Welcome to Gaia! ::

This was their house, wasn't it? Tosten was sure, he had come across it a few times when he wanted to deliver to Sunil a few gifts. So there the mildly worn down little feien had appeared, touching down first upon a window sill. Hands pressed against the glass, peering in as close as he could to try to get a glimpse inside.

"Sunil? Sunil~~!"

Bang, knockknock! He proceeded to make a general annoying racket to try to figure out if this was even the right house - and how to get inside of it, for that matter.

Sunil was sitting in her closet talking to Susu (her cat) when kam started yelling.

"Sunil? Why are you making so much noise? I just want to sleeeeeeeeep."

Sunil stood up and walked out of her closet with Susu trailing. She knew she hadn't been making the noise, so she started to kam's room to see what was. Out in the hall she could hear it. It sounded like someone pounding on a window. She took flight despite Susu's protests and flew to the window about halfway down the stairs to the first floor, where banging on the glass was Tosten!
Sunil leaned on the glass and looked out suspiciously. What was going on?

"Kam! It's Tosten! I need the window open!"

Kam actually had come down from her room to see what the noise was and Sunil pretty much yelled in her face. Luckily small things have small voices. Kam opened the window, peered sleepily at Tosten and then turned to go back upstairs.

"Have fun, try not to wreck the house."

Sunil faced Tosten. She tried to look tough, but the truth was she was nervous. Why was he here?

"Hello Tosten. What are you doing here?"

Oh, good. Tosten was glad Kam came, he just come from Ares' house where he had to help Ares open the window by themselves. Not an easy task for two feien who both lacked in the area of strength.

"Uh, hi Sunil."

He replied tentatively, not sure how to start. His wings rustled together nervously like dry leaves in autumn, his wide eyes brimmed with such troubles and concerns that they didn't seem much like his at all, without the usual sunshine and carefree childhood.

"I came to... uh, talk..."

His reluctant stammering probably helped imply that he knew what had happened. Unless one had the odd thought that this bizarre, nervous personality was normal for him.

Sunil noticed Tosten's behavior and figured it was a mixed blessing. It probably meant he wasn't a threat, but it also meant he had heard from someone what had happened. She wondered what poison Ares and Seamus were spreading about her in her absence. She touched her still sore throat almost involuntarily and then stepped back a little and pointed up the stairs.

"We can go to my lab if you'd like to talk there. The windowsill is probably not the best place to have a converstaion about ambush, betrayal and revenge."

She watched him to see his every response. She needed to know where he stood.

Truthfully, he wished he had seen Seamus before he had come here. Sunil was going to be the hardest to talk to, at least in his opinion. And she was proving it already... each of the three finally words gained three exact flinches.

"All right..."

Was Tosten's quiet agreement to the offer to go to the lab, peering in the direction she had made the gesture. He waited for her to go first however, as he didn't know the inside of her home at all. Already he could tell it was nothing like his own.

Sunil knew he had talked to someone to find out about the whole event, but she wasn't sure who. Had he heard it second hand? He seemed awfully upset about the whole thing for someone who hadn't been involved.

"I'll lead the way then. Just follow me."

Sunil took flight and flew up the stairs, around the corner, down the hall and then landed in the spare bedroom doorway to walk into her "lab", which was really just the closet. Susu was waiting in there along with all of Sunil's odds and ends.
The over head light was on, streaming down from far above the two feien. Along the back wall were the jars holding the eyes and rosebud which were about Sunil's height. In the middle of the closet was a bunch of small cardboard boxes piled together. Some were low enough to use as a desk and had gems and Sunil's plastic chest. Others were quite clearly a little fort.
Sunil swept her hand around, quite proud of her lair.

"This is my lab. Kam almost never comes in here and Susu, " she guestured to a tiny blue and black cat sitting on the floor, "and I hang out here. I have alchemical stuff and the stuff I got from the shop."

She turned to him and crossed her arms.

"What do you know about what happened? Who have you talked to?"

Tosten of course followed right after, and probably didn't help her labs appearance with the usual molting storm of blue feathers, which honestly came out twice of much when he was worried like this.

"It's neat..."

He mentioned when she showed such pride to her hiding place, which in his mind translated more into a club house then the term 'lab' ... then again those jars with eyeballs were kind of creepy. When she got right to business he became nervous again, and wrung his hands together.

"Ares..."

Was his whispered reply, wondering how to start. He knew this all was none of his business, on the level that he hadn't been involved. But they were all his friends, and to him that made it his concern.

Sunil's eyes narrowed. So Ares was who he had talked to. She didn't know if that was good or bad.

"So is she pleased with herself? Or is she disappointed I'm not actually dead?"

Sunil turned her back on him and walked over to her pile of boxes and jumped up and sat on one.

"No..."

Tosten watched her, or rather her feet, as she moved away. Those hands rubbed together worriedly, as did the wings still in a nervous habit like a child who didn't want to talk in front of the whole class.

"She was sad... and scared, I think."

His eyes lifted then, and he added on almost pleadingly.

"She doesn't hate you Sunil. She's scared..."

And honestly he had a feeling Ares was just as confused as him, and she had been the one that had been there.

Sunil scowled. What sort of trick was this? Ares had stood there and not even attempted to help Sunil. She obviously had been in on Seamus's little attack.

"She should be scared. She and Seamus should have thought twice before they crossed me. And I don't care what sort of drivel she fed you about not hating me. She watched Seamus choke me and did nothing. If you aren't with me you're against me. Anyway, what did you want to talk about? You've obviously already heard what happened."

Susu hopped up on the boxes and snuggled next to Sunil, who started to pat him absent-mindedly. She was oddly calm about the whole thing given her rather strong words.
She patted the the box she was on.

"You can come sit if you want. I don't bite, nor does Susu."

