[Wright Memorial Library] Never a Spare Moment (Nai'shee)

[Satevis]

64th Day of Spring, 512 AV

Gemini--Castus and Polaris

Satevis sighed, dipping his quill in ink and crossing out the star names in the chart he was grading. He wrote "Castor and Pollux" beneath them, subtracting the requisite number of points from the student's total score. The Ethaefal set down his quill, rubbing at his eyes. His muscles were still sore from yesterday's training, and since there wouldn't be another sword lesson today, he wanted nothing more than to go back to his dorm room, lie down with a novel, and not move for the next couple of hours. Unfortunately, there were papers to grade and assignments to complete, and Professor Cyril expected these papers back by the next day. The rebuilding of the Astronomy Tower was set to be completed some time this week, and he wanted the students to have most of their work back before they did graded work in the new venue.

64/100, he wrote on the top of the star chart, encircling the score. He set aside the student's paper, glancing at the name. He frowned. Varra's grades had been slipping lately. At the beginning of the term, she had had some of the highest scores in the class, but ever since midterm, they had been steadily dropping. He wondered if it had anything to do with the boy she often sat next to. They had talked to each other for a while, but now in class they kept their distance, staying as far away from each other as the temporary Astronomy classroom permitted.

He paused, realizing that he was starting to think of them like a teacher would. Satevis picked up the next paper, scolding himself for the thoughts. It wasn't any of his business. Although he was a teaching assistant, he was a student just like them. He just wasn't studying Astronomy.

It was late afternoon, and he sat at one of the tables in the library, surrounded by several small stacks of papers. An open book of star charts lay on his right side, as a reference. Satevis was starting to find that he learned a lot about Astronomy from assisting and grading assignments. Students and visitors occasionally walked past, but he had picked a somewhat secluded portion of the building, so the interruptions were fewer than they would have been. Since the sun was still up, he didn't attract attention, although Satevis had made it a point to wear looser clothes than normal, in case he transformed before he could change. It was starting to look more and more likely, considering he had been sitting here grading papers for the past hour.

With a frown, Satevis pulled the next of the papers off the stack, beginning to compare it to the reference.

[Nai'shee]

Nai'shee came in to the library at the time Syna's light began to fade to gray as the afternoon turned to evening. She was completely exhausted. The day before yesterday was the day of her Reimancy initiation, which really left the trace. Her freshly healed palms were now cut and she couldn't stand it back then, the pressure Mistress' Farah Res brought. Then yesterday, despite her wounds, she decided to help on a construction site on the Docks. It was fun and she learned much, met a new friend, but it got her tired too. She also used Flux, so her Djed level was low for a while. She didn't sleep much either and she barely walked around the whole day trying to figure out what to do. At the time of late afternoon she was walking around University, thinking that she should try and do something useful instead of just wandering around. That brought her to the Library. She intended for some Reimancy book, feeling that she has to get some more info on a subject, but she found one friend instead. It was the Benshira she met on Trente's gather, when he offered those fighting classes to people. They didn't talk much, but they built friendly attitude towards each other. She took the book she wanted, but now she doubted she'll read much. "Satevis!", she called for him, not too loud, because, surprisingly, she remembered she was at the Library. She approached and sat beside him, looking at his work. He had bunch of papers, carefully put in order, each with a name and some numbers on it. And they looked official. "What are you doing? Those are grades, no? Are you an assistant?" She wasn't surprised too much. Many students were willing to do assistant work to lower their expenses, but the only thing that concerned her was subject. She wondered which one was he good enough with.

[Satevis]

He looked up as he heard a voice calling his name, smiling as he saw Nai'shee. He had met the girl at the Storm Shrine when he first joined the association, along with her friend Trente, the ringleader behind the whole thing. He knew that she wanted to take up sailing and wanted to learn to fight, but he had no idea that she was a student in the University as well. He supposed it made sense. The University did teach sailing-related skills. Satevis moved aside enough papers to make room for her.

"Nai'shee," he said, nodding at her. "I didn't expect to see you here. Please, sit down. Yes, these are star charts that Professor Cyril's students made up," he said in response to her question. He finished grading the sheet he had, this student getting a 94/100, and set it aside. "I assist him in teaching his astronomy class."

