GillianRainaJoaoWalkingOnBonesAndDust"Oh yeah. You know you want this. Look at this tail. Uh-huh. Just imagine it around your thick mane, you bad, bad tomcat you. Mrmm-hrm." Ginger paced back and forth on the windowsill, wiggling her perfect orange behind lewdly. Only a moment before, she'd been snoring on the warm stones beneath the small stove that heated the attic room. And then with feline spontaneity, she'd woken up, leapt to the window sill, and begun acting like a Waterfront call-girl. Had Gillian not been hosting a study session with two virtual strangers, this may have been an amusing distraction from the tedium of alchemic formulas. But for the first time /ever/, she had company. . . and nobles at that. At the behest of Professor Zeppel—head mentor for Alchemy—she'd 'invited' Baron Joao Galitzin and Lady Raina Baronson for advanced training in alchemy. For her, it would be the opportunity to advance into an assistant teaching position next year. For the nobles, it was the chance to heighten their skills. But more than all of that, if they truly impressed their mentor, he promised to provide the three students with a private lab to share, which had recently been vacated by graduating students. To test their separate Paths of study, Professor Zeppel's final assignment had been the formulation of Malachite's Blood—a flesh-altering salve utilized in the repair of burned or necrotic tissue. And while a lesser version of this reagent requiring ingredients obtainable in Amber did exist, Gillian's research had uncovered a far more potent version. Unfortunately, these two ingredients were next to impossible to come by: the sheddings of a Skartarian blade-wyrm and the fur of a Corilaine night-wolf. The trio had been discussing their options when Ginger decided to begin her unapologetic display of carnality. [The tower room Gillian led Joao and Raina to was at the top of the narrow spiral staircase that ran through the library below. The walls were round, plaster over brick. She had a small bed, an old wardrobe, a coal stove, and a study table in the room, leaving little space for much else. A faded rug covered the middle of the room and two chairs--one dark wood and the other painted blue--were present for Joao and Raina to sit on. Gillian sat on her bed.] Joao deferentially, in the Rebman fashion, waited for Raina to choose a chair, and then took the other. He sat perched on it, a notebook braced against his knee and a pen in his right hand. Raina had been reaching down to pet the adorable sleeping kitty when it leaped up to strut its stuff at the window. Startled, she shrank backward and settled into the blue chair, pulling out her notebook quietly. Gillian flushed rosy pink at her familiar's antics and spread her hands on her bedspread. She couldn't believe this was happening. On second thought, this made perfect sense--it was the worst possible thing that could happen, so therefore it did. "Ginger, _please_ prance outside somewhere, preferably out of our sight and hearing. Joao and Raina, I am so terribly sorry for this disruption." "No apologies are necessary, Miss Talbot." Joao responded politely, with a dip of the head toward her. "I begin to see that, with a familiar such as Ginger under your aegis, exactly why Professor Zeppel requested that you host and arrange this study session for the three of us." He gave a glance toward the more-than-feline and then back at Gillian. Ginger, never one to miss a compliment, gave him a come-hither grin before returning her full attention to whatever was outside the window. Raina, for her part, simply gaped in embarrassed astonishment at the talking cat. Gillian barely refrained from rolling her eyes. "Alchemy is certainly one of the arcane arts that most interests me." Joao added. "I suspect, however, both the Professor and yourself already knew that, as Raina does." He nodded to his study companion. Raina shyly smiled back. Ginger continued to hop back and forth like a spasmodic weasel in an earthquake. "Oh, oh! He's looking my way. Oh yeah, you know what I like, don't you? Mrm-hrm. Sassy and sleek. I got all that and more, you naughty boy." She pounced over to the bed and began to paw Gillian's arm insistently. "YougottoletmeoutrightNOW! But first. You need to answer a serious question for me." She turned around and waggled her rump in Gillian's face, "Does my butt smell fresh? Well does it? Go on, smell it. Smell it. /Smell/ it!!!" Gillian picked Ginger up with one hand under the ribcage, thereby avoiding the cat's nether regions completely. She threw open the window, chucked the orange cat out unceremoniously onto the roof, and closed it quickly behind her. As she did so, Gillian caught a glimpse of a young, dark-haired student standing on the narrow