Peter should have been able to rex for the hree days but, because of his pre-reination past, the days of Llorr’tes, Lyr’tes, and Yral’tes just seemed to weigh on him, making him more and more anxious that ‘the other shoe’ was ‘going to drop’. Holy, he hated it.He wao leave such baggage behind and was trying to start fresh and be his own person, instead of a copy of who he was in that other world. Though I guess I’ve already got a ‘good’ start on that — the other Me… former Me?… That Me wouldn’t have stood up to that witch of a ‘teacher’, or snarked and sassed at essentially a Bishop-tier clergy member… or fronted someone like Havengard. |Good Morn, nephew!| Di’si’thy popped into Peter’s ‘mental ear’, greeting him in a peppy tone. No offense, but I’m gonna have to get used to the ‘nephew’ part… |aken, stuff like this takes time to adjust to. I just wao che and see how you’re ing along. I heard you did something pretty iing with an energy bde?|

  Looking around, not wanting to cause a ruckus, Peter saw he was mostly alone. Certainly, others were oraining field but none close enough to be bothers, or actally hit, if he tried somethiook a calming, fog breath, and imagined his heart, or core, drawing in ambient mana, or arkyn as Traya had told him the ‘more schorly’ types call it, from around him. Peter was careful not to draw from himself instead, not wanting to ‘cast from hit points’ unless absolutely necessary. |Oh… this is iing…| Di’si’thy whispered, not wanting to distract him.Peter then imagihat arkyn energy flowing from his core, down one arm and into his hand, following the veins and arteries of his circutory system and——

  klk~~VVHHRRRRHHHMMMM

  |… … And you e from a world with no magical energy?| I’ve never seen anything I’d call 'magic’ outside of stories I’ve read or watched. I certainly have never used a healing spell, or lobbed a fireball.Peter raised the energy bde, slowly arg it around as he worked through some start-up stretches that incorporated some stage-py chraphy for sword fights. I just… sorta copied how some of those stories would ‘handle’ magid how spells were cast.He could feel the goddess’ surprise at his admission.Di’si’thlya whispered in his ‘mental ear’, |You just copied how those stories ‘haheir arkynik manipution?| I used to py ‘pretend’ a lot as a kid, imagining things out. Pretending the right-length sticks were swords and the like. |Have you tried anything else?| She asked eagerly. I didn’t think what I did was that impressive… don’t tell me I ‘broke’ something in an ‘achievement in ignorance’? |Yes, and No.| She answered, |In truth, the energy bde you’re swinging around is not ‘impressive’ per se. Such on maion is at the higher end of the low-level arkynik manipution. However doing so without even the barest, basistru; you're ‘just copying what you read or watched', is impressive. And ‘no’, you did not actually break anythiher, actally or on purpose.|

  “It never seems to ge.” A lilting tone broke Peter out of his mental versation with the Goddess of Truth and Magic, “Little boys may grow into big boys… but they still love to swing their swords around~.” She teased, almost squinting at him as her lips curled into a grin, “Oh~ho… someone hasn’t been telling the whole truth. How naughty~!” She giggled, hand c her mouth, as she stood before him. Shifting her weight she held her staff in both hands, with one running idly up and down, “Maybe we be naughty together.”

  |Careful with this one. She’s got a fair bit of magic at her disposal.| Di’si’thlya warned, |We’ll talk ter, I don’t want to distract you.|Peter grunted quietly — it was in ao the Goddess’ ent but if the dy before him thought it was a terse greeting to her, so be it.

  “While it hasn’t been that long, I do wonder if you remember me.” She gently moved some of her long dark hair away from her shoulder, standing a little straighter, “Though I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t. You seemed quite focused on that young guard that was with us.”Peter shook his head, “I had just popped out of an inter-dimensional portal. I wasn’t focused on anything beyond ‘not throwing up’.” “Mh.” That made her pause and think a moment, “That is a fair point…” She gave a smooth curtsy, fixing her eyes on him in an almost hungry manner, “I am Hea, Senior cilor for this temple of The Church Luminous. I was, in fact, there when Shepherd d’Zaier summoned you.” She giggled, “It was almost adorable, you know? Like you were a newborn babe.” You don’t know the half of it, dy.Peter cleared his throat with a cough, “Well, hello, cilor Hea. I am, well, you were there so—” “Mhm~” Another sultry giggle, moving closer to him. Her staff touched his energy bde and moved it aside with the barest hint of hissing or crag, “I remember. Peytr Kharl.” “Right.” He nodded, “So… Might I ask what you’re here for, cilor.”She waved a hand dismissively, “Don’t be so formal.” Her tired, half-lidded eyes glinted, “Call me Hea.” Angled, “You could call me darling, if you prefer. I wouldn’t mind.” “Respectfully, ma’am, we don’t know each other…” “That could ge too.” She got a little closer, enough that Peter could smell… something… on her. While not bad, it was strong, and he was suddenly gd this new body did not share the same rea his old one did t perfumes. He would rather not have a migraihank you.Though, as he could not help but catch her st being so close, he noticed a sharper underlying smell that y beh the perfume — was the floral, citrus-like st a cover-up for that sharp, acrid, almost minty odor?

