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--RP Log--

Mathiaz finds a Cicus Fox

Grave had returned his book on Astronomy to Requiem, and was now exploring hte halls of the school in his free time. He'd gone to the Observatory - he just -had- to aftr reading that book. But now he'd borrowed a book on Herbs and wanted to see if he could identify the plants in the Flora Gardens, so off Grave went to apply his new-found knowledge.

Mathiaz had been ... well, bored. So he decided to go exploring. Without really planning it, he also found himself in the Flora Gardens, just aimlessly wandering the paths. He wasn't paying all that much attention to where he was going.

Grave found the Gardens with ease and as soon as he was inside the glass doors took a few deep breaths of the warm air and looked about for the flower he was intent on identifying.

Hearing those doors open and shut, Mat wondered who had come in, and so headed over toward the entrance. And once he -did- see who it was ... he grinned. Oh, here was an opportunity for some fun. Snickering mentally, he ducked behind a tree and waited for Grave to walk by.

Grave looked at the tall yellow blossoms before him and turned a right down one of the mosaic paths. A few plants later and he glimpsed what he sought. Spikey, starburst-like and sporting beads of red on the end of each prong like drops of blood, Grave knealt down before it and stared in wonder.

Oh -perfect-! With a yell loud enough to wake the proverbial dead, Mat jumped out at Grave from his hiding spot.

Grave's heart shot up into his throat as his eyes went wide and the borrowed book slipped from his jilted fingers and landed with a great thud on the mosaic floor. Grave recovered his nerves and narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. The one thing he did -not- do, was turn around.

He'd been watching though and immediately fell to the ground, howling with laughter. "Oooh that was ... that was ... priceless!" he gasped, pointing at Grave and practically rolling.

Grave did his best not to be miffed and annoyed, but the hackles were up on the back of his neck, and his jaw hurt from clenching his teeth so tightly. Grave very deliberately picked up his book and began leafing through, looking for the flower before him.

Oh come -on- that was no fun! Mat pouted as he was ignored. He frowned for a moment, then moved to drape himself over Grave's back, peering over his shoulder. "What're you reading?"

Grave pondered over whether he should continue ignoring his...King Pest.... But deciding that Mathiaz was asking a question where he might - gasp - learn something, Grave replied softly. "I'm trying to figure out what sort of flower this is. It's by far the most interesting one I've seen."

Mat stared at the flower for a minute, then said. "Who cares...? It's a flower." Privately though, he thought the thing looked pretty cool.

"Aha!" Grave exclaimed, his excitement dissipating his annoyance. "Sundew! It says here that it can be used to make an Alchemical Potion known as Sunspots. Interesting..."

He blinked ... really, was it that exciting? "And what does the potion do?" he asked after a moment, leaning farther over.

Grave read the entry again, and then looked at the flower. "It doesn't say...It talks about the properties of the plant...and about how it can be used. But...it doesn't explain -how- to make Sunspots. I wonder if we'll get to make it in Tryna's class tomorrow. I hope so." Grave was talking more to himself than to Mathiaz. But it was a nice change to spend some time -talking- with the boy instead of fighting. Grave began to think Mathiaz might not be so bad if he was more reasonable.

He made a face at that. "Well, that's not real helpful. Or fun." With a slight sigh, he finally backed off, letting himself slide off the other's back to sit crosslegged on the path behind him.

Grave turned slowly, tentatively as if afraid he might set Mathiaz off with the wrong comment. "Well, this book isn't meant to teach you Alchemy... But I'm sure Requiem has a book with recipees in it. If...you're interested."

He grinned, leaning back on his hands. "I dunno, it depends on what the potion -does-," came his reply to that.

Grave smiled softly. "Would you like to find out?" Grave paused for a moment, and then got an idea. "We...could...try to make it. You and I..." Grave got a little shiver, realizing that even though he hadn't been told -expressly- this was no doubt forbidden. who knows what would happen if they messed up?

Mat picked up on that though, and raised a brow. "You? Be willing to bend the rules?" He clapped a hand over his heart, eyes rolling back. "The shock!!"

Grave offered a shy smile and his cheeks tinged a little darker purple with embarrassment. "You're right, It was a stupid suggestion. Forget it."

Well, damn. He hadn't meant to scare him off the idea. "Nonono! Let's do it! I wanna see what happens," he said quickly, shaking and then bobbing his head a bit.

Grave gave a devilish smile. Sure he followed the rules, but only because they suited him, not because he was overly 'good'. Grave's only concern was a pursuit of knowledge. What professor would readily chide him for wanting to learn?

"We'll need supplies..." Grave pondered, and looked in his book again. "It says here that we need 1 sundew blossom, cut fresh for each vial of Sunspots we want to make." Grave sucked in a little bit of breath. "How much do you want to make?"

"Well ... at least two. 'Cause each one of us should try it," he replied, grinning and leaning over to look at the book as well.

"Cut fresh." Grave repeated. He looked up to Mathiaz. "We need shears or scissors, or something. Help me look for some." Grave stood up and dusted off his pants and put a placemark in the book and let it close.

