Knock On Wood (Leigo)

[Aehra]

Strangely enough, it was the innkeeper's name that Aehra's mind latched onto, as though digging its nails into such a mundane piece of information would make the shocking strangeness of this whole situation somehow less shocking and strange. No such luck. No matter how interesting she managed to find it that the surprisingly fresh-faced innkeeper would have such an older-sounding name, it did little to nothing to distract her. Every time she glanced in the direction of-- what had he called it, Onuo? Was that its name?-- her breathing shortened and became more difficult. As she felt the panic bubbling in her throat, she pressed her lips tightly together to keep herself from letting loose another scream. While she was once again incapable of speech, she took advantage of the opportunity to sort out her thoughts. Namely, the fact that Leigo and... and Onuo seemed fairly convinced that she was asking him to teach her magic. She-- had she asked? She wracked her brain for a time when she had been so forthright as to put her request out in the open, but she couldn't find it. Still, it was more than possible that she'd blurted it out when she'd vomited up the other questions that had been on her mind. More likely, the pair had simply figured it out, and she decided to accept this idea. Not that it made the situation any better, but it at least assuaged the fear that she had completely lost control of her words. Leigo's clapping brought her out of her thoughts abruptly, and she focused back on him. So he was that thing's-- or, she guessed, that person's-- brother? She barely managed to keep herself from making a half-hysterical joke about their mother. Somehow, she doubted that it would go over well. So, brothers, but not literally. Probably. Most likely. And then Leigo was-- Aehra frowned, not sure if she'd heard him right. No, she hadn't. He'd made a joke. A real, bona fide joke. She leaned forwards at his questions, but (still being a little off-kilter because of the unanticipated joke) she took a bit to realize that his line of questioning was over. "Ah, I--" She cleared her throat unnecessarily. "I don't know. I mean, you. You're the first person I've met who really knew bout magic. As much as m'dad talked about it, he never went into specifics, and I can't afford the University, not by quite a bit, right now." She frowned. "Not that you lot've done much to discourage me. Give me enough time, I'm sure I could think of a way t'help folks with magic, you'd see." She considered his other question carefully. They were more important, and her answers carried more weight that most other things she'd said that night. She was sure of it. When her answer came, she spoke slowly, wanting to be sure that she phrased it all properly. "It's knowledge, yeah? I think, normally, I'd say everyone deserves tha', but I'm startin' to get tha' this knowledge can hurt folks, 'specially the one who knows it." She licked her lips while she considered her next words. "I don't think I'm deservin', but then, I don't see how you can deserve somethin' like this, yeah? I say I want to help people with it, an' that's not a lie, Sparks, but..." She came to a block, and had to pause and regroup. Even then, the carefully constructed speech she'd put together was jumbled beyond recognition, and she'd permanently lost her train of thought. "I don't know. That's the wrong answer, I know, but I don't know. I don't know what sorta cause you're lookin' for, an' even if I did, I can't guarantee I'd have it for you." She thought about spewing out something about how helping people was a good enough reason, but she wasn't even sure about that anymore. Aehra'd wanted to be like her mother for as long as she could remember, and that meant helping others and learning magic, but she'd never actually imagined how exactly the two would interact. She would find a way, though, she was sure of it. No matter how much the man before her tried to push otherwise, she knew that she'd be able to find a way, given enough time. She'd already said that much. What she needed were specifics. How, where, when, all that. Even as the creeping certainty that Leigo would deny her settled over her shoulders, she was certain that she could find someone in the city to teach her, even the basics. The rest, she could figure out later.

[Leigo]

Lightening up a bit as he listened to her speak, Leigo would soon notice Onuo was yet to object openly. Maybe things were really in order. Perhaps not, but that could’ve been discovered later on easily. As if to answer his own unasked question, blond would start talking again. “You have a good heart… you’re naïve and foolish, and not to mention too damn meddling for your own good – but you do have a good one” giving himself a breath to think, Leigo finished up “To even consider initiation into reimancy, I’d have to hurt you badly. You wouldn’t be able to do much of anything with your hands for at least a couple of weeks. And that’s only if all goes well, which I can’t promise it will – but it should, I’m confident in my abilities. If you ask me to teach you magic, you have to offer up your life so easily for the picking and believe I won’t take it. It’s how I was thought and my master before me, and his master before him… it will stay such as long as djed can bend in such ways” there was something more to say “You should take some time to think of this, if your answer remains the same in face of adversity – I will wound you and I will teach you” what Leigo didn’t tell her is that he had a spear at his teacher’s throat before he was certain his life would remain unharmed. Surely that old man would never part with his miserable existence just to kill an arrogant merchant’s son. Are you sure of this? Onuo ever worried. Everyone needs friends.. Leigo’s tone couldn’t have really been described as casual either, but his nerves were much steadier than those of his companion. Then again you’re not really friends – not yet anyway. And we may never be, but if I ever plan to reclaim my family’s name and renown, I’ll need a rather well developed network of people I can trust. Either through fear, owed favors, gold or simple friendship – there will be need for people to lean on every now and then. My ambition is grand, but for it to work there are certain… steps… that need to be taken…. Leigo wouldn’t push this argument further, convinced of its validity. Onuo’s silence confirmed the confidence that spread in the boy’s grin. If she was going to let herself be so defenseless in front of him, she would need to trust him fully. And if she could stake her life like that, than Leigo would believe her too and their bond would be strong. Leigo would never betray, loyalty was sacred after all – but she wasn’t him, no one was like him until proven so. Perhaps there were more things to consider before rushing into this situation, but the boy didn’t care. Today, tomorrow or in three weeks – something like this would still happen unless the girl really had some other interests in mind, which he sincerely doubted.

[Aehra]

"Whoa, wait just one--" Aehra stood up quickly with her back still pressed to the door. She held her hands out in front of her defensively, and it wasn't difficult to imagine them bloody and bruised, her fingers snapped at an angle that wasn't quite right and her knuckles swollen. It wasn't the idea of her hands being bloodied that worried her; that had happened often enough, though hardly ever to the degree that Leigo seemed to be suggesting. What would come before it, however, was another story entirely. Even in her mind, the image of her just sitting down while this gray-area man handicapped her was fuzzy, as though the idea were so out of reality that she was unconsciously rebelling against it by refusing to give herself a clear picture of the situation. Still... "Time," she mumbled. Then, louder, "I need time, yeah? Big. Ah. Big decision." What are you doing? Take the offer, take it now! "I jus' need to talk to m'boss, yeah? Get it all sorted out with him. You. You'll still be here, yeah? You ent planin' on gettin' a new place anytime soon?"

[Leigo]

Raising his head to get a better look at her face, he could see it was distorted by fear. That was troublesome, expected, but troublesome. They would probably need to speak at least once more before she got her senses straight and decided to deal with the fear of it all. “Take what you need” he’d add simply, returning his gaze to the shirt. He still needed to check the sleeves. Assuming they were finished Leigo wouldn’t pay attention to the girl anymore unless she had something else to say or do before she left. She would be back, fear was never permanent.