A New Face [Social/Ariella/Zax/Open]

Minerva stat placidly near the counter, her book splayed out in front of her with several pages of notes hewn in elegant script strewn across the table. Her eyes tore themselves from the pages, picking up several pages she deemed important and shuffled them together at the top of her note stack, slipping the papers in between the pages of the book to mark her place. The tome was then folded closed, allowing the young woman a peaceable glance around the tavern.

She was young, but something about the staff beside her corner table looked remarkably heavy. Her hyacinth hair cascaded in a gentle pony-tail down her back, past the folded collar of her shirt. The excess fabric that fell across her bust seemed like beautiful flowers, and against the brown side panels and white center, her robe seemed almost a garden against a cloudy sky.

She lifted the tea to her lips, taking a sip of the oolong nectar before focusing her gaze out the window, watching the myriad of people bustle about outside. Her eyes flit from person to person, attempting to read something about each of the people that passed through her field of view. There were the joyous couples, those that were expecting (It was in their face even), merchants who had just had a deal turn sour, and even the occasional poker-faced soldier.

of course, reading them would be much easier if she could hear them over the dull roar of the tavern, but the tea hear was difficult to beat, and she wasn't quite done with her reading either.

Ari strolled into the tavern, her cloak abandoned in the rather warm air, a pale dress falling to her knees. She had fixed her wand to a small chain to dangle from her wrist this evening, as her normal hiding spot in her cloak was not available. Her dagger was dangling between her legs, the chain being used as a belt and her hair was hanging freely down her back. Under her arm was tucked a small tome with a faded cover. Approaching the bar maiden, she asked for a glass of fruity wine, wanting to relax as she looked through the reading material she had brought. Figuro had been nice enough to loan her one of his texts on life magic and she wanted to explore her newest magic type more in depth.

Finding a relatively quiet corner, she sat at an empty table, her eyes idly scanning the friendly atmosphere of the tavern. She came here occasionally just to people watch and her eyes lit on a young looking woman with a rather heavy looking staff nearby. It was not all that common to see another magician, but it was not hugely rare either, especially with the ball having so recently passed. As the bar maiden brought her glass of wine and set it down on the table, Ari offered a friendly smile and nod before laying the text out on the table and flipping open the cover.

Zax had felt lonely today, as with any day. Of course, there was a few options in which he could take. However, he felt like the best place to be when he got lonely was the tavern. Ah, yes, the tavern, where people would gather, and he would have company... he liked the place. His normal slight smile on, he walked into the tavern. It was filled with many different people, but he wasn't exactly sure what kind of person he would talk to. There were people, and people, and more people. He really wouldn't mind talking to anyone here. After all, his neutral personality made him able to talk to anyone, regardless of how they acted, or how they looked.

He would be in his normal outfit; a pair of loose, cloth pants and a light, green jacket, which would be buttoned up all the way. It was a bit different from what the "Cool Kids" were wearing, but he didn't mind that fact. Anyways, it was time to look around for the person, or people, in which he would talk to. He was able to find a few people, but one girl whom stuck out was a young one, with a staff, and a ponytail in a light hair color.

Zax would decide this would be his "target." Target for talking, that was. Walking on over there, a little bit of joy in his step, Zax approached the girl's table, sitting down accross from her. He often wasn't too knowledgeable with proper social etiquette, so that probably wasn't the best thing to do. He looked right after, a small smile on his face to show he was friendly.

"Hey there! I'm Zax, who are you?" He asked, not meaning in any way to sound creepy. Though, he most likely did, the way he approached  her.

She glances up, shooting him an uninterested look. "If you're looking for some "company" you wont find it here." She gathers her things, sweeping them up as she glares at the rather obnoxious intrusion. Something about the tone of his voice and the way he cast his gaze was just...off-putting. "I'm here to study with someone else anyway." She moves past him with her staff, striding over to the corner where Ariella had taken residence, sliding her book across from the woman.

"I apologize in advance for the intrusion. I'm avoiding the boy with no manners. I hope that you understand." She sits, across from the woman in silence, opening her tome and removing her note pages. Ariella can clearly see the magic runes that cover the pages and the step by step diagrams for basic spells and even some intermediate constructive formulas. The gentle scratching of her quill can be heard briefly after she uncorks the small bottle of ink that she had carried with her. "My name is Minerva, and thank you in advanced."