Tosten glanced at the box and reluctantly made his way over. He wasn't so sure if he could stay sitting, when he was worried he felt restless. He'd much rather pace about and shed feathers all over. But she invited him, so he hopped onto the box too and swung his feet a little to expel his energy.

"I came to... hear your side of the story."

He replied quietly in return, looking up at the much taller feien.

Sunil sighed, Tosten was so hard to understand. What good would it do to hear her side of the story? Obviously she was going to tell him something to make herself look good, much like Ares had probably already done for her and Seamus. It still hurt a little that it had been Ares, she'd always seemed so nice.

"Well, I was hanging out in the shop and I fell asleep. When I woke up I saw that some other feien were in the shop so I walked over to see who it was. Turned out it was Seamus all grown up and Ares. I can't believe he had to grow up at around the same time as me. At least he is much shorter than me. So are you come to think of it. I wonder if anyone is actually taller than me now."

Sunil realized that had nothing to do with the point and tried to get back on track.

"So I said hi to Seamus and he attacked me with some magic, but I felt it coming because when I grew up I also gained the ability to feel magic. So I braced for it and he didn't manage to knock me over. I thought we were just showing off our new magic, so I used my speed to get up close to him and punch him on the shoulder. Apparently however he wasn't playing."

Sunil scowled and looked at Susu, trying to decide how much of the rest to tell Tosten. There was no telling what he'd heard from Ares.

"Seamus grabbed me around the neck with his magic and started to choke me. He wouldn't let go and I don't have any magic to use against that."

She paused, petting Susu, and made up her mind.

"I turned to Ares and asked her to stop him, but she wouldn't. He in fact only got worse. Eventually I passed out and woke up on the floor with them standing over me. I fled, knowing I had lost, and warned them they would see me again."

She looked back over at Tosten.

"Some friends, huh? Did Ares tell you she was a part of it? Or did she try and charm her way out of all responsibility?"

Tosten stared at the floor between his feet now, swinging them obsessively as an emotional escape as he listened to her story. Easily he could note the differences between what Ares said and what Sunil was saying... both their stories with Seamus were the same, but of course relating to themselves it was different.

"What... are you going to do Sunil?"

He inquired quietly, avoiding answering her question as he didn't really think it deserved an answer. Nor did he want to argue over his opinion of Ares' truthfulness or not. He was trying so hard not to be accused of being on anyone's side.

Sunil watched Tosten swing his feet and considered what she could give him for an answer. On the off chance he was sent here by Seamus and Ares she needed to be careful not to give them any warning.

"I'm going to do exactly what I said. I'm going to make them regret they crossed me. The real question is, what are you going to do Tosten? You were part of the gang, so I'll make a deal with you. You don't have to be on my side, but you can't be on their side. If you side with them, you'll get exactly what they get."

Sunil emphasized her point by staring straight at the usually happy-go-lucky feien. Unfortunately, he was looking at his feet. She sighed. No one took her seriously. But they would.

"I wish I was there..."

Tosten whispered softly then, tilting his head as he took in her words grimly. He reflected over the 'options' given to him and replies quietly.

"I'm.. on your side. And I'm on their side. I won't let them hurt you again Sunil, but... I won't let you hurt them either. I can't let it happen. I'm sorry."

His feet froze then, bringing his knees to his chest and letting his legs become a place to loop his arms around, as well as his knees themselves a location to rest his chin.

"You're all my friends, there.. has to be a way to fix this, I don't want to lose anyone.."

Sunil let a hiss of air escape her lips. Tosten just didn't get it, did he? She tried to be patient.

"You can't be on both sides Tosten. They already tried to hurt me and I will have my chance to return the favor."

She glanced over at the poor feien who seemed to curling into himself. She pushed Susu over in his direction. Petting Susu always made her feel better.

"You're getting feathers all over my room you know," Sunil said softly.

Tosten blinked at the action and glanced down at the feline. Reluctantly he uncurled himself, letting his feet lower again so to give an inviting lap to the cat while glancing back at Sunil's words.

"Sorry, they do that." He replied apologetically. Silly feathers, they just kept falling out. He was surprised he wasn't bald, for some reason he had an infinite supply of feathers to just shed like a cats fur.

"I can be on both sides. Because I love Ares, and I love Seamus, and I love you. And just because bad things happened between you all doesn't mean I'll stop feeling how I do."

He ran fingers a bit curiously over Susu's fur as he spoke.

Sunil was totally dumbfounded by Tosten's response.

"How can you love me and love the people who hurt me? Would you still love me if I hurt Seamus? I don't think you would. Why does Seamus get more chances than me?"

Sunil was hurt. She was in the right, they were in the wrong and yet Tosten was on their side.

Tosten stared down hard at Susu as he tried to piece together his thoughts on this, replying slowly as he tested out each emotion into clumsy words.

"I'd love you if you hurt Seamus... I would be disappointed though, and sad. I already feel that toward Seamus. He shouldn't have played with magic like that and put you in such danger... and then make it worse and... and..."

He hesitated and shook his head, looking over toward Sunil.

"You're so smart Sunil, scentists are always smart, isn't there a way to.. to begin to try to solve this without hurting anyone else?"

Anyone else. Goodness that washed a whole other emotion into him. He never wanted this to happen, but even less between his friends. He shifted slightly and ended up shooing the feline from his lap so he could face Sunil more and tentatively reached up a hand... he wanted to touch her cheek, as he was an affectionate little leech, but he wasn't sure if she'd let him.

"I'm so sorry this happened Sunil..."

Sunil let him touch her cheek and looked at him. Was it possible he was honestly this naive and kind? She wasn't and she felt bad for him that he was gonna have to realize that most feien weren't like him.

"Tosten... I'm sorry it happened too, but it happened and no one can change the past."

She looked at him, her eyes full of regret.

"I'm not like you Tosten. I can't forgive Seamus and Ares for what they've done to me. That would make me weak and I can't stand the idea of being seen as weak."

