Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » A Mage Among Mages (Open)

Kiari shivered as the heat was lifted from the room and off of her skin. It surprised her that he would go to such extent for her comfort. Perhaps, it was simply to establish his power after Sasuki had given him a preview of his. Either way, the woman was no longer in need of the rolled up sleeves and after unraveling them, she turned to Pluvio and gave him a subtle smile of gratitude. Lingering on the thought of the storm he had created, she remembered the claps of thunder that followed the beautiful display of electricity that had scattered the men outside and gathered them into the pub. What a great way to make business for the tavern, although the bartender seemed a bit disgruntled with the overwhelming crowd and the lack of help he had to manage it. People had even began to tear up the place, having been lost in the excited melody the band created. Even Akane appeared to be cross with their wild limbs rudely bumping into him. One man behind her even had elbowed her in the head in the middle of a dance move, but if it had hurt, the pain did not register within her facial emotions.

"Thank you, " she told him before she reached for a peanut.

An inaudible crack emerged from her prying fingers as she withdrew the nut from its protective shell. What were her interests, the mage asked in attempt to draw out more information about the woman. What he did not know as well, was that he was playing a dangerous game by asking, especially, when he had nearly hit to nail on the head with the subject about fruit trees. In spite of herself, laughter, that was an embodiment of a melody of joyous sound that competed with the psalmist who sang in the band, flowed from her lips. Understanding that laughing at his question would almost certainly appear that she was being rude, at best, Kiari's hand withdrew from her lap and landed shy of his own. It had been the intention to lightly brush his hand to establish honesty, but at the last second, awareness alerted her wrist as her common sense kicked in to remind her of the lightning he had just created. Her fingertips were flirting with the danger being but a mere inch from his.

"I'm sorry, " she apologized. "Do not mistake my laughter to be something less or more than bewilderment. I do grow plants, but it's a gift and not one I speak about. If I told the truth to the wrong person... "

Kiari's sentence fell into a grave, thoughtful void which showcased itself plainly across her expression. Her hand fell back to her lap and the woman sat back in her chair, colliding with the dancing men's elbow once again. A curse transpired under her breath as she rubbed her head but when the man took notice,she was the one to apologize as if she were at fault for sitting too close.

She looked back at Pluvio and asked, "Are your cherries good?"

Just then, a woman meandered in. Her demeanor radiated her hatred for those around her but it puzzled Kiari as to why she wanted to be here if she didn't care for the company of others. Maybe she sought a drink to kill her malice?

Sasuki captured her attention as he asked for the drow's name. It was not apparent to her if he inquired out of pure curiosity, or if he was simply upset that he had given his name without Pluvio offering his. She chewed on the inside of her cheek just as the man behind her hit her for the third, and final, time. Her brow raised slightly as she shifted in her chair. A moment later, she took a drink from her cup and the man fell behind her, cutting off his dance move.

He then stood and gave the back of her head a quizzical glance before carrying out his drunken excitement at the other end of the room.

Kiari smirked.

"I do enjoy reading," she commented.

It was not like her to reveal things about herself to people, much less a man she had only just met. However, it would be a shame to miss out on a possible friend just because she withheld her trust.

It was much, much to obvious to him that Kiari was interested in the Drow, he was not really surprised, they were both elven and they were here before he even stepped in, for all he knew, this Wizard had just ruined a good night for them, though he reconsidered the thought when he realized that they came to a bar to spend their night, not to mention most all of the people here were drunken, dancing and, needn't mention, extremely annoying!

Sasuki was, too, being bumped back and forth with the folk, but he didn't care as much, for his power and mastery of fire had given him the ability to create a skin tight shield of extreme heat, making the people in contact with him get a first degree burn right off the bat.

People would bump him and jump away in pain and shock. He chuckled under his breath as he heard one of the drunks curse aloud. But one of them was not as careful, or smarter, then the rest of them.

Sasuki had the ability of avoid many types of casualties, most of the time he was able to manipulate himself into what he please, but the real problem was not manipulating him, but his chair,

The wooden chair was battered back and forth like a child being pushed around in a group of ruffians. But Sasuki ignored most of it, until the moment that displayed a negative side of him.

