Both physically exhausted from her PE class and mentally exhausted from her Mechanics class, Vai makes her way to the special training room that Aananda uses to teach her special tutor class. Finding the room was a little difficult, but Vai had left early. When she entered, she found Fei waiting there, but no Professor.
"Good afternoon Fei." she intoned quietly. Something about his stillness reminded Vai of Professor Daiyu.
Both physically exhausted from her PE class and mentally exhausted from her Mechanics class, Vai makes her way to the special training room that Aananda uses to teach her special tutor class. Finding the room was a little difficult, but Vai had left early. When she entered, she found Fei waiting there, but no Professor.
"Good afternoon Fei." she intoned quietly. Something about his stillness reminded Vai of Professor Daiyu.
Fei was sitting with his legs folded under him, his hands resting on his thighs, head bowed down. At the sound of Vai's voice, his head comes up and his eyes snap open. He rises fluidly (and quickly) from his kneeling position.
After a few seconds of looking at her confusedly, he remembers his manners and bows.
"Hello. Was...there something you needed assistance with?" he asks the young half-elf.
Vai is also momentarily confused. Now unsure of herself, she looks into the hallway then back to Fei "This is were Professor Sunwake told me to come for the class...?" The sentence becomes a question midway.
"Different kind of risk," she said, grinning. "Hopefully nobody walks in just now," she added and kissed him.
"That's part of the risk though." Michael replies as he wraps his arms around Kitty and kisses her back. It was nice just being alone with her for a while. Just being with her made his worries easy to push aside so he could live in the moment.
Vai is also momentarily confused. Now unsure of herself, she looks into the hallway then back to Fei "This is were Professor Sunwake told me to come for the class...?" The sentence becomes a question midway.
Fei's look of confusion gives way to one of middling concern.
"I...was not aware that sabumnim Sunwake had changed our meeting time. Please forgive my confusion," he replies with a small bow.
"What class are you here for...?" he then asks, glancing beyond her briefly in anticipation of more students coming in.
Aananda came in looking a bit frazzled.
"Sorry I'm late. Oh good, you've met. Fei, Vai will be joining these sessions from now on. With the cuffs, you're pretty safe to be around even while you're practicing so I don't think there's any real risk. And I'm sure you're trustworthy enough not to tell other people's secrets so Vai you don't have to worry about Fei either.....so we should get started," she said, closing and locking the door to prevent anyone from wandering in when they shouldn't.
"Fei, you start with standard exercises."
"Vai....I think the first thing we need to work on is getting control of your transformations. You need to be able to do that at will, so basically we're just going to practice going back and forth between forms until it's second nature."
They were saved from being caught in an embarrassing situation by Saffire who suddenly let out a rapid series of "meep" just in time for Kitty to jump up and return to her seat before a sleepy looking Anthony walked into the room.
"Good morning," she said, cheerfully, blushing a little.
*sleepy blink blink*
"It's a rooster now. Figures. There any hotcakes left?" The sleepy Anthony asks. "Morning, Kitty."
"There's enough batter left for you, Mom, and Dad." Michael replies. "You're up early. What's up?"
"I've been getting up early for a few months now. Sometimes I got to the top of the trees and sit there till the sun is up." Anthony mumbles as he starts making himself some breakfast. "You're pretty loud when you move around, Michael."
"Sorry. I'm not used to being quiet anymore."
"Whatever."
"Don't fall prey to Anthony's charming demeanor, Kitty. He's not what you'd call a morning person."
Aananda came in looking a bit frazzled.
"Sorry I'm late. Oh good, you've met. Fei, Vai will be joining these sessions from now on. With the cuffs, you're pretty safe to be around even while you're practicing so I don't think there's any real risk. And I'm sure you're trustworthy enough not to tell other people's secrets so Vai you don't have to worry about Fei either.....so we should get started," she said, closing and locking the door to prevent anyone from wandering in when they shouldn't.
"Fei, you start with standard exercises."
"Vai....I think the first thing we need to work on is getting control of your transformations. You need to be able to do that at will, so basically we're just going to practice going back and forth between forms until it's second nature."
[Blink, Blink]
"...Yes, sabumnim", Fei replies with a deep bow. While many, many questions have just come to his mind, he does his best to dismiss them and focus on his exercises.
