Left Out in the Cold (Eckhart, finished) [M]

[Whim]

"Yeah. Good game..." Liam said glumly and forced a smile, fumbling with the cards as Kana tried to help him put the deck away. A tiny crowd of the students ceased their game and meandered beside Arthur to Elwin's table.

"Oh, um, well-" Elwin's mind raced, as fast as it could at least. He built an entire deck to counter the one Arthur usually used. All winged monster girls to avoid his traps! Of course he was afraid of it not working, and never actually played him to avoid humiliation. "B-but what about your signature deck? You always use it... I really think you should."

The apprentice cast look to juniper, as if the the girl's support meant everything. She was tall, pretty, and intimidating anyway.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Erm..."

Arthur's eyes drooped, shoulders slumped. Elwin was the pushy sort, rarely letting go of trivial issues like this without conflict. Was testing his new deck really worth the inevitable whining? The boy sighed in resignation, reaching for his bag once more. "Alright..." he murmured. "I guess that's-"

"No."

Arthur flinched as the newcomer inturrupted him, accidentially biting his tongue in surprise. The girl's voice had an unnerving, almost musical resonance- like an orchestra that had a few instruments out of tune. He glanced upwards, immediately looking back at his deck upon meeting her gaze. "Use your new deck." she warbled, giving the boy the uncomfortable feeling that he didn't really have a say in the matter. "I want to see it."

The boy gripped his cards to his chest, a shiver running down his spine. "...Kay..." he murmured finally, hastily shuffing the deck and laying it face down on the table. "Um, Elwin, you can go first..."

[Whim]

"Are you sure? I made this just for his deck. Not fair to just change it.

"Some of us don't have silver spoons like the Clearwaters, you know, and can't always be buying new cards." Of course the Stormbane family had some notable mineral wealth along the Adelan border, but what about all those other children who didn't? Elwin gave Juniper a crooked smile, searching for any sign of sympathy. He helped her out with Nettlefield! Why wasn't she making it easy? Something in the girl's expression - her sharp voice - made him flinch. "Fine, I-I guess..."

"Fattened... Orratilla!" With a showman-like flick of his wrist, and a wink to Juniper, Elwin placed down the hexagonal card. It showed one of the rodents snoozing in a wooden cage, fur glistening in the sun.

***

Kana-Liam scrambled atop a desk to watch, left leg kicking to and fro with impatience. "Stop! So annoying!" Kana clamped a calloused hand on their knee. He hated fidgeting. "Sorry. Thinking about Susie aren't you?" A smirk crossed his face. He knew this for several reasons.

"Wasn't she coming?" It had been thirty minutes. Had he upset her? Her marks on that exam? Eleven out of fifteen was just passing. Maybe he should not have brought attention to it.

"Maybe she didn't feel like it?" Kana shrugged. They'd stuck close to Susie since she arrived at Wyrdwood, and even if she was nervous as a mouse he liked her a lot. But Liam's buzzing around her was annoying. What was so wrong with spending time together that the girl always needed to be involved?

"Come on Elwin! The whole point is to keep people guessing what you're going to do!"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Arthur grimaced- Elwin was being difficult, as he'd predicted. If it was going to cause this much trouble, it'd be better to just use his old deck like he'd planned. He began to reach for his bag, but a glance from the woman cause him to freeze in his tracks. The boy's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly sat back up. Elwin seemed to have gotten the memo as well, and drew his first card...

Huh. Well, Fattened Orratilla was an... interesting choice of leads, certainly. The boy's mind raced as he tried to determine what kind of strategy he was up against. If Elwin's deck had indeed been made to counter Arthur's old one, than that meant it'd either need to rely on powerful wallbreakers, or employ some sort of gimmick. The card in play suggested the latter, which meant Arthur would need to choose his moves carefully so as not to inadvertantly fulfill Elwin's win condition. Yawning softly, the pillow-headed child chose a card depicting a heavily armored walnut from his hand and set it down on the table. "M'kay. I summon my Seed of Yggdrasil..."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Susie rushed down the hall, bag clutched tightly to her chest. Professor Ferch-Rhys didn't need to have kept her that long, did she? The girl's face flushed in embarressment. Hopefully Kana wasn't worried...

