An Unusual Face at the Academy (Keros and Calla) 05/06/2023
Jun 7, 2023 18:29:45 GMT
Jaezred Vandree, Velania Kalugina, and 2 more like this
Post by Tom M on Jun 7, 2023 18:29:45 GMT
An enormous and clearly uncomfortable minotaur has been sat in the waiting room at Daring Academy for about six hours. At the close of hour six, Calla Prim enters the atrium. Briefly caught in the frame of the waiting room's open door, she is clearly tired, rubbing first ink from her fingers, then sleep from her eyes. She walks straight past. And then a moment later, her head pops back into view. Another moment passes as she fully takes in the unlikely view of a minotaur in the Academy. She straightens her glasses, narrows her eyes.
"Can... ", she's obviously second guessing herself even as she asks, "can I help you?"
There’s a few seconds before Keros realises that someone is talking to him “Oh, it’s okay.” he raises his voice slightly as if hoping to be heard by someone else, “Somebody thinks that if they make me wait long enough I’ll give up and go home!” Quietening down, “Unless you have any alternative suggestions Professor…?”
"Oh, I'm... not a professor, just an assistant cartographer. Is there... someone in particular you want to talk to? Anything I could help you with?"
Despite Calla's words, Keros can't help but notice the enormous book under one of her arms, the wand tucked into her belt.
“I apologise in that case, this is not… my usual setting. I am here to meet a Professor Wyndlesworth on the behalf of a… friend. A friend of mine. They are a wizard, like you.” He gestures to the wand and books.
"Oh I'm not really a wizard eith...", the dark elf pauses for a moment, but this time in reflection. Having just bargained and studied with the Academy's pre-eminent necromancer, probably now she should be considered a wizard?
She shakes the thought free and continues, "I don't know Wyndlesworth, maybe I know your friend?"
“Does the name Rae mean anything to you? Earth genasi, always really well dressed, a sort of… optimism… that makes you wish you could see the same amount of good in the world.”
Keros catches himself
“You would remember them if you’d met them.”
"It does! We got to the Dawnlands at about the same time! We're both firm believers that Arcanists should be in the middle of the action, not just hermited away in a library. I've not seen them in a month or so, is everything okay?"
“Oh they’re… fine. I think. I behaved poorly and lost them an important… job? I think? I don’t pretend I understand this stuff, but I am trying to.” He looks pained. “So now I’m here trying to fix it, but… I think I probably should come back another day. Maybe tomorrow. In any case, you look like you could use a drink.”
That takes Calla fully by surprise, "Well, I suppose I am headed to the Dragon to go get my things, I could do with some downtime before I get back on the road?"
“Sounds good.” Keros stands up and rotates his shoulders which crack noisily, “Where are you headed?”
"Port Ffirst. I've got some research to do out of the Library there and... you know, reasons to be elsewhere".
“Hey if you don’t have time don’t let me get in your way. I just thought you looked like someone who could use a break and I’m someone who could use some company.”
Even with her summer growth spurt, Calla's still utterly dwarfed by the Minotaur, and more than a little amused at the thought of him trying to get out of her way, especially in the Academy's halls. "Sorry, I misspoke, I'm not in any particular hurry, no pressing peril or anything. There's just a whole situation I'm... managing. Honestly, the company would be nice, even if it's just the walk across town".
“Sure. Come on, what’s your situation? If it’s wizard stuff I can’t promise I’ll understand it, but I can listen.”
"It kind of is wizard stuff, but it's not hard to understand. A friend of mine won't stop doing dangerous things, won't take my advice, and has started hiding it from me. There's literally nothing I can do about it other than make myself go utterly crazy while making things worse, so I've let him know he can call on me any time, but... also I'm going to leave town". Calla's been hugging the book throughout her whole monologue. "The plus side is that I've got the space I need to do a few risky things myself, without endangering him or others. The downside is... it's hard not to spin out about it".
“Huh. So you’re just… letting them make their own mistakes?”
"While preparing for the worst, yes".
“But… if something happens you can just teleport to them or something right?” Keros holds out a hand “That book looks heavy by the way - I can carry it for you if you like. I had to skip a workout today so you’d be doing me a favour, I promise.”
“Nope. That’s kind of the whole point. He’ll have to come to me”. Her voice is steady, confident, aggressive even. Her face betrays it completely. “But honestly, except for walking, running away from mirror duplicates of myself and being turned into sheep this is the only exercise I ever get. Best I hang on to it”. Calla stops at the exit, “You could get the door though. Hard to cast mage hand with my hands full. Seems like an oversight if you ask me”.
“Ha yes, Mage Hands, relatable. So, if something happens to them, you just… live with that?” Keros breaks eye contact with Calla, “Say your reckless friend was… in a relationship with someone really bad for them that you thought would hurt them, you’d keep quiet and wait for them to figure it out?”
