A few moments of relaxation (Open)

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Aeinsa Zahaarina Salifa
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:53 pm
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Race: Galdor
: "For Gods' sake, just call me Rina."
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Writer: Rachel/jadeowl
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Tue Mar 12, 2019 8:52 am

Brunnhold University Brunnhold, Anaxas
on the 5th of Intas 2719 Breakfast
Rwas tired. She had thrown a small "start of the school year" party the night before for her friends and, unfortunately, she had stayed up too late gossiping with them. It had been wonderful for her heart to be with her friends again, but her body was not happy with the lack of sleep. It didn't help that she had to wake up a full hour before most other students who lived off campus, simply because getting ready for the day was such a complicated process for her.

As her servant Estella helped her out of her nightdress, Rina bit back a yawn and pondered the wisdom of going out in the cold without piles and piles of extra blankets. The cold would wake her up if nothing else would.

"How cold was it when you emptied the chamberpots, Estella?" Rina asked as she looked at the ridiculously large stack of blankets and quilts in the corner of the room.

"I wouldn't even think about it, ma'am," Estella laughed. The passive had witnessed many of Rina's parties and knew exactly what Rina was thinking. "It's brutal out there. I think the chamberpot contents froze before they hit the latrine."

Rina laughed, her laughter vibrant and full-bodied. "Well, damn. Okay, let me get some blankets, then," she said as she stood up from her bed shakily. She let out a long breath as her back protested the movement.

"How bad is it?" Estella asked, her voice worried. "I can get blankets for you if you need me to, ma'am."

Rina waved a hand, dismissing the passive's worries. "It's been worse," she said simply as she walked over to her the pile of blankets in the corner of the room. Every step felt like someone was stabbing knives into her back, but she was determined to do at least some standing today. She knew that once she was on campus, people would raise a fuss if she dared to stand for longer than it took to transfer to a toilet.

Rina flipped through the blankets, tossing some of them on the bed. She hobbled over to her wardrobe and picked out a paisley scarf to hold her hair back. She didn't want it to be crushed when she put her ear muffs on. She sat down next to the blankets with a shaky breath as she bit back whimpers of pain. "Clocking hell, Essie. That may be the last of it today," she said as she waited for the pain to ease down. "Can you please get me my medication? I should take a couple doses with me."

"Of course, ma'am," Estella said as she put a stack of blankets on Rina's bed. "Do you need some now?"

"Probably a good idea. Otherwise, the trip to campus is going to leave me unable to concentrate."

Estella nodded. "I'll let Barclay know while you do what you can. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Barclay was the only one who had access to Rina's opiate medication and he always kept the key on his person. Not even Rina herself could access her medication without his approval. Rina didn't mind the inconvenience. Her parents made it clear that she would have the privilege of taking morphine for her pain taken away if she was to become addicted. Having Barclay manage her medication was just another layer of safety protecting her from addiction.

While she waited for Barclay and Estella to come back, she put a bra on and slipped her undershirt over her head, followed by sweater for her uniform. She finished just as Barclay entered the bedroom with her pill and a glass of water, closely followed by Estella. "How many doses would you like to take with you, Miss Aeinsa?" the human asked as he handed her the medication.

"Two, please," Rina said as she swallowed the pill. "Gustav is getting the horses ready, yes?"

Estella stepped up with a smile. "Of course, ma'am," the passive said as she gestured for Rina to lie down so she could help with Rina's skirt. Once the skirt was on, Rina took the jacket Barclay gave her and slipped it on.

"Did you want to go to the bathroom before you get in the chair, ma'am?" Estella asked. Most galdori would be appalled at the question, but Rina took the question in stride. She was well-used to needing help with intimate functions at this point. She would need the help if she wanted to use the bathroom. She couldn't walk the distance on her own, which was why she was stuck relying on chamberpots for any bathroom visits during the night.

Rina waved her hand again. "I should be fine," she said as she stood up, leaning on Estella as the two of them made their way to the door. Rina's bedroom was too small for the wheelchair, so she kept it outside her door when she was sleeping. Estella helped her down into it and took Rina's hand for a second, giving it a tight squeeze before walking back into the bedroom to get some blankets to cover Rina with.

Rina smiled as Saida, her copper-colored miraan flew into the hall, chirruping her morning hello. She landed on Rina's shoulder and nuzzled her.

"It's cold out, Saida. You'll need to get under the blankets," she told the miraan, who nibbled her ear before flying down to nestle next between Rina's leg and the side of the wheelchair. Rina wasn't sure if Saida knew all of what she was saying, but she knew that the miraan understood that blankets meant warmth.

Once Rina and Saida had been safely buried under blankets and all Rina's bags had been handed to her and positioned comfortably, Rina wheeled herself out the front door to the awaiting carriage. A ramp had been added to her carriage to help her get into it. It was her father's invention and, while it was a bit complicated to use, it meant that Rina didn't have to go through the embarrassment of having to be carried out of the carriage. The ramp tucked between the bottom of the carriage and the stairs when not in use, so it didn't impact the carriage's travel. Inside the carriage, most of the seats had been removed to make room for Rina's wheelchair, leaving Estella to go first into the carriage so she could sit on the far side.

Once Rina was comfortable, she closed the door and waited for Gustav to start moving. Once the carriage started moving, she closed her eyes and let herself rest until they reached campus. The drive to campus was, unfortunately, all too short. She had barely dozed off and the carriage was pulling to a stop.

"Will you be going to the cafeteria?" Estella asked as she helped Rina out of the carriage.

"Ugh, no. Not today. I'll go the library, but if you can bring me some coffee, I would appreciate it for all eternity," Rina laughed. "I'll be in my usual spot."

"Of course, ma'am," Estella chuckled as she stepped aside to let Rina take the lead. Once they got close to the cafeteria, Estella broke off, handing Rina the bag of breakfast foods Cook had given her before they had left the house and leaving Rina to navigate the familiar halls of the school.

Rina had gotten more confident over her years at Brunnhold, but the first week of school was always hard. It was all the damn firsties, making jabs at her when she got off the elevator or asking questions about her wheelchair or why she was in it. Yes, the questions were innocent, but that didn't mean it wasn't tiring to go through the same damn questions over and over. But once school picked up and everyone was thrown into the deep end of the river, Rina knew that the questions would become much less frequent.