[Whim]

A sour frown of consernation crossed Elwin's jowly face. Seed of Yggdrasil? Why? It was pretty useless outside a strong defense. "I could probably just make Oratilla use Grind to lower its defense and kill it. But I really want to show the Lady how my deck works. I don't want to ruin the spirit of it.

"I use Bait to bring in Bloodfeather Queen with added health." He flicked the card off the field, lazily, placing down the Bloodfeather Queen in all her glory. Black feathers tipped in red, luxurious thighs ending in sharp talons, and a little silk corset. "I really love the artwork on this. There's just so much soul in it, you know?"

Kana snorted in annoyance at the playing card. He never understood why so many boys liked the Dreadful Damsels set. "Its not that pretty. She's all gangly and flabby. Looks like a vulture." His expression faltered soon as he said it, eyes darting around in search of some flicker of support. Pissing off Elwin was not a good idea.

***

As Susie rounded a bend a taller figure, in the azure robes of a Magister, was rounding the bend. The girl ploughed into him. "BAH!" there was a scream of rage and, in a split second, a globe of ice and frost enveloped the figure -- blasting everything else away.

"What mushheaded nonsense are you rushing off to, girl? Hm? Not important enough, not yet, to be tearing about the school. Got to earn that." Icy blue eyes locked onto the meek first-year.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Art's okay, I guess..."

So that's what the Orratilla was for. Arthur gazed at Elwin's card, face turning a bit pink. He'd always been conflicted on the Dreadful Damsels expansion. On one hand, none of the cards were particularly useful from a competitive standpoint, the best ones being generic wallbreakers that were easily outclassed by other monsters. On the other hand, the girl on his Jenny Green-Teeth card was really cute...


Arthur glanced upwards to find that the creepy girl was still staring at him. A shiver ran down his spine, and his gaze returned to his hand. "...Kay. I forfeit my Seed's attacking turn to use Fae Fen." He placed a terrain card with an illustration of a gloomy swamp onto the table. As long as it was in play, monsters on both sides of the field would regain a small amount of hitpoints each turn...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Eep!"

Susie had collided with somebody, an was immediately sent tumbling backwards by a blast of frost magic. Slowly pushing herself up, she looked up to see Magister Maergath towering over her. "I- I- I'm sorry!" she squeaked, shivering from the cold. A fine dusting of snow had coated the hall, and there were a few icicles clinging to her robe. "I-I had to talk to- and, and I need to get to the club, and-"

The girl stared wide-eyed at the magister, praying he understood. "And- and it won't happen again!"

[Whim]

"Regeneration won't outpace my harpy even with strong defense! That was stupid." Elwin snorted, looking to Juniper as if the girl might laugh along with him. Of course he found her icy stare fixed on Arthur. Why? He was intelligent and kind and had been nothing but nice! He knit his jowly face into a frown; one way or another she would see. "Keeping in mind she is nourished by the Fattened Orratilla, my Bloodfeather Harpy attacks your seed!" He slammed his hand on the table for emphasis.

***

His expression softened at the girl who was shaking uncontrollably. "You're telling me it won't happen again because you think that is what I want to hear, or because you've weighed the risks and benefits in your mind?

"The very first rule of wizardry is you need to be careful. Magic is prediction. Control. Arriving two minutes early at the risk of tripping down a flight of stairs? Careening into some poor alchemy student? Impaled on a gargoyle?" He took a step forward, leg clanking on the floor. He grunted in annoyance. Unfortunate. Some droopling imbecile watching might think his ranting drawn from jealousy and ravages of age.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"...Kay."

