A Magician Never Reveals Her Secrets (Quaggan!)

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Arthur exhaled through his nose, grinning. Why didn't that suprise him? Ria certainly didn't seem like the type to spare expenses on anything fashion related, that was for sure.

Susie, on the other hand, seemed more that a little shocked. "I, um, well, okay!" she stammered as she stood up from her desk. "Um, lead the way!"

[quaggan]

 Ria' left the classroom, waving goodbye to Professor Zinc - something that was neither necessary nor even seen, considering that the teacher was off to the land of dreams. But it was still a habit he was not willing to break. As they walked down the hallway, he chanced a look outside, just in case Pluto was still around and willing to give a lift to three people, but the skies were empty. Looked like they would have to walk like the commoners.

The dorm room looked like a complete disaster. Like most of the noble adepts, he was given a single chamber he didn't have to share with anyone else, for a low price of covert donation to Wyrdwood from his father. It was a good choice - few people would be able to stand this mess. There was not a single floorboard that wasn't covered with rubbish - notes, colourful pieces of fabric, old boxes and empty bottles... It was a minefield most people would be wise to avoid.

Ria just charged in, heedless of the mess, stepping on the items that littered the floor without even a thought. He began to rummage through a colourful pile in the corner, waving at the other students to let them know it's safe to enter. "Come in! Feel free to sit down on... whatever's there."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie was quiet as followed the two boys, smiling softly. People never payed this much attention to her! "Is this what it feels like to be a noble?" she wondered, eyes twinkling. "It must be! Oh, this is so awe- ew!"

Ria's room was an absolute pigsty. Scraps of fabric and thread littered the floor, as if the boy never bothered using his wastebin. Even worse was the smell- the cologne wasn't able to cover the musky smell of teenage boy, and the two mingling made Susie want to puke. "Don't we all get brooms here?" she thought, gingerly sitting on Ria's bed. "He knows they aren't just for flying, right?"

Strangely, Arthur seemed unbothered by his surroundings. He sat down on the floor, placing his hands on his knees. "Nice crib!" he said cheerfully. "I wish I could've gotten a single..."

[quaggan]

 Ria grinned, his pride pleasantly tickled by Arthur's words even though he's done nothing to really earn the single room. "Do you want a single room?" he asked. "I imagine it would be hard to build a pillow fortress with a boring roommate ruining your fun. I used to live with a few before my father got me a single room, and they were all terrible!"

He got to his sample chest and began picking scraps of fabric from it. They were all covered in black spots varied in size, distribution and even shape, all on varying hues of red. The differences didn't just stop with the appearance - the texture was also distinct for each piece. Every time he found something that fit his imaginary criteria, he tossed it to Susie.

"Pick the one you like best!" he declared. "Oh, and don't worry about how much there is" he quickly added, anticipating her concern. "Those were just leftovers my fabric suppliers sent me as samples, not the actual state of their warehouses - or my coffers, as a matter of fact. I think I have some bolts of those just under the bed..."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"You have no idea." Arthur said, rolling his eyes. "My roommates are so loud that I can't even nap when they're around!" The boy puffed out his cheeks a little. "I guess Kana's ok though. He'll at least play Monster Mash with me..."

Susie, who'd been obsessively comparing two of the patterns, flushed bright red at the mention of the Duhjari boy. "You- you're Kana's roommate?" she asked eyes wide. "Does, um, he ever, you know..." The girl looked down, picking at her fingernails nervously. "T-talk about me?"

The pillowheaded boy stared blankly at her, blinking. "Uh..."

[quaggan]

 "How dare they bereave you of your beauty sleep!" Ria gasped in a show of hypocrisy or just plain ignorance of how much noise his sewing machine made at night. "File a complaint! Or just curse them into silence." He really didn't know how to do either, though, so his help ended there.

He might not have the sense to know when someone doesn't want to be lectured about their clothing choices, but he noticed the awkward atmosphere between Arthur and Susie immediately. He didn't really know who this Kana person was, but the circumstances allowed Ria to infer enough - and to realize there probably wasn't a good way to answer the question.

"Well, is Arthur really the best person to ask?" he commented, plopping next to the underclassmen. "I mean, if I had a roommate who didn't let me sleep, the extent of my interactions with him would be telling him to shut up! Provided I'm not too tired to talk, that is. So if you want to know about this Kana boy, I would recommend asking someone who would actually listen to what he says."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Arthur visibly relaxed as what had been a rather uncomfortable situation was resolved. "Yeah, we don't really talk much apart from cards." he said hastily, silently thanking Ria for the save. "I sleep through the rest, really."

"Kinda want to sleep now. This is getting stressful..."

Susie blinked, then sighed. "Oh... okay." she said sadly, parsing through the fabric once more. "I just thought that... maybe he said nice things, is all..."

Suddenly the girl's eyes lit up. "Oh my god! You actually have it!" she squealed excitedly. She held up a scrap of cloth triumphantly. "This it the exact same pattern!"

[quaggan]

 Ria grinned proudly, feeling vindicated. Not only he managed to defuse a tense situation, but also had among his endless supply of samples just the perfect piece of fabric! That was a big win! He leaned over to take a good look. "Oh, I remember this one! The warehouse manager told me it was imported from Atlas Verde - that would explain why it looked familiar. Maybe it's popular over there."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie nodded vigorously, heart pounding with excitement. "Yeah! It's flag colors, so we use it for a lot of decorations and stuff!" The girl rocked her feet back and forth. "At my house we even have curtains and tablecloths, like, for special occasions!"