Even though how other people treated her annoyed her, Rina was glad to be back at school. Her winter break had been busy, as her parents had decided it was time to try to find her a husband. There had been a few more events as usual and, unlike school, they never got comfortable. She was extroverted and liked a good party more than most people, but the parties her parents threw were difficult to deal with. Only her parents' friends seemed comfortable with Rina's disability and, if her parents had asked her, Rina would have told them she'd be surprised if anyone would want to marry her. Cripples weren't exactly desirable partners and, while Rina had plenty of experience with managing her household, that wouldn't overcome the fact that she was wheelchair-bound.

But that didn't mean her parents wouldn't try to find someone.

At least I have a break from all that now, Rina thought to tucked herself away by a window. She nibbled on her breakfast – some jerky and fruit – while Saida flew low above her head. The phosphor lights made the miraan's scales gleam like freshly wrought copper. The administration generally didn't like Saida flying around campus, as they thought it'd be too much of a "distraction". But she wasn't in class yet, so there wasn't anything they could really do to her, unless they wanted to punish other kids for fighting or talking too loudly.

Estella came back with coffee and Rina took it thankfully. The passive sat in a chair nearby, keeping an eye on the time for Rina. Rina had about another half hour before she had to leave for class and she chose to use her time relaxing, enjoying her coffee and the sense of anticipation that marked the beginning of the school year.

Last edited by Aeinsa Zahaarina Salifa on Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:39 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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Maximus
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Wed Mar 27, 2019 12:01 pm

Intas 5, 2719 | Breakfast
Brunnhold Library
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The young woman had gotten up early again but unlike every other morning, she hadn't been able to grab breakfast and then head back to bed. It had been working out so well up until now. She'd been able to ensure that she didn't inadvertently bump into Harper Moore or her brother in the mornings and she'd convinced the other students in her wing that she really was sick because she seemed to be missing meals. They were kind enough to bring her food, which tided her over for awhile and she was clever enough to dart down to the kitchens directly at dinnertime when she wanted something further. Being seen as sick was just the best option really although she'd assured her roommates that she would go get it seen to magically if it wasn't better by the time classes were set to start. Now that she was "better", it didn't mean that she was any keener to see the people she was trying to avoid, didn't make her any more enthused at the idea of interacting with others as if nothing was wrong.

But everything was wrong on so many levels and the galdor didn't think she'd ever be able to deal with it. She shouldn't have let Oísin get to her on Clock's Eve but his words had hurt, they always hurt but it was difficult to ignore some of it when she knew that her parents did have plans; she'd seen that over the winter break. He was difficult to ignore when that factories-rich friend of his had told Oísin all about the kiss he'd attempted and what she'd done in response because she'd drank a little at that party on Ophus 18th. The things her youngest brother had said-

A brother wasn't meant to say those things to his sister, he wasn't.

And so she had drank, stupidly, childishly and she should have known that she had no head for drink, should have recalled where the alcohol had led her before. And Harper had been there, sweet, sweet Harper and it had been all too easy to deliver a jumbled overview of her troubles because he cared, he listened. Even that would have been too much, one or two things said about her home life, her family's plans for her that shouldn't have been said but she'd had to make things so much worse. Having a crush on a faculty member was bad enough, highly inappropriate given that she was still a student but... to kiss one? That was miles worse. So of course she'd dealt with it in the traditional fashion - she'd bolted. Niamh couldn't avoid him indefinitely but... one more morning away from it all couldn't hurt.

It was why when many of Brunnhold's students were only groggily wandering to the cafeteria, the eldest Madden had already breakfasted and scarpered, squirrelling herself away in the library where no one was likely to come at this hour.

Or so she'd thought.

The redhead had been trying to read an anatomy textbook but that just made the temptation to close her eyes all the stronger, hardly ideal when it was so close to the start of classes. So she'd decided to take a little break, to stretch her legs among the shelves because damn it, it wasn't that easy to fall asleep when you were standing up or moving and it meant that she had a chance to peruse possible reading material. It was where she was when Rina entered and of course, it meant that she couldn't return to where she'd been sitting without being spotted by the girl who'd just wheeled herself in.

The final year student stood close to the shelves, chewing on her lip as she watched the miraan wheel in flight above the younger girl's head. Niamh wasn't an unfriendly sort and she had been craving more contact these past few days, liking to have others to talk to, almost needing it. And the girl was alone and well...

The redhead had never spoken to her but she knew her face, knew that she was a rather outgoing sort and popular enough. However, she'd also heard some of the things said about her, whispers that were snide and cruel, things that Niamh had disapproved of hearing. This was someone who had been bullied as well and she was sure that her brother and his friends would have been happy to take a dig at the mixed-race student. They had that in common. However, there was also maybe a little bit of uncertainty. It wasn't prejudice exactly, she just... didn't know what to do with the obvious disability. You didn't have to point out to passives that they were magically unable and it was cruel to do so, though they heard it often enough all the same. So... presumably the same applied here.

The young woman wasn't sure that she could stop her eyes or her field from revealing her nervousness and uncertainty. Still, there was only one way to find out. Dampening her field a bit, she moved slowly and quietly from her accidental hiding place and approached.

The mona surrounding her lapped gently against Rina's own, some belikeness there that stopped her from shying away magically, a bit less inclined to have her field go doetoed when there was some kinship there. The aura around her was more laden with Living conversation though, the buzz and hum of life easily caprised and quite different to the Static and Clairvoyant that mingled with her new companion's Perceptive. That was a lot of variety there, none of her magics at the level of specialisation that Niamh's Living one was. Still it was ambitious and she was well-versed enough. Maybe it made up for-

Don't even think it!

Colour came to her cheeks, the blush always ready to pop out and she let a hand drift across her forehead, sweeping strands of ginger hair back behind her ear. Her openness was perhaps unexpected. For a politician's daughter, she was actually very bad at hiding her emotions, mainly because she didn't try to so she didn't have the practice. As such, her embarrassment, nervousness and guilt would be all too clear but so would the overall personable air of someone who wanted to be your friend, almost yearned for it.

"Hi... I hope you don't mind, I was just..." she trailed off, waving a vague hand back towards the table that she'd abandoned, her bag still seated beside the pulled out chair, tome open on the tabletop. "I've seen you before but I don't know your name, I'm sorry. I'm Niamh, I'm... a year ahead of you, I think? You're 9th, right?" she explained, hovering beside her. She didn't want to take a seat before she was invited, didn't want to be presumptuous. She also didn't know if she should bow or offer her hand to shake so she just stood there, fingers playing awkwardly together.

