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 Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:59 pm
The lights were dim, and the room was practically empty, except for a certain elf sitting at her desk. She was truly greatful that her first two students were both people she knew; this one especially well. She had planned something especially nice for 'Zuba, despite the conflict that had come between them a little while back. Shadows would be a wonderful treat for this spawn, the elf had decided. The barely lit room did seem to be the best place in the facility to find shadows at the moment.
Thali leaned back in her chair, instinctively brushing back the hair from her face. She really did need to cut it, it was getting in the way, always sticking to her skin with static. She hoped 'Zuba would like the form of magic she'd chosen for her; it meant a lot to the elf. Thali hadn't used it since she'd been very young, when she had been alone. It had given her much needed comfort. She hoped it would do the same for 'Zuba when she needed it.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:29 pm
'Zuba slipped through the door of the classroom, her motions rather feline in nature as she glanced around the room cautiously before moving away from the door. She wasn't sure if it was safe to be in a classroom alone with the mother of a boy she'd pummeled. Of course, she'd apologized and all, but she was still a bit edgy. If Thali was anything like her mother, Azubahiel would have been running the other way. Luckily, the woman seemed a bit more...levelheaded than that. Thank goodness.
"'Lo, Mrs. Sadril." 'Zuba greeted formall, staring at the ground and shuffling her feet awkwardly. No, no, this wasn't uncomfortable at all! To be honest, she wouldn't be here if Mother hadn't have dropped her off. She'd rather stay at home than come to class and waste the teachers' time.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:46 pm
Thali gave her friend's daughter a warm smile. "Come sit down, 'Zuba," she invited kindly. She gestured to the chair next to her. She of course, was not thinking about what had happened only a while ago. "I have a special treat for you today, and I think you are really going to enjoy it." She paused, noting the girl's unease. "Nervous? Don't be. The magic we're studying today is fairly simple; I'm not saying you're not capable of more advanced magic!" She reassured 'Zuba quickly. "This one is a fun way to learn, though."
She continued, "You might have noticed that there isn't very much light in this room--really, only enough to make shadows. You see, that is just what we're going to be doing. Only in a more interactive way than the shadows you have probably seen before. These... Well. Have you ever seen Peter Pan? Remember his shadow? It could do things on it's own. These will be more solid, though still shadows. They unfortunately, do not always last. They come back when the lighting is right, of course."
Thali decided to get to the point. "Now what I want you to do, is think of what you want your shadow to become," she said. "You'll have to focus for this to succeed. Imagine, and tap into your talents," she paused and grinned. "I know you'll say you don't have any, but humor me, alright?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:58 pm
'Zuba stepped inside, offering an awkward smile. She stepped further into the room, taking a seat in the offered chair. She simply nodded, listening to the elf a moment. She offered a small smile, showing she wasn't offended. Though, she doubted she could use magic. After all, she didn't feel magical.
The split spawn frowned a little. She had only the vaguest idea of what Thali was talking about. Well, she didn't feel that she understood enough to attempt....whatever it was. "But....Mrs. Sadril....I can't." she said, looking confused. She had no idea what she was supposed to be doing, let alone how to do it! Might as well have thrown a two year old into the deep end and tell the child to swim.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:09 pm
Thali put a hand to her forehead, realizing she'd forgotten the most important part of the process. She sighed, looking at her desk for a moment. She stood up, and took the girl by the hand. "Of course you can't, I haven't explained well enough. Come on," she lead 'Zuba to the middle of the room. "Focus on the shadows," she said in a mutter. "Use your imagination, 'Zuba. This form of magic does not require much power. You are simply forming what is already there, into something you want it to be."
