An Open Performance (Closed)

[Miro]

Miro watched as Iliana paraded around the open area. She seemed to enjoy it every bit as much as Miro. It was great to find somebody who would have so many things in common with him. She was lighthearted and very energetic. Her knowledge of reimancy was apparent, but he did not sense dedication to magic. She knew of it well enough. What it could do for her, how to use it. But Miro felt as if it was just a tool for her, not a way of life.

Miro pranced up to Iliana as she stopped spinning. He leaned forward slightly and began to ogle her hair. It was still blue, for the most part, but it began to change. Blue slipped to blonde, capturing Miro's attention. He wanted to answer his question, but such a sight was captivating. Soon it was all blonde. It just seemed so odd. It seemed to be magic, and that was fine and all. But that was not what was interesting about it. If color changed, what else could change? Miro walked forward and reached both hands into her long flowing hair and began to run his hands through it. He grabbed it with one hand and gave a gentle tug. In a half dead half amazed tone Miro began to talk. "Illy, you hair...It is so pretty. Did magic make it blue? That was cool. Y..yeah Kinneas and I own this place. All you see. Can you do something with your hair for me? It is pretty now, but maybe you can do a trick. If you want I can try a trick!" Miro removed his hands and walked back a few feet while still facing her.

Now Miro pondered while forming res from his palms. He pressed them together and produced as much as he could bear. The pain wasn't pleasant, but it would be worth it when he finished the trick. Miro pulled away his hands and a ball remained between them hovering. He moved it upwards where it hung in the air waiting for further instruction. Its size was rather small, a bit more than one could grasp with one hand, but that was plenty. It moved to about fifteen feet off the ground and hovered just between the both of them. Miro had done this one before, but it was still interesting. He wondered if it was dangerous too. He closed his eyes and focused. Soon everything became brighter, his eyelids shone a pale orange. Under his breath he whispered "Kite". The outer layer of the ball was set ablaze. Miro focused hard and kept his mind moving. Next he would burst the center mass while transmuting it. He would make the res move outwards in all directions while transforming it to air. He prepped his mind and whispered the phrase "Sho". The wind burst in the center of the flames exploding outwards. It shone brilliantly like the sun then burst into several cinders that scattered through the sky before disappearing. Miro had to shield his eyes from the blast of light and heat. He hoped Iliana had liked his trick. It was bright and flashy enough to draw attention, and it was a fire type reimancy attack. Miro wondered if Iliana knew that. He turned towards her with a smile and waited for a reaction. Perhaps she would have a comment to make. Perhaps she had a trick of her own now. It was exciting to be with another mage. With any luck, Iliana would feel the same.

[Iliana]

"That was amazing!" Iliana gasped. She watched as the sparks formed a glittering cage around her and Miro, and something inside of her stirred at the sight. Tilting her head back she watched as the last spark vanished into nothing. Barely containing her excitement Iliana skipped up to Miro and looked up into his eyes, her own shown with bright enthusiasm and she practically glowed when she smiled, "Oh, please please tell me how you did that! It was amazing and wonderful!" Illiana skipped back a fewstepps and turned in a circle with her arms outstretched, "The way the fire appeared from no where and was spread out into a cage of sparks and lights. Oh, it would be wonderful to use that in a performance!" Iliana's eyes shown brightly as she giggled happily at the thought of using such a technique in her own performance. That thought, of course, lead to a new thought of what she would wear if she were to use fire in her next dance, and from there it continued on into what kinds of dances would work best for such a flashy display? Iliana was so caught up in her thoughts for a moment that she completely forgot that Miro was there. Her eyebrows scrunched up in thought as she imagined all of the possibilities that would come from learning such a technique. Then, almost absently, Iliana began to play with her own Res as if trying to recreate the technique. As her thought process continued she absently pulled on a strand of hair, morphing it into a dark shade of red. Pulling it before her eyes she examined it, and finding it unsuitable she shifted the color once more to a lighter color and injected streaks of yellow as well. Then she applied the entire transformation to the rest of her hair, the colors shooting up from the tips of her hair to the roots this time. Smiling she nodded and touched one of her eyes, concentrating there now. Slowly the color in them seemed to ripple, as if they were pools of water and a stone had just been thrown in the center. With each ripple the color changed slightly, slowly shifting from her usually sky blue to a sun beam golden color with seemingly random streaks of red around the circumference. Blinking twice, Iliana turned to Miro, showing him her new features, "What do you think? Does it look like a good appearance for dancing with fire?"