Sasuki leaned forward and removed his lower body from the chair to take a careful sip of his drink, but in the midst, someone had bumped him right above his tail bone and caused most of the contents to splash out and take form in the air, but failed as it made it only two inches away from the glass...

And to Sasuki face, splashing his face and coat.

He closed his eyes for the impact and felt the sting from the alcohol on his scar and in his right eye, for he didn't quite make the reaction fast enough. He didn't scream or shout, just a sharp intake of breath.

He opened his eyes again to have his right eyes stained with bloodshot veins, but the part that made it odd was that his right eye was no longer emerald-hazel, it was a dark amethyst, with the flames in his pupil turned into a shadowy black.

The bloody liquid he spilled over himself was almost dried instantly as he clenched his teeth and growled, though the audio of his mouth was not heard.

He placed his spare hand into his left coat pocket and pulled out ten gold coins, bouncing them around in his hand to check the weight.

He placed it down on the table and placed the wine glass down, hard. the impact of the glass hitting the table vibrated up the class and caused the bowl of the glass to break, shattering the glass and making it crumble around the hilt of the glass.

He pushed out his chair, which didn't go far due to the people, and grabbed the man responsible for the spilling. It was not hard to find the man, for he was still right next to the Wizard.

Sasuki picked up the man and started to mumble something to him, not even the man could pick up what he was saying and it sounded like some kind of foreign language, but not any human language, nor elven.

His hand burned through the man's tunic and made him fall to his backside, Sasuki threw the shards of cloth left in his hands to the floor while the man got back up. They were both mad now it seemed.

The man swung at the Wizard, and the punch made contact...

With the man behind Sasuki.

The punch shocked the man behind the wizard and made him fall, electricity sparked for a second or two while he laid there.

The punch missed due to the fact that Sasuki had made a shadow body before the swing. He knew he was going to hit him so why let him? The man's arm was through Sasuki's head and now surrounded with shadows. The wizard merely stepped forward and twisted his upper body clockwise, lifting up his right leg and swinging outwards, making a roundhouse kick to the man's shoulder and causing him to fly into the man next to him. Sasuki's right leg was still up, bent at the knee and raised towards him, he didn't dare place his foot down until the fire on his wingtip was to go away.

The banter and all the dancing had calmed down a bit after the Wizard made contact with the faulty tempest, but it only calmed down, after a moment they got the man up on his feet and dancing like the incident never happened, despite the burn marks and bruises.

After the flame went out on his wingtip, Sasuki sat down in his chair again and sighed a bit. Leaning back in his chair and easing up, for no one dared to hit his chair anymore. He seemed back to normal again, both eyes were emerald-hazel and his face was back to regular form. His face was clean and his clothing too, thankfully he dried off fast enough for it to stain his clothes. He looked to the two with a soft smile and leaned forward. "Terribly sorry for that display of brutality, I just hated that I lost my drink." He looked to Kiari with a smirk, "perhaps I should have stuck with water instead." He finished with a soft laugh, his fangs were clear and visible from the distance between the elves and him.

This party was really kicking off. Things seemed to be on the verge of getting out of control. But something seemed to say that everything would be just fine.

The young woman's laughter was a pleasant surprise. He hoped to be a little funny, but her reaction was a good one. "I understand completely." Of course he didn't, but his guess seemed to strike a nerve. So he might as well keep up the illusion that he totally figured her out.

Of course, he did wonder about what exactly struck a nerve. Her nervous laughter and that guilty look in her eyes were telltale signs. Ah well, women were a mystery anyway.

"They aren't like the cherries from the south, on my little plot of land." He chuckled and slid the dish over to her side of the table. "You should try some. Forgive my manners."

It was around then that one of the revelers bumped a little too hard into Sasuki. The person was the same person who had bumped into Kiari a few moments earlier, back from his brief journey to the other side of the room.

Pluvio was actually in the middle of sipping when the first punches were thrown. The flurry of activity had caught him off guard. It was good to see that Sasuki had the courage to stand up to someone who had had too much and was out of control. Someone had to lay down the law.

At the conclusion of the battle, the revelers went back to dancing but kept a healthier buffer of space between them and the table.