The elf knew she failed at explaining things, but at least she was trying. "I know you can do it. I used to, when I was left alone. I was home alone a lot of the time, when I was young, and well. Arisa taught me how to make some friends, literally. You just need to focus, really. Close your eyes, and picture what you want your shadow to become." She didn't bother to mention that when she'd been alone, she'd been locked in a room for days on end. No wonder she'd resorted to talking to shadows.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:20 pm
'Zuba followed Thali, listening to her attentively. Her small frown remained on her face, though now it looked more saddened than anything else. "But....I can't." she said, her voice soft. She shook her head; why didn't any of them get it? She couldn't do anything! She wasn't good enough to deserve magic!
She sighed. "That's you." she murmured, before sighing. Well, she might as well attempt it.... "Will try to make a cat." she murmured, glancing at her teacher before trying. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She pictured an adorable little kitten, like one of the ones that lived in their neighborhood. An adorable, sweet little kitten; a cuddly kitten.... She oppened her eyes, sighing in disappointment. "See. Told you I couldn't." she said, sighing.
While it was true that she hadn't made a kitten, her attempts weren't in vain. The shadows just seemed to have a mind of their own. A small being formed behind the girl, intangible shadows slowly thickening. The result was a small, humanoid shaped, androgynous being, looking somewhat akin to a monster off one of the spawn's video games. Icy pale blue circles of color glanced around the room; a newborn seeing for the first time.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:53 pm
Thali frowned slightly at what she percieved to be a failed attempt. "Don't worry 'Zuba, that was your first try. You can try--- Wait." The elf was sincerely perplexed, having spotted the two bright blue circles. "'Zuba, you didn't fail," she corrected herself, looking to her friend's daughter with a smile. "It's not exactly a kitten, but it's more complex than most beginners could ever do." She paused, and took a breath, quite pleased with her student's acomplishment. "I want you to turn around slowly, be careful not to frighten it. It's still new to the world."
"Now shadows, they are intelligent beings. Well, intelligent enough to do what you ask them to do, whenever you ask. They may develop a mind of their own in time, and become stubborn. And eventually... they fade."
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:33 pm
'Zuba blinked. What was Mrs. Sadril going on about? She turned around, eyes widening as she jumped back away from it a bit. Her hands flew up, as if grasping a video game controller, thumb reaching for an "X" button that wasn't there. She realized how stupid it was; she wasn't playing that video game, now was she? This was real. She let her hands drop down sheepishly, then looked at the little being.
"Couldn't have made." she said after a moment of inspecting it. "No. Couldn't have. Sorry." She shook her head. Honestly, if Thali wanted to cheer her up, she didn't need to summon something up and try to fool her into thinking that she summoned something out of the shadows. Honestly, that wasn't very nice, and led to false hope.
The little shadow thing cringed away as the tall person jumped, stepping away. This new place was so scary and bright and LOUD. It did not like this. Not one bit. Not one bit at all.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 5:11 pm
Thali chuckled at 'Zuba's reaction. "Don't worry 'Zuba! It's not a heartless. There are a few differences, see?" She paused, a frown replacing the smile. "I knew you would doubt yourself, Vincent does that too. It never ceases to annoy me. Believe in yourself for once, alright? Even humble people can do that. Being humble doesn't mean you can't believe that you have the ability to do something, alright? I've already had this talk with Vincent. Now if I say you made that shadow, and that you've done well, I want you to trust that you did it. I promise not to lie to you, or say that you have abilities that you don't. Trust me."
She didn't mean to lecture, she really didn't. Having a humility child at home made her used to that virtue, and she knew how to deal with it, in her opinion. There was such a thing as being too humble. "Anyway, back to the lesson. I want you to focus again, and try to be quiet. Your shadow friend's already frightened enough. Try talking to her. She won't listen to me, if you created her. Shadows only obey their masters; see if I'm telling the truth. If I summoned her, she won't listen to you."
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Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:49 pm
'Zuba responded to Thali's lecture in a rather unexpected way. Instead of bowing her head and murmuring an apology, she glared. "Do NOT speak down to me as if I am a child, Mrs. Sadril." she said, her tone luke-warm and calm. She seemed to drop her word limit on sentences now....not a good sign. What was it with adults and lecturing? Honestly, did they feel the need to point out every little thing she did wrong? Ugh!
