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Post by Anna Stutler on Jan 27, 2011 23:00:18 GMT -5
Wow. This just got better and better. Did Horvath get all his recruits from a finishing school? Anna gave the new woman a short wave, and exchanged a glance with her master. "Hey," Anna greeted. She absently toyed with the ring on her finger. She was really starting to wish that her boss had come up with an alternate plan.
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 27, 2011 23:06:30 GMT -5
The old sorcerer hid a grimace. Mr. Horvath. Even though it was technically the proper mode of address, he was never going to get used to it. His title was Master. He was a Master Sorcerer, after all. Anna had, however, quite bluntly informed him that calling someone 'Master' these days had all sorts of implications that he did not want to deal with.
"Miss Moreland," he said, inclining his head politely. "Might I introduce Rapunzel and Anna Stutler?:
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Post by Bertie Moreland on Jan 27, 2011 23:12:09 GMT -5
...Rapunzel? Arching an eyebrow slightly at this, Bertie curtsied once more and eyed the other two women very closely. She liked the look of this...Rapunzel. Anna Stutler, on the other hand, did not look like the sort of woman that Bertie would get along with very well.
"A pleasure to meet you both," she said politely. "My name is Roberta Moreland," she added.
Glancing at her new instructor for further guidance as to what to do, she fiddled slightly with her hat. Her Incantus was tucked away in the handbag she had with her, and her fingers itched to take it out and begin immediately. If there was one thing that would bring Bertie to some sort of downfall, it would be too much eagerness when it came to learning.
"Er...should I take a seat?"
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Post by Ariel on Jan 28, 2011 17:21:58 GMT -5
Ariel was beginning to think that she’d been a little too eager and gotten in over her head with this magic business. It wasn’t that she regretted applying for the program; it was just that she was now forced to admit that trying it out after having only read a few pages had been slightly reckless. The scales that now covered her right foot were proof of this.
“Not good,” muttered Ariel for approximately the seventh time as she frantically rifled through the pages of the Incantus, desperately searching for the page she’d been working from before she dropped the book in surprise, “if I don’t fix this Hovarth is going to kill me!” This whole mess had started about an hour ago when she’d finally finished the introductory chapter (she was pleased when it stated the focus did not need to be worn on a finger, for since her meeting she had fixed it to an elegant chain around her neck) and, getting carried away by her own enthusiasm, had immediately tried to find a spell that would let her turn back into a mermaid for a little while. Her now scaly foot was the result of this, and in spite of her best efforts had so far refused to change back.
“Oh shoot,” exclaimed Ariel in alarm as, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the clock on her mantle, “I’m running late!” She sprang off the bed and, pausing only to pull on a pair of boots in order to hide her unfortunate affliction, hurried out into the evening. It was fortunate that the streets were fairly quiet, for it allowed Ariel to hurry along to her destination and make it with seconds to spare (given the feeling of disapproval she’d sensed from the man before she’d even done anything, Ariel was not exactly eager to see his reaction to her turning up late to a lesson). Pausing only to straighten up her dress and double-check that no scales were visible, she reached up and knocked sharply on the door.
“Hello?” she called out, fidgeting slightly as she waited for a response, “Mr. Hovarth?”
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 28, 2011 21:26:25 GMT -5
Again with the 'Mr. Horvath'. He sighed and gestured Moreland to her seat.
"Enter!" he called to the newest arrival. He recognized the distinctively clear voice- this would be Ariel, the young redhead who had inquired about transformative magics.
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Post by Rapunzel on Jan 28, 2011 22:15:26 GMT -5
Rapunzel was sure that Anna was a very nice girl, but she was not sure if she had managed to make a favorable impression, so she was glad that others were coming. She gave them both a brilliant smile and little wave as they came in – Bertie (an interesting name for a girl, she thought, but then, she was one to talk) and another girl, to whom the door was just opening.
“Hello Roberta – Bertie,” she fumbled slightly, giving an apologetic smile as her cheeks flushed prettily at the mistake. “And hello to you, too! It’s so lovely to meet you both.” Some might have thought she was simpering, but the naïve princess was being sincerely friendly. She did hope that they would all grow to like each other and have a wonderful time.