Catching a brief moment of silence, the mage chimed in. "Pluvio is my name..."

The barkeep came over a few moments later to make sure everything was okay. Seizing an opportunity for kindness, Pluvio called the man over and pointed towards the woman who had walked in alone and angry. "Remember that pheasant duck we talked about? Send it over to her and tell her it was from us." Pluvio slipped the man some more coins. He was really spending now.

But it helped appease the situation and calm things back down after the fight.

A pair of fangs gleamed back at her as the man bathed in his own deep laughter, mimicking the darkness of his powers. In doubt, she accepted his apology with a inclination of her chin, not knowing if it was as sincere as the threat had been in the depths of the fire within his gaze when he had let loose on the drunk. Kiari did not know as to why he attempted to apologize for the scene anyways. Did she truly look as frail as he suggested? Maybe, it was the way she conducted herself as a woman of determined poise. No, she could not fool herself. She was all too aware of her introverted nature and her virgin eyes and ears. In all of her years, she had been hidden from the world; tucked away in her mother's along with the rest of her skeletons.

However, surprisingly, the fight had not startled her, rather it had captivated her undivided attention. The drunk, even if he had been of sober mind, had no chance of overcoming Sasuki, at it was shameful for him to have tried. Also, he had sealed his fight the moment he went to punch him. He had swung far to wide and Sasuki had plenty of room to counter the attack by simply extending his arm and catching the blow before it ever could have touched him. Or, if he had by some miracle, made his target, chances are that, because he had not started the block in front of his chest and punched outwards without fully straightening his elbow with a quick 'snap' at the end, the punch probably would not have had enough potency to phase Akane.

Kiari, sat back in her seat and shrugged with a small smile along the curvature of her lips.

"Brutality, in my eyes, is performed without mercy being the end result," she replied. "It was a terrible fight on his part. He deserves a few good bruises to serve as a reminder in the morning light, not to drink that much. "

The question of whether or not he had meant to be merciful or simply did not find the drunk a worthy enough opponent, rose in the forefront of her mind, but she didn't verbally acknowledge its existence.

"Water, does not soothe nerves very well."

Part of her wished to switch up drinks, but the last thing she wanted was to get carried away and to go home smelling like the results of a good party and bad decisions.

The woman's eyes ran over the people around her once more. The twin sets of eyebrows were thoughtfully raised, while her pointed ears twitched beneath the weight of the curls that framed her high cheekbones and the edges of her jawline. Her green eye was now hidden by the turn of her head while the blue one glimmered against the candles on the tables. With a sigh, her thumb pressed against her temple. The music was getting too loud for comfort.

Upon Pluvio's invitation, Kiari accepted a cherry and plopped it securely in her mouth. It was delicious, but her favorite was still strawberries. After eating it, she nodded her head in agreement. He had been correct in his assessment concerning the sweet taste of the red delicacy. Kiari sipped on her water afterwards to chase the cherry down with.

"So, do you train others to learn what you do? Or do you prefer solitude?"

The woman straightened in her seat, conveying the inability to sit still. It was difficult not to fidget in her seat when the peace had been uprooted at replaced with excitement.

Kiari rarely longed to participate in dancing, however, she could not help but notice the happiness on the care free faces around her. Unfortunately, she had been cursed with two left feet so she was a hopeless cause.

Leaning into the table, she folded her arms and prompted herself up on them. The aroma of honeydew and pine needles rolled off her skin and hair. Idly, she waited for Pluvio to respond as she gazed at him once now with the lingering remnants of the smile.

Pluvio tried to hide his excitement, because that would make the fall harder if he was turned down. But truth be told, he needed some help. He wouldn't be able to keep up once the rainy season started.

The village's population had been growing and so had the need for more food and therefore, more storms. But perhaps the woman was just inquiring and had no interest in taking on the ways of the storm mage.

"There is a lot to learn", he said. "But I could use someone to help out with a few spells to be honest. That isn't what brought me here, but now that you bring it up, teaching sounds like a good idea."

He tried to hide his hopefulness. His hand rested on his drink as he contemplated taking another sip. Feeling as if his thirst was about quenched, he decided to go into lecture mode. As he spoke, he thought he sounded like his father. When did this happen?

