The Start of a Beautiful Partnership (Ximal)

[Ana Sol Starris]

"Wha-what n-no-" Ana tried to interject that it hadn't been Wrenmae, silenced by how he had said it. He knew Wrenmae was a mage, but how? How?! Had Wrenmae been reckless? Shroud? Reckless? The very thought just didn't make sense to her, how many times had they met? When did Ximal learn of Wrenmae being a mage? The questions wouldn't stop swirling around in her mind, making her tense as she listened to him, gripping her drink as if it were her only lifeline. "You're an idiot" Ana mimicked Shroud, as she remembered much from that one night, "if you just learned, you should focus on doing colors first- not actual designs and the transformation of your skin- just color" She stared hard into her drink, before taking down a huge slug of it and setting it down to get a better look at Ximal, crossing her legs as she tried to sit a bit higher. Leaning in towards him as if to be more secretive "but who would teach you, did you threaten someone?" "Tell me how you found out Ximal?" She whispered, "Sunberth despises mages, thats obvious, don't tell me he was being.... being reckless with his magic in that wretched city?" Ana shook her head, still unable to believe that- Wrenmae/Shroud couldn't do anything wrong had been her impression of the mage, and it had been him that had warned her specifically to not rush herself with the magic lest she forgot herself. Ana knew it was pure power, she knew it, she remembered the amazing feeling... But the whispers.. The whispers scared her.

[Ximal]

Xi'd struck a chord with her. He'd proven that he knew some things that even she thought he didn't. Drinking down another swig of that warm drink he looked back at Ana. Though he found it somewhat...interesting that she'd think that he would threaten someone for magic. He sighed as he spoke next. "No i didn't threaten anyone. I was taught it as a thanks for saving someone's life. " though as she started her next rant Xi shut up and listened to what she had to say about wren. About him being reckless with his magic in sunberth. Xi sighed and ground his fingers into his temples. " Back in sunberth before i left with the CE me and wren were captured by mage hunters. we were locked in cages for about five hours, and eventually wren caved and we escaped, he cut through the bars with some sort of magic that summoned small voids, hypnotized the guards with magic, and even shifted his arms with morphing. But that wasn't the worst of it. We eventually ended up getting cornered by a reimancer. It took the pair of us to kill that ... person. I would say i owe wren thanks if he hadn't turned on me after that. But i've forgiven that now seeing what happened before hand." Xi drank deep again and laid down an empty cup. Leaning onto the table he flicked his eyes towards her. he locked his deep black blue eyes onto ehr amber gold ones.

[Ana Sol Starris]

Ana nodded to who he had been taught by, or at least how and why he had been taught- it hadn't occurred to her that Ximal would be capable of being protective. She sat normally now, listening to him; sipping her drink until it was gone and he had finished speaking. His story was quite amazing, but wait- if he had been accused as a mage, then certainly that would also mean Ximal had been a mage beforehand, right? Though... Sunberth mobs had been known to take any random person off the street and declare them as mage, unlucky fools that had been at the wrong place, at the wrong time. It also seemed Wrenmae was much more... How could Ana put it, learned, in the ways of magic. Ximal mentioned not one, nor two, but three different 'magics'. The word hypnotize had caught her attention the most, she remembered that word, he had done it to her to help her remember more about her past, he had offered to help Coal with hypnotism as well- if she remembered correctly. The days of Sunberth, and living as a grimy little urchin seemed so far off now, distant, as if it had been one horrible nightmare and Ana was just waking up from it now. "How do you suppose he hypnotizes people..?" Ana pondered out loud, thinking much to herself "it must involve the vocals.. speech.. or something." Ana shook her head, she could try and figure it out herself but she was certain that if she tried to do it on her own, she would fail drastically.. Though.. It could be worth a try. Ana sighed a little, unsure of all this magic, one seemed enough to her. Obviously hypnotism involved the subconscience mind, how it affected it, it was much like a command to ones subconscience, more like a suggestion really- as he hadn't actually told her to do anything. "You mentioned a reimancer.. You know.. That stuff can be dangerous," her tone had turned melancholic "I know what it is.." she met his eyes, frozen, she felt everything come to a halt. Ana's breath caught in her throat, and she had to look away to breath.

