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@Rhi-Rhi woo!
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Arca was the bustling capitol of Serendipity, which was arguably also the magic capitol of the world. No other country embraced the bizarre and unusual quite like this diverse and marvelous place. That of course also depended on your definition of bizarre and unusual. Well, perhaps La'marri was just as open and accepting of the strange, but that was more city-state than actual country. That place too had its charms, but it was here in Serendipity that one lonely soul found the most solace. Though even that small comfort was incomplete and a mere salve on a grievous wound.
Especially since the population was widely human. Brilliant, ingenious,
odd humans with colorful hair and eyes and skin and magic bespeaking heavy fae ancestry, but still humans. Creatures that seemed to have a natural penchant for ostracizing anything not also of their own kind. Maybe they weren't quite as discriminating as, say, Connlaoth, a place in which someone like him would find hostility and suspicion, but even here he knew he would never truly fit in. He couldn't bring himself to blame them. Had not his own kind preferred to keep to themselves? They had not mingled greatly with humans or fae or even other species of dragon.
That isolation had probably been his people's undoing. When the hunters had come in ever greater numbers there own guardians, like him, had simply not been enough. Who could they have turned to for help? No one. It was odd, humans had wiped out the population of his people in their greed, but still he couldn't find ill-will towards them, even in his broken heart. Somehow these small, seemingly weak beings had faced mighty dragons head-on and had
won. Their tenacity was to be admired, and their callousness feared.
Still, maybe it wasn't so odd that he harbored no hatred of them now. The Great Hunt had ended years and years ago now, before some of the current nations had even been idealized. Those humans responsible were long dead and buried, and so were many, many generations of their descendants. It would be unfair and irrational to hold a grudge against those so young and new to the world that their grandparents had even forgotten the old tales. He wondered if the world even remembered his kind. Oh they remembered
dragons to be sure, but Ellanari Sky Dragons? Those were but a long faded myth.
Sighing Tatsu rested his head back against the cool stone, he was perched atop a stone wall overlooking a small, private garden. One of the university gardens, if he wasn't mistaken. His back rested against the side of the building the wall was attached to, with one leg drawn up and bent at the knee, hands clasped together around it and the other leg dangled freely over the edge, swinging slightly in an idle motion.
In a human form, he stood six and near another half a foot, with a willowy, almost gangly frame, though every bit of him was corded in solid, lean muscle wrapped in pale skin. Silver hair with a slightly iridescent ice blue sheen when the light touched it at just the right angle was just short enough not to be able to be pulled back in a ponytail. So it hung messily about his head, falling in his intensely pale blue eyes.
Garbed in shining blue and silver armor from neck to boots, he probably looked something of a mercenary, or maybe a soldier. Outwardly he supposed he at least passed for human, after all, Serendipity was used to people with unusual coloring. Being able to blend in on the surface was good, but after so long he still found himself struggling to assimilate fully to human culture or life. Too many of their behaviors didn't make sense to him, and they just didn't think the same way much of the time.
The weather was pleasant, but the day was far too quiet, and dare he say,
boring. Though he smiled faintly at the thought that had be been home, his
true home, that this was probably almost exactly how he would have spent his day anyway. Though he'd have been in his real form, and surrounded by his own kind, instead of humans.
"Oh, what? What was that? Ya wanna bloody well repeat that, wench? 'Cause ya damned well better not have said what I think ya just said!" Pepper growled as she rounded on her classmate, rolling up her baggy sleeves as she went. The other girl--Arianne was her name, if she remembered correctly--went very still and wide-eyed, both she and her friend frozen in mid-whisper. Figured she'd look scared when she was called out, the two-faced wench.
Pepper had always hated Arianne. Her friend was okay. Her friend was just a sheep, the sort that went along with whatever Arianne did. Arianne, however? Was a terror. A noble girl, she had always been jealous of Pepper, and angry that a street rat would have more power and potential than her.
But the surprise on Arianne's face faded about as quickly as it flared. A second later and she straightened up, tossed her hair coolly, and smiled. "Language, Pepper," she said with a raised finger, imitating their instructors. "I don't know what you're all upset about, anyway. It's not like I was saying anything wrong."
"Uh, that's kinda literally what ya were just doin'. Ya called me a whore. I heard ya."
"It's not wrong if it's true," Arianne replied with a sweet smile. "We all heard."
"What the fuck are ya talkin' about?!" Pepper growled, but her heart was hammering in her chest. They all heard what? With a sinking sensation, she thought she already knew.
"Oh, just about what happened in Adela. Running off with some man is what got you in trouble, no? Come on, Pepper. We can read between the lines." And then Arianne brought her fingers to her mouth as though to take the words back. "Oops! Well, us literate ones can, at least. Don't worry, though! There's hope for you. Maybe if you spend more time studying and less time servicing strangers--ah!"
Arianne cut off with a squeal, because that was when Pepper launched herself at the other girl, and they both collapsed on the grass, right there in the middle of the university gardens. Unfortunately for Arianne, Pepper did not "fight like a girl". There was no hair pulling or slapping. No, Pepper had grown up on the streets from a young age and had learned early how to fight, and in a flash she had the other girl on her back as she pinned her down, knees straddling her while she gripped her hair and punched her.
"Take it back! Take it all back now!" she shouted, while Arianne's friend fluttered helplessly behind them, not sure how to break up the fight.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
Tatsu had closed his pale eyes for several minutes now, almost able to doze off on his perch, but the tranquility of his day shattered in an instant. It sounded like the shrill sound of angry young human females. At first he tried to simply ignore it, eyes still softly closed as he tried to drown out the sound of the bickering girls with the sounds of the city. He almost managed it. Almost.
His slightly pointed ears twitched as the sound of fighting broke out, his eyes opened slowly to peer down into the yard below, watching as an oddly dressed young girl pinned another to the ground to punch her in the face repeatedly. What strange behavior. Half of him thought to stay out of it, as it clearly wasn't his business, but the other, stronger, half of him felt compelled to aid the girl on the ground, to break up the fight. Squabbling hatchlings sometimes needed to be separated for their own good.
There was something else, the aggressive one was almost blindingly bright when he looked at her. For a human, she had a lot of magical potential. Tatsu could sense the power within Pepper, sensing magic was one of the things his kind were so know for. Sighing softly at his lost peace he dropped from the wall, landing in a crouched position before standing to his impressive height and strolling towards the three girls with an air of near boredom.
"Violence is rarely the answer to a problem, children. Desist before I separate you myself."
Pepper had her fist pulled back, about ready to wallop Arianne once more, when a male voice stalled her. She froze and looked up, prepared to see one of her instructors there--but instead it was an incredibly tall, pale man with intense blue eyes and pretty silver hair. Her breath caught when she saw that he was dressed in shining armor, too, and the first thing she felt was fear. Growing up on the streets, she had always feared soldiers, and even among the safety of the university, even though she was no longer a thief, that fear remained.
With a squeak, she scrambled off of the other girl and fell backwards onto her bottom. "S-sorry, sir! Please don't arrest me!"
Meanwhile, Arianne pushed herself to her feet, her dress soiled, her lip bleeding, and her cheek bruised. Tears welled in her eyes, which were smoldering less with hurt and more with anger. Still, she'd gotten off better than she could have; Pepper had punched her, all right, but not as hard as she was able, and she had avoided breaking her nose even though she'd wanted to.
She glared down at Pepper and then up at the soldier. "Do arrest her! She hit me! Do you even know who I am?!"
Separating them had been much easier than Tatsu had thought. In his experience humans could be strong-willed and stubborn at the best of times. He'd prepared himself to have to physically remove the aggressive girl from the other. What a relief that wouldn't be necessary. It always unsettled him to have to put his hands on a female, even when for her own good.
Tilting his head he looked down at Pepper, contemplating the way she had reacted as she sat where she'd fallen. He could sense her fear, and it troubled him. Why would she be afraid of him? Humans were so strange. No female should ever fear a male. It made no sense. Then again, humans were so very different, yes...human females had reason to fear males. That was perhaps the one thing that he truly hated about them.