He moves a respectable (and safe) distance away from the other two and begins his kata on the stone pillar to gauge his current energy level.
"Don't fall prey to Anthony's charming demeanor, Kitty. He's not what you'd call a morning person."
Kitty laughed. "Me either. But Saffire has his own schedule so I'm having to learn to get used to getting up early....at least until I make him some kind of timed feeding machine so he doesn't feel the need to wake me before the sun comes up."
"He'd eat it you know. The machine I mean, and that stomachache will be worst than the last one. And then we would have to explain to Professor Ormarr why Saffire has too much iron in his diet."
"Oh, gosh, he would wouldn't he? And that would be even louder than the singing. He gets enough iron already," she said, holding up the gnawed remains of what used to be a practice shuriken. "It's a good thing I have a lot of these."
"It would have to be as simple as possible too, since he might make it explode to get the food out."
"Meep!"
"You know you'd try."
"That's a tall order...it would have to be made out of something that he couldn't chew through, that wouldn't be loud when he tried to break it, that can't be effected by electricity when he tried to blow it up, and fairly mechanically simple.....I think we might need some help with the design...."
"Just feed him stuff that's *yawn* slow to digest." Anthony suggests as he flips a hotcake. "He'd end up like a snake, only having to eat every month or so."
"That's not a bad idea. I could probably slow down his metabolism without effecting his energy levels..."
"Yes Professor." The training space was large enough to accommodate Vai's fully transformed body, but she still moved towards the middle to be sure. She glances nervously at Fei as she moves. When she arrives, she closed her eyes and focused. Trust him, the Professor says.
Vai's transformation is slow and jerky at first. Her wings come out fluidly, almost practiced , but her tail grows out erratically, and the claws are short for the longest time, and she doesn't feel the fangs in her mouth. Eventually though, after about a minute, Vai opens her eyes. The bulk of a juvenile blue dragon seems smaller when compared to the practice space, though Aananda still has to duck the swishing tail as Vai turns to face her. Someone able to read dragon expressions would think her nervous, and note her frequent glances Fei's direction.
"Okay, well....that could have gone better. Still having some trouble with the tail I see, although you've made a lot of improvement with the wings. The transformation should flow. Don't let yourself get caught up thinking too much about individual pieces. Change back and try it again."
The transformation back is much smoother, barely 6 seconds. Vai's legs give a momentary tremble as if about to collapse under her, but she steadies herself and nods to Aananda. When she speaks, she sounds almost out of breath. "Tails are strange. [breath] Professor it's easy to transform back to myself... [breath] but it's alot harder form the full picture of a dragon. [breath] Maybe I just need practice." Vai takes another deep breath and closes her eyes. She tries to form a full picture of herself as a dragon. The sinewy strength, glossy blue scales, fangs. The picture that comes to mind instead is that of Aegythrax, and she gasps, opening her eyes suddenly. Only a very light blue tinge had started across her body before it reverts.
A little shaken, but also embarrassed, Vai mumbles: "Nevermind. It's nothing" and tries again. Don't think of him. You aren't him. You aren't him. The Professor said your dragon form was beautiful. Think of that. Don't think of him...
The transformation is a little smoother this time, with all the parts changing at about the same rate. It seems a little slower to Aananda, but definitely an improvement.
"Yes Professor." The training space was large enough to accommodate Vai's fully transformed body, but she still moved towards the middle to be sure. She glances nervously at Fei as she moves. When she arrives, she closed her eyes and focused. Trust him, the Professor says.
Vai's transformation is slow and jerky at first. Her wings come out fluidly, almost practiced , but her tail grows out erratically, and the claws are short for the longest time, and she doesn't feel the fangs in her mouth. Eventually though, after about a minute, Vai opens her eyes. The bulk of a juvenile blue dragon seems smaller when compared to the practice space, though Aananda still has to duck the swishing tail as Vai turns to face her. Someone able to read dragon expressions would think her nervous, and note her frequent glances Fei's direction.
Fei's rhythmic staccato of strikes on the stone pillar is interrupted by the disconcerting sound of morphing flesh and realigning bone. Fei turns, and observes the latter half of her transformation.