"I- Look, if you don't want to talk to me, I understand. I... kind of came in here to avoid people so if you're here for the same reason, I won't disturb you. I just thought I'd... say hello," Niamh finished lamely, gaze flitting to the miraan, hazel eyes showing interest and a little nervous fear. She'd never been near a real miraan before but she'd seen drawings of them. They drew the eye, the metallic shimmer hypnotising.
Last edited by Maximus on Tue Apr 02, 2019 4:13 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Aeinsa Zahaarina Salifa
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:53 pm
Topics: 7
Race: Galdor
: "For Gods' sake, just call me Rina."
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: Plot notes, incl. thread history
Writer: Rachel/jadeowl
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Wed Mar 27, 2019 2:14 pm

Brunnhold University Library Brunnhold
on the 5th of Intas, 2719 Breakfast
S
aida was dancing above Rina when she felt a field nearby. The field felt faintly familiar, though it was pulled tightly in as a if the person was a temple mouse trying to hide from a building full of ostas.

There were too many temple mice in this school.

Rina had been bullied from the day that she had entered Brunnhold. Having a professor for a mother combined with her race, disability, and the fact that she had two fathers left plenty of fertile ground for bullies to dig in. But Rina had something a lot of the temple mice didn’t have – a family who deeply loved her and had absolute faith in her. They built her up and helped her learn to love herself even though people tried to destroy her sense of self-worth. The only thing that impacted her self-esteem was her disability, but that was just because dealing with chronic pain and systematic obstacles was tiring and, sometimes, quite overwhelming. People were often erseholes to her and, as much as she tried, sometimes their hurtful words settled into her heart.

Her family's love didn’t mean that Rina didn’t sometimes have nightmares or anxiety when the bullying got severe. It just meant that she had a deep well of self-love and self-confidence built by her family. That well helped her through the bad times. She knew, deep down, that bullies were just small, insignificant beings who were insecure in their own self-worth.

Rina’s lips curved into a soft smile as she felt the field touch hers. She let the still unrevealed person caprice her field, watching Saida fly around above her. Rina wasn’t all that surprised when Niamh Madden stepped out. “Temple mouse” was a good way to describe the girl. She had seen her around, but the year’s difference in ages kept them from properly meeting.

She had also seen how Oísin, the rotten little chroveshit of a brother Niamh was stuck with, treated her. Oísin and his little mob of friends were entitled little fuckers who had so many people cowed. He was a nasty little piece of work and his friends kissed his erse like it would save their souls.

Guilt touched Rina’s field as she remembered all the times she should have stood up to Oísin, should have tried to reach out to Niamh, to let her know that she wasn’t alone. But there were still some bullies she was afraid of and, when they kept themselves in mobs the way that Oísin and his friends did, her fear often won the day. A good number of her friends were terrified of Oísin, so standing up to Oísin meant she’d have to do without as many of her friends there to support her.

Rina’s parents had also taught her to be kind and, as she ever-so-gently reached out to caprice Niamh’s field, she wanted to sweep the girl in a hug and tell her that she was safe. She felt the nervousness, the uncertainty. She felt the desire to have someone to call a friend and the fear of hurting or offending Rina. Rina gave her brightest, friendliest smile. “I don’t mind at all. Please,” she said as she waved Niamh over. “Essie, dear, can you get her a chair?”

Estella stood up with a “yes, ma’am,” and hurried to pull over a chair for Niamh. Once Niamh was seated, the passive stood nearby.

“I’m Rina. It’s nice to meet you, Niamh,” Rina said. "I won’t lie. I was hiding from the first years. I don’t mind answering questions, but when you get the same questions every clocking year, it gets tiring. Plus the first years don’t always know the difference between harmless curiosity and harmful rudeness.” Rina's tone indicated that she really didn't mind the questions most of the time and, if Niamh wanted to ask questions, she wouldn't get offended. Rina's situation was what it was and she didn't feel ashamed of it.

Rina shifted in her chair and adjusted her blankets. “Do you want Essie to go grab something for you to eat or drink? I’m out of coffee, so she’s going to be heading to the cafeteria anyways.” Eating or drinking in the library wasn’t banned, but it was highly discouraged. But Rina knew that the librarians wouldn’t bother her too much, as long as the two girls were reading their own books.

“You really don’t want to see Rina if she doesn’t have at least two cups of coffee in her,” Estonia laughed. The passive's teasing tone might surprise some galdori, but Rina didn't mind. She was closer to Estella than most galdori were to their passives, since the passive had to help Rina with so many intimate functions.

“Especially after the night I had. You really would think I would know better than to stay up until ridiculous o’clock catching up on all the gossip, especially when the next day is the first day of school,” Rina laughed as she held a piece of jerky up for Saida. The teacup drake chirruped and glided down, wrapping her tail around Rina’s forearm as she inhaled the piece of jerky as if she had never eaten before.
Last edited by Aeinsa Zahaarina Salifa on Thu Apr 04, 2019 1:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Maximus
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Tue Apr 02, 2019 5:24 pm

Intas 5, 2719 | Breakfast
Brunnhold Library
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She hadn't seen the passive. Her appearance was both startling and guilt-inducing. Of course the other hadn't been alone, of course she should have known that there was a servant around to help Rina but she should have seen her. Instead, the young woman had effectively let her eye skim over her without registering the woman at all. She wasn't meant to do that, she didn't mean to but sometimes she just... forgot. Passives were people though and so when Estella brought a chair for her, the redhead made certain to offer her a smile and a soft 'thank you' before she seated herself, hands smoothing the skirt of her dress from the back so that it wouldn't inadvertently slide up inappropriately or crumple. There was no sense in crumpling the fabric unnecessarily, especially as someone - not her - had to iron it. Settling herself in a proper fashion, she had to resist the urge to give an awkward little wave of greeting; it would be ridiculous given that the other was mere feet away.

"Thank you, Rina, I didn't want to impose..." she murmured, placing her hands on the table and then being unsure what to do with them, dropped them into her lap instead. The nervous, restless movements of her fingers continued as she interlaced and disentangled them. Her blush intensified, the questions that the younger girl spoke of no doubt the sorts that she would have asked herself. Well, no, she likely had a better notion of what should and shouldn't be said, hardly as ignorant - or as innocent - as the new entries to the school. Still, it was impolite to ask, wasn't it? The dark-skinned girl's manner seemed to suggest that it was all right if questions were asked but...

