Theoretical Thrones (Open, PM to join) | Wyrdwood Academy

[Hope]

"That's what I'm here for," Jax told her gently. "I never wanted to be. When I was younger, I liked action and adventure, and climbing trees and skinned knees. Not magic. Not sitting still and pouring over the most delicate parts of everything."

The words were like the release of something heavy, the healing some old wound he had almost gotten used to. He continued, "My parents thought this place would turn me into their golden child, their magic weapon. But I learned something else here instead, and it's super corny, but... I learned to accept every part of myself, if not exactly understand it. Even the magic part. I came here in a thousand different pieces, pieces my parents wanted and pieces I wanted and pieces neither of us wanted. And then I learned to be whole again."

He paused as they watched the fountain, the quiet hanging heavy in the air. "It's never easy," he finished, quietly, "but it does get easier."

[DragonSong]

Brahgo's eyes widened slightly, then he shot a quick, awkward look at Laeni and her familiar.

The girl was just...looking at him. She seemed to have forgotten, at least momentarily, that the shapeshifter was there. He glanced at Rey and shrugged, earning a similarly baffled huff from the strange panther.

"...You're right." Laeni was still staring at Jax as though she was trying to puzzle through a particularly difficult problem. Then she smiled, and suddenly everything about her was momentarily brighter. "That is corny."

Brahgo choked quietly, surprised; she continued without seeming to notice, "But it's...nice. It's a nice thought."

It was Brahgo's turn to stare now. Nothing about her had--changed, exactly. At least, nothing he could see. But she was abruptly, startlingly just...stunning. Magnetic. She didn't look any different, but there was something--maybe something about her eyes? Not the color, almost a sort of...glow. But no, that wasn't right either...

Before he could even begin to figure it out, the moment had passed, and she was just Laeni again. Her eyes flicked back to the fountain, head tilting as she considered the spirals of water with that same small smile on her face.

[Hope]

Jax snuck a quick glance at Laeni as she studied the water, shifting his feet. Well, wasn't that uncomfortable and awkward- and yes, very incredibly corny. Still... he thought maybe the peace would find her. At the end of one of those long, competitive days, perhaps. When everything went right for once, and lying in bed, studying the ceiling, she could realize that she wasn't who she used to be, too. That she'd somehow inexplicably grown, for the better.

Brahgo looked startled, and no wonder. Jax was rarely this, well, deep around him. Not that what he'd said was deep, but he wasn't joking around and being a meathead for once in his life. Ah, well. He could be full of surprises, but right now, it was time to change that. He crept up on the other student, a barely restrained smile creeping over his face. "Hey Brahgo, guess what?" he asked, before cupping his hands in the fountain and splashing a handful of water on him.

[DragonSong]

The abrupt splash of water across his face pretty efficiently snapped Brahgo out of his momentary, confused consideration of the new girl. He sputtered and jerked back, cursing in orcish as he wiped at his face.

"Jackass," he growled at his roommate, and though he'd gotten pretty good at the whole "intimidating growl" thing over the years, there was a playful glint in his eyes that belied his mischief. With an almost lazy gesture, he scooped his palm over the surface of the fountain pool, sending a sheet of water at the other boy.

Laeni and her familiar both yelped, jumping back from the small wave of water that sluiced over the edge of the stone basin.

"Don't start shit you can't finish, Jax!"

[Hope]

Jaxius yelped as the water drenched him, leaving him soaking. He flashed his roommate a bright smile, despite the water dripping off of him. "Me, start shit I can't finish? Never!" He jumped up onto the lip of the fountain, giving the surface a quick kick that sprayed water everywhere.

[DragonSong]

Brahgo threw up an arm to try to protect his face while Laeni yelped and jumped backward, shaking her head like a dog in an effort to rid her hair of water. Rey yowled and jumped forward, bracing his front paws on the lip of the basin and wiggling his haunches, clearly eager to play as well.

Brahgo smirked and took a step forward, then planted his hand in the middle of Jax's chest and pushed lightly, threatening to knock him back into the water. "You were saying?"