Zax was shot down right on the spot. He wasn't sure what he did wrong, despite the fact it would be obvious to any other person on the planet. As she walked away, he looked over, about to say "Wait!" however, he stopped about halfway through the first syllable. He sighed a little bit, knowing that he was shot down right there. That feeling of rejection kind of stuck with him every time, breaking his Neutral attitude slightly when it did. He would then decide to actually speak out now, and follow the girl to the table, getting up from his own. As she walked over, Zax talked.

"Hey, I'm just a bit lonely is all!" He said, following her, as she sat down at a table with another woman. A small pout hung on his lips, after all, he didn't like being alone. Though, he was too set on this girl, that he forgot there was a whole tavern full of OTHER people. He stood with one hand in his pocket, and the other on the side. He didn't look too bad, did he? he was handsome, he guessed. He wasn't sure what to think of the girl right now. Based on his personality, it would most likely depend on what she thought of HIM.

Ari glanced up as the young woman she had noticed earlier slid into the seat opposite her, quickly smothering her surprised look as the girl gave a harried explanation. She kept her voice low so only Minerva would hear her.

"Minerva? I'm Ari, lovely to meet you!"

Looking over at the other woman's book, she arched a brow before clearing her throat slightly.

"Actually, I think if you try this it might work a bit better."

She took out her own pencil and scribbled a few runes directly on the table, making the very minor correction for the other girl without damaging her papers.

"It is more conducive that way, and holds a better arc."

She was slightly surprised to see runes related to basic lightning spells, while there had been several lightning type mages in Magnostadt, this was the first she had met in her travels outside of the magic city. She gave the boy Minerva was avoiding a small chuckle as he looked slightly lost when Minerva abandoned him. The poor kid would definitely be taking a hit to his ego.

She stopped, observing the newly written runes across the chart, her mind quickly grasping the rerouted function.

"...Right, because if I route the rukh through it's own constructed conduit instead of making another it amplifies it's own power rapidly, reducing channel time." She nods. She scribbles her address down. "Please...If you could contact me later? I've never met another person who understands lightning magic." She turns, catching Zax in her peripheral and heaving a sigh. "He's not going to leave...whatever. I'll talk to him."

She slips up from her seat, using her staff to balance herself as she stares at the man. "Look, I'm not interested in being your companion or consoling your loneliness. I'm a scholar, not a floozy." She frowns, crossing her arms at the young man, her foot tapping gently. "If that isn't what you meant, then you need to learn some social rules." Her facial expression seems a cross between offended and inquiring, her need to eliminate ignorance partially wanting to educate the young man of basic social etiquette.

The girls seemed to be talking about something, however, Zax couldn't make out what they were talking about, with the noise in the tavern, and the noise level in which they talked about. All of a sudden, the girl would stand up from the seat she was in. She told him"Look, I'm not interested in being your companion or consoling your loneliness. I'm a scholar, not a floozy." He was about to then leave, after all, he needed someone to console his loneliness. He wasn't reacting by opinion, but just fact. But then...

"If that isn't what you meant, then you need to learn some social rules."

This sentence would intrigue him in the greatest. He was about to turn his body and walk away, but he cancelled his action, looking at her still.

"Learn social rules?" He asked, as he looked at her in a bit of a "i-want-to-know-more" expression. He would place his hand out of his pocket, now leaning it to the side, standing up straight.

"I'd very much like to learn about this!" He said, with a smile taking up his face right after. If it was something that would lower the probabiltity of being lonely, then he would certainly take a shot at doing it.

She seems taken aback by his eagerness, her mind attempting to process probable reasons for his sudden leap in energy from his deflated state. each path continues to eliminate several conclusions until only two remain. The first: That the young man was actually lonely and wanted company. The second, and least probable: The young man was lying to her face and feigning ignorance. She gave him the chance.

