Welcome to Gaia! ::

James leaned back in a chair and watched the board that would tell him the next opening. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this." He lamented as he tried to keep a knife balanced on his finger. He had a number of them that he kept on his person. Came with the job, his old job at least. He sighed and looked around the room for Ursula. It was strange not to see her here, watching the board intently as he was. Only so many spots opened up, and they both wanted to hop on them.

Seeing nothing, he sighed yet again and flipped the knife off his finger and into the air. It spun twice then landed in the desk he was sitting at. A smile touched his face, seeing it hit it's mark. "Where is that woman."

James noticed her walk in and took note of the book she was reading. It made him smirk, and he picked up the knife yet again to start up his balancing act. "It's cute that you think you'll be the one subbing for Lillian." He teased, holding the blade on his fingertip and keeping it still. There was no confirmation yet, but a rumor was floating around that a sub would be needed for the Healing Magic class. He had, of course, brushed up on the subject (And by brushed up, he more meant that he went through some old college notes while eating junk food last night) and was waiting here for the little magic board to tell him it was his. "I admire your moxie luv, I really do. But that is my mark." He smirked at her, enjoying this little game.

"And what do you mean by that?" James asked, continuing to smirk playfully. "The likes of a thief or the likes of a illusionist? I can heal just as well as you can, that's for sure." That was debatable, but that didn't stop him from claiming it as fact. "Why shouldn't I get the job? After all, I do have a certain 'real world' experience when it comes to magic. I can talk to the students about how to apply their skills outside of the classroom. That's something you can't learn in a book." He smiled smugly, feeling as though the point was final.

"I don't need to answer silly trivia to prove my skill." James said dismissively, waving his unoccupied hand in arrogance. It covered his ignorance quite nicely. "But I'm sure that piece of near useless information will help you in the long run. Sea sickness is such a pain." He taunted her with another smirk and flipped the knife, letting it spin and then land in the table. "Let's be fair, we're could do this little back and forth until I eventually stood the victor. But that would be a long experience I'm sure you don't want to subject yourself to. So let's make it interesting." He removed a small brown leather case from his belt and placed in on the table in front of them. "We're both valid candidates, so let's let the cards do the picking for us. Five card draw. Winner take all."

"Your ignorance shows in your limited questions." James replied with a bark of laughter. "While I'm sure it's important to know what to give a nauseated sailor, isn't it more relevant to know what to give a poisoned man? Or how to mend a broken bone? Those are the things I excel at and those are the things that will make me..." He said trailing off, picking up the dagger and flinging it at the board. It's flight narrowly missed Pax and landed sharply in the location where his stamp would go. "the one who gets the job."

He gave another series of chuckles before returning the cards to his belt. "I can assure you I play with a fair deck. But it is your insistence, we can play your game of chance. Dice, cards, coins. You name it, we'll play." His confidence in his ability to win games of chance was almost to the point of overbearing. In his mind, however, luck was a skill he was most apt in.

"I do in fact." James said, returning her challenging glare. He didn't look at his knife though he would have to speak with her about getting it replaced. It was not a cheap thing. "Poison is something I've saw extensively in my old work. Show me a man with a slip in his drink and I'll tell you what to slip in his drink." While he had been heavy on the bluster with the other subjects, he was not lying when it came to poison. He had never used the stuff, much too dark for his tastes, but he knew plenty who did. "Tell me, if a man fell to the ground and was unable to move his legs, followed quickly by torso and arms, then experiencing loss of breath, what would you say was given to him?"

James smirked at her point, even if it was valid. "Seems intensive for a simple case of Hemlock poisoning. But I'll give you that, you found the most complicated way to solve the problem. Cure the symptoms, ignore the poison." His eyes drifted to the board, keeping the eye on the position. "Still, potions are an important part of the healing magics. That is why Healing is a major and Potions is a minor that would supplement it. But we're arguing semantics. Let's get back to the real issue here." He rose from the desk and started to walk over to Ursula. "How should we determine which of us is more apt to teach? None of this Q and A game. Tell me what your challenge is, and I will meet it."