He turned his eyes to the other girl, the one that had stood. "I have neither intention nor authority to arrest her. And no, I am not aware of who you might be - nor do I particularly care. If you will pardon me, Madam."
Tatsu turned away from Arianne with disinterest. The girl was injured, which bothered him, but she wasn't hurt enough to warrant undue concern. Instead he knelt down, looking at Pepper intently for a few moments. "Are you alright, Miss? Please do not be afraid of me. I would never harm you."
He didn't have the authority? Pepper blinked at that, eyes flicking between Arianne and the armored man. Really? And he didn't want to arrest her? It made her relax just a little, but he still made her nervous, and soon Arianne was stomping off with her friend in tow--no doubt off to complain about Pepper.
Now alone with the soldiery-looking man, Pepper swallowed hard. "Uh...I'm fine," she said with a weak laugh. She grabbed her hat, which had fallen from her head in the tussle, and plopped it back atop her head. It made her feel a little safer, hiding under the shadow of its wide brim like that.
"Just, uh, ya startled me. Though ya was a soldier." And he was huge! Even kneeling as he was, he towered over her and made her feel tiny.
Arianne and her friend were ignored as they left, Tatsu didn't so much as glance in their direction, his attention was focused on the girl in front of him, watching curiously as she put her hat back on. The girl laughed, and yet the sound seemed false to him. There was nothing funny to laugh at, was there? He hadn't thought so. A nervous reaction, perhaps, some humans laughed when they were afraid Yes - he was sure that must be it.
"A soldier? No, not a soldier. Soldiers are for killing, from my observation. I am a guardian - a protector - not a killer." Turning his eyes away he glanced about the garden he was kneeling in. After a moment he sighed and offered her his hand. "Allow me to help you up, Miss. I imagine your friends have gone to inform your keepers of your disagreement. I should probably leave before they arrive."
Pepper hesitated for a second, but after a moment's thought, she grasped the man's wrist and hauled herself to her feet with a grunt. Alright, so he wasn't a soldier. That was really all she cared about there, that she wasn't about to get arrested and hauled off to some dark cell to rot or something. The guy still made her a little nervous, though--but it was less now. After all, there was no safer place than here, at the mage academy, surrounded by hundreds of mages and some very powerful Masters.
Now she was just nervous because, goddammit, Arianne was no doubt snitching on her!
"Yeah, you and me both," Pepper muttered when he mentioned leaving. "Fuck. I'm gonna be in so much trouble...uh. So. Ya said you're a protector, eh? Whatcha a protector of? Your protector-ly-ness wouldn't happen to cover people who punched other people and are gonna be so busted, would it?"
Tatsu straightened himself from his crouch as Pepper got to her feet, peering down at the small woman with unreadable eyes as she began talking again. She asked a good question - what was he a protector of? Nothing. All he lived to protect was gone, so calling himself a guardian seemed rather pointless. Still, it was all he knew.
"You did hit her. Why would you need protection? Being in trouble is not the end of the world. It is not as if your keepers will really harm you." He turned from the human girl and began walking leisurely towards the wall that he had vacated. It had been a nice perch for a time, but he would need to find another. This had become a much too busy location to find peace.
"Of course they won't harm me! But I punched Arianne. Ya know? Arianne Di'Veera?" Pepper paused for dramatic effect and looked at the man expectantly, wondering if he knew the name. But since he was walking away, and since she was never very good at keeping quiet, she jogged on after him and kept on talking, anyway.
"The bloody queen's niece, she is! I mean, it's not like they'll behead me or expel me or whatever, 'cause apparently her mum sent her here to learn some respect, but fuck, I'm gonna get chamberpot duties fer like the rest of my life!"
The name Arianne Di'Veera had absolutely no affect on Tatsu, nor did the news that the girl was the niece of the queen. As far as he was concerned it hardly mattered who the girl's relations were. He didn't stop walking, and didn't seem concerned that Pepper was following him.
"You are an excitable child." He mused almost to himself as he listened to her. "Perhaps you will receive chamberpot duties, but you did hit her. Anything I did would only be helping you avoid punishment for something you did, in fact, do. It would be a disservice to you to keep you from learning a lesson you obviously need."
"Okay, but you were there! Ya gotta admit the bitch had it comin'!" Pepper said as she trotted after him. "Ya heard what she said, right? I mean, am I wrong here? She's the one with lessons to learn! Namely in the realm of 'don't be a horrible human being'."
"I do not have to admit to anything." Tatsu corrected her gently. "Whatever she may have said, it did not give you the right to hit her, as evidence by your current fear of punishment. So yes, you are still in the wrong. Not to say she is innocent either, but that does not seem relevant to the current conversation."
He stopped and turned suddenly, pale eyes studying Pepper intently for a moment, as if trying to figure out some small, strange creature he did not understand. "What she said, was any of it true?"
Pepper jumped in surprise, and came to a quick stop before she could run into him. His question made her scowl.
"What? That I'm a whore? Course not! S'why I'm so pissed! I mean, okay, I did run off with a guy..." Pepper looked up sharply and waved her hands. "But not fer the reasons she says! I was tryin' to get somethin' back, somethin' he stole, and then shit got bad, and those dumb fucks like Arianne are tryin' to make it out like I was off havin' fun just 'cause a guy was involved. Lemme tell ya, I was havin' the opposite of fun!"
She crossed her arms over her chest with a huff, face red, but with anger rather than embarrassment. Well, okay, maybe some embarrassment, too. Because she was leaving out the part where she'd flirted with Soren--because Kia, did she feel stupid about that, especially after what he'd done.
Her outburst was met with passivity, Tatsu's expression didn't change from the mild curiosity the entire time she ranted at him. That pose she was making, he'd seen humans do it before, usually when they were angry or upset.
"If what she says is not true, then why do you care so much? Do you like this girl? Do you care what she thinks? If she speaks only lies, then you should ignore them and go about your own business. It really is not your business to control what she says, you can only control how you react." He paused here, his lips may have only barely twitched in the hint of a restrained smile.
"Childishly is not the correct response. Your anger only feeds and empowers someone like her and it makes people take what she has to say more seriously. If you ignore it, well, then you obviously are not concerned with her lies and no one else should be either."
"I hate her! And yeah, I do care what she thinks, 'cause she makes life miserable! You try ignorin' something like that. It ain't so easy," Pepper said with a frustrated huff, growing only more frustrated in the face of this man's calm. "Sayin' nothin's almost as good as admittin' guilt!"
She reached up to adjust her hat. "Besides, sayin' nothin' is just...it looks weak. Like yer scared. Folks gotta know they can't mess with ya."
At least, that was how it worked on the streets. If someone picked on you, why, you beat the shit out of them so they knew better than to pick on you again!
Humans were so excitable, how did they ever get anything done? Tatus couldn't decide if they lived such short lives because of how excitable they were, or if they were so excitable because they lived such short lives. An interesting thought, he would have to save that one to ponder later.
"Lashing out actually makes you look weak and scared. Your mere presence should be enough to show your strength, if it is not, then you simply are not strong or not confident. Or perhaps I have no idea what I am talking about, you are such strange things."
He paused and leaned down so that he could look directly into Pepper's eyes. "However, I have found that silence can say more than a thousand words when that silence is given by someone of real power. You could be someone of real power, you know. I have seen many with magical talent, but their light is but a candle next to the sun compared to yours. Do you even realize how special you are? I suspect not, or you would not be bothered by what an inferior girl had to say."
Eh? That took Pepper aback, and she even took a step backwards in surprise when the man leaned down to look her in the eye. She shifted her own eyes away, feeling suddenly put on the spot.
"Um, I...what?" she said, and fidgeted with her sleeve. "I guess? Uh, why, what? Can ya like...see my magic or somethin'? Oh. Oh...wait. Ya heard 'bout the library, didn'tcha?"
And at that, she winced, because it was as much an embarrassing memory as it was a proud memory.
