Even though the four girls were given the opportunity to relax, they were all dedicated to spending it wisely. Qheria and Thanrie had returned to the Facility, to make sure everything was doing well with Rhyde and Zyuixqs, while Lwyn and Mhyl studied with the High-Seer.
Mhyl however was mostly being supportive of Lwyn's study, not actually having much to include herself into directly. Her mother had been vague about it, but she learned from Lwyn that there was some concerns about how this would impact her future responsibilities. The Circle elves worked in elven politics, while the High-Seer was invested into the world flow, but it was becoming clear that there would need to be someone who invested in international correspondence, especially with humans. Mhyl at least saw it that way, and had shared such views with Lwyn. Lwyn had been earnest to explain that such was alone a lot for one person, and her memories in international culture would be priceless for this idea.
Lwyn was mostly getting concerned, as her studies progressed, just how much all of this would impact Mhyl as a pure elf. She had learned that there was two ways that the flow of the world communicated with people, either through their dreams, or using the advanced depth of their elven senses. This is why every High-Seer had been an elf, in truth, because they were the only ones with strong enough senses to be able to listen. Even her half-elf senses weren't enough to throw her into that spiral, but she had quickly determined that her mother's mechanically enhanced senses might have opened that door to her. The High-Seer had explained to Lwyn that, most likely, it would not ever be her due to listen to the world, she didn't have the qualities for it. However, there would be a time when the world would simply listen to her.
Lwyn could see why this knowledge needed to be protected. Letting just any elf learn about it could haunt their life with the flow of the world, like a voice in the shadows that felt like the edges of sanity. However, if her father's legacy got into the wrong hands, hands that also knew what this book told, even humans could be thrown along this dark path. Her father didn't have access to the flow of the world, but had instead found the veil of the world, and that alone had pushed him past the limits of his sanity. It was obvious how there was such a ritual for picking a High-Seer, it was a serious thing that most people would have problems enduring.
She was herself concerned about the responsibility given to her as is, the one time she will face the flow of the world, and it will listen. She had been pondering exactly what she would say in that opportunity, what sort of answer she would give. She knew the question already, how should the world change so that her father's problem was solved. She had already chosen that his solution would not work, but would then need to provide her own solution. Though that day and much of the next, she had been left at a loss for her answer.
Mhyl had been there trying to support Lwyn, though she was herself at a loss how to honestly be of help at all. She had instead taken some opportunity with some of her own planning regarding her role going forward. When Lwyn was not in discussion with the High-Seer, Mhyl had then taken an opportunity to share time with her mother. She then learned things she had never been offered before, such as the knowledge of their family's gift. It seems her mother was especially skilled with purification, a branch of healing that was really good at dealing with things such as illnesses, but she could see how that would be useful in areas such as food preparation. Her mother had admitted to being sad that Sxeiva had fallen to an advanced poison, something the High-Seer felt she might have been able to help with, if only she had been given the chance.
Mhyl knew she would have to take stories like that into account herself, if she felt like taking agency of a cross-culture program for the elves. The biggest reason something like this had never happened before was because of a fear of half-elves, the death behind it. The whole problem of elves and humans producing a half-elf then killing the mother, she had no real solution for, but the fear around it otherwise, the spite on both sides forged from the lack of understanding, that was what she wanted to broach. She would probably need Lwyn's help with that, with the Citadel the most opportune location to connect with human society.
As Mhyl pondered her responsibilities over her own reports, Thanrie showed up. "Oh, hey Mhyl. Do you know where Lwyn is?" Thanrie was surprised to find Mhyl sitting in Lwyn's own office, a fact Mhyl had actually forgotten until that moment. Just because she might be working with the Citadel in the future did not mean this was her office, she should probably return to her guest room. "Oh, Lwyn is with mother in Lwyn's library, the next room over." Mhyl started to pack up, so that she could leave with Thanrie. Thanrie though was quite fast, already out the door and into the next room.
Lwyn looked up from her book at Thanrie's approach, the High-Seer already packing up to go. Lwyn was seriously convinced, it was a blessing that Mhyl wasn't always predicting the future like her mother could, it would be totally unnerving. "Lwyn, sorry to interrupt, but I heard the most wild of tales just recently. Something about you using your gift to throw punches into your enemies, it was sounding absolutely awesome. Even Qheria was telling me about it, seriously sweet stuff. It got me totally pumped, so I just had to ask... I've taken a chance to spar with everyone else, even Mhyl of all people, but not you. Your style was always more at ranged, so I wasn't sure if that would be fair.. but this.. I seriously have to see this! Would that be alright?"