"Scissors, check!" he replied, bouncing to his feet and looking around as if such a thing might just ... sprout from the ground.

Grave strained his diminutive height to try and see where tools might be found. "Maybe in the back? Where she keeps the trowels?" Grave began making his way up the path towards the heart of the Gardens.

"Yea maybe..." Mat replied, following him after a moment.

As they walked, they passed by quite a large patch of poison ivy. A sort of whining growl came from inside it and something thrashed, then went still ... followed by panting breaths.

Grave stopped up short. At first he was certain that they'd been discovered in their plot, but reason told him Quenda was not hiding in the Poison Ivy. Grave paused in his steps and peered at the patch of ivy. "Did you hear that?" he whispered to Mathiaz.

He had stopped as well, head turning to stare. "Uhm. Yea ... what d'you think it is?" he asked nervously, his own voice low. He had edged closer to Grave without really noticing it.

The same thing happened again moments later, the whining part of the noise a bit louder. It seemed whatever was in there was getting both desperate and more tired.

"It must be...some sort of creature...a monster you think?" Grave's voice was hollow. Surely, it couldn't be a Monster, the Professors would never allow it to happen...but Lelaus' Fauna Gardens were attached to the Flora Gardens he'd heard... "You think somethin escaped from Lelaus...?" Grave asked leaning in to Mathiaz and whispering.

"I ... Maybe?" he replied. Then his natural curiousity/idiocy overcame fear and he turned to look at Grave. "Wanna go see?"

Grave looked dubiously from the ivy to the Sanguine boy. "But...what if you get hurt?" Grave asked, placing a hand on Mathiaz's arm. As much as Mathiaz harrassed Grave, he didn't wish the boy -harm-.

"It's just poison ivy ... I'm not even allergic to it." Yes, he'd experimented before ... he wasn't just claiming that. "And I think whatever it is is, like, hurt or trapped or something anyway. You wanna go with me?"

Grave frowned at Mathiaz, but it was one of concern, not of disdain. At length he smiled as he shook his head and said with a sigh, "Alright...if only to keep you from being mauled by Leraje himself..."

"I think it's smaller than that," he replied somewhat flippantly, and started into the tangle. He was actually careful doing it, not breaking the vines but stepping over and around them. As they got closer to the center, he could see something silvery and ... glowing..?

Grave peered around Mathiaz's shoulder and held on to the back of his jacket as if to steady them both. When Grave caught sight of the glow he narrowed his eyes, trying to draw to mind some useful facts he'd learned about what this might be... It looked like Essence of some form...

"What ... is that?" Mat asked, leaning a bit more forward. He reached out with one hand, as if to touch, but stopped short.

Grave caught a glimpse of fur. Fur...Essence... the thing yipped again. Why, it sounded like a fox... "But, it can't be..." Grave whispered, forgetting that he was thinking aloud. He placed his hands on Mathiaz's hips and stepped closer, nearly flush with the boy in front of him as he strained to see the beast in the bush.

It was at that moment that the creature decided to move again, trying to get free. The top of it's head ran into Mat's hand - and -then- it seemed to notice them. A head raised and blue-glowing eyes looked straight at Mat. it shot a thought at him, not thinking of the implications of that.

Mat jumped as if he'd been burned when he heard that, jerking his hand back.

Grave felt his friend stumble and jer back into him, and thinking he was going to fall, shot his arms out around Mathiaz's waist to steady him. "Are you all right? Mat?" Grave asked, alarmed. "Whats happened?"

"I ... it ... " he forced himself to slow down ... let's not sound like an idiot now, mmk? "Uhm. It talked to me," he finished, a bit lamely.

"It talked to you...?" Grave murmured against Mathiaz's shoulder. Grave's brain was working at lightning speed to put all the pieces together. After a moment he peered out from behind his classmateand staring hard at the fox-thing murmured. "Try saying something back...."

"Saying something ... uhm. Ok." He cut himself off before completely repeating what Grave said - that would've made him sound more stupid. he tried 'thinking' at the fox.

The first part was irritation, the last ... almost a wail of desperation.

He jumped again, though not so badly this time. "It ... er he ... wants us to get him out."

Grave bravely let go of Mathiaz. He knealt down in the poison ivy, thankful for his boots and thick pants. But reaching in with his hands? He'd be sure to get burned. "Don't worry, Little One," Grave whispered soothingly at it. "We'll help you out. You just gave us a start, is all..." Grave motioned for Mathiaz to reach in and help pry the critter loose.

he added, quickly getting used to this thinking to talk thing. Once he'd gotten a somewhat grudging promise from the fox, he joined Grave on the ground, pulling at vines here and there and telling the fox to stay still so they could get him untangled.

Grave rolled his hands up in his sleeves and helped pressed the vines down so that Mathiaz could better shift those that bound the fox. "You're nearly free from this mess, little Cicus..." Grave murmured, hoping that the little beast would be grateful.

"Little what?" Mat asked, glancing over at Grave. It figured that the other would know what this thing was.

the fox itself interjected.