Arthur puffed out his cheeks, doing the math in his head. If the Bloodfeather had an attack stat of 90, plus the extra 30 from sacrificing the Orratilla, then matched up against the Seed's base 100 defence and 70 hitpoints, then the total damage dealt was...

"That does twenty." the boy murmured. "Ten after regen." He put a damage counter on the card, then looked at his hand. "Kay. I summon Matango to the field... flank position."

Arthur placed a new monster on the table, positioning the card next to his first one. Depicted on it was a bipedal mushroom with a pout on it's face, sitting in a cloud of it's own spores. He'd take a penalty for doing so- spell cards couldn't be used when two monsters fought side by side, and he'd still only be able to have one monster attack per-round. Matango itself was not a strong monster, save for an admittedly enormous amount of hitpoints. With no offensive power to speak of, all it could do was...

"And he'll use... Anger Spore." Arthur said quietly. "You'll have to attack him next turn instead of Seed."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Susie flushed bright red at the Magister's comment, feeling incredibly embarressed. She had thought it was what he'd like to hear, but apparently it hadn't been the best response...

"R-right..." she stammered, slowly standing back up. "T-thank you for the advice, sir..."

[Whim]

"How much did your father pay for that?" It was a rare card from an older set. The entire thing made him bristle, though, as his harpy was meant to finish the thing off in one blow! "It doesn't matter because it can't do anything to her. Fine. Bloodfeather Harpy hits Matango with one-twenty attack.

"And I play Emerald Hive Queen. She's named after, uh, some jungle wasp. See?" Elwin was positively giddy to show juniper the design, wafting it uncomfortably close to her face. The card showed a woman dressed in green chitinous armor, with gossamer wings, and an insectoid abdomen, tipped with a stinger, extended from her backside. She was drawn straddling some poor young adventurer and driving the barb into his belly. In her defense he seemed excited about being stung but it was this sort of 'art' that made the Dreadful Damels notorious.

***

"You're off to what then? Some little social club?" Maergath scoffed. "Run along then.

"Unless you want to show me you've actually learned something about caution and anticipation? A little test. That imbecilic girl who calls herself your patron is rather one-track when it comes to your development. Quite a pity." He arched a graying brow. Most students would run away from a Magister's microscope. Or, worse yet, be entirely apathetic like that melon-headed Clearwater boy. Only the runts with something to prove were worth his trouble.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Oh, go fuck yourself..."

"I got it from Obedience, actually." Arthur said pointedly, eyes narrowing. "Traded my Primal Tarrasque for it." The boy clenched his teeth, hands balling into fists. Elwin's comment had struck a nerve- his father had never approved of his hobby, and the thought of him ever buying his son cards was laughable...

The boy hardly reacted to Elwin's second card, focusing instead on adding up the damage Matango would take this turn. At this stage, it really didn't matter what monsters the older boy had in play. Sighing, he placed a number of damage tokens equal to about half of the mushroom's total hitpoints next to the card. He also removed the last token from his Seed- his enviroment card would restore it to full heath this turn. "...Kay." he said. "Seed will use his signature move, Fortify. He'll take no damage from attacks next turn." Arthur glanced upwards, then back at his cards. The woman was still staring at him. "...And, uh, Matango will use Aromatic Spore. That heals thirty..."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I-imbecillic? But... She's not..."

Susie stared at the man, looking as if she'd just been slapped in the face. The girl was used to people making jabs at her own quirks, or at her family's lack of means, but almost never at her patron. She wasn't sure why the comment stung as much as it did, but it was enough to make her angry.

Very, very angry.

"You aren't going to take that, are you?" a voice in her head whispered. "He asked to see. I say you show him."

"I... I have been learning!" Susie finally said, voice shaking with rage. "I've been learning a whole lot!" She extended her arms, pointing her hands at the floor. Squeezing her eyes shut, she began to visualize what she wanted to make. She'd never done anything more complicated than a pyramid before, but it couldn't be an ordinary shape this time- it had to be more impressive than that. At a loss for ideas, she thought back to what she'd wanted to be before being accepted to Wyrdwood...

