A Long-Needed Lesson

Thalia's eyes drifted to Faolán's position after he gave his initial greeting. He was perched atop the desk at the far end of the room. Surrounding him was a myriad of things, but the most predominant to her were the guns. She wondered what they were doing today. Firearms training seemed like the most probable due to the presence of the guns, but it also seemed very unlikely. Why work on a skill that she'd never used before in her life if she wasn't even perfect at the ones she was proficient in already? There was also a sword leaning next to him, which could suggest something closer to sword fighting. Again, a very random thing to want to work on. Of course, the Pryfektus could be using them for a specific lesson, she wouldn't really know for sure until he told her. For now, Thalia listened to his return the small pleasantry, and she replied in a similar manner, leaving out all of the ups and downs of the past week or so and simply stating, "I have as well, thank you."

The next thing he said sent her heart racing, but not in the way she thought it would. He had asked her to disarm her bow. Because they'd be working on magic. She certainly felt nervous. That part was inevitable, as it was nearly engraved into her flesh and bones by now. As she thought about it, she felt like, even if she overcame it, a small part of her would always hold onto that eight-year-old girl who'd lost control. But now she felt a tad more confident, and if her mentor wanted to work on magic, then she would do just that. He wouldn't ask her to do it if he wasn't at least a bit comfortable with the risks involved. To him, this would probably be minor what with his constant plights in actual combat. What was a little - or a lot of - lightning to a seasoned warrior?

Thalia's face stayed at a subtle smile, just enough to let Faolán know that she was willing to give this a go while still hinting at her nervousness. She obediently slipped her bow and quiver off of her back, striding over to a wall where she laid both down gently. Before she returned to where she had been the Tiro made sure that the weapons were safely out of the way. Satisfied with their position, she looked back over to her mentor. She hadn't known him very long, but she did trust him. Maybe not as much as she could, but the underlying feeling was there. Basically, she felt comfortable that if anything went wrong he wouldn't just leave her here or something.

"All right, magic it is. Where do we begin?"

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Tags: Faolán Laighaen
Notes: <(") penguin

The basics. The simple, uncomplicated basics. Thalia liked the idea of that as much as she could, glad that they would be starting out easy. Faolán must've seen her looking around at his small arsenal because he commented on the guns. So they would be using them, after all. Just not for combat. She didn't really have an idea as to what they'd do with them, then, but he seemed to always have a reason for everything that he did, so she would just have to go with it. And besides, that wasn't for quite a while. At least she hoped.

”What do you know of magic, Thalia? That includes shifting.”

What do I know about magic? Good question. Thalia gave herself a moment to think about it, settling into the silence. She knew that her mentor wouldn't mind her taking a second to ponder the question, as both of them knew that she didn't know much. But she did know one thing aside from the types of magic and their stars. That shifting and her powers, though both magical abilities, weren't really tied together. Thanks Kalean. The words popped into the back of her mind, and she subdued them quickly. But she couldn't help thinking that he was helping her and he wasn't even here, even as she tried to shove it away. This was not what she should be thinking about right now, certainly not in the middle of a training session with her Pryfektus! Thalia made a small mental note to mention that she had met Kaelan to Faolán. After all, he had told her about him for a reason. Now she was really starting to understand why. Gathering herself up, she broke the silence with her short reply.

"Not much, as you probably already know. But I do know that shifting and my powers are separate actions in and among themselves."

Thalia knew that Faolán was going to have his hands full with her. She hadn't seen him with any other Tiros and found it safe to assume that she was his only one at the moment. That was a small relief to her. It was always nice to have the undivided attention, but mainly she was glad that he didn't have to deal with her, his life, and other students. She would try her best to make things go as smoothly for him as possible when they were together, not wanting to hinder him too much more than she already did.

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Tags: Faolán Laighaen
Notes: Back at you!

