A Kelvic In Any Other Form... (Hadrian)

[Zerren Verre]

Zerren watched in horror as the man's face slowly melted into a mirror image of his own. Gods, what kind of demon is this? Should I kill it? Or should I run? Zerren was gearing closer and closer to the fight or flight response of his panther self before he pulled himself back under control. If I had a copper miza for every time something made me lose control like that, I'd buy Zeltiva and every ship in its harbor. Zerren appraised the creature before him anew in light of the fact that it was his own face staring back at him now. "That's... Interesting. I suppose that you just absorbed your boots that you were wearing then?" Zerren was tense, the desire to either kill the man or run into the forest was just below his conscious thoughts. Only waiting for an excuse to bubble once more to the surface. Every time I think I've found the weirdest thing I'll ever see, the Gods send me something far, FAR, worse...

[Hadrian]

"No," he said, his voice ranging from an approximation of Zerren's own back to his natural voice as he let his mask return to normal. His nakedness didn't bother him for proprietary reasons, but because he didn't like leaving things behind when it became clear he had to flee. He walked over to the boulder, hands flaring with green light, and dug into the stone to pull out his clothes and shoes, the which he began to pull on. "It's magic," he explained as if he had made this explanation before, and he had, to more than one Kelvic. "Don't worry. I have no desire to hurt you, but I will defend myself if you attack me."

[Zerren Verre]

Magic, really? You don't say. Zerren knew that magic existed, he himself was living evidence of it's existence. But he also considered there to be a difference between his quick shift from human to cat and this man's slow, painful looking shift from his face to Zerren's and back again. If that really is his face... "You mean to say that you were born with the ability to dissolve rock and change into anything you desire? How lucky for you." Zerren had always considered magic, in any form, to be innate. And from what he had heard of the three magical men who had escaped from the university, it did nothing good for a human's sanity when they were born with powers. He wasn't sure what made Kelvic's different, but he was sure the difference was there. You say you won't hurt me unless I attack first. But am I going to blink and find myself sunk thirty feet into the ground because I gestured "threateningly"? "I suppose you can read minds as well?"

[Hadrian]

"The geomancy required a magical initiation and years of study and practice," he admitted. "The shape-changing required weeks of meditation and it's a slow learning process, as I suppose you saw." There didn't seem to be any point in dissembling, and he had good luck with Kelvics. Some had attacked him before they knew who he was, but none had ever betrayed him. He supposed Marcus Kelvic had made them trustworthy in that they had been his servants, the servants of a great mage. He considered the second question for a moment before answering, pulling a shirt over his pale skin and slender frame. "No, I can't read minds. If I concentrate, I can get general intentions, but like you I rely more on my observation of body language than anything else. I try to just pay attention. Sometimes that seems like mind-reading to the less aware." He paused. "If you are feeling threatened, I can walk away. I was going to head back into town. Or if you have more questions, I can try to answer them. I'm a teacher by profession now, after all."

[Zerren Verre]

Well, he certainly sounds sane enough, and I don't get the feeling he's lieing to me... "No, I don't feel particularly threatened. I mean, unless you intend to drop me twenty feet into the ground or something like that. Or have you had enough trai..." The rest of the thought died as it was replaced by one far more pressing. He said that he learned those skills. He said it took a long time, but he said he LEARNED them. Zerren's mind was whirling with the general possibilities for a few seconds. I could learn to store my clothes like that, eliminate the risk of them getting stolen. He shifted his face to match mine, I could be anyone I wanted and no one would be the wiser. And that's just what I've seen him do, what if I could learn other things too? All thoughts of fight or flight were gone, replaced entirely by a barely contained enthusiasm. "You said you were a teacher? What all could you teach me if I asked you to?"

[Hadrian]

He considered the naked Kelvic before him, who had done a good deal of shape shifting in the past few minutes. He wondered if that wore him out as it did the other Kelvics he had known, and his own stomach began to growl, demanding fuel to replenish his aura. But he felt the need to shepherd Kelvics, to teach them a thing or two to help them survive in the harsh world. "Well," he said thoughtfully, "most Kelvics don't seem to have the ability or desire to concentrate and do the work required to learn and master magical skills. You already are magical. But I taught my friend Ethan to sense auras, and to create Wind. It helps because he's a flyer too. It seemed to follow his nature. Perhaps you should meet him."

[Zerren Verre]

Zerren frowned. Don't have the ability or desire to concentrate? That would be insulting if he wasn't probably right. Zerren had been trying to learn how to read and write, or at least read, for at least three seasons and made no progress at all. I can't help it that I have to stop and hunt for meals so often... Zerren was hungry almost all the time. He didn't know why, he just assumed he had a fast metabolism. Zerren shifted his attention back to the man in front of him."I'm sure that would be interesting, I don't happen upon many other Kelvics when I'm out hunting. Is he a bird like the one you turned into?" Zerren leaned back against the tree that the man had fallen out of and looked up through it's branches. So his friend can do magic that follows his nature... I wonder what kind of magic would follow my nature... "Say, if you're only human, how did you scale this tree so quickly? Did it have to do with your shape changing?"

[Hadrian]

"He was the model for that bird," he said, nodding, "but he is smaller and lighter than my version. I am not skilled enough to reduce my mass, and the color is just one more thing to change, so I suppose if I wanted to pass as a real lammergeier, it would have to wait until I could control my mass, and then the color would be a detail, and hopefully by then I would know how to behave like a proper lammergeier." He considered the Kelvic and how much to tell him; one of the reasons Kelvics had trouble learning things is that even though their bodies matured, in many ways their minds and emotions did not, and it took humans time to learn things. Kelvics had shorter lives in the main. "I do have some control over my body, obviously," he said, smiling. "Shape and properties of the flesh can be molded with enough skill. But do you live in the city or remain without? If you come to the city, you can find me at the University. I am Professor Hadrian Aelius there. Someone could direct you to my office, or if you are quite familiar with the city, I could give you the address of my cottage near the Old Quarter. That way I could introduce you to Ethan. He would likely be able to intuit what questions another Kelvic might have, and he's an accomplished magician himself in many ways."

[Zerren Verre]

"Both. I usually sleep in a little house on the edge of town, but I spend almost every day out here hunting." All the thought and talk of hunting was drawing Zerren's attention to the gnawing hunger which seemed to have only gotten worse since having tracked down the man. Hadrian, he said. "But I know Zeltiva well enough to find my way to the University and ask for directions to your room, I'm sure." Zerren started to shift his weight from foot to foot as the hunger pain grew worse. He glanced out into the forest over and over again, starting to search for signs of prey while attempting to end the conversation politely. Damn, can't seem to miss one meal without feeling like my stomach is eating it's way out of me. "Perhaps you can tell Ethan where to meet me when we see each other in town?" So very very hungry... "Say, two or three days from now?" Hungry hungry hungry... "Really it's up to you I suppose." Really need to find food... NOW! Zerren steeled himself against the hunger and hoped that Hadrian's answer would be brief.

[Hadrian]

"Of course," he said, but as he sensed the Kelvic's hunger, he acted. He sensed a fat hare in its burrow nearby and let his aura reach out and seduce it with emotional suggestions of fearlessness and hunger. The distance and the distraction of the earth between them hampered his abilities somewhat, but the mind of a hare was not difficult to overcome. "A present for you," he said indicating the hole from which the hare hopped out to nibble on the grass, ignoring the both of them. "Ah... what should I call you?"