An Unexpected Reunion (Valerius, guest-mod)

[Alea Davenport]

HD Approval

Summer 7th, 512 Professor Argent Berrywillow stepped off the ferry onto the grounds of the Kelvic research Institute. He had come a long way from his home in Zeltiva, but he wanted a kelvic companion, and he had the means to make sure he got the best. He was too impatient to wait around for one to bond to him, as they were fairly rare, and the ones he knew were either already bonded, extremely picky, or had an animal for that didn’t suit him at all. But there was one place on Mizahar that he’d heard Kelvics were collected, and sometimes sold, and so he ventured from the morally scrupulous city of Zeltiva to find a place where good coin could get what a man needed. The well-dressed man walked with dignity, his cane more for looks than for support, and he had a wicked-looking rapier sheathed in his belt. He strode confidently, despite never having been to this place before. He had been in the city for several days, not realizing until his arrival that this place was only open to the public once per season. Still, he had enjoyed in time in the beautiful city, and his impatience to obtain a companion did not mar his experience. now that the KRI’s doors were finally open, he and several other potential buyers eagerly made their way into the compound. A few of the buyers were return customers, and so they knew what they wanted and who to talk to to get it, but the rest of the ferry passengers had to rely on employees of the Institute to guide them today. Berrywillow glanced around at the various helpers, trying to spot one who would be competent enough to help him find what he was looking for. As his eyes passed over everyone, he did a double-take; he recognized that boy. He walked toward the familiar face, saying, “Well well. If it isn’t my old student.” Then, as a test of whether Valerius remembered any thing from his classes, he added in Nader-Canoch, “How have you been, Mr. Nitrozian?”

[Valerius Nitrozian]

Valerius was even busier than unusual, a circumstance that he didn’t entirely like. Although he could work hard if he wanted to, he would much rather not, but sit back, let others do the work and occasionally experiment on a Kelvic. Getting access to his aunt’s laboratory was his ultimate goal, and the reason he had initially come here, but she seemed to think that he had to do all the dirty, demeaning jobs first. Well, at least he wasn’t cleaning cages today. He had spent most of the morning making the Kelvic that would be up for sale presentable. He had washed them, fed them and made sure that they were on their best behaviour. And then he had changed into an elegant suit to make sure that none of the buyers would mistake him for one of the workers, even though that was exactly what he was. There would be a few potentially important people at the Kelvic Research Institute today, and he didn’t want them to get the wrong impression of him. Once the gate had been opened, he positioned himself in a central place so that the buyers wouldn’t miss him. It wouldn’t hurt to be a little helpful today, even if it went against his nature. He had expected a Lazarin or possibly a Lark to show up, but he definitely hadn’t expected to see him again. His eyes widened slightly as his gaze fell on his old teacher, and then he immediately walked over to him. „Professor Berrywillow.“ The tone of his voice was extremely polite. Valerius‘ manners were excellent – if it suited his purpose. He was hardly a boy anymore though. He had grown up from the youth that had come to Zeltiva to study the Ancient Tongue. „It is good to see you again. I am fine. I have recently begun to work with my aunt here at the Kelvic Reseearch Institute. She’s the head researcher“, he explained, using the Ancient Tongue as well. „What brings you to Ravok? I assume you want to acquire a Kelvic?“

[Alea Davenport]

"Sharp as ever, Mr. Nitrozian!" the old professor replied jovially, reverting back to Common and putting his arm around Valerius's shoulders in an overly-familiar gesture. "Now I heard this was the best place in all of Mizahar to get yourself a Kelvic," he continued, maneuvering his old student in the direction he assumed the animals-for-sale would be. He held his free arm out in front of them, in a sort of "Picture This" gesture. "I was thinking something big, stunning and beautiful! Something to look impressive for guests. Ooh, or maybe something quick, light on it's feet, like me!" He demonstrated a bit of fancy footwork (releasing Valerius in order to do so), waving his arm about almost as if he were wielding an invisible blade. Falling into step beside Valerius, he continued, "Or maybe something small, to sit on my shoulder while I'm reading. Or something soft, to curl up with when I'm sleepy." He appeared lost in thought for a moment (or perhaps he had just dozed off), but soon he cheerfully concluded, "Let's look at one of everything! Can't know what you'll like best if you haven't tried them all!" He winked at his former pupil, wondering if Valerius recalled that little catch phrase. It was something the professor said every time someone asked him why he studied so many languages.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As Professor Berrywillow said that he was as sharp as ever, the Nitrozian smiled slightly and nodded in silent agreement. Of course he was sharp – he’d probably become even sharper since he had left Zeltiva - and it was a good thing that his old teacher had noticed that. As the professor proceeded to put his arm around him, the smile on Valerius‘ face abruptly disappeared again however, and he frowned. Valerius Nitrozian didn’t want to be touched by anybody, no matter what the intention. It took all his self control not to push his old teacher’s hand away. He had also forgotten how sickeningly cheerful Berrywillow could sometimes be. He’d mostly remembered him as an excellent teacher and expert on the Ancient Tongue. By Rhysol, he really hoped that the man wouldn’t invite him to a beer now and pretend to be his buddy! „Yes, this is the best place to get a Kelvic“, he confirmed curtly. If it weren’t for the fact that the man was a professor and quite decent with a weapon on top of it, he would have said something. But as it was Valerius decided that it would be better to remain silent. He wanted to stay on the professor’s good side. He was useful. „If you want something big and beautiful that’s light on its feet, a cat of some sort may be the right thing for you. Cats also tend to be quite soft. If you want something to sit on your shoulder though …“ He broke off as Berrywillow voiced his desire to just look at everything and nodded. „As you wish, professor. Please come with me.“ He definitely remembered that little phrase. He often wondered how the man could learn so many languages without exploding or confusing all those languages with each other. Valerius prided himself on being more intelligent than the average Ravokian, but the professor – the professor was a genius.