"At my house..." Feeling just a little homesick now, the girl turned to Arthur. "You're, um, from a noble family right? Do you..."

Susie trailed off as she realised the boy had fallen asleep. She looked at Ria in a panic. "But- but he's not even lying down!" she hissed, eyes wide. "W-was I being boring? I'm sorry!"

[quaggan]

 "Flag colours? Of the province? That's quite patriotic of you!" Ria commented. Or perhaps it was the tailor who made it that was responsible for this choice. He could only hope that all of their clients had the complexion and style that went well with such colours.

Arthur was sleeping! Ria could sympathize - being caught in a sticky social situation could make a person want to escape, and it would be very hard for anyone to follow him inside the dream. But it looked like Susie didn't share the positive impression - she appeared to be quite worried about having been boring. He had to intervene!

"No, if it was being boring, then I would fall asleep too" he quickly pointed out. "I could hear you just as well as Arthur, and I'm not sleepy at all! Maybe he had a busy night and now it's catching up to him."

  He pressed on quickly, before Susie managed to poke holes in his hasty explanation. "Say, what size hackysack would be perfect? I'm not Verdan, so I'm not as familiar with it."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Um... yeah, right..." Susie mumbled, not entirely convinced. "That makes sense, I guess..."

"They don't really want to spend time with you, Susie." a voice in her head chided. "You're such a loser, why would anybody bother? It'd be better if you just disappeared."

Susie swallowed, shaking her head. "Um, it's like, the size of an apple?" she said quickly, eyes wide. "It's- if you, um, don't have enough of the fabric, it's okay. I... don't need a new one..."

[quaggan]

 "Oh, not at all!" Ria exclaimed. "I just can't let the opportunity pass me by! I have never heard of this Verdan custom, so this is a great chance for me! Most of my tailoring forays have been into the realm of clothing, but I shouldn't let it distract me from new and exciting prospects! If you don't need it or don't like what I'll make, you can always give it to a friend."

Speaking of friends... He should probably speak quieter in order not to wake Arthur up. He tried to remember what the pillow boy said. So he would be providing a cloth outer shell to later be filled with... oh right. "He said it's to be filled with beans - is it some kind of special Verdan beans too, or would any do?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie blinked, face awash in uncertaintity. "Am I overthinking?" she thought nervously. The girl scratched at her wrist. "Ah, they can be, like, regular beans." she said. "I don't think we grow many beans back home..."

The girl suddenly gasped, as if only just registering what the boy had said. "Wait... you mean you've never played hackysack? Like, ever?"

[quaggan]

 "Well, I'm not Verdan" Ria explained. "The way Arthur described it, it was something unique to your province. What kind of games can be played with it? Since no one mentioned any sort of elastic fabric or beans, I assume it doesn't bounce the way most of balls do..."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie blinked. She'd never realized hackysack wasn't played throughout Serendipity! It seemed so much more mundane than something like Spirit Stones or Rangers!

"U-um... no, no bouncing." she said. "The goal is to keep the ball in the the air as long as you can." The redhead held up her arms, as if to demonstrate her next point. "But you can't use your hands, that ends the game. You gotta use, like, your elbows and knees and stuff to wack the hackysack back into the air." A small, proud smile began to show on Susies face. "My record is four minutes y'know. My dad told me that's really good!"

[quaggan]

 "That sounds impressive!" Ria admitted. He didn't know anything about hackysack or playing it, but he could take a Verdan word for it. "I wonder, do people with extra limbs or shapeshifters are allowed to play it normally, or is it cheating? Since they have, well, more elbows to keep it in the air."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie furrowed her brow. "Um... I'm not sure! I mean, Kana and Liam share a body, so having an extra head could definately require some kind of handicap..."

"Oh Myyla, what if I could get Kana to play hackysack with me?" the girl thought, cheeks flushing pink. "Maybe if I did, he'd finally notice me!"

"Um..." Susie stammered. "Maybe we'd need to blindfold one of them? Or something?"

[quaggan]

 "Makes sense. I wonder what would happen if they both wanted to play. Maybe they should get a remotely piloted golem body for that" he suggested. There were probably artificers in Wyrdwood who could get it done.

Still, he was never the kind to spend time thinking of game rules where there were more interesting things to waste brain energy on. "Where do Verdans usually get their own hackysacks from when there is no gorgeous and fashionable wizard to help out?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Susie's face scrunched in confusion. "Um... a remote piloted golem body?" she repeated, blinking. "I... I don't think... what?" The girl shook her head. "Uh, we, ah, can just buy them at any general store or toy shop, really."

"What does that even mean?" Susie thought, scratching her chin. "Are we cutting off one of their heads and putting it on a golem? Is that even possible?"

[quaggan]

 That could be a thought. While Ria would never want to get rid of his gorgeous body, he could imagine most people wouldn't say no to a golem that does not need sleep or food. And there probably were mages capable of detaching someone's head without further harm.

"That could work" he admitted. "Although that wasn't what I was thinking about. I've heard a golemancer brag about how she can build a creature she can control with her mind. Isn't that how a body works? I think, and my arm moves."