An Education [Kendall, Cathan]

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall was happy he was not holding Hadrian back too much in his lesson. He was still so new to the world of magic. He could not help but feel a pang of anger at his father for keeping him away from the arcane for so long. It was a part of Mizahar just like the plants and animals he had studied were. At Kendall's side Cathan had seemed to grow a bit disinterested in what he and Hadrian were studing. He felt a bit bad about dragging him to the lesson. Cathan had never been interested in magic previously. Why would he have been now? "You don't have to keep at the lesson if you don't want to Cathan." He hated to make Cathan do anything he didn't want to do. Kendall smiled a bit nervously back at Hadrian. He tried to keep his focus on the flames aura. It seemed to be flickering in and out in his line of vision. He was worried that Hadrian might be thinking differently than how he seemed to express himself. What if he was thinking nothing more than the fact Kendall was a fool for trying to learn magic? "It looks like it is just you and me in the lesson now." He blushed a little at the thought of all of Hadrian's attention being on him. It would be great incentive not to mess up though.

[Hadrian]

"Well, you can just make yourself comfortable while we work, Cathan, or join in later if you like." He smiled at the affable Kelvic. There was food, warmth, and a comfortable place to nap or just watch what they were about, so Cathan had everything he needed for the time being. Turning back to Kendall, he smiled. "Well, try again with the candle, and then we'll try to get you to see a more complex aura... mine. And once you can sustain that for a good thirty chimes, we'll let you rest and move on to Morphing if you don't feel like it's too great a strain on you. And it's all right if it is. Two disciplines in one day... that's fast work." He was, to be perfectly honest, jealous of the facility with which Kendall took to Auristics. Hadrian himself had had quite a time of it and he was a bit sensitive about it. He shone most brightly when magical theory was coupled with exhaustively detail-oriented work such as magecrafting. Someday he would be comfortable with that. Glancing between the flame and Kendall, he paid special attention to the blond pyromancer's aura, trying to ascertain exactly what was affected in the aura by an Aurist practicing their craft.

[Kendall Saarinen]

Now Kendall couldn't mess up. All of the attention was on him. He shot a nervous look at Cathan, hoping to get some support from the quiet man. He was seemed to already be on his way to Nysel's realm though. Kendall wished he could join in a way. Sleeping was the only time he felt normal. Hadrian's smile helped to ease the tension that was making Kendall want to shy away from the practice. His eyes focused on the flickering flame. He tried to find the aura again. He was having a hard time focusing on the flame. The fact that he would get to see Hadrian's aura next was making his heart race. The addition of this distraction was making the aura hard to see. In frustration Kendall leaned forward, placing his chin on his palm. He watched the flame waver back and forth but still no aura. He was sure this stance was not the most productive on to work on auristics but he felt like he needed to be closer to the flame. He squinted at the candle, leaning in closer. A small aura seemed to glow at the edges as he tried to focus into it. "I think I am starting to see it again." The aura was still faint and a little hard to see but it was progress. The ability to concentrate was helping with auristics but Kendall was concentrating too hard. His sleeve had gotten too close to the flame as he stared. Without the ability to feel the burn of the flames Kendall did not notice as the fire started to creep down his sleeve. He was friends with the fire so it did not mean him any harm. It was simply trying to explore past its place on the wick. Kendall could feel the heat on his wrist but he ignored it. It was probably just his mark reacting to the flow of Djed. As the flame crept it fed into Kendall's skin, making his body temperature take a slight spike. Maybe there was such a thing as concentrating too hard.

[Hadrian]

"Good," he said. "That's good." While encouraging with his voice, he turned to watch Cathan for a moment to make sure that their Kelvic friend was not feeling neglected or had not succumbed to some strange Kelvic overgiving of which Hadrian was unaware. And so it wasn't until Kendall's sleeve was on fire that he turned and caught sight of it, blinking. "Kendall..." He immediately began to gather himself, gathering his energy to produce res, which could be turned into water, which could take care of that fire, but it was slow going. He was no master at this. "Kendall! Fire! Kendall, snap out of it!" He was no hero, but he might have to tackle the pyromancer in an attempt to smother the fire before it burned him too much to save him. "KENDALL!"

