A Request

Romi · Nov 12, 2018

Jude turned, watching as Ezra went. He didn't really mind his presence, but he supposed it was sort of personal. He gave him a small wave as Ezra vanished from sight, turning back to Asteria as she spoke.

He was surprised when Ezra came back, returning with a box that Jude didn't recognize. The monocle, on the other hand? He recognized that.

Her question, though, caught him completely off guard, and Jude sat there for several long seconds, looking surprised. It took him an embarrassingly long period for his brain to catch up, recomposing himself and actually managing to answer.

"I... don't know if I have the ability to do magic," he confessed after a moment. In his world, it had been an intrinsic thing, not something anyone could do. Or at least that was as far as he knew. Everyone who had magic had either a magical item, or some kind of magical entity. In a lot of ways, Jude had avoided magic out of that very ideal - that it wouldn't matter if he tried, because it wouldn't work anyway.

ArcanaFate · Nov 19, 2018

"Nonsense."

Asteria hummed, rolling her shoulders and neck while standing by Angelo. "I believe that just about anyone is capable of casting magic in some capacity. I have been alive long enough to see ridiculous feats of magic from all sorts, so I have utter faith in your abilities. Honestly, after our first meeting and having some approximation of your abilities, I had planned on offering you an internship with me among a few other prospective students to learn more about artificing regardless." She grinned. "You honestly just sped up the process."

Ezra, meanwhile, had remained quiet while this interaction was going on. They simply tilted their head to watch Angelo as Asteria continued.

"Besides, magic is a complex mess of contradictions. You have divine magic, also known as celestial and demonic magics. There's the arcane, necromancy, eldritch, ancient magics, elemental, summoning... You could even argue that alchemy is a form of magic. The point is, I can teach you. I've got plenty of time if you have the desire to learn. I'll be honest, though. Teaching you this will be beneficial for me as well, as if the enchantment starts to fade or gets damaged, you'll be able to repair it as needed. I'd prefer to not be 'on-call' to do repairs."

Romi · Nov 19, 2018

Anyone could do magic. A part of Jude wanted to argue that maybe it was that way here, but there was no guarantee that it was like that at home. But the fact was that he'd be speaking entirely out of ignorance. He simply didn't have any experience to speak from. He'd never tried. He had no experience. And the foremost sources of magical knowledge from his home dimension...

Well, one was dead, and the other had literally hopped off his arm and scurried away like Thing Addams.

He didn't really need that much more convincing, and after several long seconds he simply nodded.

"Then... I accept. If you're willing to teach me, I'll try and learn, and do my best with that. Starting mid-November, I'll be swapping over to a nocturnal class schedule. I don't sleep, and I don't get tired, meaning most of my days will be free."

ArcanaFate · Nov 21, 2018

"Of course. We'll get started once your classes have shifted accordingly. I am still getting settled into the school system myself, so I'll try to organize my days around so that you can learn as much as possible." She adjusted her monocle, glancing towards the bookshelf. "Oh, right. Angelo, dear, I'll also give you a few books to read while we're getting everything set up. They're kind of introductions to the world of magic crafting and how spellcasting works, so you'll find them quite intriguing. A little dry, but still worth reading."

She moved in closer before sticking a still slightly sweaty hand towards Angelo. "It'll be a pleasure working with you, Mister Genovese. I hope you are prepared for a somewhat strict but ultimately rewarding education in the world of artificing." Asteria couldn't help but grin at the prospect of another student taking up the profession.

Romi · Nov 21, 2018

Jude had a sneaking suspicion that Asteria was underestimating him - or at least judging him by the standards of the average person. At times, it was hard to really understand how much Jude's memory effected him. Being able to read something once and just know it was an undeniably useful tool. He'd always been a fast reader, but being able to have it all in one go... it was a lot.

He took the offered books, shuffling them into his bag and wishing, not for the first time, he had a second arm. It took some shuffling before he was able to reach out, taking Asteria's hand and giving it a firm (if somewhat grossed out) shake.

"I'll let you know when I'm finished the books. It might be a little bit - I'm pretty booked this next week."

