[X] Play to the crowd. Bow, pose, wave, smile- it's good to be in the limelight.
[X] Yes
[X] Warrior's Eye: A true warrior is never entirely outmatched. Reach for it, and victory will be yours. (When used, I'll tell the thread the single most important thing they could know about a given situation. Must be related to battle or conquest.)
You suppose there's really nothing else for it after all this. You should at least enjoy the attention. You give as exaggerated a bow as you can possibly manage and then wave and smile until the cheering dies down and you're ushered off the stage to allow the next match to happen.
---
Most of the rest of the matches aren't very exciting. In fact... A thought slowly percolates in your subconscious as bout after bout passes by quickly and easily. Clear victors every time. You think back to what the TA said about your opponent being chosen as randomly as everyone else's. Why, exactly, do you seem to be the only one today to have gotten something approaching an even fight? A flare of worry starts up in your chest that you were intended to lose. You feel almost nauseous thinking about it, and you grip the railing tightly from where you stand in one of the observation boxes that have been opened to students. What if- No. You take a deep breath. Then several more, trying to calm yourself, slowly relaxing your white knuckled grip on the metal railing. That didn't make sense. You're sure the TA wants to to stay at the college, and you think she would have at least warned you if someone above her was trying to arrange your loss.
And besides... Addy was strong, but you got the impression that she relied very heavily on her gimmick of illusions and that she wasn't actually much of a fighter. Thinking about the fights you've seen so far today, you could easily find people who would be more likely to beat you in a fight. None that were guaranteed victories perhaps, at least not based on what anyone has shown so far, but certainly fights that would be lopsided. You wonder if instead of Addy being chosen to force you out, things were perhaps the other way around?
You chew on your lower lip a bit as you lean forward against the railing and think about the possibility. The more you thought, the more sense it made. Addy could have beaten you, and you weren't perhaps her worst match up in the college, but you do think you had the edge. And really, you think Addy would have had a chance against anyone you've seen so far, especially if she had been a bit less eager to confront her opponent directly once they saw through her illusion.
What do you think about probably being used to get another student kicked out of the College?
[] Sick. For all that you enjoy the opportunity to exercise your new found power, you don't want to- to use it to crush hopes and dreams like that. Especially not on behalf of disgusting people like the Archmage.
[] Happy, maybe a bit proud. This was proof wasn't it? That you were finally more than nothing, that you mattered, at least enough for the truly powerful to take notice of you in some small way. And you would only grow more powerful still.
[] Write-in.
Regardless, you shake your head to clear those thoughts away a bit and stop chewing on your lip. There was one thing that you wanted to do before you got on with the rest of your weekend.
---
Finding Addy is actually a bit of a challenge. She had woken up a bit faster than you had thought she would, and asking around for people who have seen her produced frustratingly little information considering how memorable the person you were asking about was. In the end, you run into her at the gates of the College, the location you had decided was the best place to wait around for her.
The college's gates were intimidating things, though not in the usual way of wrought iron and thick chains. Rather, they were intricate and made of some silvery metal that you couldn't identify. It twisted and turned in a thousand and one different ways, the metal no thicker than your pinky finger at any point and in some places tapering downwards until it became as thin as a strand of hair. Despite this, you had no doubts about the strength of those gates. The overall effect was like some arcane and mad bramble of thorns, jagged edges pointed outwards against the world. On your way in, you had been given the strong impression that some hidden beast might leap out from within it to devour you. You suspect that that might be very literally true.
It's under the glare of these imposing gates that you speak to Addy before her exit from the college. Or rather, you open your mouth to speak and she interrupts you.
"Heya."
Her expression is much more subdued now. It's not like she's on the verge of tears, or even hat she seems terribly sad, but...
"Uh. Hey."
You're not really sure what you wanted to say. Still, you wouldn't have felt right to not speak to her again. She tilts her head, and her expression becomes less wistful and more quizzical, as if she's confused about something. You decide to keep speaking before things get awkward.
"So I-"
"Hah!"
Suddenly a bark of laughter comes from Addy. You step back slightly, ready for some angry words, but nothing else follows, and there's now a wry twist to her lips.
"Of course. That's just the way this would go down, wouldn't it."
She laughs again, this time more honestly mirthful, before looking back up at you.
"The truth comes down in riddles that are safe enough to share, you know?"
She looks at you appraisingly for a moment, then grins and walks past you, patting you on the shoulder as she goes.
"We'll see each other again some time."
As she walks out the open gates she calls back to you again.
"The Jabberwock never bothered anyone, but nobody believes her to this day!"
You blink at the non sequitur, then call out yourself, somewhat annoyed at the vagueness.
"And what does that mean?!"
"Who knows?" She replies casually, as she practically dances down the road back to the city proper, a spring in her step once more and her wide hat being tossed into the air and caught as it comes down as she goes.
You just shake your head.
You wanted to visit home later today, and you also planned to spend time with Ruby this weekend. Do you bring her along?
[] Yes
[] No
So, now you all finally get to find out about Saphira's home life! I've dropped a few hints, but I don't think I've given enough to narrow it down with a large degree of certainty. Anyone care to make some guesses? Get it right and I'll throw a bonus point in whatever you like your way.
