(Hikaru)

[dreamcaster1224]

Muse A is coming of age in their magical family. On their 18th birthday, they learn what element (water, air, earth, or fire) they have been gifted with. Muse A has been under the impression and hope that they will have inherited the same element that their parents and grandparents have been blessed with, however they come to discover that they have been bestowed with the opposite element. According to rules set forth in the family’s grimoire, Muse A must learn to master their gift from a witch/warlock who possesses the same elemental power as they do. Muse B, who has the same element as Muse A, becomes Muse A’s reluctant mentor. Muse B is brilliant and powerful, but lacks in the department of manners and compassion, especially when Muse A shows difficulty harnessing their new abilities. Muse B is condescending and impatient often without provocation. One day, Muse A meets their wit’s end with Muse B’s treatment and they demand to know why Muse B is so hostile toward them. Muse B reveals that they come from rival families and they are only teaching Muse A due to the terms of a 1,000 year old truce. Once Muse A has mastered their gift, however, the ceasefire will be over. And the families will once again be at odds.

Cs
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Element:
Personality:
Appearance: (anime)

[Hiroku]

((Just want to be sure I'm not assuming wrong before I make a profile, but I take it I'll be the Mentor, and play male?))

[dreamcaster1224]

(Yes. Lol however I will let you decide the element if you want to though)

[Hiroku]

(Let me know if this alright. Been sleepy and hazy for a while so I'm none-too-sharp at the moment)

Name: Sven Sullivan
Age: 28
Height: Average
Weight: somewhat underweight
Element: Water
Personality: When one thinks of water mages they think of a person who is cool, calm, moving with the flow, and kind. Not so for Sully. Cynical, and frustrated with life, Sully is solid ice and everyone else must flow around him or face the consequence. Anyone daring to approach him is the enemy and will be treated with due hostility.

The black sheep of his family, Sully prefers to keep out of the countdown to when the they and the enemy house go at it again. Unfortunately, his family knows how to make him do his part, because families know all your secrets and weaknesses.


Appearance

[dreamcaster1224]

I like it. I'll post mine shortly and we can begin.

[dreamcaster1224]

Cs
Name: Mao Morriettie
Age: 21
Height: 5'1
Weight: 115lbs
Element: water
Personality: Mao is strong, independent, and disciplined. She is controlled and passionate all in one. Currently she is dealing with frustration and rejection as she copes with being gifted with water magic while the rest of her family and ancestors were gifted fire magic. Being the outcast and disgrace of the family had taken it's own toll over her and caused her to be emotionally closed off a bit.
Appearance:

[Hiroku]

Ooc: How shall we begin?

[dreamcaster1224]

Mao woke up early that morning to meet her new instructor. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. The breeze carried the scent of cherry blossoms and dew. The train station was still decently empty as she waited to meet her instructor at the platform. Her family ordered her to stay at the summer home while she studied under the instructor.

[dreamcaster1224]

(Think earlier era. Before cell phones or tvs but during steam engine. So like the industrial era.)

[Hiroku]

((Kk)

There had to be some way out of this.

Even now as the train clanged along, sending Sully ever closer to his destination, he contemplated some way to escape. Somehow, he had to be able to give his guard the slip so he could jump trains and make a run for it.

Said guard unfortunately was a cousin who knew him too well to allow him the slightest opportunity. Sully also suspected there were more hired guards scattered throughout the train. His family was a thorough bunch.

As they pulled into the station he resigned himself to his fate. All he could hope for was the girl running away from him. He had attempted teaching on occasion when certain aspiring water mages managed to corner him into it, but neither party had learned much from the experience.

The train rumbled to a halt and Sully reluctantly allowed his cousin to propel him out into the early morning light. After being in a train for a good deal of the night, mind furiouslly going over escape plans, the light reminded him that, oh yes, he was tired. His tightly wound nerves were fraying and he needed breakfast and a smoke.

“I think that’s her,” his cousin commented as he looked along the platform.“Miss Morriettie?” he called

“Noooo...” Sully moaned weakly.

The two of them cut quite a contrast as they made their way towards the redhead: Sully in a well-worn, patched traveling outfit, and his cousin clean, neat, and dashingly tall and strong.

“Gads, you can let go of my arm. I can’t bolt at this point!” Sully complained shrugging his cousin off.

[dreamcaster1224]

Mao waved them down before approaching the two. "Hello I'm Mao Morriettie, I'm honored to be your husband your pupil." She said in an almost scripted tone as she looked them both over.

[Hiroku]

((Was "husband" suppose to be in there?))

Sully gave her a quick once over. He raised an eyebrow at her stilted tones, and he momentarily thought to interpret them in her favor. A mask for also being unenthused about this? Or maybe nerves because she was extremely excited. Eh, he didn't know, didn't really care.

"Sullivan." he replied shortly. He gestured at his cousin, adding, "And he's irrelevant."

