Alucard quickly finished scratching out a note, a summons, to one of the newer fledglings. The child was an outsider. Normally, Alucard would personally meet with outsiders, get to know them, introduce himself, ask their life story. From there he would help outsiders come to a decision about what would be best for them concerning their future. However, he had been so busy of late, and this Dagrun, as the child called themself, seemed very keen on staying, so they were enrolled in the Fledgeling classes.
The Summons complete, he sent it on it's way with Nex, the Master Shadow's Shadow Spirit. Eight months wasn't too late to play catch up, was it? Alucard shrugged, the real reason that he was summoning the child was because their assessments were consistently above what was demanded of first year Fledgelings, and so Alucard wanted to move the child up a year, hopefully improving their room to grow. He already had another fledgeling in mind to pair them with, as both their scores were well matched.
That done, the Master Shadow went back to reviewing mission reports and scouring over information collected by his network of spies across the land.
Dagrun was under her bunk in the barracks discussing her day with her "friends" when the summons came. Nex appeared so quietly and so swiftly at her side that the young teen started, banging her head sharply on the underside of her cot, while the little mice she had been feeding and chatting with, scurried off to better hiding places.
The summons itself though caused her heart to plummet three stories straight down to her toes. With great resignation and trepidation, she slid out from under the bed and began the slow trudge to the Shadow Master's door in the clockwork tower. The pair arrived far too soon for Dagrun's liking and while the familiar continued onwards into the room, she continued to hang back, her hand poised to knock though she could not manage to bring herself to follow-through with the motion.
"Come on in, Dagrun." He said casually as his falcon returned to his perch on the desk. He motioned to the table nearby, a platter of food laid out, while he finished making a note on one of the mission reports on his desk. Routine stuff. Little did he know, but the food set out was something that Dagrun had prepared a day earlier, then persevered and reheated today in the ovens for him.
Setting the report in the Completed pile in the organized chaos that was the Master Shadows desk, he looked up and offered the child a smile. "A much belated welcome to you, Dagrun. I hope you are enjoying the Clockwork City."
Dagrun entered the room uneasily, moving to stand by the directed table while trying from not fidget as much as possible. While Alucard worked, she allowed her eyes to wander covertly until they came to rest upon the tray of food at which point they bulged comically large.
Cold sweats prickled along her spine as she fought the urge to run with staying calm. For though the Shadow Master did not recognize the food, the Fledgling most certainly remembered the lumpy and lopsided savory pastries she had been making and accidentally dropped on the dirty kitchen floor before brushing off and sneaking back onto the serving platter when she thought no one was looking.
It was only the room's other occupant's voice that startled her back into wide-eyed attention. Dagrun hurried to respond with vigorous head nodding as she did not trust herself to speak above the mental mantra ringing repetively through her head. 'I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead.'
He went to grab for the report that he had received from Zander about the Fledgeling Classes, only to find that it has been misplaced. "Go ahead and help yourself Dagrun, I will be another moment." He stated, shifting through the mass of papers on the desk.
The moment she realized she was not there regarding her failure at pastry-making, her shoulders slumped in relief. The tension quickly returned though as she knew she was not out of the clear yet. Dagrun did not need to be told twice to eat as soon as she was offered she made a dive for the pastries. As quickly, quietly, and effectively as she could, the young Fledgling proceeded to wolf down the large array of pastries in hopes of completely obliterating any incriminating evidence. She barely even tasted them as her eyes kept a hawk-like gaze on Alucard's movements and her hands shoveled the food into her mouth like an unending wheel, her cheeks puffing under the strain of holding pastries in reserve before being minimally chewed and gulped down.
"Ah! Here it is. Now we can g-" He cut himself off when he viewed the now empty platter. "Well now, I guess you were hungry. Just a common courtesy that you should probably know in the future, if there is platter set out, try not to eat the entire platter. Anyway, no big deal." Alucard shifted the papers in his hands.