"First off, you need to ask a lady if you can sit down with her, and introduce yourself. Throwing yourself into her face won't get you anywhere." She places her hands on her hips. "That usually won't get you anywhere with anyone." She moves herself across the room, sitting in her corner. "Try it again, stranger. You can't make any progress if you don't practice." She opens her book again, the scene nearly seeming to reset itself before the young man.

She then looked up from her book, casting her gaze out the window, observing the people milling about outside the window.

This seemed interesting, at least. The first thing he would have to do was to ask politely if he could sit down there. So, he did just that, and waited for her to proceed heading on over to the table. He took a moment, readied himself, and began walking on over to the table. He took a small, friendly smile, trying really hard not to look creepy, after all, he had the problem of a smile looking creepy in the past. He stood next to a chair, and looked over to the girl. He would adjust his body posture a bit, so he was straighter, he had read somewhere that it was a good thing to do, but was only now actually utilizing the info in which he read up on.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" He would ask, in a polite and soft voice. Hopefully that was better than what he was doing before. Who knew, maybe this girl would become a friend. Well, probably not, she didn't seem to like him, not even one bit.

Ari raised an eyebrow at the other two's interaction, but let it play out. If the girl wished to rejoin her, that was fine. If not, she would visit her at a later time to discuss magic. While the young woman seemed to have a basic grasp on the runes and incantations for casting, it could be refined a bit. She liked helping out other magicians, it usually taught her a few things she did not know herself while also letting her expand the minds of others, overall a win-win situation, in her mind.

She glanced back through her tome, scribbling notes with her pencil as she formulated new ideas for ways to manipulate the life around her. She was hoping to find ways to integrate lightning and life in different ways and hoped the tome might have more information on ways to do that. She finished her glass of wine and signaled for another one as she kept an eye on the other magician and the man talking to her, making sure the other woman did not need rescuing again.

She stares at the notes Ariella had written briefly, weighing her options. She glanced up at the boy. "I would say yes, but I'm about to join the woman across the room. I hope you'll understand," she smiles glowingly at the young man, "I mean, it isn't everyday I get a chance to talk to someone who practices the same magic I do."

Minerva stands from the chair, scooping her book up once again. She didn't really care how idiotic she looked repeating the same gesture. She was sure that he didn't have any negative intent behind his approach and she didn't want him to ruin his chances with every other woman he met. It was fairly obvious to her by his befuddlement that he had no idea what he'd done wrong.

"You'll get a lot farther greeting people like that.Throwing yourself at someone uninvited is usually the best way to actually get shot down. It makes you seem desperate for company, and not a lot of people like that." She pressed a slip of paper into his hand. "I'll admit, I misjudged you, I think. You actually seem very nice when you aren't desperately trying to get someone to speak with you. You can find me at that shop most of the time. It's near the bazaar, next to the fruit vendor."

She left him with a smile as she rejoined the Ariella at the table, her elevated mood blatantly apparent. "He's lonely and clueless." She giggles softly. "I'd call it cute if it didn't come off the wrong way," She takes out her tome, moving it open to the page that Ari had marked up, "but how did you know that? I understand why it works better, but..is this text too rudimentary?"

Ari chuckled at Minerva's comments before examining the texts and humming.

"It is fine, for a very elementary view of how to conduct the magic. But as you advance a bit further, you find little... work-arounds. Some work better than others, but that one is a pretty simple one that I think even a new magician would understand. Plus, that text is a bit outdated, which may explain it a bit."

She idly flipped through a few of the pages. For the most part, magic did not change. However, their understanding of it constantly evolved and with her exposure from Magnostadt, she tended to hear about the newest discoveries via her brother.

"Then again, all magician's learn in their own way, so learning multiple ways to accomplish the same thing can definitely be a good thing. It also helps when you expand your magic types to include others."

She glanced up at the boy Minerva had been speaking with, raising her voice so he could here, her tone friendly.

"Do you happen to study magic as well, young man? If so, you are welcome to join us, if you would like!"

She did not want to have the boy feel left out, but she also knew non-magician's tended to be board by discussions of runes and magical texts.

