[Featured characters: Alanis, Rody] Budehuc Castle: Library The library is so packed with shelves that there is barely room to walk around it. Somehow, even with this abundance of shelves, they still managed to cram in four small tables and Eike's desk, along with a full set of chairs. If there are too many shelves, however, there are certainly too many books--They line the shelves, packed side to side, and sit stacked in the dozens on top of the shelves, tables and desk and, when all else fails, in small piles on the floor. Still, the room is well lighted with a full set of windows and a simple, hanging set of candles. Obvious exits: < E >xit ===== Rody gives a little sigh as he heads to the library. Is it just him, or has the Castle seemed... empty, lately? Everyone seems to be off on their own little business trips or just going about business as per normal... Then again, Rody's spent most of his time training these past few days. Whatever the reason, he's honestly surprised when he opens the door to see somebody already inside. And a new face, too, somebody he hasn't even seen yet at all. Smiling, Rody gives a little wave and pipes cheerfully, "Oh, hello! I don't think we've met before. My name's Rody, and yours...?" Alanis jumps at the sound of a voice in the ever-quiet library and turns away from the shelf. Her eyes are just a little bit wide, but she smiles anyway. This is the first person she has seen since her arrival with Hugo, and she doesn't want to make a bad impression on his friends. "Hello." She looks around to make sure no one is there to scold them for talking, then steps forward and holds her hand out. That's Zexen custom. "My name is Alanis. Nice to meet you! It has been so quiet lately I thought the castle was empty." Rody accepts her hand and shakes it, nodding in agreement. "It has been quiet lately. It's usually a lot busier than this. When did you arrive?" "Yesterday. Hugo said everyone was busy with the war. He must have really meant it." This is a subject that seems to please her - or maybe she's just a cheerful girl. You can never really tell with kids. "I'm so proud of him! He's become such a hero. I was hoping I could find something here to help him..." That seems to dim her smile a little. Her search, unfortunately, isn't going very well. "Yeah..." Aw, that won't do. Rody sees her smile falter a little at the mention of the war, and quickly says, "Well, what are you looking for, exactly? I might be able to help you find it. I was just coming in to study for a bit anyway..." But helping another member of the Fire Bringer, especially a new arrival, always comes first. It never hurts to help, right? Alanis clasps her hands together and looks down. "Well..." She feels a bit nervous now. Saying hello is all well and good, but she doesn't want to burden this new person with her silly problems. "I'm trying to learn magic. I was told all the books on magic are in this corner, but I'm just having a little trouble finding the right ones, is all..." Rody grins at that. "Well, that's great!" Straightening up, he proudly clasps his broom while declaring, "I happen to be apprenticed to Miss Estella, one of the most powerful and legendary sorceresses around! If you want, I could run through some of the basic training exercises she taught me with you." "R-really?" Alanis's eyes widen again, this time in delight as she looks up at Rody again. How lucky! "You're really an apprentice? How wonderful! Can you really teach me?" Her cheeks turn just a little bit red. "I don't want to be a burden..." Rody claps his hands together. "All right! Hmm..." He looks around briefly, then back at Alanis and asks, "Do you think we should move outside? I don't think Eike would appreciate it if we messed anything up while training..." Well, he doesn't seem worried about it, so Alanis decides to put her worries out of her mind for a while. "I think we probably should. Do you know of any place we can practice without worrying people?" She holds out her hand to display the Fire rune. "I haven't been able to find a good place to use this." "Ah, a Fire Rune. Then I guess... we could just head right outside to the Courtyard. There isn't too much we could damage there..." Rody sweats a little while adding, in a somewhat more subdued tone, "What with the little incident with the fireworks and all..." "Fireworks?" Alanis shrugs. That must have been before she arrived. She reaches down to pick up her staff and holds it up proudly, as if she wanted to be leading an expedition instead of just going outside. Rody's offer has completely restored her good mood. "Well, let's go!" She starts for the door. Rody follows her, pleased his training is about to benefit somebody else. /This will be a great way to test myself! I just hope I can be a good teacher.../ It doesn't take long to reach the courtyard - probably the only place besides her room that Alanis can get to without asking for directions - and Alanis pauses at the bottom of the steps to look up at her companion. "What happened with the fireworks, anyway?" The area /does/ look a little bit barren to her, but she thought that was just because they had forgot to grow grass, or something. She doesn't notice any /obvious/ signs of destruction... "Just a minor problem with some fireworks. They all blew up anyway, so there's nothing to worry about now." There are people who would disagree with that statement, especially those who already know about Estella and her training methods, but since they're the only ones present, all we hear is Rody asking, "So, Fire magic first, then, right? Are you ready to begin?" Alanis nods eagerly, the smile reappearing on her face. "Yes! I'm ready!" Rody says, "Okay!" /Now then, what's a method we could try first...?