His concern was cute, but nothing he had to worry about. In fact, the simple fact he knew the spell in essence while not having much affinity for magic. Before I could ease his worry she came back, holding the coffees for us. I gladly accept mine, watching Vail question his pearl was a simple bonus to my amusement. I give a sip of the coffee as she started once more on the questions, "Answer please, I know you remember each of my questions!"

   This accusation was a fact, and one almost anyone one who lived in the Tempest Peak knew about. Never the less, my plan to ponder was foiled, causing me to grimace slightly. "Well, I'm doing good, just finished a job with this man." I gesture to the curious Vail, "No, I'm not dating anyone, and no update on Nit either." I hesitate slightly as a werewolf walked past. I search for any active listeners before I spoke, "My personal spell is slow but steady, and don't worry, Nit contently comes after me about 'self care' and 'not to break the world'." I hold up quotations with my fingers at the final words, rolling my eyes at the end to emphasize my opinion on it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet any friend of Keyke’s.” Vail said politely with a brief wave to the waitress. He couldn’t help but think that her calm reaction was only due to Keyke’s presence; had she not been there, the waitress would no doubt be too afraid to approach him.

He listens intently as Keyke answers the inquisitive waitress's questions, while still maintaining his observation of the pearls drifting around the bottom of his beverage.
“For someone who plays up their friend’s concern about spell making, you’re rather concerned about the public hearing you discuss it.” He adds to their discussion with a sly smirk.

Looking up from his drink, he addresses Keyke with inquisitive eyes.
“What kind of spell are you planning on making? I have no idea how spell making works, so now you got me curious. What are the limits? Are there any regulatory bodies in place to control what kind of magic gets created?”
He pauses briefly from his onslaught of questions as his eyes quickly dart back to his drink. “Also on a completely unrelated note, do you know any nobles who happen to partake in this beverage?”

Simpleton questions, really and truly. Following the smirk and side comment, which is something I particularly would like to address, I wave the waitress away, knowing that she would only add onto my onslaught of questions to answer. I scan the area watching the area as he questions, making note of a peculiar figure that entered.

I raise my smile to face Vail, "Trust me, it's not playing up. He speaks those words directly at me all the time." I smack my head as the memories of the multi hour long lectures arise in my mind. I waves my hand to the side slightly, allowing magic energy to fluctuate among my palm.¹ "My idea of magic is that it is a form of energy, and every person has a different regulation and hold for that energy." I close my hand, "My spell reflects that thought. Sadly, at the moment, it is not complete to the level in which it would be beneficial to use. Limits are unknown, and regulations are in shambles."

I watch the figure approach us, though only through my constant scanning of the room to keep track of everyone. He was silent, keeping an eye on me only, not giving Vail a chance of sensing him other than basic footsteps, and those just blended in with the noise around us. This was happening all while I was talking. Before I could utter another word to answer the question, the man comes from behind and slams his hand on the table. Nit glares at Vail, and unknown to Keyke, his eyes burning of jealousy and warning. His body was positioned in a way to block Keyke while allowing him to see her in his peripheral vision. He smiles a warning smile as his tenor voice replies, "No nobles, as for as we are aware. We sylvan elves love it." His voice speaks with a high amount of edge, "Now, what are you meeting with Keyke for?"

---

1. Calm Emotion

Vail idly traces the rim of his glass as he listens to Keyke describe her idea of magic. “Sounds like a complicated affair, maybe your friend is right to voice his concern. Perhaps your spell is incomplete for a reason, energy is not limitless after all. I’ve heard stories of spellcasters dying from their own magical exhaustion, you’d best not rush things.”

His absent-minded actions are suddenly interrupted by a rather displeased sylvan elf. Judging by his appearance he was rather young, probably somewhere close to Cirice’s age. His tone certainly wasn’t welcoming, although Vail couldn’t blame him. This was about what he was expecting when he walked in here, not many would welcome his company with open arms.

Feeling a bit mischievous, he decides to let the sylvan in on the purpose of his previous question, in spite of whatever reaction it may elicit. He holds his glass up and begins to slowly turn it, staring at the pearls swirling around as he responds.

“Shame, I was just thinking that these pearls would be an excellent way to discreetly poison someone. It’s not my line of work but someone out there would certainly pay well for the idea.”
He sets his glass down as he looks up to Nit with a smile. “You can relax, Keyke and I just finished a rather arduous escort mission and we are simply cooling down after a hard day's work. The name is Vail, now who might you be?”

