The next few days pass unusually peacefully. Dewei gets a good ninteen hours of sleep, and is all but fully recovered afterward. Ting's solidly asleep for three days...she awakens on the fourth, but only for a short time. Her mother is never truly far from her side in the first few days...a good many vivid nightmares are forced away one after the other. Her brother takes over this duty in large part--after Felina teaches him how to do it--once he's up and about.

Ting's awake gradually longer and longer periods...she's beginning to get restless, of course, being herself, but her brother helps keep her entertained to some extent.

Makyon, after getting permission from Felina of course, has returned to Aurian and come back with his few meager possessions; a living quarterstaff called Istra, a few changes of clothes... and nothing else. He spends time with each of Felina's children, talking, but mostly just observing; they are truly incredible creatures.

---

"Wake up!" a hard-flung fruit careens towards Dewei's head just as he looks up. "Gah!"

It's a tremendous splash, really. The twins had determined by about age three that throwing these things yields an explosion of faintly-coloured water but not much pain. They explode easily. Ting snickers at her dripping-wet brother's sputtering. "Hey, Makyon, you should get in easier range!" She grins. The things don't fly far, they're too light. Plus, she's sitting to conserve strength--mummy's orders--which further clips her range.

The slip mage chuckles quietly at that. "Like a girl could hit me," he teases, knowing how strong these Ono women are. "And sitting, you've got no chance." 

"Grr...hey, Dewei, give me another chantra?"

Dewei's still wringing out his ponytail, and snickers. "And you really want me to give you more ammunition? At least everyone can guess which of us is the evil twin." He kneels to pick one up, and tosses it over to her. "And, which is the stupid one."

Ting snickers. "Thank you!" And it goes careening at Makyon with enhanced strength.

Makyon shifts left, lifting Istra. He has an idea, and home-run swings at the fruit with his staff, knowing that it'll burst in midair and probably soak all of them.

"Gyah!" Ting sputters when, sure enough, the spray covers her as well. She spits water...mostly for show, there wasn't much. "Hey! No fair!"

Makyon shakes off, wringing juicey water from his long, coal-colored hair.

He grins. Time for a pun.

"Splash damage, dear."

She manages a snicker. "Hey...where's mom?"

"I think she's down in the forge again," Dewei offers.

"Gah...right. I wish she'd take a break. I need to soak her too." Ting snickers. "Or we can have him do it, he's someone's evil twin, too," she notes, gesturing to Makyon with her head.

Makyon bows his head a little bit. "I'll go see her. I have been meaning to ask her something anyway." He grins at Ting, the handsome smile he has allowed her more than anyone else since he's been here. Dewei gets the 'manly smile', Felina the 'respectful smile,' and Ai, when she shows up, the 'yours if you want me' smile. "Sound fair?"

"Fair enough! I'll rig up a water catapault or something while you're gone." Ting smiles innocently. There's about a 65% chance that she's joking.

The slip mage grins again, and trots off towards the forge. 

It takes him about two steps to get there.

"Felina? Are you about?" he calls into the dim, firelit chamber.

"Yes. Hi." She'd just been turning the blade when he'd first arrived...with that several second break, she resumes a steady, pounding, metal-on-metal beat as she gradually pounds Ting's new blade into shape. "Keep talking. I can hear you." It's kind of an important note...her ears are bound against the sounds of the hammer. Her own words are mirrored telepathically so that he can hear over the racket.

Makyon steps inside, surprised by the... medieval nature of the place. Only, the smith is not a burly man with a pocked face.

"The blade seems to be coming along well," he notes absently as he steps inside. He can feel his hair rallying against him for coming so close to the heat, but ignores that. "The twins are missing you, I think."

Felina's breathing is a little quicker than normal...this is hard work even for her, and her arm's killing her. She works out every day, certainly, but...this stresses different muscles than fighting does, and the sharply-defined muscles on her hammer arm aren't lying as flat as usual. She's absolutely bathed in sweat and a bit of dirt, and is largely bare from the waist up...a binding around her modest breasts preserves her dignity, though her garb both confirms that her entire body is lined with lithe, crisply-defined muscle...and also gives a rare look at a deep, really horrid scar that travels from about the bottom left of her rib, straight up her chest, and travels off her collarbone. Even her throat was grazed by whatever caused it...but her high collar usually hides all this.

"Thank you...it's coming. I can't take a break now, can't let it cool before finishing. Once I get to a stopping point, I'll track down some food for everyone." There really is a little breathiness in her voice, if he can pick that up in the din. This is hard freaking work.

He feels for her, he truly does. He knows how hard manual labor like this can be when one is not used to it.

"If you like, I can take a turn behind the hammer," he offers, eyes set upon her hammer arm. After the obligatory appraisal of her prominent scar. "I may be versatile, but I remain a big ox at heart. And you need to rest, dear... you're soaked with sweat."

Felina considers this a few moments. At this stage...well, if he'd even offered, he probably knows something about this kind of work. And even if he's no expert, it would take a lot to irreperably ruin the blade at this point, she's still roughing the shape. "...okay. Thank you. And yes, I know I look like hell." She offers a wry smile...steps around the anvil a bit to give him a place to step in, though she can't let go of the piece until he takes it.

Makyon slips around her and takes hold of the blade and hammer, smiles at her. "I don't mind the company, though, if you feel like staying." He goes to work without herald or complaint, eyes focused upon the task at hand.

"Of course not. Thanks again...I do need the break, I think." She walks over to the table...takes a drink of water from some glasses set aside. She observes Makyon for a minute or so...understandably protective of her work, she doesn't want to have to start this part over. Felina finally sits back on a bench, leans against the wall. "You've done this before," she observes.

Makyon shakes his head. "Yeah. I spent some time on an undeveloped planet a few centuries ago. Turns out the gigolo business was pretty dry, so I worked as a smith for an old Queen." Within a few minutes of working within the forge Makyon sheds his floor-length vest and hat to try and remain cool. Warm sweat coats his flame-reddened skin in a glistening sheen and weighs down his hair over his broad shoulders in a damp, inky mass. The runes enscribed over his chest bulge and flatten along with the rhythms of his heavy muscles, dark stains running in sparse patterns along his trunk until spilling over his arms in a colorful tide. The smoke, though thankfully sparing, still draws crimson rings about his eyes, boldened by his dripping sweat and oil. 

"Ugh," he murmurs, "this cannot be good for the complexion."

"No, I would imagine not. Let me know when you want to hand the hammer back over." Felina leans back against the wall. "Heh...this is...nostalgic," she observes after a few minutes. "The twins' father is an armourer and sometime weaponsmith...I used to sit here and watch him." She's still a moment, then leans over and picks up her pauldron from atop her discarded garments and accessories. Examines it a moment. "He made my armour. He's a lot better than me, for certain...he taught me. Heh..." she catches herself. "Sorry. I don't mean to get sappy on you."

Makyon blinks as a flake of red-hot metal lands upon his arm. Gazes at it a moment, and then brushes it away.

"No, please go on if you want." He gazes at her for a moment, and allows himself time to whip his soaked hair over his shoulder opposite her. "I doubt that you get to reminisce all that often. It's kind of an honor." He goes back to pounding out the blade, adjusting his swing now and again to preserve form. It's an interesting style with which he is not entirely familiar, but it intrigues him, and so he does it well. That lovely vein shows in his neck by now, proof of just how hard this is, and even the waistband of his pants is dark with his sweat.

One corner of Felina's lips twitches into a smile at that. "Anyway...that's why I'm in such a hurry to get Ting's weapon re-forged. It probably won't be quite as resilient as the first, but...her father made that one for her. I want her to have it replaced before it really sinks in that the first one's gone."

"I think I understand. So I hope you won't mind if I tinker with it a bit while you tell me whose ass you stomped over that scar?" Makyon lets his voice roll across his tongue casually, as if speaking of what could be a sensitive issue is the most common thing in the world. He glances at her, one eye hidden beneath his sheets of black hair, chest rising and falling rapidly with the intensity of the labor, but looks back to his work quickly enough.

"Heh..." Felina touches it absently. "Tell me, are you familiar with the name 'Radivishe Moorn'?" He's about to be, if not. God knows he has the history for it.

Makyon pulls his right glove away with his teeth, as his left hand is busy with the blade, and lets it fall to the ground. The grayish rune upon the back of his hand quietly smolders to life in the air, and he examines both it, and the blade.

"I think so. Wasn't he a tattoo artist on Mekel 7?"

Felina snickers. "Maybe. Some people take historically infamous names." She's quiet a moment. Then she decides to take Makyon's approach to sensitive issues. "Actually, he's tied to you, too...the first inhabitant of your body, like my parallel mentioned, was my first lover. But you weren't the second. At one point, though, Kaies--that was my interest's name--was possessed by a sorcerer I thought I'd killed, one Radivishe Moorn, looking for vengeance. Eventually, a stalemate was forced, at which point I removed Kaies and his vital energies from the body and let Moorn have it." Felina tilts her head. "I imagine he abandoned the body when he was able to get some sap to channel energy for him to build a more suitable one. Shigoriath was the next to happen upon it. Hence, you."

"Lovely. Not only do I miss out on making love to you, but I discover that I had already had a man in me even before I had a chance to make that choice." Makyon chuckles quietly, and pounds the blade again, gazing at it, and watching a line of reddish-orange creeping along the lines of teh rune upon his hand. Almost ready. "So this Moorn is the one who caused that damage to you?" He manages to keep himself from glancing it, for decorum's sake.

Felina snickers at the first part. Makyon's admittedly off-colour humour amuses her. She finally nods, about Moorn. "We went at it for centuries...sometimes on neutral terms, sometimes at one another's throats, but fate would never have us far apart. This is from one of our final conflicts...his most concerted and most nearly successful attempt to kill me." He'd known that she just about had it in her power to end him permanently. And one thing she could say for sure about Radivishe Moorn... "He didn't screw around."

She does sense the rising energy centered on his hand, but isn't sure what he's doing. Doesn't ask, though.

"A lifelong rival, then? Regardless, he deserved to die for defacing a work of art. Ah, here we go." Makyon smiles that smile he usually reserves for Ai at Felina. "Try not to be off-put by this." Without another second of warning the slip mage presses his palm against the red-hot blade, eyes squinting shut instinctually at the bare second of contact. He holds the naginata tightly with his other hand, though, as careful as ever.

Upon the surface of the blade the same rune glows softly.

"Well, my lifetime, but he was..." Felina cuts off when he touches his hand to the blade...covers her nose at the sense of burnt flesh. "Oh, lord, I'm just going to hope and assume that doesn't feel as bad as it looks..." undead. Right. "What did you do?"

"Oh, believe me when I say it still hurts." He hides the hand quickly, not wanting to let her see the horrible burn he's just suffered. "I wrote the meaning of this rune into her blade. Next time a creature like Shigoriath attacks her, she won't be so powerless."

Felina's eyes soften a little as she stands up, though they're still focussed. She nods as she walks over to him. "Thank you. Now...let me fix your hand."

Makyon glances at her, though he knows that arguing would be sort of pointless. He holds it down to her level, still turned away so that the heavy blistering is not as obvious.

Felina takes his hand gently by the very edge, away from the burn...the same reconstructive spell she'd used before does it works now, too. It only takes a few seconds. She looks down to the blade, evaluating it...mostly not just physically. "Very nice, thank you...I should let you do my work for me more often." She smiles a little, amused at the concept, since she knows herself as she does.

Makyon flexes the fingers, astounded as ever by the versatility of this freaky cat girl. "Actually," he begins more quietly than usual, "that was something I wanted to talk to you about, Felina. I do have several valuable skills, and I thought perhaps I could barter one, or all, of them to you." He glances at her again. "I was hoping you might take on an apprentice."

It doesn't come as a total surprise to her, really...she's felt the glimmer of the idea in his mind more than once. "Well, what is that you want to learn?" She looks up at him. "A specific art?"

The slip mage grins prettily. "Nothing specific, really."

"Mm...well, specialties can be figured out later." Felina runs a protected fingertip very gently over the metal, thoughtful. "I require my apprentices to work extremely hard. They become familiar with pain, long hours, and ignoring the concepts of impossibility and futility." She looks up at him, tilts her head. "Are you prepared to face that?"

