Rum Raisin and Cayenne
Title: Keeping an Eye Out ( index)
Author: d353r7r47
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,360
Challenges: Rum Raisin #2 (Father); Cayenne #11 (Tactics)
Summary: Darian meets his father and uncle for dinner.
A/N: this part is focused on Darian, rather than Jhera or Gharak.
When Darian arrived back in his room after their first magic lesson, there was a note under his door from his father. He sat down on his bed and read it over quickly before jumping in the shower.
He was asked to join his father for dinner to talk about a few things. The letter hadn't given much away, but he assumed at least some of their discussion would be focused around what had happened with Jhera just shortly before. Other than his enigmatic classmate, he had no idea what his father wanted to talk to him about.
After finishing his shower, he changed into a more casual outfit rather than his uniform and made his way to the administration building.
The walk was a pleasant one. The campus was quiet, since most of the students were in their dorms preparing for dinner, and there was a light summer breeze blowing. This time allowed him to go over everything that had happened during the girl's test in his head, knowing that his father would be asking him what he had seen.
"Darian. I'm glad you got the letter and were able to come." His father gestured to the seat next to the one occupied by his uncle, the Warden of Central City's Easter Sector Jail. He muttered a quick greeting to his uncle as he perched on the edge of the chair.
A few members of the kitchen staff entered the room with their dinners and quickly retreated.
"So son, how was your first day?"
"It went well father, though the end became quite interesting. I won't bother you with detail of the first part of the day, as I'm sure you'd rather hear about what happened in our magic lesson. And I'm sure that is why you are here uncle."
"You know us well Darian," his uncle said with a small laugh that made him cringe inwardly.
"Your professors did come to talk to me after they ended your class early. Your uncle was called in as this new development has brought up a few issues. We would also like to hear about what happened from your point of view. The more accounts we have, the better we can understand what happened and how to deal with it."
Darian took a deep breath and recounted what he had seen. When he finished, his father and uncle were both nodding thoughtfully, so he took the time to have a few bites of his dinner.
His father looked off in the distance. "This girl shows extraordinary magical strength." Turning to his brother, he added, "you did not mention this when she was brought here."
"No, I did not because there was no indication that her levels were out of the normal range for a woman her age."
"Do you have any idea why the machine did not show the right results?"
The Warden looked at his nephew before turning his gaze to his brother and raising an eyebrow in question. He was answered with a slight nod. "The only suggestion that we have is that it was something to do with the blood magic."
This statement startled Darian, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he filed this piece of information away to think about later.
"We believe there is a strong tie between her elemental magic and her blood magic. She is obviously much stronger than we thought. She tested far above the normal blood magic range for someone from the tribes, even for someone from the Southern Tribe. The only theory we can come up with at the moment is that the link between the two magics somehow prevented the machine from accurately reading her strength. This of course poses the problem that if this happened with her; it most likely happened with all the other people we have tested who use blood magic."
His father looked back to him. "Since we do not know how powerful she is, she is a potential threat and must be watched closely. This is of course something I will inform the professors of, but I'd also like you to keep an eye on her Darian. Report to me immediately if you see her using blood magic or anything that looks like it could be blood magic. Also, we'd like you to try and find out as much about her and her people as possible."
"I'd also like to hear if she uses blood magic and I'd like to know everything that you are able to learn," the Warden interjected.
This news made Darian lose his appetite and he pushed his plate farther away from him. "I will do my best. May I please be excused?"
"Of course son, enjoy the rest of the week and don't forget to report anything you can find."
"I won't father. It was nice seeing you uncle."
~~~~~~~~~~
Darian almost felt sick and only made it part way across the Green before deciding that he'd rather stay there than go back to the dorm just yet. He picked a tree and sat among its roots with his back against the trunk. Leaning his head back, he looked up at the sky that was quickly becoming dark. While he had been talking with his father and uncle, the lamps throughout the Green had turned on and were emitting a soft yellow-orange glow.
He had a lot to think about after his dinner meeting. He couldn't believe that someone so you had such strength in blood magic. The legends he had been told as a child spoke of elder members from the tribes using blood magic in battle, but they had never mentioned anything about younger people using it.
There was so little that their people knew about blood magic, but he found the idea intriguing. He knew that he was supposed to be getting any information he could for his father, but at the same time, he wanted to learn about it for himself.
He was confused. He wanted to find out more, but he also knew that she was dangerous. There was also the whole issue where his father wanted him to become some kind of spy for them. This was something he did not feel too comfortable with, not just because he was a student and should be focusing on his school work, but also because he didn't like the idea of trying to encroach on someone's privacy, regardless of who the person was.
"Hello Darian! You look so lonely sitting here all by yourself. Would you like some company?" His eyes snapped open and he found himself surrounded by a group of girls that he hadn't even noticed approaching him.
He automatically put on what he called his "public smile." "I'd love to have the company of a group of beautiful girls like yourselves, but I must be getting back to my dorm. I'm afraid that I have a lot of work I need to do." The girl who had spoken was pouting while the rest started protesting. "Maybe some other time ladies, when I have more time."
With that, he walked back to his dorm to find his room empty. He did the work that had been assigned earlier, then crawled in bed. Gharak had still not come back and he wondered if he was off talking with Jhera about everything that had happened.
He looked at the ceiling for a few minutes before closing his eyes when he came to the realization that while he would try his best to do what he had been ordered to do, he knew his curiosity would win in the end. There was a part of him that didn't want to believe that everyone who used blood magic was evil. This had always been true, but he hadn't realized how large that part was until now.
Tomorrow, he would start keeping an eye on her whenever he could, but for now, he just wanted to sleep and forget that any of this had happened for a while.