It would be a hard thing to understand, and he was sure that he could make everyone see through his own childish eyes. Since she allowed him to touch her cheek he stroked it softly, liking to speak through affection and action more then anything.

"I don't understand... why would forgiving them be weak? It's so much easier to be angry and hurt them. Forgiving is what's hard, revenge is very simple. Even I could do it."

He scooted a little closer now that she hadn't yet rejected his friend-oriented attentions.

"I'd never see you as weak for doing something so strong. I don't think anyone ever would.."

Sunil shook her head, temporarily dislodging his hand.

"Real revenge against people you thought were your friends is not easy. It would be easy for me to give up and act like it was all ok. Seamus would think he had won. He would think he could do it again without consequence. He might even do it to you."

It was a low blow, but then again she was determined. Seamus was not top dog and she wasn't going to let him think he was. And then, thinking about what Tosten was trying to do, she had an idea. She had to be careful, it might not work.

Tosten hesitated at that, hand withdrawing momentarily. His eyes downcast, turned to the side in thought. Then he just stubbornly touched her cheek again and peered back at her with his own firm decision.

"He wouldn't. Not on purpose. I don't... think at least, and that's enough for me. But Sunil... I..."

He was at a loss for words at the moment and he pleading quietly.

"Isn't there a way to do this without more pain?"

Sunil looked straight back at him, thinking. She had though perhaps to mislead him. To pretend that she was willing to give in. It would certainly give her an edge over Seamus and Ares. But at what cost? He was so sincere, so kind she hated to break his trust. But Ares and Seamus had already broken hers. He had to learn and she had told Em so long ago that she would teach him that the word friend was a lie. A fairy tale told between those without true power.

"Maybe. I'll have to think about it Tosten, but you coming here has really made me think. Perhaps what you're saying is right. Maybe I should talk to Seamus. Do you think he would apologize?"

She looked down, unable to meet his eyes and tried not to fidget. She'd never tried to delibrately mislead another person before.

At this Tosten brightened considerably, so sure that she was listening and seeing things from a different angle. He nodded immediately and scooted closer again, loosely clinging to one of her arms in his affectionate manner.

"I know he would. Ares and Seamus are so sad... I think... I think what happened were a lot of emotions getting confused, and a lot of stupid ideas gone bad... I don't think Seamus really wanted to hurt you, he doesn't hurt friends, he just made a really stupid decision."

He insisted this theory to himself and stuck to it. He knew Seamus well enough, he had seen Seamus during the aftermath. The green feien was scared and sorrowful, not proud of what he had done.

Sunil felt a twinge of something deep down inside as Tosten scooted closer. This might be the last time he would show this kind of affection. It was nice to be touched. She certainly didn't feel what she was sure Ares and Seamus felt for each other, but having someone to talk to... no, she wouldn't let herself get distracted. Really this was all Seamus's fault. He had chosen their path and she was going to stick to it.

"Maybe I should talk to him. I just don't know if I can face him yet. Maybe in a couple days ... "

She trailed off, trying to sound unsure, hoping Tosten would step in. Sure that he would be happy to set up a one on one meeting. Killing the little part inside her that insisted this was wrong.

It wasn't healthy to be so predictable.

"You should talk! I know Seamus would want to talk, I can ask him and everything."

Tosten was clearly excited now. This could end without anymore violence, he was sure Seamus was very sorry for what happened and would tell her, and then Sunil would forgive him because forgiving was strong too, right? Mental ramblings.

"You can meet in the shop or, um, somewhere more private? Cause I know everyone likes to spy and that makes talking hard cause if you try to be serious someone else jumps in and-- oh, should I be there? I guess not, that's spying too..."

He was beginning to become talkative again, fretting, wondering and excited at the idea of getting his friends and 'gang' back.

Sunil smiled to herself. This was perfect. Getting what she wanted was so easy. She put her hand gently on Tosten's cheek, mirroring his action from earlier.

"Thank you for coming to see me Tosten. You've helped the situation a lot, but I'm a little tired and my neck is still a bit sore from the encounter."

It was hard to keep the bitterness out of her voice and she let a little creep in.

"I would love to have you talk to Seamus about us meeting somewhere. I'm not really sure where would be best. The store does seem pretty prone to other people eavesdropping. I'll have to think about it. Maybe Seamus will have a suggestion."

She hopped off the box and offered him a hand down. It was time for him to leave and let her think things over.

Tosten accepted the hand and came down from the box as well with the most faint flutter of his wings. He frowned though, at mention of her neck and nodded solemnly. He hugged onto her arm for a moment.

"I'll talk to come then come back to see you - and I'll bring you something so that you feel better. I know Nekota and the others have to know some stuff to get rid of soreness, I want you to feel better."

Then he released her gently.

"I can find my way out, get lots of sleep okay? That always helps too."

Sunil, on an impulse, gave him a big bear bug, getting feathers from his wings all over her arms. She released him after a little while walked him to the door.

"You're a good friend Tosten. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

And with that she waved and headed back into her closet.

Tosten returned the wave, rather dazed by the hug, but managed to lit to the air and begin to laboriously long flight back home. But he didn't mind the effort. It was worth it.

Sunil poked her head in the door, checking to see if anyone else was there. It wouldn't do for her revenge to come before she was ready. There didn't seem to be anyone in her immediate sight however and she snuck in on tiptoe. She had hoped to come by and re-read the spell list for offensive spell she could possibly work on learning. She didn't really know anything yet that would help her avoid Seamus's magic hand.

"Sunil, correct?" came a low voice from the shadows. Corvus stepped out of the shadows. It was easy to see why her initial scan of the shop had failed to pick him up. He was dressed in a long black toga, black wings curled around his arms. Even without magic he blended perfectly into the shadows of the dark wood accents in the shop.