[Blink, Blink]
As his attention is divided, his last strike lands at a bad angle, and part of the pillar breaks off. Shaking the pins and needles out, he places his hands behind him moment.
"Sabumnim? It seems that the assertion of dragons being a rarity on your world may need...some revision...given the rate dragons keep appearing at this school." (^-^)
He politely lowers his gaze to the floor as Vai transforms back.
"Yes, it does seem that way, doesn't it, Fei? But in all fairness to the best of my knowledge every dragon that exists in Agartha at present is currently at this school, so it seems like there are more than would be plausible....and Vai was recently rescued from the Empire."
"Very good, Vai. That was slow, but nice and smooth. The more you practice, the quicker you'll be able to do that. And we'll certainly be getting you plenty of practice in here," she said with a smile.
Vai opens her dragon mouth to speak, but stops short. Suddenly aware of her tongue, she tries to speak. She is clearly over-thinking the endeavor, but it proves to be an amusing spectacle as various noises and tongue movements are apparent, but no speech. After a couple seconds she looks at the floor, downcast.
Aananda bites her lip to prevent herself from smiling. She didn't want to embarrass Vai further.
"And I do believe that you have just discovered the reason why we use telepathy to communicate when we're in dragon form. There are some types of dragon who can speak out loud, but I have no idea how they do it."
"Just feed him stuff that's *yawn* slow to digest." Anthony suggests as he flips a hotcake. "He'd end up like a snake, only having to eat every month or so."
"That's not a bad idea. I could probably slow down his metabolism without effecting his energy levels..."
...."You keep saying these things....let me make this perfectly clear. NO experimenting on my familiar! You figure out if it works before you try anything on Saffire," she said firmly.
Fei returns to his kata (as he should be doing anyway) so that his fellow student can focus on her own lessons with less concern for 'onlookers'.
A very draconic smile spreads across Vai's transformed snout. At least the Professor understood her problems.
Vai's back legs buckle suddenly, and she sits down hard, her transformation reverting quickly. Back in half-elf form, Vai is panting hard for breath, visibly shaking. She's ashen-faced and her expression is hard, focused.
...."You keep saying these things....let me make this perfectly clear. NO experimenting on my familiar! You figure out if it works before you try anything on Saffire," she said firmly.
"But he's right here and he'll do it for fish! It's not like it would be anything I wouldn't try on myself!" Michael replies. "He'd be perfectly fine."
creak.....
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Creeaaak...
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In the middle of Professor Relkav's endless rant on the Mite-Derro Skirmish Series, Jim has busted through his chair, resulting in the frightening of many students around him, as he leaves his print in the floor below.
Vakkler turns, giving an angry look that is certainly not a glare. The kobold sees Jim on the floor and sighs.
"There are better-crafted chairs in the corner, by the door. Now, as I was saying. The turning point in the Skirmish Series--which would have been a war had either side possessed more than approximately two hundred warriors--was likely the Imperial Barfight, when scores of spider-riding mites invaded the city of Treskar to attack a derro battalion. Before continuing, however, an interlude into derro fencing techniques should be taken...."
Jim gets his new chair, taking his place again quickly.
This chair squeaks a bit, but ultimately holds to the end of class. Whenever the chair squeaks, a few of the nearby students cover their ears.
A very draconic smile spreads across Vai's transformed snout. At least the Professor understood her problems.
Vai's back legs buckle suddenly, and she sits down hard, her transformation reverting quickly. Back in half-elf form, Vai is panting hard for breath, visibly shaking. She's ashen-faced and her expression is hard, focused.
Aananda kneels down next to Vai, brushing her hair away from her face as she studies her. She sighed, relieved, as she realized the only thing wrong with her new student was exhaustion.
"We really need to work on your endurance," she said with a smile. "No, don't try to get up. You take a breather. I'll work with Fei for a bit."
Aananda left Vai resting and nodded to Fei. "Okay, we'll stop short of causing an earthquake, but there's no other way for you to relearn your own abilities than using them. I built a shortcut between here and the lab so you can get there quickly to let us push things a bit farther," she added, pulling rock from the floor and sending it in a concentrated barrage against Fei.
...."You keep saying these things....let me make this perfectly clear. NO experimenting on my familiar! You figure out if it works before you try anything on Saffire," she said firmly."But he's right here and he'll do it for fish! It's not like it would be anything I wouldn't try on myself!" Michael replies. "He'd be perfectly fine."