"The library?" Tatsu asked arched a brow as he straightened himself. Of course he had no idea what she'd done to the library, but naturally she would assume that, more easy to grasp than the idea that yes, he could see or sense magic and ability in others.
"I have my ways of knowing certain things, Miss. You are a very powerful mage, although unrefined. Your teachers must be very excited to have you among their pupils. I am curious if there are any other students of note. Before now I had not given these academies much thought, but I may have been wrong to dismiss them so quickly."
Pepper snorted at that. "Yeah, they're real proud of me," she said, in a tone that conveyed she doubted that. But despite her doubt, she knew it was true. Master Maza, for one, had been very excited about her rock-ifying the library, and got all gushy about it while she'd been stunned with horror. And Master Cain had all sorts of high hopes for her, and was always encouraging her in his way.
She scratched behind an ear. "Anyway, it's a mage academy. There's lotsa good mages there. Lots better'n me. Folk tell me I got potential, but that don't mean I can actually do much, 'cept petrifyin' libraries and shit."
Tatsu shook his head, obviously the human child did not understand him. Not surprising. Humans rarely did. "I imagine what you and I consider to be a good mage differ greatly in definition. A learned mage is useless unless the potential was there to begin with. You cannot make a good mage through education alone."
"Yeah, but..." Pepper huffed and tugged at the end of one curly strand of hair, then released it like a spring. "People got all these big expectations, and...what if potential's all I got? Like...like a dormant volcano that ain't erupted in centuries! It's got potential. But it might do jack squat."
Then she paused, looked up at Tatsu, and flushed red. "Er...sorry. Don't mean to rant atcha."
It was the ghost of a smile, but a smile nonetheless. Probably the largest change of facial expression that Tatsu had given the entire conversation. What an amusing child.
"Do not apologize for your enthusiasm. The thing about potential is that if it is there then the only reason it will not come to something grand is a lack of effort. You have to want it. Badly. More than anything. Forget your classmates with their petty gossip and their jealousy. Focus on what is inside you, seize it, and watch them all fall away as you become a shining star while they are left in the shadow of your glory."
Pepper let out a sudden laugh, her sullenness ebbing. "Y'know, yer pretty good at this pep talk stuff," she said, folding her arms over her chest and looking up at him. "Ya ever thought 'bout bein' a teacher? I wouldn't mind havin' more of yer lot 'round these parts, compared to a lot of the stuffy britches that roam those halls!"
"Stuffy britches?" Tatsu tilted his head, mild curiosity and confusion entering his pale eyes. "I am afraid I am unfamiliar with the expression. At any rate, I think you just paid me a compliment, so thank you."
He bowed slightly to her, hiding a hint of amusement. "I am a guardian, first and foremost, but I have mentored others before. I am afraid that I would likely make a poor teacher in an environment such as this."
"Why's that?" Pepper asked, brow furrowing. "If you can mentor and shit and know magic and all, I'm sure you'd be pretty good at it! Unless ya mean ya don't wanna work around the stuffy britches, which...uh, valid."
Then she snorted. "Oh, right, stuffy britches. Uh, that means, you know...hrm. Like a person who's all stiff and serious and perpetually cranky like their pants are too tight and wedged up their ass. Know what I mean?"
"I will remember that for future reference." Tatsu said, mildly amused at the description she gave him. Usually serious was how most people described him. "As for teaching, it is more a general dislike at being so restricted in my comings and goings. I travel a great deal, but if I taught at such an institution as this I think they would want me to remain fairly stationary."
A distant, but fairly quickly approaching, sound caused him to tilt his head. He rolled his shoulders slightly before looking down at Pepper with an arched brow. "I think they are coming for you now, Miss. I should leave, I am not sure they will appreciate my presence. Good luck with the, ah, chamber pots?"
"What? You're leaving?" Pepper said, giving him a wide-eyed stare. "Ya can't leave yet! Well, I mean, sure, ya can, but--but ya was a witness!"
And as she said it, she grabbed onto his arm. "Ya saw what happened! Ya can, uh, tell 'em straight! Defend me!"
"You think that what I would have to say would help you? I saw you hit that other girl. Repeatedly. I do not understand how you think I can defend you, or why you think you need defended." Tatsu didn't think that information would be particularly helpful to Pepper. He certainly wasn't going to lie about what happened. The children fought, that was more than obvious by simply looking at the other girl.
"'Cause ya heard the awful shit she said and saw that she deserved it!" Pepper said, desperation in her eyes.
She didn't want to clean the university's chamber pots! That was a lot of chamber pots!
"I did hear what was said, but that does not mean that I think she deserved to be beaten." Tatsu sighed, folding his arms across his chest as he resigned himself to having to deal with whoever was coming. Even Pepper would be able to hear them by now.
"You have really forced my hand on the matter. Let us see how this goes." He didn't think it would go well!
"Well ya don't have to say ya don't think she deserved it!" Pepper said, lowering her voice as, finally, she could hear the sounds of someone approaching. Turning around to look, she was both relieved and horrified to see it was Cain, an elderly, white haired man with a thick beard and a slight limp.
Relieved because she respected him and he respected her, too, and helped her a lot.
Horrified because she respected him and he respected and helped her, too.
Ohhhh dear.
"Pepper, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded as he approached the two. "You beat up Arianne? Are you mad?"
Tatsu just gave her a flat stare, lips pressed into a slightly disapproving line. What did his opinion matter? It was her teacher that would decide what would be done. Since the elderly man had already come into sight he held his tongue, further arguing with the child was really pointless.
The man didn't waste any time, jumping straight to scolding the girl. Tatsu would have been happy to avoid being there for this part. He really would. Sighing, he bowed to the teacher respectfully. "If I may interject on behave of the young Miss? The other child involved in the confrontation began the fight by repeatedly provoking this young lady with verbal insults of a nature suggesting that she was both promiscuous and unintelligent."
Cain turned to the man, looking confused by his presence at first, and then let out a long-suffering sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't say I'm surprised," he said, his voice softening, and Pepper's heart lifted with hope.
"Between the three of us, Arianne is--I'm sure you'll agree, Pepper--a spoiled brat. And I realize she's been...quite frankly, a bully. I trust you'll never repeat that. But! I repeat, are you mad, girl?"
"What was I s'pposed to do?! She was bein' a bitch and she had it comin'!"
"Perhaps! But she's also a Di'Veera, child! Have you forgotten that part?"
Pepper's shoulders slouched and she shifted her eyes away. "...No."
Tatsu straighten, rolling his shoulders as his eyes traveled between the two humans as they spoke. He would very much have liked to be somewhere, anywhere, else. An elder scolding a child wasn't something he felt comfortable interfering with, especially as the elder was on of the child's teachers.
There was something bothering him, however. "Excuse me, I have a question. I do not understand the significance of this other girl's name. Why is she allowed to behave so abhorrently because her name is Di'Veera?"
His expression was completely serious. Tatsu really didn't understand the reasoning.
Both Pepper and Cain turned to stare at Tatsu then, their expressions mirrors of each other: wide-eyed surprise, eyebrows lifted, mouths slightly open.
He didn't know who the Di'Veeras were?!
Pepper piped up while Cain was still trying to find a polite way to explain things.
"Whaaa? Ya seriously don't know?! Like, y'know, our queen and shit?"
"Language, Pepper!"
Pepper ignored him. "Di'Veera? As in Qiana-fuckin'-Di'Veera? Arianne's her niece!"
"Your queen." Tatsu corrected Pepper gently. "You already told me the young woman was the queen's niece. My question was why she was permitted to behave poorly because she shared the same last name as the queen. Does her behavior not reflect poorly upon her majesty?"
Pepper looked from Tatsu to Cain with an expression full of triumph, a see, what did I TELL you! sort of look. And Cain returned that look with a resigned, long-suffering one of his own.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose where his spectacles pinched him, he let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, the only ones around to bear witness to this were Pepper, Arianne, Arianne's friends, and you, sir. Arianne's friends will certainly back her, and they are nobles themselves. And Arianne...well, no one will disagree with Arianne. It is two witnesses of lesser blood against multiple witnesses of noble blood, I'm afraid."
