The New Student

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Rann yawned, strolling into her living room. Kageseji sat in a chair, her Templar tabard still draped over her body, embroidering. By hand. Rann arched an eyebrow.

"Morning… Still tired from overdoing it the other day?"

Kageseji looked up and smiled brightly. "Morning! No, I'm good!"

Rann blearily trudged across the room towards her kitchen, in search of orange juice. "Making something for Robin then."

"Yep!" Kage called back from the living room. "How'd your meeting with the other student go?"

Rann poured some juice and took a gulp. "Ida Vanbelle. She's…interesting." She hesitated, choosing her words, but chose to just be frank and think out loud. "Definitely strongest in fire, but there was a…fel scent to her spells."

Kage set her embroidery down and looked over, making her way into the kitchen. "Was there? You know, I'd know that kind of magic if I saw it. Manthra was a warlock. I practiced against him a lot."

Rann nodded. "I can't figure out if Ida isn't being truthful, or if she just doesn't know what she's doing. I asked her about the fel energy, and she swears up and down she didn't do it on purpose."

Kage scoffed. "Right."

"But maybe she's being truthful… She almost seems like she just picked up a book of magical instruction and started learning whatever was in it, regardless of what was in it."

Kage straightened, looking concerned. "That's…dangerous. That'll determine someone's path very quickly if they aren't careful."

Rann sighed. "Anyway, I agreed to take her on, for now. I figure if she's just stumbled into fel magic by accident, she needs proper instruction in…more traditional magic more than anything. And if she's really wanting to do fel magic, well… I can get her to someone who can teach her how to use it responsibly." She then smiled dryly after gulping down the last of her orange juice and rubbing her eyes. "I also told her…to take things at her own pace, and not to feel like she had to be competing with you."

Kage's lips curled into a grin. "You want me to hold back?"

Rann chuckled, but nodded. "Maybe a bit. She doesn't seem very confident in her abilities. Her first attempt at a spell hardly even singed my hair."

Kage spun on her heel and headed back to her chair, resuming her embroidery. "I'll just keep to this for awhile then, when she comes around."

"I think that'll do nicely."