"The first thing you would have to do would be to prepare a spellbook. You would need to be interviewed by the elders in order to acquire a blank book. Then you would train with a mage and go through spell by spell. But it is a process that can take a lifetime."

Pluvio took a pause and adjusted himself in his seat. He was a little fidgety as well. It reflected his inner self-consciousness. Beneath his relaxed demeanor was someone who constantly wondered what others thought of him.

"You would also have to learn the power in you. One way you could do this is by using stones to help you connect to the elements." Pluvio reached into his pocket. A few moments later, he pulled out a stone carving of ram. It's curved horns were carved from jeweled sapphires. The tiny statue was big enough to fill the mage's ebony palm. Its shiny color danced in the light in a naturally iridescent wash of various blues and dark purple. The ram itself carved from a single piece of labradorite.

"This is one of my better pieces... I inquired it by.." His voice began to trail off. "Well, I acquired it. Anyway, stones like a sapphire or even labradorite can act as a conduit between the power of the elements and the power within you."

Pluvio leaned forward and stared the woman in the eyes. His voice took on a new tone, almost an urgent one. "And I know the power is strong within you."

He turned to Sasuki. "Do you use stones or runes in your work?"

The chaos of the bar was easily drowned out once she focused her attention on her thoughts and food. She pulled out a book and started reading over a few spells. Her thoughts, were of course, interrupted when the Barkeep came over with a duck. He said something about a gift from the table of three.

While normally she would automatically turn down such a thing and ignore it... her curiosity was spiked. She turned the duck down, but got up and walked towards the table, her expression unreadable. She paused near the table, clearly in view of all three. "Is there a reason you told the Barkeep to give me a duck?" Her voice was cool, but firm.

Her brown eyes wandered over all three, calculating and sizing each of them up. Evidently, she wasn't a friendly person. Her reasons for such coldness, were left a mystery.

The pheasant duck had finally arrived and after not too long. The cook in the back had already started to prepare it, knowing it was a popular dish. In fact, pheasant duck was THE dish in town. It was the local delicacy.

Around this time of year, most of the pheasant ducks migrated to the north. It was the most luxurious and tasty food one could have.

Soon after it arrived, the young woman had walked up to the table, inquiring. Pluvio looked up at her, surprised to see her so soon. "Yes, we wanted to feed you." Pluvio said tersely. Let's see her still be angry after that comment.

Pluvio had had a sister growing up. Unfortunately, She did not live as long a life as he did. Maybe something in this girl reminded him of his sister. Her name was Ellagia and she was a very stoic woman, even as a young girl. She was even more introverted than the typical drow. Therefore Pluvio had a knack for being nice to those who hated people being nice...

He turned to face Miriela. "We're all a bunch of loners. That's probably why we aren't dancing. You should move to our table if you don't want a lot of people bothering you."

Pluvio considered himself a slight bit of a telepath, but most of what he did was read body language and other nonverbal cues. You would be surprised how much you could learn if you just watched people.

The invitation lingered in the air, like the smell of fresh food and the sound of easy tunes belting out from the ensemble and throughout the room.

The wizard smiled a bit more when the man moved his way down to the...

Oh...

It was a woman...

Sasuki cleared his throat and thoughts as he now saw the woman in view. It was obvious to anyone here that she was not a people person and the Drow, Pluvio was the name finally got, saw that as well.

He smiled a bit and leaned forward, extending his left hand out and forming limbs of shadow to reach out and grab the chair across from Kiari, pulling it out for the newcomer who had made her way here.

"Please, come sit with us." He spoke out of kindness and pulled away the shadow limbs, hoping not to touch someone with it, for it would be a terrible fate.

"My friends and I saw you walk in and move to the end of the bar. But now that we've cleared up the problem with people, I'm sure you will be fine to sit here, no need for harm now." He finished his gesture.

He looked to Pluvio with a smirk, his question of runes and stones was a nice one to ask, but his training was not something that went on a week a go.

"I no longer." He spoke as he started to moved the shards of glass closer to the neck and hilt sitting in front of him. His fingers seemed to be un phased by his contact with the sharp glass. He sighed a bit and contemplated getting another glass.