Had he just been referred to as lesser blood in comparison to some human whelp? Tatsu's pale eyes narrowed as he looked down at the old man, lips almost twitching into a scowl. To think, he had almost considered giving some merit to these human academies. These weren't schools, they were playgrounds for children where the children were in charge as opposed to the teachers. Well, where some of the children were in charge.
"The girl's friends cannot give an unbiased testimony of events, where I can. I had never seen any of the children in question before today, and therefore have no reason to lie in favor of either party. However, any further argument seems irrelevant. This Arianne," here Tatsu actually sneered, "seems to be above reproach. At least reproach from you. Pity I did not know this all beforehand. I could have saved time and aggravation."
Cain let out a low sigh and rubbed his nose again. "Between the three of us, I would discipline her if I could, believe you me. But my hands are, unfortunately, bound by the bureaucracy of this college."
Pepper rolled her eyes. "That's a fancy way of sayin' nobles suck," she translated, and Cain shot her a look.
"Pepper!"
"Fascinating." Tatsu commented dryly at Pepper's eloquent translation for his benefit - not that he'd needed a translation. Indeed, he knew all that he needed to know about this place and the people in it.
"Well, my opinion hardly matters. Do what you will, or do nothing, it makes no difference to me." Turning his pale eyes down to Pepper he sighed softly. "I do need to amend my advice from before, I fear potential alone, in this instance, might actually not be enough. You have my sympathy child, good luck reaching your potential in such a hostile position."
Casting a look between them again he shook his head and turned to the wall again. He had come down into this strange place from it and over it was how he intended to leave.
Pepper's shoulders drooped at that encouraging statement and she visibly deflated. For a while there, she'd thought maybe she actually had a chance here...he'd actually managed to bolster her confidence! Because it was nice getting complimented by someone you know, but to get that from a total stranger somehow felt more honest?
"Oh...okay...um, thanks," she said with a sigh as he began to walk away, and Cain placed a hand on her shoulder and began to turn her away.
Looked like it was going to be a miserable rest of the day!
It only took seconds for Tatsu to be over the wall and gone. Finding a new place to relax would be impossible, there was far too much on his mind now.
A few days later Pepper would find a package resting on her bed upon returning from class. Inside the box were two large, well-tended, and very old books, one was on the subject of elemental magic, the second on natural magic. A simple note card was resting on top.
Miss Pepper,
I hope you find the knowledge in these tomes to some advantage. I assure you the libraries to which you have access do not have either of these volumes, as they are very old and very rare, so do handle them with care, please. Consider them an apology for my negativity some days past. You can be great with time and the proper nurturing - this I believe beyond a doubt - I only question the discouraging environment to which you are subjected. My advice would be to seek better instructors, but this is not my place to decide for you.
Until we meet again,
- The Guardian
Pepper took those tomes to heart.
She hid them in her room, as though afraid they might be taken from her, and studied them in private. She might book learning tedious most days, because the writing was so droll and she wasn't a fast reader, but these books were special. They were outside knowledge given to her by someone who seemed a great, worldly teacher--and reading them was the least she could do when she couldn't say "thank you" in person.
Besides, he actually believed in her. He was a stranger, and yet he believed in her, and had defended her against bullies. She owed him that much, for taking her seriously and then going to the trouble of delivering these books to her. It wasn't often she got gifts, anyway, and so she cherished them all the more.
And so life continued as normal as she to her studies and did her course work--and then her secret course work. These books made sense and were rather interesting, delving into subjects she liked, and maybe...maybe they'd be the key to not petrifying libraries!
She didn't think she'd ever see the mysterious man again.
But weeks later, late into the morning, that was exactly what happened.
Pepper was out and about, on a simple courier job to deliver a scroll to a healer's home a few blocks from the college. Of course, Pepper couldn't make a simple job of it! It wasn't often she got time to herself, and so instead of taking the simple route, she took the longer one through the busy marketplace. Funny how she felt she could get more peace and privacy among a crowd like this! In the quiet college halls, she always felt watched even when she was alone.
And it was while she was maneuvering around people so she could get over to a vendor selling cheap bracelets that she bumped into a familiar tall man wearing familiar shining armor with enough force to jostle her floppy hat right off her head and nearly fumble the scroll she was carrying.
Delivering the two books to Miss Pepper had been the very last thing Tatsu had done before leaving Serendipity. The next few weeks were spent in Essyrn, making a delivery to a very well-paying client that had requested he find them a specific artifact. While there he had managed to pick up a few pieces to bring home with him as well. The rest of the time not conducting business was simply spent relaxing in the arid climate as a guest of the wealthy merchant prince that had contracted his services.
As always, he found himself restless before long. Despite the offer of continued hospitality, Tatsu left the oasis and returned to Serendipity, feeling refreshed and having put the young mage he'd become acquainted with (if you could really call it that) to the back of his mind.
How surprising it was then, when as he browsed the marketplace in Arca, that a near blinding presence bumped, quite forcefully, into him. Pale blue eyes regarded Pepper in mild surprise for but a moment before he reached a hand out to gently steady her by the arm. She'd run into him hard enough to knock her hat off!
"Miss Pepper, what a surprise to see you. Are you alright? You should be more careful, you could hurt yourself." The bump of course hadn't so much as phased or moved him, but his face was a mask of soft concern for her.
At first, Pepper didn't recognize the man. She was too alarmed that she'd lost her hat, and worried over the scroll's condition, to notice him at first! But then she felt his hand on her arm, steadying her before she could lose her footing, and once both feet were firmly on the ground, she whipped around to look at him--and, of course, had to look up when she found herself staring at his chest.
She had a hundred apologies on her tongue, for she was used to angry reactions and always prepared for those, but her eyes widened for a different reason when they settled on his face, and recognition lit up in them.
"You!" she blurted out in a gasp, which came out a lot ruder than intended! But it was at this awkward moment that she realized that, while he knew her name--after all, Cain had shouted it!--she had never learned his. "Ah! Sorry! I mean, Guardian! Whoa, I...wow, okay, sorry, I'm kinda failin' all over the place here, I didn't really expect to see ya again! Not that I didn't want to! I'm just sayin', I didn't expect...I thought I'd be more prepared and--shit, I dunno what I'm sayin', I guess I'm tryin' to say--"
She sucked in a deep breath and decided that, maybe, it was best if she just started over.
"Hi!"
As soon as Pepper had turned he'd let her go, seeing as she no longer seemed in danger of falling over. Tatsu regarded her with raised brows, amusement clear in his pale eyes as she stammered about with her words. He hadn't meant to give her such a disorienting surprise, but really, she'd surprised him almost as much - he just hid it better.
When she finally managed to squeak out a simple 'hi', he chuckled softly and knelt down, picking up her fallen hat, taking a moment to dust it off slightly, before offering it to her with a gentle smirk while still down on one knee. "Hello again, Miss Pepper."
Still clearly flustered, and blushing a bit because she knew she was making a sputtering ass of herself, Pepper took the hat and plopped it back onto her head--somewhat hoping the wide brim would hide her as she tugged it down by the edges.
Guuuuh, she liked that he called her Miss. It was so...so polite! Chivalrous! Like she was someone important! No one else called her Miss. They called her a lot of other things, though.
"Hi!" she said, automatically, and then gripped the edges of her hat a bit tighter. "Oh. Uh. I already said that, huh? Whoops. Anyway, uh, nice seein' ya! Didn't think I'd see ya again, really--not that I didn't want to! I wanted to thank ya for the books! I've been readin' 'em and stuff, they're really good and--oh. Uh. Awkward question, but what's your name? Before I forget to ask again."
It was impossible to hide an expression of mild bemusement as Tatsu watched her for a moment before rising back to his feet. He honestly did not know why she was so flustered by his mere presence. There was no need for blushing, hiding beneath one's hat, or stumbling over her speech. Bumping into someone on accident did not warrant more than momentarily embarrassment, did it?