She bit her lip, considering if she really wanted to start off their acquaintance by instantly indulging her curiosity. They had literally just met, she couldn't go questioning her condition even if it did hold some interest for her given her primary Focus. The guilty flush in her cheeks wouldn't go away readily, neither would the uneasy wobble in her field, the young woman more inclined to be flustered, especially when the other galdor tried to put her passive at her disposal.

"Oh no, you don't have to- I'm fine, thank you," she commented, addressing Estella directly. She didn't want the other to feel as if she had to be her servant as well, she was still a galdor daughter, even if she wasn't... magical. That wasn't her fault. It didn't mean that she should be treated like a working animal. Still, the eldest Madden was glad - and pleasantly surprised - when the passive made a teasing comment about Rina, the final year's smile initially hesitant but spreading to become something brighter and more genuine as she let loose a giggle.

"I'm sure she can't be that bad," she commented, hazel eyes flicking from one to the other, something mischievous in her face as her gaze alighted on Rina. Her expression grew pensive and a little sad though at the idea of staying up late with friends. Niamh didn't know what that was like. She usually got the sleep that she needed, only feeling the lack in recent days, and it wasn't like she had any reason to stay up late. She didn't normally have any reason to do anything foolish. She focused on her studies, she focused on those things that were outside of her schoolwork that interested her and the only thing that she'd done recently that was in any way foolish concerned Harper Moore.

That was a whole series of unfortunately foolish events that had finally culminated in the ultimate act of stupidity on Clock's Eve and she didn't think that she'd ever succeed in getting over that one. Poor Professor Moore having to deal with her girlish silliness.

"Not the ideal time to have a late night. You'd have been better off waiting for the weekend, you wouldn't even have had that long to wait," she pointed out, the practicality in her tone making her feel self-consciously dull. "But I suppose you can't fully regret anything if you enjoy yourself," she added, eyes fixed on the little drake, watching it scarf down the piece of cured meat that its owner offered.

"The miraan... is it female or male? I don't know a lot about them so if it's obvious... well, I'm clueless."

The admittance was accompanied with the raising of a hand to point, fingers poised in the air as she prepared to reach out but stopped herself. "Oh I probably shouldn't try to touch it, should I? I don't have a huge amount of experience with animals. I like them and we've had ostas at home but well... the one we had before I went to Brunnhold wasn't really mine, she didn't take to me because they tend to have one person that they really like and that was Fionn."

The young woman's mouth shut abruptly, a noticeable bob in her throat as she swallowed hard. It wasn't that she had issue with the boy, far from it, he was her brother and they'd been interacting more but... she wasn't meant to mention him. She didn't know if Rina would pass on the information to someone else, mention the boy that wasn't supposed to exist, the one that most had conveniently forgotten about. The Maddens had only ever had two children after all, certainly not three.

Talk about something else, Niamh, talk about something else!

"I'm not home often now and our osta is more my mother's. It bit me the last time I tried to pet it and I suppose I was a little nervous around it so it was my own fault but a miraan... they're harder to tame, right? More picky in who touches them?"
Last edited by Maximus on Wed Apr 10, 2019 1:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Aeinsa Zahaarina Salifa
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2019 8:53 pm
Topics: 7
Race: Galdor
: "For Gods' sake, just call me Rina."
Character Sheet: Character Sheet
Plot Notes: Plot notes, incl. thread history
Writer: Rachel/jadeowl
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Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:31 am

Brunnhold University Library Brunnhold
on the 5th of Intas, 2719 Breakfast
Rina gave Niamh the gentlest of smiles, recognizing the girl’s anxiety. She let her field loosen some, letting the anxiety that was always under the surface of her skin to some degree when she was on campus touch Niamh’s field for just a moment.

As much as she had gotten used to spending most of her days on campus, surrounded with passives, her anxiety was always there. She often felt like she was sitting in the middle of a time bomb, just waiting for it to explode. She didn’t mind having Estella as a personal assistant, but Estella’s diablerie had gone off once and had proven itself to be completely harmless. She knew from experience that not all passives were so harmless.

When Rina spoke, her voice as soft as if she was trying to tame a wild miraan. “It’s okay. I’m not going to bite you and I’m not going to get offended by anything you do or say. I’m sure you’ve noticed that this place is a nightmare if you’re different but, between that and the way Father’s fellow politicians treat me, I’ve developed a thick skin. Plus, I’ve had a lot of practice reading people, and I can tell you have pure intentions. Bells and chimes, you wouldn’t be so clocking nervous if you had ill intent.”

Her smile turned into a rakish grin. “And if I’m wrong and you don’t have pure intentions, anything I tell you is going to horrify you,” she said, laughing. Her laughter was much like the rest of her – bright, vivacious, and full of life.

Rina smiled at Niamh’s obvious reluctance to ask for anything from Estella. “Essie’s not my slave. Much to many people’s horror, I actually pay her a stipend and she has every right to decline doing something if she doesn’t want to do it,” she chuckled. “I may have been raised here in Anaxas, but my father and ja are from Mugroba and their opinions on passives are much different than Anaxi opinions on passives. There, passives aren’t slaves. They’re employees, with every freedom. It would go against our integrity as Mugrobi people to treat our passives like slaves.”

Estella laughed at Niamh’s giggle and took Rina's mug. “Yeah, she really is. I mean, she’s half-Mugrobi. I think their blood is nothing but coffee,” she grinned. “She can barely piece together sentences when she first wakes up. One morning before breakfast, she asked me to have Cook make a bowl of coal dust instead of oatmeal.”

Rina pretended to be offended, melodramatically putting her hand to her heart. “Essie! How could you?! I swore you to secrecy!”

Essie giggled and rolled her eyes at the melodramatics. It was clear that this was something she dealt with rather frequently. “Did you want anything besides a refill, ma’am?”

Rina eyed Saida, who was licking her chops. She brushed her fingers along the miraan’s head gently. “Can you get some hard-boiled eggs for Saida? I think she’s getting ready for a shed.”

Essie murmured an “of course” and turned to Niamh. If the redhead wanted anything, it was clear that Essie would be fine getting it. Once Essie took Niamh’s request (or lack of request), she left Rina and Niamh alone.