Sunil jumped a little at the unfamiliar voice. She had forgotten to try and scan the shop with magic, instead relying on her rather failable eyes. She squinted a little at the unfamiliar feien. He was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place him. Perhaps someone she had met while a bloom?
"Yes. I am Sunil. Who are you? I don't believe we have ever met."
She stayed where she was, tensed and unmoving. She wasn't yet sure what level of threat he posed if any at all.

"Actually, we have. You were the ringleader of the gang that broke into Em's office several weeks ago. I'm Corvus, your summoner." He said "your summoner" the way someone says "your king."

Ahh, so that was who he was. She remembered him leading her into talk to Em now. She had always wondered whether Corvus avoided the shop on purpose or not. Now she wondered if he was there more often than they knew, hidden and watching. He cut such a creepy figure in his black toga.
"Ah, yes I remember. You're almost never in the store. Don't like what you've created?"
She relaxed a little. As she had told Ares a long time ago, it would be silly of him to make them only to then destroy them.

"I did not create the feien. Does a human father create the whole of mankind? I am merely the reason for our continued existence." His face was calm and expressionless as he spoke; only the tone of his words betrayed any emotion.

Sunil rolled her eyes. He was not her father. Or if he was he wasn't a very good one.
"I wasn't speaking of feien-kind in general, but the specific feien you've summoned."
She sighed.
"But that doesn't really matter. I always wanted to ask you one thing though. Do you know what we're going to be like when you summon us? Or is it out of your control?"
She peered at him curiously. He was very unlike her former friends.

Corvus stepped further out into the light so as to more properly converse with her. "I control your basic attributes. Colors, gender, height, hair length. But not always. The plant flowers when it reaches a critical energy level, so blooms can be as controlled or random as I please."

Now this was interesting. Sunil leaned in a little, her curiosity overcoming all of her fear.
"But you have no control over our personalities? Or our elements?"
She paused briefly.
"Do you see yourself as a father for all of us? Do you feel a sense of responsibility for what we become?"
She frowned. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of someone who had a possibly legitimate claim over her.

"I see you largely as a blight on the face of the Earth," he smirked slightly, "but as I am compelled to continue bringing you into existence, I'm willing to accept that. And no, I do not control your personalities, though I can control your elements."

Sunil laughed.
"Do you hate yourself too? Or just the rest of us? And how are you compelled? I can't imagine anyone is forcing you to make us."
And a thought occured to her.
"Did you make Ares on purpose? Do you have a plan for her powers?"
Sunil scowled, forgetting for a second how much she currently disliked Ares. She had hoped to utilize Ares's powers herself at some point.

The line of Corvus's mouth pulled into a grimace. "Her element was the result of extra energy being drained by the plant. She had to exist, apparently. I did not have control over her then, nor do I have any over her now, so you may rightfully assume I have no plans for said powers. Her magic is weak, though. I doubt there is anything she could do for me. You, on the other hand..."

Sunil tensed up again. She had of course assumed she had simply stumbled onto him, but maybe he had been waiting for her.
"Me? What exactly do you want with me?"
She scowled in his direction. She didn't really want to fight him, since she couldn't even defeat Seamus, but she disliked his implication she could be of use to him.

"To start, I've heard about your little fight. I was hoping to hear a first-hand account."

Now Sunil grimaced.
"I didn't get in trouble for rifling through the back room, but I'm in trouble for getting almost choked to death?"
She glared at Corvus, attempting to convey her outrage.
"The entire thing was not my fault. If someone is going to be punished it should be Seamus."
She hissed Seamus name, packing the name with all of her pent up frustration and hatred.

"That was my intention precisely," he said simply.

"Oh."
She peered at him. This was unexpected.
"Well then, I suppose I can tell you what happened. I fell asleep in the shop after talking to someone briefly in the morning. I woke up and saw some other feien in the shop. I walked over and it was Seamus and Ares. Seamus had grown up, but was still shorter than me so I made a comment about it. He tried to hit me with his magic hand and I managed to withstand it without getting knowcked over. I hit him back, on the shoulder, because I thought we were just having fun. But apparently not as he then tried to choke me to death while Ares just watched. I ended up passing out on the floor and coming to with them staring at me. I left and told them I would do the same to them as they had tried to do to me."
Sunil spent most of the story looking at her hands, but gave Corvus a sidelong glance during the last part. She really wasn't sure how he would see her quest for revenge.

The muscles in Corvus's arm tensed. He instantly saw that Seamus had done the same thing to Sunil as to himself. His instinct would seem to be correct: Seamus was a dangerously unhinged feien. "And are you going to keep to your word?"

"Yes. I'm not going to give in to Seamus and allow him to hurt me without hurting him. I've convinced Tosten I want to work things out and he is going to work out a private meeting between Seamus and I. That's when I plan to get him back."
Sunil allowed herself a tiny grin of satisfaction. It didn't seem like Corvus was going to try and stop her.

"Interesting," said Corvus, smiling slightly. "Don't tell me you're looking in there for that reason?" He indicated the spell book with his head.

"I am. Seamus beat me with magic. It seems only appropriate I do the same to him. But I don't have anything I can use."
Sunil crossed her arms over her chest.
"I can feel magic, and I can make myself faster and stronger momentarily, but I have nothing to beat Seamus's magic hand. He'll just do the same thing to me again."
She gave Corvus a sideways glance.
"I don't suppose you know a solution to that problem?"

"A good attack," began Corvus, "is a combination attack. Strike him on multiple fronts and catch him off guard. Being faster and stronger gives you an advantage on the physical front." He stepped up to Sunil and examined her carefully. "Your magic is strong, but unfocused. When is this meeting scheduled?"

Sunil was pleased he thought she was strong, but frowned a little at his question.
"I don't know. Tosten hasn't gotten back to me with Seamus's response. I assume soon... "
She trailed off. She hadn't really thought about when it would be.