Her fumbling words did not seem to have much impact on him, save to make him smile faintly before he bowed graciously. "Forgive my rudeness at not introducing myself. Tatsu Drake, at your service, Miss Pepper. I am so glad to hear you liked your gift. It was not easy making such a difficult selection from my library. There were a great many books that I thought might be of some use."
He straightened from the bow slowly, looking down at her curiously. "Might I inquire where you were going in such a hurry as to run into someone? I hope I have not caused you to be overly delayed."
"Oh, well, I ain't goin' nowhere important," Pepper said, then glanced down at the scroll she held tucked under her arm. "I mean, it's important, sure! I gotta deliver this to some healer guy by noon. But it's not like I gotta do it now, ya know? Just soon. So I was just sorta...uh...kinda tryin' to be quick about checkin' out the market?"
She smiled sheepishly. "Ain't often I get to check it out, just...don't tell no one I was sorta slackin', yeah?"
Tatsu tsked softly, though his expression was still one of amusement. "Putting off your responsibilities? For shame, Miss Pepper," He immediately held up a hand to hold off any objections, "My lips are sealed, Miss Pepper. It is not my business. Far be it for me to hamper your small pursuits."
Although he was curious if she wasn't permitted to leave the academy whenever she wished. It was supposed to be a school, not a prison. Ah, but he reminded himself yet again that it wasn't his business. "It was a pleasant surprise to see you again, Miss Pepper. I should let you be about your business now. If you need to deliver that scroll soon then I am wasting your leisure time."
"Oh! You're not wastin' it!" Pepper said quickly. A bit too quickly, perhaps. She cleared her throat and straightened her hat.
"Ain't no rule sayin' ya can't come along. It's pretty borin' doin' this all alone--that is, if ya ain't busy or nothin'! Like, uh, thought maybe I'd ask ya some questions about them books or...whatever. If ya ain't busy! Ya don't have to! Just, if you're bored."
She scuffed the ground with the toe of her boot, eyes shifting away. Argh. She hated feeling this awkward, but truth be told, she really admired him.
Tatsu arched a brow at Pepper's swift protest to the idea that he was wasting her time. He very much would have liked to be in her head at that moment. Her behavior was so curious, it would be quite intriguing to be privy to her thoughts. Ah, but her thoughts were his own and it wasn't his concern.
"As eloquent as that delightful string of words was, let me clarify. Are you asking if I would like to accompany you, Miss Pepper? A very wordy invitation if so, and an invitation I would be happy to accept." He smiled and offered Pepper his arm like a proper gentleman might offer a lady.
Pepper stared at his offered arm, and her face flushed hotter, embarrassed at her own fumbling words--and at how gentlemanly he was. It wasn't something she was used to at all, people acting all gentlemanly at her. She was more used to being treated as a gofer, a student, or a former criminal. This kind of thing right here was like something out of some story about knights and ladies, and she weren't no lady.
"Yeeeeah..." she finally said when she got her words back, expression sheepish as she slid her eyes away. "Um, yeah. That, uh, that's what I was tryin' to say." And she laid her hand on his arm. "Ya sure you're okay comin' along? Ya ain't too busy doin'...whatever it is ya do?" A pause. "What do ya do, anyway? When ya ain't helpin' out scrappy students?"
"Not too busy at all. I just returned from Essyrn, in fact, so I was simply enjoying the market for a few hours. I am an antiquities dealer. Mostly I focus on acquiring and selling rare magical pieces. Very lucrative business, I might add. Sometimes items end up in my personal collection, often books." The books that Tatsu had gifted to her had come from his personal library. It was hard to part with them, because books were one of his greatest treasures, but her enjoyment only validated his decision to share them with her.
"I know you are a student, but have you considered what you might do beyond that? I am led to believe that many of the college students become employed by the colleges themselves." He really didn't know a great deal about the schools, in truth. The topic had never concerned him before he'd met Pepper.
"Uhhh...yeah. Ya'd be pretty correct there. Pretty much everyone winds up workin' for the college. Unless they're mama's little rich kid, like Arianne. Then they get bailed out and can go off to do whatever and rub it in everyone's face."
Nope. Pepper wasn't bitter at all! Realizing the acidity of her words, she winced and switched gears.
"That ain't to say it's a bad thing, workin' for the college. Don't get me wrong. Weren't for the college, I'd probably have had my neck in a noose years ago, or be down by a hand. They saved me, really. I owe 'em. Just kinda frustratin' that just like everywhere else, it's the people with the money that get the good stuff. I'll be in my grave and I'll still be workin' off my debt! So, uh, to answer your question, I'll still be workin' for the college probably, yeah."
She shrugged. Wasn't much to do about that. "Maybe if I get real good, I can do somethin' like what ya do. Not really sure what I'll be doin'. I've been playin' with my magic more, and I think it's somethin' to do with earth?"
Tatsu arched a brow at Pepper curiously, mulling over what she said about the college. It sounded to him that the college was basically intent on making indentured servants out of its students. Barely a step up from slaves, in his mind, but he supposed most of them were willing to spend their lives serving the colleges. Especially the poor ones, as Pepper had pointed out. At least they had food and shelter, which was better than nothing.
"It is unfair for some to have so much while others have so little." He agreed with her on that much, at least. Even if he couldn't truly understand her frustrations. After all, he had just told her that he had a well-paying business. Tatsu had never known the troubles of being poor or cast out. In the colony everyone was taken care of and no one went without. It wasn't until he had come to live among humans that he learned of poverty and the luxuries and pains that money could cause.
"Yes, I did sense your affinity for that element. You really will be quite powerful once you have mastered your abilities. It is one of the reasons I gave you the books that I did. Although I have others that might also be useful to you. Perhaps after you have finished studying with the first two I will lend you more." He led her over to the stall she'd been headed for before bumping into him. It was full of cheap trinkets. "Ah, here we are. Was this what you were interested in?"
"Really? Shit, that'd be amazin'! It might be a while, of course. I'm only like..." Pepper furrowed her brows. "A third done with the first book...?" She grimaced, shrugging her shoulders. "Ain't that quick a reader. And there's a lotta big words. Like legerdemain. But it's really good!"
And as frustrating as it was to have to keep looking those words up to understand what the hell was being said, it was kind of a fun challenge, too. It made her feel like she was accomplishing something.
"Like, I feel like I'm really learnin' some--huh?" She was about to chatter on (part of her felt like she had to really, really show her appreciation and work extra hard to make sure he saw it in case he didn't realize how grateful she was because, well, wasn't like she got gifts often!), but then she noticed what Tatsu pointed out. It took a moment for her to remember she'd been headed there in the first place.
She looked down at the wares spread over the table, and shifted awkwardly. "Uhhhm...well, was just gonna look. I guess. To kill some time. Not really interested, just...it looked shiny."
Uh, yeah. She was totally interested.
Once a thief, always a thief, though she'd resisted the urge to do more than just touch for a few years now.
Mostly.
It certainly wasn't that Tatsu wasn't listening to her enthusiastic response to his offer of providing her with more books, quite the contrary, but he wanted to redirect her attention back to her previous course of the day. He didn't want to disrupt her free time unnecessarily. Indeed, his own pale eyes were drawn to the "shiny" jewelry laid across the table. A faint smile played across his lips at her lukewarm attitude towards them.
He picked up one of the pieces with his free arm and brought it up to inspect with with a very scrutinizing eye. "Perhaps for the best your interest is lacking. These are not of very high quality. Not only are the gems of inferior cut and clarity, but the metalworking is of sub-par crafting as well."
Of course most of the peasantry would not understand that the cheap baubles were truly lackluster. He doubted very many of them had seen real jewels of an exceptional standard. The vendor was glaring at him, but that was to be expected when you criticized someone's product, he supposed. Tatsu sighed and set the bracelet back down.