   The calm reaction to Nit was something to be expected but it was funny none the less. The image of who Nit normally is, kind, stuttering, shy, or even quiet was no where to be seen at this moment. My mind could only flash to long ago when he struggled with the drama classes. The poor performances, the inability to hold a face. These facts remain true to this day, and I would know, I spend so long with playing masks around him he has learned only a neutral face. Seeing him like this is a rare treat, and it was brought out by Vail. Just another reason to keep him around.

   I couldn't help but giggle at the idea of the boba pearls being used as poison. It's not the first time I've heard or even thought of it, but the intent behind letting this information out was all the more hilarious to me. I raise my hand, letting my magic yank him off balance.¹ His stumble causes him to fall to the ground, snapping him out of his stupor.

   To the man in front of him, he could tell that Vail was taunting him while threatening his life on the comment of the boba. The unbridled fury that coursed through him was no longer from pure jealousy at who this man was with her, no, it was the simple thought he acted aloof for having only been traveling with Keyke one time in the storms. It was irritating. In a seething breath out comes his answer, "The name's Nitin, childhood friend of Keyke's. Now then, they would pay well if it wasn't already a mad-" suddenly a familiar force drags the leg of his pant leg, causing a him to loose a chance at anymore balance, crashing him butt first to the ground.

   From down below, he sent me a glare from the left over anger that was directed at Vail. "Now now Nit, this is a treasured guest. Behave." I let a bit of my energy leak out, shifting my voice to something smoother and deeper. The feeling of my magical energy was compressing and felt as if it soaks into one's self at the same time. I enclose it quickly as Nit gets back up, "Sorry for my friend, he's not usually like this." My voice returning to it's cheerful childish high pitch, no magic traces to be felt. "Anyway, I rarely worry about how much energy I have, it's the control one needs that's the tricky part." My smile shrinking from the shit eating grin to a more wistful and pleasant one.

Vail watches with an amused grin as the sylvan elf’s frustration grows, it appears his idle comments had their intended effect. He leans back, watching Nit with an unimpressive expression. The elf was clearly young, so young that the throes of jealousy could easily overcome any rational thought; or sense of self-preservation for that matter. Vail was utterly unconcerned with this newcomer’s anger, he’d fought foes much bigger and tougher than this thin elf; hell, some of his old child gang members could probably kick his ass. He stifles his laughter as the overzealous elf takes a sudden tumble to the floor, instead choosing to look down at him with a confident smirk. “It’s nice to meet you Nitin, admittedly I thought a friend of Keyke would be a little more… how you say… stoic?”

His attention turns back to Keyke as she apologies for her friend’s rude introduction. “It’s no problem. I can’t blame him for freaking out after seeing his friend interact with an ash lander, we do have a reputation after all, one that I can’t shake no matter how far I get away from Darkveil.” He stares down, idly swirling the boba at the bottom of his drink as she continues, only to suddenly freeze up when she mentions her lack of control; his expression darkening as he looks back up to her. “Keyke, control is the most important aspect of any power. Without control, you do not possess power, it possesses you.”

    My pleasant smile turned to a smirk; seeing I touched a nerve, I leaned to the side, watching Nit's reaction to this man. Nit's initial reaction to how Vail just straight up insulted his personality to compare to Keyke, especially when he was practically inputting his initial nature of stone wellness to lace an image of who my friends could be, especially even after meeting at least the waitress here, if he didn't see the whole entering the town thing, which is something I need to check amongst my other things. Another one of the things I need to pound into his head was the biased looks that he was exhibiting now were wrong as something the school only seemed to reinforce.

    With this in mind, I could tell I hit a nerve on Vail when mentioning control, or lack thereof. Not to mention the wording only made me want to know more about what he has seen and experienced to warrant that kind of reaction. I tilt my head over the implications he speaks over, "That is something of basics for magic, do not take more than you can handle. You have to build it up from the ground up anyway." I sip at my boba, enjoying the popping bubbles of flavor that combine with the bitter coffee. "No, what I mean is the specifics at its core, as slight shifts can cause a major change in the result. That is always the case when making things like new magics, no?" I pause to tap on the table, watching Nit slowly realize I was not tolerating his behavior. "You are best to start from the base and then move up in complexity. Besides, I say needing control, it's just not at the level I would prefer now, or for the final product I  want." I let my head straighten as I sip again, listening to his responses.