"And I know what humility means. Humility; derived from the Latin term "humilitas", a noun related to the adjective "humilis", translated not only as "humble", but also as "low" or "from the earth". Also derived from "humus"; humid. It means not proud, not haughty, nor assertive and arrogant. To hold a spirit of deference or submission. It also means ranking low on a social hierarchy scale." She said, not raising her voice once. That was the scary thing about her...she didn't gradually get louder. She just snapped. She turned from her teacher, kneeling down to the little shadow....thing.
"Shh...no need to be afraid..." she said softly, falling back into her usual speech patterns. After all, the little one hadn't been the stupid adult trying to lecture, had it? She reached out to pat the thing on the head, her hand meeting with something the consistency of jello. Ew.
The little shadow made a small, questioning cooing sound. It didn't understand the words, not yet anyways, but the tall one had lowered her town and made herself not so tall. That was better. Much better.
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Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 5:30 pm
Thali stared for a long moment. "I see," she muttered, looking down at her desk. "I apologize sincerely, 'Zuba. I did not mean to speak down to you as if you were an errant child." The elf was serious for once, her eyes showed the sadness she so easily hid. Or would have, if it weren't for her pointed ears drooping and showing from underneath her hair.
"I realize that you are no longer the child I remember taking Vincent to the candy store. May I speak to you as a friend? I promise you, I will not lie to you. I only ask that you trust me. Can we be friends? I want you to tell me if you catch me talking down to you. I will do my best to correct myself." Another pause, Thali looked up and noticed 'Zuba speaking with the shadow.
She sighed. Her second class was so far not going as well as she had wished. " 'Zuba, it is a habit of adults to see those they've watched grow up as children." She paused again, to shake her head. "Forgive me. I only wished to help. I wanted to teach you a form of magic that had been important to me as a child. I thought you would enjoy it; you seem to have a natural talent for it. Truly, I am sorry."
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Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:06 pm
"Perhaps we can..." 'Zuba said, eyes still locked on this new and interesting little being. Perhaps they could be friends....maybe. To be honest, while she hadn't meant to lash out at the poor woman like that and felt a twinge of guilt....at the same time...it felt good. Felt good to let off that tiny amount of steam, to say the words she rarely allowed herself to say.
"Suppose I understand." she said, glancing at the adult. Sounded like a cop-out answer to her, but oh well. "And did enjoy it. Was...interesting." Okay, so guilt was starting to creep in on her, despite her attempts to keep it at bay. She didn't want to lose this feeling....but she was. Oh well.
The little shadow, sensing tension, disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. It returned back to the darkness from which it had come, though now it carried memories of a certain split face and voice with it.
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Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:48 pm
Thali nodded, folding her hands neatly in front of her, on her desk. Time to go back to teaching, she decided. "You might notice that your shadow friend has vanished--they do that when they sense emotional upset or difficult vibes. At times, however, when their summoner is distressed, they will come to keep said summoner company. Mine did that for me, anyway. I had mine for years, though so I don't know whether they all do that or not. Mine was especially interactive, I needed it to be." She paused, and glanced towards her student.
"'Zuba, do you have any questions about shadows? I know I'm not very good at explaining things. I know that your shadow will bend to your will; it will change depending on your needs. Feel free to ask me any questions you have though."
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Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 7:46 pm
'Zuba had plenty of questions to ask. Why did they fade away? Did they have to fade away? And if her shadow would bend to her will, then why wasn't it a cat? The teen was about to start her montage of questions when the song " Build A Little Birdhouse In Your Soul", original They Might Be Giants version, started playing in the classroom. "Sorry." 'Zuba said, looking embarrassed. She flipped her cellphone open, listening a moment. "I'll be right there." she said. She shut her cellphone closed, standing quickly. "I have to go." she said, visibly worried. "My daughter just busted her elbow and she's bleeding." she explained quickly.
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