“Well, that’s not really my area of expertise, but I think I’d talk to them about it one time, make my feelings about it known, let them know I’d be there for them regardless, and then…yes?”
Calla’s addendum is muttered, but audible, “Assuming you can’t murder them without being caught, of course”.
Keros sighs, “Yeah I tried that, but everyone got mad at me.” He looks up suddenly “Shit. Hypothetically.” Floundering, “Look sorry, I still don’t know your name.”
“Oh, hypothetically, of course! How rude of me! I’m afraid my full name’s quite unpronounceable, you can call me Calla. Calla Prim”.
Keros reaches out a hand big enough to shake much of Calla’s forearm “Keros Pactsworn, formerly of the Kul Goran 6th Legion.”
Calla puts her book down long enough to be almost lifted off her feet by the gesture, picks it back up again, and starts walking towards the Dragon, “So, what awful reprobate has Rae shacked up with?”
“Oh some other genasi called Ziha. Last I saw them she blasted Rae across a town square and damn near killed them.” He glares, “I’m not a fan and I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual.”
“Mmm. That sounds less than ideal, certainly”.
“But anything I do now is just going to look like jealousy, but it’s not just that, you know?”
“Not just that. No, indeed. Have you spoken to Rae about it directly? Told them you’re worried?”
"Not... directly. I did throw her across a town square and Rae had to cast some kind of holding spell on me to get me to stop so I feel like they know how I feel about her." Keros thinks for a few seconds, "Talking about it might be the way forward though. Not tonight, it's late and we have plenty of time."
“That’s fairly definitive, yes, but Rae might not know how you feel about them. That’s worth talking about”.
The enormous minotaur blushes deeply, "Oh. Yeah, we talked about that. Didn't go well."
He straightens up and takes a deep breath
"You know, I feel like I don't mind you knowing that. Because you won't be telling Rae about this conversation. Because if you do, you won't trust me to keep my promise of making sure to look out for that friend of yours if I see them in trouble."
Calla chuckles, before her voice takes on an innocent tone that doesn’t quite match her face, “But you haven’t made that promise yet”.
"I don't think either of us are good liars, Calla Prim." he smirks, "So what's your reckless friend's name then?"
“Maybe not. But I’d wager you get underestimated more than you should. It’s Mittens. McKittens. That’s not his true name but even he doesn’t know what that is yet” She adds, “And no, I’ll not mention this to Rae”.
“I’m not promising anything about what I’ll say or not to this ‘Ziha’ character, of course, should I see her. You know. Hypothetically”.
There is palpable relief on Keros’ face at the admission that "Mittens McKittens" is not a real name
"Heh, hypothetically indeed." He grins, "Well then Calla Prim, I'm glad we met each other."
"Very much the same. And hopefully again, before too long".
"Can... ", she's obviously second guessing herself even as she asks, "can I help you?"
There’s a few seconds before Keros realises that someone is talking to him “Oh, it’s okay.” he raises his voice slightly as if hoping to be heard by someone else, “Somebody thinks that if they make me wait long enough I’ll give up and go home!” Quietening down, “Unless you have any alternative suggestions Professor…?”
"Oh, I'm... not a professor, just an assistant cartographer. Is there... someone in particular you want to talk to? Anything I could help you with?"
Despite Calla's words, Keros can't help but notice the enormous book under one of her arms, the wand tucked into her belt.
“I apologise in that case, this is not… my usual setting. I am here to meet a Professor Wyndlesworth on the behalf of a… friend. A friend of mine. They are a wizard, like you.” He gestures to the wand and books.
"Oh I'm not really a wizard eith...", the dark elf pauses for a moment, but this time in reflection. Having just bargained and studied with the Academy's pre-eminent necromancer, probably now she should be considered a wizard?
She shakes the thought free and continues, "I don't know Wyndlesworth, maybe I know your friend?"
“Does the name Rae mean anything to you? Earth genasi, always really well dressed, a sort of… optimism… that makes you wish you could see the same amount of good in the world.”
Keros catches himself
“You would remember them if you’d met them.”
"It does! We got to the Dawnlands at about the same time! We're both firm believers that Arcanists should be in the middle of the action, not just hermited away in a library. I've not seen them in a month or so, is everything okay?"
“Oh they’re… fine. I think. I behaved poorly and lost them an important… job? I think? I don’t pretend I understand this stuff, but I am trying to.” He looks pained. “So now I’m here trying to fix it, but… I think I probably should come back another day. Maybe tomorrow. In any case, you look like you could use a drink.”
That takes Calla fully by surprise, "Well, I suppose I am headed to the Dragon to go get my things, I could do with some downtime before I get back on the road?"
“Sounds good.” Keros stands up and rotates his shoulders which crack noisily, “Where are you headed?”