"Miss Pepper, do you have time to join me for mid-morning tea?" The question might have seemed random, but it was far from that. "The shop that sells my antiquities is in a nicer part of the city, and I have many items there that you might find interesting." Not only the books, but he had many beautiful pieces of art that she could admire, including jewelry.
"Yeah!" Pepper said, without so much as a pause for thought. Yes, she did want to join him! Anything to stall going back, anything to take advantage of being outside the college, and besides...she was curious about his shop. She liked the books he'd sent her, and this talk of "items she might find interesting" had her curiosity piqued.
Besides, she liked tea.
Made her feel all fancy, since she'd never had it back when she was a street rat. And it always made her feel all energetic!
"I mean, uh...yeah. If it ain't a problem or nothin'? I don't wanna like burden ya or anythin', but like...I like tea. And interestin' stuff. Interestin' stuff's...of interest." And she gave a little nod at that, still feeling a little ridiculous and fumbly with her words, but she couldn't help it! She looked up to him.
"I rarely find pleasant company burdensome, Miss Pepper. I am quite pleased to have you accept my invitation." Tatsu turned her away from the cheap stall and began guiding her through the throngs of people towards a district of higher class. There were nicer markets near his shop if she wished to browse more, but of course she was just a student, and of low class, so he doubted she could afford such vendors.
"Tell me, Miss Pepper, have you always lived in Serendipity? Have you had the opportunity to travel very much?" He traveled a great deal of course, but he always did enjoy hearing others speak of their own little adventures.
Pepper shook her head at his question, though she wasn't looking at him. She was currently watching where they were headed, noting the way even the buildings began to grow nicer and more well-made. They were heading toward the ritzier district, just as Tatsu had said, and a small knot of anxiety and rush of excitement grew within her in equal parts.
Even as a street rat, she'd never really ventured out there. Too many guards, and with her shabby clothes she stood out like a black cat in winter.
And now she was headed there with Tatsu, a clearly wealthy man! She plucked at her own over-large sleeves and then folded her arms, holding the scrolls to her chest. She still stood out, but maybe everyone would stare at Tatsu instead, since he was all dashing and fancy and handsome and stuff...
"Ain't traveled much outside of here. I was born and raised in Serendipity and aside from that..." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug, trying to keep her voice casual. "Been to Adela once." And what had happened in Adela convinced her that she was in no hurry to travel elsewhere.
Repressing a shiver, she glanced up at him and pushed the wide brim of her hat back so she could see him. "Lemme guess--ya been all over?"
"You could say that I have been a great deal of places, yes. Not everywhere, but a great many places. I only just returned today from a trip to Essyrn, truthfully. A very interesting place, Essyrn. Nowhere else is quite like it. Not only for the climate." Tatsu looked pensive for a few moments before shaking his head slightly. The climate was splendid, but the culture was...disconcerting. At least to him.
Putting it out of his mind, Tatsu tilted his head to look down at Pepper with a faint smile. "You said you went to Adela once? A very interesting place, Adela. You know that some people in their culture, perhaps a great many people in their culture, actually worship dragons. Did you happen to get to see any? I may not have a high opinion of dragon riders, but even I must admit they are a sight to behold."
Even if he thought humans riding and commanding dragons was a farce. No amount of respect, sympathy, or tenderness for humans could rid him of distaste at the idea of dragons being used as weapons of war in the control of human hands.
Pepper shook her head, eyes wide.
"I ain't never seen a dragon before, no," she said, fiddling with her sleeves. "Don't know that I'd care to, honestly. Don't dragons eat virgin girls?" She shuddered, rubbing her arms. Nope. For all that her time in Adela had been miserable, she was at least grateful that she hadn't had the added horror of running into any actual monsters. She'd just gotten to deal with the human variety, and that had been horrible enough for a lifetime.
"Can see why folks'd worship 'em, though. I sure as fire would if it'd keep some giant hellbeast from roastin' me! I did hear 'bout the riders, and I gotta say, those people gotta have some big ol' balls on 'em, to be able to do that. Not much stoppin' a thing that big from decidin' it wants a snack..."
Virgin eating Hellbeasts? Well, it wasn't as if Tatsu had never heard the great, colorful variety of rumors, myths, and legends around various dragons. He could even believe that at least some, if not most, held a grain of truth to them. There were few dragons quite like him. Some probably did not consider his kind to be "real" dragons at all.
Unintelligent people, of course.
"I agree they must be very bold to even attempt controlling a dragon in such a way, but I think you highly misunderstand dragons as a whole. Perhaps some eat humans - indiscriminately as I doubt they prize, or even notice, virgin girls above any other humans - but most do not. Some dragons are very intelligent, far more intelligent than humans." Or at least as intelligent. Tatsu wasn't sure he was far smarter, but he definitely did not have a bestial or animal mind.
The city had practically transformed around them as they'd moved further away from where they had bumped into each other. Buildings were grander and the streets wider with better paving here. It would not take long at all for them to reach his shop.
"I think it's scarier that they're smart," Pepper muttered with a little shiver. "If they're smart, it means they know what they're doin' when they do it. If a wolf just mauls yer face, it's 'cause it's a wolf and it's what wolves do. If a smart dragon does it, it knows it's bein' a dick and likin' it. And they're so big..."
She cast a glance around them, eyes wide at the lavish sights unfolding around her. Without even noticing she was doing it, she crept in closer to Tatsu, as though hoping some of his posh sophistication would rub off on her and hide her frumpy looks. "They could probably conquer us all if they wanted to. Eugh. I dunno, I'm sure they're great an' all but I'd rather not take my chances! I like not being food."
"I doubt the intelligent ones eat people." Well, maybe some of them did. Hell, Tatsu probably knew less about other dragons than he did about humans at this point. His kind had never been keen on associating with other species of dragons. Things might have turned out differently if they had only been less isolated and aloof.
"At any rate, I think your chances of becoming dragon fodder are rather slim here in the heart of Serendipity." He turned them down a side street that was home to a variety of extravagant shops, from expensive tailors to his slightly more humble appearing store face. Tatsu paused in front of the building and looked up at it with a faint smile, gesturing elegantly. "Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities, Miss Pepper. My daughter named it, quite a flare for the dramatic, that girl."
"Ya got a daughter?" Pepper blurted before she could help it, and suddenly he was way more interesting than even all the curiosities around her. She stared at him, eyebrows raised to her hairline.
"Really? But ya look so..." Young. He didn't look that much older than her! Maybe in his early to mid 20s. Which was old enough to have children, certainly. Hell, some women started as soon as they had their first bleeding, though times had changed and that practice had been labeled disgusting and barbaric by most. Most folks these days didn't start getting married and breeding until they were her age, maybe a little younger, and he hadn't said how old his daughter was. Old enough to talk.
Realizing what she had blurted, Pepper coughed and cleared her throat. "Sorry. I just. Huh. Ya never mentioned yer kid before," she said, before looking at the shop properly.
"Is it...okay if we go in?"
Tatsu hadn't realized he had said anything particularly shocking. Did he not seem like someone who would be a father? His expression was one of amusement as Pepper gawked at him, not needing her to finish speaking to realize she thought him much, much younger than he was. That made sense, humans were such short-lived creatures.
"I am sorry to shock you, Miss Pepper, but it had not occurred to me to mention my daughter. She had simply not come up in our very brief conversations." He stepped forward and opened the door for her. "Please, do go in and have a look around."
She would be followed by him. The door had given a little jingle when opened from a bell. There was some shuffling in the back as a faint feminine voice called out. "Be right there!"
Tatsu moved further into the shop, inspecting things to see what had changed in his absence - he was delighted to find that some things were no longer in their place, indicating they had likely been sold. A few new items he'd shipped from Essyrn were already on display.
It only took a minute for a pretty young woman around Pepper's age with honey-blonde hair to appear. She looked very much like a Connlaothian, right down to her manner of dress, and she looked nothing at all like Tatsu. Which might have caused some surprise when she squealed and launched herself at him as soon as her green eyes fell upon him.