A gritty, hissing sound echoed through the hall - similat the noise sand makes when being poured out of a bucket. Opening her eyes, Susie's heart skipped a beat. Sitting between her and the Magister was a small recreation of Wyrdwood Castle, about two feet tall. While still only made of the white material she knew how to conjure, most of the minute details of the building were present- the towers, the arches, the pillars. There were even tiny gargoyles lining the roof...

The redhead stared breathlessly at her creation, anger fading as she admired what she'd made. "See?" she asked, beginning to get excited. "I told you!"

[Whim]

"See the healing is pointless. My Queen Bee is going to do Toxic Kiss on Matango." Elwin plucked a green marble from a pile and placed it stop the fungus. It represented poison; a persistent damage effect. "And my Beautiful Bloodfather attacks with Talons for another one twenty. So that's one thirty to your Matango. How much health didnir have again?" A smug smile crossed his double-double-chinned face.

"Not sure Primordial Tarrasque is really a good trade for that thing. It's rare and from an older set. But Tarrasque has a massive statline." Juniper was watching that boy again instead of paying attention. His heart was pounding. It was now or never. Gently, his sweaty hand slid across the table and rested on her's, to redirect her attention toward the game, to his little victory.

***

Maergath snorted with surprise at the display of magic. Unusual. More to the girl than expected, even, but this was how you brought it out. Heavy silence hung in the air as the wizard regarded her creation, searching for just the right reply. "I did not think pre-Di'Veerian third age castle construction was part of our curriculum."

He reached for a vial at his belt, coating his hands in an inky black oil, and moved to inspect it. The tiniest ghost of a smirk crossed the Magister's face at the sight of the gargoyles. Three horns; two curved and a straight crest. "Fair eye. Did you memorize it or call the image to your mind?

"And this material. Not ice, stone, or wood." A black hand tugged at one of the tower, testing its strength.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Arthur looked on as Elwin piled the damage counters onto Matango, face expressionless. When the older student had finished, the boy gave him a wide grin. "'Kay. So Matango goes down, but since Faefen's effect is still in play, that means that Seed is being healed while at full health, so...."

Just then, without so much as a glace in Elwin's direction, the strange woman dug her fingernails into the portly man's hand. Arthur cowered back in his chair, the card he was about to play clutched to his chest. "Bounderies." the girl hissed softly, eyes still fixated on the pillow-headed child. "Respect them."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"M-memorized it, sir..."

The newly-formed sculpture was light, and the strength of Maergath's arm was enough to slide it a few inches towards him. Susie winced at the sight, silently praying the model wouldn't fall apart then and there. "I... I really wanted to be an archetect before..." She shook her head violently- she'd gone back to stuttering again. "Before I came to Wyrdwood." she finished, trying her hardest to channel the confidence she'd had moments earlier. "I've read a lot of books on how castles were designed in the third and second ages, so it, um, came naturally..."

[Whim]

"Ah- AH!" the color drained from Elwin's face. He was pale and trembling Why was she doing? "I just- I thought since we helped eachother out today-" The portly young man tried to put aside his sulking. It wasn't her fault. Enough stories and songs about charming princes and girls just think that's the way to go.

He just had to show her.

"So my bloodfeather and queen bee both attack Matango. Bloodfeather is satiated-" It had not occurred to Elwin that Arthur was not done.

***

"Pity more of our students don't have an interest in creating something." An eiditic memory was an amusing trick. Useful for learning, at times, but at most an amusing aberration. 

"Light material." The wizard pulled at one of the spires, producing a knife to cut one off. His golden eye flickered to Susie, rattling off questions before doing taking a sample. "Your aspirations aside what does this materia you created do?  What are the properties? Tensile strength? Ley conductivity?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Arthur's locked eyes with the young woman for a brief moment, then immediately shifted his gaze to the card he was holding. There was something wrong with her eyes, but he could quite place it. They were.... empty? No, there was something there, but what?