Zax would be a bit dissapointed as the woman seemed to get back up, only to head over and talk to the woman in the corner. After all, he was expecting that he was getting somewhere here, but he guessed not. However, the girl stood before him, and gave hima few tips on how to be more succesful in the future. Zax took all of these tips into his mind, and nodded. "Mhm, I'll make sure to do that next time. Thanks." He would reply, as it seemed he was then given a scrap of paper. He looked curiously down at the scrap, and noticed that it was a flyer for some sort of shop. She told him she was usually around there, and Zax noticed what this meant. What did the guys call this? A date? Oh well, it didn't matter too much. And most likely knowing him, he misunderstood. As long as he had someone to talk to, he would be fine.

Just as Zax was about to leave the bar entirely, he heard the voice of a woman. He would look over, only to see it was the same woman the light haired girl had gone to. Oh, well this was interesting. Zax would take up the offer to both be educated in magic and have company. He smiled, and headed on over to the seat, stopping in front so he wouldn't be awkward, trying to work on his social skills.

"Hi, my name's Zax. And yeah, I'll join in, I use magic." He would say, as he looked at the two seats, not sure who to sit down next to. He thought about good social actions, and which side of the table he should sit on. He overall decided to go by the light haired girl, he knew her just a bit better.

"Anyways, I use light magic, I don't have my staff with me right now, however." He would say, as he forgot to bring his staff today. he wondered about eye contact, and if that was a factor. He looked the dark-haired woman in the eyes, hoping it wouldn't be creepy.

"A light magician?" She turns her gaze to they young man, her curiosity piqued. "I've never really read in to light magic..." She quickly makes a mental note to drop by the bazaar on her way back to the inn. Her mind quickly races through several possibilities of spells that could be cast with light magic. She decided that the idea was actually rather interesting, and that more research was definitely required. Her eyes flit back to the book, cycling to an empty page and writing down a runic system for a spell she had made a mental note to attempt later.

"What about you, Ariella? You obviously understand lightning magic, but what type of magic do you practice." The new woman also intrigued her greatly, and she could tell there was a plethora of knowledge behind her brain to be tapped into. Of course, she was also kind enough to assist Minerva in refining her casting, so she hazarded the assumption that the woman would be willing to converse further.

She dipped her pen again, scrawling down a diagram similar to a sphere, with several notes around the sides, each seeming to indicate a potential use. Her mind was practically exploding with ideas at the moment, and she needed to write them down before another took it's place.

Ari chuckled and looked at the two fledgling magician's before her. It was always nice to have someone to share your craft with.

"Zax, I know a light magician, actually. He combines light magic and strength magic in some very interesting combinations. And Minerva, I primarily deal in lightning, though, as you can see from my reading, I am expanding into life as well. I have quiet a few of the basics down, but if my mother is any judge to go off of, the versatility of life magic can take decades to master. Right now, I just have a few basic spells."

She glanced at the scribblings of Minerva, quietly pointing out and correcting one of the runes and suggesting a different one for another portion of the spell. After her years dealing with lightning magics, she was fairly well versed on the topic and was glad to be able to offer insights.

She paused, considering the second rune carefully, tapping her pen against her chin. She knew the rune was stronger, she could see that, but something about her knew there'd be a use for the weaker structure.

She quickly scribbled down the start on a separate page, replicating the weaker rune this time. She then returned to the stronger one, fusing the spear spell with a simple paralytic jolt before turning her attention to the weaker page. Her suspicion was that the weaker rune would weaken the internal structure of the spell. She drew a diagram down, chaining the formation and charge motion, even running a strength calculation.

"That's it!"

Her eyes suddenly lit up, her scribbling down another set of runes, ones Ari would recognize as the amplification pattern she had shown the girl earlier, she then drew a cycle of three stronger runes around the system before moving on to her diagram, detailing that the spear's "weakend" frame would cause it to explode on impact, while the amplification would prevent a loss of power in the burst of damage.

Her smile was electric, and without what Ari had just shown her, she would never have managed to create it.

Ari looked over the series of runes, grinning broadly at the new formation the other girl had made and clapped happily.

"Very well done! I like it. Could be flashy!"