"Anyway, I called you in here because I receive reports on the progress of fledgelings, you have been consistently scoring above and beyond what we expect and demand of first year fledgeling this late into the year. So, effective immediately, you are being moved into the next Fledgeling Class above yours." He said with a congratulating nod. "Also, because ranger life is so dependent on teamwork and trust, you will be sharing a small flat with another Fledgeling. Her name is Shula Ashia. You two will be flat mates until one of you takes the Rites. Now, Unless you have any questions for me, I will escort you to your new living space. Do you need to pick up anything from your old room before we head over?"
She winced as she forced herself to swallow the last bite and hang her head with shame. 'It was necessary,' she consoled herself. Returning her attention back to Alucard, Dagrun could not believe her ears, her eyes widening further in surprise. Automatically, her head began to nod before she realized that she could not allow him to see what she wanted to get and Dagrun switched to vehemently shaking her head towards the negative. The fact that she was being promoted was completely lost on her as she continued to worry about being kicked to the roadside.
The Shadow Master scrunched his eyebrows at Dagrun, "I'm sorry, I am afraid that I am not all to fluent in nodding. You'll have to speak up. Do you have any questions for me?" He asked with a friendly smirk. Always friendly with Fledgelings, that was Alucard. Stern? Perhaps at times, but encouraging. He had learned long ago that if you encourage the young, they have a much higher chance of achieving their full potentail then if you are hard on them.
Again, Dagrun shook her head fiercely before it registered with her that Alucard wanted her to speak. A quick, nervous lick of her lips and then she was opening her mouth to answer respectfully when the most disrespectful thing possible slipped out instead.
The Fledgling belched for all she was worth, loudly and fully from deep within her diaphragm. Completely mortified though she clapped her hands over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut in fear. 'World's shortest promotion,' her mind quipped remorsefully.
A short laugh escaped the Master Shadow lips, "Feel better?" he asked while rising from the desk, "I have some other things I need to get to soon, so lets walk and talk. If you need to get things from you old place, simply head there." Walking to the door, he held it open for Dagrun, "After you."
He could, very simply, teleport the both of them there, but most fledgelings didn't learn about teleportation until their 3rd year and the first few teleportations were always very disorienting.
Horrified, Dagrun only shook her head, her hand over her eyes as she marched herself around and through the door, instinctively heading towards her cot. She had no idea what to say the Shadow Master and wondered if she walked fast enough she could either leave him behind or keep him from asking too many questions. What the Fledgling did not consider though was the fact that Alucard was so much taller than her and could most likely out-walk her any day.
Alucard had to remind himself to walk at a casual pace, his long strides could easily overtake the fledgeling if he wasn't careful. "Now, just to let you know, the flat you are being moved into has shared space and private space. The Shared space is the frontroom, the dinning room, and the kitchen. The latter two are conjoined as one room, you'll see when we get there. The private space is your room and her room. Under no circumstances are you to enter her room. Only accessible from your room is your personal bathing and hygiene room, I will show you in greater detail once we get there."
Dagrun nodded her head in understand but her eyes were widening with so many thoughts racing through her head. The idea of so much space was amazing to her and she simply could not believe it. It was a pleasant thought though as the idea of sharing with someone given her secret was enough to make her head spin. Hearing though that her roommate was going to be another girl did nothing to put her mind at ease. From her experience boys were lazy and oblivious but girls were the nosy, social ones and if she was not careful, it would not be long before Dagrun's secret was found out for good. Then she would have to explain herself before being unceremoniously kicked out of the Vigilant Shadows for good. The very thought left a stone in her belly and ice in her heart. 'I'm dooooooomed,' was her only thought.
"Lastly, Your Flatmate goes by her last name, Ashia. Her Shadow Spirit has already manifested. He is a tiger. It shouldn't be an issue as Shadow Spirits will only really attack if their master is in danger. Now, do you have any questions for me?" Alucard explained as they approached Dagrun's small loft.
The Fledgling quickly shook her head as she all but ran into her loft and dived under her bed to retrieve her small chest of personal property. She thanked every single one of her stars that her bed was made for once and she would not be further embarrassed by her poor habits and behavior.
With a bit of wiggling and two thumps to her head for trying to sit up too soon, Dagrun finally escaped the clutches of the space beneath her cot before slowly trudging to stand in front of Alucard, box in hand, and no idea what else she should be doing or saying.