rooftop, arms spread wide, letting the wind wash over him. Behind his dark-rimmed glasses, his eyes were closed; lost in thought. How he didn't plummet off his precarious perch remained a mystery. At his feet, a winged cat sat like an indignant lump of mottled grey fur. Ginger sprinted toward this feline with passionate intent. Raina giggled and hid her face behind her books. [Gillian] turned to face Joao and Raina with her hands spread on the sill, and forced a smile. "Um...yes. Where were we? Alchemy... So, Joao, why does alchemy interest you so much?" "That's simple, Miss Talbot." Joao said. He leaned his head toward Gillian and gave a reassuring smile meant to allow her to focus on something other than her colorful familiar. His fingers drummed along his knee as he continued. "The Form that I have learned first, and have the strongest affinity for, is, Water. Natural enough for a Rebman, as my teachers and professors have noted. The logical specialty to take true command of water, of liquids in general, is Alchemy. And from Alchemy, I might learn other forms that also benefit from alchemical manipulations." Raina listened attentively, but was chewing her lip, almost as though she was in class and feared being called upon. As this was a private session though, she felt obliged finally to speak. "Body is the form for which I have the strongest affinity, Miss Talbot. I dance, so it seemed the natural choice," she explained timidly. "Please...not Miss Talbot. You're a Baron, and you're a Lady, and I'm...just Gillian." The young woman smiled shyly and returned to her seat on her bed. "Da. Gillian." Joao replied with a nod of the head. "I'm glad to hear that you're both proficient in forms that I'm not," Gillian continued, "for that means we can complement and learn from each other. Though the expectation is that I'm tutoring the two of you, I don't believe the process will be one-sided. I expect to learn from you as well." She adjusted the glasses on her nose. "All right. Let's find out what our strengths are. Joao, you mentioned that your preferred form is Water, and Raina mentioned Body. I've studied Earth, Fire, and Air. "Are either of you proficient in any other forms?" Joao shook his head. "Nyet. None other, yet at any rate." he replied to Gillian. "I am not, what do they call it here...a jock?" Joao blinked his eyes. "However, my academic prowess is only modest at best. Water is the only form that I know thus far." She nodded to Joao and turned to Raina. "How about you?" "I've done some work in Air," Raina offered hopefully. "Since we do need to involve a blade-wyrm and a night-wolf in this assignment, I was hoping one of you would offer 'animal'," Gillian said, smiling ruefully. "No matter. We will just have to find a way around it. Joao inclined his head. "On the other hand, Raina's body form studies should prove invaluable, since Malachite's Blood is a flesh-altering salve. "And Joao, forgive me for being presumptuous, but I'm assuming you've only studied the First Circle? By the end of this assignment, I believe you'll have ventured into the mysteries of the Second Circle." "Your assessment is accurate. It will be something to look forward, M...Gillian." Joao replied. He then smiled slightly. "Mother would Approve." he added, as if it were an axiom. Gillian clasped her hands together. "All right. Any thoughts on how to obtain the sheddings of a Skartian blade-wyrm, or the fur of a Corilaine night-wolf?" "We might journey to Corilaine and Thera and obtain the components directly. A most dangerous solution to be sure." Joao replied. "Baring that, these components are valuable and useful, and therefore it is almost certain that some worker of magic in Amber has one or both of them." "Oh yes. I know there is some trade in the scales at least between the magical community here and Theran brokers, who buy them from the peasants," Raina added, happy to have some firm knowledge to contribute. He looked to Raina, nodded and then looked at Gillian. "I propose we attempt to find someone who owns these components, and bargain for them." "A reasonable first step," Gillian nodded. "It's important as a practitioner of thaumaturgy to gain experience not only in knowing where to buy components, but also in building relationships with vendors. Please take Raina with you and explore the local possibilities. There are a number of vendors in the Temple Street area." Joao gave Gillian a nod. "I could ask my father too if he knows which vendors might be most likely to have them," Raina offered. As they spoke, a low wail grew louder outside the window, as if a banshee were washing its bloodied hands nearby. The sounds of inconsolable grief crescendoed, accented by a sudden knock on the glass. Gillian felt a strange