"Port Ffirst. I've got some research to do out of the Library there and... you know, reasons to be elsewhere".
“Hey if you don’t have time don’t let me get in your way. I just thought you looked like someone who could use a break and I’m someone who could use some company.”
Even with her summer growth spurt, Calla's still utterly dwarfed by the Minotaur, and more than a little amused at the thought of him trying to get out of her way, especially in the Academy's halls. "Sorry, I misspoke, I'm not in any particular hurry, no pressing peril or anything. There's just a whole situation I'm... managing. Honestly, the company would be nice, even if it's just the walk across town".
“Sure. Come on, what’s your situation? If it’s wizard stuff I can’t promise I’ll understand it, but I can listen.”
"It kind of is wizard stuff, but it's not hard to understand. A friend of mine won't stop doing dangerous things, won't take my advice, and has started hiding it from me. There's literally nothing I can do about it other than make myself go utterly crazy while making things worse, so I've let him know he can call on me any time, but... also I'm going to leave town". Calla's been hugging the book throughout her whole monologue. "The plus side is that I've got the space I need to do a few risky things myself, without endangering him or others. The downside is... it's hard not to spin out about it".
“Huh. So you’re just… letting them make their own mistakes?”
"While preparing for the worst, yes".
“But… if something happens you can just teleport to them or something right?” Keros holds out a hand “That book looks heavy by the way - I can carry it for you if you like. I had to skip a workout today so you’d be doing me a favour, I promise.”
“Nope. That’s kind of the whole point. He’ll have to come to me”. Her voice is steady, confident, aggressive even. Her face betrays it completely. “But honestly, except for walking, running away from mirror duplicates of myself and being turned into sheep this is the only exercise I ever get. Best I hang on to it”. Calla stops at the exit, “You could get the door though. Hard to cast mage hand with my hands full. Seems like an oversight if you ask me”.
“Ha yes, Mage Hands, relatable. So, if something happens to them, you just… live with that?” Keros breaks eye contact with Calla, “Say your reckless friend was… in a relationship with someone really bad for them that you thought would hurt them, you’d keep quiet and wait for them to figure it out?”
“Well, that’s not really my area of expertise, but I think I’d talk to them about it one time, make my feelings about it known, let them know I’d be there for them regardless, and then…yes?”
Calla’s addendum is muttered, but audible, “Assuming you can’t murder them without being caught, of course”.
Keros sighs, “Yeah I tried that, but everyone got mad at me.” He looks up suddenly “Shit. Hypothetically.” Floundering, “Look sorry, I still don’t know your name.”
“Oh, hypothetically, of course! How rude of me! I’m afraid my full name’s quite unpronounceable, you can call me Calla. Calla Prim”.
Keros reaches out a hand big enough to shake much of Calla’s forearm “Keros Pactsworn, formerly of the Kul Goran 6th Legion.”
Calla puts her book down long enough to be almost lifted off her feet by the gesture, picks it back up again, and starts walking towards the Dragon, “So, what awful reprobate has Rae shacked up with?”
“Oh some other genasi called Ziha. Last I saw them she blasted Rae across a town square and damn near killed them.” He glares, “I’m not a fan and I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual.”
“Mmm. That sounds less than ideal, certainly”.
“But anything I do now is just going to look like jealousy, but it’s not just that, you know?”
“Not just that. No, indeed. Have you spoken to Rae about it directly? Told them you’re worried?”
"Not... directly. I did throw her across a town square and Rae had to cast some kind of holding spell on me to get me to stop so I feel like they know how I feel about her." Keros thinks for a few seconds, "Talking about it might be the way forward though. Not tonight, it's late and we have plenty of time."
“That’s fairly definitive, yes, but Rae might not know how you feel about them. That’s worth talking about”.
The enormous minotaur blushes deeply, "Oh. Yeah, we talked about that. Didn't go well."
He straightens up and takes a deep breath
"You know, I feel like I don't mind you knowing that. Because you won't be telling Rae about this conversation. Because if you do, you won't trust me to keep my promise of making sure to look out for that friend of yours if I see them in trouble."
Calla chuckles, before her voice takes on an innocent tone that doesn’t quite match her face, “But you haven’t made that promise yet”.
"I don't think either of us are good liars, Calla Prim." he smirks, "So what's your reckless friend's name then?"
“Maybe not. But I’d wager you get underestimated more than you should. It’s Mittens. McKittens. That’s not his true name but even he doesn’t know what that is yet” She adds, “And no, I’ll not mention this to Rae”.
“I’m not promising anything about what I’ll say or not to this ‘Ziha’ character, of course, should I see her. You know. Hypothetically”.
There is palpable relief on Keros’ face at the admission that "Mittens McKittens" is not a real name
"Heh, hypothetically indeed." He grins, "Well then Calla Prim, I'm glad we met each other."
"Very much the same. And hopefully again, before too long".