[Kendall Saarinen]

Hadrian was speaking Kendall's name. He liked the sound of the man addressing him. He smiled softly as he continued to stare at the flame. He could feel its heat coursing through him as he watched the fire dance on the wick. "Keep saying my name..." Hadrian obliged but this time he seemed to call out Kendall's name with more urgency. He was speaking of fire. Kendall was lost in the flame and the aura that clung to it's body. It seemed to be gaining color as he searched through it. He couldn't look away. Not even Hadrian's voice was awaking him from his fiery trance. "I know Hadrian. The fire's aura is so interesting." Hadrian was still calling. It was more like a demand than anything though. With a jolt Kendall looked away from the flame. Without even looking at his sleeve he looked over at Hadrian confused. "What? Am I doing something wrong?" He felt the warmth of the flame crawling on his skin. He looked over to his arm to see that it was on fire, or at least his sleeve was. Normally Kendall wouldn't have cared. He simply would have put the flame out with his hand. Hadrian didn't know about his gift from Ivak though. Most people couldn't just clap out a fire with their bare hand. He would have to dramatize a bit to make this work. "Oh my Gods!" He opened his eyes wide with fake fear. He had been playing with fire so freely these past few seasons that he was not sure how to act when on fire. Screaming was a good first step though. He started to shake his sleeve in a obviously failed attempt to get the flame out. Instead, the oxygen fed into the fire making it grow and start gaining speed. The flames were now narrowing in on his shoulder, threatening to take over the rest of his shirt and move onto his pants. "Petch, what should I do?" This was a very legitment question. What DID people do when they were on fire?

[Hadrian]

When Cathan proved no help and Kendall's struggles only served to fan the flames, his fear turned suddenly into purpose and heightened sensitivity. The res began to whorl and gather faster than he had previously been able to accomplish, Necessity being what drove him to create the stuff out of his own soul. But his voice rang out with "adra!" as his hands made a shoving gesture, fingers hitched into mystical geometry sending a gush of water at his guest and student. It may have been sloppy, but it was enough. The fire had moved quickly, though, and Kendall's clothes were steaming in some place, smoking in others, and threatened to become indecent should he move wrong. But Hadrian hurried to him, breaking his normal taboo against touching to hold limbs and touch skin and marvel at its lack of blemish. That's when he saw the mark of gnosis and his eyes suddenly filled with understanding. He looked Kendall in the eyes, searching as his heart began to calm down from the scare. "You're all right," he noted, somewhat detached despite the heightened color in his cheeks. But if Kendall wasn't going to speak of Ivak, Hadrian would not bring it up. "I'll get you some old clothes to replace those..."

[Kendall Saarinen]

In truth, Kendall was not too worried about the flames. What he was worried about was Hadrian seeing that they didn't hurt him. He had spooked Cathan by diving his hand into a fire without letting the man know about his mark. Hadrian was much more educated than the kelvic man though. He would know about Ivak. The more important issue was, did Hadrian harbor hatred for Ivak? If he did, this lesson could be over before it even really started. The feeling of water washing over him did not make Kendall feel any safer. He was no longer on fire but the burning state of his clothing was the least of his worries. He had to be polite even if something horrible might be brewing. "Thank you Hadrian." Kendall couldn't meet his gaze. His clothing had been burned beyond repair and he was running the risk of being a bit indecent. Also, Hadrian would notice the lack of burns and he would find out about Kendall's gift from Ivak. Any person over the age of five would know fire burns.  When Hadrian touched his feverish skin Kendall felt a wave of fear wash over him. Hadrian was finding out too much too fast. He made an effort to cover his mark with his hand but the motion was pointless. His unharmed skin said more than his gnosis ever could. When Hadrian left to fetch new clothing for him Kendall stared down at the mark that graced his skin. It meant more than anything in the world to him. His finger traced the red flames that circled his wrist. The more he traced his gnosis the more relaxed he felt. It was like his own personal form of meditation. He smiled softly as he looked at Cathan. As long as he had him and Ivak he felt like he would be okay. When Hadrian returned Kendall shyly took the clothing from him. All he could think of was the worry that Hadrian was judging him. "Thank you." He forced a smile to show he was sincere in his words. He was scared though. "You don't mind right? I mean about my mark." He blushed as he looked down at the clothing in his hands. "I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't take kindly to Azenth." He wanted so desperately for Hadrian to tell him that none of it mattered. Mostly he just wanted to know that he did not see Ivak like so many others did. There was a kind and caring side of him. It was just overshadowed by his biggest mistake.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian was glad he had managed to tear himself away from Kendall to get him clothes. The terror that had arisen at the thought that he might have been hurt was confusing to say the least. There had been the strangest desire to hold him, to comfort him, and possibly to kiss him, testing his skin with his mouth to make sure that all was as it should be. There had been a deep, bracing breath before he left his brother's room with the stolen clothes. When he saw Kendall again, everything seemed calm. Even Cathan was unperturbed, but was he smiling...? The clothes were handed over with mumbled welcome and he stepped back, not sure what to do with his hands because they wanted to help Kendall out of his ruined clothes, test the smoothness of his skin, marvel at its perfection after coming out of the fire. "Ivak kissed you," he said, reaching out to touch the mark with the tip of his finger, "there on your wrist." There was a touch of wonder in his voice. Not envy, exactly, though it was clear he wished he was one of the blessed himself. He looked up, directly into those mismatched eyes and his own gaze was utterly without guile. "A god loves you," he said simply. "That is something to rejoice."