ArcanaFate · Nov 22, 2018

"There's no rush. I just want you to look over the books so you can understand what artificing is going to be like. You have zero magical training so we're not hopping into this right away. I'm going to cram a few years worth of magical knowledge into your skull in a few months." Asteria chuckled, placing her arms behind her back and holding a rather imposing stance. Her eyes narrowed to show her as taking this seriously, compared to her usual lackadaisical attitude.

"It's going to be quite different from a normal school education, but I'm sure you'll be fine. Smart kid, good head on his shoulders." Turning back towards the kitchen, she grinned. "Would you like a drink, Angelo? I feel like I'm being a poor host. But before you go today, we'll get your blanket enchanted."

Ezra had since wandered away from the two, returning to hand Asteria a rather fluffy towel to place around her neck.

Romi · Nov 23, 2018

Yep, she was definitely underestimating him. Having no magical training meant he was starting from scratch, but he had dozens of major advantages. His perfect memory was just one of them, but not sleeping gave him plenty of extra hours to fill his time with study.

"I'll have some downtime while they're installing my arm," Jude said. "I'll work through the books during that period."

He shook his head at the offer of a drink.

"That isn't needed. I actually ate just before I came here. I picked up food, grabbed the blanket, and came right over. But doing the blanket today would be nice - it would save him from having to, ah, sleep on his shoe before I learn to do the enchantment myself."

ArcanaFate · Nov 23, 2018

"I'll take care of the blanket right now, Angelo. Enchantments like these are bread and butter once you've done them enough." Asteria hummed, quickly reaching over and taking the large bundle of cloth into her hands and carrying it down the hall. "Let me run to the lab and I'll take care of it really quick. Ezra, why don't you sit with Angelo and the two of you can talk? I'm sure you're excited to see your friend visiting. I know visitors aren't quite so common up here."

She quickly disappeared into one of the doorways, leaving the Sho'lai quietly standing in the living room with Angelo. Their glowing green eyes seemed to just stare through the blond, and they quietly tilted their head. It was almost deathly silent, before they simply chimed in with a simple question.

"Would you like to come up to my room, Mister Jude? Or is it Mister Angelo now? I honestly do not know what friends discuss while waiting for their guardian to enchant items."

Romi · Nov 24, 2018

Jude handed off the blanket to Asteria, giving a polite nod before turning his attention to Ezra. He'd gotten used to the intense--very intense--staring that Ezra so often did, and he wasn't nearly as bothered as he might have been otherwise.

What was awkward is that he wasn't that much better at the whole hanging-out-at-people's-houses than Ezra was. He didn't do it much. When he did, it was generally for a very specific purpose. Just hanging out for the sake of hanging out was... new.

"Angelo," he answered. "I'm going to be moving out of Officer Genovese's house before long, so I wanted to... to be Angelo again. I always felt like Angelo, but I felt like it'd be too confusing having two of us in the same house."

It felt good to be Angelo again. It felt... normal. Like he was getting back to a normality he'd never actually had.

"I'd like to see it, if you're willing to share."

ArcanaFate · Nov 25, 2018

"I do not mind showing you at all. It is what friends do, correct? Hang out in each other's rooms? Follow me, Mister Angelo." Ezra gave a nod and waited for the blond to get up before walking down the hallway that Asteria had gone down, but made a right and began to ascend the stairs. Once Angelo and Ezra reached the top of the staircase, two rather large sets of double doors stood on either side of the hallway. Ezra made their way to the left one, pushing both doors open to reveal a rather large bedroom. There was plenty of empty space within, the only furniture being a large king sized bed with grey blankets, two rather large wooden dressers, and a desk with a chair.

At the foot of the bed lay a familiar cat puppet, one Angelo would recognize immediately. Salem was lying flat on its back, a blanket over the cat toy and his ever familiar tuxedo and school uniform nice and tidy next to it.

"I do not have much in my room as I do not know what is normal to have beyond a bed, storage for clothing, and a desk to do school work at. I apologize if it appears rather 'plain'."

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A Request

Romi

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ArcanaFate

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Romi

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