Grave, blissfully unaware of this exchange, smiled up at Mathiaz, pleased he could be helpful. "A Cicus... They are these extremely rare animals that are potently charged with Essence somehow... This is really very lucky that you found one, Mathiaz!" Grave smiled hopefully. This was the longest he'd gone in the presence of Mathiaz without fighting with him, and Grave was beginning to harbour a dangerous hope that this side of Mathiaz might grace him more often.

"Uh huh... Cicus Fox, he says," Mat replied a bit absently, frowning as he worked loose another tangle of vine. He'd managed so far without breaking any vines - not actually wanting to kill the plants.

came the quick reply, sounding somewhat grumpy. A pause.

With a last prod and poke, Grave pulled back the last of the vines, allowing the fox's back legs to come free. "There you are, Cicus Fox, your legs are free..." Grave smiled kindly at it, and shifted to give it more room.

"Says his name's Verin," Mat muttered quickly, getting the last of the vines off the fox's front feet. he shot back at Verin. Despite his outward attitude, he actually -was- pretty intelligent and he'd figured that out rather quickly.

Verin blinked. Ok, maybe not so dumb. he replied a bit grudgingly. Then, Once Mat did so, he jumped up into said arms, looking as if it was totally his idea - which it was.

Grave smiled and stood to climb out of the Poison Ivy as quickly as possible. He was getting itchy, despite having done his best to cover his skin. Once Grave was safely back on the mosaic path he turned and smiled at the pair. "Are you all right, Verin?" Grave asked, looking to Mathiaz for a translation.

Mat's eyes went distant for a moment, then he nodded. "He says yea," he replied and leaned over to put the fox down. It seemed though, that he was lying, because he yelped softly and lifted one paw up. "Ammended. He -thought- he was. Let me see." He knelt down and picked up that paw, then made a face. He worked at it for a moment, then tossed something small over his shoulder. "Thorn."

"The Ivy didn't hurt you, did it?" Grave asked, and really it could have been directed at either of them. Grave knealt down beside them and unfurled his hands from his sleeves, a few small burns on his otherwise pale ad delicate hands.

"Not me ... and he says not him either." He paused, and laughed. "And that it's annoying to have me repeat everything. Sorry, can't help it, Ver." He glanced over and winced slightly at seeing those burns. "Looks like you weren't so lucky though."

Grave stared down at his hands and scratched idly at one of the welts. The scratching - as light as it was - caused the welt to flare up and darken into an ugly purple-blue spot. Grave winced and tried to hide his hands back into his sleeves with discomfiture. "I'm fine." He lied, putting ona false smile.

"No you're not," he replied, reaching out to grab that hand. He stood up and pulled Grave with him. "Just getting into poison ivy isn't something you get in trouble for ... let's go to the Infirmary."

Grave coloured slightly in the cheeks and sighed, the burning in his hands growing much worse. Grave looked down and saw more purplish welts rising on his skin and winced. He stood numbly for a moment trying to decide which was worse, the itchiness or the burning. Grave's little face screwed up into a miserable expression half-way between grimace and pout.

Mat then realized what it was he'd done (prompted by Verin) and jerked his hand back. "Oh s**t I'm sorry," he yelped, looking guilty. "Er ... l-let's go," he said again and started off down the path, Verin following after a moment.

Grave stumbled along behind them, staring down at his swollen hands, and yet trying to shield them from the air of motion. Grave fretted silently over his hands. What if he was unable to do his homework? or write his notes? or even hold his quill? He took deep breaths to steady and calm himself. It'll be all right, they'll have something to cure it on the spot, surely... It had been fun and exciting though...didn't that make it worth it? Grave scowled at his hands and then turned his glance up at Mathiaz' back and his expression softened. It had bee worth it...hadn't it...

It didn't take them too long to get to the Infirmary, Mat glancing back now and then to make sure Grave -was- still with him, since the other was being so quiet. Verin had moved up beside him, limping just slighlty on the paw the thorn had been in. Mat was wondering if Tryna could do something about that too as they walked in.

Tryna had her armour tucked away in her technoring and had gloves up to her elbows on and a pair of oversized goggles that made her lok like a praying mantis when the students walked in. She held a pair of fire tongs in one hands and a pewter flask in the other. She looked up, magnified eyes blinking serenely in their glassy distortion. "Ohhh...whadya boys do now?" Tryna asked, sweeping her owl glance over the pair of them.

Mat jumped slightly, staring. "Uh ... we ... got in some poison ivy over in the Gardens," he finally answered when it didn't seem like Grave was going to. "I'm not allergic to it but ..."

Grave snapped out of his quandaries at the sound f his name and looked up to catch sight of Tryna for the first time. The look of Grave's face was priceless, he was so entirely aghast at the eccentric appearance of the woman meant to cure him, that between stifling a chortle and crying out in alarm, Grave shuffled closer to Mathiaz and took hold of his sleeve in his swollen hands.

"Uh Grave, I wouldn't ..." he started, but didn't pull away. "The oil's kinda all over me..."

Tryna whipped off her insane goggles, revealing a pretty little face and mussed hair. "Oooo, careful now, come here." Tryna waved Grave towards her, and as he shuffled forward she carefully put the tongs and flask on a balance next to her work desk.