He looked over at her as she sat, frowning slightly. Nai'shee looked...tired. The girl seemed to have lost some of the energy that she'd had at the Storm Shrine, and instead looked absolutely exhausted. Her palms were bandaged as well. A sailing-related injury? His eyes fell on the book that she brought to the table. An Introduction to Reimancy: Basic Techniques he read, his eyes passing over the cover.

Understanding dawned on him.

Oh...

That explained it. He vividly remembered his own Reimancy initiation. His mentor had warned him that it would hurt, but he had gone along with it anyway. He'd been exhausted for the next few days, and had had to recover before he could start his training. He frowned at Nai'shee as he grabbed the next sheet of paper to grade. Reimancy was one of the most dangerous forms of magic, both to the user and to the target. Why would Nai'shee want to learn it?

"You've completed a Reimancy initiation?" he asked, before he could stop himself. He realized as soon as the words left his mouth that she might not have wanted anyone to know. "Sorry," he said quickly. "I couldn't help but notice. I vividly remember mine, so I can sympathize with you a little." He gave her a reassuring smile, then went back to work.

[Nai'shee]

"Oh, astronomy, I see. It must be interesting!" Honestly, she wasn't thinking it was too interesting. It was beautiful, yet boring. She thought it was cool to know names of the stars and details about planets far away from this one, but she also knew that the skill wasn't practical. Of course, she could use stars as guides while sailing, but some basic astronomy knowledge would probably do for it. She didn't know anything about it, tho. Still, she will always think it's amazing. Stars were beautiful by themselves and Nai'shee liked their names. However, she was happy when topic changed. "Oh", she took a look at bandage at her hands and her book, realizing how obvious it was. "Good eye. Yes, I did, two days ago." She wanted to fill the statement with more details, but moment's confusion pushed her away from doing so. "Wait, you're a Reimancer?" She shouldn't be too surprised. Reimancy was one of the most popular disciplines of magic here, at University, she could notice. She didn't attend any classes just yet, except for her initiation, but she noticed how many different students talked to Professor and some even played around with their skills. It was disgusting to her, mostly because she was really afraid of overgiving. She skipped his point about sympathizing, mostly because she thought her pain and tiredness were unimportant. She learned that you need to sacrifice to get long ago, and she strictly followed that lesson.

[Satevis]

"I enjoy it," said Satevis with a small nod, frowning slightly as he matched up the lines on the star chart with those on the reference. "It's a bit of a hobby." He encircled the misplaced label for Polaris, drawing an arrow towards the star's actual location and replacing the word with 'Sirius'. He sighed, glancing at the distance the arrow spanned. He hoped, for this student's sake, that he was never going to attempt to do any sort of ship navigation. His eyes flicked up to the name and his frown deepened. This student was doing badly as well. He considered writing the words 'See me' into the margin, but decided against it. He didn't have the authority to do that.

He graded the paper and set it aside as Nai'shee spoke about her Reimancy initiation. Two days...she seemed to be doing well. He was glad to see that it had worked out properly. He had heard stories of initiations resulting in death. Not often at this university, though.

"I am," he confirmed with a nod when Nai'shee asked if he was a Reimancer. "I have been for about...two years now. It can be a useful skill. Dangerous, but useful..." He dipped his quill in ink, his eyes passing over the next novice star chart. He struck out one wrong label, then looked up at Nai'shee. "So..." he said. "Which element can you use?" He hoped it wasn't fire, although many people did seem to find an affinity to it at first. He had been one of those that had started with fire, and it was a wonder he had survived the first phases of his training.

[Nai'shee]

"You can show me the basics sometime", she replied when he said astronomy was his hobby. He was skilled in it, she concluded from the speed he graded those papers with. She knew it was a pain to her, but, even if she buys a compass, she has to have some skill at navigating without it. "Just the basics, for navigation", she added, to make it clear. She hated how everyone - professors, students, citizens, books - liked to remind her how dangerous Reimancy was. She was grateful, actually, because she knew they worried, at least a tiny bit, but they worried. Still, she was afraid herself. She never put her nose near as dangerous ability. She studied Projection, yes, but it was different. It was hard to forget and overdo it. Flux and Shielding aren't worth mention when you talk about overgiving. But Reimancy... that was a whole different story. Nai'shee looked at whole situation from the good side, if she was afraid that much she'll be careful. Maybe it was even better than facing situation in brave way. "It's water", she replied happily, "teacher allowed us to try immediately after initiation!" She gestured over the book she picked. "Honestly, I was hoping for water", she shrugged. She didn't see the logic in controlling any other element when she was so attached to water. She spent her whole life beside water, dreaming of sailing. She didn't have any mental connection with any other element. Some would may say that she was fire, living fire just pushing her way trough life, rather then calm and patient, powerful water, but she wasn't aware of the metaphor.