"Father! You're early!" The words came out as an accusation as she hugged him. "I haven't finished cataloging everything you sent, but the shipment arrived without incident. I expected you home tomorrow."
Tatsu hugged her gently before stepping back. "Nellie dear, I would like to introduce you to Miss Pepper, she is a young mage at one of the colleges. I've invited her for tea."
Nellie blinked over at Pepper, obviously only just now realizing she was there. "Oh, gracious. Where are my manners? Hello Miss Pepper, it's nice to meet you." She dropped into a slight curtsy before turning back to her father with a smile. "Tea you say? I'll get that fixed right up, but you are getting no tea until you've changed! That is not proper attire for tea, mister." She waggled her finger at him quite comically.
"Quite right, my apologies. Be a dear and look after our guest while I do that." Nellie nodded impatiently and made shooing gestures. He sighed and took the hint, heading for a staircase in the back corner and disappearing upstairs.
"The nerve of him showing up early expecting tea dressed in that ridiculous armor." She gave a disapproving sniff before turning to Pepper with a smile. "I didn't know father had any friends at the colleges. But nevermind that, how do you like your tea?"
...The blond woman was his daughter.
There were wonders all around Pepper in that shop of Tatsu's, and yet the moment that woman came rushing into the room and into Tatsu's arms, all she could do was stare at her. That was his daughter?! But she was like her age! And Tatsu hardly looked any older! And she didn't look anything like him! She was blond! Didn't even have the same facial or eye structure! Where were the similarities?
Pepper stared, mouth agape, as she struggled to make sense of the scene unfolding. It didn't add up, and once again it left her wondering...how old was he? She knew magic could have different effects on different people. Some people lived longer and heck, some people weren't even fully human. He looked like he probably had some elf in him or something at least so...
Oh man. Her head hurt. She had just assumed he was so smart and successful because he was a nobleman!
Oh! The woman was speaking to her. Pepper blinked in surprise, then quickly cleared her throat and did her best curtsy, which was much more awkward and sloppy than Nellie's.
"Uh, hi." Awkward wave. "Nice to meetcha too, miss," she said, trailing off as the woman stopped to admonish her...father. Face coloring, she looked down at herself as Nellie shooed Tatsu off to change. Was she wearing "proper attire" for tea? She had thought Tatsu very well dressed, and compared to the both of them she looked scruffy in her floppy, wide-brimmed hat and overly large robes.
Oh. Hat. Realizing it was impolite to wear it indoors, she quickly swept it off her head and knocked a small statue off a table, yelped in alarm, and dove to catch it. Landing hard on her knees, she caught it in her hat just before it hit the ground. "Uh...erm...sorry. Ah. Cream 'n' sugar?"
Nellie seemed as unfazed by Pepper's astonishment or fumbling as her father had been, either not noticing or simply unconcerned with the young mage's courser mannerisms. Her eyes did widen momentarily as the statue was knocked from its place. Most of the items in the shop were priceless enchanted artifacts, but she seemed surprisingly calm despite the fact that it seemed to have narrowly escaped destruction.
"Oh, are you alright? You didn't have to catch it like that." She stepped forward and retrieved the statue from Pepper's hat and placed it back where it had fallen from without a second glance. "Let's head to the tea room, shall we?"
The young blonde girl took the mage gently by the arm and led her into a back room out of the main shop. Comfortable chairs were arranged around a small table, a silver tray was already there with a tea set and a small platter of lemon cakes. Only one cup had been put to use, but Nellie quickly filled another with steaming water. There were ornament little silver tea infusers with a container of tea leaves open next to them.
"Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable. Father will be down in just a moment. How did you even meet him?" Nellie was quite openly curious about Pepper, as she truly hadn't known about her father befriending a young mage.
"Ya got a whole room fer tea?" Pepper blurted in astonishment, before her face went red at her own outburst. Er. Guess that showed how much she knew about how wealthy people lived, and she suddenly felt more ignorant and out of place than ever. Hopefully she could manage not to break anything while she was here!
She followed close beside Nellie, eyes wide as she took everything in as they passed. Everything was so cozy, but so fancy, too. Silver trays! Comfy chairs! Tasty looking cakes! Pepper's stomach grumbled at the sight, and she was quick to take a seat when offered, setting her hat down in her lap.
Ignoring the tea for the moment, she grabbed up a cake. Gods, she couldn't remember the last time she'd had sweets! The cake was halfway to her mouth when Nellie spoke, and she paused.
"Oh, er." How did they meet? Hoo boy. She gave a sheepish chuckle and scratched the side of her neck, staring down at her cake. "That's...a funny story, heh. He, uh...kinda saved me from some bullies." There. That was the sanitized version of it. No need to mention the part where she'd pinned the Queen's niece and punched her in the face. "He was kinda in the right place at the right time and, um, said I got potential and stuff...so..."
"Yes, more or less. I suppose you could call it a sitting room, it is where we usually entertain company, since we always offer guests tea I simply like to call it the tea room." Nellie chuckled softly, casting an amused glance at the floundering young woman. She had been raised by Tatsu on the road from a traveling wagon, but of course her father also had a great deal of money even then. Part of her was curious what it would seem like to someone truly poor and low class. After all, she could barely remember being the daughter of a poor farming couple in Connlaoth – that was another life entirely.
She seated herself comfortably in the chair across from Pepper, nodding her head as the girl explained how she had met her father – in as few details as possible, it seemed.
"Coming to the aid of a girl in distress does sound like Father." Nellie mused thoughtfully, it wasn't as if she didn't believe the story, it did sound exactly like what her father would do. Besides, if the girl lied her father could simply contradict what she had said as soon as she left. There really was no point in Pepper lying and so therefore Nellie had no reason not to trust what she said. "If Father says you have potential then you must be pretty powerful, no wonder he has taken an interest in you."
For a moment she could almost feel jealous of this other young woman. Nellie had no magical ability whatsoever, after all, and it was a fact she had always resented. Ah, but she hadn't needed any magic powers to wrap her father around her finger, had she?
"Feel free to eat as many cakes as you like, they're delicious." As if to prove her point she plucked one off the plate and nibbled at it delicately. Lemon tea cakes were her favorite. "Oh, but where have my manners gone? Did you have any questions? I saw the look of shock on your face when you first saw me, so I take it I am not what you expected?"
"Ummm, well, I guess I just...didn't realize he had a kid," Pepper said as she took a large bite of the cake, closing her eyes as the flavors exploded on her tongue. Eat as many as she wanted? She was on it! She was rarely given sweets, so she planned on stocking up!
"Ohmigodsthat'sgood," she mumbled around her bite, and stuffed the rest in her mouth, forgetting her manners in her excitement. She spoke around her chewing as she picked up another cake. "Nothin' wrong with it, just y'all look young."
She swallowed, and pounded on her chest to help it down before taking a bite of her second cake. "He looks more like yer brother, not yer da."
It was a perfectly reasonable reaction and assumption. Tatsu didn't look old enough to be her father. Nellie was quite used to it. She wasn't quite as used to someone quite like Pepper, though it made her smile to watch the way the young woman inhaled the cake and reached for more.
"Yes, he does look young, I suppose. That is how he has looked all the time I have known him, and how he will probably still look when I've become a grey-haired old woman. The only real downside of being adopted by someone as ageless as father, or rather, the downside of someone like him adopting someone like me. I feel sad that I'll leave him one day, but I hope my future children and their children after them will continue to keep him company so he won't be too lonely." Nellie busied herself with fixing another cup of tea, shaking the small bit of sadness the subject brought her.
Pepper heaved a sigh of relief--and nearly choked on the latest cake she'd shoved in her mouth. She pounded on her chest and swallowed properly this time before saying, "Ohhhh, you're adopted! Okay, that makes so much more--"
She stopped, blinking as something else Nellie said finally registered, if belatedly.
"Wait. Ageless? Whatcha mean he don't age?"
"Please don't choke! The cakes aren't going anywhere." Well, except into bellies, of course. She didn't even realize she'd said something worth taking note of in her explanation.
