An ivory palace ruled by one Mi'ehna Orr, existing in a pocket dimension not unlike her father's dimension Moren Aiga. It is a peaceful place, lush with trees and springs, waterfalls and streams, and the castle itself is like one gigantic garden. The ruler of this place doesn't frequent it all the time, as she wanders quite a bit.

---

This universe's Felina had done her best to aim the jump well and guess at a place to land where they won't startle anyone or come across as intrusive or threatening. She's never been here before, obviously, and looks around with subdued interest. Most of her attention is on one thing: the fact that the air here echoes faintly of Radivishe Moorn's energy signature.

"It is a little bit different, but not much. The castle gate is around here, just past the lovers' statue." Drianis looks down the path, past colorful bushes, and his eyes rest upon a lovely statue sitting between a pair of cherry trees. It depicts a man and woman entwined in one another's arms and lips, but is tasteful and not scandalous. Interestingly, the woman is quite a bit taller than the man. "She had a bell system before, that would let her know visitors were about.

"So do we just wait, then, or do we have to announce ourselves somehow?" Felina inquires as they begin walking that way.

"We ring the bell." Drianis points towards a thick rope hanging from a hole in the awning over the gateway, and gives it a tug. A clear, musical tolling of bells answers the pull, and the violet-haired fellow steps back to wait.

"May I help you?" A subliminal voice is only moments behind, it's timbre the tinkling of a mountain brook at worst.

"We're here to talk to a Miss Mi'ehna," Felina responds in that dull voice of hers.

"... state your business with her." There is a note of surprise, soaked with a soft underlying of regret, in the demand, but it is far from unfriendly.

"We need her help to ensure the safety of a friend."

Silence answers the statement, long enough for Drianis to grimace a bit.

"I hope we have not lost her attention," he muses. A crack of locks turning blur the last syllable of his statement, and with a quiet groan the gates swing open to reveal a grand foyer in front of them. Curling staircases rise in alabaster on either side of the chamber, one stopping at a second floor, the other rising all the way to a third. It is a well-designed place, so full of gurgling brooks, trees, and flowered curtains that it scarcely looks like a building at all.

"If you want to wait, sit wherever you like. Might I suggest the rim of the fountain between the staircases. If you cannot wait, I am in the parlor on the second floor. I will be with you shortly."

"Thank you." Felina lets out her breath, looking around...very nice, really.

"Well. One obstacle passed, at least, and one step at a time," Tel-tiono notes. He looks around as well. It really is very pretty. He would probably enjoy this place a good deal were it not for the circumstances.

It isn't long, perhaps three or four minutes, before Mi'ehna shows up. A stark contrast to the Mi'ehna they know, she is fairly tall and rather prim in appearance and demeanor. Her strawberry-straw colored hair is bound in a very neat, very cautious bun, though straight locks still fall on either side of her sharp, feminine face. She has her fathers allover black eyes, and his angular nose, but her mouth is all her mother's. Wide and full lips, the kind that almost seem a little bit too big until she smiles with them and they become enchanting. Her outfit is more or less functional... and actually, aside from its midnight blue bulk, red trim, and skirt bottom, looks quite a bit like Tel-Tiono's outfit.

"I apologize for making you wait. I was arranging some potions in my study, and could not risk misplacing one." Her voice, though sweet and melodic, holds that same sort of half-mock of her father, which just makes Drianis grin. Her eyes linger upon Felina for a moment. "So, why are you in here, calling a name I haven't used in ages?"

"We came on behalf of a friend. Well, his daughter." She indicates Tel-tiono with a kind of telepathic gesture, very casual. Her face is still unchanging, and her voice is fairly monotonous. Still, she's debating. What route to go with this. Finally goes for the blunt, honest one about her own involvement. "Because I stole her from them. However, I can't safely return her right now, as much as I would like to. You may be one of the few people who can help." Her energy signature is there, but as subdued and cloaked as ever. As her father's really. Neither is truly hiding, but flaunting power is never wise.

The only child of Radivishe Moorn stays where she is at the top of the stairs, eyes set upon Felina, but moving to Tel-tiono soon after. "So what is it that you want from me exactly, to make up for a crime you committed against this man?" She tilts her head. "Not unlike the crime you committed against me, Felina?"