The Pryfektus slid his had into his pocket, and Thalia followed his movements with her signature curiosity. As he emerged with a myriad of metal spheres, she contemplated what they could be doing with them. Of course it would involve her powers. Metal was a wonderful conductor of electricity, so the lightning would naturally be more drawn to those than, say, the wooden floor. But why they were small balls, and why they varied in size were still mysteries. She brought her eyes back up from the spheres to Faolan's eyes as he asked his next question.

“You do know how to shift, yes?”

Yes. And that was the truth. Thalia did, indeed, know how to shift, she'd just never really done it before. Sometimes the action flitted into her dreams, and each morning she would remember that she'd dreamed it. The only other dream she was ever able to remember was her nightmare, so that led her to believe that it held some significance. For a moment, she wondered if she had ever shifted in her sleep, subconsciously. If she had, good for her. Her non-aware self had more confidence in her than she did for herself.

"Yes, I do know how to shift," She replied with some confidence. "I just haven't done it yet. Would you like me to?"

His question led her to believe that that's probably what they would start with. He would want to see how - and if - she could handle that simple task before moving onto the actual issues. And Thalia probably would've shifted one of these upcoming days even if Faolan and her hadn't had a lesson, but it just seemed like a logical idea to wait until she was with him. Two birds with one stone, so to speak. Except that that was animal cruelty. Why make such a harsh saying? Pulling herself back on track for what felt like the millionth time, she knew that she would really need to work on her distractability in her free time. Life would be so different if she could just ignore the randomness in and around her.

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Tags: Faolán Laighaen
Notes: Yikes, have a rough one back. And shred it, if you've got the moment

“Yes, I would."

Thalia nodded her consent to her mentor, and then proceeded to retreat into herself for a little bit. Most people could shift very quickly, making the change in one smooth motion. It looked almost fluid, as one moment they were running as a man and the next flapping into the sky as a bird. And even though it was, she always found herself thinking about how natural it looked. Then her thoughts drifted to herself. She wasn’t most people. This shift of hers would go slower as she carefully let herself slip from one form to another. She knew that the more she practiced it the better she would get. For now, though, slow and steady was going to be the name of the game.

She took a slow breath in, feeling it fill her lungs before it drained out in the form of an exhale. Thalia didn’t really need the extra air, but it felt nice and calming. Right before she closed her eyes, she caught Faolan take his pick of one of the metal spheres, and heard the reverberating clanging of the others as he returned them to his pocket. She found herself wondering why he had so many spheres in such a myriad of materials. That would be for another time. She shut her eyes, putting herself into darkness. You’ve got this.

And then she shifted.

The sensation was odd. Not painful, not ticklish, not obnoxious. Just odd. Like when you try a new food for the first time and you can’t tell whether it tastes delicious or disgusting. That’s what Thalia thought of as she went through the change – the feeling. It was one she would come to know often, and one she would probably get used to. She also focused on what she was. In the interim of the action she could tell that she still had four limbs, and judging by the way she thought she could move them, none of them were wings. So, not a bird. Thalia wasn’t really disappointed by the fact; she’d have a drake later in her life, and then she could fly, and with company, too. Her next thought was perhaps she was a dog or a cat. She could feel a tail – probably the coolest feature of this change – which was customary of both. But she felt it brush against one of her feet and noticed it wasn’t fluffy, or furry for that matter. Which meant that both of those were out of the question. Now Thalia was getting confused. She decided it was time to open her eyes and find out.

What her initial view shocked her. There was Faolan, still the same Pryfektus she’d seen a few moments ago. Except that he was about a hundred times the size that she remembered him. Her heart began to race, and she realized just how fast it was actually going. What animal could have such a high heart rate? And be so … small? She looked down her nose, noticing a small pink bulb and an elongated snout. Then she moved her view downwards – well, as far downwards as she could get being so tiny – and noticed little pink, hairless feet. They spread out on the floor almost like hands. An idea popped into her head, but she shoved it away, there was no way …

Thalia spun herself in a circle, chasing her tail in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the rest of her. The hairless tail, the fluffy grey fur, and the big pink ears that caught in her peripheral vision. Oh gods, no. No, this wasn’t ok. There must be a mistake.