Alucard looked at the fledgeling with a somewhat quizzical look. "You don't talk much do you?" Not waiting for a reply that he knew was going to be a nod, one way or another. "Anyway, lets see you to your new living quarters."
It was a quick walk across the Shade District, where all Fledgelings live and learn, that took them to a relatively large building several stories tall. Alucard had long since taken her box under his arm to save on time. "There is one flat per level, You and Ashia the third floor." He led her into the building, a small receiving room before a series of stair cases going all the way up, doors on every level heading to the various flats. Rising to the third floor, The Master Shadow opened the door with his key and walked into the frontroom of the small flat. A girl in her early teens quickly appeared in the doorway leading to the rest of the flat. "So my new roommate is a guy? Are you sure that's wise Master Shadow?"
"You know good and well that you are in no danger, what with my own precautions and that spirit of yours, Shula Ashia. You two should greet one another while I prepare the barrier over his room." With that Alucard walked out into the flat and out of sight.
Ashia looked over Dagrun for a moment, "Name's Ashia, call me Shula and I will hurt you. Get it, got it, good. Now come check out the flat." With that, she stopped baring the entrance to the flat and walked into the conjoined kitchen, dining, and sitting room.
Dagrun shook her head while wishing that she still got to carry her box. She did not feel safe or secure without her possessions remaining close and still in her grasp. The fact that it was the Shadow Master only made her more uncomfortable as she was sure something in the chest would give away her identity to one as intelligent as him.
However, the arrival of her new flatmate left her only staring in wide-eyed wonder and fear. It seemed that Shula was going to be a force to be reckoned with and Dagrun already felt like her days among the Vigilant were quickly becoming numbered.
Her head nodded wildly in understanding as she feared opening her mouth would make her squeak like her only friends and in no time at all she was trailing the older girl about the place like a little lost puppy, the Shadow Master momentarily forgotten in the face of this far scarier adversary.
The flat was of a fairly simple layout, one large room, on one half was a kitchen and dining area, on the other half was a sitting area with a hearth in the center of that half of the room. At the top of the room, near the ceiling, were small vents too small for anyone to get more than an arm through. They were meant to vent any smoke produced by the kitchen or hearth. Ashia quickly pointed out a few key things. "Kitchen, larder, table, couches" she quickly ratted off the names of things as her sweeping pointed finger came to face each item in turn. "The hearth is great for making tea or, if you're weird, coffee. Disgusting stuff, that is. Also great for warning up after a long day of training. Quite the step up for the shared Barracks the first years get. In the larder is a selection of dried meats as well as cheeses I have gotten from my kitchen duties, nothing stolen of course, but once you are past the first year, they let you take extras home with you. You are welcome to it, but you gotta add to it here on out." Ashia went to sit on one of the hard wood couches by the hearth, picking up a book that had been discarded onto the dark cushion that helped to soften the seating.
Alucard walked out of one of the rooms, having just set Dagrun's box on her bed. "Now Dagrun, your room has a barrier over the doorway, no females can pass this barrier without alerting me. Shula h-"
"Not my name!"
"-as one over her doorway that prevents males from entering without my notice. Any before I go?"
The young fledgling nodded her head in understanding as each thing was pointed out to her, doing her best to take it all in and remember lest she have a question later because of her own forgetfulness. It was however, only when he spoke that Dagrun remembered Alucard's presence in the room and flinched slightly as he described the protection over her door. She could already imagine the havoc that was going to cause her now that she was forever cut off from her sole belongings. As if her day was not trying enough, the young woman was already beginning to imagine what life would be like cat-napping on the couch, hiding out in the library, and bathing in the bath house when no one would be around to see her at the most incredibly painful hours of the morning. It seemed that life was about to become an absolute misery.
Mournfully she shook her head sadly in response to the Shadow Master's question, not even looking at him as she wallowed in her own mental self-pity. It did not help that it seemed her new flatmate was as terrifying as the Shadow Master himself. 'I'm doomed! Might as well buy my gravestone now and save myself the trouble.'