Lwyn set her stuff aside, resolved to go before she even had her answer. She was already adjusting to matters, and knowing that the High-Seer was packing to go, it was clear what her decision would be in the next few seconds anyway. Mhyl had entered for the tail end of it, hearing her name in the process. It didn't take her much to hear what was going on. She quietly hid within the shadows as the conversation progressed. "Uh, I guess. I'm guessing sparing though would be without the gift, so I don't know how much I'll be capable of, but I guess that's a fair enough reason to find out, right?" Lwyn recalled the scenario Thanrie was talking about, smashing into enemies with projectiles she kept close to her. She hadn't even thought about the implications of her actions all that much, and had just moved out of necessity. Still, if even Mhyl had worked with Thanrie on this stuff, it might be a useful experience.
Lwyn guided Thanrie to a nearby room that would be suitable for such practice, a room otherwise fairly empty. Mhyl kept to the shadows and followed behind from a distance, not wanting to interrupt but still wanting to support Lwyn in her own advancement. They were fortunately dressed for the occasion, and even already without any extra gear or weaponry. Thanrie took to her spot and adopted a ready stance, which Lwyn fumbled to share herself. Then, Thanrie launched into her assault. She advanced on Lwyn with a feint, only for Lwyn to jab through the feint but connect with a smart blow.. that was too slow and without any real power. Thanrie took notice of that as she followed through, slipping behind Lwyn as she was already turning around to block her. Her block however was neither fast nor otherwise efficient, Thanrie's half-hearted jab knocking Lwyn over.
Thanrie helped Lwyn up again, so that they might try again. In all of her speed, Thanrie was picking up on Lwyn's potential. Lwyn lost every time, but only physically. Lwyn had a perfect score on attempting to block when she attacked, even seeming to know where they attack would come from, and not once even tried to block any of her feints. Lwyn's predictive intelligence in combat was incredible, even if her physical prowess was lacking. Thanrie considered how that applied with the gift, itself powered by mental prowess. She was certain, if they were sparing with the gift, the score would be completely reversed. Thanrie proceeded gently with her sparing with Lwyn, as she started turning it into a sort of physical training, but was silently herself desperate for even a single mental victory against Lwyn.
Mhyl watched the two in action, and was able to come up with the same observations. She however did realize something that Thanrie missed, as the time passed in their sparring and Thanrie started to get tired. Lwyn wasn't being lazy, she had just done that well in extending her own stamina during the sparring. Mhyl knew that Lwyn actually had less stamina then Thanrie, but it was Thanrie who had started to tire first. Lwyn kept relaxed through everything, even though she was losing, she just kept carefully going forwards. Mhyl had tried to blame the difference in speed between the two, but she didn't think she herself was much faster than Lwyn, and Lwyn had already gone on several times longer than she could have. It was a display Mhyl was desperate to learn from as well, so that she herself could manage her own stamina even half as well as Lwyn.
"Okay, yeah, time for a break. Let's try something new, something that's more you maybe this time. Oh, I know, what about that game Sxeiva was showing us, we should gather everyone and maybe have a rematch." Thanrie was talking about Daezhyn, the game Lwyn had held dominion in with her own victory over them all, last time. Thanrie knew what she was signing up for with this idea, but she really wanted to figure out a way to actually feel like she had earned a victory against Lwyn, the physical victories weren't enough. Mhyl's eyes rolled hearing the news, remembering her own suffering in that game. Doing something together again would be fun, but she wasn't quite sure about this idea.
"Hey Mhyl, what are you doing here? Pretending to be like Chyurae?" Qheria poked Mhyl's shoulder from behind, causing her to jump out into the doorway. Suddenly the center of attention at her presence being noticed, Mhyl's face turned scarlet and downtrodden. "Oh, perfect, we were just thinking of looking for you two. Lwyn and I had decided that we should do something together again, maybe a bit of competition. Dae-xaem?" "Daezhyn, Thanrie, it's called Daezhyn. Oh for goodness sakes, fine! Lets just get this over with then already." Thanrie couldn't herself quite remember what the game was called, but was alarmed at Mhyl's sudden outburst. Mhyl stormed off to personally get all the stuff together, as Lwyn went to clear up space in her office for the game.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
"So, what did I miss?" "You weren't kidding, Lwyn really has.. something. Wow.. she was good." "So she even beat you?" "Oh, no, I was left standing every time, like a perfect score. She doesn't have the physical aptitude for sparing, even Mhyl had accomplished more there.. but F~~k she's smart. You could honestly tell she was predicting everything I would do, before I did it, she just had no way to make use of that knowledge. If we were using the gift at that time, I have no idea how I might have kept up." "Ah, so that's why we're playing her game... Everything is starting to make sense now." Qheria kept discussing things with Thanrie as they slowly made their way to Lwyn's office, trying to be supportive of Thanrie's pursuits to improve herself. Qheria shrugged, only mildly disappointed that the story of her own warping having been skipped in all of their conversation.