  Regardless he took a step back, getting unfortable with how close she was to him.She huffed, “All busihen. Fine.” Hea seemed put out by Peter’s ‘rebuff’ and stepped back herself, “I am here to be your training partner.” She o his energy sword, still in hand, “After the excitement of the other day, it was decided that you get some training with arkynik manipution. As Senior cilor it was, also, decided that I be your best teacher.” She smirked, “I do hope you treat me better tha teacher you ‘handled’.” “Don’t berate, insult, or try to beat a child and I think we’ll do just fine.” Peter spoke dryly, bristling a little at her ent.His ent made her frown, actually looking genuinely hurt, “I’d never…” “Then you’d be in very limited pany.” Peter gave a little push, his words holding just a touch of ‘bite’ to them. “It… there… you don’t uand.” She cimed, eyes shifting from side-to-side as she searched for her words.Her too Peter, sounded odd — almost forced, as if it took great energy to say even those few words. “You’re right. I don’t.” Peter said with finality, “All I get is ‘you don’t uand’ and some sort of half-assed justification about treating her like trash, including denying her her name, because ‘The DaiMaou’.” He swiped his hand, the one holding the sword, through the air in his own dismissal, “I haven’t even been here a week and I’m tired of hearing that. I’m tired of repeating myself, too, about how proteg her is my job and I won’t stand for the treatment she’s been experieng.”

  She nodded in uanding, which surprised him, and she stepped closer once again, speaking in a calm tone and raising her hand to try and caress his cheek, “I think you o calm down, though~”, as she tried gentle wave of …repose… perhaps pcidity… washed over his mind.His eyes were locked with Hea’s and he found himself unfortable at the prolonged gaze though uo look away. Peter’s heart seemed to his chest at that realization. “I know you’ve had a difficult time of things, Peytr, and I help with that. I help you rex~.” With her staff standing straight up on its tip, somehow, she brought her now-free hand to a pocket hidden among her robes and pulled out a small square fe that, even through the er, shared that strong acrid/mint mixed fragrance, “Anxiousness and the aggravation that es with it… I know those feelings well. Trust me, this will help you rex and calm down.” “I… uh…” Peter whispered, finding his throat dry as his brai muddled and fuzzy. What… What’s going on? “This will help, I promise.” She whispered, pressing the dy into Peter’s hand — and hand that he had nht up on his own volition, but rather hers, guiding it up gently.He looked down at it; a simple square that was ed in a light almost see-through paper. “It will calm you down.” She smiled, though it was shy from fully reag her eyes. Her eyes, Peter found himself uo look away, getting more unfortable. Her tired eyes, almost half-gzed, watched the square of dy in his palm. “It… will help?” He asked, his voice soft and a little fused.She nodded, gently pushing his hand bad up, towards his mouth. “It will. This is a dy made from an herb called bumynt.” Hea expined, “The oil, really. It’s mixed into a chewy, sugary treat. Used for all sorts of things; ay and nerves, pain…” That sounds close to…Peter could not help himself, uning the dy almost as if on auto-pilot. He could feel, in the back of his mind, that he could stop if he wao. Really, he could. But…the desire to stop? That ess washing over him made him realize that… that he wahis little dy chew thing. He wao be calm like Hea was. Truth told his ay had been running high all week and he had always had trouble with it before Na’at had pulled him into this whole mess.The fry-cakes were nice, sure, a sweet sugary treat but this … this sounded like an actual ao that problem. It’s just one dy… That couldn’t hurt, right?The odd mix that was that acrid/mint fvor washed over his to made him shiver a little, like he had just eaten a super-sour dy, but the cooliion of the mint covered that quickly enough aarted to chew. “That’s it…” Hea smiled, meeting his eyes again, “Just rex. Just rex and listen to my voice.”He nodded, chewing. Not a horrible fvor, he found. An odd mix, sure, but not bad.And it was not strong enough that whatever was meant to ‘help him calm down’ was instantly affeg him. That alone helped his ay — and her voice was soft, warm, and easy to listen to. Listen to Hea.His thoughts went a little fuzzier, his cheeks feeling warm as she reached up her hand again. |PETER!| ?PETER!?

