concoursec | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Character(s): Rion Lyon (derped), Einiona Canning (macgyvered), and Quistis Trepe (whiplashings).
Location: The library.
Rating: PG. MAYBE PG-13 for language.
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed.
Summary: Rion wants some private lessons in the things he'd actually like to learn about, but hasn't the balls to go ask Miss Trepe by himself. (This makes it sound far worse than it actually is.)

Rion was unlike a lot of the recent arrivals to the Balamb Academy in two ways. The first of these was that Rion didn't want to learn how to fight, really; he saw it as something that he had to do to learn what he really wanted to do (and perhaps this explained his performance in the more aggressive sections of MAG 101). While he liked helping, liked doing things to help SeeD, he didn't like... hurting things except when necessary, and there was something about the whole "setting things on fire" thing that really just had not worked out well with him.

The second of these ways was that unlike a lot of the recent arrivals, Rion was aware of the history of this world. Much moreso than a lot of other people, really. And so when he'd talked to a few people and been advised that maybe Quistis would be able to help him with what he'd come here to learn about, it was with a bit of fear. No, a lot of fear - after all, not only was she beautiful and kind and nice (things that Rion did not do well with anyway, being a flaily derp who is not good with girls), she was a living legend. She'd saved the world and possibly even more than that. She was a hero.

And he was, well, a cadet who wanted to learn about healing magic. So when he had spotted her in the library to ask her, it wasn't without backup in tow, because he knew he just could not build up the courage to discuss this with her himself - after all, she was a hero, a legend, someone who would be talked about in history for all time. Didn't she have better things to do? He didn't want to face the sting of rejection alone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Unsurprisingly, the part of dealing with GFs and para-magic that keeps throwing Einiona isn't the part that will eventually involve setting things on fire (Einiona's missing all that fun due to taking PMGF 101 this semester and not MAG 101); it is, actually, the part where overuse risks amnesia, and the thought of that so sets her on edge it totally ruins her ability to properly learn the parts that would normally have her throwing her hands up and thinking to herself "FUCK YEAH THIS IS AWESOME". It frustrates her immensely, especially because the problem involves her own headspace and she likes ignoring that as much as possible.

All Einiona's got to herself is herself; the idea that even she could leave herself alone is so deeply, subconsciously terrifying that, even when she's not thinking about it, it interferes with her ability to perform even the most basic of para-magical skills. Not that she thinks about it much - she just knows "uh-uh, I like my brain where it is, thanks!"

... this doesn't appear to be stopping her from trying to learn, however. Hence the frustration, because Eionina finds this fascinating. She wants to master it. There's just something about the way GFs work that Einiona gravitates to; something about the system of drawing and junctioning that makes sense to her, like chips on a circuitboard.

It's a new system to take apart and analyze and understand and master, a new world to wrap her hands around and insert herself into, a chance to learn something fundamental about the inner workings of the universe, to take the unfamiliar by the horns and wrestle with it until it becomes as instinctive as breathing - it's hands-on interaction with how things work, and that provides the context to keep Einiona focused and addicted through almost any lecture ... and almost any failure.

She's still wary of using this stuff all that much once she can make it work, though. She wants to master it; that doesn't mean she trusts it.

Nevertheless, she's not having near as much (immediate) psychological difficulty with the whole concept as Rion, and so she has no problems helping him out ... albeit in her own special way.

Which is why she approaches Quistis with more than a little mischief in her eyes and without so much as a hello-how-are-you to segue into a conversation just opens up with, "So did you know you have a fanclub?"

Well, that was certainly one way to strike up a conversation.

The question surprised Quistis, who had been sitting at one of the reading cubicles in the library, deeply immersed in a book. The inquiry raises a slight alarm in her head-- Are the Trepies really still around? One positive aspect to the time jump Quistis had endured was that she assumed that the club had ceased to exist, and she would no longer have to deal with the group of students who harbored an unhealthy amount of admiration towards her, one that bordered on obsession.

When she turned to face the two cadets, Quistis tried her best to appear neutral as to hide the slight foreboding feeling forming in her stomach-- surely the two students before her couldn't be part of the aforementioned fan club.

"Not that I'm aware of, no." A harmless white lie. Before she could allow the topic to be discussed, the SeeD quickly altered the route of the conversation. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Well, judging by Rion's reaction (some sort of sejitkljaslktjesal glare at Einiona rather than anything confirming that there is any sort of, well, fanclub), that was not what they were there there for. He didn't seem so much enthusiastic about seeing as ... a little intimidated or scared, almost (though why really isn't clear).

He begins to write something down, trying to figure out how to phrase it, then erasing it - enough time that, should Einiona want to interject and be a helper (for certain definitions of helper), she's welcome to - otherwise, she is welcome to just let him speak for himself. Given that this is Einiona, though, and he did ask her to come along... well.

We'll see.

Einiona, typically, spends about a half-second fidgeting while she waits for Rion to finish writing before barreling onwards anyway.