"You shouldn't be experimenting on yourself either! What if something went wrong?" she said, even more alarmed.
"One class assignment was a sort of pop quiz. It was a deliberately bad potion recipe and we had to reverse the effects. That was an interesting day."
Kitty shuddered. "That's awful! Even though I know the teacher was there to help reverse things if it didn't go well, it still makes me kinda mad that he did that."
"Our P.E. teacher throws boulders, launches spikes, and opens up giant crevasses as a warm up and you're mad at Professor Yrrum for a little temporary genetic modifications?"
"Your teacher does what!?" Anthony asks, suddenly wide awake.
"Uh... that's just a saying. Don't worry about it."
"Well, being crushed is a lot easier to fix than genetic modifications!" she said, oblivious to Anthony's sudden interest.
Aananda kneels down next to Vai, brushing her hair away from her face as she studies her. She sighed, relieved, as she realized the only thing wrong with her new student was exhaustion.
"We really need to work on your endurance," she said with a smile. "No, don't try to get up. You take a breather. I'll work with Fei for a bit."
Aananda left Vai resting and nodded to Fei. "Okay, we'll stop short of causing an earthquake, but there's no other way for you to relearn your own abilities than using them. I built a shortcut between here and the lab so you can get there quickly to let us push things a bit farther," she added, pulling rock from the floor and sending it in a concentrated barrage against Fei.
Fei turns and bows.
"Yes, sabum..." Fei starts to reply, but is cut short by the horizontal hailstorm his instructor has just volleyed at him. ^.^
He quickly readjusts his position before he is bowled over by the rocks (and to put some more distance between them and his collapsed fellow student), adopting a softer style than the first time they trained.
He starts redirecting the rocks around and behind him as he starts to absorb their energy, then begins to carefully step forward. His motions are fluid and supple, looking for all the world like he is 'swimming' through the barrage.
The unearthly grace with which the young monk moves is abruptly brought to a screeching halt by an ill-timed step on Fei's part, and he gets 'winged' by a rock in the left shoulder. He spins with the impact to try and maintain his balance as the rocks continue to slam into his sides and back while he turns.
Fei manages to recover and remain on his feet, but he decides to hold his position for a moment to center himself a bit...better. (=^-^=)
"Well, being crushed is a lot easier to fix than genetic modifications!" she said, oblivious to Anthony's sudden interest.
"I made Saffire in less than a class period and you think fixing an artificially induced mutations are harder to fix that being crushed? I can certainly tell you that getting crushed hurts a lot more!"
"Well, being crushed is a lot easier to fix than genetic modifications!" she said, oblivious to Anthony's sudden interest."I made Saffire in less than a class period and you think fixing an artificially induced mutations are harder to fix that being crushed? I can certainly tell you that getting crushed hurts a lot more!"
"Being crushed only hurts for a minute. And it's good incentive to learn to dodge better. But with genetic mutations, how can you ever be entirely certain you put everything back the way it was? Just because it feels normal doesn't mean it is. Even the slightest variation an have unintended results. Or was I totally mistaken about your surprise when Saffire started breathing lightning?" she shot back.
Aananda let up on the barrage slightly to give Fei some breathing room to recenter himself and then increased the rate at which she was throwing rocks substantially.
Vakkler turns, giving an angry look that is certainly not a glare. The kobold sees Jim on the floor and sighs.
"There are better-crafted chairs in the corner, by the door. Now, as I was saying. The turning point in the Skirmish Series--which would have been a war had either side possessed more than approximately two hundred warriors--was likely the Imperial Barfight, when scores of spider-riding mites invaded the city of Treskar to attack a derro battalion. Before continuing, however, an interlude into derro fencing techniques should be taken...."
Gustav was as surprised as the others when the adamantine golem named "Jim" broke his chair in the room. Torn between learning and his fascination with the golem, Gustav tried to concentrate on the lesson while his mind was going like a runaway horse on how such a self-aware golem could exist.
He also thought spider-riding mites to be a silly picture of an invading army. A single Ectoplasmic Shambler or a poison cloud, or even just a pack of well-trained hunting dogs would have dealt with the annoyances in sort order.