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[ Kahlil has kept his word since their first meeting, showing up to each of their sessions on time. Somehow he managed to power his way through the books she originally gave him, and through these two months - barring the interruption of the omens, he's managed to make progress. Whenever a rune or phrase in Ancient Thornean turns up in a spell, he copies it down with a little scribble about the spell its used for.

He fails a lot in those first weeks of practical spellwork. But he's stubborn and quick-witted, and his penchant for language means he's undeterred.

Unfortunately, he quickly learns what he expected about his original motive for learning: the wards and protections around the castle are far too complicated for him to figure out how to dispel on his own. This, though, he keeps to himself.

He's managed to perfect a simple protection spell, at least. A single use casting that mitigates some of the physical damage done to the one protected. It drains him horribly, though, and he ends up napping after nearly every class.

This time he finds her after she's done with her last class of the day. He knocks on the open door to announce himself. In one hand is a bottle of blackberry mead. He tilts his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. ]

A thank you, for all the lessons. [ He lifts the bottle with a wry grin. ] To share, if you have a moment to spare - and drinking with students isn't against your rules.

[ He's always been friendly in their interactions, carefully reading her mood. ]

Edited 2022-12-02 00:28 (UTC)

[ he has kept his word, just as yennefer has kept her's. and while there aren't many who would deem her a nice teacher, for as long as her students can push through her sharp tone and impatience, they will learn. and kahil is a perfect example - the small smile she'd given after he'd finally cast his first successful protection spell, the fact she will always manage to find the time for his lessons, no matter how packed her schedule becomes. stubbornness and determination are the most important aspects that he will need to keep, and he seems just the type to do well.

plus - he's not nearly as infuriating as a lot of other students yennefer has dealt with. she might even go as far as to call him a halfway decent student to have around. and they have spent some time together over the last couple of months, enough that she's been able to pick up on his penchant for languages, enough that she'd been able to pick out certain directions for his studies that might be more specified to what he actually wants to learn. his obsession with wards has piqued her interest, but not enough for yennefer to actually ask after it.

either way, when he finds her in her classroom after the last of her lecture students have cleared out for the day, she doesn't immediately send him away. it's not until her eyes fall to the bottle in his hand that her demeanor relaxes a bit. ]

Do you always attempt to bribe your instructors? [ she does wave for him to step the rest of the way inside. ] And no- it definitely is not. I take it you brought glasses? [ aka, yes, she does have a few moments. but that is subject to change, if he takes too long to bring her the bottle. ]

[ Strangely, that first comment seems to strike a nerve. An odd twitch in his expression, and something a little mellowed in his voice even though his tone is meant to be lightly teasing: ]

Only the instructors I that I like. [ With permission given he doesn't waste any time striding to the nearest table with seats, setting down the bottle first and sliding it toward her. From a small pack on his shoulder he takes two inexpensive mugs he borrowed from elsewhere. They'll be returned later.

He slides himself onto a seat, waiting politely for her to pour her own drink before filling his own. ]

Understand that I don't mean this as an insult - but sometimes you look like you could use a break.

[ Between all the classes she teaches, and whatever else might be weighing on her mind. It's similar for almost all of them, he thinks, living in a place where they are almost constantly watched. Guest could easily become prisoner given the wrong thing spoken to the wrong person. ]

[ yennefer does notice the twitch, though she doesn't yet bring herself to pry into it. instead, just watching as he sets the bottle and mugs down and slides into the nearest table. for all that she tends to keep up an air of authority during the majority of her lessons and lectures, this wouldn't have been the first time that kyle has seen her lean a little away from that into something that could, arguably, be considered more 'her'.

once she has some of the wine she takes a sip and leans back against the next closest desk, letting herself exhale once before turning to attention back to him, one of her brows raised. ]

Do I? [ there's a slight challenge in the question as she takes another sip, shaking her head and exhaling. ] I can only hold so much patience for students who don't want to listen. [ she very obviously means her lecture students, aka the local thorneans, even if she won't specify as much. ]

[ Although he can't ever be accused of lacking confidence, he's always deferred to her in their classes. It's ingrained to him, as much as he might chafe against it, to defer to certain types of authority. It's also his way of trying to show respect. In his own world, a woman wouldn't hold so much power. Within the church, the highest ranking female members were the sisters and nuns of Umbhra'ibaye, who oversaw the creation of the holy oracles. Even when the Payshmura was still in power, he rarely met them, and more often than not he saw them from the other side of the Gray Space. Truthfully, he preferred not being around them. They all may as well have been the one who cut Rousma.

