Teachers and Teaching

[Ethan]

"I usually sleep with one eye open. Even then he manages to get into trouble." Ethan grinned, deciding to give this one a chance. Hadrian seemed overly fond of Kelvics. If he scared this one off, another would take his place eventually. Indifference took less energy than hate, and Ethan needed all his energy for holding his tongue back with the locals.

"My eyes work better than most. But my sight is flawless in my other form." Ethan glanced at Hadrian, dissapointed that he told anyone of his animal form without his permission. But it was to be expected. Hadrian couldn't comprehend how vulnerable it made him. He was just a Human after all, and had to be excused from such mistakes.

"Did you catch this yourself?" He walked over to the carcass, grinning. Fresh meat was always good, but something tasted especially delicious when it was hunted down. Perhaps the fear and exhaustion softened the meat, or the thougt of prey meeting a brutal end excited the Kelvic's darker nature. Either way, he would eat happily tonight.


OOClost my computer with all my backgrounds saved to it. so I'm just going plain.

[Zerren Verre]

Zerren considered Ethan's response for a moment. So his vision is better than a human's, even in his human form... Maybe my eyes are the same way and I've just been overestimating human vision... I'll have to sort out some way to test that later... Zerren glanced over at Hadrian, standing very quietly off to the side. Maybe I'll have him look at something in the dark and tell me what he can see, then compare it to what I can see. Wait, he looks kinda tense, I wonder why that would be. Is there something wrong? Zerren snapped himself back to reality as Ethan wandered over to the package of meat. "Of course I caught them myself. I wouldn't be much of a panther if I had to hire someone to hunt for me, would I?" Zerren grinned and leaned back against a wall. "The rabbit was pretty easy, I've been hunting them for years, only lose one or two out of every ten or twenty. The deer, well, I HAVEN'T hunted one of them for years. And when I finally got one, I could only haul back that little bit of it to my house. A shame really, leaving all good meat out there in the woods for scavengers." Zerren glanced again at Hadrian. Maybe tense is the wrong word for it. Intent maybe. But what's so interesting?

[Hadrian]

Hadrian's chlorine blue eyes went thoughtful. Hunting was not his primary concern; oh, he understood the importance of food, and he respected Ethan's abilities, and Zerren's, too. Still, he wondered if the two beast-men knew what all they might accomplish together. He knew Ethan felt happier to be close to him, even if their bond was only affection. But Kelvic-to-Kelvic relations had always been a bit tense from what he could tell. "I wonder if you wouldn't have better luck with Ethan swooping down to distract it while you went for the hamstring or the jugular," Hadrian mused. From what he understood of lammergeiers, they weren't the sort of raptor that swooped down and snapped a deer's spine with their beaks, but he could do some damage while the panther went in for the kill. "And you shouldn't let any of it go to waste," he said, not really an admonishment, but a sharing of information. He was a teacher, after all. "Zeltiva suffers from regular famine. I'm sure you prefer raw meat, but salted or cured will keep you alive during the Winter."

[Ethan]

"Hey now, scavangers gotta eat too." He smiled at Zerren. Noticing the way his eyes slit. He had met a good share of the different races throughout Mizahar. But Kelvic's would always hold his interest the most. It was the subtle changes that intrigued him. The little clues about their false humanity. "Great idea," Ethan said to Hadrian. "it worked well enough for me and a wolf kelvic. I'm sure they're some differences with running speed and endurance, but it's a good stradegy. Especially since I could spot things from above." Hadrian's concern for Zerren was endearing, he had always been a mamma bird in one form or another. Ethan was only one of many he took in or helped without want of reward or favor. Perhaps that was the reason Ethan had trusted him so quickly. Although parts of him still wouldn't believe there wasn't a price to all this. That one day he would have to pay. "Hadrian's right, we need twice the amount of food as our cousins. Especially if you change more than once or twice a day. " Even though he detested salted meat. He liked to be behind Hadrian's points when he could.

[Zerren Verre]

Zerren thought over what Hadrian and Ethan had said. "I'm not sure how much good swooping in to distract a deer would work, they tend to flee from danger rather than face it. Might work for boars though." Zerren straightened up, moving over to the nearest window and leaning against it, enjoying the warmth. "And there are several differences between hunting as a wolf and a panther. They're more suited to straight assaults rather than ambushing. Less speed, more endurance." At least, that's the way normal wolves operate. Zerren's limited experience with other Kelvics meant he wasn't sure how closely to their natural counterparts most Kelvics acted. I suppose it can't be exactly the same, I doubt wild hawks often go around helping wolves catch prey. Then Zerren's mind snapped around to the last thing Hadrian had said. "Hey, it's not like I wanted to leave perfectly good meat out in the forest. But I've only got two arms and no other way to move anything. I'd like to see YOU haul a whole deer across ten miles of forest." Zerren paused for a moment and collected himself. Probably shouldn't snap like that. He probably doesn't see what he said as anything negative. "And I have been thinking about preserving some meat, even have a little set up in the back of my house. I've hunted through a couple Zeltivan winters, and while it's possible, it certainly isn't fun."