She looked to Mr. Horvath then, waiting, albeit not very patiently, her feet swinging a little in excitement, her hand again wrapping around Pascal to ensure that he was still there.
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Post by Ariel on Jan 30, 2011 1:53:23 GMT -5
Ariel pushed the door experimentally when she heard the voice of Maxim Hovarth inviting her to enter, and was surprised to find that it had seemingly unlocked itself. Then again, she was dealing with a sorcerer here; there was really no reason to be surprised. She quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind her, following the sound of conversation into large library where the group had convened.
“Oh, I’m not late am I?” asked Ariel nervously as she noticed three other girls in the room, “I got here as quickly as I could.” Rather awkwardly she noted that all three of Hovarth’s other apprentices (assuming she’d identified these people correctly) seemed to be a few years older than her, which when combined with the age of their tutor made her feel very young indeed. It was like being back with her sisters all over again.
“It’s nice to meet you all,” she added, hoping that no-one commented on her youth, “I’m Ariel.”
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Post by Anna Stutler on Jan 30, 2011 13:49:01 GMT -5
Anna raised an eyebrow at her master, giving him a small playful smirk. The old man had an eye for young and pretty. Either he thought females would be easier to control--and he was probably right on that, at least a little--or he was a dirtier coot than she'd realized.
"Yeah, you're late, but you're not the last one. So that counts for something," Anna said.
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Post by Rapunzel on Jan 30, 2011 14:14:34 GMT -5
Rapunzel opened her mouth to speak to the new arrival, but Anna interrupted her. She bit her lip a little, wondering if Anna had meant for that to sound mean or if it was just her imagination. She decided to give the girl the benefit of the doubt and turned to Ariel to give her a bright smile.
"Hi Ariel! I'm Rapunzel," she said cheerfully. She had a feeling that she and Ariel were going to get along really well. They were both young and a little bit nervous and seemed pretty happy. Looking a bit wistfully at her, she added, "I really like your hair. It's so long and lush..." She trailed off as she stared at it, then shook her head a little to snap out of it.
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 30, 2011 20:18:11 GMT -5
Horvath scowled slightly at his apprentice. As master and apprentice- true and proper master and apprentice, not simply teacher and students like he'd be with the rest of this lot- he and Anna shared a slight mental connection. He did not, however, need it to guess at what she was thinking.
Hah. Hah. Hah.
Brat.
But the brat was his apprentice and she did have a stake in all this. He'd set her right later.
Horvath checked his watch, frowning slightly. The watch was of the pocket variety, with silver ornamentation. Slightly ostentatious and old-fashioned, but it suited his personal tastes. Still two students missing. They would wait a few more minutes before moving on.
"Any questions before we get started?" he asked.
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Post by Bertie Moreland on Jan 30, 2011 22:36:23 GMT -5
Bertie glanced at the other girls in the room, pondering at the fact that all these new students seemed to be...remarkably pretty young women, all about her age or a little younger. Frowning to herself at this thought, Bertie turned her gaze towards Horvath, as though trying to puzzle through his reasons for accepting such attractive students.
She noticed, almost off-handedly, that he was a rather...striking man. Not overly handsome, but certainly not hideous. Frowning a little more, she forced such thoughts away. Now was not the time for that.
He asked if any of them had questions, and before she could stop herself, Bertie cleared her throat. "Yes...I noticed in my brief reading of the Incantus...that there were some spells for combat magic. Will we ever be studying those spells?"
She winced mentally at the question. No doubt he would be thinking how inappropriate it was for a "proper" young woman to be asking about combat spells. Still, those spells had fascinated her. Perhaps because they could have been so useful while she was on the Robinson family's island, fighting the pirates, or perhaps it was simply because she was too much of a tomboy, as her grandfather had often said.
