Private Role Play (don't post unless invited)

[The-Preantepenultimate]

"Oh. Well, as I understand it, it makes magic a lot easier and more powerful. Like, have you seen those little pieces of glass, that when you hold them up to something, like a book, make the letters bigger and easier to read if you look through them? You can take that glass, and take it out into the sun, and if you hold it just right, you can focus all the sunlight onto one point and burn things? Um, what is that called...right! I think the librarian calls them magnifying glasses. Do you have those outside of Imperial City? Anyways, I think the glove works like that." Iulus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, it does if you know how to use them right. Like the Elder Knights and the Circle of the Round Table--I once saw one of them just--blow up a building. Like a giant explosion from a cannon, but only the foundation was left after the smoke cleared. I'm not--well, it goes without saying that I'm not that good at it."

[Cecily D Aria]

"Are the people at your college going to be alright with just letting something like that go?" Lynn asked, as she inspect the edge on her knife. She didn't look up from that, even as she listened and talked to him.

"That's a good point," Hazel agreed. "You say you're defecting, but is that really a wise thing to do? Won't they come after you?" She followed her arms on the table and rested her chin on them as she watched him and listened.

[The-Preantepenultimate]

"Well," he crossed his arms, furrowing his brow, "the glove isn't actually worth that much--I mean, it's worth a fortune, but money isn't an issue for the college, and its just a fancy glove for anyone who hasn't been conditioned to use it. So whether or not they come after me will depend on how much they care about keeping me, not the glove. And," he sighed, sinking down in his chair, "I don't know if its wise, but...it's right. It's the right thing to do. The fewer people they have tracking down humans, the better. Right?"

[Cecily D Aria]

"I mean, I wouldn't want to be a slave, after hearing some of the stories from runaways," Hazel said, shrugging. "But, I suppose you kids get told a lot of things about us that justify it, right? Unless everyone is the Empire is a total sociopath." She tilted her head to the side a little bit.

[The-Preantepenultimate]

"Well, yeah..." Iulus said, rather sheepishly. "They bring up the old war, and how if humans won the same thing probably would have happened, but in reverse, and worse. And, well, um--" he actually looked embarrassed, and blushed, "um, well, they say that since humans aren't as good at magic, they're not--well, that god doesn't like them as much, or something." Iulus looked up. "I don't know how much of that is true...I-I mean, the magic thing, not the hated-by-god-thing. They also say that humans...um...uh, need elves, and that if they were allowed to rise they would rip the world apart. You know, like in the old fable of Ascanius and Pyhrra. But then other people say that slavery isn't a good thing. They say it hurts everyone--but that it hurts elves most, to have to...own people." Iulus blush was even redder now, and he was visibly almost excruciatingly uncomfortable with the conversation, considering the people he was talking to. "But that we can't free them, and we can't just let them go free, because then the empire will collapse and the raiders will run free and it will be the end of civilization as we know it."

[Cecily D Aria]

"Well, I think I have grilled you enough," hazel said, noticing he seemed to be incredibly uncomfortable with where the conversation had gone. She didn't really feel the need to make him suffer, so she let up. "I guess it's only fair that you get to grill me now. So, anything you want to know?"

[The-Preantepenultimate]

Iulus felt very relieved to be out of that particular conversation. "Oh, um...well how did you decide to be a guardsman, I guess? Lynn said that she...that it was hard for her to stay. I thought you might have, well--" he ran his hand through his hair,"--maybe the same problems? Forgive me if I'm prying, I was just wondering."

[Cecily D Aria]

Hazel raised her eyebrows a bit, but didn't seem to have much of a problem with the question. "My Dad was a Guardsman, and it was his passion, so I picked up the torch, and all that," she responded. "Nothing too dramatic or unique there, I suppose. As to the aggressive men folk, I just decided to become less of a girl." She pointed to her hair for a moment. "And being a tough-as-nails guardsman-lady helps. I can arrest you and put you in prison if you try too hard to get into my pants. It's a pretty good deterrent."

[The-Preantepenultimate]

Iulus' maiden heart wan't quite ready to talk about anyone trying to "get into her pants." He was startled by her abruptness, and upfrontness--not even so much that she was a lady talking about those things, but that she was talking about them at all. That wasn't done in the court--at least, not without quite a lot of euphemisms and bush-beating. "Oh, um, I guess so." He was a little too flustered to say much else, and looked up at Lynn briefly. Maybe there was something he was supposed to ask...?

[Cecily D Aria]

"Oh my gosh, you innocent little baby," Hazel laughed a bit, noticing how embarrassed me was getting. "The boys would have torn during basic. Seriously, I didn't know there were grown men who blushed like little girls like that." She laughed some more.