"No? Alright then. Well from noon to the fourth hour each day, my office is open to anyone without appointment, feel free to drop by if anything arises." then the Shadow Master quietly left. The sound of the front door to the flat closing offering a loud contrast to the quiet of the living area. There was no noise, save for the soft crackle of the hearth fire, and Ashia turning a page on the thick leather bound tome she was reading.
"There's tea in the kettle" Ashia said, just loud enough to be heard but not enough to seem out of place in the quiet room. Without looking up from her book, she added, "In the larder, there is an jar of honey, a small cup of cinnamon, a bottle of milk- which need to be used up today least it goes bad -, so feel free to make yourself some, or unpack your room and get settled in. Training for tomorrow is to be self pursued, the official teacher for our year is an Umbra Ranger, he was called away for a mission during group sparing today, so the substitute is looking over his notes and classes will resume as normal the day after tomorrow. Finally, Second years with last names 'A' through 'G' have kitchen duty tomorrow evening. And now, you are up to speed." With the turning of another page, the quiet of the room returned.
Feeling anxious and not knowing what to do now that she was left alone with her new roommate who seemed to talk a mile a minute, Dagrun began to busy herself with the task of making herself a cup of tea. It was not that she even wanted one but without a place to retreat to she felt incredibly exposed and lost in her new surroundings.
Upon finding the kettle to have cooled a bit she hurried herself with placing it back on the fire to warm a bit as she stared into the flames pensively. With a sigh, Dagrun sank to the floor, pulling her knees into her chest so she could rest her chin on them, completely oblivious to all else but her thoughts. Not even rare and wispy appearance of Felix, slinking around the shadows nearby caught her attention or distracted her in those quiet moments of turning pages and crackling wood.
Also soft turning of a page. But Ashia had stopped reading, instead she was quietly taking stock of the newcomer. No, newcomers. Ashia corrected herself as she spotted the yet unsolid form of a shadow. She knew that her own spirit shadow was hidden withing the shadows behind her. Briefly the fledgeling wondered how this Dagrun would react to her spirit. He seemed like a timid, almost craven, thing. Yet despite her tough girl, take-no-shit attitude, she didn't want to run off yet another fledgeling. A large part of her hated the deafening silence of the flat towards the end of the day. Zeroth may be intelligent, but he was poor for conversation and, not that she would admit it, the tiger's presence unsettled her too. Like his mere appearance threatened to crush her soul.
"That fire will likely die soon unless you add to it, there are some logs in the larder, open the small door on the kitchen side and you will find them." It was then, of course, that Zeroth decided to show himself. Detaching from the shadow. The tiger plopped onto the couch before flopping on his side and laying his head on her lap.
Dagrun's head shot up at the voice but she did not turn to look at Shula as movement by the fire soon caught her attention. The sight of the great tiger though had her eyes widening in shock and surprise. While her own shadow spirit was small and insubstantial, coincidentally disappearing at the first sign of the larger beast, the tiger was anything but.
She kept her eyes trained warily on him, not once letting him out of her sight even as turning to follow him onto the couch made her entire spine crack. It was only as he finally plopped down on the other fledgling's lap that Dagrun ran her eyes up the other girl to briefly meet eyes. Her gaze was not one of a fearful child but an observant watcher. Dark eyes took in everything without revealing the thoughts deep within.
At last though Dagrun nodded her head once in acknowledgement before dragging herself quietly to her feet and tossing a log on the fire, watching as it flared to life again for a moment. She went through the motions of making the tea. But when it was she looked down that she realized she had made two and with a surprised shrug she brought one over to the other girl as if it were an unspoken peace-offering. Yet even as Dagrun stood there beside the couch her eyes easily slid to the shadow spirit as if evaluating any potential threat.
Ashia allowed a sigh of relief to flood past her lips. At least he hadn't run screaming out of the room like her first flatmate had, and the second, and the entire first year had whenever he appeared in the shared barracks. Ashia closed the book and set it aside, placing it on the flank of the tiger before accepting the tea in both hands. "Thank you, Dagrun."