"Quite." Being Shigoriath's general was no picnic. Though he does not doubt that Felina possesses the ability to break him, he also does not doubt that doing so would certainly not be a simple matter even for her. He inspects the shape of the weapon, and then looks back to her. "Fine details, I leave to you. They require a more delicate hand anyway."

"Thanks for your help. And...welcome home." She smiles a bit as she takes back the hammer. "We'll start tomorrow."

Home. 

Home.

"Anytime... it is... good to have a home." He smiles at her again. "Oh. I think the twins wanted you for explosive-fruit purposes, by the way."

"Oh. There's a tree at the south of the house with blue fruit...similar, same family, but they'll stain you blue. Just hit her with one of those." Felina smirks as she resets her stance with the blade and hammer.

Makyon grins evilly. "Yes ma'am. One last question..." he looks her over in an exaggerated sort of way. "As your apprentice, will I forfeit the right to hit on you?"

"Not exactly. I just get the right to hit back." Felina balances the hammer for a theatrical moment, and then slams it down on the blade with all the proper emphasis.

Makyon grins. "Not that I would have it any other way." Completely forgetting his vest and hat, he tramps away to see about the twins, and to find that blue fruit.

"One more thing..." Felina calls as he leaves, looking up.

The slip mage pauses. He'd been a heartbeat from phase shifting.

"Yeah?" He looks back to her, eyes aglow with curiosity.

"Please don't mention my scar or its origin to Miss Ai."

Makyon looks back into the light. "I didn't see any scar."

"Beautiful." And she gets back to work, breathing easily and energized by the much-needed breather.

"Yeah," Makyon grins. "You are." That said, he phase-shifts his way back towards the twins, taking three steps this time as he's somewhat winded from all that pounding. 

"Water catapault!" Ting hadn't been joking, apparently. It's actually just a large basket of water that's been waiting patiently for Makyon to return...when her senses said he was coming soon, she'd picked up just the water telekinetically, leaving the container behind, just in time to drop it right above his head.

Makyon stands where he is, nodding. Oh yeah. He's been got.

"Thank you Ting," he laughs, "I needed the shower." He throws his hair out of his eyes and wipes some of the water along his face, to clean off the soot smudges.

Ting's grinning like a maniac, though she also looks like she's about to fall asleep again. Dewei, seated in a nearby tree, groans. "Spot, do you know the meaning of 'take it easy'?"

"Yes! It means 'sitting down while causing trouble.' That said...goodnight." And then she lays down where she's sitting, about three-quarters asleep already. She'd been staying awake just to drench Makyon.

Makyon shifts his way over to her, and kneels, pats her head. "I might be inclined to forget to wear a shirt more often, Ting, if you calm down at least until you're well, you know." He looks up to Dewei. "I trust you are already well?"

Ting smirks, but doesn't open her eyes. "That'll only work if you get some sun first."

Dewei nods, smiling in his much quieter way. "Yeah. I was talking down a dragon when she lost most of her energy, so I didn't have as much to recover." Just from the words, he clearly feels extremely bad about this. But tries not to let it show, succeeding well enough though imperfectly.

Makyon smiles at Ting. "I'll hold you to that." Looks back to Dewei. "You couldn't help that. And I had wondered where Arthur had gone." He shudders a bit. He remembers the rats. Shigoriath had tested them on him when they were first implemented. "Should we get your sister into a bed?"

"Nah. The gardens are nice, and it shouldn't rain at this time of year. Mother would probably keep it from falling right over us, anyway, since Ting's sleeping out here under the circumstances. And...Arthur...is the dragon? I sent him to a forested world, I can show you where if you like."

"Nah." The slip mage pats Ting's head gently, and stands. "Let him be free. He was smarter than the rest of us. So... yes. I have asked to apprentice to your mother, Dewei."

"Oh, really?" His eyes light with curiosity. He thinks a moment. "In shift-based fighting styles?" It's just a guess, but makes sense.

"Well, we didn't decide on a specialty yet. I just thought it would be a good experience... not many people can honestly claim to be able to best me. She never has, but I don't doubt that she can." Makyon shrugs. "Besides. I could use the life-lesson."

Dewei smiles at this. "Well, it will be nice to have you around awhile. Well, you know...even if we won't se much of you the next few days."

The slip mage tilts his head way over. "What do you mean?"

"Hmm..." Dewei looks down to his sister, who he knows isn't asleep. "Well...should we tell him, Spot?"

"Hey, I like him, but that's mother's business..."

"I know where the blue fruit is, you know," Makyon allows himself to smile a bit again, "don't tempt me. Have I blundered into something again?"

Ting groans. "No blue fruit..."

"Mmm..." Dewei ponders this. But he's too nice for his own good, he really is. "Not exactly. It's just that mother tries to scare new apprentice away...well, not so much scare them away, as scare bad ones away. She's going to get you to prove you're willing to work, and you're going to be really really busy."

"Busy I can handle." Makyon nods, and pounds his chest. "Me big strong man. Rar."

"Big strong man needs to go change clothes," Ting observes. "Me smells from here."

Makyon sniffs. "Holy hell. Ta kids!" He winks at Ting and heads back for the house... for a shower, for the night, whatever. He will find out in a bit, he supposes.

Ting grins. Dewei looks down at her after Makyon's gone. So. Think he'll last?

Yup.

Me too.

Especially since you warned him.

It won't make it easier. If mother picks up on that in his mind, she'll just extend it so he doesn't know what's going on.

I get my evil side from her.

I know.

A collective snicker follows this...Ting dozes off in another minute or two, and Dewei heads elsewhere to amuse himself.

Felina, meanwhile, is in the forge a few more hours...deeply nostalgic, in large part. Thoughtful. She'd almost been able to imagine Makyon as her husband, pounding away at the blade...she'd been there when he'd had made the first. All she had to do to see that again was close her eyes...and it was Orrin Shayrilon, not Makyon, swinging that hammer.

Once everything's finished, put aside, and cleaned up, she gathers up her things and goes to bathe, then conjours up a meal and takes it out to the twins. She can actually cook better than she could back in the time of Kaies Metsaf...but this can be convenient. There's some ready for Makyon, too, if he wants it.

The slip mage, though, is still in his room. Deep, deep in thought, just gazing into the air. He is both worried and excited about the oncoming training thing, but somehow feels as if he's stepping into a place he will not quite fit. It bothers him to no end... the body of her dead lover, armoring and hearing about her husband, getting on so well with the twins but still having been their enemy... it's just awkward on too many levels.

Felina, meanwhile, leaves some food where she knows he'll run across it--the joys of teleportation--and then retreats to her study for the night. She has a lot of work to do...looks up at the large, scrawled notes and diagrams and charts hanging all over the walls, accenting the piles of semi-neat papers on the desk. Yes. Another long night.

Makyon practically trips over a tray of food on his way back from the bathroom with a newly trimmed set of fingernails. Smiling lightly he takes the thing back to where he's going and eats a little bit, wrapping the rest up for the next meal. He's too eager to eat much, and so simply slides into his borrowed bed, plagued by wondering and expectation.

---

The next "day" arrives well before the sun is up with Makyon's mattress being tilted to a steep angle from the side, propped by one of Felina's again fully clad and armoured arm. "Get up. Get dressed. You have work to do."

The slip mage thumps gracelessly upon the floor with 'mmph'. He looks up at Felina, blinks twice. Stands up, straight as an arrow. "Sure. Could you hand me my pants, please? On the chair behind you." He coughs softly.

They fly at his head, and she just turns and heads for the door. "Meet me outside in five minutes."

Makyon reminds himself that she must be 'great teacher' now, and puts aside her businesslike behavior. He slips into the pants, passes on the hat and vest for the day, and snatches Istra before heading out to meet her. His heart is already racing... he positively cannot wait to get started.

Felina's waiting quietly outside. Points down a straight path cutting through the gardens when Makyon can see her. "Your cardiovascular system is a foundation. Run that way until you find the end, then follow the edge of the property until you meet the path again and come back here." It's a little less than six miles. Felina turns to head inside. "And good morning."

The slip mage smiles a bit at that. "Morning, sunshine." He shrugs, stretches out a bit, and takes off at a medium-quick clip. This, he can handle.

Felina retrieves a few notes and a certain journal, and returns to settle herself on a nearby bench, a hoe leaned up against a tree nearby, and sets to waiting for Makyon, scribbling calculations. Her brow creases every now and again, then smoothes.

It doesn't take too long. Well, considering the distance, anyway. The everyone else equivalent of about one miles' worth of running, given his space-folding steps. He stops running a respectable distance from Felina, and just waits for her to speak.

"Good. Now do it again without the truncation." She doesn't look up.

The slip mage shrugs, and takes off again. He hadn't really expected it to work, anyway. This time he paces himself, but still, by the end of a six mile run, he's a bit on the weary side.

Felina's holding out the hoe as he approaches. "You passed some vegetable gardens early in your run. Two have been harvested, and soil needs to be turned. Know how to do that?"

The slip mage's lip twitches. "Not especially," he pants, "but I suppose that's immaterial, eh?" He smiles at her, and takes the hoe.

"something like that. I'll guide you along as you start, but you'll find it simple. You can grab breakfast when you're done. Bye now." Felina turns another page.

He knows better than to ask more questions. With a half-shrug Makyon trots over to the first vegetable garden, gazing at it. "I suppose," he calls, "that phase-shifting is out of the question here, as well?"

"However works. But if the rows aren't straight, you get to do it again."

Makyon scoffs. He's been phase shifting for two thousand years. No one else does it, period, but if someone else did, no one else would do it better. He sets about his task, tilling and turning the soil at speed, and accurately too.

Breakfast is simple--plain rice, and some sort of meat that's something like a cross between beef and pork, and a cup of each hot tea and water. More importantly, it's waiting for him to get back. Felina's sitting not far off...sips some hot tea, and keeps working.

Makyon makes an extra pass over each field to ensure that he's done it right anyway; he's no fool. He knows this isn't just busy work, but building obedience, and building endurance... both of which he has in abundance. He returns with the hoe and a very sweat-soaked body, and again, waits for her to speak before eating.

"We'll do some fight training after breakfast. Evaluation stuff, see what you know." She sips again. Really, there will probably be less of a transitional period than usual...he seems to know the ropes well, he really does. The only real hang-up is keeping him away from the "friend" or "ally" or "flirt target" mentalities at all the right times. Still, he seems to be making that distinction, too.

The slip mage eats quietly. Suddenly, he... would much rather be her friend. But he made the request, and intends to honor it. He eats quietly, without a word, but quickly, not wasting a single bite or drop. His eyes remain down.

Yeah. That's the other thing that they need to figure out. She can train with friends as surely as she can take apprentices. She's quiet on this for now, though, and just sips her tea. She'll see how things go. Make some choices.

She finally stacks her notes and scribbles neatly and tucks them inside the book, leaving the pen--techy, not quill--on top. "All right. Shall we?" She smiles a little.

"Certainly," answers a quiet, introspective slip mage. He rises, and waits for her to tell him where, when, and how to go.

"There are a number of practice fields. They hav different uses...we'll be keeping it simple, and using the one just south of the gardens. She heads off that way quietly. The dishes vanish.

Makyon follows obediently. He's looking forward to having a scrap with her, after this morning's wake up call.

Yeah, she probably deserves it. That particular part of the whole "master" schtick she actually enjoys quite a lot. She's carrying a stave, since Makyon has a staff. Once they're to the fields, she sets it aside. "Bare-handed first. Use your shifting, whatever tricks you want." She holds out her hands, prone. "Hit me."

Makyon tosses Istra aside. "No." He crosses his arms, stares defiantly at her.

"And why not?"

He smirks. "It just doesn't interest me right now."

She mostly restrains the twinkle in her eyes. Vanishes and appears behind him, the back of her hand flying at the side of his head. "Now?"

He had been waiting for it. The second she leaves his sight the slip mage shifts a step to his right and shifts back with his left knee up, aimed for her belly.

Hm. Interesting. She needs to figure out how he anticipates, there a couple ways the thinks are possible. For now, she jumps up to avoid the knee, her own knee headed for his jaw, face blank.