Rina chuckled. “Mm. Yeah, it wasn’t my smartest move. But I was stuck in Vienda for all of break. Even worse, Mother, Father, and ja have all decided that it’s time to try to find me a husband,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I spent all of break going to parties and political functions, pretending I didn’t hear people whispering about the gall of trying to ‘marry off the cripple’ and wondering how I can produce children. I needed to spend time with people who didn’t judge me for something that was out of my control,” she shrugged.

Rina shook off the unpleasant feelings that had erupted when she had talked about her parents’ plans for her when Niamh asked about Saida. Talking about the miraan always cheered her up. “Female miraans are always metallic-colored. The male ones are usually blue or green.”

Rina noticed Niamh’s reaction when she mentioned Fionn, but she didn’t dig for information. “Ostas are a lot fussier than miraans. Miraans, as a species, are still wild, but we got Saida from a breeder, so she’s been handled since she was born. That goes a long way towards taming them. If you don’t try to grab her quickly, like a firstie might, she’ll be fine with you petting her. She’s trained not to bite unless someone’s hurting me or her. The administration made it very clear that, if she bit anyone for any other reason, she’d be banned from campus.”
Last edited by Aeinsa Zahaarina Salifa on Sat Jun 08, 2019 2:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sun Apr 14, 2019 6:16 am

Intas 5, 2719 | Breakfast
Brunnhold Library
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The anxiety that leaked from Rina's field made Niamh cringe, her own field growing doe-toed before she dampened it a bit, not wanting to be in contact with a feeling that frankly resonated a little too keenly with what she felt herself. The other girl obviously had had good intentions, doing what she did to try to highlight their commonality but in truth, it just made the redhead feel uncomfortable. If anything, she was more anxious and her words certainly didn't help. Was she really that obvious? Yes, yes of course she was. She was so ridiculously easy to read but she couldn't help it, she really couldn't and she didn't have her father's dishonesty, didn't go in for the same careful reining in of emotions that so many of her galdori brethren favoured. It wasn't that she was incapable of hiding her emotions if she chose, she just... didn't tend to do so.

Of course, she wasn't just anxious because of Rina but the mixed-race girl wasn't to know that. The greatest source of her anxiety right now was Harper Moore but no one knew about that, even the professor was probably unaware of the inner turmoil within the redhead right now. She was suffering but he wasn't to know that. It wasn't like he'd seen her, she'd made sure of that. There wasn't anything that Rina could do to help that situation, the final year student hardly likely to share her concerns with someone she'd just met. Honestly, she didn't have anyone to share those concerns with, which was probably a stark contrast to what the other had. She had plenty of friends; Niamh did not.

Her answering smile was nervous and uncertain, a soft sigh as she shook her head.

"It's not you, I'm... not always the best with new people. Either I'm over eager and I put people off I think or I become so worried that I'm going to put people off that I almost end up being too anxious to function. The latter is... new, I suppose?" the girl admitted, running a hand over her hair, bundling it back into a ponytail and fishing in her pocket for a thin cord to tie it with.

As Estella's situation was explained, the girl tied her hair up, pulling the cord into a careful knot, remaining still rather than nodding as she wished to do so that she didn't accidentally pull any of the fiery strands loose again.

It made sense to her that a passive wasn't a slave, shouldn't be but in Anaxas at least, they were. Oh not in name but they were unpaid, they were ill-treated even though they were meant to be cared and provided for. They were the necessary rung in galdori society, what needed to be at the bottom so that they could school their youth. And yet... why not humans? Why not wicks? The upbringing, she supposed. Passives were meant to be grateful, others would see it as a form of galdori oppression rather than a divine judgement or something faulty in genetics, depending on what theories you wanted to adhere to.

But to say the word 'slave' aloud...

Regardless of her own private thoughts - and her inner justifications for passive treatment - that was something that shouldn't be said. It was taboo, almost insulting to her kingdom's culture and no matter how she felt about it, it made her spine grow a little more rigid, a new tension entering her frame. Just because of Rina's skin colour and what she knew of her, Niamh hadn't assumed that her upbringing was so strongly influenced by Mugrobi values. She knew that the young woman had an Anaxi mother, knew of her unconventional home situation but she still hadn't thought that she was willing to shit so freely on Anaxas' way of doing things.

It'd show in her field for a moment, a ripple of something hot and dark as it returned to normal size, a pulse that could have been irritation, anger, indignation as it pulsed. It was there in a briefly vacant look as the student seemed to look through the other, lips pressed into a tight line. The emotion was replaced by a small, hesitant smile as she listened to the exchange between the pair, the redhead just a ball of nervous energy again as if that dark thing hadn't just cast a shadow over her.

The smile she offered Estella was a bit thin perhaps as she murmured a "Nothing, thank you," in response to her expectant look and then she was left alone with Rina. It was unfortunate perhaps, the lack of the passive because there was suddenly no comic relief, the eldest Madden faced with a subject that was far, far too raw for her at the moment. Her mother going to pains to choose her attire for her father's function in Ophus, dancing with her father, how he had treated her with a fondness that she hadn't experienced in years because she'd pleased him so. Proud, that was what he'd said. He was proud to see what a lovely young woman she'd become and Niamh had absorbed it all happily, not thinking about the implications, not wanting to, managing to avoid thinking about the truth.

But then Oísin had had to sneer it in her face on Clock's Eve. What did she think she was for? Why did she think Father had been so proud of her in that moment in Ophus when he so disagreed with the path her mind wished to follow? Hadn't it been obvious? Hadn't it been clocking obvious?

She was meant for marriage, wasn't she? That was Niamh's main purpose and on some level, she'd always known it. It was why she'd been jealous of Fionn, envious of him when they were younger. He was born second but he was more important because he was a boy. She'd thought that she'd be able to break away from that, had thought it. She hadn't made the right sorts of connections but her brother had and he'd managed to find someone who could be a husband to her, had practically shoved the young man in her direction.

So she understood the horrors of the winter break. She knew what had driven her to drink on Clock's Eve. Oh she understood it all far too well.

The pulse was back in her field, a different quality to it this time which pointed to discomfort and distress, the young woman squirming a little in her chair, a fixed nervousness to her smile as she threw herself into the topic of animals with too much enthusiasm.