Looking back to her own pages, she idly scribbled out a series of runes that would play off both the lightning and life magic types, flipping through the book for a moment to find the correct rune she was looking for and adding it to the mix, basically forming something that would cause a curtain of vines to dangle and then electrocute any that walked through them or touch them in any way. It was not a practical battle spell, but it would be a good deterrent or trap to set up for combat. She slid the paper to Minerva with a smile to show her.

"Combining types is always the most fun, you should see what my parents manage to pull off with theirs!"

The girl paused, only familiar with the very basics of life magic, but she copied the spell down.  "There's something about this that piques my curiosity, but I can't place it..." She pulls out a second, much larger book, writing out several sentences of inquiry, underlining one.

"Can an organic structure be replicated with sustained life magic, specifically a muscle."

She transfers the combination spell again, this time understanding where the runes interplayed. She hums gently, thinking of healing magic her grandmother had done. Hopefully she could find the answer to it with research. She paused, realizing that she could just direct the question to Ari. She quickly spun the book around, pointing to her question. "Could it be done?"

Ariella looked over her page, refining the runes a bit more. When Minerva asked about replicating organic structures, she hummed softly.

"A skilled life magician could, theoretically, encourage the growth of a whole new muscle or organ... or to encourage a damaged muscle to regrow, but the problem comes in the form of appropriate attachment. I am pretty sure my mother once mentioned something about how the spells don't always appropriately place regrown organs. The spells are vastly complex and require many years of study. It is one thing to heal damage and an entirely different story to regrow and attach nerves and whatnot. It isn't impossible, just VERY difficult."

It was nice to share her knowledge with another magician and she enjoyed teaching the girl what she knew. Her wine was refilled again and she took another sip, humming softly in thought.

She shook her head. "Not creation, synthesis. Would it be possible to make an organ out of rukh and dispell it at a later time. Not flesh and blood, but just magic." She bit her lip, as her mind spun, a force of habit from her time learning sewing from her mother.

She continues her train of thought. "Because then it would be possible to animate something." Her face was ecstatic, eyes bright and joyous as she nearly vibrated in her chair. She knew the process, if possible, would take an amazing amount of control and practice, but the idea made her so happy.

Her mind was more alive than it had ever been before and with someone to finally talk to, her near obsession with magic just kept bubbling over.

Ariella chuckled at the animated questions and nods.

"It is possible, yes. Difficult, but possible. Works best if you have something like lightning to help with the animation process, though. Personally, I am not a fan of animating things that aren't meant to be animated, but its just a personal thing. Creeps me out. Call it childhood trauma."

She chuckled as she added more runes to the paper she was working on, the wine starting to work a bit too well in relaxing her. Her eyes were getting heavy and she knew she was about done for the day.

"Hey, I am about to head back to my inn, but if you ever want to test out some new spells or something, feel free to leave a message for me! I'm staying at the inn about three blocks down."

Minerva nodded, packing her books away. "I should probably leave as well. Mother must be worried sick by now." She blushes sheepishly, stifling a giggle. "Clothes don't sew themselves after all."

She stands, a soft bounce in her step. "Please, come and visit our shop Ari! I'll give you the "teacher discount" that I may or may not have just invented right now." She winks, her brilliantly purple eyes shimmering. She quickly draws a map on a sheet of paper, detailing the shop's location relative to the bazaar, library, coliseum, and gate. "You should see the things my mother can do with some fabric and a needle. It's just as wonderful as watching someone craft a spell."

Her eyes light up again at the mention of spells. "And please, if you ever have anything you want to share, I'm willing to listen." She beams eagerly, tapping her staff with her foot so it falls into her hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Ariella!" She gives the woman a wave before ducking out the door, dashing home.

[Exit]

Ari grinned and nodded, her eyes brightening at the mention of a clothes shop. Shopping was one of her favorite past times, so she was definitely interested in stopping by to see Minerva's wares at some point.

"I will most certainly do that! I always enjoy talking magic and shopping, so a chance to do both? Right up my alley! It was wonderful meeting you, Minerva! I hope to see you again very soon."

Dipping her head in a farewell, Ari left a handful of coins on the table to pay for her drinks and gathered her papers before leaving. It had been an interesting day, and meeting new people was always fun.

[exit]