A mouse?!

She looked up from the floor to her mentor, wondering what he was thinking. Thalia tried to tell herself that there were worse things to be. She could've been a spider. But they were super-stealthy and could kill things with poison. Well, she could've been a rat. But those carried deadly diseases that could also kill things. Maybe being a walrus would be worse. She had no back-up that would make them better. The clumsy oafs. But her thoughts did nothing. If her animal form reflected who she really was, then she just met herself for the first time. Mice could be loud, like her. And they were also petite in a similar way that she was. Plus, they were nosy. Incredibly nosy. The more she thought about it, the more Thalia realized what a perfect mouse she actually made. She wasn't a hundred percent happy about it, but the fact made her a little more ok with it. And if this was what she had to work with, well then she'd just have to be the best goddamn mouse the world had ever seen.

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Tags: Faolán Laighaen
Notes: There, a post that I can actually call decent!

Thalia took in Faolán's rhetorical questions, and though she didn't answer them verbally, she did go over them in her mind. First was sight, and that was perhaps the easiest. From this angle, everything looked incredibly large, as well as incredibly mono-toned. Right, mice couldn't see in color. But as she examined the floorboards, that didn't matter. She could see through even the tiniest cracks; ones that humans would surely miss. Below her she could see into another room. It was empty but obviously a bedroom, with a candle burning low in the corner. Maybe it wasn't as empty as she'd thought.

Next came what she smelled, and that one she wanted to ignore. It was amazing to think how little humans could actually utilize their sense of smell compared to a meager animal like a mouse. In this form she could smell the sweat of hundreds of bodies practically radiating off of the floor, walls, and mannequins in the training room. She must have gotten so used to what little she was able to pick up in her other form that she had never noticed it before. But now it blazed forward, and Thalia was tempted to try and plug her nose in her fur. But she powered forward, moving onto the following question.

Hearing was also a heightened feeling, and this one she spent the most time on. She started with herself, amazement taking hold of her from the word go. Within, the Tiro could hear every vein in her body flowing with blood, accented by the steady yet quick beating of her small heart. She could also hear the rhythm of her breathing echoing in her chest. But that was only the beginning. As she moved her focus from inside of her to outside, she began to pick up the little things. The metal still jingling in Faolán's pocket even though he wasn't moving. She doubted even he could hear it, and he was closer than she was. Then she caught onto a conversation, and it was one that she wished she hadn't. It must have been below her, but not directly so. Rather, she guessed that it was a few rooms over and close to a hundred or so feet away at the least. It was a boy and who she guessed was probably his own mentor, and they sounded awfully upset with each other. Probably a poor pairing, and they were taking it out on each other. It made Thalia grateful that she had Faolán as hers; he was strict enough to get things done, yet patient and gentle with her when she needed it most.

Her thoughts stayed on the Pryfektus as he asked another question that they both knew the answers to. Her strengths as a mouse and her weaknesses. Oddly enough, whatever she had for one category fit perfectly into the other. She was small, making her fast and giving her the ability to go places that almost nobody else could. It also made her an easy target if she didn't constantly have a hiding spot at her disposal. And with all of the cats that she was meeting on this ship, she knew that was going to have to be a part of her life in this form. Thalia also noted her incredible hearing. It was probably ten times what she had as a human - maybe more so. That would make her a fabulous spy, but it might also cue her into things that she didn't want to know, such as the argument below her. The only thing that didn't fit into both categories was the fact that she now saw in black and white. It made distinguishing between things close in hue difficult, and she couldn't tell you the color of something unless she shifted back and forth. That would be a weakness, albeit a small one.

"Now that you have shifted, shift back. We’re moving on. You can practice later."