wave of emotion flood through her, turning her belly to slushy pain. Gillian gasped and leaned forward, clutching her stomach. "The window..." she said beseechingly. "Gillian!" Raina gasped. She leaped up and was at Gillian's side immediately, holding her shoulders comfortingly. Gillian leaned against Raina, thankful for the support. With a fluid grace and instinct, Joao moved from where he sat, to a standing position, and moments later, interposed himself between both Gillian and Raina, and the window where the strange wail wafted into the chamber. Once he was in interposition, he advanced toward the window to discover the source of the noise. A young dark-haired student stood outside the window. In his arm clung a grief-stricken Ginger, half hidden within the student's winter coat. He managed a weak smile at Joao, the gentle eyes behind a pair of spectacles beseeching. Ginger continued to wail and sniffle, looking very pitiful in her misery. Perhaps too pitiful. The young man yelled through the glass, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but my familiar just had an altercation with yours. May I come in for a moment?" Joao stood fast, but turned his head in Gillian's direction. Gillian's stomach knotted again as Ginger erupted into another bout of weeping. "Go ahead and let him in, if you would, Joao," Gillian managed through clenched teeth. Fascinated as she was by Seabhac and his reputation for magical prowess, this was definitely not how she pictured their first conversation. But this wasn't surprising, knowing that GInger was somehow involved. She worked on distancing herself from her familiar's emotion turmoil, mentally visualizing the cords that bound them down to thin, slender threads. Spurred on by Gillian's words, Joao finally advanced on the window, moving to it,unlatching it, and then opening it. This accomplished, he offered a hand to the young man to make his way more easily into the chamber. Raina continued to stand by Gillian's side protectively, studying the young man with cautious interest. The instant he opened the window, Joao had an orange mass of claws and tears slam into his chest. Ginger clung to him desperately, "Wah! He. . . He. . . called me <sniffle, weep>. . . a shameless hussy!" Another earsplitting cry. "I am /not/ shameless! <waaaaaahhh!>"Joao stepped back a couple of paces, trying to handle the unexpected bundle of feline which had planted herself so firmly on him. The hand that he had intended on offering to Seabhac was now trying to handle Ginger, along with his other hand as well. Ginger gazed up at him pleadingly, eyes like watery saucers. "Yuh. . . yuh. . . You'd sleep with me right? RIGHT?!" "Gospodina..." Joao replied hesitantly to Ginger. "Ginger!" Gillian admonished her. Ginger ignored Gillian, nuzzling into Joao's chest affectionately. "Mrmmm… pet names," she purred. "Sexy accent and smells like the ocean too. You, I'll keep." Joao didn't know how to reply to this. So he decided not to do so. He did turn to look at Raina. Raina giggled, blushing at Joao's predicament and offering him a supportive smile. Seabhac climbed in through the window and cast an anguished smile to the trio. "Uh, hello. I'm terribly sorry about all this," he said humbly. "My familiar is a bit of an ass when it comes to. . . the matters of love. I'm afraid Yo-yo happened to be quite rude to your companion here." He cringed as Ginger's sobs intensified. Gillian squeezed Raina's hand in thanks and stood up from the bed. She extended her arms to Joao to relieve him of the trouble of her familiar. Now more confident in his handling of the feline, Joao turned toward Gillian. With both hands, he tried to gently remove the familiar from him to hand off to Gillian. Ginger opened her eyes in betrayed shock, "But-wah-huh?" She couldn't get a hold of him in time to avoid Gillian's hands. Now captured, she grumped loudly, "Oh sure. Love them and leave them. I see how it is! You two-timing foreigner." She scrambled up Gillian's chest, so she could peek over the girl's shoulder at Joao. With a bawdy whisper, she added, "Write me!" Gillian rolled her eyes. Joao opened his lips slightly, blinked, and then shook his head. "If there's someway I can make it up to you, please, I am your servant." [Seabhac] smile softened as he looked at Gillian. "No, _I'm_ sorry. She can be quite...forward at times. "Da" Joao said softly, amusingly. "Seabhac, please let me introduce Joao Galitzin and Raina Baronson. Joao and Raina, this is Seabhac...um...I'm sorry, but I don't know your last name." "Dé Biróg," Seabhac provided. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." He closed the window behind him. Joao turned back and he inclined his head toward Seabhac. The other young man took this opportunity to shake Joao's hand, grinning with unrestrained warmth. Freed from the perils of Gillian's familiar, he took the offered hand and shook it. "A pleasure to meet you," Raina smiled shyly. "And you as well, Lady Raina," Seabhac said, putting his hands behind him and shuffling his feet. His eyes settled on Gillian, but he remained silent, attentive. When the moment grew uncomfortable, he glanced away. The open books caught his attention immediately. "Oh! Malachite's Blood. You three must be in Professor Zeppel's class." Gillian glanced at Raina and Joao. "Yes, we are. We were just discussing how to obtain the components. Have you completed the spell?" Joao stepped back a pace and regarded Seabhac expectantly. Raina nodded at the young man's question, but remained silent. She continued to study him shyly, as one does when in the presence of a minor celebrity. Seabhac was known to have incredible skills in magic, which made him someone to be admired in Raina's estimation. Seabhac gave a warm laugh, "Aye. I had Zeppel while completing my first Masters. He's all warm and fuzzy, but in that crafty-fox sort of way. If he has you working on the Blood, you're walking into one of his traps." He picked up the papers and leafed through them, grinning. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but Professor Z has a deal with the local merchants. All the ingredients are arcane marked. So he'll know if you bought them. He docked marks on my friend because of that. So, don't waste your money." Gillian frowned in thought as she absently rubbed Ginger's ears. Karmatically, Gillian must have done something worthy of reward, because Ginger thankfully nodded off into blissful snoring. Joao grimaced slightly at Seabhac's revelation, and then gave a nod. He sat down on the sill, taking in Gillian's room; nodding to himself, pleased. He folded his hands in his lap, to stop them from moving as he talked. "I have some fresh blade-wyrm scales in my lab, I can give you. And you can get to Corilaine through the White School. The wolves like to congregate near the Amethyst gate." "White School?" Gillian asked. She looked at Raina and Joao to see if either of them recognized the name. Raina caught the look and shook her head apologetically. "I am not familiar with the White School." Joao admitted. "I also am unfamiliar with this Amethyst Gate of which you speak." he added, "Please." Joao regarded Seabhac. "Tell us more." Raina nodded in agreement. "Oh, that's right, you're all freshman," Seabhac said, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I've been here so long, sometimes I forget myself." He lightly tapped on the window, "You see that out there? The towers and buildings, I mean. All those structures that make up Faiella University. For all their grandeur, they're but one singular section of the White School; Prince Eric's /true/ creation." He smiled softly. Raina drifted to the window and rested her delicate fingers on the sill, gazing out at the buildings while listening to the explanation. Seabhac glanced up at her, smiling shyly as she got closer to him. He shuffled his feet in a failed attempt to hide his timidity around women. "Joao will probably get this image better, but think of the White School as a Rebman nesting doll. One school laid over another. Amethyst. Faiella. Corilaine. Each one a completely different world and each a reservoir of knowledge. If you know the right place to go, you can travel from one to the other. And then back again, depending on what gate you utilize." "Da. Like Matryoshka." Joao said. "Exactly," Seabhac said, pleased. Gillian raised her eyebrows. She was intrigued. [Seabhac] folded his hands together, a vulpine grin curling his lips. "So. Would you like to see it?" Raina turned back to gape in surprise. "Yes! I...," she started to answer, but cut herself off, biting her lip. "I mean, if Gillian wants to. We were having a lesson," she explained apologetically. Joao nodded. "Da. I would like to see it, but the decision lies with our tutor." he said, and, too, turned to regard Gillian. Gillian smiled and laid the sleeping Ginger down on her bed. "Let's go." Seabhac stood up with contagious enthusiasm. "Well then, meet me in the library in thirty minutes. You'll want to bring some summer clothing. An outfit that you don't mind getting a little wet in. A few water-proof collection jars might be appropriate as well. No sense in coming back with soggy fur, right? "Joao, I'm counting on your help with the ladies if they can't swim." "I can swim for two. It would be more difficult, but still possible, to swim for three." He turned and regarded Raina and Gillian and smiled slightly before turning back to look at Seabhac. "That's all right. I can swim. But thank you," Raina