"I have practice magic since I was a child, I believe eight was the age I started, but as the years went by I learned how to use black magic to survive." He smirked a bit and looked up to Pluvio,

"After I learned how to use magic and mastered it after so long, I no longer needed tools or books to make me stronger, I just needed to know what it was I could make and do it."

He looked around for a moment and decided.

He got up and took his glass and its remains, along with the coin, and walked to the bar excusing himself on the way over. After a moment he returned with a glass of water, feeling it was smarter to do that instead of having his face ruined with the bloody drink he loved so much.

Once he returned, he was curious as to the other two. He smiled a bit to the woman and placed his glass down.

"Newcomer." He spoke softly, "please, sit and inquire us with your magics."

Again, another guess of 'who knows magic' but he was certain she could, why else would she come here?

( This will probably be my only OOC post here, but I just wanted to let everyone know I created a OOC forum for this group in the small talk forum. Okay back to the stories!:) )

The young woman quirked an eyebrow at the Storm Mage, but made no comment. Her brown eyes shifted to the other two seated at the table. If one paid close attention, they might notice that she was working her jaw a bit, a sign of underlying anxiety. She let him speak and considered walking away right then, but the invitation tempted her ever so slightly.

The other man spoke, also inviting her. She studied his face for a moment, little emotion on her face, but her eyes communicated curiosity and calculation. After a moment of sizing him up, she gave in and sat down, choosing to hold her silence.

For a few moments, she was able to observe the other woman, eyeing her. Upon determining that the other woman didn't seem to be a threat, she turned her attention to looking around the room. This table did give her a better view. Her expression remained guarded, nearly emotionless, the smallest signs passing, but easily covered up.

When the second man addressed her, she turned her intense and yet reserved gaze on him. Her lips pursed lightly, showing dislike for being spoken to in a casual way. "Just because I sat here doesn't mean I have to talk to you. Least of all share anything about myself." She said after a moment, keeping her voice even. With that, she turned her gaze back to looking around the bar, her body tense.

Kiari could detect the excitement stirring within Pluvio as he feigned nonchalance. Suppressing the urge to smile as she watched as his passion illuminated his face, the woman listened with caution. It was unlike her to allow her emotions to override common sense. However, it was hard to not allow her curiosity to accept his offer.

"It's lovely, " she exclaimed at sight of the ram.

A wisp of hair mingled within her eyelashes as she leaned forward to get a closer look. Kiari didn't question his hesitation to explain how he had obtained it, especially,since she had been nothing but secretive to him. When he leaned forward while steadily holding her gaze, the breeze flowing in from the open window carried his scent with it. Earlier, it had been impossible to detect the hidden aroma that reminded her of spring rain and pine needles.

Kiari dropped her gaze and leaned away before he was finished speaking but she held a tight, hint of a smile.

"Well, I would be more than willing to learn as long as you are willing to teach. When could I be interviewed by the elders?" she asked.

The woman that she had earlier noticed, came and disrupted the conversation. Kiari smiled at her and pulled her glass closer to herself to allow room for the woman to join them.

Then, she glanced back to Pluvio, waiting on his response. There would be consequences, but it was well worth it in the end.

He figured as much from the woman, seeing she was not someone to talk to was obvious and he was not expedting any nicer from her.

He smiled a bit and took a sip of the water, not really enjoying the fact it had no flavor to it that his kind would enjoy, but he did buy the drink, there was no reason to complain. That and the fact that he broke the last glass he bought.

"I didn't say you have to, I was asking the question to see if you would like to." He spoke calmly, not raising his tone at all to keep a comforted manner, despite her cold address.

He leaned forward and smiled a bit snidely, knowing that she was a mage was a good point, considering she didn't object to the point of it made him certain that she was not denying his question.

"Come now, luv." He spoke with a smooth tone to his voice. Relizing he had done eough pushing with Pluvio, he diceided to be nice.

"I won't ask you to give us anything, but I do ask if you have interest in giving anything, please do." He spoke as he took another sip of his drink.