[Hope]

Jax grabbed Brahgo's wrist and jumped into the fountain. He only managed to drag Brahgo halfway in, but he did manage to splash water all over his face. "Gotcha!" he shouted, laughing. Seeing Rey nearby, he called out to the large cat. "Rey, help me get this big guy!"

[DragonSong]

Spluttering and cursing, Brahgo tried to stumble back and found a soft, blue-furred head shoving against his hip, tipping him fully into the fountain. He gasped at the shock of cold water and shook his head like a dog, glaring.

Laeni had to clap a hand to her mouth to stifle giggles, eyes dancing. "Oh, gods. Aren't you two going to get in trouble--" She cut off abruptly as she noticed the way Rey was eyeing her, the playful twitching of his tail, the way he sank into a mock hunter's crouch. Her eyes widened and she started backing away around the curve of the fountain. 

"Oh, no. No. No no no, don't you dare you overgrown lap-cat--!"

Keeping her eyes on her familiar, she didn't see Brahgo glance at Jax and quick an eyebrow, nodding his head toward the way the back of Laeni's knees were nearly hitting the rim of the basin. It wouldn't take much to knock her off balance.

[Hope]

Jax tipped his head in agreement, his grin taking on a mischievous edge. He crept up beside Brahgo, then knocked Laeni's legs out from under her with a well-placed swipe. The girl fell into the water, and Jax laughed at the sudden splash that sprayed over him and Brahgo. "High five!" he called out to both Brahgo and Rey, offering his hands.

[DragonSong]

Laeni squealed as she toppled into the water, gasping against the shock of temperature change and flailing her arms as she floundered for balance.

She managed to find purchase with one hand on each of the boys' shoulders, hauling herself upright and glowering as Brahgo laughed, reaching across her to slap his palm against Jax's before twisting to help her right herself. "Sorry, Kitten. Too good to resist," he chortled.

Laeni continued to glare at them, but despite herself she felt the tiniest twitch at the corner of her lips. "You're both horrid," she informed them primly. "And you," she added to Rey, who'd braced his paws against the lip of the fountain and leaned over to bump his muzzle against Jax's hand before turning his attention to licking a cowlick onto his mistress's temple. She huffed. "Little traitor."

It was only then that she seemed to notice she still had a grip on both Jax's and Brahgo's arms. The half-orc actually had a hand against the small of her back, helping her sit up. She snatched her hands back and quickly scrambled away, twisting to press her back against the rim of the stone basin and stare at them, wide-eyed.

They looked...fine.

Rey purred in her ear, very pleased with himself.

[Hope]

"Um... Laeni? You okay? All appendages still in the right place?" Jax asked, looking at the girl in concern. She'd seemed to be enjoying herself before she'd dashed away; still, he couldn't help but wonder if it was something they'd done, especially since she'd had the same reaction earlier.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to find the golden light that was his own way of seeing magic and the essence of life. Nothing seemed out of place. He shared a confused look with Brahgo, and caught a glance of Rey out the corner of his eye. The panther seemed almost... smug. "What's Rey saying?" Jax whispered to Brahgo.

[DragonSong]

Brahgo, frowning in confusion, muttered back out of the corner of his mouth, "Something about...an overreaction? Something to do with her magic..." He shook his head and shrugged helplessly. "Told ya, my cat is rusty. Can't get anything else."

Luckily, Laeni seemed too distracted with trying to push her familiar's head away as he continued licking her hair to pay the quiet conversation much mind. Flushing, she finally seemed to recognize that Jax had said something to her and shook her head quickly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I just...got...startled?"

It was a poor excuse and she knew it, her blush deepening a few degrees. Brahgo cocked an eyebrow, making it clear that he didn't buy that for a second, but he didn't try to press the issue. with a huff, he stood and shook his hair out again, then started wringing out his clothes with a long-suffering sigh.