[Satevis]

Satevis nodded. "For sailing, right?" he asked, looking up at her. He knew that astronomy was a helpful navigation tool at sea, although since he had never thought to learn sailing, he didn't really know how to apply it in a practical sense. But he could teach her the theory, show her how to pick out the stars and constellations that indicated direction. "I think I can do that," he said. "At the very least, you would need to be able to find the north star." Which, admittedly, would be more progress than some of Professor Cyril's students were making. He really shouldn't be thinking this way about the students, but the term was half over. A little effort on their parts would be nice. "I could teach you how to tell directions based on the stars, but I'd be completely lost on a ship," he admitted. "...I can't even swim." He chuckled slightly at that, shaking his head as he encircled another mistake. He wasn't embarrassed about it. It wasn't his fault that the past life he got most of his memories and personality from had never so much as seen the ocean until his early twenties, and had grown up in an environment where swimming in water was seen as a horrid waste. "Water is a good element to start with," he agreed with a nod. "I almost wish I started with it. I started with fire, and I'm personally amazed I got through the first stages of my training relatively unscathed." He frowned as he eyed the book she was carrying. "I don't know if you'll accept my opinion on this, but personally, I think Elrine can be a little obscure about describing Reimancy applications, although that's supposed to be a beginner's book," he said, gesturing at the name of the book's author. "I'd recommend Yorhern or Woodsworth. If you do end up starting with water, you should definitely read Woodsworth's take on it--water was his starter element as well. I used him as reference when I was learning water techniques." Now thoroughly distracted, Satevis tore a page from his blank book, dipping his quill in ink and quickly writing down the names of the two Reimancy introduction books he had read as a novice to the art. He folded the page in half, handing it to Nai'shee before going back to his grading. He hoped that she wouldn't think he was being a busybody. Reimancy was a particular passion of his, and he was of the opinion that if people were going to risk their lives studying the art, they needed to at least do it the best possible way. Satevis frowned as he glanced at the windows, noticing that the last few traces of sunlight were beginning to fade. He could feel the familiar stirring in his blood that told him night was about to fall, and that he was about to shift forms. He had been prepared to transform here, but Nai'shee was still unaware of his other half. Now was as good a time to tell her, he supposed. Better tell her now than let her get surprised when he started transforming. There was no telling what she might do. "This is a little off topic, Nai'shee, but have you heard of the Ethaefal?" he asked.

[Nai'shee]