[Ximal]

Xi looking into ana's eyes he saw a trace of..confusion? Or was that interest ? Xi shook his head and listened to her speak about a few things. Xi took a deep breath and answered ana's questions a turn at a time. As far as i can tell he uses his voice and his eyes. And yes reimancy is dangerous- it hadn't been what caused it but he thought it wouldn't hurt. He lifted his shirt to show of his harshly burnt chest. - I learnt that first hand. i'm lucky that this was all that happened." Xi dropped his shirt back down and leant back into the chair. Breathing an easy sigh. "So ana anything else you'd like to ask ? Also why is it that you dont like me bing too close to you ? I dont bite ... At least...I don't."

[Ana Sol Starris]

Ana snapped at him "I don't like being close to people in general, I hate touch, hate it, I hate people being close because then it gives them oppurtunity to hurt me" she shot him an angry glare, not exactly liking that question "you learn that quickly when you're in Sunberth, y'know." Simmering underneath, she had forgotten to add in Zeltiva, because of her father, how if he got too close- it usually resulted in pain. The scar on her cheek was more than enough proof of that, but she wouldn't tell Ximal that, oh no, she told next to no one about her life, where she had originated from. The look on Ximals face though, she froze, realizing that she had said it a bit harshly, but that was the truth, she didn't trust him fully... She didn't like it when Jakobi got close either, but she tolerated his touch for the most part. Wrenmae on the other hand... She had to shake her head, as if doing such an action would quell all the emotions which raged on like a never ending storm "look," she started off, trying to mend her speech and actions "I'm sorry, but that is just how I am.. when people get close, they either want something from you, or they want to hurt you, and sometimes it's at the same time" "I'm sorry about your chest.." She dropped off.. Randomly, she wanted off this topic desperately "have you had Kalila look at it? You know, she helped me when I was really sick.. she and Zandelia hadn't expected me to live through it, but I did, it was just some freak illness outa nowhere."

[Ximal]

Xi's gaze didn't change towards her, he'd expected her to have a reason like that or something similar. Sunberth changed people, made then different. Xi was no exception, out here he was finally beginning to discover a nature free from the paranoia and survival first mentality. Out here he'd finally begun being able to help people as opposed to killing them for survival. Still Xi shook that from his mind. "ana, it's fine, i know that everyone has theri owen reasons for things, i just wondered what yours were, after all, there's not a lot of people who know a lot about you. And I know you don't trust me, not a lot of people do, and the people who know about my "issue" trust me even less, after all would you trust someone who could turn into a homicidal maniac at the drop of the hat?" Liro had caused him untold problems over the course of time, everyone he told about it eventually drifted away. "As fr as my chest goes, it's nothing major i've had worse things happen to me over time and i know kalia is a good healer, i plan on asking her to teach me, mostly so i cna help others in a way other than just defending them, i can actually help cure them. Until now i've only been able to simply attempt to get then out of harms way and to a healer, if i get kali to teach me i can help them and then sort out what's ailing them. " Xi sank into his chair slightly and began to ask ana a rather...difficult question. " ana , the morphing training. When you went through the inititation did you have to completely strip? i ask because it's something that happened to me, morphers seem to want some form of compensation for their time. "

[Ana Sol Starris]