He turned to look at the spell list. "Seamus is a water, so... the spells he has at his disposal are water and nonelemental." He pointed at both sections. "Your spells, as air, are here, and you also have nonelementals. What spells do you know so far? And do you know what spells he has? I take it from your description Seamus has Magic Hand to start."

"I have uh... "
Sunil walked over closer to the spell list.
"I have Head Start, Giant Strength, Adrenaline Rush, and I just learned Magic Detection not that long ago. I don't have any Air spells."
She pointed at them as she named them.

"Magic Detection is incredibly useful, if you know how to use it. It takes some practice, but you can identify spells and other feien with it. Air Burst should be easy for you to pick up. Shield is a good general one. In your case, since you're already strong on the physical front, perhaps Growth as well. The rest of the air spells are not particularly useful, save for Advanced Flight. Tornado would be, but you're just short of being able to cast it. Whereas Seamus... Has no spells worth worrying about from his element. He choked you with Magic Hand, truly?" Corvus shot Sunil a doubtful look.

Sunil turned a little red. Was he making fun of her?
"Yes, he did. He used it to grab my neck and squeeze. I probably didn't help it by struggling. I was surprised."
She concentrated on a spot on the wall.
"How do I learn these spells? I know how to work out to become stronger, but Kam knows nothing about magic and neither do I really."

"Come with me." Corvus started towards the back room.

Sunil was getting used to Corvus's abrupt manner, but she still didn't really understand what he was getting out of all this. She sighed and followed him anyway. There seemed to be little reason not to.

With a wave of his hand, Corvus shut the door behind them, and indicated that Sunil should take a seat. "Magic is done by a part of our brains we cannot usually access. Consider it the subconscious. There are therefore only two ways we can use magic: subconsciously, as a natural course of events, otherwise called instinctively, or by focusing on unlocking that reservoir of magic and channeling it towards a specific goal. The spells tacked up outside are not by any means the extent of magic. They are simply a few ways to channel our innate magic which are presently known. Do you follow so far?"

Sunil sat down as he indicated and tried to concentrate on what he was saying.
"I think so? So, basically magic is something we can either just let happen or we can work at making it happen? And there are more ways to channel it than Em has tacked up on the wall outside."
She put her hands in her lap and resisted the urge to fidget.

"Precisely. Close your eyes and relax your mind. Imagine the space around you: the air in the room."

This Sunil knew about. Kam called it meditating. Sunil usually found it boring, but nonetheless she closed her eyes and began breathing rythmically trying to think of nothing but the air in the room around her. She could certainly feel it pressing in gently on her cheeks, little air currents swirling around her lazily. But she really didn't see how this was magical.

"Which way is the air moving?" asked Corvus, voice calm.

Sunil tried to figure out what he meant. She concentrated on the way the air felt on her face, but she couldn't pinpoint a direction. She clenched her fists and tried harder, but that seemed only to make the task more difficult.
"I don't know."
She sighed in frustration.
"It doesn't feel like its going anywhere."

"You're an air feien. Which way do you think it out to be going?"

Sunil sighed again, it was her favorite way of expressing her frustration with the world in general.
"Should it be moving at all? It isn't windy in here and I'm not moving. I thought the air just stayed in one place?"

Corvus frowned crossly. "You're an air feien, make it move, dammit."

Sunil opened her eyes and scowled at him. She was starting to get angry. This all seemed rather ridiculous, but she closed her eyes again and tried to use Magic Detection to look at the air. Instead she felt herself, so she tried to push the magic she could feel in herself out into the air to make it move. She wasn't sure but she thought she made a little breath of air somewhere by her ear.

"Finally," went Corvus, rolling his eyes. "Air isn't just a vast nothingness. In your case, it's a vital, living thing which you can control with a bit of thought. Furthermore, you can use the air to fight blindly. Instead of sensing objects, you can sense where objects are not. But that will take still more practice on your part. For now, the goal is accumulation of specific spells that will aid you in your purpose."

He paused to take a breath. "When you did that, did you sense a sort of reservoir within yourself? A center of magic, if you will."

Sunil opened her eyes. Maybe he wasn't just being uselessly cruel.
"Yes I did. That's how I got the air to move. I sorta... pushed at the air with the magic."

"That reservoir is what you need to draw upon. You can channel it in a number of very different ways. Now get up." He erected a shield around himself; it took next to no effort to do so at this point. "You can sense the magic around me, correct?"

Sunil looked at Corvus and concentrated. She could feel the magic around him, it wasn't hard.
"Yes. It feels much more solid than Seamus's. Is that a shield?"

"Very good, it is. Punch it."

Sunil looked at Corvus like he'd lost it.
"Why? Isn't it just going to be like punching the wall?"
She stepped over in his direction anyway. Everything else had had a purpose. She squared her feet and punched at the shield.

It was indeed like punching a wall. "Assume that this is a spell Seamus has, as it is perfectly logical to assume he does based upon his magic level. Shield is the second most useful spell in the feien arsenal, after the magic detection ability. It blocks physical attacks and objects. It can also block magical attacks to an extent, but eventually will fall. Find that reservoir again and remember how it felt to move the air. Then focus that thought and energy into your punch."

Sunil shook her hand. Punching a wall hurt, which was why she never bothered. She closed her eyes briefly and felt around for her magic. Now that she had found it once, it seemed much easier to find again. She kept her eyes closed, as she could feel the shield in front of her just find and pushed unruly little tendrils of magic down her arm. Then she pulled it back and punched, trying to will the little tendrils to go out a little ahead of her hand.

Amazingly enough, the tendrils of magic that made up the shield broke under her attack and her arm went through the construct. The magic unraveled around her, dissolving into nothingness.

Sunil opened her eyes in shock. There wasn't a wall anymore. She pitched forward totally overbalanced, having anticipated a wall, and landed on her knees. She looked up at Corvus in awe.
"Thanks."
That was about all she could manage. Punching shields was much cooler than simply being able to see them.