Grave shuffled forward and held out his hands as the spunky Professora rifled through a standing cabinet for some product or another. "Aha!" the Professora cried from inside the Cabinet. She withdrew holding up a bottle of oily liquid.

Mat followed Grave over, curiously watching.

"Medea's Salve!" Tryna intoned, holding the bottle aloft and uncorking it. "Hold out your hands, boy." Tryna commanded, and when Grave held his swollen hands towards her, she poured the thick oil on his palms. "Rub that in. Rub it in -well- even -if- it hurts." Tryna seemed to be responding to the contorted faces of pain Grave was making.

Mat winced in sympathy, fairly hovering. "Uh, there was one other thing..." he said after a moment. Verin paced up beside him, tilting his head as he looked up at Tryna.

Grave rubbed diligently at his hands, gritting his teeth against the pain, but marvelling at how quickly the swelling was going down. He'd be able to write afterall!

Tryna crouched down and looked over the Cicus Fox. "And what's wrong with you, hrm?" She asked, knees bent double,and elbows sticking out overtop of each, like a chicken squatting.

"There was a thorn in his paw," Mat said helpfully, also squatting down and putting a hand lightly on Verin's back.

"A Thorn, Hrm?" Tryna stood up and returned to the cupboard, replacing the remainder of Medea's Salve and looking for something else. At length she returned with an elaborately embellished vial and held it out to Mathiaz. "Here, Angel's Dirge. It's only a little injury, so you'll only need to release a drop. Then stand back!"

Grave looked up from rubbing his hands. "Why would he need to 'stand back'?" Grave asked, a little worried. Tryna glanced at him furtively and winked. "Angel's Dirge is a Powerful Potion, it releases a healing Hymn." the Teacher replied to him.

He took the vial carefully and let a drop fall on Verin's paw, then backed up a bit so it could work.

Grave was struck motionless when a torrent of sound and music filled the room, the voices of a thousand perfect notes, in perfect harmony, their sheer number making them seem dischorant, beatiful, yet haunting and surreal. Grave stared at the paw, but could see no physical effect, but even standing the few feet away that he was, felt a radiating warmth of wellbeing, and the pain in his hands died out completely.

Mat fell over in his own surprise, eyes going wide. "Whoooa...."

Verin's eyes drifted shut and his head tilted up, listening.

((Ooh presents! ))

((Updated journal~ heart ))

--RP Log--

Tutoring - Animal Care

Another day, another tutoring session... Mat thought, as he wandered down the hall toward the Teachers Lounge. What he was planning on doing today, though, actually sounded really interesting. Animal Care... yup. Way more interesting than, say... Science or Philosophy. Or at least it sounded like it was a more interesting class. Granted, both those other classes had ended up being more than he expected... so that meant this one should be REALLY great, right?

Needless to say, Mat was excited about this class, and was practically bouncing as he pushed the door open to the Lounge and poked his head in, wondering just what -this- class was going to be like.

Lelaus was sitting on the floor when Mathiaz wandered into the room. He looked up with a sheepish grin over one shoulder when the door slid open. "Oh, uh...be with in a sec...." Lelaus mumbled, fumbling with something hidden in his lap before shoving it quickly into the pouch above his tail before standing. He rubbed the top of one fuzzy foot against the back of his calf and stuck hands on hips.

"Class time with Lelaus??"

Mat eyed the other for a minute or two and then nodded, grinning. He remembered Abrid saying that Lelaus had chosen his Husk from the outside, and so ... he was also excited about meeting this particular Professor. "Yup! Mathiaz, here and ready," he replied cheerfully, already liking the other, just for what seemed like a laid-back and friendly attitude.

Lelaus said nothing for a moment, his fluffy tail curling up and then flicking to one side. Then he sniffed, his whiskers twitching and grinned. "Ready to meet some Monsters??" Lelaus asked confidentially.

Monsters? Mat's eyes widened just slightly at that, but he nodded. "Yea," he replied quickly. "As long as they're not planning to eat me or anything like that..." The last bit was more teasing, though. Or at least he hoped so. He wondered just what kinds of monsters Lelaus was talking about here.

Lelaus grinned slowly, looking more catlike than canine at that moment. "Oh, y'know... some of them can be a bit bitey..." And without warning he tapped a techno equip and tossed out a heinous collection of snapping jaws. The contraption writhed and spit until it hit the floor with a dull squelching thud. Then it yawned its jaws wide and lay still. Lelaus wiggled his eyebrows.

To his (eternal) embarassment, Mat actually yelped and jumped backwards a couple of feet, eyes going wide. Until he realized it wasn't actually a Monster and flushed with shame, eyeing the thing as it lay there on the floor. In an attempt to salvage some of his dignity, he looked back up at Lelaus and swallowed. "I uhm. I can see that," he said, just a bit weakly, edging closer again.

"That there's a Relic." Lelaus replied by way of explanation, his grin wide and nearly manic. "Neat, huh??" Lelaus squatted down next to the thing and pulled out a switch from his pocket to begin prodding the thing not all-too-wisely.