"You're apparently some genius at healing magic?" It's a question because seriously she is not that old; people who are supposed to be magical geniuses ought to be ancient withered crones, in Einiona's opinion, or they're just not believable. You can't save the world with kids. Real life, after all, is not some zany comic book or video game or - oh, wait. She hooks a thumb in Rion's direction briefly. "You're the greatest expert there is, he says, but just because you helped save the world a few years ago doesn't mean you get to claim 'best healing magic user in the world' too, I said, it's rude to call people things they might not be able to live up to when you meet them," she says as casually as you please, blithely ignoring such basic rules of etiquette as tact and respect for social status, "but you're the best here in Garden right now I bet and somebody needs a decent teacher so he doesn't try to heal something and accidentally explode his fingers."

Not that this is likely, but you never know. Einiona likes to be prepared. She spares a glance in Rion's direction, then adds, "And I'd trust somebody who helped save the world over a bunch of snotty teachers any day, so even if you aren't the greatest in the world, you're probably the most tolerable because you're less likely to be a stuck-up about it." She nods, looking for all the world like this is the most reasonable, sane, and sympathetic conclusion possible given the facts at hand, and does not look at all like she expects Quistis to respond to her with anything besides agreement (bewildered or otherwise). "But that's just my opinion. I think his criteria's a bit different."

... somewhere, tact is sitting in a corner curled up in a fetal position crying its sorry eyes out.

And with that, Einiona shrugs and leaves Rion to it, shifting slightly but just enough to make it unavoidably obvious that despite all she just said and the impression she's bound to have left on Quistis in the process, she's not the one who the conversation ought to be focused on here, she's just the go-between and the backup in case anything goes wrong. Which may add some context, provided Quistis is good at reading body language: as far as Einiona's concerned, she's really here to protect Rion and make sure that he can still live with himself after just in case Quistis isn't as nice as he hopes she is - she's not here to make things easy on Quistis, she's here to, if necessary, deflate Rion's hopes a little to let him down easy when everything goes south.

It's Quistis vs. Einiona's ridiculously overprotective older sister streak, and from Einiona's perspective it's not Einiona's fight to lose.

Quistis couldn't help the slightly bewildered expression she adopted at Einiona's blatant lack of tack. The blond wasn't sure whether to be offended or amused-- while there were plenty of times where her students have been disrespectful towards her (i.e. Seifer), she could recognize the Einiona didn't mean any of her words to be particularly spiteful. The quip about snotty teachers forced Quistis to bite back a small laugh-- oh, if only this girl knew that she had once held a position as an instructor in the academy.

The blond SeeD managed to regain her composure, though, and curved her lips into a small smile as she gave a reply. "A genius? I wouldn't say that, no-- I am, however, proficiently trained in all three categories of para-magic." It was to be expected of an ex-instructor who once taught the Advanced Para-Magics classes, after all.

As Einiona made a step back, Quistis' eyes shifted to rest on the cadet who had yet to speak "You're looking for someone to help you with healing magic? It should be briefly touched upon in the introductory para-magic course, but anything more advanced won't be introduced until you're qualified to take the specialized Advanced Recovery Para-Magics class."

This time, Rion was going to get a word in, honest, and the moment - the very moment - Quistis mentioned that it should be covered in class, he was writing on his board rapidly. It didn't need to be long this this time or anything, just short and to the point.

He clicked the electronic marker back into place, and his hands went to the sides of the whiteboard, holding it up so that both Einiona and Quistis could read it. It was clear that he wasn't comfortable with the situation, and the reason he'd brought Einiona along with him - he looked embarrassed to be asking this, and he looked ... well, intimidated. Despite Quistis having been entirely kind and polite and everything, there wasn't really changing much about the fact that she had also helped SAVE THE WORLD.

I want to learn now, though.

His body was shaking a little bit as he held it up, looking up towards Einiona first, then Quistis. He was expecting for all the world that Quistis would tell him off, that he was dumb and she had better things to do than to help some dumb cadet just because he wanted to learn something faster. (Yes, he'd seen that she had offered to help tutor other students, but those were other students who were probably more interesting and smarter than he was. And they were offworlders - they were supposed to need the help.)

(Rion's perception of the situation and what may happen are two entirely different things, it should be noted.)

Einiona rests a hand on his shoulder and a hand on her hip, and fixes Quistis with a Look. It is a look that speaks volumes, mainly on how little she actually expects Quistis to say yes to Rion's request, because Einiona does not believe anyone is that nice and because Einiona's response to "they're not going to teach me something" is to go figure it out by trial and error and who cares if it blows up in her face rather than ask and be told "no". In other words: say yes, Quistis, or Einiona's going to volunteer herself as combination tutor and guinea pig instead, because somebody has to make sure Rion gets a decent education around here.

"The courses move too slow," she says, shrugging. Why yes, she means all of them. Patience: not one of Einiona's virtues.

When the whiteboard was presented to her, Quistis quickly scanned her eyes over the message; she wasn't too surprised by the method of communication, having met another cadet who preferred a similar means of 'speaking'. Her eyes catch the slight trembling of his hands, though, and she glances up to the male, noticing the slightly uneasy expression he wore-- was she really that intimidating? To try and make him feel more at ease, she flashes him a warm smile as she considers the message.