It hadn't been a matter of anticipation, really, so much as goading her into striking first. Even the most disciplined masters cannot resist the urge to show off now and again, at least in his eyes.

His arms lift, skipping much of their journey up to slap together and block Felina's knee, and he shoves hard to try and throw her off.

She allows this, flipping backward to get control of the spin before she lands. Not bad. Let's pick up the pace a little while he's still showing her his defense. She keeps her own teleportation to a minimum for now, and her charge is straightforward...a more skilled, sweeping kick at the feet this time that will give her quick recovery when he shifts.

So she's evaluating him. So he decides to give her something to evaluate. Instead of dodging the slip mage just turns so that her kick will slam into his shin instead of his achilles' tendon; it hurts quite a bit, but then, he does pain pretty well.

It hurts her too, of course. The attack isn't designed to connect so soundly. Still, her body adjusts and flows up with practiced, casual speed, hand snapping shut around the back of his upper arm, right near the crook of his elbow, and she jerks him back against her now-planted leg. She's going to have him locked into a true throw in about literally a blink if he can't counter.

The slip mage winks at her, letting down his guard enough to be thrown. Yeah, he's being cocky. But he probably couldn't have blocked it anyway... she's fast. Nearly as quick naturally as he is phase-shifting, in fact. He tumbles over her knee and smacks painfully upon the ground, but tries to roll with the momentum of it, folding space so that he should travel about ten feet to the right with one motion.

He handles the fall well. Really, that's what she'd been looking for. Felina's head is tilted a little, and she still hasn't risen to two feet, looking more feline than either of her kids can. She's having fun, really, though not letting that show to a great extent. Still, it's there. She waits for him to move this time. She's gotten a basic idea of his defense and counters...well, some counters. She gets the feeling he depends heavily on counterattacks and has tricks up his sleeve.

She's gotten his smile back, for sure. Makyon rises slowly, watching her, and quickly picks up on her intentions. He phase-shifts close and throws a leading left jab, to be followed by a right should the first miss. His offense in this respect is almost a perfect clone of Kaies Metsaf's, though its strength lies in the fact that his hands do not need to move the full distance to strike a target... phase shifting takes care of that, too.

Felina simply dodges left, thus avoiding both. She has every intention of keeping this up if he repeats the same basic strategy. She thinks he's above that, though. Her hands aren't in a particularly defensive position, leaving parts prone.

So she wants more than a straight up attack. Makyon whips his hands, tossing his gloves away, and instantly the air around him shudders with his unbound magic. He steps forward, phase shifting so quickly that he almost seems to be in two places at once every time he moves. Forward, back, left, right, and forward again, open hand shooting out for her throat.

It's a good attack. Without the aid of this or that magic, she wouldn't have been able to escape...and so the hand clamps shut around her throat. "There we go. Better. Freeze there," she chokes. She really can't breathe, but she's not about to go unconscious on him either. "But you learned chokes on men. Slightly different. A prounounced adam's apple makes it easier to cut off the windpipe. Without it, you have to either move your hand down a little..." here she reaches up, nudges his hand down about half an inch, "to cut off the air, else exploit the thinness of my neck and go for a one-handed blood choke. If you don't finish pinning within the two to four seconds it'll me to recover from the throat shot, you've left one of the more damning weaknesses of your breed of instant transportation prone." Of course, her voice is raspy. She still can't breathe well, since she needs the choke for instructional purposes, though she forces a little air.

Makyon listens, and tries to remember everything she's saying... though he'd be lying if he said that hurting her is distracting as hell. Towards the end of her spiel he simply releases her, and steps back, contrition written into his features. 

"The most damning weakness I have," he sighs, "is that... I am unwilling to really hurt a woman. Ever. I just cannot do it, Felina... your neck." He bites his lip. "Forgive me."

"Fair enough. I doubt you've had a good deal of formal training in strictly restraining or subduing techniques that didn't lead to death or disabling injury, given your time with Shigoriath. We'll work with those, and also get you used to working with me." She doesn't look down on him for it, really, and isn't looking to fully break the mindset either. Chivalry, however much it doesn't and probably shouldn't usually apply to her, is a concept that meshes with her own believes quite well.

He looks down upon her, as he can't really help it. 

"Felina. Your neck." He definitely has his priorities in line.

"Will be fine. I don't break. Not exactly a fine china doll."

Makyon doesn't answer that. Doesn't really want to.

"So. What next, then?"

"Well, I'd planned to..." she trails off and looks over to the side, where a furry, six-limbed, bug-eyed, and nattily dressed creature appears a moment later. A Guardian.

"Hi, Lady Topaz...a moment?" The creature smiles politely at Makyon, briefly. He's obvious harried.

"You're going to drive me up the wall with the 'lady' bit yet, Ruby."

"Ehm...right. Sorry. Listen, there's kind of a problem with Barrier, it's conducting strangely..."

"By the Diamond dimension, yes, the tri-universal storm. I let you know about it weeks ago."

"Well, yes, but we're having more trouble than expected, it's compromising things quite a bit along the whole line towards Opal."

"Tried rerouting more energy to the area as a shield of sorts?"

"Done it too long already."

"Have people out there keeping watch and neutralizing flares by hand?"

"We're a littls short-handed with Diamond and Sapphire with their families."

"That should leave you plenty."

"Ehm..." he's blushing beneath his fur. "Well, I gave a couple others food poisoning.

"Ah. That's usually my job."

"Heh...right. Anyway, Amethyst wanted to ask for some help...?"

"Try creating a reflective barrier against the storm with greater rift energy?"

"Emerald's the only one who knows how, and he's one of the ones in bed right now."

Felina sighs quietly. "Right. I'll be right there." She looks to the zombie-esque. "Sorry, Makyon, I need to take this. If you need something to do, the twins would be happy to point you to the various chores around to save themselves work. There are also a few training rooms here and there, get Ting's direction on those."

Makyon nods his head. This is grown-up talk. "Well, be careful, right? I need someone to kick my ass around here, Felina." He glances at Ruby, and smiles a bit. Not the weirdest creature he's ever seen. But close.

"Yes, yes...not a problem, I assure you." Ass-kicking is good. "See you later." She vanishes, and Ruby does an instant later.

Makyon retrieves his staff, and heads off in search of... anybody, really. He finds himself wandering to the forge instead, and just sits, gazing inside. Wondering where he is, why he is there at all. 

The forge itself is expressive...has a very distinct character to how it's arranged. Utilitarian, certainly, but everything that should be clean, is. There's a little path worn into the packed earthen floor from the fires to the anvil, and an entire circle around the anvil is worn as well. Someone moves a lot while working. Perhaps most strikingly, the walls are covered with usually neat rows of sketches, just piece after piece...quickly rendered armour concepts and occasional blade concepts. Momentary bits of inspiration, waiting to be forged someday.

The slip mage quickly becomes bored, though, as none of these weapons, in his intimation, hope to live up to Istra. He gazes at it, a living piece of martial art, and fancies that he can feel its mind in his own.

After a little while, soft steps wander down the hallway, and Ting peeks around the corner. She blinks. "What are you doing in here?" It's more genuine question than anything else.

"Vegetating, mostly," Makyon answers, grinning into the dark. He turns to face her, setting Istra's butt on the ground. "Feeling better?"

Ting nods, stepping around the corner to pad softly inside. "Yeah. Somewhat. I was jut getting a drink and felt someone down here, so I thought I'd check it out."

"I'm in luck. I could use the company, if you feel like a stroll...?"

"Mmm...okay." Ting nods again, smiling a bit. She's sleepy, but just waking up despite its being halfway through the day. Her sleeping pattern is just a liiittle off after these last few days. She'll be peppier after some more human interaction, most likely.

The slip mage walks ahead a bit, but keeps his pace slow for her sake. "I haven't had the tour yet, anyway. Show me around?" He returns her smile, making sure to select the right one.

"Sure." Ting smiles back a little sleepily, and looks back at the forge. "Well, you know what that is...it's our father's forge, really, though mother uses it sometimes," she notes as they begin to walk.

"She was using it when I went to get her the other day," Makyon nods. "Versatile woman, that Felina."

Ting smiles a bit, and nods. "Her dad, Master Tel-tiono...he was considered a master in all twenty-three major arts, and a lot of non-magic skills on the side. She tries to be like him even today, I think. She knows a little of everything, she really does."

"Especially how to kill a morning erection," Makyon notes, not quite under his breath. "She's pretty harsh as a trainer."

Ting snickers. "Mattress tipped? I'm pretty sure that amuses her. But yeah...she'd still have you going for sure if she hadn't gotten called away, until you go to bed tonight. Most new apprentices aren't awake enough to want dinner."

"I was looking forward to it," Makyon snickers. "It has been a long time since I have been pushed, physically, and it feels good."

Ting smiles at that. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm sure there will be plenty in that department. Did you get to fight her yet? Isn't she quick?" For all that she's the black sheep of the group, Ting adores her family.

"Yeah... she's almost as fast as I am when I phase shift. Without tricks. That... is ridiculous." Makyon snickers a little. "I don't know that her speed is her best asset, though." He taps his forehead. "I think it's her ability to think on her feet."

"Mm...maybe." Ting ponders this. "She always incorporates a lot of planning stuff into Dewei and my's training, head stuff. She says that there will always people more powerful and more experienced than us, but that there's always a right move to make if we look."

"Absolutely. You cannot just out-power everybody. The worst opponents, though, are strong and smart. There's nothing like getting one's ass kicked by a geek."

Ting snickers. "That's happened to me. Speaking of geeks..." she looks into another room, and the light glows to life. "That's mother's study. She spends a lot of time in there lately."

"Oh yeah?" Makyon looks that way. "Any idea what she's studying?"

Ting nods, face sobering a little. "Yeah. She's trying to wake father up."

"Wake him... up?" The slip mage smiles at Ting. "Unhappy subject. Show me that smile again, Ting."

She smiles a bit. "Sorry. I'm fine, really." She looks back at the study. "About thirty years ago, father was stricken by a curse-driven illness that mother couldn't and can't reverse. It took a really serious turn about three years later...it was kind of a desperation move, though one she'd planned, and she set him into a state of stasis to save his life. He's still downstairs, but...she can't safely wake him up until she finds a way to break the curse. She's been in here pretty much every night since then. You can see all the crap on the walls." Charts of all sorts, calculations, sketches of the curse runes and related ones--written on sealed paper, the marks can't be completed to complete the curses--are hung from the walls, some fairly big and covering bookshelves.

"She misses him. As I was helping her in the forge, she talked about him a little bit." He smiles at Ting, and reaches for her arm to lead her away from the room. "She'll figure it out. I am sure of that."

Ting smiles a bit, and nods, allowing herself to be led away by the arm. "Yeah, I know. She always makes stuff work. I think she got something new on it a few days ago, while her father's parallel was still here, but...she hasn't told Dewei and I that, and we play dumb. She doesn't want to get our hopes up, and that's okay. It's really okay, though...I mean, mother is very old. But for Dewei and I...all this happened half a lifetime ago."

"As you get older it becomes easier to put things aside," Makyon nods, speaking softly for her benefit. "What feels like a lifetime now will feel like a day or two when you get to be my age, even."

"Mother acts older than she is." Ting grins. "I probably shouldn't tell you, but I think you're probably about the same age."

"Oh yeah? I'm 2002 years old. Not counting the previous owner of this body's age. Close?" He strikes a pose, grinning. "I don't look a day over five hundred."

Ting snickers at the posing. "Yeah...mother's only got you by...I'm not sure. A century? Or something like that?"

"That's probably accurate." He lets his arms down. "Are you sure you feel alright, by the way?"

Ting nods. "Yeah, I think so. My energy's still really low, but not so much that I have to stay in bed all the time." She wrinkles her nose. "It's really hard to stay in bed for that long. Dewei tied me down all day a couple days ago, the brat."

Makyon's eyebrow lifts. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to undergo that twice in one week, then?"

Ting snickers, and shoves Makyon hard. "Ass."

He tumbles back, rolls right back to his feet. "Oh, like you didn't expect me to say that."

