Gemini expected her excitement, but he did not expect to be hugged, of all things. Gemini raised a slender eyebrow, looking down at her, wondering how in Petronel's name he had been paired up with someone so... innocent. The rumors were painfully true — he was the heartbreaker heir, the wasteful, needlessly extravagant and flamboyant heir to House Stone whose shenanigans always made for some good gossip about the province.
But she didn't even care that she was hugging the heir of House Stone. Hell, not even his own siblings acted so casually around him. Did— did she simply forget who he was, or...? And yet, he didn't mind it, strangely enough. Odd as it was, he could not recall the last time he had been hugged, and that very thought alone made him laugh a little to himself.
He was hesitant, at first—her innocence was impeccably charming, it wasn't often that you ran into girls who would be so quick to throw their arms around you in a hug. Or at least, it wasn't often for him. The heir had the strangest feeling that if he were to return her hug, it would only serve to taint her. Ah— he was a sinner to the core, wasn't he, despite all his prayer? His soul was drenched in lust, greed and gluttony for power— past redemption from Petronel.
But he hugged her nonetheless— grossly inappropriate conduct for a tutor, he could see the Dean throwing a hissy fit now— and placed a hand atop her head, hand resting on the fabric of the hood she insisted on wearing.
"Don't bother thanking me, doll. I'm only doing as I've been instructed to do," he told her. Really, he was here because the Dean had asked him for his assistance. As someone who had to deal with reigning in magical attributes eightfold, he was really the best candidate for the job. "You're a fast learner, as it stands. It won't be long before your hold over the water will strengthen, I assure you."
He thought back to her previous question, about his ring. He held out his left hand, and rolled his water mana ring around with his fingers. "You had asked about my ring before, no?" he asked, holding out both his hands. He had eight of them in total, each for each magical attribute he could wield. Five were on his right hand, and three were on his left.
"You wouldn't have seen it before. I crafted each of them myself. They act as augments, to strengthen my magical ability— all eight of my elements." He laughed a little, remembering his own days as a student at Sostrata. "They also help me keep my power in control. When you have so many attributes raging inside you, it's easy for the energies to leak out without even summoning it. They act as another measure of control."
She was a curious thing— no one had bothered to ask before. He stood up from his spot, placing one hand on his hip, stretching another out over the pond. "Let's try the previous exercise again, doll— we're creating our own waterfall of sorts, if you recall. Get this right, and you'll be done— for the day, at least."
He had a hell of a schedule planned for tomorrow. But right now, they had to focus on this technique. Tomorrow's lesson required being able to emulated this movement properly.
