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[Cosette Merryweather]

"Monsters...?" Cosette offered helpfully. It wouldn't surprise her, the Syliran categorized Sahovan wizards in two classes. The studious sane ones who only seemed crazy because they were so absorbed in their quest for more knowledge, and then there were the ones who were genuinely crazy and were after knowledge because they wanted to use it for some nefarious design. "I suppose you're right..." "I don't have a trade I can really ply, so I have no need to build a shop like you do. A simple cottage would do..." nevermind the fact that she had no need for food, that made things considerably easier... though she did miss the sensation of hunger. Food always tasted better when she was hungry, or did it? The memory seemed so distant now and it had only been a few years... did Jilitse even think about that. "...Really?" well, that was a bit of a revelation. Cosette was convinced that every Sahovan nuit was learned in at least one branch of personal magic. Even Farke had made sure that she was equipped with the working knowledge of one before he allowed her to join him on her first visit to the undead citadel. "...I honestly found it easy, though perhaps it has to do with my circumstances. You see, I do not like who I am presently and... the essence of Morphing is to discard your sense of identity, to become something else entirely and that was quite easy for me to grasp." "Now that I look back at it though, I was pretty foolish back then for recklessly learning this skill... it seemed convenient, so I overlooked the dangers... you on the other hand, I believe your caution is worth commending, it suggests that you have great patience and self-control... a quality I am sorely lacking in." She pondered Jilitse's words but ultimately decided that the time was not right, she had to prepare herself mentally before she could teach the other nuit, and she definitely had to find somewhere private enough that she could use her ability without holding back for Jilitse's convenience. "Today is no good... I think tomorrow would be better. I may have to contemplate on the fundamentals of Morphing and it may take me awhile to compile something like a lesson plan. I don't have a scholar's mind like you and I've never taught anyone before... so I have to approach this with care. I was told dabbling in magic yourself was one thing, but teaching it is an entirely different matter." she did not even explain how she felt that she would be responsible if Jilitse ever overgave in the future.

[Jilitse]

Observing people usually went beyond watching their movements. There was always a lot of hints to hear in spoken words, keys to a person's soul and being. Cosette's actions offered friendship and willingness to help. Jilitse had approached Cosette for mentoring because the Nuit was a familiar entity. The Nuit girl had been in Sahova, and they had a common dislike for Aelobius. It was a lot like finding an ally- but that was already getting ahead. For now, Jil was content that she had found another friend.

She was also concerned that Cosette was more human than undead. That, and the words she spoke just now, and a memory pulled from many years back, meant Cosette was still in the running to undo being undead. It was unheard of, but there was probably come power out there that could undo the Daek-Nuit ritual.

Jil gave a thoughtful nod at Cosette's kind words. As she was not truly a mage per se, she lacked the sarcasm against non-personal magic user Jilitse. Jil wondered whether that was a bad or a good thing. For a moment, she considered whether Cosette would be able to teach her what her mentors in the Royal Academy of Magic could not. Jil gave Cosette a hopeful smile.

"We will work on it. I cannot promise to be someone easy to teach, but I don't give up easy - and sometimes trying and trying is enough." Jil decided not to press further about Cosette not liking undeath, it was the one thing Jil could not relate to. Where Cosette was turned undead against her will, Jil had offered herself up to become a Nuit for Project Sahova. Maybe they can talk more about it the next day.

"Let us meet each other tomorrow, then. I do have my shop to attend to. Can we meet in the evening?" Jil adjusted her blue cloak and tilted her head. She had to meet a client in the afternoon, and Cosette should be available the whole day (and night). She made a mental note about her schedule.

"Or," Jil offered, recalling that the Nuit girl had no place to stay, "If you do not have a place to stop, you are welcome to stay in my shop as well. I do not have the necessities a regular person may have. No beds, no kitchen, it's a shop, and I just sit around and work all day all night. Company would be welcome, until you find yourself on your feet. It's not much, but it's a roof over your head."

[Cosette Merryweather]

1st of Winter of 513 A.V.

"That quality is all you'll need Jilitse. All the proof you need is in front of you. I don't have talent... I never did and will never fool myself into thinking I do. What I learned to do I accomplished with discipline and effort. It took a lot of work, patience and a mountain of disappointments but...hard work will never, ever betray you." how she could sound so certain of that despite having so little experience and bad luck in life was a mystery, but Cosette wore her optimism with all the pride a Syliran Knight would a shield bearing the crest of the Windoak. "If you cannot achieve something, it simply means you have failed to put in the effort required to reach it."

"Ah..." how tempting, on one hand she could save money... on the other, she found Jilitse a little bit creepy despite her otherwise perfectly polite and professional bearing. But... what did it matter, the power of money was a more powerful motivating factor than fear. "Well, that's a kind offer... I might take you up on that. I'm new to the city and paying for lodgings would hurt my budget. I can keep teaching you until I've taught you everything I know about Morphing... if that's payment enough?"

...

The following day Cosette came to the older (much much older) nuit's shop with a few sticks of charcoal and discarded fabric which she could use as a makeshift scroll if Jilitse needed to take down notes. Besides the teaching equipment there was her bag of clothes which contained practically everything she owned.

"Are you ready?" the question was blunt, but it was delivered with the warmth native to Cosette's voice that it could only be interpreted in a positive, if somehow annoying light.

"Before we begin... and though you may already know some of the things I will be explaining to you I have to run you through the basics for the sake of safety. We'll go through the very basic theory... and that's really all there is to it since this branch of personal magic is very... shall we say, intuitive. if you have questions or already have knowledge of what I am speaking of feel free to inform me so I can skip or pause as necessary."

"Morphing, as you may already know, is the process of changing the body by using djed wherever you desire to alter it. The greater the djed the more exceptional the change... I was told that there are morphers with the power to turn themselves into elephants or such, but more djed does not make a great morpher, a more skilled morpher with delicate control over her abilities can copy someone's facial features or a person's voice for instance and that in itself can be a more useful trick for us."

"Now the issue here, though less important for us... nuit," the slight pause and the look of disgust she tried her best to hide quickly would not be missed by someone as astute as Jilitse, "Is that because morphing uses your own body as the medium for its power you effectively put your body at risk whenever you use it extensively. The body can only endure a certain degree of alteration before it breaks... I could compare it to a bamboo shoot, it can bend but only to an extent. Caution and a good grasp of your limit is what separates competent morphers... and dead ones."

"The transformations itself can be painful, with more expertise it becomes less so... you can even use your other hand to help the progress of the changes." Cosette gave the nuit a small demonstration in which she bent her arm ever to slightly with the air of the other only to allow it to return to its original form. "To keep things safe and simple, I would suggest changing only a hand, or a limb and no more when you first start out. It is essential you do not rush through the procedure and that you listen to my instructions."

If she had the woman's assent she would go on.

"Now for the hardest... if not the most uneventful part." Cosette sighed and sat on the floor. "You have to meditate, to separate yourself from the body mentally. You should not identify yourself with your body, easier given your nature as a nuit... but your personality is possibly far stronger than mine. Losing your sense of identity, to empty your mind until you lose yourself is the key I found to unlocking this power. My sincere desire to change... to become something else, to forget what I am was my foremost tool, you'll have to find your own because there is no initiation in morphing. The very first step is the one I cannot guide you through."