"Yeah", she responded to the first question. She was pretty easy to read today, wasn't she? She really didn't know anything about astronomy. When she was little her father showed her 'North star' Satevis talked about, but now she doesn't have idea which one would it be. It's probably completely on north, so it would be easy to find all directions based on it. "Oh", she nodded, approving his first statement. Sailing wasn't close to easy to master. Not because it was complicated or anything, but you had to keep many things in mind: direction, wind, weather, crew, safety... Bud she rebelled when he said he couldn't swim. "You must learn it!", she had commanding tone, but she still tried to keep her voice down. "I understand that you haven't had a chance to by now", she said, respectful to Benshira and their situation in their natural residence, "but in Zeltiva, being unable to swim is almost like being unable to breath! You probably noticed, it's a city of knowledge and-". She paused, considering. She couldn't find a word to properly express herself. "Fish?", she offered with a smile, shrugging. Yeah, their worst curse. Zeltivans usually didn't eat much other things. Main meat was fish and there were lots of fish, so it was absolutely cheapest way to survive. "Anyways, just go to some beach outside the city and practice. It isn't that hard, you just need to be patient." She gratefully accepted paper from him. Woodsworth, it will be, then. Professor probably recommended this book because she already expected some basic knowledge from Nai'shee. She felt guilt realizing that. She wasn't theoretical type, she could practice whole day, but theory... She was curious, but it would be easier if somebody just explained it, like Professor Stonemiller does with his subjects. She put it in the bag she always carried and looked at librarian for a second. "He seems busy", she said. It wasn't the moment to go and search books herself. "I guess I can try to read this one until I get Woodsworth's version", she said, unsure if that was a thing to do. If she wasn't interrupted she would start to read. Concentration of Djed in it's physical form, fluid called Res, is the base of the skill of Reimancy. Res is extension of Reimancer's will and it can and will be transmuted into an elemental form. Res attracts elements around it. Higher level Wizards can use both elements and their utilized para-elements. Reimancers tend to overgive during tasks for which they need more Res than their level allows them... Satevis' voice, thankfully, interrupted her. She wondered what was whole book about if all of this was summarized in few sentences. She shook her head in confusion, because her thoughts and conversation mixed in her mind. "Sorry. Ethaefal? Yap, I know about them." It wasn't actually too common for the area, so sudden memory of first Ethaefal she met pierced her head. It was Eridanus, the one who first taught her battle and who also gave her a knowledge of controlling your own mind and emotions rather than fighting somebody out of anger. That kind of control helped with magic too, it prevented her from overgiving out of childish will to learn faster. "Why do you ask?", she asked, still a bit confused.

[Satevis]

"Considering my last encounter with the ocean involved me nearly drowning in it, I'm not too eager to try again," he said, writing another score above the star chart he was grading. 86/100, he thought as he wrote, setting it aside. Not bad. He knew he was being stubborn about the whole swimming thing. Nai'shee was right, he needed to learn it. There wouldn't always be a brother of his around to pull him out of the water. But Satevis had been dragging his feet about learning how to swim for years, always telling himself that there were more important things to do. Why don't you just admit it...? asked that traitorous little voice in the back of his head that told him things about himself he didn't want to know. You're afraid of drowning. Well, who wouldn't be afraid of drowning if they had nearly spent their first day of life at the bottom of the sea? He picked up the last of the star charts, putting the thought out of his mind for now. There were more important things to worry about, like his impending transformation. He set down his quill, feeling it come on now, the last rays of Syna's light sinking beneath the horizon as Leth took over. "Because it makes things easier," he said, when Nai'shee asked him why he asked. Too late. His explanation would have to wait until later. For now, he closed his eyes, feeling the transformation beginning to course through him. The glow of moonlight began to emanate from him as he sat there, a rush of wind rising up from below. He grew taller and paler, his hair grew longer and changed color, and white horns sprouted from his temples, wrapping around the back of his head like half of a Benshira man's circlet. When he opened his eyes, they were a deep violet. His hair had changed from dark brown to a lavender gray, and had grown a few inches longer so that it now fell halfway to his shoulders, and his features had changed to the unnatural beauty of the Ethaefal. He watched Nai'shee carefully, trying to gauge her reaction.

[Nai'shee]

She shrugged, while he didn't even bother to look at her. "I warned you, you just don't want to be unable to swim here. It's your decision." She gave her book few more curious sights, but watching things and people around her was more entertaining and understandable at the moment. She admired people who were really dedicated to their studies, since you had to be talented in talking to keep her attention. Luckily, most professors managed Nai'shee as she were, so she quickly caught up with things. Yet, she felt sorry for making them try so much. She could learn something by herself once in a while, here, in library. "What do you mea-?", she didn't even finish her question, turning around to face him. He closed his eyes and in one moment Nai'shee thought he was feeling sick or something similar, but he suddenly transformed, right there, in front of her. He grew taller, his hair grew longer. He gained two beautiful, white horns, as well. His traits changed to Ethaefal normal seasonal colors and everything Nai'shee could do was to open her mouth in disbelief. Satevis is an Ethaefal. "Why-? How-? You're son of Leth?", she was murmuring. He probably couldn't hear her, since those were words said only for the sake of proper disbelief, not the ones which needed explanation. He obviously was son of Leth. She could not believe her eyes. It wasn't too uncommon, no, but she just couldn't connect those images. She looked at that face, there in front of her and she couldn't see Satevis. Guess she'll get used after a while, but still...