Felina looks up to the other. "Are you really sorry I ended him? Or resent me for it?"

"Yes. And yes." She steps down the stairs, one at a time, mouth drawn into a thin line that twitches now and again. "He was a monster, but he was my father. For you to come in here, asking favors of me... I should cast you out of my gates this second." She looks away. "How did you know my name?"

Felina closes her eyes a few moments, before opening them again. This is going to be harder than she'd anticipated. She hadn't let herself hope for better, really...but still. "Master Drianis told me your name as he knows it. They are from a parallel dimension on a timeline behind ours."

Tel-tiono steps forward at this, finally, leaning upon his staff. "I understand, Miss, that you seem to have a justified grudge against Miss Felina. All that I would request of you right now is that you hear what master Drianis and I have to say, by your kindness. However, if you wish us to go, we will." The words are sure, as are his expression and stance, but...really, he looks almost like a broken old man in some absolutely intangible way.

She looks at Tel-tiono, and then at Drianis, as if she had only just then noticed their presence. She catches that, blinking those abysmal ebony eyes.

"I no longer use that name," she admits in a decrescendo of a tone, speaking as if only to Tel-tiono. "If you must address me, please, call me Ai. It is what my mother wanted to name me."

Drianis, for his part, keeps quiet. This woman... she is almost a carbon-copy of the Mi'ehna he had known, though her presence is far more... intimidating, to him. She seems a bit colder, too, but that could be the loss of her father, beast though he might have been, speaking.

Tel-tiono bows his head politely at this. "Miss Ai, then. It is a lovely name."

Ai allows a small smile... small for her, at least. Her lips are so large and expressive that it looks like she is beaming. She glances to Drianis, looks him up and down, clicks her tongue. "Felina. Just because I have not forgiven you, does not mean that I will not forgive you. I'm not my father. But... I stopped accepting gifts of men ages ago." It's weak, she knows it. But perhaps it will soothe the situation somewhat. "Although, you do have good choice in gifts."

Felina had bowed a bit at the first bit...grins the slightest bit at the comment about gifts. "Maybe, but neither would consent to wearing a bow."

Drianis tilts his head. Actually...

Ai can read the look on his face, and chuckles softly. "Forgive the rude introduction," she sighs after a moment, "I do miss my father, I miss him terribly. It is making me forget my manners. Would you like some refreshments or shall we get to the point?"

"That is entirely up to you, I believe, Miss Ai. It will be a fairly long set of explanations, in all probability." What Tel-tiono's saying, in a roundabout sort of way, is that he could at least use a place to sit down.

Felina is very quiet now. In everything that ever went through her mind about those horrible last months of Radivishe Moorn's life and then the time after...that someone would actually miss him never entered her mind. Though she's largely as expressionless as ever, she's been thrown for quite the loop and isn't sure how to handle the situation, especially knowing how long and how bitterly she had missed her own father.

"Then we can sit right here." Ai holds out a hand, palm down, and vines from beneath their feet snake up, twisting together and growing with a crinkling sound until four vine-chairs, adorned with pretty orange and red flowers, sit near them. "So much more convenient than owning furniture," she laughs, sitting in one herself, and crossing her pale legs. Bell flowers, their stiff, rounded blooms full to the brim with clear, sweet nectar rise up next to each chair, and Ai takes one to sip. "Sit, drink. And then tell your story. Feel free to compliment my home, by the way."

Tel-tiono grins in his quiet way as he takes a seat gratefully. "It is easily enough done, Miss Ai. I am a great lover of horticulture, myself."

Felina looks over the seats for just a moment, then sits.

Tel-tiono sips the nectar, and sets it back down. It's very good, really. He can sense Felina's discomfiture, and so begins speaking while she's still trying to figure out how to start. "Well, to begin...this seems to have started well before we arrived in your parallel, with an incident very similar to one that happened in our own..."

In his patient, measured way, always ready to clarify and answer questions as they come, Tel-tiono explains the nature of Sheran Tanru and their respective histories with the creature, and then skips to nearly the present day and methodically, evently explains what has happened with both Felina's, and the explanations this one had given for her actions, which he does back up at least the magical and dimensional logic of, and just doesn't take a stance on morals. "So really," he concludes, "the aid we seek from you doesn't even need to Tanru's destruction, necessarily. While that is one method, the real goal is subduing him and alleviating both the threat to my daughter, and to whatever he may injure in this parallel." As he'd explained...Tanru, while not as hateful as Ai's father, had led to nearly as many deaths in his day...if not more, simply due to his more advanced age.

