RP:A Possible Apprentice

From HollowWiki

Hanging Corpse Tavern

Reginae sighed, standing in front of the Valkrin Tavern again. No word had ever come from Larewen, and truth be told the naga-in-human-form was on the impatient side. Stepping through the doors, however, the Vampriss Larewen was nowhere to be seen. The bartender has no information to offer the ‘child’ and urges her to leave the bar. She’s interfering with the paying patrons. Regi rolls her eyes once she’s turned away and spots Pilar, the black hair fledgling Regi had met last time she was here. That was enough of a platform for the white – haired child to approach the vampire without fear. The Naga’s icy blue optics peer up at Pilar, hoping to catch her chestnut gaze. “Good evening Pilar.” Comes her greeting, accompanied with a tame smile.


Pilar was reading a book when Reginae approached. It seemed her vampiric senses were starting to develop, since for once she wasn't startled. She looked down at the child and managed a smile. "Good evening, pequeña." She wondered where the child's parents were.


Reginae blinks at the term Pilar uses to greet her. "What does that mean...?" she asks, curious as opposed to offended. "Have you seen Larewen recently?" The book is given a critical glance. "What are you reading?" The child full of questions tucked a stray strand of her stark white hair behind her pale ears and waited with un-childlike patience.


Pilar wasn't wholly unused to curious children, and so answered the questions by the simplicity of their answers. "'Pequeña' means 'little one' in my native tongue. I am reading a book of magic, so I can become better at it. As for Doña Larewen..." She frowned. She hadn't seen her benefactor around for some time, and was starting to worry. "I do not know where she is."


Reginae frowns. "First Kasyr, now Larewen..." The sigh that falls from her lips is heavy. Too heavy for a child. At the disclosure of the meaning behind the greeting, the naga in disguise chuckles. "I'm only little when I want to be," she holds the grin, displaying human teeth instead of her normal fangs. "Have you heard of the Naga race Lady Pilar? They are also very keen users of magics. What type of magic are you hoping to use?"


Pilar admittedly hadn't heard of Nagas, but she knew there were many peoples besides those she met in her travels. And only little when she wanted to be? What a peculiar thing to say. Unless she was using magic herself, in which case it made total sense. As to her question... "I want to learn... ay, what is the word? Um... illusion! I want to learn illusion magic."


Reginae watched Pilar, a spark gleaming in her eyes at the mention of wanting to learn illusion magic. "Illusion is a very useful skill!" Her enthusiasm was palpable. "I am a bit of an illusionist…” Here the naga paused. Would it be considered grounds for treason to instruct a non-naga in the ways of illusion? She pondered her own query in silence, thinking it would be better to build a bond between the vampires and the Naga if she should. Also, Pilar had an innocent look about her. It wouldn’t cause too much trouble, would it? “Why do you want to learn Illusion? There is a wide range of magics…”


Pilar looked down at her hands sadly. "I am a coward. I want to be able to escape fights. To help my friends in their fights. They have been hurt and I could do nothing..."


Reginae had hoped that Pilar would say that she wanted to be stronger, to confuse lesser enemies and to emerge victorious! This mousy response pulled a slight frown to the forefront of Reginae’s features. “If you are looking for a teacher, I might be able to offer my services. I have never instructed a pupil, but I have been a student of the arts for a long time.” Longer than most things had been alive, her internal dialogue added. “But I will say that Illusion can also be a very strong offensive strategy. That you can use to defend yourself, and others if you have something or someone you want to protect. It is not easy. It takes a great deal of concentration.” There might be more to Pilar's fear than she was admitting. "Why are you afraid? Are you afraid of dying?"


Pilar nodded. While she HAD died once already, the process had been the most terrifying of her life, and she never wanted to experience anything like it again. "I am afraid of everything..." It would have been fairer if she'd said she was afraid of pain, and the unknown.


Reginae held her expression. "It's common, to be afraid." This was meant to be soothing, even if it sounded coarse. "But you have died once, and it will take much more than common happenstance to kill you now. You should use this chance...this second life to fight back against the fears that bind you." The Naga woman wanted to strip her imaginary shape then and there but...that might be too aggressive an action. "Naga are powerful fighters. In magic, melee...almost nothing can beat them. I tend to believe that nothing can, truly. The Naga are old, akin to dragons. Shape shifters. Master illusionists. I am Naga." Right before Pilar's eyes, the small child aged to a young woman. Her clothes shifted to support the physical change and adapted properly. The young woman places a hand on the Vampire's shoulders and offers her a solemn stare. "Fear is only a chain. And you are strong enough to discard it."


Pilar was startled by Reginae's change, though not as startled as she would have been had she not already suspected magic. Was this Reginae's true form now? It was a beautiful form, to be sure, but was she still hiding what she truly looked like? Pilar averted her eyes from Reginae's. "I-I... I don't think I am, Doña Reginae," she said, taking a more respectful tone, one befitting a grown woman rather than a child.


Regi smiled patiently. "No one thinks they are...until they have to be. Think it over. I'm sure we will see each other again." The woman walks away, with each step becoming more like the child she'd entered as. As she reached the door, she turns back to Pilar. "I think I like being called pequeña more." She calls back with a mischievous grin befitting her youthful disguise.


Pilar managed a smile. "Then that is what I will call you. Goodbye, pequeña."