudden rush of movement that took Artemis from his lap in one bounding movement, causing him to start and watch after the man slightly wide eyed before masking his features back to boredom quickly before anyone took notice of the shift in him. Settling back to cleaning his nails, he raised a lazy brow, looking up at Artemis from beneath his lashes at the playful berating. “We couldn’t have that, now could we Master Black.”.He drawled, smirking ever so slightly before dropping the eye contact as his lover swung back to Vanessa..

Studiously keeping his attention down, his brow crumpled into a frown with his lovers next words to the fae. Dáire decided then to remain out of the remainder of the exchange, he played his part and if Artemis was feeling better, he was happy to let him deal with the woman. Even if leaving his flirty lover with the woman, didn't seem like the wisest idea that’d ever crossed his mind.

Rising to his feet, he stepped decidedly towards the door and pivoted back to face them. He towered above them all by nearly a foot and a half, a feeling of disassociation trying to elbow it’s way into his consciousness as he watched them converse. “Will I show the boy to one of the empty bunks then?” he said flatly when they seemed to hit a lull in the exchange.

[Kit Heron]

Kit nodded his head, as Artemis spoke. "I am very grateful for your generosity." He said, a little formerly.

So Vanessa was going to teach him, but Artemis has alluded to he also being a teacher. But of what? Kit had no interest in using daggers, running halls. The short Master of the Hall was an exuberant kind; energetic, even when he seemed weary. He was obviously enraptured with Dáire, but openly flirted with the Fae woman. His frivolity made him feel ... uneasy? And he had seen how his mood had changed in a single instance when Kit had unconsciously used his magic in Atermis' presence. This playful, easy nature suggested a care-free man, someone who simply enjoyed life, but Kit wondered ...

Artemis agreed as Dáire offered to escort Kit to a bunk. His very own bed! He had spent years sleeping on a blanket on a wooden floor in the library of his master's home, and a bed sounded like the height of luxury.

"Thank you." He said, again, and turned to follow the tall Elf out of the room.

*

As they made their way back, Kit's mind was turning this way and that, trying to imagine what his future would look like now he had managed to find a place to stay and was about to begin another education - a better education, he hoped. He very much doubted that someone like the Professor would be beating her students!

"Thank you for your words, back there." He said, breaking the silence as he Dáire made their way out of the tunnel. "You seem to be the cautious type ... which is not a criticism .. I mean no offence. You just seem to be more wary, than most." He hoped he wasn't speaking out of line. "Would you have accepted Professor LaNore's offer, were you me?"

When they entered the light, Kit took a deep breath, pleased to be out of that room. It had nothing to do with the decor or the size, but the tension between Dáire and Vanessa, Artemis' flirtations and jovial manner, and the general feeling of being caught in the web of three potent personalities. "I am not quite sure how romantic relationships work in Fellsguard ... or anywhere, for that matter!" He wondered if he should even ask the next question. "You said you were not 'bound', does that mean you are not ... it is not a ..." He struggled to fine the word. "That if you or he wished it, you could ... with other people ..." He flushed. "My apologies. I have no idea what I am asking and am quite sure I don't have the right to, regardless."

Kit knew that, for now, he should keep his mouth shut and his ears open, not the other way around. The young mage, as all evidence suggested regarding today's events, had a lot to learn.

[Dáire]

As soon as Artemis gave an affirmative response, Dáire turned sharply and headed out the door of his lovers questers, back the way they came, the hallway now lit faintly by the residual light escaping the small room. They hadn't gone far out of a humans hearing range when Kit spoke up, the thanks surprising Dáire a little. “Yes well… you learn that lesson the hard way- I wasn't much older than you when the idols graced me with that joyous knowledge.” he glanced over at Kit then, a wry smile twisting his mouth,“I would, but I'd be careful about it. She knows much but when she knows things she shouldn’t, things that had magic safeguards against her kind or anyone other than a select few finding out, I’d be wary of how far she’d go, or who she’d trample over to get what she seeks. Some things are kept secret for reasons she has chosen to disregard.” He chuckled to himself , but it lacked any humour. “I am, as you so finely put it, more wary than most. So I may be wrong, but I prefer to anticipate any possible outcomes, lest I find myself out of options.”

Finally out of the tunnels, the room above was lit as the sailors and locals still milled around, talking, games and drinking heavily prevalent throughout the room,no one cared nor paid attention to what he or the boy were doing.They were halfway towards the new section that had been constructed at the back of the hal, a sort of barracks, when Kit piped up his next question, one that left Dáire’s eyebrows somewhere near his hairline and his jaw slack. “Err …” He started a bit dumbly, the shock that the young man had asked such a question so openly, and then apologising for it, left him somewhat dumbfounded for a few moments. “No…” He managed to get out without laughing, his amusement could be heard in the tone of his voice though as he decided to indulge the curious young mage, “No, I don’t share my lovers. Artemis knows this, and that I would leave should he do so. When I said bound I meant-” He paused, as though having to dredge up memories in order to come up with the term, one that hadn't entered his mind in quite some time “Married, that is what the humans refer to it as.” He smiled at Kit for real this time, the skin around his eyes crinkling as they reached the sort of barracks and swung the door inwards. “There are more than you might expect that are into that though.”