"Oh a female! Well I've managed to learn something new anyway and that's always good. Good to learn things that you didn't know before. But they aren't fussy or is it that they aren't as fussy as an osta would be? I suppose that ostas usually have a person that's theirs and everyone else can just go away so... I can understand that. The fussiness," she gushed out, seemingly hoping that if she said enough words, everything unpleasant could be buried too deeply for it to re-emerge. That she'd previously been anxious about seeking information on the other's physical condition seemed to have vanished, all thoughts of such things seemingly nowhere near the forefront of her mind any more.

Stretching out a hand slowly, she turned it so that the back of two fingers would brush over the miniature drake's head. She wasn't going to make any sudden movements in case Saida attacked her and so she took things very slowly, finally gaining a chance to touch the cold, scaly flesh, which was surprisingly firm. Other parts of the creature seemed like they'd be velvety to the touch but the student wasn't going to try touching those. But there wasn't much she could say about the creature, the topic of animals not one that she was good at sustaining for any length of time and she didn't want certain topics of conversation to come creeping in because of her failings. It was probably going to happen anyway.

"She's lovely although... I don't think I'd have one, tamed or not. I think I'd always be a bit worried. Maybe I'd be better off with a cat or something although I'm not sure I'd be a very good owner. I'd forget to feed it or something because I got too caught up in work. I do manage to look after Professor Moore though," she added thoughtfully.

She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. It was just that moment of thoughtfulness that screwed her, the colour flushing to her cheeks as her lips moved soundlessly for several seconds as she tried to work out how to dig herself out of the hole that she believed she'd just opened up beneath her.

"Not that he needs looking after, of course. He's a grown man after all, as is Professor Devlin, and I'm their research assistant more than anything but... sometimes they-" Harper, it's really just Harper, it's all Harper! "-forget to tidy up after themselves," she finished with a nervous little laugh.

Circle, strike me down now. Please.
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Aeinsa Zahaarina Salifa
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Wed Jun 05, 2019 1:49 pm

Brunnhold Library Brunnhold
on the 5th of Intas, 2719 Breakfast
Rina winced at Niamh's reaction to her opening her field. She sighed, her face looking mortified as she realized that her opening her field had caused the opposite reaction than what she had wanted. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice sincere as she pulled in her field. "I… just wanted to let you know that I know how you feel. I mean, the nervousness. You'd think that, after 7 years, I'd be okay with passives, since they're kept segregated, but… The anxiety never goes away. I keep thinking about what happened and wondering if the next passive is going to…"

The copper-skinned girl stopped suddenly, shaking her head regretfully as she realized she may have revealed too much about herself in her attempt to soothe Niamh. She brushed her legs absentmindedly as she redirected the conversation. "I wasn't thinking about if my anxiety would resonate with you. That was foolish of me. I just wanted to let you know you weren't alone," she said, looking down at her lap. Rina took pride in being able to read people well and the fact that she had so clearly misread Niamh and possibly made the redheaded girl's anxiety worse clearly upset her. "I hope I didn't make your anxiety worse," she finished weakly.

When Niamh started talking about how she struggled when meeting new people, Rina chuckled lightly. "I was like that back at Thul Ka University. It was my first time away from my mother, father, and ja and everything was so new. I hadn't spent a lot of time in Mugroba, either, so there were cultural differences to account for too," she shrugged. "Then the accident happened, and I said clock it. I had seen that life could end at any moment and I wasn't going to waste any more of my time worrying what people would think of me. If they didn't like me, oh clocking well."

"I made a total ass of myself a few times when I got here, but I learned that the people that matter forget the times I was an idiot or even find them endearing and the people that bring my mistakes up over and over? They're just small, insignificant people. The thing is, they're aware of it and feel the need to make themselves feel bigger by stomping down other people," Rina gave a confident smirk. "I refuse to be stomped."

Rina closed her eyes for a second when she realized that she had offended Niamh with her comment about how Anaxas managed their passives. She kicked herself mentally. She should have known better – most Anaxi galdori thought that their treatment of their passives was perfectly acceptable. What was it with this girl that made her constantly misstep? She was missing something here and it bothered her. She kept her field close, not wanting to risk Niamh picking up her consternation, knowing that would just make things worse.

She was infinitely grateful when the conversation moved on to Saida. "Well, they can be fussy. They're still wild animals, even if they're increasingly becoming pets. If you don't handle them from birth, they revert back to their natural wild behavior."

Rina gave a bright smile as Saida chirruped and leaned into Niamh's hand slightly. The miraan shook her wings and stretched them, then moved her head enough so she could gently poke at Niamh with her tongue. Rina let out one of her full-bodied, joyful laughs. "Oh, that means she likes you! That's her way of exploring new, exciting things."

Rina laughed at Niamh's mention of Moore, but not in a mean way. "Well, yes. They're men. Men are kind of like that. My ja would be helpless without his servants. Father's a bit better, but not by much. Mother, on the other hand, is clean enough that the maids hardly ever need to do much more than dust her room."
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Maximus
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Sat Jun 08, 2019 1:14 pm

Intas 5, 2719 | Breakfast
Brunnhold Library
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They were a rather awkward pair, weren't they? It hadn't occurred to Niamh before that Rina might be a nervous sort. She was popular, outgoing, in control, and quite together. That all of that could have been built on such shaky foundations was surprising - and impressive. Did Rina live like that? Was that what it was like for her all the time? If so, it was quite terrifying and she had done extremely well to do what she had. The final year student hadn't always dealt with this level of anxiety - it was a rather new development in fact - but if she had to live like this all the time, well, she wouldn't be a capable person at all. She wouldn't have the grades she did, her prowess in Living Conversation, her excellent relationship with the mona, her position as a research assistant. Yet the mixed race girl seemed to manage to be a social butterfly in good standing, potentially heading into politics, well known about in Brunnhold and she'd done it all while dealing with that horrible crippling mental anguish as well as her physical disability.

The younger student was clearly a far stronger woman than Niamh.

But she'd alluded to passives. Were they the source of Rina's anxiety? Surely not. Hadn't she just sent off a passive servant and hadn't she seemed quite comfortable to have her close at hand? It was... confusingly contradictory.

"No, you're all right, I just... I w-wasn't expecting it. That's all," she explained softly, hazel eyes downcast as her teeth worried at her bottom lip. Rina's words had given her food for thought but asking about her comment on passives could worsen the other's anxiety; that would hardly be fair.

The young woman looked up through her lashes, making her appear younger than she was, vulnerable. She was far from being like those first formers that the half-Mugrobi was hiding from and her soft question could hardly be compared to the often ghoulish interrogations of the younger students.