Corvus leaned over and stretched out a hand to help her up. "Any thoughts on why that worked?"

Sunil grabbed onto his hand and pulled herself up. Then she let go and brushed non-existent dust off herself.
"I put magic into it? But you said it could block magic for a while... Did you make it not too strong to withstand me?"
She furrowed her brow and tried to think of an alternate explaination.

It had been a bit much to hope she would guess on the first try. "Air Burst is an extremely good spell. It combines both a magical and physical element and is focused. Had you attempted to, say, Gale Force your way through the shield, it would not have worked. A large magic attack will distribute energy evenly over the shield. A shield can withstand a large amount of energy if that energy is spread over a wide area. By concentrating the energy into one spot, you can break through. Then the shield collapses. Perhaps I'll explain why another time." He wiped his hand on his toga absentmindedly.

Sunil brightened up.
"It's like an egg. Kam says you can crush them in your fist, but its easy to break if you hit in one place. I suppose it makes sense that it would dissipate magic or a physical blow but not a magical and physical blow."
She noted him wiping his hand on his toga.
"None of the other feien wear clothes. Why do you?"
It didn't occur to her that that might be a rude question to ask someone she barely knew.

"So I don't have to touch you lot," he said simply, and thinking that would be the end of it, moved on. "Both Breeze and Air Burst are externalized spells, but there are also internal ones."

Sunil let the odd comment pass. She really didn't know who would just glomp on to someone as intimidating as Corvus, but there were lots of feien she hadn't yet met.
"Internal spells? Like Head Start and such?"

"Correct." He allowed himself a small smile; she was fairly smart. "Head Start can generally be used instinctively, as it's based off your speed, so when you want to go that fast, your body naturally draws upon your magic. For a spell like Growth, though, you have to concentrate. You can't simply magically grow bigger because you want to. That is, if Growth interests you as a combat spell."

"Grow bigger? But I'm already taller than Seamus... It almost doesn't seem fair."
She frowned. She wanted to get him back, but getting bigger to do it almost seemed like cheating. Of course putting a magic hand around her neck hadn't been fair either.
"Nevermind. Sure, can't hurt to try and learn it right?"

"No sense in wasting an advantage," said Corvus. "When you concentrate, try channeling the magic to all parts of your body. It's important to do it equally, and works best if you simply relax and allow the magic to flow at will. Once all the magic is in place, you have to lock it there, for lack of a better word. That's a fundamental difference between Growth and Head Start. With Head Start, the magic quickly dissipates, but with Growth, you want it to stay where you've sent it. We'll start with the dispensing of the magic. Try to release it all over your body, but don't go further than that."

Sunil closed her eyes. For right now she found it mush easier to deal with her magic that way. She felt around for herself, and noticing there didn't seem to be as much to find, she tried nudging it around her body. It didn't really seem to want to cooperate and it took her a while to coax it down to her feet. She managed to get it spread out to all of her body, but it kept trying to pull back to where it had started like overstretched rubber bands. She opened her eyes.
"I don't think I can hold it here for long. It doesn't want to stay all spread out."
The act of talking seemed to make it worse and she lost a little out of her toes and up her left leg.

"You're uneven. Try not to focus on where it's going, just release it," he suggested. "It's fine if some ends up in the air."

Sunil nodded.
"Okay."
She closed her eyes again and tried to just relax. Not something she really did all that often. Some of it flowed around to other parts of her body and some of it rushed out in little gasps of air, but in the end it all ended up pretty evenly spread out. She opened her eyes in surprise.
"It is much easier if I relax and wait, but isn't it going to be tough to find that time in a fight?"

"Practice makes perfect. Forget about that for a moment, and focus on my magic signal." He closed his eyes and half a second later was a beacon of magic, spread evenly and perfectly. When he spoke, the magic remained, unwavering. "With time and effort, it becomes like a second nature."

Sunil felt him, and realized even sensing magic was getting easier. He made what she had just struggled with look effortless.
"I see."
She blinked.
"You must practice magic a lot."

The magic disappeared as quickly and cleanly as it had emerged. "Generally at least two hours a day. I have precious little else to do, particularly since I haven't been tending to the shop. Even with all that, though, I can't teleport more than twice."

Sunil raised her eyebrows.
"Teleport? Wow. How far can you go? And why haven't you been in the shop? Don't like wandering among the unwashed masses?"
She tried not to make it sound like a negative comment. The truth was she didn't always feeling like dealing with people either.
"I would think you could teach us all a lot. But I guess its better for me that you don't teach us all."
She shrugged, really it wasn't her concern what he did just that he had helped her.

He shrugged. "Given that I think the majority of the feien around here are absolute idiots, I would much rather restrict training to those I deem worthy. And it's simply the fact that no one respects my request to be left alone that keeps me out of here. Actually, I recommend it. Much calmer without all the drama that goes on in this building."

Sunil nodded. It was true that all the drama started here. His comment made her realize he hadn't really answered her earlier question.
"I don't really want to waste too much more of your time, because I really appreciate what you've showed me, but I have two questions. The first is what was in this for you, since no one does something for nothing and the second is why you make us if you dislike us. Couldn't you just give up on the feien and stop making us?"
She tried to look cool about the whole thing, but honestly she was dying of curiosity. She had always figured he liked making new feien.

"Sit," he instructed, sitting himself. "To answer the first, I believe Seamus to be dangerously unstable. From his crying fit, which was for absolutely no reason, to attacking you, he is a danger. And given that most everyone around here hates me based on his crying fit, I have an interest in seeing him get what he deserves. I hate being made out as the great feien villain simply because Seamus is an idiot of a whelp who can't control himself."

Sunil stifled a laugh, while she sat down.
"He cried? He didn't tell me that."
She thought about what he had said.
"Thats a good reason I suppose. If you were to get revenge yourself, you'd only look like more of a villain, but no one will ever have to know you helped me."
She nodded. Corvus was smart. She hoped not to get on his bad side. She wasn't really sure he had a good side, but neutral seemed fine in his case.