By the time Thanrie and Qheria had finally arrived, Mhyl was resting in a chair as Lwyn was setting everything up. Mhyl had no idea why she had done that, the drain to her own stamina causing her to be disappointed in herself. She turned to Lwyn, busy setting things up after having moved around a lot of heavy books and boxes scattered around the room, after just doing a lot of sparring.. and still not looking tired. Mhyl only became even further disappointed in herself, resolving to keep searching for a way to manage her own stamina like Lwyn could.
"Okay, so, I'm fine with doing this on one condition. I'm not sitting before Lwyn this time, she's way too good at this game and I still suck." "Ah, well then, I'll sit there." Mhyl noticed that Thanrie did not even hesitate to take up the challenge of the worst seat against Lwyn. Mhyl was certain she wanted to sit absolutely opposite Lwyn, giving her the best chances at trying to keep up. Qheria didn't mind either way, taking the remaining location and becoming fully aware that she would need to be cautious of the mental state of her crew while they proceeded.
By late-afternoon, Lwyn was still the undisputed winner, with Thanrie and Mhyl almost tied for last place. Thanrie had became fully aware of why Mhyl did not want this seat for this game, trying to outsmart Lwyn was a losing battle at best. Qheria had actually done fairly well working with Lwyn, even if she wasn't able to keep up. Thanrie was still willing to accept her failure, a resolution holding the true essence of the sparring they had ventured earlier. However, to her it was yet another challenge she would have to overcome, something she would have to ponder going forwards. Mhyl had felt she had at least done better than she had before, that this time she had been given the chance to learn a thing or two about how to actually play this silly game.
Qheria measured the current state of all the others. Lwyn was keeping her thoughts to herself, but that's generally exactly like her. Even in this game, reading Lwyn's moves was a challenge at best for the same reason. However, she had a fairly good belief that Lwyn was feeling like a brain-box, unable to physically keep up with even the team's non-weapon user in physical prowess. Considering how much she prided herself in her ability to do physical chores, and all of her climbing, that might sting. Thanrie was all too obvious, especially because they had already spoken about it. Thanrie was worried about being too mentally slow, always critical about every little fault she had. Being mentally outplayed now twice, she was probably searching for a way to better herself.
Mhyl was the suspicious one, Qheria could tell something was on her mind, but still couldn't figure out what had been putting Mhyl on edge of late. She thought back to Mhyl silently watching Thanrie and Lwyn spar, trying to hide in the shadows of the doorway unseen. Then, all of her stress and tension as they played this game.. she couldn't quite figure out what it was, but clearly something about Lwyn was keeping Mhyl tense like this.
"So, I've noticed there has been a lot of competition thrown at Lwyn of late, but I think it might be time for a good change of pace. It's almost time for dinner, and I'm sure Lwyn is tired of having people make food for her. She even would be very familiar with the sort of things around here that could be prepared, if she were to take authority over dinner, we could all learn a few things about some really new dishes. Thanrie, you might find it a great opportunity to personally work aside her in this, support her ideas and learn from her and how she thinks. Mhyl and I will be there too, helping out with what ever else Lwyn decides to leave for us to do." Qheria's idea to work on dinner, it instantly got Lwyn excited. All of the formalities she had been thrown through, she had felt like the control over her life was slipping away. This idea was pure genius, she was already excited. Thanrie also caught on to the idea, getting a chance to stand beside the mastermind chef as the mechanics of her thoughts resolved, maybe she could learn the ways of great minds. Mhyl shrugged, it sounded like a good idea at least, and went to follow suit.
Lwyn had to pull some authority to get allowed into the kitchen, but it seemed the staff was used to the Arch-Magus making strange requests, the granddaughter making strange requests was just a matter of recourse. Doing maid-like chores was just a lot unlike anything the Arch-Magus had been asking for before, so no one knew where to go with this. In the end it was decided that they would simply be given some room in the kitchen to work with, to tend to a version of dinner that would be available, but that a regular dinner would be also available. It almost looked like a waste, for anyone who didn't know better.