[Alea Davenport]

The pair walked through the KRI, touring the place like a zoo. The kelvics for sale were all being displayed to their best advantage, the ones will large and dangerous forms being permitted to shift for the benefit of prospective buyers. Professor Berrywillow admired many of them, taking his time to study and admire each one. He stopped in front of a bear's cage. "Ho there, big fellow. I'll bet you have quite the ferocious roar!" Obligingly, the kelvic opened his mouth and demonstrated his roar in the professor's and Valerius's faces. Argent wrinkled his nose. "Heh, and breath worthy of such a monster! Let's see what else there is, shall we?" There were many other impressive kelvics: fierce falcons, playful puppies, terrible tigers, (among other things, Berrywillow was a fan of alliteration and word-play). He perused the selection for bells, regaling his student with news from Zeltiva as he considered and rejected kelvic after kelvic. The other prospective buyers had long-since gone home, and the kelvics were exhausted from shifting back and forth to show everyone their two forms, but the Professor could never make a decision without considering every possible option. They arrived in front of a cage which, at the moment, appeared to house a young maiden with snow-white hair. She sat on the floor of her cage, looking the tragic figure as she stared hopelessly out at the two men. The professor whistled appreciatively. "She's quite the beauty. That white hair would certainly draw eyes back home. What is her animal form? Make her change."

OOCThe animal form is a swan, if you want to write her shifting.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As they walked through the Kelvic Research Institution, Valerius struggled not to lose his patience several times. The man seemed to treat this like a funny visit to the zoo and gawkled at the animals like a common idiot rather than approaching them like the highly intelligent man that he was. While Professor Berrywillow inspected the various Kelvic that were on display, the Nitrozian always remained a step behind him, arms behind his back and looked at the creatures indifferently. As the professor talked to the bear, Valerius made a face. Hearing its roar, he was prepared to pull his former teacher who was standing much too close to the cage back, but fortunately nothing happened. “Let’s move on”, he agreed, unable to hide his disapproval of the professor’s behaviour completely. “Predators may not be the right animals for you. They can be hard to control. If I may make a suggestion …” And on they went, from the fierce falcons to the playful puppies. Valerius rolled his eyes as he heard the names the professor gave them. He was growing tired and frustrated, and after a while he wasn’t even capable of the fake smile he had shown the man so far. While the rest of the customers had decided on a Kelvic a long time ago, Professor Berrywillow was still walking around, staring at the animals and giving them names he thought were funny. If it weren’t for the fact that Berrywillow talked about the latest happenings in Zeltiva every once in a while and managed to make that information sound halfway interesting, Valerius would eventually have let a Kelvic lose on him, professor and skilled warrior or not. “She’s beautiful, yes”, Valerius agreed as they stopped in front of the cage with the white haired maiden. Even he had to acknowledge that. “She’s a rather unusual kind of Kelvic. She’s a swan. A creature like her would certainly attract attention in Zeltiva.” “Give me a moment.” With that Valerius walked over to the swan, sincerely hoping that Berrywillow would buy her because he didn’t think he would be able to stand playing Kelvic salesman much longer. “Do you notice that man over there?” he whispered to her. “He wants to see your other form. He is a professor from Zeltiva. He’s rich, he’s intelligent, and he’s kind, and he will be able to give you the kind of life most Kelvic here only dream of. All you need to do is change for him. Try to put a little effort into it. He’s your way out of this place.”

[Alea Davenport]