"You are too blunt," Lynn responded for Iulus. "This is probably how you keep the boys at bay. Either way, it's too much and you should probably tone it down, if you want to make any friends." She looked over at Hazel with an unamused expression.

"Lynn, I don't need any other friends, I have you~" Hazel said and then hugged Lynn around her shoulders, and rubbed their cheeks together. "As long as you love me, I don't need anyone else!"

[The-Preantepenultimate]

Iulus smiled (although, now he was embarrassed both by the subject and being called a baby). Even though he was pretty sure Lynn would play-act in shoving Hazel off, or just ignoring her, their relationship was...cute. Iulus had never had anyone his own age he was that close to, for whatever reason. Then Iulus had to stifle a giant yawn--god, but was he worn out.
"If it's okay, I think I'll go ahead and sleep." He said, gesturing at the makeshift beds. If he went to sleep first, it would also probably help his shyness at sleeping in the same room with the girls--he wouldn't have to listen to them breathing or anything while trying to sleep.

[Cecily D Aria]

"I never asked for your affections," Lynn mumbled, as Hazel nuzzled into her face. That was true, even though Lynn and Hazel had been friends for a long time, Lynn had not wanted it, at first, seeing Hazel as a hassel to have around. In the end, though, the girl had grown on her.

"But you don't seem to reject them either," Hazel responded, smirking. Though she acted silly, and teased a lot, she really meant what she said about her feelings towards Lynn. The two of them were basically true companions, and they would always be like that. Then she let Lynn go and looked to Iulus. "Don't let us keep you up," she said, nodding. "In fact, we should also go to bed as well."

[The-Preantepenultimate]

Iulus took his glove from the table and stuffed it, along with the decoy glove, into his bag. Then he practically dove into the bed nearest the wall, and fell asleep almost before his head hit the pillow, curled into himself and the blankets like a large, boyish cocoon.

[Cecily D Aria]

The two girls watched him as he fell asleep. "Well, I guess we will have to take turned watching him," Hazel said, looking over at him. Lynn nodded in agreement. "I was going to suggest that the three of us just curl up together, but I doubt it would go well."
"Probably not," Lynn replied, looking over at Hazel. "When is your next shift?"
"Tomorrow night," Hazel replied, shurgging. "Truth be told, I could probably stay up tonight and sleep tomorrow before my shift."
"....I see," Lynn said. The two girls discussed it a little more, but then Hazel convinced Lynn to go to sleep. Hazel started looking over and fixing her equipment, but ended up falling asleep at the table, in spite of herself.

[The-Preantepenultimate]

Iulus woke up blearily, tangled in the covers. Why was it so dark here...normally the great vaulted windows in the dormitory let in plenty of light--he looked around. Oh. Right. He wasn't at the College anymore. He was in a small house in the wilderness. Lynn slept a comfortable distance away (thankfully) and Hazel was even further, her head resting on the table with her equipment strewn around. She must have fallen asleep while checking her gear.
Iulus gingerly got up and stepped over Lynn's prone form, his bare feet making hardly any sound on the floor. He looked at Hazel--he wondered if he should move her to a cot...? He could definitely pick her up--no, better not, Iulus didn't know if she'd like being touched like that. He picked up the blanket from her unused cot and draped it over her. That would have to do.
Iulus started lacing up his boots, watching the dust motes drift lazily through the shaft of sunlight the cottage's windows allowed. Well, if he wanted to be less useless in combat, he had better start now. He got up and grabbed his short sword, hefting its small weight in his hand. He wondered if he should switch to a longer sword--but no, if he had to use two hands, his left wouldn't be open for casting. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him as quietly at he could.
He hadn't been doing the Form--the sword and body exercises all College students had to do every morning. He'd been a little busy, but he guessed that wasn't an excuse. He stretched sleep lazily out of his limbs as he walked a little into the woods, eventually finding a smallish clearing with a tiny stream running through it.
Iulus started through the Form, balancing his sword while trying to maintain complete control of his body. After a little while, he had to pause to wipe sweat off his forehead. He looked down at his shirt. He didn't want it to get sweaty, and he didn't have his exercise tunic--would it be okay to take it off? He glanced off in the direction of the cottage. Yeah, he was far enough away--no one was around, and he would probably be finished before anyone started looking for him. He shrugged his shirt off, hanging it neatly off a tree branch. That was better. He finished with the sword exercises and put his weapon down. Now for the unarmed exercises for strength and balance--he kicked himself into a handstand. It had taken a really long time for him to do that one without falling over, but now he could do it, even if his arms started shaking after a few minutes. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his balance, on distributing his weight throughout his whole hand, from the heel to his fingertips.