"I thought everyone had heard about his histrionics by this point. As for the second question..." He paused to work up the courage to say it. "I cannot stop making new blooms any more than you can stop breathing. You're familiar with the genetics information, so surely you know that a summoner is a genetic mutation. It's a mutation on the second gene, which is the gene that governs natural magic, or the amount of magic energy we have to draw upon. You're naturally strong, meaning that you have a larger amount of magic in you than, say, Ares or Arturo, both of whom are weak magically. This doesn't mean that they'll never be able to outperform you magically.

"As I'm sure you've also gathered by this point, magic is more about control than anything else. So even though Ares and Arturo have a low magic supply to draw upon, if they learn to control it well, they can perform magic just as well as you or I.

"But my gene is different. It has a specific forced mutation. So while you have a naturally large magic reservoir, mine is even larger than that, and the level of my magic constantly increases. The plant drains my magic and uses it to produce new blooms. Were it not for that fact, I would probably burn out. I nearly did." He stared at some far-off point in the middle of the room.

Sunil's eyes widened.
"You have too much magic?"
The thought seemed incredible to Sunil.
"Isn't there anyway to siphon the magic off into something else other than the feien plant? Isn't there any other sort of magical resevoir you could pour it into?"
She felt a little bad for him. No wonder he didn't like them. He had to make them in order to survive.

"I tried to see if simply teleporting a great deal would do the trick, but it didn't. I just ended up exhausted, and I very nearly didn't make it back home in one piece." He shuddered slightly at that memory. "Another thing you might not know about magical energy levels: the more you have, the shorter you live. So those feien with the least magic will outlive us by at least a year. More like three years in my case."

Sunil looked contrite for once in her life. She really hadn't meant to bring up what was obviously a delicate subject.
"Sorry that was more than two questions. I just can't find much about the feien specifically in literature and no one around here knows anything. If you don't mind, how long do we live? I asked Tosten and he acted like it wasn't a big deal as long as I just lived each day to its fullest."
Sunil rolled her eyes. Tosten was so simple.

"For you, three to four years. For Tosten, four to five, and for Ares, six to seven."

Sunil raised her eyebrows. And lost in her curiosity again she asked another question.
"Why does the magic wear us out instead of helping us stay alive? I thought magic was the secret to immortality. Most literature has magical beings living longer than non-magical beings."

She raised a good point, and an avenue worth pursuing. "Perhaps that may be true for larger magical creatures, such as unicorns, dragons, and elves, but in our case, our magic is very unstable. Our bodies simply cannot maintain magical production for so long. It burns out over time, and then ceases altogether, at which point we die."

"Like stars except it takes much longer."
Sunil nodded to herself.
"So no magic is bad, but very little is good. Interesting. I don't suppose you also know a lot about runes or alchemy?"
Sunil laughed a little to herself.
"You're like the fountain of knowledge, Corvus. Much better than the internet."

"Feh, you shouldn't be mucking about on the Internet anyway," he chided. "All that technology is the reason our kind started to die out in the first place. Runes I know a bit about, but alchemy... I think Em knows two people well-versed in that area, but I myself am not."

The night was full of revelations.
"The internet is killing us? Oh dear. I suppose photocopiers aren't good for us either. Or microwaves. Its too bad. They make being lazy so much easier."
Sunil stifled a yawn.
"I think I'm too stuffed with knowledge to learn anything else, but maybe I could ask you about runes sometime in the future? If not, its ok, I have some books on it and I've been practicing."
She stifled another yawn. She was more tired than she would have expected.

"Of course. If you need to reach me, use the emergency portal to reach Em's apartment. Any time you like. You should probably get some rest now; such is the price paid for excessive use of magic. It gets better with time." He stood and stretched, joints cracking in protest.

Sunil stood as well, slightly unsteadily. She grinned at Corvus. She didn't know what everyone else complained about. He seemed very useful.
"Thank you."
She waited for him to open back up the backroom door, so she could slowly wing her way home.

With a wave, it opened, sending in a fresh gust of air. "Take care of yourself and practice. You're fighting for both of us."

Sunil gave him a tired good night wave, and stifling another yawn attack, took to the air to mostly float her way home.

Ares quiet sat on the edge of the windowsill, swinging her little legs. She'd been alone most of the day, no one having stopped by, but she didn't mind. She used this time to think to herself, her dark blue wings folded down over her bare shoulders, the little flower-gem bracelet on her right wrist glistening slightly in the light. Her three red eyes were closed as she thought, and she was humming a song Neko had taught her. Apparently, this was something else that would allow Ares to stay so calm.

Sunil tiptoed into the shop and scanned with both eyes and magic. After being surprised by Corvus the night before, she wasn't taking any chances. She honestly was suprised to feel someone there. She hoped it wasn't Seamus, but clenched her fists in case.

"Hello?"

She little pointed ear twitched slightly upon hearing a voice, and she opened her eyes to see Sunil. For a moment, she was quiet, not wanting to say anything, but then her soothing voice piped up. "Hello..."

Sunil raised her eyebrows and relaxed. That voice was undoubtably Ares. She thought about leaving for a moment, but she and Ares had unfinished business. So she gritted her teeth and walked towards Ares.

"Hi Ares. You know, I have to tell you something, and it isn't the sort of thing that comes particularly easy to me. I never intended to actually harm you."

Sunil studied her feet and clenched her fists at the memory. She still hadn't made Seamus pay for what had followed. Hopefully Tosten would get back to her about the meeting soon.

"You're much smaller than I am. It really wouldn't be fair. I just wanted Seamus to stop and I made a tactical error. My fight isn't really with you per se, just with Seamus."