Mat wondered if that was a smart thing to do ... I mean what if it started snapping again, and all? "How does it work?" he asked though, leaning a little closer - carefully.

Lelaus scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, lessee, folk like Metro make 'em... and then folk like Sable use 'em. Relics are traps y'see. Traps to catch monsters. But not just -any- kind of monster. Specific kinds." Lelaus grinned and nodded vigorously. Then he eyed the Relic and prodded it again.

"Uhm. Are you gonna set it off again doing that?" Mat asked, eyeing the Professor. Trap monsters... well, he could see how that thing might be useful in taking down a monster. It was dangerous.

Lelaus paused thoughtfully, then he poked at it again. "Mmmnnn....nope. Lelauses aren't the right kind of beast for it to snag. That saaaaiiiid. It does pinch mightly awful when they snap onto you....Heh, heh..."

Well, that didn't really answer the question... but ... whatever. Mat finally crouched down as well and tilted head, watching. If he ended up getting bit, it would be his own fault, after all. But Mat was slowly starting to get the urge to also poke the thing. Just to see if he could...

"See, they make all sorts of traps. Hunters use them to catch different types of critters. Some traps are designed to be teleported beyond the walls and release the monster there... Others subdue a monster so that when you release it you can tame it or destroy it, or use it for magic or science." Lelaus leaned over towards Mat and grinned madly. "And soooome, even are designed to trap something and then self-destruct!" Lelaus nodded and gave a single bark of a laugh. "Rad, eh?"

Mat blinked at that, watching the other. Ok, yea that was pretty cool. "Sounds like it," he agreed with a quick grin. "So ... I guess this one is supposed to maybe bite into something and trap it for someone to find later?" It didn't look like it would blow up or anything. Maybe it had some kind of poison too?

"Nope nope" Lelaus replied quickly. "Relics are designed to catch non-monster type creatures. Cicus pets, hybrids, animals and already-bound familiars that have gotten loose." He passed the stick to Mathiaz. "They're non-lethal, just stun their prey." Lelaus glanced sidelong at Mathiaz and gave a small genuine smile.

Oooh, so this was something entirely different from the traps Lelaus was talking about. Similar, maybe... but not for the same purpose. "Got it," Mat murmured, taking the stick and kind of poking at the thing carefully, eyes narrowed a bit. "Dunno if you know, but I have a Cicus pet... he's probably wandering around someplace."

Lelaus blinked at that. "You mean, you don't keep him in a Certed Ring? Or in your room? Why not?? Whassa matter??"

Mat glanced up then, looking slightly nervous. Was it a bad thing not to do that? "Well... I mean... he's got a mind of his own too. He and I sort of... had a talk when I first found him. I don't think it's really... fair to keep him locked up someplace like a normal animal. He does sleep in my room, usually. But other than that... I let him go where he wants to. Sometimes he stays with me, but he thinks the classes are boring." Oops. Maybe he shouldn't have added that last part...

Lelaus watched him for a long silent moment, then looked back to the trap before him. "Well, suit yourself.... But remember, if he's caught wandering around loose where he oughtn't be, someone might just snatch him up in one of these."

"What?" Mat asked, looking up, a bit shocked. "But why...? If he's not in someplace like... restricted, or doing anything wrong, why would someone attack him?" That ... didn't make any sense to him. Cicus pets could think, so why not treat them more like people? You didn't lock up a person in one room and make them stay there unless they were with you....

Lelaus scratched his chin again and sighed softly. "Because they're energetically sensitive. There are safe places for them to be: the Aviary, the Flora Gardens, the fauna Gardens, but if they were to wander into places where magic as being practised or cast, or alchemical or scientific experiments were going on, everyone involved could get very sick. We've designed the Certed Rings to enduce a state of limbo. Peaceful like being asleep, safe and sound, and no memory of that time in statis." Lelaus double tapped the ring at his side and the Relic fell apart and spiralled up in its glittering fragments to tuck itself away. "It's a safe and gentle way to keep them protected and cared for."

"But just because it's safe and all that doesn't mean it's right," Mat blurted out, before he could stop himself. "I mean... you wouldn't do something like that to ... a person right? What if I just tell him not to go anywhere but those places you said are safe? I've had him for... a while, anyway. And obviously nothing has happened yet..." Besides, he didn't even have a Certed Ring.

"Hey, as long as he stays in the safe places, no one will touch him. But you gotta make it clear to him, otherwise he could not only get hurt, but could hurt others as well - even completely unintentionally." Lelaus sat back on his haunches and thought about his lesson with Torrid, and how it had ended up going down a similar path. Huh.

That made Mat feel a bit better, and he nodded quickly, relaxing. It made sense to do something about it if Verin went somewhere dangerous. But it should be all right if he just stayed where it was safe for him to be. "I'll talk to him, I promise. Tonight," he said with a little nod. Even if Verin didn't come back to his room, he'd go hunt the Fox down. Just to be sure.

"Soooooooo..." Lelaus hummed as he rocked on his hauches. "Monsters??"

Mat nodded. "Yea... about those. Gonna go see some?" he asked, bouncing just a little on the balls of his feet.