"So, lets make a Quiche!" "Wait, a what?" "Quiche, like a dinner pie with eggs. It can take some time, but we should have exactly the time we need if we work together. I figured it would be awesome because it's something from Earth, but we make something a lot like it around here. We can't do the cheese, because Celese doesn't know cheese, but you would love what kind of plant stuff we've got that are almost as cheesy and milky. Mhyl, can you get the grains together that we will need for the pie, and shape it with Qheria. I'll give you a hand if you're lost with it. Thanrie, you and I will prepare the stuffing.. I really want to show you some of these plants." Lwyn was already excited on her idea for a Celesi-styled Quiche. Mhyl for once was completely innocent of the whole project, a dinner item she had never actually taken the time to learn about even at Earth.
Mhyl set off with her responsibilities, letting Qheria know what they needed as she occasionally turned around to see what Lwyn was up to. Qheria followed along, sparking conversation as they worked. "Quiche, it's a European food. As I recall, it came from France or something. Seen it a lot in Germany, though I never actually tried it myself back there. Peer influence was pretty bad, everyone thought it was too girly of a dinner." Qheria reflected on her experiences and knowledge, a bias that today didn't make much sense. She saw Lwyn dicing up some meat cutlets for the Quiche, putting her at even more loss just how come this thing was seen as girly at all. By Celesi standards, she was more worried that the whole dish would look too tomboyish.
Mhyl looked rather absent at this point, lost within her thoughts. Even Qheria was familiar with the dish, though it didn't sound too far removed from her own culture. Mhyl had thought she had been capable of immersion all over Earth, learning about everything everywhere. This incident was leaving her wondering how naive those thoughts might be, and in all accounts, how could less than two decades of experience account for enough of everything across an entire world. To her, it was a bit ironic that Lwyn actually knew of a French food that even Mhyl was ignorant of, recalling how much Lwyn insisted that she couldn't do the French thing at all.
Qheria noticed that she was losing Mhyl more from all this, and decided to turn the conversation around, being a lot more direct, except for switching to German to communicate. "So, I've noticed something has been bothering you all afternoon, maybe before that even. Is there anything you want to share, so that I could help you out?" "Ah, oh. Uh.. it's just working with her like this is making me feel so far behind her." Qheria noticed Mhyl was silently indicating Lwyn, not wanting to name-drop in German. "Even keeping up with mother, and her work, it's like I'm being kept out of things. I know, there's some pretty good reasons for it, but it still sucks a bit. I've been trying to help her out, but instead I just feel like I'm in her way, not even able to offer anything useful at all." Mhyl was keeping her hands busy with the pie as the two of them talked. Qheria noticed she had gone idle and stepped in to keep up.
"All of us seem to have our own responsibilities, it wouldn't make sense to think that any of us could just be a part of everything. We can be supportive and around each other though all of our works, but sometimes there will be things we can't just do with each other. I'm sure she's even worried about how many things she won't be able to help you with, in all of your future responsibilities. She's probably just devoting herself to her work, so that you don't have to worry about it. That's probably a good move for all of us, really." Qheria's statement was even bringing Mhyl to her current activity, making a food she didn't even know about. Qheria had a point, their food was enforcing it, Mhyl couldn't expect to be everywhere and do everything, it wasn't even rational.
While Qheria's plan made sense, it wasn't Mhyl's only concern. "Maybe, but keeping up with her otherwise can be so rough. We're both elves, but I'm the only one suffering by my own stamina. She's smart, even.. the princess there.. is worried about that, but she's also so good with what should be our shared weakness. Did you see her after all that sparring, being even less exhausted than her opponent. She did say she's practiced with her stamina a lot over the years, but it wasn't until then that I got to really appreciate exactly what that meant. Meanwhile, I don't seem to have improved much at all." Mhyl scowled her frustration, still at loss for one of her biggest struggles with her own gift.
"I don't know, I think you've actually been doing better and better with that yourself. You're just rushing yourself, not giving yourself enough time. Like you said, Lwyn spent years on this, you haven't even given yourself even a fragment of a year yet. I know, we've got a lot of responsibility thrown at us, we don't have much time to get better with, but just do the best with what opportunity we have, and keep moving forwards, right? Just don't overthink things like this, you're being too hard on yourself." Qheria passed Mhyl a smile of encouragement, which Mhyl tried to return. Being hard on herself, overthinking things, that sounded about right for her. Mhyl then tried to relax, fully turning back to the task at hand, ending the conversation.
The four of them kept working on their food contribution as the dinning hours approached. With hardly a moment left to spare, Lwyn presented the finished products of their hard work, a half dozen large Quiches.