Nodding her head to the behemoth taking up all of the couch beside her, she added, "This is my Shadow Spirit, Zeroth. I've had him since before I was a fledgeling." An uncommon thing regardless. The majority of second years still hadn't had a shadow spirit manifest. "He's more or less tame." she explained, running a hand through the soft fur around his neck ask a shallow rumbling growl sounded from the spirit. Though it was likely purring. She hoped.
She let loose a quiet hum in response, not knowing what to say or do. Dagrun placed her own cup down on the end table beside Shula before once more falling to her knees and slowly extending her hand out towards the tiger. Her breathing was even, her body seemingly relaxed. The only sign of her possible apprehension was the slight tremor in her extended fingers but she did not back down. Dagrun was determined to make the best of her situation and upon making peace with her human flatmate she still felt the need to do the same with the room's other occupant who would be more than likely squash her into oblivion with a single blink of his eye.
If the large spirit tiger objected to Dagrun's approach, he didn't show it. Rather her watched her hand with a very docile look on his face. After a few slow seconds, the spirit turned his further to the side, so the top of his head were against Ashia's lap. Much to the fledgeling's relief. Now to just get this Dagrun to say something. "The tea is really nice."
Ashia mentally cursed herself, seemed she wasn't so good at small talk herself.
Dagrun accepted the complacency and gently reached out to run her fingers through the fur of at his neck and behind his ears to scratch carefully at them. She nodded her head absently in response to Ashia before offering the tiger a gentle pat on the cheek and rising to her feet once more.
After a moment's hesitation though she looked the other girl in the eye once more and offered her hand out, feeling as awkward as she most likely appeared. Another moment and she was able to work up the courage to quietly but clearly murmur one word. "Dagrun," the fledgling stated by way of greeting.
Well, it was a start. "Ashia." She responded with a small smile taking his hand when it was offered. Then came the mental berating once again. She had already introduced herself, hell, she'd even threatened him should he call her by her first name. Ashia busied herself in her tea, one hand combing through Zeroth's fur. The tiger was absolutely eating up the attention, he was being oddly affectionate this evening. Not that she minded.
The squeeze of warm hands was brief but comforting to Dagrun. She withdrew once more a few steps away from the couch. "I'll let you get back to your reading then," she murmured softly, her head down as she started to make her way towards her new bedroom before remembering the wards and turning on her heel to head towards the flat door, with no real plan.
Ashia nodded solemnly, "Don't stay out too late, tomorrow may be self pursued practice, but we still need to practice." Ashia finished off her tea as Dagrun walked out, picked back up he book, she turned to where she had left off. "Now Ranger Avron, what happened in Hyoite?"
--------
Winter lounged against one of the pillars on the outer side of the practice courts. Once again, he was denied promotion to Penumbra Regiment. Not that he didn't understand why. The massive man stuck out like a black dress at a wedding. He had made it through his Rites based on his brute strength alone.
Tasks done, patrol done, yet not quite in the mood for drink. So in the solace and alone of the empty field, Winter summoned a small hand harp and began strumming absentmindedly, playing songs that he remember in the moment, weaving them into others with apt skill.
Winter himself didn't have a shadow spirit, but that didn't bother him. Most rangers called the man half beast himself, which is why he didn't need a shadow.
Lost in her own world of thought, Dagrun did not even notice that she had managed to flee from her dorm and down the halls all the way to the training grounds until she ran full force into one of the support columns. Or at least that is what she assumed she had run into as she struggled back onto her feet only to realize it was another ranger. With a wide-eyed stare and a hurried bow, she attempted to shuffle away only to trip over her own feet in her haste and end up sprawled out on her back again. Four heart attacks in one day, it was certainly not her day.
In all honesty, Winter hadn't realized Dagrun what there until he heard the shuffling of feet, turning, he saw a fledgeling bowing towards. "Hallo there. Ah, um. At ease." He went back to strumming his harp and pasted a somewhat goofy grin on his face. For children, Winter had nothing but compassion. "I am Winter, and you?"
Dagrun propped herself up on her elbows as she stared quizzically at the behemoth of a ranger before her. Seeing him stare at her with a goofy grin and play his harp had her wondering at just what kind of man he was. Running into him had certainly felt like racing head first into stone yet there he stood as if he was no more than a young boy carefree and dandy.