[Miro]

Miro grinned seeing how impressed she was with his performance. "It is amazing huh? Yeah, it is something I only recently learned. I learned to make fire. From the time I was a child I could only use water and ice. I later began to practice with wind. A few days ago I finally learned to ignite my res. It took a lot of practice but I think I can learn others. Can you use other elements than water and snow?" Miro paused for a moment, realizing he had gotten off track with his thoughts. "I used fire to burn and outer layer than made a gust of wind from the center to make it...well you saw. If you can make fire and add air it you will get a similar result." Miro smiled at her. He was finally beginning to understand why she was so amazed with it. Perhaps there was some way he could help her performance. Maybe they could train her to learn fire as well.

Iliana began to change her hair again. This time she seemed to go through a process to change it. Before long it was completely different, even her eyes had changed. "Yeah...it..does. How did you do that?" Miro continued to stare in an attempt to figure out how she did it. He looked at the mass of res she had. He was curious to see what she could do, but he also knew that he could coat her res with some of his to make fire. He was more interested now than ever and very curious to see what she could do.

[Iliana]

Iliana's attention returned to the ball of Res in her hands. She tried to compress it as Miro had, but each time she tried the ball would snap back to its original size. She scrutinized the ball for a minute before answering, "I can only use water and air I am afraid. The snow was simply a technique that my mother once taught me when I was first learning. Besides the snow I can do little else but freeze a small amount of water." She squeezed the ball of Res and sighed. Taking it in one hand she changed its form into a gelatinous state, then taking a deep breath she changed it into water and allowed it to trickle through her fingers. Running her wet fingers through her hair, Iliana looked back at Miro, "It is nothing really. If I concentrate really hard on a particular feature I can change it somewhat. See watch." Closing her eyes Iliana focused on her eyes once more. She drew from them the golden color and replaced it with a deep emerald green, altering the pupils as she did so that they slitted like a cats. Opening them once more she looked at Miro and smiled, "It is simple really, and it makes preparing for a dance a simple matter of imagining what you wished to look like." Iliana wobbled for a moment, suddenly struck by a sense of exhaustion, I suppose the constant morphing and use of Res has tired more more than I thought... She shook her head and stretched her arms, smiling up at Miro as she did so.

[Miro]

Miro thought to himself for a moment. "Only water huh? What a technique to learn." Miro would have to learn it himself someday, but for now he would put that off. She was still quite a novice at reimancy, but she showed a lot of promise. He watched as the res trickled out of her hand. Miro listened carefully to Iliana as she explained how she could change her features. Her eye was changed within a few moments. "Is that morphing? I am very impressed. Perhaps sometime you can teach me to do that! Perhaps I can attempt to dance with you. You were very beautiful during your dance. I..." Miro's sentence was cut short as he saw Iliana's footing shake for a moment. It seemed she was exhausted from all of the magic and performing. She smiled up at Miro as he walked over to her. He put his arm around her hip and began to lead her inside. "Oh, Illy, you look so tired. I didn't think you would last this long after such a wonderful performance. It looked like it took a lot out of you." Miro led her to the couch in the common area where he sat her down. He sat on the other end of the couch and turned to her. "You seem to be a very fun person and a confident mage as well. Perhaps we could practice together? You can teach me to make snow or change my hair. I can teach you all sorts of cool things too. Whatever you want really. Just please rest up first, you can't push it anymore. You may be in danger from overgiving. How much djed did you spend today?" Miro looked over at her with a very concerned look on his face. He was curious to see how far she pushed things. Part of him was tempted to sacrifice some djed of his own so that she may have a drink. He would have to insist that they had something to eat soon. It always helped get over spending too much djed.

[Iliana]

Iliana was lost in a fog for a moment, only just aware that she was being guided inside and set on a couch in what looked like sitting room. Blinking slowly she drug her mind back to the moment, turning to listen to Miro as he spoke. Illy... she thought, I think I like that name... Shaking her head to clear it, Iliana tried to catch up on all that had been said, "Yes... I know a bit of morphing, but I can do little more than change a few small features at a time. Absently fingering the necklace that hung around her neck, "I am not sure what you mean by overgiving though, but from how you say it I assume it is a bad thing? I usually do not keep track of my Res use. I just know when I grow tired I should stop. A light pink color came to her cheeks at the close attention. Yes she was used to crowds watching her, but never a single person... and never a boy who was sitting so close. Pulling at a strand of blond hair Iliana looked up into Miro's eyes, her own had returned to normal, "Would you... really like to practice with me? I am still learning you know, and I can only do a few small things with reimancy. No more than you have already seen in fact..." Looking down at her lap she continued, "But if you don't mind, I would love to learn what I can, and I will teach you anything you wish to know from me as well." Her smile returning once more she looked back up at Miro, the light red still on her cheeks. Iliana's eyes looked deep into Miros. The blue in her eyes seeming to shift slightly, like ripples on a pond, but then that could just be a trick of the light or another trick of morphing perhaps.