Ares blinked a few times, a bit surprised. Something didn't seem right...nor did it feel right. She felt a little frightened for some reason. "Even so...you, you tried to attack me, Sunil. You said you'd never attack anyone in the gang..." she looked down towards her feet, sadly. "What hurt even worse was that I hadn't done anything to be involved...maybe had I been a little quicker, I could have stopped Seamus. Demo...I didn't know what was going on..."

Sunil sighed, of course she was going to hide behind not knowing what was going on at the time.

"I didn't think "the gang" was in effect anymore. After all I was struggling after one of you had attacked me. I naturally assumed that meant we had dissolved our ties."

Sunil was getting angry and she had to remind herself she was supposed to be ready to settle things. She tried to outwardly relax.

"I'm apologizing, but I won't promise again. Promises that all-encompassing are too easy to break."

She wondered how Ares would take a comment like that.

Ares looked up at Sunil, as if she'd been struck. But...what about Ares' promise to Sunil? That she'd tell her everything she found out about herself? Ares had never broken that promise...even after they hadn't seen each other for a while. Even now she wouldn't...despite the fighting.

"Do you think Tosten and I would ever attack anyone?"

She sighed lightly. "I...I accept your appology...I think."

Sunil shook her head.

"I don't really care whether you accept. I just felt like I should offer it."

She shook her head to herself. Dealing with Ares was tough.

"Whether you or Tosten would attack someone is irrelevant. I am not you or Tosten, so you can't expect me to act like you. I don't go out of my way to attack people, so as long as no one provokes me I don't anticipate attacking anyone."

... except Seamus, she noted silently to herself. He really had it coming in a way Ares didn't.

"What are you doing here alone anyway? Shouldn't you be at home, scared I'm going to attack you?"

Sunil scowled. She didn't get any respect, even now when she had threatened them. She conveniently forgot for a second she had promised Tosten she was over the whole thing.

Ares looked back down towards her feet. "Wh-Why would I be home? Besides...you're here now, and you haven't attacked me. So if anything, this is no different than me being at home...I could either be there and be scared, or be here and be scared..." she said calmly.
kamtrouble: Sunil put her hands behind her back and rocked a little back and forth on her toes.

"No need to be scared, " she said grudgingly, "I'm sure Tosten has already told you Seamus and I are meeting to work this out alone. This should all be settled soon."

Her ear twitched slightly. Sunil and Seamus were...meeting alone? "No...I don't know anything. I haven't seen Tosten since he asked about what happened..."

Sunil grimaced at her mistake. She shouldn't have volunteered that information.

"Err... yes. Tosten volunteered to find a good place for Seamus and I to meet, so we could work this out. One on one."

Sunil tried not to sound too sinister, but the truth was she was looking forward to the look on Seamus's face when he realized what was really going on.

One on one...? "Sunil...you're...you're not going to hurt Seamus, are you?"

Sunil avoided Ares eyes. She was gonna have to lie, just like she did to Tosten. Why was everyone determined to discover her plan and stop her?

"Do you think Tosten would let that happen?"

She dodged the question and let out a silent internal sigh of relief.

"No..." she admitted. "Unless you tricked him..."
kamtrouble: Damnit! Ares was too perceptive by half.

"I guess you still don't have the ability to see the future do you? If you could you would know that everything will be fine."

Sunil tried joking and vagueness to get Ares off the scent. If this kept up, she was going to need a reason to leave. She started thinking.

"M-maybe you're right," she said, sighing lightly. "Maybe I'm just worrying too much..."

But I can't shake the feeling that she's hiding something, Ares thought to herself. I should try to find Seamus before Sunil meets with him.

Sunil smiled, she'd dodged a disaster. She prayed Tosten came up with a place soon. Otherwise she'd have some explaining to do.

"You worry too much Ares. You should relax. Have you been practicing your fencing?"

Sunil found Ares swordplay very interesting. Not for her, but interesting.

Ares nodded. "Arturo taught me a little bit more the other night..." she said softly, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks, But that quickly faded. "One day, I want to be as good as he is."
kamtrouble: Sunil noted her flush with interest and filed it away. She wasn't sure what it meant, but she figured it was worth knowing.

"If you practice I'm sure you will be. Corvus told me if I practiced my magic it would get better and easier. Stand to reason the same would be true of swordplay."

Sunil nodded sagely.

Corvus...? She blinked a few times, looking back up at Sunil. "You spoke with Corvus??" she asked.

Sunil looked at Ares in surprise. She sounded shocked, maybe she should have kept it a secret. She figured the topic was secret, but the meeting itself fair game. She considered her answer for a second.

"Why do you sound so shocked? I mean I know he is rarely here, but I mean he did summon us.... makes sense he would drop by every once and a while."

"I haven't seen him around for so long...and I haven't exactly met him myself," she told her. "I can't explain why, but he scares me..."

"Really?"

It slipped out before Sunil could help it. People seemed so wary of Corvus, but he honestly hadn't seemed that bad. She decided not to abuse Ares of her fear, Corvus had said he hated all of them. Maybe he tried to be scary.

"Huh, I don't trust him, but I wasn't scared."

Not entirely true, but Sunil had an image to maintain.

"I've only ever seen him yelling at others...demo, I'm sure that he's not as bad as everyone thinks," she admitted, finally standing up. "There's just something about him though..."

Sunil shuffled her feet. She probably should get home and practice a little more. It eould be nice if Tosten found a place soon, otherwise Ares might mention something to Seamus and ruin the whole thing.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Anyway, I better get going. I'll leave you alone to whatever you were doing before I came in."

Sunil started out and then turned back and whispered while waving, pitching her voice so low she could barely hear it.

"I hope you can forgive me."

Ares blinked a few times, turning her head to look at Sunil. After a moment, she finally smiled. "Of course..." she said softly.

Sunil didn't notice Ares's smile or her words because she had already turned back towards the door. She hopped out and took flight, winging her way back home.