/ "Which hand do you have your Fire Rune on again?" Alanis hods out her right hand. "This one." She looks at it for a moment, then, "I've had it for a few years, and I know how to use a few spells, but... I don't know very much else." It's probably a good idea to let him know what /she/ knows, right? Maybe that would help him. Somehow. "Right, then. I thought it was right. Well, then, right." Rody claps his hands together again once, proclaiming, "Watch what I do." Kneeling on the ground, Rody places both hands on the ground, then lifts his left arm, saying, "First, try balancing on your right hand, like this. First raise the left hand..." Alanis settles on her knees next to Rody and spreads her skirt out neatly so it won't get dirty on the outside. Then she places her hands on the ground and tries to emulate Rody. Her arm wobbles a little bit, but she steadies it. "Okay..." Rody raises his head to look at her and smiles. "That's great, Alanis. Okay, now watch me. One, two, three... WHOMPH!" That last would be his grunt of effort as he pushes off the ground with his feet. The apprentice is now balancing, or trying to, on his right hand. Clearly, he's no natural athlete, however, as a small trickle of sweat rolls down his cheek. Still, he beams at Alanis, saying, "Okay, now you try. Don't worry if you don't get it right the first time, it takes a bit of practice..." Alanis blinks at Rody. One hand? Even Melville couldn't do that, at least the last time she saw him try! "Hmmm..." She isn't quite sure what this has to do with magic, but... maybe it's a concentrating exercise? Oh well. "Here goes..." She pushes off the ground and kicks her feet in the air - a very good effort, and she probably would have made it too, but she suddenly drops back down with a little "Eep!" as she remembers that she's wearing a skirt. She lands in a crouch and pushes it down with a fierce blush. How could she forget THAT? Oh, it's a good thing her mother isn't here to see this. Rody asks, "Are you okay?" /That looked like it hurt./ "It's alright, I've fallen a lot doing this training too." Was that supposed to be comforting? He certainly looks like he's half-ready to fall right now: his arm is trembling a bit under his own admittedly slight weight. But he can't fall yet, not if he wants to teach Alanis the proper way to do this training. "Try again when you're ready, okay?" "Umm... well... Is there something else you can show me right now? Just this time?" Her blush isn't going away - if anything, her face turns a bit redder. At least he didn't seem to notice. "I'm wearing a skirt right now, but next time I can probably find something better..." Oh, oh, oh, Rody's starting to lean a little too far to the left now. Quickly his free hand windmills in midair before coming back down to brace against the ground again. "Okay, I guess" His legs come down next - unfortunately, on the wrong side. Down he goes. He pushes back up quickly, though, and stands up. "Hmm, what else could we try" Alanis gasps when Rody flails and... somehow lands on his feet. Saying she doesn't know quite what to think of him would be an understatement. "Um... something that doesn't make me go upside down, if that's okay..." She really hates to be demanding when he's nice enough to teach her, but being upside-down is /definitely/ a bad idea right now. Rody says, "Let's see... I guess hanging from a window by your right hand is out, too..." Rody has a minor problem. With all the things Estella has taught him, he can't really think of a Fire magic exercise that doesn't involve quite a bit of physical strain. "And there aren't any hot coal beds around here, either..." He should know. He asked. Coal can be a bit expensive, and it would be a bit of a selfish strain on the budget if he asked to use a bunch of the castle's coal for a training exercise. The population's been expanding, after all, and that strange tablet out in that field's been filling up with names. This is a puzzle, indeed... Since he seems to be having trouble coming up with an idea, Alanis tries to remember the books she's read. She must have found some kind of training exercise /somewhere/... but even if she had, it just isn't coming to mind now. Was this just her luck? Maybe she shouldn't have snuck off with Eliott's cookies that time... "What about... hmm. Just..." Yes, that sounded so very intelligent, didn't it? She sighs. Rody echoes her sigh with one of his own, shoulders sagging. "I wish Miss Estella was here," he murmurs, shaking his head. "She's incredible with Fire magic. I bet she could come up with a training exercise you could try; she knows all the tricks. While I... obviously... need some work." Another despondant little sigh. "Sorry... Wish I could be more help right now..." Oh, now that won't do. Not at all. "No, no, it's okay!" Alanis gives her best, reassuring smile, and pats his arm. "Really, I'm just so happy that you wanted to help! This is the first time anyone has offered. Next time I'll find some boy's clothes, and then I'll be able to do the exercises. Right? Please don't feel bad!" Rody gives a small smile at that. "Thanks. Tell you what, the next time I track down Estella, I'll be sure to ask her specifically about Fire magic exercises, okay? Maybe you could ask Eike, once he reappears from... wherever he went. Hugo might have some tips too, since he's the new Flame Champion..." Alanis nods excitedly, and, in a move very rare for her, actually gives Rody a quick hug. She really can't say how happy she is just to know there's a chance for her to learn. "Thank you so much! I'm really grateful for your help. I'm sorry I wasn't prepared for everything today, but don't worry. I'll be much better next time!" And maybe she'd conveniently not tell her parents. Not that they'd be /mad/, but still. Rody blushes. Okay, Alanis is younger than him and all, but still, it's a little embarressing... especially since he really doesn't think he's been of much help so far. "Okay. I'll see what I can find then. See you later, Alanis!" So saying, he starts off in search of Estella, waving back at Alanis. Hopefully he'll actually be able to locate his mistress soon; she's apparently been all over Budehuc and back without even waiting for him. "Bye!" Alanis waves back. Then she sets about brushing her clothes off. She really can't go to her room looking like this, or she /will/ get in trouble. But she has a grin on her face the whole time. Finally, some progress!