When his cousin started to react, Sully made shooing motions with his hands, "Your mission is complete, go report back to the Masters, and leave me alone."

Sighing, his cousin apologized to Mao and suggested as a last cut at Sully that, "Maybe Miss Morriettie could also teach him something useful." as he moved to get a ticket for the ride back.

Sully pulled a pipe from his breast pocket and stuck it between his teeth, before retrieving his suitcase and a carpetbag of his belongings.

He took a last look at the sky, as if about to descend into darkness, before reluctantly turning back to the girl, "Lead the way then." he sighed.

[dreamcaster1224]

(No no no. Host and* lol silly auto correct)

[dreamcaster1224]

"As you wish." She answered stiffly as she began to walk toward a house along the beach about two miles from the train station. The house looked like a Japanese style temple shrine almost. It was beautiful with cherry blossom trees in the front yard and a large weeping willow tree in the back just off the porch.
(Imagine the two cherry blossom trees in the front yard)

[Hiroku]

((Ah ha ha, oh auto correct. I was a little worried you meant to spring her saying "Wife" to him. Would have been a hilarious way to go if we wanted to go for comedy.))

After sitting stiffly for several hours on the train it was painful to do some prolonged walking. He was used to long treks but usually they came after a decent night's sleep and a meal to fuel the journey.

Resentfully he followed, determined not to lag behind. He could take it if the little Miss Priss could.

When they arrived he had to admit he was impressed by the Oriental home.

Stuffing his pipe back in a breast pocket he gave a low whistle, "I was set on not liking the place, but this is neat. I often wanted to visit the East, but my knowledge is quite poor, aside from... eh, bits I've picked up." He wasn't quite certain he wanted to talk about his one-time mentor, a Chinese man he met on one of his travels, and he also became painfully aware that these new surroundings had made him more talkative than he had meant to be.

He had almost started to smile! He rectified that by studying the ground moodily.

[dreamcaster1224]

"This is one of my families summer homes but we don't use it much because of all the water around it... making it the perfect place to send me away to." Mao said as she led him through the house and to the back yard where all the water and weeping willow resided. "I figured we could train here."

[Hiroku]

Well, if you had to choose a prison, this wasn't half bad, he supposed.

The sunlight blinking off the water, normally a dazzling experience, was torture at this time. Sully squinted around, then looked at the girl incredulously.

"Now?" he asked.

[dreamcaster1224]

"Well I suppose I can show you to your room and you can get some rest." She suggested. "However I will be out here trying to learn how to do more than just this." She said in a somewhat sassy manor as she made a ball of water appear in her hand. She tossed it up and down like a baseball before throwing it at the trunk of the weeping willow.

[Hiroku]

Sully watched the ball's path then rolled his eyes. She had it good being able to summon water like the average water mage, but the ball was child's play.

"Not even a proper breakfast waiting," he harped instead, "I see you've taken a leaf out of my family's book of ways to make one unwelcome. Cheers to you, you're a quick study in the department of superiority complexes." He put down his luggage and sarcastically applauded her with slow claps.

"Now," he continued as he picked the baggage up again,"I know a youngster like you can go twenty-four hours without sleep and then get right into training, as you seem to be suggesting by your enthusiasm to begin, but I get somewhat homicidal after that long without at least some form of nourishment, so could I trouble you to point me to the kitchen first? I can stave off sleep long enough to start you on some forms, but only if I can get some coffee and food. I can even survive without the food."

[dreamcaster1224]

Mao rolled her eyes "alright then follow me, I'll make some coffee and let you have at it with the kitchen. I'm not a good cook so I won't offer to cook for you." She begrudgingly explained as she led him to the kitchen.

[Hiroku]

"No surprise there," He hadn't met an upperclass gal or woman who could. None of his female relatives could. The ones in good standing with the core family, anyway. There was some estrangement somewhere involving a great aunt who ran away with someone, but of course no one spoke of it, so he wasn't certain who she ran away with. Could have been someone rich, but not in old money, though at the present he liked to think of the relative as having done the penny-dreadful and married a poor man.

Belated he noticed the double meaning in his words, that could be construed as taking jab at the girl's having not inherited the family business. He wasn't sure if he was amused or disgusted with himself. That sort of jab seemed even more petty than his usual.

[dreamcaster1224]

Mao ignored the crude words spat at her. "I'm sorry... I was supposed to learn when I inherited fire magic.. but I didn't so you see how that's going." She said as she opened the kitchen door. Mao walked over to the faucet and filled the metal kettle with water before placing it over the fire.

[Hiroku]

"No, I do not." he replied, placing his luggage out of the way, "How do you think none-elementals have been doing it since the neanderthal rubbed two sticks together? Cooking's not an exclusive skill or right of a fire mage." moving to the icebox he began fishing through it, seemed decently stocked.

