Welcome to Gaia! ::

Marc had a vague, amused feeling that in that world, he would have liked to be one of those nobles. No, that maybe he would have preferred to raise Haki has one officially. She already acted like a pampered princess anyways. What was a title or two?

But he kept his mouth shut, partially because he was actually paying attention, and also because he didn't want to seem too stupid. No. He'd leave that to Thorn.

"Teaching certificates." he wondered why Hadrian hadn't mentioned this. Of course, it wasn't as if they spoke about their qualifications, but it was something.

"And employment?" he asked, cautious now, wanting to figure most things out. "Will they be expected to spend some time here, or to get employment in the outside world?" because home schooling didn't sound too bad.

Weren't home schooled children supposed to be smarter? Or something.

"Marc." Thorn said lightly, grinning. "Haki's employment is already taken care of." he arched a brow, delicately.

Marc blinked. Huh? Wha-- no. No. He frowned, ignoring the statement. "I guess this sounds better than I thought." he admitted.

Stephan just nodded, agreeing with Marc's comment. There weren't really any more questions popping into his mind, so he was trying to focus to see if there was anything that had been forgotten. But when he heard a bit of a thump, his attention broke and he turned to look, "Natalie? You ok?" Score, he'd remembered her name. Alright, so it hadn't been very long, but she hadn't exactly been a friend. He'd just met her in the lab, and it had taken him enough to just remember the mage's name.

His mind was pretty much gone from the thought of school, finding her tumble a bit more entertaining. Arms still crossed over his chest, he crouched down, still looking at her with a smile, "That dry ground sure is slippery, huh?" Alright, so he couldn't help it. A bit of teasing was fun, friendly. She could handle it. Hopefully, or he might have just earned himself a smack in the head from Remi. Thinking of that consequence, he got back to his feet and walked toward her, offering a hand, "Need some help?"

Marc looked over, distracted at the girl who had fallen into the meeting. Enough people were helping her that he didn't move- he didn't want to be another pair of hands. And besides, he was, quite seriously, worried about his little princess.

He couldn't remember the time when he had expected a son rather than a daughter, and so he was busy fretting over her future, like any mother duck who was worried if their child would end up as tomorrow's dinner.

Or something.

Thorn looked at the new arrival. He wanted to talk to Ahneta about this employment thing, really. "About employment." he began, delicately almost. He wasn't sure about this one yet. "In the future, could corporations hire them as normal employees?"

Natalie, was it?

He looked over, and smiled, inclining his head in greeting. "Natalie."

At her thanking the older man for "last night" Stephan tensed up a bit. Interesting. Very interesting. Alright, so maybe it was something innocent, but from the way the man had already been talking, he doubted it. Of course, that was just his brotherly instincts kicking in. He had a younger sister about Natalie's age, and no matter how hard he tried not to care, he was highly protective of her. And now that he was so far away from her, Natalie was looking like a good mental replacement.

But now he was torn. Take a defensive stance between Thorn and Natalie, or stay by Remi where it wasn't awkward? Though it took a bit of mental convincing, he stepped back toward the only one of the group he considered a friend, telling himself that Natalie was old enough to take care of herself. His sister wasn't, even if their ages weren't much different, but Natalie was.

"They should feel free to seek employment elsewhere. We want people interested in our work here of course - but they don't need to work here if their interests lead them elsewhere."

Or they're led elsewhere by other people, anyway. Ahneta had a feeling about Thorn, and she usually trusted her feelings. Hmm...she'd need to remember to check into this later.

It wasn't neccessarily a bad feeling. Perhaps if Dacian had been paying attention, he'd have gotten a bad feeling - but Ahneta was hardly as 'moral' as he comrades.

Natalie felt Stephan and Remi begin to bristle - she was used to this tension, after spending all of the previous night swamped with it.

But that didn't mean she enjoyed it.

She nodded in agreement with Thorn's analysis. "I was having a bad night last night. He helped me through the worst of it," she added, quietly. Then she took a step back away from him, perhaps closer to Remi and Steps, and fell silent. She'd listen, and then ask Remi later what she had missed.

Useful, huh?

Ye-es...Ahneta needed to do some checking on him. Or perhaps she would just ask Hadrian about him, since they apparently knew each other. Knew each other well enough to go to a play together? Hmm...well, well, well.

Just a friendly affair or the other mage finally getting some?

She'd ask, of course. After teasing him. And it seemed like this Thorn was very - friendly in general, so if he managed to get Hadrian in bed, she'd definintly want to speak with him.

Why?

Because that took a lot of skill all on its own.

Natalie smiled at Remi. "I will, no worries. (Hah) And maybe I can get your boy's measurements, so I can make clothing that will fit around his wings?"

Through all of this, though, Natalie's eyes wandered back to Thorn. Thorn, who had kissed her and then left her the night before. Thorn, who she was completely unsure of what to think about.

Thorn.

Hm.