dark scrying

[make_opportunity]

Maurabel ignores her classmates, by and large. She most especially ignores them when she is on the path that leads to the elemental barracks, because on those occasions they are more likely than usual to laugh at her.

She has considered their arguments, insofar as they have any, and they're nonsense, so now she ignores them. As best she can, anyway.

The amulet-minder knows her, too, and doesn't stop her on her way in to ask what element she wants the way he would anyone else. She'll take an amulet on the way out, probably. (Usually.)

She lets herself in and starts scanning the population. She saw two Shadows out flying on her way in, which means unless nobody else has one checked out, the selection's going to be pretty thin. She can use another element if she needs to, though. She doesn't need to do dark scrying specifically for this project - in fact, she could work entirely out of her personal affinities, if they wouldn't give her the time of day - dark scrying just interests her and she doesn't have enough of her own Shadow affinity to pull it off alone.

She counts Shadows, assessing how much time it's going to cost her to get the willing help of whichever feels like working "cheapest" today - and she sees an unfamiliar face.

A nearby Water leans in the new Shadow's direction. Maurabel stands back politely, hands clasped behind her, and lets her talk to him.

"That's the weird one I told you about," Water whispers to Shadow. "The one who makes it all - transactional, has all these fussy rules for herself."

When Water appears to be done talking to Shadow, Maurabel takes a couple of steps forward.

"Hello, Shadow," she says gently. "I'm Maurabel. Looks like you're new. I'll leave you alone if you want me to but I would like to talk to you. Do you prefer to just be called Shadow and told apart from the others with your university checkout number, or do you have a name you like?"

Comments

[make_opportunity]

Maurabel makes a face. "I feel like identifying what I'm doing as a good thing is sort of like calling somebody tall if they've never been in a room with a high enough ceiling to actually stand up. And have refrained from sledgehammering said ceiling for fear of disturbing the upstairs neighbors. Insert sound of metaphor cracking under strain."

[pythbox]

He chuckles.

"I know what you mean. But - healing doesn't stop being good just because it would be better if no one ever got hurt. I think of what you do similarly."

[make_opportunity]

She nods.

"Lightning seemed grumpy. Not that this is unusual, but as long as we're talking about how nice I am, anything I could be doing?"

[pythbox]

"Not especially. I do the best I can for him, but..." he shrugs, "he's not going to be happy."

[make_opportunity]

"I'm worried eventually somebody's going to buy one of you and not the other. You more likely than him."

[pythbox]

"Yes," says Earth. "So are we."

[make_opportunity]

"I might be able to scrape up enough in research grants, maybe charitable commissions, to buy one elemental when I graduate. Not two."

[pythbox]

He nods, leaves rustling. "I'm not surprised."

[make_opportunity]

"I mean, if you wanted it could maybe be you and I could take you to the university to visit regularly, I think alumni are allowed that much, but that wouldn't help if someone else bought him later and didn't feel like allowing visits anymore."

[pythbox]

"It seems somewhat unlikely that anyone will want to buy him," Earth points out. Then he sighs. "But, unfortunately, not impossible."

[make_opportunity]

"Exactly." She shakes her head. "The sort of person who would want to buy him would probably be the sort who considered his personality irrelevant, which does not bode well."

[pythbox]

"Yes," says Earth. "It's a problem. And I haven't thought of a solution."

[make_opportunity]

"Well, if I do, you'll be the first to know."

[pythbox]

"Thank you."

[make_opportunity]

"You're welcome."

Walk, walk. It's a pretty city; they're off campus now. Somebody's Glass is flying overhead throwing rainbows onto the sidewalk.

"I tried to form a student organization once my first year, did I ever tell you? Organize and coordinate the - thing I do. It... did not catch on."

[pythbox]

"I can imagine," says Earth.

[make_opportunity]

"Yeah."

She could elaborate, but it'd probably just be depressing.

[pythbox]

Yes, yes it would. Earth can fill in the blanks pretty well on his own, anyway.

[make_opportunity]

"Any ideas on making Shadow comfortable if I wind up borrowing him again? ...Is he sufficiently damaged that I shouldn't ask him again?"

[pythbox]

"I couldn't really say. I don't think so, but it's hard to be sure."

[make_opportunity]

"Yeah."

Sigh.

And there's the hospital. Maurabel signs in for volunteer work at the desk, tells the receptionist how many healing classes she's taken (three), and mentions that in addition to the Earth elemental she has with her, she has personal affinities for shine, adamant, and wood, and generalist-level capability in most everything else.

"And," says the receptionist, "can you multitask well enough and is your Earth well-behaved enough that you can both heal simultaneously, or do you need to direct it?"

Maurabel (clenches her teeth, inhales deeply, and) says, "We can work simultaneously."

[pythbox]

(Her Earth is well-behaved enough not to comment.)

[make_opportunity]

"All right," says the receptionist, and she writes Maurabel a temporary ID badge, stamps it, and directs them to the convalescence ward (Maurabel hasn't taken enough classes to be expected not to get in the way in an emergency case, and they need the beds on that floor anyway) and tells them to talk to a particular junior medic. Soon enough she's deploying adamant on one end of the room for broken ribs and cracked kneecaps, and Earth is set up to help some people recently out of obstetrics and suffering miscellaneous complications.

[pythbox]

Earth is helpful.

(He tends not to discuss his past, but for as long as Maurabel has known him, he's been a trained healer. Very well trained, more than any other Earth in the university collection.)

[make_opportunity]

Yet another reason he's good to have along for volunteer hours.

They're there until the junior medic says it's been four hours (by the time four hours have gone by they've been reassigned to another room in Convalescence, and then up the stairs to coordinate together on some people with musculoskeletal complaints). The receptionist signs Maurabel's volunteer work form, stamps it, and thanks her for coming.

The only person who has bothered to thank Earth, aside from Maurabel herself, was dubiously conscious at the time.

Back to university they go.