Right onto the next thing with him. Of course Thalia consented, shifting back into a human with the same care that she had done the opposite minutes before. She found herself crouched on the floor and quickly rose up, moving to dust herself off when Faolán offered something in his hand to her. She stopped herself mid-motion, reaching out to receive what it was he wanted to give her. As she felt it's cold weight in her hand she knew it was one of the metal balls. Hand still outstretched, she listened carefully to what her mentor said next.

“You are going to hold this in your palm, and you are going to focus your powers on it. That’s all I want you to do for now.”

She nodded slightly, having the first part already down. The girl drew her hand it a small bit so that she had a slight, almost-relaxed bend in her elbow. Holding it outright would make her tense and fatigue her faster. She took yet another deep breath, channeling the thing that she had suppressed for almost a decade. The first sign that she knew it was working was the slight elevation of the fair hair on her arm. She knew from her past experiences that her powers always filled the static already in the air. Few people were aware of just how much energy they were surrounded with minute by minute. The saying that you can feel the electricity in the air did come from somewhere. As she felt the sensation increase, Thalia felt herself get a little bit nervous. She saw the small tensing in her arm and felt her back go straighter. Don't get nervous, she told herself, just breathe and don't get nervous. The Tiro took another breath, keeping her mind focused on the growing electric feeling around her. Then it shifted to the small flick of lightning that jumped from the top of the metal sphere in her hand. She jumped slightly, unable to quell the pang of her nerves inside her, and the lightning jumped with her and grew in size. It went from a few mere inches to well over a meter, but it stayed attached to the ball in her palm, and soon it dwindled away, rejoining the invisible static in the air around her.

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Tags: Faolán Laighaen
Notes: This is so overdue, but I've been having a lot of real life issues. I hope this is ok.

Thalia looked up at her mentor, and his face said it all for what little it portrayed. His lips were firmly set in a line that echoed the words running through her head. You tried, and you failed. Congratulations. As he began approaching her, she lowered her arm, forming a soft fist around the metal sphere in her palm. Her fingers explored the surface, wondering if it was even possible to control the power inside of her. Lightning was one of those things that never struck the same twice, and all of the rumors surrounding it were lies. Most people would say to lie low if you're caught near it and that it will strike the highest object. And yet she'd seen it strike for some of the smallest things, ignoring the enormous trees around them. How was she supposed to direct something that couldn't even control itself?

Faolán's eyes were then in hers as he bent over. Becoming eye-level with her made Thalia more frightened of him that if he had been towering over her. For some reason it made him more ... daunting. But his words still told the same blunt truth that they had before, and his face didn't hold any anger in it. Just bluntness. She knew that she was thinking too much, and she knew that her fear was getting in her way. But she also knew to not think that this was all going to go perfectly in a single day. It would be like digging up a clock that was buried a century ago and expecting it to still work, correct time and all. She was just glad that she even found them.

Then the Pryfektus stood again, beginning a slow walk that encircled her in the middle of it. He told her to relax. Easy for you to say, Thalia thought silently. Put under the gun with someone watching didn't make for the most relaxing conditions. But he was her teacher, and if Faolán told her to do it, then she'd just do it the best she could. She started with the breathing. A slow, fresh breath entered her lungs until she could feel them pressing against her ribcage. Then, in a similar fashion, she let it out, the silent air slipping from her lips. Next came her mind, and she only tackled that once he was in front of her and finished talking. Thalia brought her hand up again, staring the metal object down as if the longer she looked at it the easier this would get. She took another breath and focused.

Again the room prickled with static, but the Tiro kept her mind composed. Just a little bit of lightning. Right there, in my palm. Nothing more, nothing less, and nowhere else but the sphere. Easy. Lying to herself a small bit seemed to help, and soon she had a little flicker of lightning yet again. She watched as it danced about the smooth surface, keeping her eyes trained on the flashing magic. But then it began to grow at a slow pace, and Thalia knew that she couldn't hold onto it anymore. She cut her ties with her powers, watching them flicker out and die. Still failing, but at least not as spectacularly.

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Tags: Faolán Laighaen
Notes: -