Licking dry, dust-covered lips and wincing at the taste, she struggled a second time to her feet and dusted herself off slowly. "Fledgling Dagrun Baarda, Ranger Winter," she murmured, afraid if she spoke too loudly he might turn into a great beast and pummel her into the ground like a giant of old.
"Please, just call me Winter. There is no need for formalities here." The giant of a man smiled wider and turned to sit cross-legged. His torso still overtaking Dagrun in height, "And what brings you out to the practice fields so late, ah? Looking to perhaps get some lone training in?"
'My roommate has a massive tiger and is a little scary,' was Dagrun's first thought with 'and the Shadow Master just barred me from my room and all of my possessions for the rest of my life,' following quickly on its heels. Neither of these she said aloud of course but the thoughts nevertheless made the Fledgling feel infinitely more weary and without hope.
"Do you always use a harp on the training grounds instead of sword, Ranger Winter?" she asked instead, wishing to divert attention away from herself and onto the other man instead.
Winter decided not to ask the fledgling to just call him by his name instead of including his title. Part of him realized that was as informal as a response we was getting from this little one. "No, the harp is more a recreational tool. And I like the quiet echo of this place." He dismissed the harp into his shadow barracks and placed his hands on his knees. "Do you have a weapon yet, Dagrun?" The giant's eyes gleamed with curiosity about the young fledgling.
Dagrun shook her head negatively, though no sign of regret or remorse displayed upon her face. She was still quite young yet and even being newly advanced only hours previous did not change the fact that there was still much she had left to do before she could truly earn her advancement at least in her eyes.
"Unless music qualifies as weaponry that is," she found herself quipping quietly, her eyes trained on her toes as she did.
Winter laughed a very deep, guttural laugh. Only when he managed to regain himself- which did take more than a few minutes -did he respond, "Anything can be weapon when one is smart, Dagrun. Take you for example. Small, petite boy does not look strong. Small, petite boy is overlooked by target. Target overlooks small petite boy." The ranger's grin looked particularly wolfish, "Small, petite boy gives target knife in the back. Music work the same. Can put target at ease, or teetering on edge. Like stressed glass, target will shatter if struck true." The entire time he spoke, Winter made many gestures, in another life, he would have been a great story teller, despite his trouble with Common.
The ranger then shrugged, calling forth two heavy handaxes and laid them across his lap, "Skjall. Vhati." He said the names of his axes as they were set in his lap. Next, he called forth a massive crossbow. On closer, the bow had two strings and complex mechanisms as well as a bolt trap. "Rokk Hunter." That weapon was laid at his side, still in plain view. "These are my weapon."
The young Fledgling looked to her elder warily. His matter-of-fact way of speaking made her uneasy and wish she had not chosen to linger after colliding with him. It would have been much better to scurry off in the same manner her "friends" usually did when spotted.
"Big," she murmured softly while staring at the two weapons in wide-eyed awe and apprehension.
Winter laughed, "For you? Maybe. For me? Right size." He banished the weapons before standing up. "It is pleasure meetings you, Dagrun. I am going now. Maybe we are meetings again some time. Can you find way to you home?" The giant of a man dusted himself off, mainly as to not be standing idol.
Dagrun retreated slightly as the giant man stood. She found him even more intimidating once he was on his feet. However, hearing that he would be departing she quickly nodded her head and bowed before dashing off once more. There was no reason to stay and she believed her actions to not be rude now that he had expressed an interest in departing. She did not know where she was headed but she knew she still could not head back to her new rooms yet. It seemed more aimless running was in order.
Atlas sat outside Dimtri's, at one of the two outside tables, nursing a steaming mug of drinking chocolate and staring up at the artificial starscape. His mission orders were folded over on the table, he'd already read them. This would me another long one. He was being allotted a full three month. He'd get it done in a month. The ranger was waiting Dimitri to return with some supplies for him, the retired Umbra ranger liked to help out when he could, so Atlas made sure to stock up exclusively with him before each mission.