The kelvic girl took Valerius's words to heart, and she performed a magnificent transformation, standing up in her cage with a graceful maneuver which suggested potential for an excellent dancer if trained, and disappearing in a shower of sparkles, only to reappear as a snowy-white swan. She craned her neck demurely, trying to she herself off to her best advantage. The KRI was hell for her, and she would to anything to escape it. Professor Berrywillow paced back and forth in front of the cage, studying the swan with a thoughtful frown. Suddenly before Valerius could stop him, he opened the cage. "Walk back and forth in front of the cage for a bit, let me get a better look at you," he ordered the kelvic. The hopeful swan was only too happy to obliged, and paced slowly and carefully in front of the cage. She did her best to march elegantly, hoping that her potential new owner would like what he saw. Unfortunately, the thoughtful frown on his face was deepening. "It's the feet," he said, almost apologetically to Valerius. "I just can't take anything seriously when it has those orange webbed chicken-legs. No, no, I'm afraid I'll have to find something else." At his words, the swan's hope turned to despair. Having been so close to freedom, she couldn't just lose her chance now! With a loud, angry honk, the swan lunged at Berrywillow, pecking viciously with her beak. Fortunately, the professor had a trick of his own. His cane was actually a hidden rapier, and he fell quickly into a fighting stance, eagerly parrying the thrusts of the swan's beak. Finding the professor too difficult to get by, she turned and attacked the apparently weaker of her captors. Seeing his former student in such a pickle, she tossed the rapier to Valerius, drawing the one from his belt to replace it. "She 'er how it's done, my boy!" He knew, of course, that Valerius had never attended a fencing lesson in his life, despite Argent's frequent insistence that he should. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity for an impromptu lesson, he called out various instructions, making sure to take a swipe at the swan's tailfeathers when it looked like Valerius would need a bit of extra assistance.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

Valerius smiled as the Kelvic transformed, pleased that she had obeyed. He usually didn’t like her kind, but even he had to admit that her transformation was breathtaking. It didn’t look disgusting or awkward at all. On top of it the creature was graceful. He was almost tempted to keep her now. „She would make a good dancer“, he suggested to the professor. „You could use her to entertain your guests. Without a doubt some men would desire her. Can you see how white her feathers are? They are like freshly fallen snow. She also has excellent manners.“ His gaze followed the professor as he paced back and forth in front of the cage. He was convinced that he had finally made a sale. The swan was perfect. Even Berrywillow with all his strange views couldn’t possibly deny that – but he did. Valerius’s eyes widened as the man compared the swan’s long elegant legs to chicken legs. Why couldn’t take them serious? What was wrong with him? „I could paint them if you don’t like their colour“, he offered. „Or cover them with something. I could also cut them off if they offend you, but then she would probably be useless. Forget about the legs. You can’t deny that the rest of her is perfect, can you?“ He had just come to the decision that he would throw Berrywillow out if he declined one more slave – professor or not – when the creature lunged at him. Apparently she wasn’t perfect after all. Berrywillow had been right. They should look for something else. This one was aggressive and needed to be removed. He would tell Aunt Amanda that she should use her for her next experiment. While Valerius contemplated whether he should call for help or intervene himself, Berrywillow had already produced his rapier. Valerius had to admit that a cane that was also a rapier was rather clever and that the man could fight incredibly well. He was good! As the creature turned around and attacked him, apparently having decided that Berrywillow was too strong, Valerius just stood there and looked at her incredulously for a moment. This couldn’t be happening! Was she really attacking him – a Nitrozian? How dare she? He caught Berrywillow’s rapier and tried to parry the creature’s attacks. He suddenly regretted that he hadn’t trained with the professor when he had offered. It would have been useful now. Valerius moved well, and he was in good shape, but it was very obvious that he had no idea how to use a weapon. He tried to follow Berrywillow’s instructions as well as he could though.

[Alea Davenport]

The swan honked loudly and lunged awkwardly toward Valerius, aiming for anything she could reach. This mostly meant biting his legs, leading Berrywillow to shout such helpful things as, "Parry left! No, your other left. Ooh, bit slow there. Watch your footwork." The professor was hanging back, making sure the swan did not escape, but doing absolutely nothing to prevent her from pecking at his old student's knee-caps. It was his hope that a few bruises would motivate young Mr. Nitrozian to brush up on his skills. After watching Valerius miss several good openings, he added, "You'll never stop her if you stay on the defensive. Try a thrust or two!" He demonstrated with a flourish, though not actually aiming at the swan. It was his sincere wish to see his pupil succeed without being bailed out by his teacher. The swan, meanwhile, had been merciless, nipping at Valerius's heels, biting his clothes and not letting go, chasing him if he tried to run, but all the while just looking for an opening to escape. Fortunately for Valerius, she was just fighting on instinct, rather than skill, and though her bill was sharp, she failed to aim for any more practical targets than Valerius's shins.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

Valerius parried and parried and parried and jumped around, and for once he didn’t care that he looked like an idiot (a well dressed idiot though). If the swan bit him, it could leave an ugly scar, and Valerius didn’t want to have any scars, not even on his legs that were covered most of the time anyway. He wasn’t completely sure what exactly ‚footwork’ consisted of, so he just tried to move away from the swan and not fall over his own legs (which would have been embarrassing beyond measure). As Berrywillow told him to try a thrust or two, the Ravokian didn’t obey immediately, but loudly wondered, „Just what do you want from me, Professor? Are you trying to turn this into a fencing lesson – against a swan? Do you want me to kill her? You could help me, you know!“ If the animal weren’t trying its best to bite him, he would have laughed because the situation was so ridiculous. As it was, he eventually followed the professor’s suggestion though and thrust the rapier forward. Hopefully the swan would do him a favour and stop.