With Yennefer now, he meets the challenge with a slight eyebrow raise of his own, holding his mug in one hand. He's reaching what he thinks is the end of his time and ability to learn more Abraxan magic. It hasn't gotten him exactly where he wanted, but it's been useful. He's grateful to her for the time she's taken with him, though knowing this is coming to an end means he can risk agitating her with questions he might've kept to himself earlier on: ]

Why do you do it, then?

[ if he has any part of him that is likely to defer to authority, it would make sense that would come forth in his dealings with yennefer. as she is one to chafe against any other kind of authority when able, she also exudes quite a bit of it herself. it is part of the reason she's been able to go as long as she has without her secret getting out - she tends to act like she is the grand sorceress that all the tales build her up to be, it would be hard to question her otherwise.

but it is true - yennefer has noticed it herself. that he is reaching a kind of plateau with his studies. whether she recognizes that means he is planning on stepping back away from their classes or not doesn't really matter all that much to her. she knows his capabilities now, knows that he isn't the type to fall victim to thornean propaganda, knows that he has a basic understanding of the way magic works here, and-

( don't even tell her that she's starting to care about the teaching aspect, that she keeps way too many notes on the summoned students of hers. she will absolutely fight you on it. ) ]

What? [ which is only because she doesn't really... understand why he's asking. ] Why do I what? Give lessons?

Edited 2023-01-14 18:19 (UTC)

[ He tips his head in acknowledgement: that, yes. ]

You're one of the most well known and highly regarded Summoned here. Why not ask for a posting somewhere else? [ He shrugs, taking a drink of his wine and frowning at the mug. ] Why not even outside of the castle. Somewhere like Borrel, or Hayle?

[ There is keen interest there that he does his best to hide. He's been to Borrel, Nott, but not Hayle. ]

[ it’s a valid enough question, and rather than shrugging it off from the start which she might have done, yennefer actually does tilt her head a bit, considering. she takes a sip of the wine before she answers, and when she speaks, her tone is casual, thoughtful. ]

Borrell is an alright city, I suppose, but anywhere run primarily by armed guards and forces tends to be a bit…boring. And I don’t much care for the coast. Now Hayle would be an option, usually, but academics to that degree tend to have their heads too far up their own asses to be much help to anyone.

[ to her credit, they aren’t explicit lies, rather they aren’t her main reasons. rather, she doesn’t know how safe she’d be in hayle, given the temperatures towards the queen, and borrell is too far from the singularity, would make her too dependent on portals, on others who would remain. and that all doesn’t take into account the people that she would swear did not make a difference in her decision, but absolutely would.

yennefer shrugs, like it doesn’t bother her as much as it probably should. ]

Additionally, if the Summoned continue to be brought here through Ambrose’s hand…

[ At academics to that degree tend to have their heads too far up their own asses gets a genuine huff of amusement out of him, even though her answer gives him less than he would have hoped, but about as much as he expects. There's a reason she survived here so close to the throne for this long.

He tilts his head the other way, fixing on the name Ambrose now. His eyes narrow slightly at his glass. ]

Do you know much about the Summoning? They act as though they chose us for our deeds and skills, but it's hard to tell how much they actually know. [ About any of them. Do they know what his abilities are, and are simply that confident in their own power to shield themselves?

He frowns at his glass, and before waiting for her answer, offers something: ]

My people once had a way to travel between two worlds.

[ truly, her answer should be right along what he expects from her, given they have spent no small amount of time together. for all that she sounds abrupt and straightforward, her words are crafted. she knows exactly where they are, and even in spaces that feel safe, well, it depends on the company, doesn't it? and she likes kyle, she does, but they are far from the sort of relationship where those guards would fall.

but he seems to be like-minded, at least where it concerns her comment, and yennefer doesn't bother holding back her snort. ]

They won't allow us very close to the details or process, no, but I have very little faith Ambrose's technique had improved enough that we would be chosen at all. [ she swirls her glass briefly, as if considering what exactly she wants to say, before she seems to shift and turn her attention back to him. ] Remind me - how long ago were you brought through?

[ and then there's that, and now it's yennefer's turn to tilt her head. ]

'Once'? As in they don't anymore, or...?