"That's what I get for being tired. No fair taking advantage of those slow on the uptake." Ting's still snickering, though.

Makyon steps back up to her, enjoying that smile on her face. "So I'll wait until your lucid," he says, not entirely in jest. "Come on. Show me around some more."

"Okay! Hmm..." Ting points things out as they go. "That's a storage room, mostly food since we're so close to the kitchen; that's another storage room; that's a guest room; that's a bathroom; that's the sandy-floored room mom uses for lesser spell circles; that's where the chimera lives..." and she goes through the house bit by bit. It's a little crazy, sometimes, but sometimes it just sounds like anyone else's home. "Aaaand...all the way down to the end of the hall are training areas."

"Ah," Makyon nods. "Your mom told me to ask you about those. So... what about those?"

Ting grins. "Well...they vary. Some of them simulate fights of various sorts--though don't get me wrong, they're capable of killing--and different rooms have different sorts of circumstances. Others are just workout rooms...when she said to ask me, mother meant that I should tell you which to use and which to keep out of. Probably just stick to the workout and basic physical fighting rooms for now...these three nearest to us don't bite."

"What fun is that?" The slip mage glances into each room, wondering, but not daring to try yet. "Which is your favorite?"

"Well..." Ting hesitates, then grins. "Well, one of them is a really cool room based on impact illusions. Mother's pretty proud of it...she says the design's original, and has been duplicated all over since then. The Derrias uses one, even. See, when active, it shifts itself into a pocket dimension so the walls disappear, and any manner of creatures attack you in there, invisible a lot of the time. Even when there's no one supplying extra magic, they can make for a wicked fight."

Makyon smiles more brightly at Ting. "Your mother is a sadist, isn't she?"

Ting grins brightly, beyond amused, something her perked ears communicate well. "Yup! She never asks anything of other people that she hasn't met or exceeded herself, though, so it's all good. She'll be irked if we activate that room. But not seriously. Wanna?" Her ears twitch. Really, it's probably bad for her health...but she does so love a good fight.

"One condition," Makyon grins evilly, "if you can't handle it, I..."

"handle what?"

Makyon looks over Ting's shoulder. "Oh. Hello Ai."

Ting grins. "Hi!" comes just as she bounces around to face Ai. She's actually still pretty tired...but hyper.

Ai allows a very mature, beautiful smile for Ting. "Hello, little one. You seem much better. And Makyon. Nice day for a bare chest."

Makyon grins. "It'd be nicer if that applied to everyone."

Ting snickers. "All afternoon. He's been doing this all afternoon. And thanks! I feel better."

"Of course. He is what's called a male, Ting dear. Notice the lack of mammaries." 

Makyon scoffs, and flexes his pectorals just to irritate Ai, who snickers.

"So what were you two kids up to?"

"Makyon asked to be mother's apprentice! And she'd been putting him through his paces, but there's some kind of storm thing by the Diamond dimension, so she had to go help the Guardians with something, so he gets a short reprieve. I was explaining the training rooms to him, and we were thinking about giving that one a test run! It's fun. I do it all the time."

Ai crosses her arms over her chest. "Ting. Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Ummm...?" Ting squirms a little. "Well, I've been sleeping all week. Like what, four days? That's gotta be enough." Of course she knows better. But she hopes Ai isn't familiar enough with her power level and low life energy quirk to know that, too.

"My father used to talk about how Serinian's sleep," Ai notes, tapping her foot. "If you go in there, be ready to be jerked out at any time and healed. Alright?"

"Well...not serinians and general, it's just our power type...right." Ting grins sheepishly, but then perks right up. "All right! Head bashing it is." She bounces sways a bit over to the room, excited.

Ai watches her go, then turns to Makyon. "Watch her. And I swear to... me, that if you don't stop controlling that thing," she glances down, "I'll cut it off and turn it into a speed bump somewhere."

"Hey Ai?" Makyon grins as walks past her, after Ting.

"What?"

"Nice shoes." And he follows Ting, grinning to himself. Ai, of course, isn't wearing shoes... but he felt the need to leave the rest of that line off.

Ting realizes when she heads inside the room--dark grey floor to ceiling, though they actually step about half an inch above any physical surface to preserve the complex spell-runes covering the grey everywhere--that she doesn't have her weapon. Oh, well, she'll figure it out, humming quietly to herself as she sets her hand on the one spot of wall she can actually touch. "Hmm...show us numbers. Humans, elves, and a few serinians, training - high." She looks up when Makyon walks in. "Okay!" Then the room darkens. They're actually no longer technically in Helantri Deru, but a pocket dimension shooting from it. Ambient light without specific source begins to glow to life, slowly illuminating a vast, blank area. The "ground" beneath their feet is amorphous...although their feet act as though it's normal, it's not visually stable.

Makyon steps inside and warbles a bit. It is an extremely disorienting situation, one for which he was not entirely prepared. "Okay," he whispers to Ting, "how did this work, exactly?"

She grins brightly at him, close-eyed. "You duck." This is said as a humanoid figure materializes behind him, swinging a sword-form at his head.

He's quick to do as she says, dropping down and shifting so that he actually ends up facing the attack but to the right of the swing. "Do I just hit it?" he asks of Ting.

"Yup! It'll react to blows like a human, but it's an illusion with substance, a manifestation of the room's psi-magical energy energy fields, so don't worry about hurting it. That said..." she ducks under one blow, then leaps over the heads of several of the figures appearing in multitude... "kick some ass!" Her foot goes flying into the back of one of their heads at this with a little exclamation of delight.

"Right." Makyon beams. Finally, a real fight. He thrusts istra into the gut of his attacker, and is amazed at how real it feels.  He isn't as graceful as Ting, though it is not for a lack of skill; she's just flexible, and feline, and cute, and... he snaps out of that when a fist clocks him upside the head.

Ting is having a grand old time...their opponents are actually programmed to be highly trained fighters, and there are three different schools of fighting represented...after a short time, more nimble elven fighters begin to creep into the mix.

The Ono is actually more winded than she'd usually be, but her eyes still sparkles with wild excitement, ears back and fangs bared into a grin. She's pretty good...given her age, she's extremely good, better with the physical side of things than even her mother had been at the same age. Unlike her mother, though, she's making extremely good use of the claws.

Another, stronger race, hard to identify, joins the fray...two of these creatures charge Makyon, clubs upraised.

Big and dumb, much more Makyon's style. He throws Istra so that it spins, in the hopes of tripping them up, and shifts forward to hopefully catch them as they fall with twin uppercuts.

It works. As the reasonably tall assailants reel from the blows, an "elven" attacker lunges at Makyon's back with twin daggers.

The slip mage continues forward, not as aware of the assailant as Ting might have been. In passing between the two tall ones he gives each a shove, intending to drop them right onto whatever is behind him.

It works. There probably would have been interesting words uttered had they been real.

Something between a yelp and a groan comes from Ting when a sword passes through her chest, just below her heart. She falls to her hands and knees, shivering and catching her breath. Damnit. She hates to admit it, but she really shouldn't be doing this yet.

"Ting!" Makyon, though, doesn't know that it isn't fatal. She had said that some could kill, and so he takes his eyes off the ball long enough for a short elven man to 'split the uprights'. Makyon's eyes pop open, as he falls cleanly onto his side, hands securely over his particulars. He screams but there is no sound, just a sort of echoing 'awwww' as every male in the universe feels a touch of his pain.

A second later, both of them reappear in the hallway, a concerned Ai standing over them.

"Ting, Stud, are you okay?" she urgently enquires.

Ting sniffles in exagerrated consternation. "I haven't gotten hit in that simulation in years." She lays still a little longer. Just because it feels really, really good.

Ai glances at Makyon, who is really on dream street about now, or... never dream again street. She pats him on the head, and kneels next to Ting. "I'm taking you to bed. And if you feel the need to push again, I'll fill your bed with scorpions. Deal?"

She knows it's supposed to be a joke. But Ting's eyes widen at that. Scorpions...centipedes. It's just too much alike. She just bites her lip, and nods. "Right," she responds quietly, nodding. Ai's not going to have any argument with that threat in the air, for sure.

Ai lays her hand upon Ting's cheek. "Shh... I can hear you babbling, in here." She pats her head. "I'm going to put you to sleep now." A very gentle calming spell issues from her fingertips, growing from very gentle to wickedly powerful in a moment's time.

Ting blinks once at this, but doesn't really have time to be surprised...the calming spell does its work. Her heart eases, and she's asleep about that fast, exhausted from this last bit of exertion.

She smiles, and turns to Makyon. "Are you okay? It must be horrible to be hit there by a simulation."

Makyon's eyes open. "Nothing... a massage wouldn't fix..."

In a moment, Makyon is asleep as well. Though, unlike Ting, he is now sporting a nifty handprint upside his head.

This is about when Dewei walks into the hall at a fairly quick step. He stops. Looks at Makyon and Ting. Then Ai. Then them. "Ahhhh...right, then."

Ai smiles at him. "They are just tired from the orgy. Have you got a moment? I'm not quite done." She snickers. Makyon has inspired her to new heights of teasing people.

"Ehm...?" Even his ears turn very red at this. "Oh, no, I just came to get Ting and...that came out wrong."

Ai smiles, and holds out her hand. Both Ting and Makyon vanish, bound for their respective beds. "She just needs to rest some more. I was just sending her to bed. Is your mother around, by chance?"

"She's seeing to something on the edge of the Diamond dimension. If she handles it like I think she will, she won't be gone too long...would you like some tea or somesuch, if you're willing to wait a few minutes?" Dewei smiles his black-lipped smile.

"I would be delighted, thank you." She holds out her hand for him to take, her smile amused as though she expects nothing less. 

Dewei's a little disconcerted. But he does smile, take her hand politely--though inwardly fussing about grips and such, there are so many things a held hand can mean or mean wrong--and heads towards the kitchen. "In the meantime, Miss Ai...is there something I can help with? Or does it have to be my mother?"

Ai bubbles inwardly at his worry. He's just so cute. "Well... don't tell your mother this, but I was... just a little lonely, in Niven Ai all by myself. If you don't mind spending time with a woman, you will be able to help just fine."

Dewei smiles at this. "Well, that works just fine, then, Miss Ai. It's very quiet here with Ting sleeping so much, after all." He grins, and sets to getting tea for the both of them once they find the kitchen. "Is your rebuilding going well?"

"Quite," answers the goddess. "It reflects my new nature, unfortunately... it is a bit macabre. I found myself adding a crypt without thinking about it. But the flora and fauna are still nice and vibrant."

Dewei's lips twitch amusedly at that. "Oh, well. Tastes change. Are you still feeling okay, then?" It is quite the drastic physiological shift...he's been worried.

Ai leans against a countertop and nods, smiling a little gravely. "Physically, I am fine. The voices I keep hearing still bother me, especially when I am alone, but... it will pass, I hope. And sometimes I feel cold. But that also will pass."

Dewei nods. "Well...I'm sure you'll manage. Besides, we're here to listen." He smiles. "Oh, also, you may want to talk to mother about this...she was actually a wraith once. I think. Maybe." He scratches his hair. "But, she may understand."

The goddess smiles at him. Her black eyes flicker white, a sign of her new nature, though this is of course unbeknownst to her.

"How do you take your tea, Dewei?"

"Hm?" He'd been drifting a little, and looks up to see her tending the tea. He'd still been waiting for it to steep. He grins. "In a cup, thank you."

She smiles right back. "Oh, darn." She pours a bit of the stuff out into the air, amusing herself by holding the liquid into the shape of a teacup. "Here you go."

Dewei laughs a little...takes it. He actually can take it, too, since he can support the shape telekinetically. "Perfect, thank you." He sips it, amused.

"I like a lot of sugar in mine," Ai speaks idly, grinning at Dewei's impertinence. "Or mint." She seasons a cup for herself, handing a second one to Dewei. "So. How is Dewei?"

"Dewei is feeling much better, though eager to have his sister the same." He nods a bit. "She's still...really on edge. I'm glad that I don't know what she saw, in a way...but I wish she'd never seen it, either."

Ai's lip twitches a bit. "Do you suppose it would help if I talked to her about it? Freaky girl to freaky girl?"