Ai leans her chin upon a fist, crossed legs kicking boredly in just the way that her father's would have, had he been female. "It's not in my nature to kill," she is quick to assure them, "even when someone has committed a grievous act against me. I lack the taste for it." She sips her nectar, eyes unblinking as she considers this with an expression that looks both bored and bemused. "Tel-tiono. Do you love your daughter?" At this she glances at the modern Felina.

"Of course I do. I love her more than my own life."

Felina meets Ai's gaze evenly...not to say she's comfortable with it. But she manages to not show that she's not.

Ai smiles at Felina, and sips again. "I have two conditions," she begins in a cool tone, "and both must be met before I'll sully my hands with helping you. Tel-tiono, it is no disrespect... I am familiar with you, and believe me, I am honored to even be in your presence." She speaks, of course, of this Felina's father's legacy, but it translates well. "First, I want you, Felina, to come with me to my father's grave. Second, I want him." 

Ai points her long, slender finger directly at Drianis. The violet-haired fellow blinks, cup still half-turned to his lips. He moves a little to the left, and her finger follows. A little to the right. Ai's follows. He gulps.

"Ahh..." Felina glances to Drianis. "Well...I can't really promise him...but I would be glad to accompany you to your father's grave." Well. It's been some hell of a long time since she's been there....

"It is both or I don't help you." Ai smirks a bit, for all the world like her father would have. "And he has no say in it. It is not his daughter who is in bondage. It is yours, master Tel-tiono."

Drianis holds up a hand. "Erm... miss Ai? Exactly... what do you want me for?"

Ai glances at him, tilts his head. "It is the divine right of every woman to have a beefcake type around for whatever occasion. And I am a divine woman, so, there."

Tel-tiono pauses at this. But only for a moment. "I am afraid this is not a choice that I can presume to make for Master Drianis," he finally states. "Your help may very well be exceedingly valuable, Miss Ai, and I appreciate its being offered in any facility. But, if it cannot be acquired but by bartering one person for another, I will seek another method." There's nothing patronizing in the tone despite the words...it's an observation made with the utmost solemnity considering the possible implication to his Felina.

Ai smiles a little bit at Tel-tiono, and nods. "I like that answer.  Still thoughtful of others, despite the danger to your own holdings... I like it. Alright, master Wizard, I'll help you."

Drianis just sits back, just... very confused, and a bit disappointed, actually. Ai beams at him, and he manages a nervous grin. It's been a while since he's actually felt like a piece of meat.

Tel-tiono smiles the slightest bit and bows his head, hands before him. "Thank you, Miss Ai. For now, perhaps you and Miss Felina could pay that visit to your father, while I consider ways to overcome Tanru while holding to your 'non-lethal' stipulation?"

Felina glances over to him before looking back down to her drink. Thanks a lot.

"We certainly can." Ai glances at Drianis, black eyes singing. "Do not look so glum, muscles. I might keep you anyway."

Drianis laughs nervously, and sips the nectar.

"Felina. Shall we? I have a way station in my study that leads there." Ai takes her feet, dusting her skirt of plant-dust, and looks up the stairs to the second floor. "Just follow me." She turns and heads that way, without another word.

Felina sets down cup wordlessly, and stands to follow.

Tel-tiono stands as well. "Miss Felina, do you have any literature on Sheran Tanru that I may find useful?"

She nods after a moment. "In my study." The wizard nods, and Felina walks silently after Mi'ehna-Ai.

When they are gone, Drianis looks to Tel-tiono.

"Do you have any idea how... off-putting it is to be hit upon by the daughter of that monster?" he inquires in a truly shivery voice. "A smile that wants to devour me, and eyes that remind me of someone who tried."

(OOC: Radivishe's Grave)

Tel-tiono blinks once, thinking, and then looks to Drianis. "I have my own history with Radivishe Moorn. I understand...to some extent. Old men are less attractive to young ladies. Shall we head back to Miss Felina's residence, then?"