  There was a sharp snapping-crack as Hea’s hand got so near his cheek that it tickled but just like that, his brain was in razor-sharp focus. Guagh!The shock was like lig a 9v battery and he jerked back away from Hea, eyes narrowing and gring at her. “W…What?” She, too, took a step back, shaking her hand, “What happened… I thought…” “Thought what?” Peter felt a welling of fire in his chest, fists g, “What’s really in that dy?” “Nothing! I swear. That’s just a normal bumynt chew dy.” Hea seemed shocked, “It was supposed to help you rex before…” “Before what…” Peter felt tears prick at the ers of his eyes as he tried to push his anger down — he could not lose his temper now, he was better than that. Right? “B-Before…” Her voice croaked, making her cough. She put her hand to her throat as she tried to fight whatever had caught there. Mom… Di’s… what… ?Let her answer, if she .? Na’at’s voice was furious-sounding to Peter’s ‘mental ear’ like she was mirr his a the current situatiota’s eyes snapped up to his, gzing over fully, “You should have just listeo me, Peytr. Things would have been so much better if you had just listeo me.” What the hell…

  |Careful!| Di’si’thlya called out.Peter barely had time to dodge Hea’s staff ing up for a strike to his head. “Alright then. Guess it’s sparring time…” Peter frowned.Hea huffed, “This could have gone easier, you know. All you had to do was listen to me.” She raised her hand and tiny motes of red-yellow light started to form. Into the deep end again, I guess.Peter’s thought cost him the time to dodge as those tiny motes of light shrank in towards each other, f a rger, tennis ball-sized, orb before it uself towards him like it was fired out of a pitg mae. He could only cross his arms and take the hit, hoping he was sturdy enough to ha. “Mh, a natural talent it seems.” Hea giggled, smirking.Opening his eyes Peter saw a shimmering light before his crossed arms — a set of four diamond-shaped ‘panels’ of energy floating mid-air. “A shield on reflex alohe Senior cilht up her staff again, “Seems I was right… you’re hiding something from us.” “Like you and that dy?” He shot back.She sounded, and looked, hurt, “I didn’t lie about the dy.” “Then why was I getting so… fuzzy-headed? I couldn’t think straight.” Peter demanded. “I…” Hea started, coughing again. Is it that…?The thought came to mind that, going by what Na’at said, perhaps Hea couldn’t answer his questions. “Whatever.” Peter spat angrily, feeling his anger rise again ahrust out his hand, brag his other at his elbow, while extending his thumb up and his index finger out. |What…| He heard Di’si’thlya whisper in surprise as motes of light began to gather — golden-cored with a purple halo around them — at the tip of his finger. A high-pitched, quickly sequenced chirping was heard as the purple-gold lights flickered before zipping toward Hea in a beam-style of bst.The Senior cilht her staff forward, a hex-shape glowing as she summoned a shield, “How… did you do that…” She asked, “You copied my attack.” “No. Yours was a ball-unch, mine was a beam.” Peter said dryly, keeping his arm out and finger-gun up for Hea’s attack.Smirking she brought her staff around, the tip glowing, “The good thing is that, as a cilor, after I beat you I heal you~” “I think I’ll be fine.” Peter snorted.Hea huffed again, “What, am I not good enough? You prefer that quiet wallflower? Or you prefer a more assertive woman.” “I just don’t trust you. Not after what you tried to do.” Peter shot back.

  “You…” She frowned and swuaff, sending an arc of energy at Peter. “Shit~” Peter hissed as, in a moment of craziness, made his feet glow gold rimmed with purple and unch himself into the air, over the arc attack.While in the air he fired off a sed of his beam-attaearly missia’s staff and leaving a scorch mark in the ground as he nded on his back with a groan, “Auhugh…” He sat up as quickly as he could so he was not caught unaware and found himself staring at Hea’s staff, the tip glowing again. “Cute trick, but you are just a beginner, with no experience or knowledge.” She chided.

  |She says after you pulled two spells out of nowhere like that…|

  “So, what? Havengard just sent you to kick my ass with magistead of physically like the other all this week?” Peter scoffed, “So much for beihe riot act by d’Zaier.” “Oh, You heard about that?” Hea gave a sharp ugh, “I overheard them in d’Zaier’s office. He issed at Havengard, but dear lil Eldbert was all in a tizzy, angry that you got him in trouble.” She shook her head, “I was told to spar with you by d’Zaier himself.” “So you’re just pissed I didn’t take to your advances.”Hea blushed brightly and jabbed her staff at him, sending out a beam of energy at him, striking him between his legs… around where his knees were, but still. She gri his yelp, “Get up. If you . You have a long day ahead of you, dear.”

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