Dewei smiles at that, amused. "I don't know. Maybe. I think she'll be a bit better when her energy's repaired. Being tired just kind of amplifies emotion in general, you know?"

"Very well." She sips her tea, feeling a little awkward. She does not know Dewei, not really. "So tell me a bit about yourself, Dewei? It occurred to me that I am painfully out of the loop about my new friends."

"Well...in general?" Dewei sips his tea and then deposits it in the cup, thinking. "Well, I'm obviously Ting's brother and twin...the younger one, if it matters. I fight with a broadsword like both my mother and my father and train with mother most every day on it. Spot--ehm, that's Ting; the mark on the eye and all...anyway, Spot and I were both invited to join the Yeliuran Derrias, but it was soon after father was incapacitated, so I stayed home to look after mom. I can do some smith work and love studying any interesting magical or psionic theory, especially the ones in my grandfather's writings, and currently have a special interest in rune magic." All this is spoken with a casual, friendly ease...Dewei would make a good stoner.

"Oh yes? My father was a master of rune magic. The master, as far as I know." She smiles at Dewei, and empties her tea cup. "I could show you some of what he taught me... if you're interested?"

Dewei's ears perk at this, face most interested. "I would love that, Miss Ai, actually."

Ai grins at the ears, and coos, despite herself. "Goold heavens, but you are so cute! Ugh!" She leans away from the counter, looking for a window to peer out of. "When do you want to start, then?"

Dewei laughs softly at the "cute" bit. "Well...whenever is convenient for you, I suppose, Miss Ai. I'm quite flexible."

"I'll bet," Ai turns to him, with a smile a bit less innocent than usual turning her generous lips up. "How about right now? Do you have a nice private area?"

Ehm...his face turns fairly red at this, but he decides to play dumb to the innuendo. "Well, a few...would outdoors or in be more appropriate?"

"In," Ai nods, "I have some reference material, but, I would rather no one else saw me showing it to you. It is not quite forbidden, but... suffice to say that certain people may not approve."

Dewei considers this a moment, face more serious, but then smiles--still more seriously--and nods. "All right. How much room would be ideal?" He's horridly curious by this point, and besides...he's an adult, and allowed to make his own choices, despite the general feeling to the contrary.

The goddess shrugs a bit. "Nothing specific, Dewei dear. Just so long as we have enough room to sit and walk comfortably. Since we are just talking... do you have a room here somewhere?"

"Okay. Sure." He nods. "We have a couple nearby that aren't big, but good for casting. Shall we?" He smiles, and stands up, really curious to see what she has to show.

"Of course." Ai lowers her head a little bit, more subservient than usual. "Just lead the way. I will think on the first lesson en route."

Dewei nods, and heads off that way, intensely interested in what's going to come next.

The room, as noted, is small, but the energies are quite filtered and controlled, and there are no contaminants that may disrupt spells.

Ai follows quietly, considering what to tell and what to hide. When they arrive in the room she looks it over, observing, checking everything. "Sit, Dewei, and promise me that you will keep this lesson secret from your mother. Okay?"

He hesitates. "And why is that, if I may ask?"

Ai turns away from him, standing about six feet off. She reaches up and undoes the clasps of her sorceress's robe, and pushes the material off so that it falls down her back. She holds it just far enough that it prevents her from losing her dignity in front of him, but far enough down that the spine-length rune pattern tattooed upon her back is clearly visible.

"I do no know if she would approve of you peeping on me."

Dewei blinks, then laughs softly. "Okay. I promise." Besides...even though he's trying very, very hard to keep a level, academic head, he's still male.

"Come over here and look. But," she puts on a stern voice, "don't touch. These are five runes drawn by my father when I was a baby, the first, second, third, eight, and thirty-ninth in the 'Aesir' cycle. Note that each symbol is based upon the same 'frame' of design... rather like a compass rose." She smiles. "And yes. I do not need to work out."

Dewei takes a deep breath and heads over to where she's standing...he examines the runes with very genuine interest, memorizing their forms and how they're arranged on their body...trying very, very hard to not let his mind wander. "What is their function, Miss Ai?" He looks up to her face. Very, very directly at her face, "god I can't look down" style.

"Each is made up of three parts, Dewei. The foundation, the fountain, and the crest." Ai is starting to blush. She knows how hard he's trying not to appraise her curves, and it is flattering in a way. "The compass rose foundation sets the category... physical magic, in this case. Notice how the first three runes share the same fountain as well... shaped like a starburst. They symbolize enhancement. And the crests symbolize degree."

Dewei thinks through that carefully, then finally nods when he's sure he gets it. "I think I understand."

"Good boy. Now... the bottom ones are slightly different. The fountain is angular, like a shuriken... those are wards. They protect me from various things... psionics, and illness." Ai turns a little bit, lets her robe fall a little farther. "See this one, just above my hip joint? Another ward, this one new. I drew it just yesterday... a ward against light-based threats."

Dewei smiles a little, and nods. Well, that's good. "What are these drawn with, Miss Ai, that they last so well?"

Ai turns away again, and pulls her robe back up, snapping everything into place. "Blood mixed with plain ink, burned into the skin." She smiles a little. "It only hurts for a little while, I promise."

Dewei lets out his breath when she pulls the robe up. Well. That makes things more comfortable. He nods along with what she's telling him, beginning to get back into the spirit of the lesson, genuinely interested in learning what she has to say. "Does it make a difference whose blood? Or what kind of blood?"

"Non-magical is preferable. Any blood that has not been tainted, or is impure in some other way..." Ai smiles at his discomfiture. "I apologize. It was the only ready material I had to reference."

Dewei scritches his hair sheepishly. "I...didn't mind so much, Miss Ai." He laughs softly...though he is glad she's clothed again. "Non-magical...so, my own would not be ideal?"

"Mm..." Ai tilts her head, lets her hair spill over her face for a moment. "Probably not. It is sort of a macabre art... my store unfortunately comes from cosmic pirate-types who seem to show up now and again to loot Niven Ai. They see the overgrowth, assume it's abandoned, and one of my darling plants eats them."

"Ahh..." he considers this a bit. "That...may explain some problems that I have had. Does the blood have to be from a sentient creature? Can it come from an animal?"

"Well, let me tell you something better. Apparently, it is just the plasma within the blood that makes such fine rune-ink. So the source is irrelevant... and it does not take much." Ai grins. "This is thankful, though, since blood containts so little."

Dewei's smile returns at this. His values are quite ingrained, so the blood thing could have been bad. "Wonderful, then. Hmm..." he ponders. "What happens if the blood is infected with an illness?"

Ai reaches out to pinch his ear. "Now, think really hard about that, Dewei. Would you use a needle infected with unclean blood for anything?"

Dewei mock-winces at the pinch...though it really does hurt. "Yes, yes...point taken." He smiles sheepishly. He'd just been thinking about potential sources for blood...most blood banks can be bribed if you make the right offer, but they just dispose of anything tainted.

Ai is busy stifling an urge to pet him. Damn, but those are some extraordinarily cute ears.

"You can synthesize plasma nowadays, I'm sure. I don't get into the technology thing that much... father disdained it, and so, I do too. But remember that writing a rune is as much art as it is science..." she holds out a hand, "... on one side, room for interpretation and individualtiy," holds out the other, "... on the other, a host of stick figures that don't really work."

He nods. This he understands well. "Sure. It's true of a lot of magic. A balance always has to be struck between knowing the literature and feeling it. You can't really understand it or respect it properly without both."

"Quite. You are an apt pupil, Dewei." She looks to the door, then back at him. "Runes can go anywhere, as I am sure you have seen with me. But look." She steps a bit closer, and pouts those sizable lips of hers, setting her index finger to them. Just visible on the inner edges of her lips, a pair of tiny, faint runes glow. "Anywhere."

His midnight lips twitch, a little amused, and he nods. "I'll remember that. I seem to recall a series of essays written on people--usually telepaths, though there were a couple exceptions--who etched runes directly onto bones. Some of the ones who specialized in curses were fond of using vital places like the underside of the sternum."

Ai blushes again. "Um... well... just be happy I did not show you all of the runes I have. Vital places indeed. So tell me... why are you interested in runecraft?"

"I'm...not really sure." Dewei blinks. Thinks about that carefully a few moments. "Well...magic is in my blood. Psionics too. It's natural for me to be drawn to some of the arts. My sister and I could access telekinetics as infants, and metaphysics are just...there. For us." A pause. "Rune magic specifically, though, is...controlled, calculated, precise, and beautiful. It's versatile and can tie to almost every other art in some way. Psionics also help a lot in determining rune placement and keeping them precise, and even as a medium with which to draw them...but it's still removed, in a way. Even when helped along, rune magic always keeps its identity, and stays itself."

"My father would have eaten you up," Ai laughs. "You sound just like he did when he would start talking about it. Passionate, and approving." She smiles at him. "Would you like a further lesson? My illness ward needs to be touched up a bit, and it is tough for me to reach." The one at the base of her spine. "How about we make it your first goal? To learn the rune well enough to freshen it up?"

"Absolutely." He smiles, and nods. "Where do we start, Miss Ai?"

"You will have to study the rune," Ai explains, adding as an afterthought, "but I still have the book father left for me, so you are stuck with ink and paper instead of soft skin."

"That will probably lead to less blossing on both our parts anyway, Miss Ai," Dewei observes with a little grin.

"Says the do-gooder child of an Ono," Ai mock-sighs. "You really are cute. So..." she pouts again. "Wanna come to my place?" Snickers. "The book is there."

"Mm..." Dewei thinks about this, on the nervous side. "Well...with Ting pretty much defenseless, and mother gone...well...do you think Makyon could look after her well enough?"

"Makyon," Ai laughs, "will be too busy trying to get into her pants to leave her side."

Dewei has to snicker at this. "Well...is he awake?"

"If you are really worried about Ting, we can just use the copy I have here. Posturing aside, I really don't mind." She shrugs. "I am a goddess. Many standards mortals have weren't imposed upon me."

Dewei smiles, a little sheepishly, and nods. "I think that would be ideal, Miss Ai, thank you."

"Just tell me when," she nods. "We will work it out together, you and I."

He smiles. "Well...is now okay? I'd love to hear more, I would."

"Now what?" Felina inquires, walking up behind her son. "And hello, Miss Ai. It's nice to see you this afternoon."

Ai brightens up a bit at Felina's entrance. "Hello, Felina. Dewei and I were just having a sorcery lesson. Did you get what you were doing taken care of, dear?"

"I believe so, yes. It wasn't that horridly hard to remedy with a little more power than the Guardians can easily commit. Sorcery lesson...rune magic?" She looks at her son. "Listen to what she has to say, Dewei. Her father was the best."

He smiles, and nods.

So much for secrets. "May I borrow him for a while, today, Mom? I would like to run over some things with him while the energy for the subject is still fresh."

"Absolutely. Anything he's willing to do and can stagger back from would be just fine. Speaking of which...have you seen Makyon around lately?"

Ai grins. "Yes of course, my dear. I whapped him upside his horndog head, and he is in bed now."

"Oh, wonderful! He'll have a headache when I get him up and working again. That makes up for lost time." Felina smiles semi-innocently.

Ai chuckles a soft chuckle. "He is far too pretty to break down, Felina. If nothing else, he is pleasant eye candy." She glances at Dewei. "If you can find paint pens, Dewei, we can start right away."

He smiles, and nods. "Give me a moment." He heads off.

"So..." Felina looks to Ai. "How are you settling into your new skin, if I may ask? Still feeling all right?" She's genuinely concerned...she hates that she'd resorted to this.

"You know, it really is not so bad." Ai holds up her arm. "I can do this." WIth a smile on her face she lets the arm degenerate into a bony claw, and regenerate into her normal arm. "I had to restructure Niven Ai a bit, but on the whole, it is just fine. Oh..." She snaps her fingers. "One of the twins told me I should ask you what to do about the voices and cold I experience now and again."