[Kendall Saarinen]

A chill ran through Kendall's body as Hadrian's cool finger touched the mark on his wrist. He felt naked, or more than he was becoming, at the touch. He never let anyone see his mark, let alone touch it. Cathan had probably seen it along with Sondra but normally the mark the kept under his sleeve where only he could acknowledge it. Out of habit he pulled his wrist away from Hadrian like a scared child. It was not to be rude. It was more of a reflex. He did not want to let Hadrian have contact with the one thing he tried the hardest to hide. He was scared of letting Hadrian in this close, even if deep down he had been wanting to be for a while now. When he found the courage to look up into those blue eyes he almost felt like crying. He wanted to move closer and feel those lips against his own. He would not move closer. Not again. It would not be fair to Hadrian to steal a kiss twice. Since their meeting at Kova's well he had tried very hard to get his emotions under control. He did not want his clashing emotions and raging feelings effecting Hadrian. Shyly, Kendall took Hadrian's hand in his own and placed his fingers against the flames on his wrist. He wanted Hadrian to see what no one else was a allowed to see. To feel what no one else was allowed to feel. At least he thought so at the moment. "There is nothing that I am more thankful for in the world." His voice was quiet. More quiet than it usually was. He was not used to talking about Ivak with others. "All I can hope for is that one day I can return the favor to him." There was a part of him that wanted to get to Kalea as fast as he could. There were things he could not leave behind though. He did not want to leave Syliras. He wanted to keep finding excuses to be at Hadrian's side. Absentmindedly, Kendall began to pull off the remains of his ruined shirt. The right sleeve had been completely burned off along with a good portion of the body of the shirt. If one's eyes dared to trail further they would see that Kendall's pants had sustained a lot of damage as well. The waist of his pants barely clung to his sides and dared to show more than he was willing to. When the charred shirt was removed, Kendall's unscathed skin was fully exposed. He still did not feel comfortable in this body. It was too muscular for his liking. His mind fluttered elsewhere as he pulled on the borrowed shirt. He could not stop thinking about the touch on his wrist and how some how he was okay with Hadrian feeling the skin where his gnosis was. When it came time to change his pants Kendall looked Hadrian with an uncomfortable glance. He did not want to take his pants off in front of him. "Is there a room I could change pants in? I..." His words seemed to trail off as he spoke. He was nervous and unsure of how to act. He knew that his brothers and their friends often changed clothing in the same room when they were in a hurry. He was not sure if that was appropriate here though. Hadrian knew that hiding behind the mismatched eyes was the girl from Zeltiva and Kendall worried that fact alone would make things between them extremely difficult.

[Hadrian]

At first Kendall pulled away and Hadrian pulled his hands back, too. It was difficult to be around the girl-turned-boy sometimes, for he had to reconcile his old vision of her with his new experience. It was all quite confusing, even after he had worked out the idea of a soul transfer, at least theoretically, on paper. Theory versus practice. But then Kendall took his hand and placed it on his wrist, and Hadrian laughed nervously. He felt a fire in his veins, surely. His skin flushed and he was worried he would start sweating. Certainly there was a stirring between his legs that he wasn't prepared to deal with at the moment. But it felt intimate, touching the place where a god had touched him. And then Kendall was disrobing, pulling the remains of his shirt over his head. Hadrian's fingers flexed with the desire to help, for the chance brushes of his fingers against flawless skin. When Kendall asked for privacy, Hadrian merely nodded, turned, and walked out the door. It didn't occur to him that perhaps Kendall didn't want Cathan watching either. He waited outside.