"Having a mage ability will not guarantee success in life, it doesn't always put you at an advantage, and sometimes it's a liability if you use it as a crutch to do work you are capable of yourself," he came out laden with a bowl of eggs and links of sausage. Placing then on the counter he began fishing for a pan, "Take Fire mages using their fire to cook, sure they can adjust their own fire to what it needs to be exactly so that they do not over or under cook an item. But face them against say, a burning house, set on fire by a means other than themselves, and they are less certain how to tame the foreign flames down, since it is a source that does not come from them personally. It won't react to the same commands."

Finding a pan he plunked it down from where it hung and turned on the heat, "Bit like working with two vastly different breeds of dog. They are both dogs, but they learn differently, If you can't teach both breeds, you're limiting yourself."

Did that make sense? The light of the progressing morning was making his head throb. Pausing a moment in his cooking he pinched the bridge of his nose, willing the pain to subside.

[dreamcaster1224]

"I understand that, however it's family custom and an art to learn to cook with your own fire. I didn't choose not to learn, I wasn't allowed to go learn. I sought you out because I can't take being ignored and being invisible to my family. I'm not looking for sympathy, I simply want to learn." Mao said in a flat voice that simply leaked the numbness she felt toward her family.

She let out a soft sigh as she retrieved cups from the cupboard above the sink.
"Anyways.. how do you like your coffee?" She spoke with a little less numbing pain in her voice. It was clear that the girl was prideful and didn't want to be pitied.

[Hiroku]

He could sympathize with that. Her reaching out to him was her version of him running away.

No, do not sympathize! Their stories were a dime a dozen. There was a black sheep in every family.

"Medium strength," he replied, then added, "How do you like your eggs?" before he could quite stop himself. That twinge of comradely sympathy wasn't staying down. Maybe lack of sleep was making him lose it?

[dreamcaster1224]

"Over easy." She simply replied as she quietly went back to making coffee. Sullivan made it clear that he wasn't much for conversion right now. Once the coffee was done, Mao set a cup up for him and simply a ginsing and berry yes for herself.

"I appreciate you taking your time to train me. I know you don't want to be here in the first place, so thanks." She said breaking the awkward silence that seemed to linger in the air. Mao decide it would be best to stop being so snippy toward the man and show a little gratatitude, even if she didn't seem to impressed with him at the moment.

[Hiroku]

He went at the preparations, pulling out an old pocket watch he dropped the eggs, two each, on the pan and slid in the sausage next to them. Pulling a pot lid down, he placed it over the bunch and scampered for the bread. He couldn't stand eggs without bread, toasted or untoasted, it was a travesty otherwise.

The day started feeling less grim as the homey scents of brewing coffee and breakfast floated about. Finding plates he slid Mao's eggs out first and covered the rest again. When the coffee came he nearly attacked it black. But, like eggs, black coffee was not a thing he cared for. So in went the cream and a little sugar.

He listened to her thanks and felt a little rotten, "Funny story there about how much I don't want to be here. We'll laugh about it at some future date."

At last breakfast was consumed. On his third cup Sully felt considerably less inclined to physical violence, and the headache was momentarily abated.

"Alright," he said from where he sat across the kitchen table from Mao, "I think I can manage a little sunlight now. Let's adjourn to the pond and set you on some forms." he had second thoughts about starting at all when he realized he had to stand up. Like an old arthritic man he heaved himself up with a groan.

Okay, just start walking.

[dreamcaster1224]

Mao had eaten her food rather quickly. Tidying up her plate and straightening herself back out, a gleam could be seen in her eyes. A hunger for knowledge and understanding fueled her desires to learn and master this magic she was gifted with.

"I'm ready whenever you are." She said shortly after.

[Hiroku]

Ho ho ho, he was not ready. Wracking his brain, Sully scrambled for the simplest exercise form he could start her on, something she would get right away.

"Alright, we'll start with the physical," he said, "All elements have two disciplines, the mental and the physical. Most mages focus on the mental, which is directing your element primarily with your mind and minimal body movement. It's all well and good, but like the dog simile, if you can master both forms all the better. This is based in oriental fighting styles, so it will be strange at first."

Let's... see... Ah yes, the basics.

"Alright, first you have to learn deep breathing, and a good exercise to do every morning is the aptly named "Treehugging" stance." Standing facing her, Sully planted his legs somewhat wider than shoulder length apart, bent a little at the knees, and breathed deeply. He sank a little lower, lifting his arms up as if he were indeed hugging a tree, "Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. Breath through your stomach and not your chest, so that you can pull as much air in as possible."

[dreamcaster1224]

Mao chuckled a little at the appearance of the stance but didn't argue. She mimicked his stance and breathed as he did, feeling silly all the while. "What exactly does this have to do with water magic anyways?" She asked thinking back to all the time spent meditating in the shrine of the Phoenix, praying to wake up with her families fire magic instead of this infuriating water magic.