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 30, 2011 22:42:44 GMT -5
He did not really want to teach these young women combat magic- and not out of any idiotic reasoning involving the phrase 'because they're female and females don't need to bother about fighting'. He could think of, right off the top of his head, at least three sorceresses who would come and kick his arse into the next century if he even considered that reason.
An unarmed person not trained in the fighting arts was easier to control and to handle, that was all. But it would be an appalling lack in their education to not cover combative magics.
"We will deal with some combative magics," he replied. "Mostly defensive ones, however. Offensive magic is more advanced than you will be ready for for some time yet."
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Post by Ariel on Jan 31, 2011 0:11:52 GMT -5
Ariel shrank back slightly in her seat at the older girl’s barbed comment, and was relieved when a moment later a much friendlier voice took over the conversation.
“That’s a beautiful name!” she exclaimed as Rapunzel introduced herself, “and thank you, your hair’s really neat too.” She would have said more, however their tutor began speaking at that moment, rendering any further introductory conversation impossible for the moment. Annoyingly, the other two girls hadn’t introduced themselves, so Ariel was forced to come up with her own names for them. The girl who’d been snippy earlier could be called Emma, due to having an emerald streak in her hair, and the other girl could be Hattie, because she was carrying a hat in her hands.
She wasn’t sure what it was, but there was something in the way Hovarth shot down Hattie’s question that left her feeling slightly unsettled. It reminded her of the way Ursula had only told her the side of her offer that she’d wanted her to know, whilst still making it sound as if she was only trying to help. Of course, given that the scaly foot had left her rather shaken up she was probably just being paranoid; however she couldn’t quite stop herself from offering up her own thoughts on the matter.
“But wouldn’t we need an understanding of offensive magic before we learnt to defend ourselves?” she asked impetuously, her inquisitive mind hard at work, “I mean, we can’t defend ourselves properly unless we know exactly what we’re defending ourselves against.”
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Post by Maxim Horvath on Jan 31, 2011 2:08:13 GMT -5
"Only if you plan on engaging in wizard's duels with experienced sorcerers," Horvath replied, concealing most of the sarcasm he would normally insert into such a comment. "Unless you plan to do so, for the moment all you will require are general shielding and warding spells. Those are designed to absorb, reflect, deflect, or transmute a wide variety of magical energies and will suffice for most situations you are likely to encounter for the time being. It is not until you reach a higher level of study that you will probably need more specialized protections."
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Post by Anna Stutler on Jan 31, 2011 23:17:51 GMT -5
In demonstration, Anna lifted a hand, calling up a shield. She thrust a bit of energy to it, making it sparkle. Time to be the dutiful older student, and help distract from the issue at hand.
"Easy peasy, kittens. You'll master shields in no time. And don't worry about combat training. There really aren't any sorcerers in the city you'll have to worry about fighting. Besides, there are much more interesting things to spend your time on."
With that, she dimmed the lights with a snap. Colorful lights in the shapes of butterflies and birds lit out from her hands, fluttering out and around the girls. As they circled the students, the chairs bearing the girls floated up, spinning gently before resettling in different positions. The lights gradually came up, and Anna stepped forward. She ran her fingers through her hair, and the locks grew and changed color, turning a more natural, lush brown and growing down her back. When she was done, her hair twisted up into an elegant do as her clothes twisted and changed into an elegant ball gown.
But she wasn't done yet. Anna let the illusion settle for just a moment, then she summoned Bertie's hat off her head with a gesture. Placing the hat on her own head, her form changed again, to be a mirror image of the hat's owner. Running a finger along the hat's edge, she smirked at the stunned audience for a moment. There was a theatric puff of smoke, and then the hat was on the ground. A black cat came out from under it, jumped onto the desk. It sat there a moment, before turning back into Anna.
She sat on the desk, smirking slightly, lounging back comfortably. It was a lot of magic in a very short period of time, but she'd pulled it off. And the last bit had been a special treat for her master. They'd been working on animal transformations before this plot to gain students, but she'd been working on it. This was the first time he'd seen her do it properly.
"So," she said, eying her audience. "You still want to waste your time learning stuff you'll never use? Or do ya want to have some fun?"
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