While it was academic protocol to not teach advanced magics to students unless they were enrolled in the specific class, Quistis couldn't help but think back at her own time as a cadet; always studious and eager to learn more, she had found the subjects discussed in class to not be challenging enough for her. The blond had once approached an instructor about receiving extra lessons in more advanced material, and though she thought the request would receive an enthusiastic reply, Quistis had actually been chastised for trying to excel too quickly. At the time, it wasn't so much about her trying to get ahead the rest of the class; she was genuinely interested in learning more. Now to have her role reversed, she couldn't deny the cadet his desire to explore the field of recovery magic.

There's a small nod as she acknowledges Einiona's comment, but her reply is directed to Rion when she speaks. "I don't really have the clearance to do this, but I'd be happy to teach you some more about recovery para-magic, Cadet..." She trails off when she realizes she hasn't caught their names.

Well, in Rion's defense, he was enrolled in MAG 101, and recovery and healing magics would be covered there eventually. It's just that they hadn't been covered yet, and he wanted to learn them now, now, now. Because while yes, he'd come here to be a SeeD, he'd come here to help people (a far more altrustic goal than many of his peers), the most important thing wasn't being able to make things explode. It was to heal people, just like his mother did (albeit in a far less ... flashy way).

When the tiny cadet started hearing her response, his face just dropped like, say -- hypothetically -- a pornstar carrying a katana tasered off the edge of a cliff. However, the second part is where he goes from sad to excited and wide-eyed, like... well, let's put it this way, shall we?

Rion was a good boy who paid attention in class and knew things about history. History like "once upon a time twenty years ago there was some crazy timey wimey stuff and time almost ended or some shit but then a bunch of brave, amazing SeeDs fixed everything and one of these was Quistis". So really, him getting to get lessons from her was a bit like, say, being a young kid interested in basketball and having Shaquille O'Neal agree to give you tips on anything that didn't include throwing free throws.

... assume the 'throwing free throws' bit for Quistis is, say, 'trying to sleep with your students'.

Anyway.

The point is that Rion was thrilled as fuck and still sort of shaking a little bit, so his normally fastidious handwriting was a little sloppier than he would have liked, but the message was still clear.

My name is Rion Lyon, miss Trepe! Thank you so much!

It was like his birthday came and for his birthday they made another holiday after it which was like Christmas except even better. That's how excited he looked - like seriously, how could this day get ANY BETTER, he'd grown up learning about all the amazing stuff her and the other SeeDs had done and now she'd agreed to TEACH HIM. * 3*

"See, I told you she wasn't a stuck-up," Einiona says, nudging Rion with a smirk, and let us all pause for a moment and reflect on how yes, that is technically true by the letter of things, it is absolutely a baldfaced lie taken by the spirit of everything else she has said ever.

Possibly Quistis has endeared herself to Einiona by basically saying (filtered through Einiona's unique outlook on life, anyway) "If it makes you happy, fuck the rules", which is a principle Einiona holds to very firmly except when she doesn't, because like all things Einiona sometimes she's a big fat hypocrite.

(If Quistis were a robot this would be where the jokes about Einiona boning her would go but Quistis is not a robot and also Einiona and dating is a horror nobody needs inflicted on them without proper safety gear available first.)

"And I'm Einiona," she says, even if it wasn't specifically directed at her. She winks at Quistis and sticks her tongue out briefly. "I'm Rion's muscle."

Oh this isn't going anywhere good.

"So don't do anything to hurt him or I'll steal all your underpants and draw the Headmaster's name on them in hearts ... or something." She nods, once or twice, then pauses.

... why do people let her talk when they obviously have to know by now she's eventually going to merrily troll everybody completely without warning.

She looks up at the library ceiling contemplatively for a moment and then adds, in retrospect, "Nah, I'm only joking. I'd probably write the Commander's name there instead." She says that like this would be less believable than the Headmaster, somehow. (... seriously. Why do people let her speak.)

She fixes Quistis with another Look. "But seriously. Don't hurt him."

Her eyes flickered down to the whiteboard presented to her by Rion, and once she read the message she glances up to offer a reassuring smile to the young boy.

"You're welcome, Cadet Lyon. I'd be happy to help you with your para-magics studies-- I'm glad to see a cadet hold such interest in the subject.

There was a flicker of surprise in Quistis' eye at Einiona's comment to Rion-- did they really think she was a 'stuck-up'? It wasn't a particularly new misconception of her; during her years as a cadet and even when she began teaching, she had received the label as 'Ice Queen' by those who weren't familiar with her. It was something she'd learn to easily shrug off, and thus she simply smiled at Einiona when the girl shifted her gaze back to the SeeD.

The smile widened slightly at the threat issued by the female cadet because Quistis can detect the lack of seriousness behind it-- though she freezes momentarily when the change to the Commander's name is mentioned. Had the cadets really taken the newsletter to heart? She managed to shake off the shock quickly, though, and she gave a small nod to Einiona while returning the gaze.

"Don't worry, Cadet Einiona-- I don't plan to. I'm teaching him recovery magic, after all." Hey, Quistis thought it was a kind-of-good joke.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only