"Oh..." Felina scritches the back of her hair thoughtfully...doubtlessly where Dewei had picked up the habit. "Hmm...well, the signet ring you're borrowing should help with light until you come up with a permanent rune for that. The voices you get used to, really...it will just become white noise, I promise, a lot like being telepathic. There can be surges sometimes though...here, let me grab something for you." She vanishes, and then reappears about half a minute later with the pendant that Kaishen had given her so long ago. She holds it out to Ai, holding it by the chain with the pendant cupped in the other hand. "Here, keep this awhile. Sometimes people die en masse for whatever reason...the resulting surge of souls can be damaging and disorienting, even cause you to be swept along with it. You shouldn't have that as severely as a wraith, but it will still exist. This pendant will glow and warn you when that's about to happen. Then just...quickly find a place you can safely stand still, stop this or that task if necessary, and wait it out. Eventually, when your mind becomes accustomed to your new quirks, you won't need warning to withstand it perfectly."

Ai accepts the token with an utterance of gratitude and a generous smile. "Seems like you know a little of everything, lady Ono. I suppose life experience has a greater meaning than I might have thought." She slips the pendant around her neck, preening a bit. "It even matches my outfit. You know, that Dewei is an absolute doll. I am going to teach him my father's legacy, and have him touch up some of my own tattooes as a sort of final exam later."

Felina smiles. "It looks lovely on you. And you would most certainly have my gratitude, Ai. Dewei is a good-hearted young man, and you'll find him a very dedicated student and hard worker...I know some rune magic, certainly--inspired by your father, really--but Radivishe Moorn will reign the master of that for a very, very long time, I think. His advancements in the field were absolutely stunning, and I'm sure that whatever you can teach Dewei will be the nearest reflection of that that yet exists."

"I am unwilling to go to some of the lengths that Father did." Ai fingers the pendant idly, gazing upon Felina. "You should understand that well enough. He was devoted to his craft. And to scheming, of course. But yes... I think it will be good for me, too. Being a recluse does not befit a woman of my abilities."

Felina smiles a little, nods. "Being a recluse...is only good for so long. Letting someone else in, eventually, can really change everything, in a good way." She's smiling, a bit introvertedly, thinking of her own husband. And her children. But mostly him, at the moment.

Ai can sense that much, and it brightens her smile. "You are exactly right, Felina. Ehm... is it alright to perform the lessons here? Niven Ai remains a bit hostile to the living."

"Absolutely. The work areas here are already varied, and I can tailor anything to fit, really...just let me know what you need, and I can set aside and prepare an area for you to use indefinitely."

Ai smiles. "A circular room with no doors or windows would be nice. A room where we could concentrate fully upon the task at hand, as bare as possible. Perhaps a bookshelf, but only if it can be easily arranged." She crosses her arms, a very Moorn-ish sort of movement. "I would like to make his education quick and thorough."

"Somewhere to sit? A writing surface? Or stark bare?"

"Stark bare," Ai replies, "I will bring everything that we will need. Oh... and it should be resistent to sorcery. We don't want to accidentally light this place up."

"Not a problem. I'll make the walls absorbant as well so that you don't fry yourselves either. I'm sure you can create a reflective surface over them if you need to."

At this point, Dewei returns with a couple of suitable pens. "All right. I assumed that I wouldn't need anything to write on, Miss Ai, given the unusual nature of the lesson, but I can get some scrolls or books if appropriate." depending on whether they're writing sideways or vertically, of course.

Ai shakes her head. "When there is a perfectly good floor to scribble on, one must not waste trees." She grins at Felina. "If, of course, that is okay with Mom."

"Mom's fine. I'll go set that up for you." Felina waves over her shoulder, turns and takes a couple steps, and vanishes.

Ai watches her go quietly. "I would kill for her confidence," she softly admits to Dewei. Then smiles. "Well, no I wouldn't. But I would love to have it."

Dewei grins. "She is pretty confident. But even when she's not, she tries to hide it. And she's good at that when it matters."

"Mm... like you?"

Dewei colours a little. "I wish. I'm still working on...both."

Ai chuckles at his blush. "Then teach me. In return for my tutelage, you teach me how to be confident. And how to function in a society."

Dewei smiles at this. "I can do that. And I'm quite sure that my sister can help...I do well enough, but she loves people."

"I can't wait to get started." The goddess looks around, as if just realizing that they're just standing there talking... it feels good, in a way, to just be casually chatting with someone like this. "I'm not as harsh as I'm sure your mother is, but I will be rather demanding... so you know."

He just smiles. "That's okay. I'm used to it. Shall we get started?"

"Just as soon as the room is ready, cutie."

It's a few minutes...the room needs to be isolated from the various spells, mostly protective and regenerative, blanketing the house in general, before the room can be most effectively re-structured and prepared for Ai's uses. But, before long, it is. It's a simple, greyish, cylindrical room, fairly well-lit though not enough to disturb Ai with the signet ring's help, bare. The only feature anywhere in it is the unobtrusive door and the three shelves built neatly into the wall.

"All right," Felina announces finally, appearing beside Ai. "The room should be appropriate...do let me know if it needs adjustment, Miss Ai. Dewei, it's the room that Miss Qaisher stayed in a few years back, show Ai the way."

Ai bows her head a little bit. "In gratitude for your help, I will spare you the 'good kitty' that I almost said." She holds out her hand for Dewei again, smiling her pouty smile at him. "Shall we, master Dewei?"

Felina snickers. "Appreciated. Have fun, kids." She wanders off in search of Makyon.

Dewei, meanwhile, nods. "I think so. It's this way, Miss Ai..." he heads off that way. 

Ai follows calmly, wondering about how she should go about teaching this young fellow a craft that her father used almost exclusively for bad things. She enters the room, still silent, and lets her eyes run over the floor and the walls.

"Oh, this room is perfect, Dewei. Go and stand in the corner, and I'll wait for you." She grins. Bad joke, but she likes it.

Felina's son glances around. Blinks, then laughs softly. "Right." He just heads inside, following the order as well as he can by heading over towards a wall."

"Let me start by asking you a question, Dewei. Are you artistic at all?" Ai shuts the door, smiling at how perfectly it melds into the walls.

"A little. I've been trying to improve."

"Alright, then. May I have one of the pens?" She holds out her hand, gazing down upon the floor. "And ask you one last time, if you will be comfortable using me as your reference? You are a man, and though I don't hold that against you, I don't want to make these lessons awkward. I know I'm beautiful. My mom was a goddess and Father was a pretty man. So... yeah."

"Well...I will do my best to keep my mind out of the gutter, and I've done mostly well so far," Dewei admits honestly with a sheepish little grin. "I think it will be okay, but I promise I'll let you know if it becomes a real problem."

Ai grins prettily. "Apparently it's distracting you already." She wiggles her fingers. "Pen, darling."

Dewei coughs. "Right. Pen." He hands this to her.

"Thank you. Now... if I were to ask you to define a rune, how might you respond?" She drops to her knees in the center of the room and carefully draws a large circle, big enough to stand in.

"Well...if, hypothetically of course, you were to ask me to define a rune, I'd probably say that it's a unified collection of several unique, pictographic shapes that each serve a different purpose in the collection, storage, definition, and release of energy."

"Did you know that the original runes, the ones credited by a certain sect of humans to have been discovered by a cycloptic elder 'god' named Odin, had no meaning in the manipulation of energy?" Ai sits back on her heels, handing the pen back to Dewei. "Probably not, so the question is moot. Dewei, do you know what a mnemonic device is?"

"Sure. A memory trick."

"A rune is a mnemonic device. Just as some wizards focus spells through those moronic staves they carry about, no offense to your grandfather, rune sorcerers focus their spells through complex marks. In general, it's not a fast art... my father could draw runes in the air fast enough to fight with their powers. Fast enough to fight your mom, even, on equal footing. But the bulk of rune sorcery is for enchanting purposes, like mine." Ai taps on the circle. "The simplest rune is a plain old circle. When a person draws a circle, nothing happens. But when a rune sorcerer, who has trained hir mind to react to the drawing of the shape, draws a circle with sorcerous intentions..." she draws another circle, and steps back as it flares into a campire-sized flame. "Stuff happens. If you draw this rune on my back, I'll circumcise you with a piece of cedar."

"Good to know. Hm..." He tilts his head, looking at the circle. "I really hadn't thought of it that way. It's really a lot like my grandfather's energy language again...the spells are spoken, not visual, but essentially this. Each syllable represents a different energy inclination of some kind."

"Very similar," Ai nods, smiling a bit, "only visual is more permanent. Unless dispelled, this nifty flame will burn until the paint is vaporized. In fairness, you dont' even have draw the exact same rune for whatever spell you want to cast... many of Father's were his own design. Rune sorcerers just use the same system the universe over, when they know about it, to keep everything nice and neat. Kind of like the metric system."

"Well, sure. It would be impossible to read anyone's else's runes otherwise, until they've been decoded. Messy." Memorizing those symbols is most of what he's been doing these last few years. But good lord there are a lot of them.

The fire sputters and dies, and Ai glances down to see a clean floor instead of a burnt mark. "Oh that is darling. Now Dewei... I want you try copying my runes, without any spell associated for now, while I tell you a bit more about them. Think of each stroke as a particular energy range, and I will call them out to you as we go along." She holds out a hand, and a person-sized pad of what looks like air foam with a sheet of silk draped over it appears upon the floor. "I am going to lie upon my belly, and you just copy them as best you can. If you get uncomfortable, let me know."

He nods. "Okay. I'll do my best."

Ai turns away from Dewei and undoes her robe, letting it fall down a ways. She lays languidly upon the pad, and pushes the robe down just far enough that the runes can be seen clearly. Nothing naughty is showing, just a lot of skin, and Ai herself looks more sleepy than seductive. It should be just fine for Dewei.

And it is. He's really trying very, very hard to be professional-minded, and succeeding as well as, say, a young surgeon operating on a female patient. Albeit a very pretty one. Besides, he really does want to learn what she has to teach.

Actually, he succeeds so well that Ai begins to entertain the notion that he's gay.

She speaks upon energy ranges, equating each range with a particular stroke of the pen, explaining which marks are the foundation, the fountain, and the crest. She knows the marks by heart, no small feat considering that there are thirty six strokes in each of the ones on her back, and takes her time, repeating when necessary.

Dewei follows along impressively well, actually, wherever the marks don't vary from common literature. He's a quick study, though, and remembers the differences once they've been pointed out once. He really completely forgets that he's working on a beautiful woman's back, truly intent on the runes and beginning to really enjoy the lesson, listening eagerly to what she says at each new point. It's really a different kind of excitement, casting...there's nothing like it anywhere.

"Niven Ai is probably the most elaborate example of stepping outside the literature, Dewei. My father laid of the foundations himself, thousands of them over the course of many years, corresponding to sections of the palace. These days, I need only to wave my hand inside and whatever I want can be. It's something I've tried to duplicate without a lot of success... he said that no one else in the universe should have the gift he had given me." She lowers her head a bit, burying her face in the soft silk of the pad. She's gotten off track again. "Writing a rune on an inorganic, unliving object is much simpler than writing one into living flesh. You have to compensate for the living energy that's already there..." she goes on to talk about which frequencies to limit, and certain exceptions where species are concerned, but now she's distracted. Thinking about him again... fifteen hundred years, and still...

Dewei nods. He bites his lip as he completes this rune, ears pressing back and waiting to see whether the energy connects properly. He lets out his breath when it does. "Your father must have loved you very much," he observes.

"He did. I think I might have been the only one, though..." She glances at the rune. "Good work, Dewei, you are a quick student. Are, ah... you aren't gay, right?"

He grins. "Not last time I checked. Runes...keep my attention pretty well, once I get into them." They really do, too. He's pretty single-minded.

"I had to ask. I think I'm quite attractive, but then, I'm not a man, so I could be wrong." Ai yawns softly, not yet rising from the pad. After all, she doesn't want to seem too brazen. "Would you like to continue the lesson, Dewei?"

"You are attractive." He nods, followed by an awkward pause. "I would love to continue, yes, if it's okay with you."

Ai smiles into the pad. "Then start copying the rune at the small of my back. Remember, the foundation is the same, but the fountain and crest are different. Try to replicate the foundatian without my direct instruction."

Dewei nods...closes his eyes a moment, visualizes what he's going to do beforehand, mediatates on it a few seconds. Then he begins drawing it, carefully, without looking at first.