"Go? Go??" Lelaus squawked. "You think Lelaus'd teach a class unprepared??" He rifled around in his fannypack and pulled out a handful of rings. "What sort o' monster were you hankering for?"

What? Let monsters loose in HERE? Ook... if that was how it worked. Mat hadn't thought such a thing would be very uhm. Safe, though. Ah, but who cared. This was bound to be fun. "I dunno... what kinds are there?" he asked, grinning.

Lelaus bent over the random selection he'd grabbed and sorted them out. "Er, lessee...." He hummed for a moment and then lay them out on the floor. A Blue ring, a strange greenish hued one, a light and a dark brown pair and a silvery one. "A Phenex, a Cacus, a hybid, a golem, and an aberration."

Mat considered for just a moment and then just closed his eyes and pointed - willing to take the luck of the draw. As it so happened, his finger ended up pointing toward the blue ring.

"Phenex, eh??" Lelaus paused and activated a pair of headphones and then picked up the blue ring. He was about to tap it when he glanced at Mathiaz and quirked an eyebrow. "Y'got a pair o' headphones?"

"I ... don't usually carry 'em around with me," Mat answered, blinking. Was this thing kind of like the Mandrakes, or what..?

"Suit yourself..." Lelaus singsonged and tapped the small blue ring. In a flurry of soft golden light a small flittering feathery thing unfurled from the ring. It paused, curled up in a ball above the ring for a moment before stretching itself out and then springing into the air with large eyes blinking and wings humming in vibrations of flight. Lelaus watched it carefully and said nothing.

Mat stared at the small creature, fascinated. His mouth dropped open just a little and he leaned back so he wouldn't try to do something dumb like touch it. Knowing his luck, it would take a finger off or something. "It's really pretty..." he said softly - wondering in the back of his mind how such a thing could really be dangerous.

"Oh yeah, yah, they're sure pretty..." Lelaus whispered back, not taking his eyes from the flitting Phenex for a moment. The Phenex for it's part buzzed about Lelaus' head for a moment before flitting over towards Mathiaz, where it hovered blinking at him with large baleful eyes.

Mat turned watched the little creature, completely fascinated by it. He wasn't entirely sure why they were whispering, but hey, he wasn't gonna argue. "What can it do..?" he asked, keeping voice low.

As if on cue the Phenex opened it's mouth and let out a long, high, wailing note. In an instant, the mood in the room turned to one of deep sorrow. The beauty in the sound was undisputably, and yet, at the very sound of it, the air grew cold and lonely. The Phenex locked it's eyes on Mathiaz and floated closer, reaching out pointy hands as if for help.

Mat's mouth dropped open at that, and he found that... suddenly, cheeks were wet with tears - for no reason he could name or grasp. He didn't understand what was going on, but he saw those little hands, and slowly lifted one of his own hands - reaching back toward the creature. Help... wanted to help ...

Lelaus coiled up beside him, watching the expression of the face of his student change, and watching the Phenex reaching for him. Luckily, the heart-wrenching notes of the Phenex were blocked out by his Head Phones, but the situation was obvious enough on its own. Lelaus rested a hand on Mathiaz shoulder to hold on to him, and watched.

The Phenex reached out and wrapped its sharp fingers around one of Mathiaz' outstretched fingers, making small papercut-like slices in the young empyrean's skin. It wailed again, the sound of music weeping and fluttered its wings in a tinkle of sad notes and soft light.

At that, Mat winced, but he didn't try to pull away, only growing more desperate to help the poor thing so that it wouldn't be so sad. So he wouldn't be so sad. And even if it hurt... he could do this... little cuts like that weren't so bad... "What... what is wrong with it..?" he asked, nearly choking on a soft sobbing sort of noise.

"Absolutely nothing," Lelaus replied, in normal tones, a hard quality in his voice. "A Phenex is a monster that tries to lure Empyreans away. Once it finds one that's unprotected, it focuses all its charms on it, trying to lure it to a secluded area so that it can worm its way under the skin and feed, and lay its eggs and reproduce." Lelaus paused a moment, and then shook his head slightly. "Charming little vermin, aren't they?"

Mat struggled to pay attention to what Lelaus was saying, but it was hard with the Phenex still holding onto him and staring with those huge, sad eyes. "Eggs...?" he asked, a bit faintly. He ... didn't want any kind of eggs inside of him... but.. it was just so pretty and so very sad...

Lelaus watched as the Phenex began to glow brighter, kissing the tips of Mathiaz' fingers, nibbling lightly with its sharp little teeth. "That's enough of that!" Lelaus snapped shortly at the little thing. At the sudden loudness of Lelaus' voice it turned, hissing and shrieking like the sound of rusted metal twisting, but still it held on fiercely to Mathiaz' hand. The air grew colder still, a menace and desperation rising up from the little creature. "Nuh-uh." Lelaus replied with a shake of his head and double-tapped the small blue certed Ring before the Phenex could do much more harm.

