Magical (A Quest of Vacations, or Starsigns, or Something Else)

One of the things you've noticed about the previously-established seats is that Bel and Nutmeg are sitting fairly close to each other. This would be a good chance for you to spend time with friends... except that it's Bel and Nutmeg. You decide to look for another seat, if only so you aren't sitting in the middle of a maelstrom of passive-aggression.

Fortunately, it doesn't take much looking to find another seat near people you know. Raspberry and Caramel are both by the window, Raspberry sitting on a pile of books so she can actually see over her desk.

That looks like a nice enough spot. You hurry over there before anyone else can take it.

Once things have settled down, and everyone has chosen a seat, Sir Mustard leans back against his desk. "I see that you've all gotten situated... and that none of you wanted to sit between Mister Pepper and Miss Boulderfall. Sadly, there wasn't any room in my budget for an extra desk." You aren't sure, but you think he's looking at whoever was unfortunate enough to get stuck with the last seat. "If your neighbors start to make you uncomfortable, tell me and I'm sure we can work something out."

Somehow, this doesn't seem like it's the first time he's saying this sort of thing. It wouldn't surprise you if it isn't.

Still, your teacher straightens up a little- but only a bit- and turns his attention back to the rest of the class. "Anyway, I suppose I should introduce myself, for the benefit of the new students. My name is Mustard. My sister and I were foundlings in a magicless community, up until we were banished because they were scared of us. My magical talents are a well-kept secret. No, I will not tell you what they are. Yes, I was knighted. No, you will not be told why. Any questions?"

No questions are forthcoming. "Very well, then. I suppose I should continue. I prefer to ensure that my students are capable of doing things, rather than simply knowing about them. In the real world, people aren't going to expect you to know some random piece of obscure trivia." He pauses. "...Well, most of the time, anyway." There's probably a story here.

Raspberry is already taking notes. Or doodling, you aren't sure which.

...She's probably doodling.

"This classroom is also largely cooperative. That is, I expect you all to be capable of working with others... or at least tolerating them. If there is someone you feel you cannot get along with, distance yourself from them at the first opportunity, or else you will have to learn to work together anyway. Theoretical work will often be done in groups, so you should be extra careful when taking notes- odds are it won't be just you working from them."

This implies a lot of things about Bel and Nutmeg. You're not going to think about that right now, though. It's not really your problem.

"Now, to start off the year, I should inform you all that I have plenty of room for flexibility in the syllabus. When it comes to matters of magic, there is very little that I am not qualified to teach, and the rest of it can easily be made up for with adequate research material. So if anyone has suggestions for things they would like to learn this year, please write them down on a spare piece of paper or an index card and pass them to the front of the room."

You do, in fact have plenty of spare pieces of paper tucked away inside your desk, as well as a stack of index cards in the corner. The only question is if there's anything in particular you'd be interested in learning about.



[ ] Weather control and other advanced techniques.

[ ] Proper etiquette when it comes to matters of spirits.

[ ] The ways different kinds of magic interact.

[ ] Magical history.

[ ] Nothing really comes to mind.

You decide that you want to learn more about how to interact with spirits.

You know you don't entirely need to. The Water Spirits are beings you've been around all your life, you know the basics of how to coexist with them. But it comes to mind that, in a life surrounded by spirits, you've only gotten one Offer, with a price tag attached you aren't sure how you could ever pay, even if that particular spirit would take payment in equivalent amounts of Crescent silver.

But you want to learn. People don't make spirits manifest on a whim, and it's rare that a place can bring them to full power unless they are sitting on top of an old mine or something. But this place... even if you can't see them, there's probably a lot of places where spirits roam.

And Sir Mustard is, reportedly, an expert on spirit-based magic. What better chance will you ever get?

You write down that you want to learn the customs and behaviors of various kinds of spirits, before passing the index card- and the writings of several other students with Opinions- to the front of the class. Raspberry's doodle sheet goes up as well, covered in just as many words as there are pictures.

Sir Mustard waits for all the suggestions to be gathered at the front of the room before collecting them, starting on the east side and working his way west. You can't see, from here, his face when he glances at the gathered pages and cards, though you're sure he must see what's written down on them. It's not like anyone would use their magic to hide their words from his eyes, not when he's the one that asked for them.

Once he has everything, he returns to his desk, flipping through everything he was given. "You kids just want everything, don't you? Interactions between magic and technology, differences between Starsign and spirit-granted powers of the same element, magic-based healing... I could probably do a course on that, actually, so long as no one purposefully gets themself injured..." He glances toward the east side of the class, for some reason, and then back to his papers. "...Spirit interaction. Well, isn't that a minefield and a half?"