Drianis nods, glancing up after the women. "Could you not see in her eyes, the way she wanted to... hm. I think if you allowed it, Tel-tiono, she would curl up on your lap and ask for a story. Do you follow?"

"I would not have thought Radivishe Moorn capable of creating such a lasting bond. However...she misses her father. Very much." The wizard's eyes aren't without sympathy. "Our Felina tends a very similar reaction to a certain elder vampire she met in the years after my parallel's death."

"Well. Be careful how you act around her, though I'm sure I do not have to tell you. If she gets even the slightest idea that you might... bah. You know. Shall we go?"

"We shall." A moment later, they're in Helantri Deru.

---

"I think we are safe, for now, master Wizard. Is there any way that you can hide my daughter from him?" Drianis looks down at the bloody, sweaty young woman in his arms, who would not have complained even had she possessed the power to speak. "Even wounded, she is too stubborn to let someone else fight for her."

"Both of you would do better to hide, Master Drianis...I believe I know a method, and would like to send both of you entirely out of this parallel, once we have time." There's no time now...it would be too big an energy rise, Tanru could sense it and stop it before the jump was completed.

The wizard has a gash on his cheek, but little more...for now. He raises a staff...powerful cloaks spring up all over the tiny planet, some thirty in all. Hopefully Tanru will be unable to guess which they're in. He, Drianis, and Mi'ehna all vanish to one far away, but not quite opposite...the wizard works fast, while the cloak is still hiding their whereabouts at prime strength. He drags a hand down the air before them, creating a glowing rift. "Inside, both you. It should be secure." it's a pocket dimension, not unlike the ones this world's Felina uses to hide things...it's actually a triple cut, though. The pocket dimension isn't attached to this edge of the universe, or this dimension. Almost impossible to track if sealed properly, on top of its cloaked walls. He's just grateful that it's here..."he'd" created it, and is relieved that his parallel had as well.

Drianis doesn't hesitate. The expression upon his hard face screams that he wishes to be of use, but his priority is his daughter.

Even as they're vanishing a rise of telekinetic energy tears down one of Ai's treasured towers so that the entire structure smashes against the rocks below. Niven Ai is a place filled with difficult-to-match magicks, but Sheran Tanru is having little trouble negating them. In the courtyard of the outer wall he clacks his maw, eyes sweeping the area for a reaction.

Tel-tiono seals the hole behind Drianis and Mi'ehna with careful, nearly surgical precision...the faintest mistake will reveal the path that they had taken. He lets out a deep breath. Another hole appears in another of the cloaks...seals just the tiniest bit imperfectly. That should look like what he was trying to hide. The second one, the true distraction...just as the cloaks waver, conceivably due to the energy strain of maintaing so many, another hole opens just long enough to let people through, and then seals, the faintest bit sense-able.

Puffs of smoke at each distraction location only barely precede dozens of localized explosions, Sheran Tanru's form of impatience. Where he stands his eighteen claws dig into the ground, his inhuman voice warbling a bit. He wants this over, and he wants it over immediately... though deep in his mind, he still knows that he is not going to win. Not with this much resistance.

Tel-tiono teleports to another cloak...and then lets them fall, conviced that Mi'ehna and Drianis are safely away.

"I know you are here, Wizard!" The hominid roars at the top of his unnatural lungs. "You have the key to ending my madness. Hand it over and save us the time of this idiotic battle." A stomp of his right front paw sends a wicked tremor hurtling beneath the ground of Niven Ai, almost as if in warning.

Tel-tiono closes his eyes a moment, then appears not far from Tanru, staff at the ready i a position it almost never sees. "I would sooner be ended myself. Let me try to remove the command from your mind, Tanru...the Derrias has no expert in constructs greater than me. You know that." His face has an ancient, warrior's determination that even Felina has only seen glimpses of.

"You know I cannot!" Tanru's entire form bristles with energies that could be called nothing less than apocalyptic, but he holds them back... knowing that he cannot attack this man. "To do so would be to compromise my order!"

"So mount a weak defense. Overlook something, make a mistake. I am not above taking advantage."

Tanru shudders. "Remove your spell," the hominid offers, "and we will see. Or I could just blast a populated city into dust instead."

The wizard pauses at this several moments. "Fine. I can do that."