Ai turns head to watch him draw, staying silent even after his first mistake. It's intriguing to see how quickly he learns, truly enthralling to her. She's never taught anyone before... she has no children, no familiy... it feels nice.

"Remember that the slightest errors are not terribly important in the scheme of the rune... only large errors will matter, unless there are a lot of them."

Dewei nods...he manages to hold onto his focus well enough after letting out a slow breath, since he knows this means he'd make a mistake, and continues, shaking it off as he finishes the foundation.

Ai buries her face again in the pad. "Does your mother criticize your work often, Dewei?"

"Sometimes...it depends. She doesn't criticize the choices I make, like choosing rune magic, even though I think it makes her uncomfortable for some reason, just a gut feeling...or like choosing a weapon specialty. She wasn't big on polearms until Ting took it up quite out of the blue, and then mother started putting in insane hours learning it so that she could teach my sister." He thinks. He knows he hasn't fully gotten to the question yet. "If I'm working independently, she may make suggestions if I'm about to hurt myself or ruin a project, but usually keeps quiet otherwise unless I ask something. If she's the one teaching something, then she can be harsh, yes. She's quicker to critize than praise, but... when she does praise, you know she means it, and that you've got what she was trying to teach. She mostly gives hints, neither positive nor negative."

Ai looks up at him. "Alright. Now... tell me, Dewei. What is your dream for your rune sorcery? In learning it... you must have a goal. Something you desire more than anything else. May I ask what it is?"

Dewei's eyes travel aside after she meets them. He's silent a moment. "I...want my mother to be happy again. Part of the curse making my father ill is comprised of runes, which is part of what she can't unwravel...I want to fix it."

"Don' look away, Dewei. Eyes up, darling." She holds her gaze upon him, lips pursing a bit. "Counter runes are advanced... I thought we might jump into what you want, but I fear that's impossible." Silence. "The essence of a counter-rune is learning to write the runes backwards. And to differentiate between fountain, foundation, and crest."

He nods, though he's only smiling in politeness now. "Right. So. Shall we continue step by step, and get closer?"

"Of course, darling. I just need to flip over here... turn your head, please."

"Ehm...right." He turns a little red, and is quick to do as told.

When Dewei turns, Ai holds out her hand, and a nice plush towel appears in its grasp. Throwing off the robe, and replacing it with a pair of shorts so that she won't be completely naked and cause any more problems, she lies on her back upon the pad, covering her pillows with the towel. Upon her belly there are columns of smaller runes, some glowing, some dark, some neutral. Two large ones, unlike the others, sit in parralel positions partway up her ribcase.

"You may look now, darling. The runes on my ribs are the next lesson. The one on my right is a curse, written by an enemy of my father's. The one of my left is his counter-rune, written backwards to dispel the first. See?"

Dewei observes this carefully...nods. "Yes. I think so. So...were the parts of the rune written in reverse order?" It certainly matters, since the marks are just pneumonic.

"Yes, they..." Ai looks down, at a glowing circle showing through her towel. "Dewei..." Quite suddenly, the pendant
given her by Felina burns into life, moved by such energy that it lifts from beneath the towel and stands straight up in the air.  "... voices..." Ai barely utters the word before a tortured shriek pierces her throat and lips, her body hands slamming to her ears to drown out the most horrendous sound she has ever heard in her entire life.

Dewei's eyes snap open at this. "Ai...Ai!" He has no clear idea what's going on...some guess, though. If he's right... he lunges forward, grabs her by the shoulders and holds her tight. "Ai...Ai, I know it's loud, but find my voice and hold onto it. Come on...Ai. Listen to me. Ai?" He keep talking, doesn't let her go.

Ai thrashes and wrenches against him, tearing herself from his grasp and scrambling to her feet. Hands ripping at her hair she runs, blindly, to the walls. "Make them stop...!" Unable to control herself she thwacks her head into the wall, and again, screaming the same sentence over and over again. She had no idea it would be this bad.

"Ai...Miss Ai!" Dewei is following her step by step, quick but also hesitant to hurt her. He tries to restrain her head from hitting the wall telekinetically, and keeps trying to reach her, mirroring his voice telepathically. "Ai...Ai, listen to me. Don't listen to them, okay? Ai. Ai, you're here right now, you're safe from them, just listen to me." His voice is extremely worried.

Felina appears right beside her son...loosens his telekinetic restraints though a loose sort of pillowy hold remains, setting her hands gently but firmly on either side of Ai's face. "Ai. Look at me. Listen to me. Ignore them. Ai. Ai. Listen to me." Her voice has a piercing telepathic quality, and she's doing her best to channel the souls to the side at least enough to quiet them as they pass. "Ai. Listen to me. Are you okay? You're okay."

Ai gazes pitifully at Felina, her lips working, but her voice still in her throat. A beads of blood roll down her forehead, some oozing from nail-marks, and some from the wall. 

"Millions of voices," she whispers to Felina, "screaming... why not me? Something in the air... I hear demons crying out in fury... shock..."

"Think about it later. For now...it's quieting. Let that be." Felina brushes her hands over Ai's injuries gently, knitting them. For all that Ai's a lot older than she is...she almost feels protective of her, in a way. Both for how she's wronged her--more than once--and how much more varied her life experiences has been.

She sure as hell wants to know what's going on in hell...she has a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that she would like explained. But Ai can't and shouldn't have to deal with that right now. "I'll do an abyssmal scry a bit later, Miss Ai, and try to figure out what's going on. For now...it's quieting. Are you all right?" Her hands are still on the goddess's shoulders, much lower face concerned.

Ai nods, just breathing as best she can. "I'm alright..." she looks into Felina's eyes, but stiffens suddenly. "Dewei... where is he? Is he okay?"

"I'm okay," Dewei notes, stepping into her line of sight from the side, where he'd been since his mother had taken over. "I'm just worried about you."

Felina starts to smile...before her face bleaches to a deathly pale. "...oh dear god," she whispers involuntarily. She doesn't know what to say...not to Ai. Doesn't know what to think. She simply turns and leaves, step fast and stiff.

Dewei's ears press straight back. He's never seen her react to anything like this before. "Mother...?"

She doesn't answer. Or slow.

Ai looks at Dewei with glazed eyes, then watches Felina leave. "Hon... could you bring me my clothes... I think I need to lie down..." she tilts her head. "Unless you want to continue studying the runes while I sleep...?"

"Um..." his eyes are still on his mother. "No, that's okay...do you want me to show you to a more comfortable room? Here, we really should get you a bed..." he's trying very hard to not think about what his mother is doing. But Ai needs to be seen to, also, as he gathers up her clothes and takes them over to her. He's too distracted and worried to even notice her body now, really.

She appreciates it, too. And admires it. She dresses quickly, but wearily, as if every ounce of strength has been drained from her poor body.

"Thank you Dewei... you know... for a brief moment I could have sworn I heard my father calling to me, just now." She shrugs, looking to the ground. "Felina warned me this might happen. I just... didn't expect it to be so bad. I will sleep on the pad, thank you, Dewei."

He nods. "Let me know if you need anything?" He's fidgety. "I'll try to be aware...if you just ask, I'll hear it even if I'm not in the room."

"That's sweet of you, Dewei, thank you..." she leans in and kisses his cheek, patting his shoulder gently. "Goodnight. See to your mother, sweetheart."

He smiles weakly, though he cheeks do colour, and he nods. "Right. Sleep well." He leaves, worried beyond all worry.

Ai staggers to the pad and just... falls on it, dropping into a deep, coma-like trance without a moment's hesitation.

---

When Felina, Dewei, and...Radivishe Moorn...appear a few minutes later, it's just outside the room. Felina glances at the door gesturally, then back to Moorn. "She was providing Dewei with some instruction in rune magic when the storm hit, hence the room. Now she's asleep." She has the funny feeling he's big on all the best for her, so the explanation on the utilitarian room is necessary.

"Imagine," the sorcerer quietly answers, "my daughter teaching your son runes. Hopefully their learning from one another isn't as painful as ours was." He looks to the door... he can sense her inside, sleeping. "Best not to bother her... wait." He looks up, looks around, as if just noticing something. "Felina, you sick pervert. I had no idea you kept that corpse I left behind."

"It's a long story...like you bloody well know it must be. The lich lord Shigoriath reanimated the corpse after you abandoned it and generated a new creature dubbed 'Makyon,' who I met recently." She looks over to her son, is quiet a few moment. "And yes. Hopefully, for both their sakes.

Dewei doesn't understand. But he gets the feeling that it's better to not ask. "I'm...going to go check on Ting."

Felina nods once. "You do that."

He heads off that way, not sure what to think.

Moorn crosses his arms over his chest. "What an ugly child," he smirks. "So you have had your share of adventures, I see. Hardly the homemaker, Felina, it doesn't suit you."

Felina considers this a few moments. Really does consider it. "Maybe not," she notes finally. She looks up at him. Her oldest real enemy, a hated nemesis for so many years. Also the person who had helped her grow up. Who had forced her to grow up. "I'm married now. Two children...Dewei's a twin, Ting is his sister." She glances up the hall. Damnit. Damnit, damnit, damnit. Sighs quietly. "Can I get you anything?"

"How times change... no. I just want to see my daughter." He looks at the door again. "Whatever you might be thinking, I'm not here to pursue old grudges or start new ones. I've escaped two hells in my life, and I'm rather sick of going to them. The overseers are such snippish little pricks. 'Get in the fire, Gabriel. Here, sandpaper soap Gabriel.' But they never see the end coming, poor bastards. Moving on."

About this time another presence, quite powerful, but so thoroughly good that it practically stinks of purity, makes itself known towards the entrance of Felina's house. Moorn glances that way. "More of yours?"

Actually, the first bit's just what she'd wanted to hear. But... "I have no idea." She turns and heads off that way without a word of parting.

Radivishe Moorn smirks a bit. Same old bitch. He smiles to himself and steps inside the Spartan room, to see about his daughter.

At the door to Felina's home there stands a lightly armored woman, whose head is adorned with an open faced helmet with feathers dressing its back, but whose soft brown hair shows through anyway. She has markings similar to a Serinian, but it's obvious that she is not, as no Serinian could fit ears into a helm like that. A holy water sprinkler sits at her side.

"Hello. My name is Lisaria. May I speak to Felina Deyono for a moment?" asks the woman in a heavenly sort of voice.

"Certainly. And you are." Felina's blandly curious to know what this is about, though it's probably related to Moorn somehow. This day's just getting...far too complicated. Just when things had started to calm down again.

"Oh good," Lisaria smiles in relief. "I'm here to talk to you about your son, Dewei. May I come in?"

Now Lisaria has her attention. Fully and completely, despite the fact that Radivishe Moorn is down the hall and to the left. "Of course. would you like to sit down?" she inquires, stepping away from the sliding paper door to allow Lisaria passage.

"Thank you, that would be lovely. My feet are killing me... this is my forty-ninth stop today." She enters, removing her helmet beforehand to let her short, spiky hair stick up freely. "I am a servant of a sort of elder goddess, who watches over all the divinities in this part of the universe. She likes to be called Pretender, though no one really knows why. Anyway... Pretender sent me to talk to you about your son's acquaintance with one Mi'ehna Orr." She glances at Felina. "Pretender said that if he continues to associate with her, I quote, "great evil will befall". Not even a 'him' or a 'her' or a 'them'. But you know great wisdom types and their riddles."

Felina frowns a little as she shows Lisaria to a nearby chair, and leans against one of the house's many fireplaces, herself, thoughtful. "I see. Do you have any more information on teh matter?"

Lisaria shakes her head. "No, unfortunately. Pretender shooed me out the door too quick for questions. And..." Lisaria freezes, mouth partially open, eyes wide. Radivishe Moorn shuts the door to Ai's current bedroom, and leans against the wall.

"Felina," he begins, "you never told me that you keep company with the divine."

Lisaria looks at Felina. "W-what is he doing here?"

Felina blinks. She's lost, though she doesn't let it show as clearly as she once did. "As far as I can tell, he broke hell. Again."

Moorn pouts. "Lisaria, you never call. How am I supposed to tell you these things?"