smiled at Joao. Joao gave a smile and a nod. Gillian didn't say anything, but from her expression and askance glance at Joao it looked like she might be a candidate for assistance. Joao caught the look, and nodded, deeper, to Gillian. He folded his fingers against his palm, released them, and repeated the gesture. Gillian gave him a small smile. [Seabhac] began opening the window, but paused. "Oh. And don't tell anyone where we're going. Advocat would have my hide if he found out I'm playing Ferryman to some freshmen. What he doesn't know won't kill me, right?" Raina blanched at the thought of angering her most-feared professor, but she remained silent, not willing to back out of the expedition. "I will not speak a word." Joao promised, with an inclination of the head. "Thirty minutes, in the library." Gillian nodded at Seabhac. Once the window was closed and they were alone again, she turned to look at Raina and Joao and mused, "This could be a test as well. There's no good reason not to trust Seabhac, but then again there's no good reason _to_ trust him, either." "Be watchful for cross currents." Joao said. "Da. We are swimming through a tangled reef here. But it should be a most interesting swim, da?" He looked at the sleeping familiar, and then cocked his head toward Gillian and Raina. "There is no time for me to return to the Dacha to change. I will have to swim without trunks." Raina's face went beet red, her eyes wide. Gillian's head snapped up. She exchanged a look with Raina, then looked back at Joao askance. "Um...but still your smalls on, right?" Ginger attempted to suck her head into her body with a rasping snore. Her ears twitched, then fell back; the lioness slumbering still. Joao's face colored slightly at Gillian's look. He bowed his head. "My apologies, Gillian. Yes, I will still wear my smalls if it is needful. The mores and customs of the World Above sometimes still entangle me in their nets." "Um...it's just...me.... I don't want.... Well, I mean I don't think...." Joao nodded quietly, and then averted his eyes slightly, in shame. Gillian paused and exhaled sharply, embarrassed. "Um, yes, Right. Jars. I think I have something we can use over here..." Raina stepped to Joao's side as Gillian stepped away. "I'm all right with it if you, um... you know. Want to swim... um, like you said," Raina allowed in a tiny voice, still blushing brightly. "Thank you." Joao replied quietly. Gillian slipped past Raina and Joao to the table butted up against the wall opposite the bed. She rummaged through an old, well worn satchel sitting on one corner and pulled out two small glass jars with lids, each big enough to hold about a quarter cup of a given substance. "I only have the two jars," she said as she emptied their contents carefully onto the tabletop--both looked to be filled with dirt, one sample reddish and the other more yellow--and handed one jar each to Raina and Joao. "So I'll delegate sample gathering to you two. Is that all right?" "That's fine," Raina agreed, taking her jar from her tutor. She peered at the residue inside it. "What was in here before? The colors look odd," she asked. Joao stepped forward and finally looked up to take the second jar after Raina took hers. He fingered the jar carefully and looked at Gillian, still not quite directly, for the answer to Raina's question. "Oh, um..." Gillian laughed disarmingly. "Nothing, really. Just some independent study. You know--trying to earn those extra brownie points with the professors." Joao nodded at Gillian's explanation. [Gillian] turned to Raina. "Um...I have a lighter summer dress you can borrow, if you like. It'll be short on you, but it should fit everywhere else." "Oh, probably not THAT short," Raina giggled, accepting the offer. "Besides, I'm used to short dresses. I'm a dancer." "Oh!" Gillian's expression turned wistful. "The freedom you must feel while dancing--like flying! Dancers are truly beautiful to watch. I can't dance at all." She reached into her wardrobe and pulled out a yellow cotton dress with tiny blue flowers for Raina, simple in cut, the colors faded. "Here you go. I have my other summer dress on for warmth under this wool skirt, so I can just..." She trailed off awkwardly and pantomimed removing the skirt. "Oh, it's lovely!" Raina complimented. "Yellow is my favorite color." Gilliam beamed. Raina folded the dress carefully and tucked it and the jar into the small tote bag in which she had been carrying her books. The books remained on Gillian's bed as Raina settled the bag on her shoulder. "Are we ready to go downstairs?" Gillian asked. "Da" Joao said, rising from his seated position. He walked to the door and waited there like a sentinel for the two ladies. Raina smiled up at him as left the room. |