"Your accident happened... in Mugroba? A passive? I know that Mugroba handles things very differently. They can attend Thul Ka... as students, right?" the eldest Madden questioned softly, chin raising as she gazed the other more squarely in the eye. "What we do with our passives may not reach standards of those in Mugroba but when passives have free movement in the populace, terrible things happen. When we lapse in our duties, people die. Like in Ophus," the Living Conversationalist bit out. The hazel eyes held passion, a definite warmth in her field now.

Call them slaves and yet seem relieved to have them segregated? It sounded as if Rina didn't like the Mugrobi way but was quite ready to make it seem superior to the Anaxi way when it suited her. Niamh didn't appreciate that. Some of them were trying, some of them really were and things were getting better, weren't they? What did the younger student know? How many passives did she interact with here? How many assumptions did she make? No doubt, there were incidents with passives in Mugroba but she understood that many of them lived apart so incidents might not be felt as severely. Maybe news of them was purposely dampened, she didn't know.

Niamh didn't want to talk about the matter any further and she hoped that the other wouldn't decide to make some other comment in the same vein as before. The student didn't want to be argumentative, didn't want to lose her temper but she might well do so if Rina chose to push things, decided to force her into a position she didn't like. There were plenty of things in Anaxi society that she didn't agree with but the disabled girl was liable to put her in a position where she would have to choose to defend her Kingdom's policies and stances. It was her Kingdom after all and she wasn't wholly certain that it was enough Rina's so that she could badmouth it.

Ill emotions swam beneath the surface, flaring with discontent, each flick highlighting her displeasure like the irate twitch of a cat's tail. The redhead did her best to hide it, to dampen the feeling but some of it issued out in spite of her best efforts.

The friendly gesture of the miraan, little questing tongue flicking out to taste Niamh's own curious appendages drew a smile from her, easing the tension a little and making her feel a little more at ease. It filled the youth's heart with gladness to have the creature respond to her in such a way, discovering that she'd made a friend through such a simple action and yet she was liked for it. It was nice and she could understand the appeal of pets in that moment, the appeal of a small creature being happy to have you present. You didn't always get that from people after all; plenty of people didn't act pleased when Niamh was nearby after all.

"Was she bred then? She seems very tame so I can't imagine that she was once wild. She seems so friendly," Niamh murmured, taking a moment to wiggle her finger under the mini drake's chin, intending to give it a tickle. "Am I new and exciting?" she cooed softly to Saida.

She was perhaps a little more focused on the pet now, trying to keep her gaze on it so that she wouldn't have to meet Rina's eye. Wouldn't have the blush in her cheeks worsen. Harper was indeed a man. She'd noticed. Were all men messy though? Oísin... probably was a bit of a slob, Fionn could have something slovenly about him at times but he was tidy, maybe as the result of his years as a servant. Had he been messy as a child? She couldn't remember. Her father? She didn't know. She'd never paid that much attention.

"Yes, I suppose here's... that. It's mainly Har- Professor Moore though. He's the one who makes a mess. He just... gets distracted. I suppose it... it can happen to the best of us?"
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Aeinsa Zahaarina Salifa
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Sat Jun 08, 2019 2:53 pm

Brunnhold Library Brunnhold
on the 5th of Intas, 2719 Breakfast
Rina gave Niamh a smile. "Well, I apologize for not warning you. That was rude," she said, tilting her head. "I'm glad it didn't make things worse, though."

Rina chewed her lip at the questions, then just decided to answer them honestly. "Yes. My parents sent me to Thul Ka for school, but when I was 12…" she paused. "A passive's diablerie went off during a class and did this," she waved along her body. "Turns out her diablerie was causing excess bone growth. I have permanent damage to my spinal column. I can walk, but not for very long or very far, so I use the chair," she said, patting the chair with a smile.

By the half-Mugrobi's matter-of-fact tone, it was clear that she had grieved and moved on. It was just another event in her past that she had integrated into her life. She wasn't looking for pity or horror or anything like that from Niamh. To her, it was like stating that she preferred Clairvoyant magic and liked to design clothing – just another fact of her life that helped shape her.

But when she spoke again, her voice was quiet and sad. "I got off easy. I still have nightmares about what she did to other people, what she looked like at the end."

She gave Niamh a look that she hoped was pacifying. She didn't want to fight with the girl, so her voice was gentle and non-confrontational when she spoke. "Yes. The passives are treated just like other people in Mugroba. Talia was a student in my math class. She was really quite bright, and her father was planning to pass their business off to her because of how well she worked with numbers."

"I agree with you about the damage that they can do and why you segregate them," she said with a light laugh. "How could I not? I believe that, if a passive has a damaging diablerie or an unknown one, they should be segregated. Where I disagree with Anaxi policy is that I think passives should be able to learn to read and write, that they should get paid for their work, that they should be able to own businesses."

"And if their diablerie is proven harmless, they should be able to live within the populace. Estella's diablerie went off once, and she just caused the succulents Mother had on her dresser to grow to the point where it covered the top. That's why I'm…" the caramel-skinned woman paused for the slightest of moments, as if she was trying to find the appropriate word. "comfortable with her. I know she's not going to harm me the way Talia did."

"But let's just agree to disagree. I like you. I don't want to piss you off so quickly," Rina grinned.

Rina's eyes crinkled at the edges, her smile bright and grateful that the topic had moved back to Saida. "Yes, she was bred. But her line's only a few generations removed from the wild, so she's not as domesticated as, say, a dog. She likes her space and doesn't need my approval as much as a dog would. She does appreciate my approval, though, so it was relatively easy to train her for what I need her for."

Rina chuckled. "I agree. Everyone gets distracted to the point where the rest of the world drifts away. You should see me when I get lost in my sketching. I'd forget to eat if Estella didn't remind me sometimes."

As if she was summoned, the passive returned from her quest for coffee and hard-boiled eggs. She rested her hand on Rina's shoulder for a moment, the gesture one that could be interpreted as overly friendly. "I bring the elixir of life," Estella said, chuckling as she handed her employer the mug of coffee.

"Oh, thank Hulali," Rina laughed before taking a long drink from the mug.