Tanru nods his pointed head. "Do it, then. We can put this stupidity behind us all." The energies fade within him, a sign that he will not try to sucker punch the wizard.

Tel-tiono is quiet...relaxes his defensive stance, though he's still ready to move in reality...senses alert, steps towards Tanru.

The hominid lowers his arms, though he too is wary of an attack. He allows his mind to open to the Wizard for whatever purpose he has planned, no matter what it is. Of all people, Tanru knows him to be an honorable man, and so... trust is actually there.

Tel-tiono knows that this may be damning for this universe's Felina...and yet it may be the only chance that he gets to save all of them. Another chance can never be counted on to follow one slipped past...

His eyes take a far-away look as he begins examining the energy paths in Tanru's mind...he legitimately needs to see how his spell has woven and re-woven with the other strands after all of this time. But that isn't all he looks for. Command lines, command lines...where are they? Where would an annoying, pompous creator put them? Ah. Right there.

This he examines carefully. Since it's not his spell set...there's a much better chance of making a mistake. He thinks he sees how it works, though...then knows he does, at a faint, subtle, backup command line. Kill Felina... really, it's overwhelming. The urge almost teases his own mind for a moment.

The wizard takes a slow, very quiet breath, face perfectly calm. These have to be released at exactly the same time...command line and restraint spell, both cut at once...or he's just caused Felina's death. Three precisely-considered points of energy appear quite suddenly in the construct's mind, that Tanru can't react quickly enough, and lash forward, seeking both spell sets.

The restraint spell shatters.

The hominid's eyes glow white, and he realizes too late that the wizard really did tinker with his program. His first thought is to be furious, to destroy that which has tricked him, but a second thought counters it almost immediately.

"Very strange," he utters in his mechanical voice. "For the life of me I fail to recall why I am here."

"Because you have been bound to a code written by those who can no longer hold sway over you."

Tanru tilts his sizable head. "Bound to a code? I recall no such thing."

Tel-tiono smiles, just a little. "That is for the better. Tell me, what do you remember?"

"Everything except what I am doing in this place," Tanru answers, and begins marching around, surveying the area. "I feel as though I was hunting something, but that something is no longer there."

Tel-tiono nods. "An accurate analogy. Perhaps it is time to find a new goal, then?" If only he had known as much about constructs the first time he'd fought Tanru...perhaps it would have been less about uninhibited violence against a mindless creature and more about seeking the method behind the mind. His hand wraps near the top of his staff more casually, leaning upon it and taking the weight off of his leg.

"Yes... it would seem that way." Tanru clacks his maw, studying. Something is not right, but whatever it is, is escaping him. 

Tel-tiono observes this quietly for a few moments. The trick now is preventing a later recovered memory and a resulting vendetta against the now-unprotected elder Felina. "Is there something that I can answer for you?" he inquires finally.

"Maybe. Who is Felina, and why did I hate her so much?" Tanru shakes his head. He remember, now, who and when and where. Just not 'why'.

"She is my youngest daughter...a construct as well, to be technical. You hated her because the Derrias implanted an assassination line in your mind against her before you earned your freedom. She personally has done nothing to earn your ire. I severed the command implant to prevent one of you being destroyed, which is why you are having difficulty recalling the episode."

Tanru nods, as if the pieces quite fit into place. "Then I should pay a visit to these Derrias. Thanks. Let's not meet again, for your daughter's sake."

"Not all of them are 'bad' people. But yes. Let us not. Goodbye, I wish you a more peaceful life."

Tanru just nods, and vanishes in a cascade or white-hot sparks, bound for the lab where he had been 'grown' to get some answers.

Tel-tiono lets out a slow breath...a small smile creeps across his lips after a few moments, at the feeling that is sweeping over his heart. This...is ended. He feels sure of that. He looks over at the ruins of Ai's castle...those, he'll repair before she comes back. He has the strange feeling that something will need to be reconfigured for her return, anyway.

He closes his eyes...seats himself on a rock, and is just quiet for a few moments. Then a portal opens nearby to let Mi'ehna and Drianis out. It is safe. You may return unless you like small, dark spaces.

Drianis steps through, carrying an awake but still weary Mi'ehna, and blinks in the light. "All done?" he cheerfully asks of the wizard, his eyes surveying the damage.

Tel-tiono smiles his quiet smile...nods once. "All done."