Dáire’s mood and lightened since he’d left Artemis’ room, and he was glad, he hated when he found himself in that spiral of ever darkening emotions. He looked back over Kit’s head, watching as Artemis and Vanessa both emerged from the hatch with fluid ease, before seating themselves carefully at the closest table. The room that contained all the crews beds was still relatively tidy, the odd piece of clothing lay atop the blankets, an odd pair of boots left beneath the bunks but it was a cosy set up, undoubtedly a far cry better than the arrangement that had been back down in the tunnel.

Dáire led Kit over to a bunk that lay in the far right corner of the room and stopped before it. “Either top or bottom are currently free, you can take whichever one suits you best. There’s space beneath the cot should you choose to acquire a chest to keep any spare clothing, weapons, books- whatever it is you may deem necessary to keep safe. Lynwood and one other currently share this area, you have no cause to be concerned about either man, for any reason.” He said reassuringly to the young man, unsure why, but feeling the need to voice the words regardless.

[Kit Heron]

Kit listened intently as Dáire gave his answer to Kit's question about Vanessa. He nodded, though he recognised his own naivety at the world around him, and he was grateful for the Elf's wise words. He also got the sense that while Kit was learning these lessons through words, this tall man had learned his lessons in a harder way. He certainly wouldn't pry. "Be vigilant, but never suspicious ..." He said, almost to himself - another quote, it seemed. He glanced up at the Elf. "Maybe I should read more on the Fae and their ... 'gifts'." He was wary of saying the 'm word', even though no one was immediately around them. "By failing to prepare, you are preparing only to fail." He gave a small smile. "Sorry ... the world around me has only ever been words on a page until now. A habit I perhaps should shake, else I might become an irritation. I can't deny I am excited about what she can teach me, but she is very ... intense, and I have no illusions about myself. It puts my nerves on edge, just a little.""

When he asked about Dáire and Artemis's relationship, which gave the Elf a pause, he inwardly gave himself a kick in the head. But Dáire answered regardless. But the Elf gave him a smile, and Kit returned it, happily. He liked to smile! "I know so little of matters of the heart ... unless you count a lot of rather confusing philosophical theory on what love is and even if it exists at all! But you seem very happy when you are with him. I am pleased for you. You are kind, and it is right that you should be happy." He stopped there, not wanting to stray too far into any more questions about Dáire's personal life.

When they reached the place that Kit was to call home - for now, at least - he looked at the bunks and gave a small smile. A bed! He almost wanted to jump in immediately, having not slept in an actual bed since he was fourteen years old. He swung his bag from his shoulder and placed it on the bed. It only contained a bit of food, since he had left in such a hurry and had never even intended to until he had seen the chance. He had hardly been able to return to the master's house and take anything!

He reached behind him and touched the wand, intending on stashing it in his bag. As he his skin touched the enchanted magical conduit, the tiniest spark of magic exuded from it. Nothing active, more like it had 'woken up' as it's master had made the connection. He quickly pulled his hand away, biting his lip in frustration. The energy would have been so slight that only the Elf might have sensed it. Anticipating a rebuke or such, he quickly tensed and spoke: "I have a ... an item. It reacts when I touch it with my bare hands. I will make sure not to do that again in the Hall. I should ... I should probably get some gloves, perhaps."

When he had claimed the bottom bunk, he gave a little thought at sharing the space with two other people. His mind immediately went to what they would think if they ever saw his back, hideously scarred and ugly. He shuddered at what folk might say or think. He made a vow to keep his back covered at all times. He turned around. "That's all I have, right now. Hopefully I can find a way to earn some coin for clothes and such. Though ..." He gave a small chuckle. "Unless folk here pay for phrases from books written by long dead sages, I'm not sure what I'll be much good at!"

When Daire motioned for him to follow, Kit fell in line and headed out, approaching a table where the Master of the Hall and the Professor had taken seats. Kit stood awkwardly, waiting for permission to sit, especially with people above his station ... which was pretty much everyone.

Kit offered a thankful smile. "My bunk is wonderful!" He said, and then closed his mouth and ran small circles on his temple as his eyes flicked between the pair and his surroundings.

[Vanessa LaNore]

Vanessa had felt more than a bit surprised when the young looking Lord of the hall threw out a sign of thieves and cutthroats. She’d expected something more refined, or thuggish perhaps, from him. At her twitch of recognition the possible thief had sprung forward, wrapping her in a hug that felt far too practiced and familiar.