The old storm mage was beginning to feel pretty pleased with the incantation that he had cast last night. It seemed that his little group was coming together nicely. But nothing was ever as perfect as it seemed. Fate still had not yet revealed what had drawn Pluvio to cast such a spell in the first place. It just felt like the right thing to do.

But this band of strangers was slowly starting to connect into something more. They had already set down a path that would, most likely, change them forever.

Now that the second girl had taken her seat, Pluvio and Kiari could continue their conversation. As the storm mage tried to focus solely on Kiari, he was interested in the dynamics between Sasuki and this new mysterious female.

These two seemed like polar opposites. One was well-kempt, finely dressed and very suave socially. The other was rough around the edges, dressed as a commoner, and with a slightly abrasive demeanor. Yet somehow there was something similar about them. It was too early to tell exactly what it was.

Pluvio had to admit. It was most interesting, playing this game of armchair psychiatrist with all of these new people.

"As soon as you feel ready", he said returning his mental attention to Kiari. "We could go as early as the morning." Pluvio placed the stone statue in his satchel at his feet. He came back up with a second stone.

It was a simple, smooth teardrop shaped stone. It was polished labradorite, another one of the iridescent water stones. He rotated it in the light, watching the bluish grey highlights dance as the rays of light bounced off of the smooth stone's surface.

"Take this." He clenched the stone in his palm and offered it to her. "It was one of my first stones. First lesson about stones or runes...You must charge them every month during the full moon. You can leave them in your yard or on a windowsill and let them replenish their powers."

It was interesting how something as simple as a stone could help one find themselves.

"What do you think?" Pluvio asked her excitedly. Now the happiness finally started to bubble out of his throat and caused his voice to sound just a little giddy at those words. He wanted to tell her all about the life of a storm mage and what it would be like to bring in the weather together, at the temple. But some things were best to just be experienced first.

The other woman clearly had eyes for the Storm Mage. It took all of Miriela's willpower to not comment on it, seeing people falling in love made her sick. Love was a petty thing. She almost wanted to pity the woman, but she dismissed it, deciding it was the woman's fault for being foolish enough to think that her gawking at a man like a little schoolgirl was subtle in the slightest.

When the other man spoke again, her gaze flickered to him. On one hand, she was beginning to prefer him talking to her over watching the other girl making lovesick expressions... on the other hand, she hated being talked to.

He didn't seem to take much of a hint. Oh gods, now he was making a slightly smug expression. His prying continued, in an even smoother manner.

The slightest hint of discomfort crossed her expression.

Maybe the light was playing tricks, but her cheeks seemed to turn a shade pinker than their natural tone.

Internally, she was completely at a loss. This guy didn't seem to be dissuaded easily.

Her lips formed a line, and she pulled her expression back to blank. Almost imperceptibly, her pinkie finger flicked.

Quite suddenly, Akane's water, of seemingly its own accord, lept from its glass and hit Akane in the face.

Miriela kept a disinterested expression, but her brown eyes were full of amused and silent laughter.

"Morning sounds good to me," she murmured.

Her voice was heavy with thoughts as she made a mental note to wake up early enough to finish a day's worth of chores. Usually, the hired hand would assist in the work, however, her mother had to let him go due to the lack of money coming in. It would be a long day tomorrow but she hardly felt ready to forfeit her seat and go home to sleep. She snapped back into reality as the man handed her the stone, which she took slowly as if expecting him to shock her through it. Turning the stone over in her palm, her thumb massaged the surface.

"It's beautiful," she complimented.

Kiari chuckled at his giddiness and gazed at Sasuki just in time to see the water splash his face. Her eyes fell on the woman but only for a few moments. Kiari took a drink of her water, hiding the growing smile on her lips, and turned towards the window until the smile faded.

"Perhaps, I could show you a thing or two about growing plants in exchange for you teaching me about storms," she spoke to Pluvio.

Kiari played with the stone in her grasp and watched the dancing people around them in silence.

The water jumped from the glass quite quickly and laid its form over Sasuki's face. He had to admit, it was better than letting his face sting with alcohol.

The water over his face froze within seconds and he placed his hand gently on his jaw, the mask of ice was then pulled off with ease. His porcelain skin was normal again as he placed it on the flat of the table in front of her, the water specks over his cheek bones and his forehead glistened a bit before they dried away with his heat shield. He smiled a bit and looked to her.