Mat flinched at the shrieking and actually pulled back on his hand, just about ready to quit this, even if the thing was all depressed and sad. It was really kind of starting to hurt. But then before anything else could happen, Lelaus tapped the Ring and got rid of the thing. Mat slumped with a little sigh of relief and eyed his bleeding hand. Ook ... mental note. Carry around headphones at all times. Oi. "Nn... it is kind of a nasty little thing... " he murmured quietly, shooting a glare at the Blue Ring.

Lelaus nodded and glanced quickly at Mathiaz' hand to assess the damage. Ah, not too bad. "Yeah, they look nice, but they're prettttttty nasty." He shrugged and added with a wry grin, "But hey, it's a monster, what were you expecting?"

"I don't know, really," Mat replied, smiling slightly and eyeing his hand as well. Good think Lelaus had been around to call the thing off. And the best way to learn -was- by experience... he just hoped he didn't end up going back to his room a bloody mess or anything.

Lelaus chuckled and eyed the remaining equips on the floor. "You up for another, or you had your fill?"

Mat lowered his hand then, trying to ignore the little stinging pain of the cuts and nodded. "I'm good ... your turn to pick, though," he said, with a bit of a smile.

"My turn...eh...." Lelaus murmured as he looked them over. "Ah, this one for sure!" He chirped and tossed the pale green ring to Mathiaz. "Give that one a tap!"

Mat nodded gamely and caught the ring, only fumbling a little since it was with his off hand. Then he raised the other hand and tapped it.... waiting to see what would come out of this one.

The green split and opened up to release a thickly scaled lizard-like monster that gallumped to the floor with a clattering of talons. It paused and raised its head, massive jaws hanging agape, yellowy eyes glittering as it looked around. "This here is a Cacus." Lelaus reached out a hand to it, and the thing cocked its head in a birdlike fashion to sniff the outstretched fingers before hopping closer. "They're cute lil buggers, these guys."

Mat blinked at the new monster, eyeing the way it ran around heavily and those scales and talons. "Yea, cute," he agreed. "What's this one gonna do..?" he asked then, a bit more wary now than before.

"Do?" Lelaus asked, grinning. "What makes you think it'll do anything? I trained this Cacus myself, he's a very nice boy, when he's kept happy. Just gotta feed him small mammals and he's content. Got a wicked tongue on him...." Lelaus fished around in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle with a scurrying mouse inside. "Here, you can toss this little mousie out for him, and watch him hunt if you want."

Ok then. So maybe this one wasn't going to be as bad as the last. "Well, the last thing sure did something," he murmured, but not really in a sulky sort of manner or anything. Reaching out to take the bottle, Mat fought with it for a couple of minutes before getting it open. Then he grinned and let the little mouse out into his hand before actually tossing it in the air - sort of toward the Cacus.

The cacus froze, and then without the rest of it moving an inch, a long, lumpish grey-purple tongue shot out of its mouth and engulfed the flailing mouse in mid air. Then it's almost fist like end fell with a sick flopping noise on the floor some four feet from its body, with only a wriggling mouse tail sticking out of the tip of it. Then the Cacus sat back on its spiny haunches and began drawing the sticky length of tongue back into its gaping mouth.

"Pretty cool, eh?" Lelaus asked with a wide grin.

"Oh cool!" Mat blurted at that, staring as the tongue slowly moved back toward the body. That was... really incredible, and he couldn't help but be impressed, somehow.

Lelaus guffawed and clapped, delgihted by the agility and speed the clumsy lizard possed with it's sticky tongue. "I looooove watching him do that." Lelaus grinned over at Mathiaz.

"Yea, that's awesome," Mat agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "But hey... what's it do if it's not happy?" he asked, leaning forward with a glint in his eyes. Just how dangerous did this thing get...?

"A cacus is happy when it's had enoguh to eat. So if you don't keep it happy by feeding it, it'll make itself happy by eating whatever it can get it's tongue on."

"Aah... well, that makes sense," Mat murmured. Which probably meant it might even try to eat something as large as an Empyrean. And it looked like that tongue would be pretty hard to get off if it was stuck on something. "Can I touch it...?" he asked then, glancing up.

Lelaus nodded nochalantly. "Yeah, jsut don't accidentally p***k your finger on them spines, or you'll be dead." He added more casually than such a statement warranted.

"Uh," Mat said, freezing. "It's poisonous..?" he asked, slowly pulling his hand back since it was the one that was already bleeding. And then he reached with the other hand to gently feel the scales, staying away from the spines.

"Juuuust the spines. The rest of it is quite nutritious meat, actually." The Cacus turned to look at Mathiaz through one yellow eye but aside from making a small croaking noise didn't seem to mind.

"Right," Mat replied at that, continuing to sort of carefully pet the creature. This wasn't so bad, really. But he kind of wondered why the class was called Animal Care if what he was learning about was more ... what monsters looked like and what they could do and stuff.

Lelaus shifted on his seat, tucking his tail up against his rup in case the Cacus liked the look of it and tried to snatch it. He'd had to deal with that before, and having a partially shaved tail was less than fun.

Oh why not? Might as well ask the question. Mat glanced up and said, "So ... uhm. Is this class supposed to be about monsters in general or how to like... capture them and take care of them?"