You don't disagree with that sentiment. Even growing up knowing it, you can't really explain why the Water Spirits dislike people who eat greasy foods, or why you are guaranteed safety from drowning if you carry certain oils with you when crossing a river. It's just how things are, and no one's ever been able to come up with a reason for it.

Maybe it's just because most people don't understand the spirits. Maybe it's that everyone's afraid to ask. But learning how to deal with spirits would probably end up less trivia and more a practical survival course.

Sir Mustard places the pages down on his desk. "Well, that's a lot more suggestions than I was expecting. I'll have to look through them so I can come up with a curriculum that both satisfies as many of you as possible, and doesn't get my teaching licence revoked. This is literally the only job I know how to do." You don't think he's joking. "So, for now, I think you should talk among yourselves. Sort out any personality conflicts beforehand, come see me if you think there's something you can't handle. No blowing up the classroom."

It sort of scares you that he thinks he had to say that out loud. Maybe he even did. This is a decently-sized class, and you only know five of your fellow students. There could easily be somebody here with explosive tendencies.

The room immediately descends into chaos. Sir Mustard doesn't seem to mind, already being busy working out some kind of lesson plan. You suppose you may as well talk to the people around you, it is what you were told to do, after all.


[ ] So, did Caramel ever get his lyre back?

[ ] It looked like Raspberry made a lot of suggestions, earlier...

[ ] Maybe you should talk to your neighbor in the seat next to you?

Caramel and Raspberry, you figure, are both capable of carrying on their own conversations. They do it with each other all the time, and while you can already see some good talking points, you should maybe make sure your other neighbor isn't going to go against Sir Mustard's wishes and blow up the classroom.

It doesn't particularly look like she will. Said neighbor is one of the rabbitfolk, with fur patterned in shades of gray. She wears her ears sort of like how young female humans wear pigtails, at least from what you can tell. Children who are around school age don't spend a lot of time around hot springs. Her eyes are hazel, and she is already trying to stuff paper back into her desk after it spilled out earlier.

"...Do you need any help?" You offer, watching as the paper seems to keep spilling out no matter what she does with it.

"Don't worry, I'll manage it eventually!" She insists, only for a blue gummy frog to wiggle its way out of her desk. "No! Stay inside!"

"...Why do you have a frog in your desk?" You haven't been speaking to her for a full minute and you're already confused.

Your neighbor glances at you in horror before shoving the frog into her drawstring pouch. "Frog? What frog? I don't see any frog. Do you?" You suppose that she doesn't want you to talk about the frog. "Anyway, I'm Paprika Kismet, I talk to the Beast Spirits..." Her pouch starts wiggling. "This is not the time, Zulian!"

"Rye Seabreeze." You decide, for not, to ignore the fact that your classmate apparently brought her pet to school, despite the fact that a lot of people eat gummy creatures. They carry so much energy within themselves, they've always been a lot of cultures' first choices for food. "...Zulian?"

"Nobody. He's nobody." She's still glaring at her pouch. The pouch is still wiggling. You think she'd be better off investing in a terrarium. "And he's especially not getting any extra flies tonight." You literally have no clue whether Zulian is supposed to be a secret or not. You're going to assume he is until proven otherwise.

Still, with the supposedly-secret frog out of her desk, Paprika does a bit better in putting the papers back. They're still lopsided and messy, but at least they aren't falling out with every second as the creature hidden inside plans his grand escape, probably onto someone's dinner plate.

"Um... All right, then." This is probably the weirdest introduction you've ever had to somebody, and Uncle Al's presentation when your cousins were born was... something to remember. "You know, I can talk to Water Spirits."

Paprika jumps right onto the change of subject. "Really? So how do you handle the quiet?" You glance at her in confusion. "You know, when there's no water around."

"It... doesn't really bother me?" Sure, otters on Cassia are supposed to be fairly aquatic, and you've been on your fair share of fishing trips, but it's not like you've ever had a problem with being away from the water. "I mean, I'm away from water most of the time."

Your classmate's face is a look of abject horror. "That long away from spirits?" You aren't sure whether she's scared of you or pitying you. It could be either.

"Honestly, it'd be sort of weird if I was surrounded by them all the time," You admit. "Are Beast Spirits around a lot of places?"

It actually takes a while for you to get your answer. As if Paprika doesn't even know it. "You... could say that," She finally decides. Her pouch, once again, tries to get away from her. "Really, they're... just about everywhere, if you know where to look." She nervously laughs a little as she tries to slip her pouch into her desk.



[ ] ...Does she need any help with her frog?

[ ] Continue talking about powers.

[ ] Try introducing Paprika to one of your other classmates.
-[ ] Introduce her to Caramel.
-[ ] Introduce her to Raspberry.

[ ] Stop talking to Paprika for the time being.
-[ ] Talk to Caramel.
-[ ] Talk to Raspberry.