[Hadrian]

Hadrian nodded, listening intently. He knew little of hunting, only surmising what he deemed logical. But these two were natural born hunters, and so he paid their opinions great heed. But he did hope they might learn to hunt together, and otherwise work together. Even if they didn't eat salted meat, they could trade it for other things, too. And if Zerren was smart, he could befriend Ethan, who could snatch fish out of the sea even in the dead of winter. He smiled at the challenge, knowing he could Flux sufficient strength into his limbs to carry meat if he had to, but this wasn't really a competition, at least not for him. He wasn't sure whether panthers had dominance issues. "I am sure you carried more than I could," he assured him.

[Ethan]

You did your best." He smiled politely in response to Zerren's little outburst. Ethan didn't trust himself to say anything further on the matter. Lest he become angry. Hadrian had an annoying habit of noticing every flare of emotion, even if he didn't intend to. Ethan found the best way to keep his feelings private, was not to have them. He would have liked to have snapped back. Or at least smile and think of a coy rebuttal. But instead he was reduced to bobbing his head like a hen and muttering about the best way to preserve meat and who would give him the best price for the pelts. All the while he imagined how the sunlight glistened off Sondra's scales when he caught her bathing in a river on their way to Sunberth. If Hadrian was bound to feel something. Let it be arousal, maybe if he was lucky it'd make him uncomfortable for once. The Mage was far too indifferent for Ethan's liking. "Will you be staying for dinner, Zerren? We'd love to have you, I'm sure." Now he was bleating niceties. "Hadrian cooks a decent enough stew. Your rabbits will be a wonderful addition." Baaah went the sheep.

[Zerren Verre]

Zerren tried to listen closely as Ethan talked about preserving meat and who to avoid when selling furs and such. Zerren hadn't ever given either subject much thought, and he caught his attention starting to drift several times as Ethan droned on. He was startled back fully into the conversation by Ethan's offer of staying for dinner. I just brought him these rabbits, what would the point have been in repaying my debt if I then proceeded to eat the repayment? Zerren was already here to ask for another favor, he was not about to set himself up to owe anyone anymore than absolutely necessary. And speaking of that other favor, I should probably get that out of the way now rather than later… Before they give me something else to be grateful for. “I probably won’t be able to stay quite that long. Really I just came by to see if I could meet with you at some point.” Zerren suddenly realized that, while he had been coming to see when he could meet with Hadrian’s friend, he hadn’t actually put any thought into what he would say when he was actually talking with him. Petch. “So, since you’re here anyway, I know Hadrian told me that you practiced magic. Things to do with the air, right? Well, I was wondering if perhaps you could help mentor me in learning magic as well.” Zerren started talking more quickly and was almost stumbling over his words as he became more and more nervous. “I mean, I don’t really want to learn about air magic, but maybe you could help me learn other things? I had originally asked Hadrian, but he said that you would probably be better at teaching than him…” Zerren slowed to a stop and glanced between Hadrian and Ethan. Aside from general interest from Hadrian, their faces looked immensely like masks, which did nothing to ease Zerren's mounting tension.

[Hadrian]

This was an interesting confluence of anthropology and animal behavior, as the Kelvics were both human-like and animal. Two males frequently fought for dominance in many species, and he could sense a certain amount of tension despite the fact that everyone was being carefully polite. He considered sending out soothing waves of hypnotic suggestion to ease that tension and allow their reason to work unencumbered by heightened emotion, but he didn't want to manipulate them if he didn't have to do so. If they were intelligent, they would see how collaboration could be mutually beneficial. Everyone always wanted to be taught magic, he mused. Rarely did they ever offer anything in exchange, or wait to prove themselves trustworthy to be handed such power. He was dealing with that at the university, and now Ethan would get a taste of it. Curious as to how the lammergeier would handle it, he remained quiet.

[Ethan]

Ethan didn't have to look at Hadrian to know he was on his own, his silence spoke well enough. Which wasn't too much of a problem. Ridiculous proposals and offers were an every day part of being a Kelvic. Anyone clever enough to notice the tell tale signs of his people. Were quick to try and give them a "fair deal". Preying on their ignorant and primal natures. It was interesting to be on the receiving end for once. To have the upper hand against an ill equipped opponent. No wonder people were so easily tempted in the face of such prey. "I know a thing or two about Wind Magic." Ethan loathed to use fancy terms such as Aeromancy when in the company of less educated individuals. It always seemed so flashy and pompous. "But that kind of power is dangerous. To yourself and others. I can teach you a bit about Auristics though, for a price. It's a relatively safe form of magic and extremely useful." Ethan reached over and patted Hadrian's shoulder affectionately. "But in the end it's up to him. I'm just a student Zerren. Unless my teacher thinks I'm ready, my hands are tied." Ethan smiled happily. Making sure if anyone had to say no, it'd be Hadrian.