Mi'ehna squirms down from her father's arms and takes a step towards Tel-tiono. Her face, though masked with blood still, glows with appreciation, and she hugs the old wizard without a second thought.

Too well done, Uncle.

Tel-tiono's face softens...he sets an arm gently on her back. A powerful, soft healing spell spell works at her various injuries as he does. "Thank you, Mi'ehna. I...am simply glad to have this matter done." He plants his staff and stands up, letting a wearied breath slide from his lips though his mood is light. "Well. Shall we return to Miss Felina's residence, then?"

"It seems the thing to do," Drianis nods. "I have to thank Ai for striking me with my daughter, anyway." 

Mi just grins at both of them.

Tel-tiono smiles. "We will move in a few seconds, then," he warns them, rising.

Mi'ehna doesn't let go of the old wizard. Drianis nods... he's quite ready to get out of here.

---

Moorn deposits his daughter in her bedroom. He allows his hand to linger upon her cheeck for a second before leaving her side, and heading back into the main room of the castle. 

"Have you known her long?" he asks of all three of the Onos.

Felina and the twins have been following quietly. "Actually, it's a surprisingly short amount of time...less than two weeks. She and my two have been through a lot together since then, though."

Ting nods. "Yup. She saved our butts."

Felina smiles briefly at Ting, and looks back to Moorn. "I think she's been alone for a very long time...was very open to sentient contact after an initial guardedness. That would explain how she's gotten so attached to the twins, so fast, on top of shared intense experience."

"That and she's really nice." Ting grins brightly. She really does like Ai...even if she threatens with scorpions.

"I would appreciate it if you spent time with her regularly," the sorcerer says, obviously a bit uncomfortable with exchanging pleasantries at all. After all, he's been in hell. "She needs good influences in her life, and whether I like it or not, I am not." He glances at Dewei in particular.

Dewei isn't nearly oblivious enough to miss this, but isn't sure how to react. He's more unsettled by Moorn than his sister...but does nod. "It would certainly be our privelage."

Felina smiles, and nods. "Right. Your daughter is a sweet girl."

"Even if she has scorpions," Ting adds.

Felina blinks, glances over at her. "Pardon?"

"Nothing."

"I have decided to try putting my strengths to another purpose. World-building instead of breaking. I failed Mi'ehna for every moment of her life and so... I will undo it. I will give her everything." The sorcerer gazes at Dewei again. "You seem out of sorts, child. Do I upset you?"

Dewei's quiet a moment, then elects to be honest. "Your aura is disconcerting to me for some reason. But I'm sure it's nothing...I apologize." He smiles, and bows his head. He knows it's not nothing...he's about 85% sure that Moorn's energy is the same faint power signature he senses tied to his mother's scar, one that still pains her at the right stimuli.

Moorn's eyes narrow just a touch. "Are you in the habit of lying for decorum's sake?"

Dewei blinks. "I..."

Felina waits just a moment, and the sets a hand on her disconcerted son's shoulder. "As for time to be a world builder...while I can't, of course, promise that no one will come after you on a grudge, the Pantheon isn't going to be considering recapturing you necessary to preserving Hell's order at this point."

"I count on it. Just because I'm going to try and be good, doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy myself first." Moorn looks away from Dewei, not wanting to bring on any ire from Felina. "So which one of you has my daughter been teaching the runes?"

"Dewei. He's been doing preliminary study for awhile now."

Ting nods. "Yup. I prefer to beat stuff, but Dewei has a really excellent memory."

"Miss Ai only just began helping me, though," Dewei puts in, trying to recover from previous awkwardness.

Moorn gazes at the boy, eyes not hard, but deep and mysterious, as always. "I owe much to your mother. Despite what she might say..." he smirks at Felina. "And despite what that vicious mark on her body might suggest. I offer to you the opportunity to aid me in building this world, Dewei. If you truly wish to learn, no god in this universe can teach you more than I."

"I do want to talk to you about that, Dewei," Felina puts in, tone neutral. "It will certainly be your choice, and there isn't anyone who can teach you more about the art than Moorn. When I was speaking to Lady Pretender, though, she did raise a concern to me...this particular breed of rune magic is considered forbidden by the 'gods' and a good many mages as well. She said that she would give the order that you aren't to be prosecuted by the Pantheon if you continue. However, wouldn't promise that someone won't come after you on his own time, and, I quote, 'others may seek to harm him for using it." A slight pause. "You can make your own choice on the matter...but you should be informed."