Estella placed the bowl of eggs on Rina's lap, revealing that they had been chopped into a size that Saida could eat. The drake gave Niamh's hand one more lick, then chirruped and flew over to Rina's lap. She dug into the eggs eagerly, eating as if she hadn't just eaten some jerky a few minutes ago. Rina stroked the drake's head gently. "My little glutton," she laughed.
Last edited by Aeinsa Zahaarina Salifa on Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Tue Jun 11, 2019 5:00 pm

Intas 5, 2719 | Breakfast
Brunnhold Library
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The young woman might have wanted to stay a little bit annoyed with Rina, at least a tiny bit of her wanted that. It was just a desire to remain that bit obstinate, to stand by the arguments she'd laid and the thoughts that she'd had, to hold firm. However, she also couldn't help feeling for the girl. Niamh was the sort who frequently felt for many; it was a problem for her. No matter how vile a person was, no matter how horrible a person might be to her, she couldn't help but feel for their plights when they arose.

"So young. I can understand why you'd be frightened, especially given the consequences. Oísin was only a bit younger when he was caught in a diablerie and he's still terrified of-" she broke off abruptly, biting her lip hard as she realised her mistake, face colouring. That wasn't her secret to tell, especially not to someone who could use it against him, someone who had reason to use such information. He might be an ersehole but he was still her brother for all that. "Pretend I didn't say that. Please. If he ever heard that back, he'd guess where it came from and he'd clocking kill me," she pleaded, gazing mournfully at the half-Mugrobi girl, face slightly pinched as if she was in pain.

Rolling her lip back and forth between her teeth, Niamh glanced away again. A crease appeared between her brows. "Living Conversation is my main focus so... I can imagine. It's the kind of thing I hope I'd be able to block if it happened near me but I don't know if I'd have the skill to handle a diablerie like that," the final year student admitted, looking back with something that appeared to be suspiciously like shame. The girl didn't think that she was good enough to protect someone against such a thing and it felt like a failure. She was galdor, she was meant to be a caretaker for those like her brother but she couldn't take care of much. What use was she?

If she'd been in Thul Ka, she couldn't have helped Rina or the others, or the passive girl herself. The Living Conversationalist had taken her biology and anatomy classes, and had experience in healing others so she thought that she had a fair idea of just how horrific the passive must have looked after the fact. Could nothing be done for Rina now though? Was it possible to reverse the bone growth or... well, what could you do? You could attempt to operate she supposed but the spine was a tricky thing. Whether an intervention was surgical or magical, it carried the risk of causing more harm than good. It was even possible that a tempt to cure her would kill her. The student could understand why having the wheelchair was a more practical and safer solution than treatment. That didn't make her feel for her any less though.

What the other said about Talia wasn't entirely comparable but she couldn't help but think about Fionn. If he'd been Mugrobi then could he have been the heir after all? Might Niamh have been given that it was apparently quite acceptable to pass things to intelligent daughters there? Well, her brother's situation were definitely worse than her own so she really shouldn't think about herself because at least she'd had the chance to be educated. Her younger sibling's capabilities had been squandered for years and it had grown rather than diminished in spite of his captivity and his limited opportunities. Fionn thought quite a lot, which was probably a problem for him in many ways, especially given that it had helped stew his bitterness. If he'd had her sort of education, she imagined that he'd be on the same par with Harper Moore and the like, some of the thoughts he'd voiced to her about the passive nexi surprising her immensely given that he had observation alone to go on.

It was funny really just how much she wanted to talk about the young man to this girl that she'd just met. It was something that she'd basically sat on, not mentioning the servant to anyone as if he was a dreadful secret. But who would understand? Furthermore, who would she tell? The redhead wasn't exactly flush with friends. He wasn't a source of shame though and she'd love to be able to share his existence with others, to be able to bring him along to events and allow them to mingle and debate with others but that wouldn't happen any time soon, would it? Besides, how did you share someone like Fionn with Rina who was scared of passives? Even talking about him would be weird but meeting him? The boy was more temperamental than a garmon, maybe a whole herd of them!

Probably better to keep her mouth shut about him in spite of the temptation to tell someone. Probably. They were going to be quite civil and apparently that meant not talking about passives.

Miraans and Professor Moore were on the cards instead, altering the mood quite a bit from the tension that had arisen between the pair of women moments before. The matter of the miraan was interesting, the redhead regarding the creature thoughtfully but the animal was only a distraction, not a true way to calm her down. However, Harper was definitely a civilising topic for the young woman even if most of what she wished to say about him were quite securely locked away within her head. Still, it was very difficult to be angry when she was thinking about Harper, unless someone badmouthed him of course because then Niamh was liable to become... protective. Just talking about him buoyed her mood before the twinges of anxiety returned as she recalled that he was the person that she was most eager to avoid at the moment.

She was incredibly glad to have the topic opened to encompass more general distractedness rather than the peculiar brand of obliviousness that the monic theorist cultivated.

"Oh yes, I can understand that. Not with sketching of course, I'm not artistic, that's always been Fionn's thing but I will get quite wrapped up in my studies. It's the body that interests me. And the mind of course. I like thinking about them and how they work and the different theories about them like the matter of ley lines. I could read ley line research for houses," the student laughed, aware that she'd mentioned her brother but powering on regardless in the hope that her slip of the tongue wouldn't be noticed. Perhaps the popular girl would simply hear how much of an academic bore Niamh was.

Niamh had a horrible feeling that if the half-blood asked her outright about Fionn that she would simply blab everything and anything. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad but marking yourself as a sympathiser wasn't always a good way to make an impression during an initial meeting and given how popular she was, if she said it to one person and they said it to someone else...

Her field thrummed a little nervously, the young woman shifting in her seat. The return of Estella brought a welcome distraction - for Rina. The less time her new acquaintance had to dwell on what Niamh had said, the better; the eldest Madden was paranoid that the girl was quite capable of picking up on the details you didn't want noticed. The final form student chose to laugh and fill the space between them with sound. Anything so she wouldn't think, wouldn't stew on her own worries and hopefully so her companion couldn't properly consider what had been said.

"I've never understood the taste for coffee. Oh I've heard that it's something you acquire but it isn't something I've picked up. I like the smell but the taste..."

Her freckled nose wrinkled although lips curved upwards slightly in spite of the show of disgust.

"I know it's a very Mugrobi thing and I've heard that it's important? Like... you have some real significance to drinking it or something. Sorry, that probably sounds so ignorant. My father might be a politician but learning about the ins and outs of other cultures isn't something I've ever had to take."

Not that Father is really tolerant enough for such things anyway...
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