[Miro]

Miro watched Iliana cautiously as she spoke. As expected, she was a morpher. How she learned it was a mystery however. Her knowledge of magic was quite minimal for somebody using it as she did. "Well, when you use too much magic you will succumb to overgiving. It can have horrible effects on you. If you use too much, you may find yourself being drawn to cast more and more until you destroy yourself. It is very dangerous to keep using magic beyond your limit."

She seemed fine, all except for the pink color of her cheeks. She moved the hair out of her face and looked in Miro's eyes. She didn't know much, but seeing her eager to learn made Miro happy. A practice partner sounded perfect. "It would be great if we could practice together. Perhaps if you can show me how to make snow, we can work on teaching you a few new tricks." Miro smiled at her warmly as she looked back at him. Miro's heart started to beat a bit faster. All of his previous thoughts were stricken from his mind and he froze in embarrassment, unable to look away from her face.

[Iliana]

Iliana rubbed her arms, goose bumps rising on them. Her clothing was still a bit wet and clung to her skin, and Iliana once more wished she had a change of clothes... Noticing the redness of her cheeks Iliana quickly turned away, hiding behind her hair a moment as she let color drain from her face. Taking a deep breath she turned and smiled at Miro, "Thank you for telling me. I think I may have been in danger of overgiving then. It seems I still have a lot more to learnt." Tugging at her hair she looked around the room as she spoke, "If all you wish to know is how I made snow, then i will be more than happy to help you. Giggling she looked at Miro, "Though I am surprised that is the only thing about my performance you wish to see again." With a wink she went back to looking around the room. She was impressed that this man, not much older than her, had his own mannor, and she was even more impressed that he could rent it out to guests. She smiled to herself, He certainly has done something right... Glancing back at Miro she noticed his eyes still on her, and Iliana felt the heat rise to her cheeks once more. She mentally shook herself however, No! No more of that! I cannot let one man's gaze do this to me... Taking a deep breath Iliana took control of her embarassement and pushed it aside. With a light giggle she looked up at Miro, casting a bit of hypnosis to heighten his own feeling of embarrassment so that he might not notice hers, "Ok, I will teach you what I can if you promise to do the same. Please take care of me." With that she smiled as brightly as she could, showing her wight teeth and shining blue eyes as she did.

[Miro]

Miro smiled at Iliana as she continued on accepting his offer. He again was confused by some of her words. Was there something else in her performance Miro should want to see again? Though she was very sweet. It was nice to have such a nice person around. But wait, where was she staying again? Wasn't she talking about staying at an inn? She seemed to enjoy this place as much as Miro. His home was large, and had room for many people to stay. They would be easily capable of practicing magic together. It was the perfect idea. Still he found himself locked in his mind. Spoken words would not find their way past his lips. Iliana was moving about, but still, none of it sparked a reaction.

Finally, Miro found himself starting to break out of his mental prison. Iliana took a deep breath and giggled as she looked at Miro. As soon as he was out, he was right back in. "Please take care of me." It sounded like a responsibility, but it felt like something different entirely. Iliana was asking for Miro to take care of her. Kinneas had taken care of Miro all of these years. They traveled and protected each other. Kinneas had even allowed them to share this home. Miro would have to do the same for his new friend. She looked at him and his heart twisted inside his chest. Instantly he stood and turned. The pounding in his chest returned and was taking control of his mind. His cheeks were bright and he knew he had to say something, even if his words may come out a bit scrambled. "You are, I will help you. I mean, you can stay, and I teach. Or wait." Miro sighed and gathered his confidence up as much as possible before turning to her with his face still flushed. "I will take care of you. You can feel free to stay here if you need to. Teaching you would be a pleasure. I am sure we could learn a lot from each other. You do seem to have a way of putting me out of my element." Miro did his best to keep eye contact, but still felt the awkwardness of the moment. Most of it had passed, and all that remained were strange thoughts and a proud caring feeling. Iliana was Miro's friend, and he would do whatever he could to take care of her from now on.

[Iliana]

Iliana giggled and stood as well, stepping closer to Miro's turned back, "You mean that? I can stay here?" With a laugh Iliana spun in a circle, her arms outstretched. She took in the entirety of the room she stood in. The blackened walls, the uneven bords and cracked windows. They all seemed so... full of possibilities. With a sudden surge of giddiness, Iliana lept forward and threw her arms around Miro's neck. The man was considerably taller than she was so her feet hung a few inches from the ground as she giggled in his ear. "Oh thank you Miro! This is such a wonderful place, and I will do everything I can to help you fix it up!" Already she was imagining colors and furniture that could be placed in the various rooms. Several color schemes and rugs leapt to her mind, and she made a mental note for when she next went to market to see the prices of some needed household wares.