This brings a pause.

"The runes that you've been studying...they're this sort, aren't they, mother?"

She nods. "Yes."

"It seems that this is an important issue for all of you." Moorn's lips curl just a little bit. "If he studies with me, I can promise that anyone who seeks to do him harm will die slowly."

Felina glances to him, nods a little, and looks back to her son. That's something to consider, really...if she can trust Moorn.

Ting is literally squirming. She's just itching to say something, but doesn't feel free to intrude.

Dewei is quiet. He hadn't realized that this was a forbidden art. He looks at Moorn, then back to his mother...tries to read her. Can't. He glances down. This can be dangerous. But...it's still on teh right track. Still working towards his goal. He takes a slow breath, and look up to Moorn. For all that he's a bit unsure of himself, his eyes really do have the same resolution that his mother's have always managed. "As long as you are willing to teach, it would be my honor to learn from you," he says finally, nodding.

Felina's face is still inscrutable. "He's a very hard worker," she notes.

"I assure you that my methods are different than Ai's. If you break, then you weren't fated to learn anyway." He gazes at Felina, knowing her input on this situation is more important than Dewei's. "You look like you have some input to provide Ting."

"I won't," Dewei is quick to say. "I need to learn."

Ting's still wiggling nervously. She's quiet just a moment. "Well, if anyone tries to hurt my brother, you'll kick his ass. I'll hold you to that, you know."

"I'm far too pragmatic to do anything less. Ask your mother. If I am going to put my time into teaching him, then I will not allow that time to go to waste by allowing his death." 

Ting smiles at this in some odd cross between bright and wan.

Felina bows her head. "Well. Thank you." She thinks. "This is an interesting development, then...I can honestly say that I've never considered entrusting you with one of my kids."

"Ai will be there, so I won't massacre any one in particular. Save for threats of course." Moorn tilts his head a little bit. "You are welcome to come as well. Bring the sprout. I cannot promise picnics, but at least you can be sure that my world will not be a vicious dictatorship as I'm sure has already crossed your mind more than once."

"A few. But, however grudgingingly...it's very hard to intelligently contest that you're not the most knowledgeable in the field that there is. I've certainly gotten blown up by it enough times."

Moorn smirks. "Why do you want to learn these spells anyway? This is not sorcery for the beginner."

Dewei glnces to his mother. She's still a moment, then nods. It's okay. He looks back to Moorn. "I want to figure out a set of counter-runes. But I have to learn from teh beginning to know enough to do that." Felina had decided this. She's positive he'd hurt himself if he tried to just jump in.

"Alright then. You have a specialty decided, and some basics already... fine. Come back in six hours and I will show you where we begin. Mi'ehna will be alright by then."

Dewei's expression brightens just a little, and he nods. "Is there anything I should bring?"

"Yourself, your preferred weapon, one set of clothes. Sandals if you cannot fit shoes. If you have a woman, or a man, I don't judge, bring them. Nothing else." The sorcerer glances at Felina again, as smug as ever. "You won't be able to call for mommy should you need to go home. Know that."

"What will the nature of that block be?" Felina inquires, quickly working towards being defensive though hiding that for the most part. He should still be able to tell. "I'm not one to jump to Dewei's defense whenever things get a little difficult, but you understand if I'm not comfortable leaving my son with you if I can't sense him."

"Oh, it is not that you won't be able to sense him," the sorcerer answers. "It is just that I will not allow him to cry for help. As I said, I am harsh."

Felina nods once...she'll be leaping to Dewei's defense at the slightest hint of real trouble, but then, that was expected. It's not like she doesn't understand harsh training. Dewei nods too. "That's okay. I'll be ready."

"Fine. Return here in six hours, then. I have work to do if you'll excuse me." Radivishe Moorn's eyes blaze into green for a moment, a sign that his full power is returning, and he turns to walk off somewhere private. Creating a planet... even at his current power level, it is quite a job.

Felina lets out a slow breath. She could not be less pleased with these last few exchanges...but it had Dewei's choice. "Come on...let's go home." And they all vanish back to Helantri Deru.