"I believe this is yours now" he joked as he took his hand off of it.

"If you wanted some water, I would have gladly payed for it." He commented as if she really wanted water. He knew she was being a bit shrewd and introvert-esque, but he wasn't going to let her actions of pushing him away keep his mood to a negative.

"Now." He leaned back as he smiled to the woman, "I can give you some time to observe the area and get comfortable if you want, I have years and years before I die, so I have all the time in the world to wait." He spoke with a smile. "And I hope that is not the extent of your powers otherwise that trick will become a minor nuisance to your opponents." He spoke his final statement with a laugh.

"You should practice Ice magic, it would help out with being more of a force to reckon with." He commented to her as he glanced at the ice mask he made, "or a force to hold all." He joked as he drank a bit of his water.

Little did they know, it would be a long night.

The woman's words echoed in Pluvio's head. The fruit had been looking sparse lately around the drow regions and they could use some help. He had been giving them lots of water, but could not seem to figure out what the problem was.

"That is an offer worth celebrating", he said starting to feel more comfortable with her. "We could always use help with our crops."

There was a slight pause as Pluvio took another sip. "The drow are not known for our farmers", spoke the mage after he placed his glass back on the table.

Although the society was agricultural, some species were better at certain tasks than others. Although the drow loved their fruit, they often had issues growing large crops and often acquired food through trading. Some drow made great fortunes just running caravans from the high elven farms to the drow enclaves.

There had not been a high elven apprentice in the enclave for a long time. The elders would still allow it, Pluvio reckoned. But it would draw attention. It would be unique. Of course, this was one detail he did not share with Kiari just yet. There was still so much he wanted to learn about her.

"So... What is your village like?" For being as old as he was, Pluvio had not spent a lot of time around high elves and had spent even less time in their villages.

A hint of a smile played around her lips. "I don't need it." It melted as she moved her hand from her lap to rest on the table lightly. "If I want water, I can get it for myself." Her brown eyes focused in on him, but her expression returned to being detached.

She didn't know why he persisted. But she could commend him for handling her prank without getting upset. While she didn't smile in return, she relaxed slightly. "You may have years and years, but I imagine you don't have the patience to wait that long."

The water from the melted ice swirled a little in patterns around her fingers. "Ice... water... it's all the same to me... if it has water in it... I can manipulate it." In her mind, she questioned her choice to talk to him at all. Her gaze focused on the water on the table, watching it form into the shape of a butterfly and fly up and then dissipate into the air.

He smiled a bit to her action and art, watching it as it took its move and flew away. He took all of her words in and decided to answer them, one by one.

"Well it would be rude of me not to get you a drink if needed, I would feel bad for allowing a wanderer to go hungry or thirsty." He smiled a bit more snidely, letting her mull over the words.

"And as for the patience, I would never brag of my own feats, but I assure you: if the both of us were to sit and wait until you were that comfortable to talk to me, your aged and brittle bones would be the first one to walk out of this room while I stay youthful and regular." He chuckled a bit and looked at her hand, then back to her eyes, "but the again, I have already got your attention with my jests, I see no reason to wait now." His hand snaked over to the water he bought and picked it up, he drank it and placed it down with a soft tap, now being able to do this.

"The interesting thing," he commented to her power as he put his left hand up, "is I can do the same with most of my powers, if there is something in the air, then I can use it.."

After his small speech, a fire ball formed in his hand, then started to freeze over as his index finger touched it. He tapped it with his end finger and the crystal turned to stone. He gripped it with all of his fingers and pressed his hand though it as the entry of each finger was enveloped with shadow. He surged a small amount of electricity through the stone and it reformed into a shadowy ball. He let it drop onto the table with the opening of his hand and took the woman's shadow, pulling her fingers out and stopped at the edge of the table, he touched the shadow of her index finger for a moment as the finger he placed started to turn red, burning through the wood slowly.

A burn mark showed up on the woman's index finger along with the burning pain from his action. It was obvious now that this man was not normal and his powers were completely unorthodox from the regular mage. He was an odd case and proven to be not normal, but what was it he had to prove with this?