Ana was listening to him, it was a nice back and forth conversation between the two, but one wrong topic, and it would turn sour and end for good. She was about to shake her head to Ximals question about whether or not she would trust someone that could turn into a homocidal.. freak.. in a split second. Her head tilted to look to the edge of the table, she did trust someone that could turn at any second, Wrenmae, the briefest of moments of when he had been himself to only turn into that cruel man, named Shroud, who she had spent most of her time in Sunberth with. Ana felt as if a heavy weight was being put on her shoulders, dragging her down, Ximal was no different compared to Wrenmae in that sense. So what made the two different? "I think healing people is a great endeavor," she said a little lifelessly, she meant it, but she just couldn't bring herself to show any emotion. As soon as he asked about the nude question, she shrugged, "I did something else to learn," Ana stated, feeling guilt coil itself around her like a venomnous snake getting ready to sink its fangs into her neck the moment she spilled "but yes, he did ask- it was to show me the lengths morphing could go.. and by the gods I was impressed" she glanced at him as she explained, her gold eyes peeping out from under the hood almost unreally "it was completely buisness, thankfully, nothing happened between us- because apparently I'm unappealing in a sexual manner, I look like a boy you know....it did involve alot of touch.... so I consider it an extraordinary feat of will power to allow that to happen."

[Ximal]

Xi sighed and sort of slumped in hsi chair. Rolling his finger tips of his left hand around his temples massaging them and teasing the tension. Xi just listened to what ana had to say for the moment, the question was a simple one but it clarified that it was a universal thing and not something he'd had to to especially. and thankfully nothing happened between them because she was "unappealing". Again Xi shook his head. and spoke. "You say you look like a boy but to be honest now that you've actually been eating properly as far as i can tell, you've grown, you look less like a ten year old boy and more like a woman now. and if it involved a lot of touch for someone who doesn't like touch then well done for endureing it. You might have done better with my teacher, it wsa a far more...Detached affair. Possibly because i can already use a magic of sorts, so i already have control over my djed to a fine degree. Still might i ask, why exactly did you want to learn morphing ? I mean it's not something that is without it's risks. My teacher told me a phrase when i learn it. to become everything, you must be prepared to become nothing."

[Ana Sol Starris]

"Hah," she breathed out, unfazed by the compliment "I look the same as ever," she looked to her empty cup and pursed her lips, she couldn't possibly press on for more "I have my reasons... Which I can't.. exactly remember.." She murmured lightly, confusion splayed across her face that was hidden by the cloaks hood "I wanted to be stronger, and I saw what he could do as power- so I wanted it, naturally." "Call me selfish, but you know what I once was" Ana chided to Ximal, bemused over his silly questions, it was normal to want to be stronger? To have more power, right? Ana only ever followed instinct, and to a degree her greed, which reared its ugly face often whenever she wanted something and knew she couldn't have it, thats how the stealing started, she lost the feeling of guilt over stealing long ago. If a person could not defend his or her stuff, then they weren't meant to have it in the first place. "I want to learn more, because I want to be stronger," she looked over to him now, away from the cup "is there anything wrong with that?" She laughed, a little harshly, but she laughed and then yawned "you know, I would trust someone that could turn in the blink of an eye," she stabbed at him with her words, "you're no differrent from Wrenmae in that respect." Ana shook her head, trying to shake away all the barbs popping up in her head "I've had enough of this conversation though, thanks for the drink." With that, the ex-thief turned to leave the establishment, she was tired, from all the exercise, and the mental strain. The thief just wanted to relax for once, truely.

[Ximal]

Out of everything that ana had spoken abouit it wasnt unnatural for people to want powe, the only defining factor in that was what the power was used for, in Xi's case it was to protect, in many others it was for personal gain. Xi just sighed at that but he listened to something that really sparked his attention when she mentioned he was the same as wren. How ? did wren have two sides ? Would that explain the difference between why She was trying to defend wren for the longest time and why Xi just wanted to bash his skull in? Suddenly a lot of things began to make sense, such as why he'd given him the name shroud and his real name was wren. Cracking his fingers above the table Xi looked ana in the eye almost ignoring her last words as he spoke out again. "Wrenmae is like me, you mean the split between wren and shroud is similar to the split between me and liro ? If so that would explain a lot and make some things very clear in reasoning. However i'm not like wren as i haven't met him, i have met this "shroud" he is liro, with a different name. " As ana left Xi massaged his temples again.