She was just about to move her hand to push him off when he stepped back and offered a Kerasokan quip to Dáire and then a crude apology to her. She felt a smile tug at her lips, feeling like she was battling against a bawdy showman. He noticed, and she realized even when he wasn’t animated his eyes flicked everywhere constantly.

Then he was off again, talking with his hands and body as much as his words. She listened quietly, stilling her expression and deciding caution was the better path forward. She hadn’t missed her guess earlier, Dáire was certainly dangerous, but she was getting the sense it was possible Mister Black was the faster of the pair. She didn’t care to test the theory.

She got her answer though, she could teach Kit, and he would stay here in the hall, likely better protected than most places he could be. She set her lips into a neutral smile and waited for the whirlwind of a man to finish talking. She nodded when he looked to her with his request.

Then suddenly Dáire was up and moving. He seemed over-large in the small room, particularly to the others there. Kit followed and Vanessa went to do the same when a soft voice caught her attention.

[Artemis Black]

“Ah, Lady Bard,” Artemis said only loud enough for her and Dáire to hear. When she stopped mid step he grinned, flopping back down onto the bed. “Thank you, for going so hard to protect the boy, I know I would do the same, and I have an inkling of the dangers you’re facing to do it. You'll always be welcome here, even without the lovely performance.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, bouncing his head back and forth slowly to stretch his neck. “You shouldn’t worry too much about my Lover- well that’s not true, you should be very worried about him, but he’s not particularly mad at you. He’s a protective and wonderful man, but his years have worn his capacity for annoyance down to a fine point.”

Artemis’ legs swayed for a moment in the silence, and then he opened his eyes. “Can you, do what you did before, again? I think I’d like to know more about the magic you use.” He knew he looked over eager, but this was an opportunity, a chance to perhaps know what his mother could do.

[Vanessa LaNore]

She turned, looking over to Artemis with a raised brow, then relaxed some when he simply collapsed and offered her thanks. She now had a hint of understanding for why this man didn’t seem quite like the gang boss she expected. He had a soft spot for strays and the lost, just like her.

She watched him more closely, seeing the pure exhaustion in him, and wondered what had driven him so completely to the end of his reserves. He spoke of Dáire as if he was an older man, deeply in love, and yet his shifting and wildness spoke to a boy who’d barely found a place in the world.

Then, unexpectedly, he asked about her magic, and his eyes shimmered with an eagerness she saw often in academics at the cusp of a breakthrough. She grinned, feeling as though she had been placed into her element. She moved to the center of the room and cracked her knuckles.

“The briefest overview, before your Lover comes back and murders me with a glare,” she started, giving Artemis a wink. “There are near innumerable fields of magic, but at the highest level what I perform can be seen as Invocation, or more specifically as summoning. I form a contract with a spirit, or construct one of my own, and then bind it to myself.”

She tugged at her magic, the same area she’d loosened before, but this time with an edge of command and calling. Kip, the spirit cat, sprang into being with a soft purr before flitting around the room in the shape of a small water dragon. Artemis tensed instantly, but relaxed after a moment, his eyes going wide.

“This is Kip, my first summon, and one bound to me through his story. What you felt earlier was a fraction of power for the Phoenix Ignio, who I will not summon as he would overfill the room. What is important though, is that my summons are not the usual weak spells. They are reinforced, bound in the element of their target and woven through Kip.”

Artemis tracked the small spirit creature as it swirled about, twisting and turning with purrs of joy. “The magic you felt then, and are feeling now is another Primal magic known as Caelimancy.” She watched Artemis closely for any signs of recognition but only saw fascination and wonder.

“When you say you are allergic, what do you mean?” she asked with a faint narrowing of her eyes.

[Artemis Black]

Artemis stood up, moving over towards Kip without really seeing Vanessa any longer. He felt comfortable, cool, he felt like his mother was there again. He stopped just in front of her, reaching his hand out as he would to a stray cat, fingers curled in a wrist down.

Kip murred at him and hopped onto his arm, near weightless as he dashed up and curled around Artemis’ neck. He sighed, suddenly feeling all of the itching and pain simply fade away. Then his awareness returned, and he blinked, looking up at an amused Vanessa.

“Ah- sorry- I- I’m allergic to magic, well most of it anyway. It makes me itch, cough blood, stops me healing right, stuff like that,” he said with a shrug. Vanessa tilted her chin down, nodding towards Kip curled around Artemis’ with a question. “Except for my mother’s magic, but she’s been dead for a long time. You said this was- Calemmancy?” he asked sheepishly.

Kip gave a soft murr of demand, pushing out his head towards Artemis' cheek. "It- it feels right, like her's did, comforting and cool," he added quickly, reaching up to reflexively pet at Kip's questing head. He found he couldn't stop a grin when the creature pressed into his hand eagerly with a purr.