"I mean precisely that. Father doesn't age. He looks the same today as he did the day I met him when I was only six years old." Nellie thought it was a fairly simple concept. Surely Pepper knew there were non-humans about that did not grow old like they did. It probably hadn't come up in casual conversation between the girl and her father, though.
"Forgive my daughter, Miss Pepper. She sometimes forgets that most people are not accustomed to my uniqueness." Tatsu was paused in the doorway. His armor had been left upstairs, instead he wore a white silk shirt with ruffled collar, black breeches, boots, and a very well-made red long coat with quite fanciful golden embroidery. Overall it made him look very much like a wealthy socialite. A man that would have fit in with the highest members of society.
He had a wooden box with threads of gold inlaid on the top clasped firmly in hand as he approached the table and settled smoothly into the free seat next to Pepper. His pale eyes watched for her reaction now that she essentially been told he was immortal - not something he had really planned to reveal just yet, but what was done was done.
WHAT?
She'd met him when she was six?!
And he looked the same as he did now?!
Pepper whipped around to stare at Tatsu as he announced his presence on cue--and her cheeks colored. Not just from embarrassment because how long had he been standing there listening in? but also because...er...that look suited him and she wasn't prepared for it. And that just felt wrong!
"Oh, er...s'all good," she mumbled awkwardly at his apology, shifting her eyes away from him and to the box.
Of course she knew about non-humans, and had even met some! Some people could turn into wolves like Soren could, and she'd met some folk who were half something or other, but ageless folk? She knew of them, but she had never met one in person. It was the same as how she knew about ghosts and stuff but had never seen one. Meeting them in the flesh (or, uh, spirit?) was always different than just knowing of them!
She was still wrestling with the news, wondering just how old he was and what he was, wondering what was in the box, and trying to ignore just how damned pretty he was because no, when he took a seat near her. She looked back up at him, found his eyes watching her, and awkwardness overcame her. She couldn't help herself--she talked when she got flustered, and the words spilled right out before she knew they were coming.
"So what're ya, a bloody elf or somethin'?"
"Or something." The corners of Tatsu's lips twitched, but he managed not to look offensively amused at her reaction. He did use the hand not gripping the box to point out that the tips of his ears were indeed pointed instead of rounded like a proper human. It was better for people to assume he had elf blood - and most of them did - than to know the truth of the matter. Given their very recent conversation on the subject of dragons he didn't think it wise to tell Pepper that he was one of the 'virgin eating hellbeasts' that she feared.
Hoping the matter of what he was had been settled for her, Tatsu turned his attention to the box in his hand. He had noticed that it had caught Pepper's attention. The box was a dark mahogany, the gold inlay was very well fashioned, looking like two roses and twisting, thorny vines.
"I said that I had items that might interest you, Miss Pepper. This is one of them." Tatsu placed the box carefully on the table and opened it. Inside was a bracelet, golden roses spaced close together and twisting golden vines creating the band. He gently lifted the artifact from it's container and held it out towards the young mage. "I noticed that you were interested in the cheap baubles that peddler was selling and thought you might appreciate seeing what a truly marvelous piece of craftsmanship looked like."
Nellie had remained silent through all of this, only leaning forward to see which item her father had brought out to show their guest, and smiling when she saw the golden roses.
An elf! Well, that explained a lot. Like why he was so damned pretty. She really should have known, she sheepishly realized as he pointed out his ears, but she also wasn't in the habit of checking out peoples' ears. And besides, there was so much else to look at when it came to this guy that it was easy not to notice so subtle a detail.
Especially with him dressed like that. All fancy and dashing and shit.
Oh right. The box.
She straightened attentively as he opened it, eager to see what a rich person like him would keep in such an ornate thing. Something super significant? Some sort of enchanted item? A solid bar of gold that could feed a city for years? She noticed even Nellie leaned in to see it so it must be good--and then she blinked in surprise when he pulled out the rose bracelet.
And handed it to her.
"Uh, what?"
Pepper stared at it, then looked up at him, eyes wide in alarm and hands held up defensively. Oh no. That thing was beautiful. Golden. Expensive-looking. She was no connoisseur of fancy shit, but she could tell that was no cheap thing. Its quality was obvious, no noticeable seams or paint chips to be seen, and it looked delicate. Too delicate for the likes of her.
She hesitated, looking from the rose bracelet to Tatsu, to Nellie, and back again. She didn't want to break it, or mar it with her touch; she usually had ink or dirt smudges on her fingers, or in this case the remnants of cake, so she gave a panicked look down at her hands to check and rubbed her hands furiously on her robes. She also didn't want to be rude and leave him hanging, though, especially when he was doing this for her, so after a moment of silent panic she carefully took it in both hands and and looked it over. Hopefully her fingers weren't too sticky!
"Damn...it's pretty," she said awkwardly, still squirming inwardly because it was probably the most expensive thing she had ever held. Fuck, this was probably the most expensive seat she'd sat in, come to think of it. "Is it, uh, super special? Since ya keep it in that box? Like, do ya ever wear it or is it too like...irreplaceable for somethin' like that?"
You know. Just to have an idea of how much shit she would get in if she fumbled it. Right now she was a bit too nervous to move too suddenly.
Tatsu knew that Pepper was not someone of means, and that the delicate looking bracelet he had presented to her was probably more valuable than anything she had ever touched in her life before today. Except, ironically enough, the books he had given her. Those tomes were priceless, and yet because they were clearly old, and probably because they were books, she seemed to not realize their sheer monetary worth. The bracelet was fairly mundane by comparison, at least as far as he was concerned.
Still, he tried not to show too much amusement at her reluctance to touch the jewelry. Her nervousness was not to be made light of by any means.
"I would not call it irreplaceable, Miss Pepper. No one has worn this piece in many years now and the box is more ornamental than anything, just a place to keep it while it is not being worn." Tatsu smiled faintly and sat back in his seat, simply watching unconcerned as she handled the artifact. "It was beautifully crafted by a master goldsmith from Essyrn, and enchanted by a skilled mage, some four hundred years ago, I believe. The bracelet cannot break, nor can it become tarnished, so please do not look so troubled. You will not do it harm. It is one of the multitudes of magical items I have for sale here. There are many, many more and I would be happy to show them to you."
They might be considered priceless treasures, but Tatsu was far from stingy, and while others may have thought someone of Pepper's status to be unworthy of even looking at such valuable and expensive things, well, he was far more interested in her ability and potential as a mage than the circumstances of her birth or her current financial means.
"Oh! There are so many cool treasures we have tucked away in the shop, you should really see them. I bet there are some that you would really like." Nellie spoke up excitedly, a bit of a sparkle in her eye, clearly she was quite proud and passionate about the shop she ran with her father.
Once upon a time, Past Pepper would have been looking for ways to squirrel away some of the trinkets laying about, slipping them under her sleeves when she thought no one was looking. She would have been lying if she said the temptation wasn't still there. Old habits were hard to shake, and priceless meant they would probably sell for a pretty penny.
Even as thief, however, she had some sense of honor. For one, you just didn't steal from friends, and these people were now firmly in the Friends category. Just the thought of stealing from them made her belly squirm with anxiety, because in the past, swiping things had come so naturally to her that it was like breathing, just second nature. She didn't even have to think about it. Early into her education, that had been a problem and still sometimes was; she still sometimes stole random things (a quill here, an ink pot there) just because she could.
And she'd gotten in trouble for it, too.
She turned the roses over in her hands with a little more confidence now that she was assured she couldn't hurt them, and now that she was no longer an anxious wreck focusing too hard on not breaking them, she could focus on other things--like the strange sort of...current...that ran through them. She cocked her head curiously and smoothed a finger over the petals, eyes closing for a moment as she just felt and listened, but looked up again at Nellie's voice.
"I'd love to see more, if ya wanted to show me," she said, and then nodded at the roses. "What are these, anyhow? Feels more'n just pretty, like...I can feel somethin'. Like a hum but on the inside, if that makes a lick of sense?"