"Well, thanks to Jax here, I have to head back to change before my noon class. Looks like you two are on your own for the afternoon." Rey yowled a protest and he chuckled, amending, "Three, sorry."

[Hope]

"We'll see you for lunch after your class, yeah?" Jax asked Brahgo, taking on a smile and letting the subject drop as well.

Turning to Laeni, he added, "I suppose I really ought to show you your classes now, Laeni. We did get a bit distracted." He picked his way out of the fountain, then brushed a hand against one edge of it. "Huh. Here's the symbol again. I do wonder what it means... well," and with this, he turned an eye to the sky. "Looks like the sun'll be enough to dry us out. What's the next class on your list?"

[DragonSong]

“Sure.” Brahgo ruffled his friend’s hair and gave Laeni another smile before heading back in the direction of the dorms, hands in his pockets and clothes still dripping.

Laeni clambered out of the fountain behind Jax, wringing out her clothes and hair. “Where did the list say there were more?” she asked quietly as she saw the other mage dragged his finger tips over the stone. It was clear she was trying to keep conversation moving, and that the effort was awkward and stilted, but her small smile was genuine.

“Oh, um...” She wracked her memory, then replied as Rey twined around her legs. “I think the next one was a first level enchantment course?”

[Hope]

"Awesome, let's get going." Jax led the way across the quad, arms loose and swinging. "There's several classes for enchantment with three different professors, but the one I got was... bleh." He made a face, then laughed a little, shaking his head. "I've had way worse professors since then, but that one was pretty strict. And some of my classmates were very competitive. So it made for a really tense atmosphere. Do you know what professor you have?"

[DragonSong]

"I, ah...it's some sort of lecture series, I think?" Laeni replied, frowning as she tried to remember and lengthening her stride in an effort to keep up with Jax. "So I think there's a rotating set of professors, actually."

Her robes clung to her legs and she wrinkled her nose at the feel of the damp fabric, smoothing her hands down over the material in a futile effort to--to do something. Honestly she had no idea what she was hoping that would help.

[Hope]

"Huh." Jax tilted his head, wondering how a class could possibly survive three different professors in one school year, when he noticed Laeni's movement. "Here, hold still. I can get the water out." Narrowing his eyes, he focused on the idea of water, the way it interacted with Laeni's skin, with her clothes, with the air. He visualized his golden magic drawing it away, back into the atmosphere, away from the girl's cells and tissues. He had to be careful about it- he could very easily dehydrate a couple million cells if he wasn't careful- but he'd practiced this particular move enough times to get it right, because manipulating moisture in cells was helpful in so many different healing situations.

He finished up and grinned, satisfied with the result. Laeni's clothes were only just a little bit damp now. His own clothes still dripping, Jax winked. "I like to make a mess in the halls. Gets the hard-ass professors real mad. The janitor loves me enough not to mind."

[DragonSong]

"Oh!"

Laeni forced herself to hold very, very as she felt his magic—that had to be why she was feeling, right?—brushing against hers, then starting to tug the moisture from her hair and clothes, even her skin. She shivered: not cold, just...shivery.

Then it passed and she blinked, feeling a little off balance. "Oh," she said again. "That, um...that's...useful."

[Hope]

"Useful indeed." He stopped at a door and opened it, stepping aside so Laeni could go in first. "Here we have the Hall of Enchantment. Or so I like to call it. The lecture room is just down the hall to the left."

He walked in after her, taking a moment to admire the plaques and decor all along the wall. As was appropriate for a hall dedicated to enchantment, all sorts of spells and charms glittered along the ceiling, remnants from graduated students. The decor ranged from glittery galaxy-colored icicles to hissing snakes melded into the ceiling.

[DragonSong]

Once again Laeni found herself following along behind him in silence, wide-eyed as she took in her surroundings.

"This is nothing like home," she muttered, seemingly to herself. Rey made a chirping sound and wound around her legs, herding her forward so she fell into step beside Jax rather than trailing behind. She stumbled a bit and shot the cat a glare, which he returned with an innocent blink.