Elwin's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, causing the boy to jump. "Wait! My turn isn't finished yet." He put the card he'd been holding face down onto his active monster. "Since Seed recieved healing energy while at full health, that mean's he's ready to germinate." he said matter-of-factly. "I summon Yggdrasil to the arena.

Arthur flipped the card over, revealing artwork that depicted a gigantic ent bursting forth from a mountain. Moss covered hills still covered the creatures back, rivers falling off it's body like waterfalls. The monster's stat's were ludicrously high, of course- some of the strongest in the game. "So, I'll have him use his Root Rot attack. He's big, so he can target both your monsters at once."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Well, it can..."

The redhead scrunched her face, thinking. Did it do anything? "It, um... Well, the thing is... What it does, is- hey, wait!"

Susie flinched as the Magister cut off a piece of the tower, sagging her shoulders in defeat. "I mean... please ask first next time..."

[Whim]

Elwin snorted in annoyance, an ugly snuffle. "How is this even allowed? Fine. My Queen Bee uses Sensual Sting to causes paralysis, that being a fifty percent chance not to act, and my satiated Bloodfeather hits with her claw. She's satiated." The portly apprentice was in a dour mood, nursing the scratch along the dorsum of his hand. 

***

"You cast the spell is cast here in the hall. I'd be remiss if I did not inspect it." The wizard popped a lens, bright green, into his right eye and squinted at the brittle material. "And if you did it once you can do it again.

"Now, what does it do?"

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "...'Kay." he mumbled, scratching his nose as he did the math in his head. "Subtract the defence, and... that only does twenty." He placed two small tokens on the card. "...And so I'll have him use his Take Root ability. That lets him heal thirty each turn at the cost of being unable to retreat..."

The boy looked up at Elwin expectantly. There was nothing the older student could do at this stage of the game- it would just keep going until Arthur won by attrition. "Guess that's it. Good game, man."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Um...."

Susie stared at the professor blankly, unsure of how to answer. Would se be able to do it again? "It... doesn't do anything, I think..." The girl looked down at her feet, beginning to feel rather silly. "It... it just kinda exists now."

[Whim]

Elwin frowned as he went over the tally in his head. The numbers were just too low; there was no way his girls would win. With a sneer he slammed his hand down on the table. "Fine. You win, with a card no one else could possibly get." None of it was fair at all. Arthur ruined everything with Juniper. It was such bullshit.

"Anyway, I didn't mean to waste your time with this. I guess Susie decided not to show up. Why don't I help you find her?" he rose, with some difficulty given his carriage, and extended his chubby hand to Juniper with a fluorish.

The gaggle of students, perched on desks, watched the outburst in uncomfortable silence. Seeing a grown man throw a temper tantrum and slam his fist was not pretty to watch. Elwin was still their better in some sense and few dared outright compliment Arthur on his victory. Liam rolled his eyes, murmuring just above a whisper. "He barely even tried. Or wasn't ready for healing. Its not like you can't do anything about it..."

"Yeah but did you see the look on his face!" He did not hide a gleeful snicker. They were seated a little behind Arthur and Kana had very little in the way of volume control.

***

"Now unless you intend to move this castle, here, back to your room I want more of the material. Low tensile strength and minimal elasticity, but its infusion capacity does make me wonder." The wizard prepared to slice off another chunk of the castle. "You know, I hope, what that measures? Otherwise you can go. Next time, make me something else."

Doesn't do anything. Was the girl ignorant, or had some idiot allowed emotion to cloud their judgment on the entrance exam? Yes, yes, some freckle-faced mousy little girl becoming a proper wizard would be very amusing, but would it ever really happen? Her memory seemed the main thing.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Arthur flinched, eyes widening at Elwin's reaction. It wasn't unusual for students to get huffy after losing, but this was a full-grown man! He hastily began to gather up his cards, until the feeling of a weight on his shoulder caused him to stop short. He glanced upwards, dreading what he might find...