Author: d353r7r47
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,360
Challenges: Rum Raisin #2 (Father); Cayenne #11 (Tactics)
Summary: Darian meets his father and uncle for dinner.
A/N: this part is focused on Darian, rather than Jhera or Gharak.
When Darian arrived back in his room after their first magic lesson, there was a note under his door from his father. He sat down on his bed and read it over quickly before jumping in the shower.
He was asked to join his father for dinner to talk about a few things. The letter hadn't given much away, but he assumed at least some of their discussion would be focused around what had happened with Jhera just shortly before. Other than his enigmatic classmate, he had no idea what his father wanted to talk to him about.
After finishing his shower, he changed into a more casual outfit rather than his uniform and made his way to the administration building.
The walk was a pleasant one. The campus was quiet, since most of the students were in their dorms preparing for dinner, and there was a light summer breeze blowing. This time allowed him to go over everything that had happened during the girl's test in his head, knowing that his father would be asking him what he had seen.
"Darian. I'm glad you got the letter and were able to come." His father gestured to the seat next to the one occupied by his uncle, the Warden of Central City's Easter Sector Jail. He muttered a quick greeting to his uncle as he perched on the edge of the chair.
A few members of the kitchen staff entered the room with their dinners and quickly retreated.
"So son, how was your first day?"
"It went well father, though the end became quite interesting. I won't bother you with detail of the first part of the day, as I'm sure you'd rather hear about what happened in our magic lesson. And I'm sure that is why you are here uncle."
"You know us well Darian," his uncle said with a small laugh that made him cringe inwardly.
"Your professors did come to talk to me after they ended your class early. Your uncle was called in as this new development has brought up a few issues. We would also like to hear about what happened from your point of view. The more accounts we have, the better we can understand what happened and how to deal with it."
Darian took a deep breath and recounted what he had seen. When he finished, his father and uncle were both nodding thoughtfully, so he took the time to have a few bites of his dinner.
His father looked off in the distance. "This girl shows extraordinary magical strength." Turning to his brother, he added, "you did not mention this when she was brought here."
"No, I did not because there was no indication that her levels were out of the normal range for a woman her age."
"Do you have any idea why the machine did not show the right results?"
The Warden looked at his nephew before turning his gaze to his brother and raising an eyebrow in question. He was answered with a slight nod. "The only suggestion that we have is that it was something to do with the blood magic."
This statement startled Darian, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he filed this piece of information away to think about later.
"We believe there is a strong tie between her elemental magic and her blood magic. She is obviously much stronger than we thought. She tested far above the normal blood magic range for someone from the tribes, even for someone from the Southern Tribe. The only theory we can come up with at the moment is that the link between the two magics somehow prevented the machine from accurately reading her strength. This of course poses the problem that if this happened with her; it most likely happened with all the other people we have tested who use blood magic."
His father looked back to him. "Since we do not know how powerful she is, she is a potential threat and must be watched closely. This is of course something I will inform the professors of, but I'd also like you to keep an eye on her Darian. Report to me immediately if you see her using blood magic or anything that looks like it could be blood magic. Also, we'd like you to try and find out as much about her and her people as possible."
"I'd also like to hear if she uses blood magic and I'd like to know everything that you are able to learn," the Warden interjected.
This news made Darian lose his appetite and he pushed his plate farther away from him. "I will do my best. May I please be excused?"
"Of course son, enjoy the rest of the week and don't forget to report anything you can find."
"I won't father. It was nice seeing you uncle."
~~~~~~~~~~
Darian almost felt sick and only made it part way across the Green before deciding that he'd rather stay there than go back to the dorm just yet. He picked a tree and sat among its roots with his back against the trunk. Leaning his head back, he looked up at the sky that was quickly becoming dark. While he had been talking with his father and uncle, the lamps throughout the Green had turned on and were emitting a soft yellow-orange glow.
He had a lot to think about after his dinner meeting. He couldn't believe that someone so you had such strength in blood magic. The legends he had been told as a child spoke of elder members from the tribes using blood magic in battle, but they had never mentioned anything about younger people using it.
There was so little that their people knew about blood magic, but he found the idea intriguing. He knew that he was supposed to be getting any information he could for his father, but at the same time, he wanted to learn about it for himself.
He was confused. He wanted to find out more, but he also knew that she was dangerous. There was also the whole issue where his father wanted him to become some kind of spy for them. This was something he did not feel too comfortable with, not just because he was a student and should be focusing on his school work, but also because he didn't like the idea of trying to encroach on someone's privacy, regardless of who the person was.
"Hello Darian! You look so lonely sitting here all by yourself. Would you like some company?" His eyes snapped open and he found himself surrounded by a group of girls that he hadn't even noticed approaching him.
He automatically put on what he called his "public smile." "I'd love to have the company of a group of beautiful girls like yourselves, but I must be getting back to my dorm. I'm afraid that I have a lot of work I need to do." The girl who had spoken was pouting while the rest started protesting. "Maybe some other time ladies, when I have more time."
With that, he walked back to his dorm to find his room empty. He did the work that had been assigned earlier, then crawled in bed. Gharak had still not come back and he wondered if he was off talking with Jhera about everything that had happened.
He looked at the ceiling for a few minutes before closing his eyes when he came to the realization that while he would try his best to do what he had been ordered to do, he knew his curiosity would win in the end. There was a part of him that didn't want to believe that everyone who used blood magic was evil. This had always been true, but he hadn't realized how large that part was until now.
Tomorrow, he would start keeping an eye on her whenever he could, but for now, he just wanted to sleep and forget that any of this had happened for a while.