"Not juuuust Monsters," Lelaus piped cheerily. "All Familiars. Everything from where to find them, to how to catch them, how to take care of them, and how to use their skills. The works!"

Mat blinked slightly at that, and then grinned and nodded. He shifted just a little to get more comfortable and said, "Ok... so what's next? Pick another ring?"

"Sure, if you'd like..." Lelaus wriggled his eyebrows with more than a little bit of an 'I dare you to' manner.

After a minute or two, with head tilted, Mat reached out and picked up the silvery ring, holding it up for a minute. "How 'bout this one? What's in it...?" he asked, grinning.

Lelaus grinned groader and didn't blink, his whiskers vibrating with his excitement. "Why don't you tap it any find out?" He replied with a cackle.

"Kay," Mat said quickly and gave the ring a nice firm tap then set it down and scooted back just a bit to see what would come out of it.

Lelaus grinned like a mad fiend as the ring swirled open, and an small lump silver formed in the air between them. The lump swirled and spun, finally coming to a rest in shape of a woman's face amidst a web of spun silver. "Ah, there she is. beautiful, isn't she?"

Mat stared as the thing spun in the air, slowly resolving into a face in the middle of some sort of web. It reminded him of a spider of some kind. "Yea... she really is," he said softly, seeming fascinated by the thing. "What is it...?"

"This," Said Lelaus with an exaggerated point. "Is Silver, and Abberation. She's a trusty ol' girl. Abberations are great for battle because they can cast spells we Empyreans can't learn."

Leaning forward a bit, Mat watched the Abberation floating there in front of him, resisting the urge to reach out and poke the thing. "Spells like.. what?" he asked then, glancing back up at Lelaus and wondering if she could maybe demonstrate a couple of them here.

"Well, all Abberations have 1 offensive spell, 1 defensive spell and one specialty unique to that Abberation alone. Each Abberation has a different combination of skills this way, so they can be pretty difficult to counter and all." Lelaus gestured to Silver and smiled. "She's got Lunar Beam, Shadow Shield and Spectre."

"Cooool," Mat replied to that, bouncing a little. And he smiled slightly, tilting head. "I guess that those are all probly too dangerous to demonstrate in here..?" he asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

"It depends on the target..." Lelaus rifled around in his pocket and drew out a crumpled piece of paper. He read it quickly to make sure it wasn't important and then tossed it down on the floor. "Silver, Lunar Beam, please." and pointed clearly to the crumpled ball on the floor. The Abberation shivered, all it's waving tendrils of metallic hair rippling for a moment as she charged her spell.

And then, without warning a beam of cold icy light shot from her chest and into the piece of paper. The paper quivered and then lay still. Lelaus grinned. "Wanna tryyyy to pick up that paper now?"

Mat raised brows at the piece of paper, looking from it, to the Aberration, and to Lelaus... then back. "Iiii dunno. Should I?" he asked, showing a bit of caution now. Who knew what that beam did to the target it was aimed at?

Lelaus laughed, not unkindly and shrugged, reaching out to the paper. But when his hand closed over the ball and he pulled his hand towards himself, the ball popped through his skin and stayed where it was. Lelaus feigned horror and opened his hand. It was empty, sure enough. "Lunar Beam makes things insubstantial. if you got hit with that beam, you wouldn't be able to hit me. For a time, at least."

"Oh!" Mat exclaimed, watching as the piece of paper went right through the other's skin. And then, once he found out it wasn't dangerous... of course he had to try it. Reaching out, he poked at the paper, and tried to pick it up, watching as his hand kept going right through it. "Yea... I see. That's really cool!"

"Isn't it!?" Lelaus squealed like a school boy. "It's sooo wicked!"

"It really, really is!" Mat replied, bouncing and continuing to poke at the paper. He could see how that could maybe... hm. "Hey if you're insubstantial can you still cast spells and stuff? Use it on yourself kinda like a defense?"

"You sure can~" Lelaus cooed as if they'd struck upon some great inside joke. "Abberations are damn useful."

Mat nodded eagerly at that, quite easily seeing the point. "Ooh yea... and now I want one," he confessed with a grin. He was fairly sure it couldn't be easy to get hold of one of the things though. He still had yet to actually go make his own Golem...

"Yeeeah, you along with everyone else, pal. "Lelaus chuckled. "Still, if you're really into getting one, Sable sells these Lures in the Temple that can attract an Abberation. You might give it a shot when you're older."

Mat nodded at that, making a mental note. Go find Sable when he was older... which hopefully wouldn't be too much longer. If he remembered right, there were just two more classes to finish after this one! "Ok, I will!" he replied, smiling.

"Groovy. Monster care." Lelaus nodded nonsequentially. "So much to learn, so little time."

Mat glanced up at that. "Does that mean pick another ring and get on with it?" he asked, but he was still smiling - almost playful now. This class... was definitely fun.

"It means you got your credit, you can stick around as long as you like and learn all you want." Lelaus replied easily, grinning.

"Oh, really? Awesome!" Mat exclaimed, leaning back a bit. "Thanks! I probably will... if you don't mind." He did want to see what the other two rings did too, after all...