He felt somewhat bad, he requested a previous year be moved into his class, only to be sent off on a mission. It couldn't be helped, at least that class would be his charge until they were to take the Rites. He would have plenty of time to instruct him. But fate worked out in funny and queer ways. Atlas noted as a child ran across the courtyard, Is that.. No way. "Dagrun! Come join me over here!" He called out hopefully. whatever were the odds that his new student would be crossing this way. A smile plastered his face as he tried to garner his attention.
The Fledgling screeched to a halt in surprise at the sound of her name, sending herself tripping ass over tea kettle into a somersault back onto her feet again. Her eyes darted about in confusion until they rested upon a lone ranger outside of the local tavern. Spotting him, she looked to either side of herself before pointing at her own chest. "Me?"
"Yes you, come on over if you aren't in too much of a hurry." without waiting to see if Dagrun came, the ranger pressed his thumb against a small crystal spire that provided a soft light for the table. Within a few seconds, dimitri's voice sounded from the crystal.
"What can I do for you, Master Atlas?" his voice was somewhat distorted, the magic of communication crystals was adequate at best. Only had a range of about 100 meters or so. Plus you could only link one crystal to another and no more. Made the magic have somewhat limited uses, mass communication not being one of them, so the project was a bit of a failure. But Dimitri and Alucard found a use for them, Dimitri had an array of crystals by the bar, so any table could call to him or any of his fledgeling helpers. Alucard had applied it for communication throughout the Clockwork Tower, mostly used by his office and the archives.
"Could you have another mug of drinking chocolate brought out?" Atlas asked the older man. "It will be out soon." Came Dimitri's immediate reply. Atlas reflected internally on just how much her liked the older ex-ranger, and how much he would be missed when he eventually did pass away. Old Dimitri was in his 90s not an uncommon natural life span for ranger, but it was becoming noticeable that his strength was starting to fail him. Over the past decade, he'd gone from singlehanded running the tavern to needing to hire fledgelings to help out. It was sad, but it was natural. Still, his age didn't stop dimitri from having an impassioned conversation or cuffing young drunks on the back of the head, it was nice to see him so full of life.
Returning from his mental excursion, Atlas looked to see if Dagrun had joined him at the table.
Dagrun shuffled over to the table, keep a wary and curious eye on the older ranger and what he was doing while standing awkwardly off to the side. She did not understand how her luck could be so poor as to have so many individual encounters in one day when most days she was lucky if she even had one.
Atlas pushed the chair across from him out from under the table. "Take a seat." The older ranger said from behind his mostly full mug. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Umbra Ranger Atlas. I'm oversee the Fledgelings in the year you were just moved up to. I was actually the one to request you I was actually the one who asked if you could be transferred into my year."
"I just wanted to apologize, I wasn't expecting to be sent on a mission as soon as you got moved up, normally, I would help you adjust to the new group, catch you up on anything you were behind on, but I can't do that while I am away on a mission. If you still need help with something by time I get back, just let me know, I'll make it a priority. Okay?"
She dropped into the seat like a boulder off a cliff, swift and heavy. Dagrun stated in wide-eyed silence, drinking all the information in to recall later when she finally would have time to herself again. She prayed that that would actually exist. Surely her fate had not taken such an ill turn as to cast her into the social atmosphere faster than she could say "clockwork."
At least she finally had answers as to how things had begun to spin out of control. The ranger before her had set things in motion that did not need setting in her opinion. Her lips pursed in displeasure at the news but Dagrun kept the rest to herself. She would be at this level eventually. It should not make a difference to her if it was this year or the year after as long as she continued to excel and prove herself capable without revealing her gender.
The young girl having come to this conclusion gave her teacher a firm nod in acknowledgement though she kept her judgement to herself. She did but believe she would ever seen him out if she needed help. She was an independent sort and always would be. Dagrun felt if you let others in then they were more likely to middle things up it use you and abandon you. By doing things in her own she kept herself and others safe. It was better that way. Besides if she sought the attentions of an older ranger then they would be more likely to notice her secret and that was simply somwthing she could not afford. That was a secret she would take to the grave if she could for Dagrun rued the day when everyone would know her lying shame.