Lisaria slams her helmet back onto her head, gritting her teeth. "I have to send you back. You don't belong here anymore!"

"Step back, Lisaria. I don't like hell, thank you."

The goddess glances at Felina. "He has to go back. If he doesn't, Pretender will blame his return on you, and then... who knows what she might do. You might have a legion of titans at your doorstep tomorrow."

Felina sighs quietly. How do these things always happen on her doorstep? "Look...I didn't have anything to do with his return. I'm the one who sent him to hell, if you're aware, I'm the last one who would help bring him back. He's here because his daughter is here sleeping off an unpleasant experience and he wanted to see her."

"Shooting the messenger won't help, Felina. The entire pantheon will be up in arms that you knew of my return and didn't instantly seek to butcher me." Moorn sighs softly, leans away from the wall. "I've been back twenty minutes, and already, my old world wants me back."

Lisaria sets her hand upon the sprinkler at her side. "Please don't make me fight you again..."

"I'll have no battles in my house," Felina states. Calmly, but it leaves no room for discussion. "Miss Lisaria, please...I have always been non-combative until directly provoked. This is and has been known since I was just a few centuries old, and the Pantheon has upheld me in this the past. Even as I worked with the spell set to kill our dear friend over there, I didn't and wouldn't move with it until he hit first. If I need to present my case to one of your superiors, then just tell me when...but I absolutely refuse to initiate a conflict that could blow out of proportion and may endanger my children."

Lisaria is not without empathy for the situation, and her expression is obviously torn. After a moment she removes her hand from the weapon, and tears her eyes away from the sorcerer standing in the hallway.

"I will have to report to her... I..." the goddess lowers her eyes. "I will try my best to explain the circumstances, but Pretender will probably send forces after him. Quickly. But... I do not know why this might involve Dewei, or if it does at all, but please, bear the message I brought in mind." She steps back.

"Lisaria," Moorn calls to the goddess, who glares at him, "how is my wife these days?"

"Do not even dare to mention my sister to me you... you..."

Moorn just grins. 

"Ugh..."

Felina had just been bowing her head to Lisaria...sighs at the crack about the sister. "Well, at least hell didn't temper your sparkling jackass-ery. Miss Lisaria, again...if it can be arranged for me to make the case myself and you think it would help, I would be more than willing to do so."

Moorn just shrugs.

Lisaria gazes upon Felina with a strangely sorrowful eye, though a neutral expression otherwise. "You can, if you like. But Pretender is a difficult woman, and rarely changes her mind..." she looks to Moorn again, whose eyes are closed in thought. "The Aster Sanctum is easy to find. Just... follow my energy signature when you wish to go. Ask for me and I will lead you around."

Felina nods. "I'll keep everything that you've said in mind. Thank you."

Lisaria steps outside, not even casting a second glance at Radivishe Moorn, and vanishes in a shower of cute little sparkles.

The sorcerer's eyes open. "It would appear that the snippish bitch in you hasn't quite died yet, either, Felina."

"You bring out the best of me. And, it's been one of those months." She turns to face him. "So. What will you do now?" She almost feels sorry for him, really. Almost.

"Wait for my daughter to awaken, and see if she wants anything to do with me," he bluntly answers, never one for subtlety. "Then I will prepare myself for the inevitable horde divine servants. After that depends on Mi'ehna."

"I don't think she's stopped mourning you fully. She's missed you...a lot." Felina's eyes travel thoughtfully to the door. "Finding out you had a child was only surprising. Finding out that you took such loving care of her blew my mind." That, is the only reason she's not doing her best to throw him out on his ass.

"Evil villain through and through, eh? No one ever stops to consider what evil villains do in their spare time, when we aren't taking over things and fighting with the forces of boring." Moorn smirks, a smirk even for his standards. "Things people don't consider. What does a villain do in the morning when he wakes up? Attack a country? No. Has breakfast. Goes for a run. But I suppose I deserve that."

Felina's smirking a little, genuinely amused because she can truly relate, about halfway through this. "Hey, the theory applies to reclusive, prudish Guardian-types, too. Hell, even the Guardians think that of me now, but...if you'd like to move your daughter to a guest room, feel free."

"She's fine for now. You should consider being quick about going to see Pretender, though." Moorn leans away from the wall. "I should go and wait somewhere isolated. Wouldn't want your children caught in any crossfire."

Felina bows her head a moment. "Right. And thank you." She glances towards their rooms for a moment, considering...then heads off towards the front door again, vanishing for the Aster Sanctum.

Moorn considers peeking in on Ting and meeting her, too, but instead simply vanishes, bound for Radivishe's Grave. May as well fix it up now.

---

Felina lets out a relieved breath when she returns...considers what to do with Lisaria's gift. She'll give it to the twins at some dinner, that would be good. For now, she goes to check on Ting, who's up and around still again...kind of. Ting and Dewei are outside, leaning against a tree...she's dozing against his shoulder.

Felina smiles softly...just leans on a wall, and watches them a bit. They're so special...everything to her. Truly. Good lord she loves them.

"They really are sweet," Ai's voice warbles its way from the front door. The goddess stands there, properly dressed again, though still looking so terribly shaken that it's a wonder she stands on her own. "I'm sorry about earlier... I guess I didn't listen closely enough to your warnings."

"You did well, Miss Ai...that storm hit very quickly." Felina turns to look at the goddess, face still fairly soft though she's working on being more serious again, torn with mixed emotion. She needs to tell Ai...soon, before she finds out on her own. "Are you sure that you should be up and about? You look as though a strong breeze will topple you." Felina stands up fully and walks over to the goddess, to help if necessary.

Ai grins a bit. "I felt like having Ting bed-ridden was more than enough for you to have to deal with. And... I wanted to talk to Dewei. Assure him that everything's okay." She tilts her head just the littlest bit, "Is something wrong?"

"Yes and no. Ehm...care to sit down?"

Ai laughs, weakly, but still musically. "I needed a good excuse. Please." She lowers herself, leaning against the door frame to sit upon the step, and letting her head hang a moment before looking back up. "I hope it isn't bad news."

Felina sits down beside Ai. "There aren't many things that can cause a storm like that to originate in hell," she begins finally. Trails off. "I don't think you appreciate the beating around the bush and sugar coating, so, I'll just say it. Ai...your father escaped again. He's alive. He was here to check on you, actually, briefly, before a small mess caused him to leave to avoid bringing trouble here...but that should be clear for now."

Ai glances at Felina, silently. Her lower lip trembles. "If this is a joke it isn't funny." Her voice quivers, as though she isn't sure whether to laugh, cry, or do neither. "He was... really? When? Where did he go?"

"I don't joke so cruelly Ai, I wouldn't do that to you..." she closes her eyes. "He's on the world that bore his now obsolete grave."

"I have to go..." she closes her eyes, and fades, but fades back in a moment later. "Urk..." Fades again, but reappears more quickly this time. It is obvious that she lacks the strength for what she's trying to do. She leans on her fist, blowing her hair out of her eyes. "How was he... was he... him? Did he look older, or..."

"Easy there...you're still disoriented from the storm. Don't overexert." Felina lays a hand gently on Ai's shoulder. "He looks...older, yes. A little taller, maybe a little less feminine. He has some new scars as well."

"Scars... well... it probably was pretty rough, right?" She looks at Felina, recognizing that maternal instinct that her father probably never saw back in the day. "I can't believe he's back... and he came to see me? Felina... I don't even know what to think."

"I can take you to see him, since you shouldn't push that way. I could bring him here. Or you can give yourself a chance to process this for a little while first. What would you like to do?" Felina's voice is gentle and sympathetic.

"... I want to see him. I'm sorry to inconvenience you further, Felina, but... I need to see my father." Most of Ai's guarded, strong-willed exterior is gone right now. Physical weakness, and the sheer emotional shock of this news, has her vulnerable side facing front right now. "If it's okay with you..."

"Of course. It's no trouble." Felina doesn't smile, but a very little bit. It's just not appropriate right now. She stands up, and extends a hand to Ai to help her out as well.

Ai takes it, leaning most of her weight upon it to rise. Felina was right... she really shouldn't be about right now. "Suppose Dewei and Ting could come...? I would love for them to meet him, if it is alright..."

"He met Dewei, in passing...Ting was asleep. Well, if that's what you'd like, let's go get them." Felina smiles and, supporting Ai where necessary, heads out to the twins, nudging her daugher awake telepathically. "Dewei, Ting...let's wake up, hm? Ai and I would like to take you to meet someone."

Dewei senses it's the same person...but nods.

Ting's got that wide-eyed, still-half-asleep stare going on, and then yawns, displaying her fangs clearly. "So who are we going to meet?"

"Miss Ai's father."

"Mm...fun. Can I take my naginata? I know you finished it?"

"Why?"

"It makes me look cool."

Dewei snickers, and pats his sister.

"I'm sure that would be alright," Ai nods, leaning pretty heavily upon Felina. "Father shouldn't mind a pointy stick."

"I'm sure not." Felina nods. The only pointy stick she doesn't doubt he minds is the black sword at her side...specially formulated for him, after all, and struck the death blows. But she never leaves it lying around...she's sure that it would turn up missing immediately. It represents eher first real success in magic--one of her greatest to date, really--and is a legitimately terrible, unique little implement.

She holds out her hand, and Ting's new weapon materializes in it. She glances over it...smiles a little. Lots of hard work went into this, a labor of love...she holds it out. "Here you are, Ting."

The elder twin eeps happily and takes it, eyes sparkling. "It looks wonderful, mother...thank you!" She bounces...is on her feet with characteristic quickness and swings it once. She really is pretty impressive with it. And, she's thrilled.

Dewei smiles, and stands as well.

Ting's favorite outfit shifts into being around her, and she straps her weapon to her back. "Okay. I feel better. Shall we?" She grins a toothy smile.

Ai nods, and glances to Felina. She doesn't consider the black sword, largely because she doesn't know about it really. "When you're ready, just take us to the grave. Niven Ai isn't ready for visitors yet."

Felina nods. "I know Ting is ready...Dewei?"

He nods.

Felina nods. "Okay, then...hold tight." And then all of them show up at Radivishe's Grave.

---

Several hours later, Felina has finished adjusting a boot design for Dewei. "There...try that one."

Dewei stands up, and flexes his foot..."I think this one's better, mother."

She nods thoughtfully...pokes one of the pseudo-claws on it. It's not really shaped like his natural claws, really...it's a series of surfaces designed to simulate the way claws catch on surfaces. Actually, this may work marginally better than their natural ones. "Yeah. The sole's strong enough to count as a "real" shoe, but still pretty pliable. The grip's good, too. You're going to need to be aware of the dimensions of your foot, since the claws are a little farther forward. But you'll get used to that. Run around a bit before you go, you have a few minutes. Don't stumble in front of him; something tells me that he's going to deal with weakness more harshly than I do."

Dewei nods. "I don't doubt it." He flexes his foot. They're pretty cool, really. "Thank you, mother." That said, he does as bidden and starts off down a path, summoning up an obstacle course to be ready for him to gets to it.

"All right, Ting." I'll make you a pair too, they'll be easier to duplicate than to design. You can help me pick at the design."

Ting grins. She'd been keeping quiet and off to the side...but her mother knows her well. "Always a pleasure!" She bounces out, and before long there are two half-dumen running around in boots. Ting had taken the time to reconfigure her outfit to match, though, so she looks quite smart in her black boots. Dewei's aren't the same colour, as they do match his clothes...at least in hue. Before too long, and after a chat with his sister--not to mention a good many hugs from her side of things--he gathers up his sword and a bag with, dutifully enough, one set of clothes.

Felina--his mother, not the guardian or the warrior--is there to hug him goodbye, tightly. She's worried. "Take care, Dewei. You know how to handle pain, you've done it for years...you'll do famously. Show him what it is to be an Ono, yes? And remember that I'll be watching and on hand in case things really go wrong."

He smiles, and nods. "I'll be careful, mother. I promise." He pecks her temple, and steps back. "I'll learn a lot, mother, for you!"

Felina smiles tightly, and nods. "Make me proud, Dewei."

He smiles, takes a deep breath, and vanishes to where he senses Moorn's energy signature.