Juniper had flit to the other side of the table, twirling gracefully before resting a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Sorry Edwin." she said coyly. "How does the saying go? To the victor goes the spoils?" The young woman stroked the top of the boy's hat, looking down at him posessively. "Here's an idea; why don't you go find her! I'm sure it will only take someone like you only a few short minutes..."

Arthur stayed silent, feeling much more like the spoils than he did the victor. His eyes glanced around the room, desperate to find a way out of this situation...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Susie took a step back, disappointment rising in her chest. She had wanted to bring the castle back with her, but the now-broken tower had sullied it for her. "Um... It means it can be enchanted, I think." she said, taking a deep breath. "You.. you can keep it." Tenatively she took a few steps forwards. "I'll, um, be on my way now. Thank you for your time, Magister."

If she wasn't stopped, Susie would begin down the hall once more- this time at a slower pace. "I hope I haven't missed Kana..." she thought, the image of her crush pushing her to move a bit faster. "What if he thinks I wasn't interested after all? What if he's already left?"

Already forgetting what'd just gotten her into trouble, Susie began to run down the halls once more...

[Whim]

Elwin was utterly furious she spurned him for that stupid kid. After he'd been so gods-damned helpful! Still, there was something in her voice that made the portly youth perk up. Maybe just maybe he could redeem himself. Prove he was the better man. "Well, Arthur's the junior student, why don't we send him and-

"And I'll go find her straight away. Don't you worry." Straightening his robes, Elwin lumbered to the door and out into the halls.

There was an afternoon lull between classes and dinner. A few students, uniforms askew, neckties undone, lounged in the parlors trading in gossip. A few of the smaller ones nearly bounded into him and were warned off by an angry glower. Elwin had gained a reputation for humiliating pupils in the fewer lower form classes he'd helped teach. That, and he was big. Now where the hells was Susie? Juniper had mentioned her last class was in black magic. He descended a stairwell to a row of cramped old rooms below the Lyceum. As he did so he heard a patter of feet below the stairwell as a tiny figure went barreling into him.

"Susie! There you are! Lady Whitechalk is looking for you!" A pudgy hand reached out to corral the girl and usher her along. "Even if you do need to stay after for extra help you can't keep your sponsors waiting. She's in charge, you know."

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

The portly apprentice tried to argue, but a harsh look from Juniper was enough to send him on his way. There was a moment of silence, which quickly subsided as the surrounding students went back to their own games. As the low hum of chatter filled the room one more, the noblewoman looked down at her prize. The boy squirmed in her grip, his golden eyes fixated on the door. "Uh, well that was a fun match, but I..."

"You said your name was Arthur, yes?" Juniper asked, ignoring his attempt at excusing himself. All boys behaved this way at first, Juniper had learned. Much easier to keep them in one place where they couldn't scurry away. The noblewoman leaned in close, as if to observe him. "You look familiar... what family are you from?"

The student met her eyes briefly. "C-Clearwater." he stammered, trying once againg to shake free of Juniper's grip. "M-my dad is the High Justicier..."

Juniper's smile faltered. "I see..." She loosened her hold on the boy slightly, eyes growing cold. She had heard the news about this one, of course- nearly everyone in the province had. She had assumed his betrothal to the surviving Feyal was simply politics, but if he had this much potential...

Well. That would cause problems, wouldn't it?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Susie yelped as she once again crashed into somebody, barely having any time to react before she was being ushered along down the hall. "I-I'm sorry!" she squeaked, cheeks flushed. "I-"

"Lady Whitechalk is looking for me?"

The girl's heart nearly stopped. "M-Mistress Whitechalk is h-here? Now?" she stammered, looking around wildly. "I-I never got a letter or-- or..."

"What if she's mad at me? What if the headmistress told her about me copying Kana's notes? Will she stop paying for my tuition? Will I have to go home?"

A chill ran down the redhead's spine, and her eyes began to water. "She- she's not upset or anything, right..?