[ He watches her swirl her glass, and for a second gets a flash of deja vu. Fikiri, holding a glass of wine, using foreign magic to manipulate the liquid into the shape of a hand. At the time that kind of magic had shocked him. Now, so many months into his stay in Thorne, that display would be a parlor trick compared to the things he's seen them do here. ]

I arrived just before our invitations to the dual ceremonies in Nocwich. [ He tips his head toward her. ] Before the attacks.

[ On her and the other two representatives. And as for the other question, he nods. ]

The gates were destroyed, the keys lost. [ There's a small pool of condensation where his mug had sat on the desk, and he draws his finger trough it in a line. ] And the ones who held the knowledge were annihilated.

[ It's only Fikiri and himself left. ]

[ she makes a soft noise at that, a kind of hmm - like she both can't quite believe it's been that long, but also no time at all. the last few months have blurred for her, a mixture of holding her position in the castle among the ever-changing tensions and physically allowing herself the time to heal.

still, it's something she's nearly lost track of. she makes a mental note to keep a better watch on that before shaking her head, shifting back to the conversation. ] Back when Ambrose had been the only one with the magic to Summon, just about half the people he pulled through he deemed mistakes. It was only after pressure from other sources that he stopped throwing Summoned in the dungeon, and it was not because his technique suddenly improved. They're looking for bodies, more than they're picking and choosing skill sets.

[ can she shit on ambrose even more in this conversation? if given the chance, she absolutely will.

but in this next bit her eyes are back on kyle, one brow arched. the keys lost he says, the ones who held the knowledge were annihilated. there is something there that yennefer can't quite pick out, but she watches all the same. ]

Gates and keys can be remade. It's the process that is more difficult, but not impossible, to rediscover. Have you had any luck with the Thorean portals?

[ Time is something that functions reliably in this space of existence. It's their minds that don't.

Just about half the people he pulled through he deemed mistakes - he gives a light nod. This is something he's discovered himself, by talking to some of the Summoned who arrived back then. Unlike many of the others, without any proof except for his own fate - he doesn't believe Ambrose or the other factions have much control. He's noted her own clear disdain for the High Mage.

At they're looking for bodies, he frowns slightly. He's heard many theories by now. And he's heard about the experiment that had failed. That Thorne would want more connections to the Singularity, the source of power in this world, makes sense. But the fact that they hardly seem to care what the Summoned do once they're here... ]

Power like that always costs a great deal in blood. Sometimes it's better off lost.

[ If Abraxas is anything like his own world. Controlling the Gate meant creating the Isshusha'im, carving away their flesh to bind their bones and spirits. If hundreds of lives were the cost of such control of the Singularity, would the queen hesitate? Libertas proved she does not care about those outside of her own realm, and Nott's treatment proves she barely cares about those outside of the castle. His features go tense, just the slightest amount - then he sighs. ]

With deconstructing how their portals work? No. [ He doesn't expect to. All he's been able to gather is that some require a similar kind of key or pass - such as the one that goes to Nocwich. He doubts that he could figure it out on his own, either way. And he wouldn't have to figure them out at all if it weren't for the damn wards, he'd just move through the Gray Space instead.

He raises an eyebrow. ]

Have you?

[ She is one of the highest ranked among them, if anyone would be given access to that kind of magic, it would be her or the other one, Stephen. ]

Edited 2023-02-02 00:26 (UTC)

[ over the course of their lessons, yennefer has come to recognize that it is much more effective to watch the subtle shifts in kyle’s expressions than just take him at his word - though her patience to do so has at times waned. today is a day where she is able to watch him, wine glass in one hand, as she catches the nod. the frown. the tension.

and while she doesn’t know the details of the price he speaks of, she can’t help but give a shrug. this is a topic that carries some significant weight within her, what people would do for power, what she would do, but right now they are talking generals and she can remain distant enough. ] Power always comes with a price- it comes down to who makes the choice and if the exchange is worth it for them. Portals, in a place like this- [ she gestures around them. ] It would could mean a great deal.

[ of course she means with regards to the fact they are all but caged, the fact they couldn’t leave even if they wanted to. it’s always going to be on yennefer’s mind, even if she has learned to at least appear content with how things are.

she snorts at his question, shakes her head and takes another long drink. ] I studied them quite a bit when I first arrived, when I realized my own portals weren’t responding how they were meant to. But it was a waste of time- the portal spat me out in the mountains near the Singularity and the interference that close to it stranded me there. The mages here claim that it is our inherent connection to the Singularity that disrupts the magic for their portals, but that could just be their way to keep us from trying.

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yennefer;

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