astarill – vvardenfellcat

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“U-um…” The Khajiit swallowed, ears flicking back as his eyes darted to the ground, lingering over the worn cobblestone and the blades of grass that attempted to retake the road. He forcefully blew out the air in his lungs, seeming to take some of that roiling anxiety out with it, rubbing over his forehead.

“H…he’s a good teacher, n’ I learn a lot from him, but…” J’hasi let out another huff of breath, fidgeting in place.

“Hist…he…he terrifies me. I can’t tell if he’s blind or what, but he always seems to know exactly when I screw something up or say something stupid and…” He shook his head, inwardly cursing at himself for just the thought of the Altmer was making his hands shake.

“I-I don’t know if it’s because of what he taught, or that eerie prickling feeling I get around him, or what, but… It’s like he pays attention to every little move I make and uses it against me when he’s not happy about something. …usually my spellcasting.” Although that time he and Icarus had escalated a fight to more than just hissed words in class and was subjected to cleaning up the cadavers after dismissal certainly would’ve been more than enough reason…

astarill:

For the first time since his former student came up to him, Astarill looked at him directly, meeting the cat’s questioning gaze with a hard, unrelenting stare. Just because they no longer found themselves in a hierarchy where one was above the other, didn’t mean this fumbling excuse for a mage-to-be could suddenly make inquiries of a personal nature.

“I left because my contract came to an end.”

That probably got the message across, and Astarill averted his stare to have a sip of his drink. “But I’ve never agreed with the College’s complacent approach to Thalmor interference.”

J’hasi frowned a little when he looked down to break the unsettling stare, finding that Ghost had stolen what was left of his drink, nickering softly as she prodded his shoulder with her nose.

“I s’pose, if you’re not makin’ enough or if you don’ like the job, that’s fair.” The Khajiit’s brows tensed a little, his jaw tightening before he looked to the side instead, at the falling leaves, the trees gently rustling in the breeze, hearing snatches of laughter and conversation on the wind. His voice dropped to a mutter, still audible to the mer in the conversation, while not so much to the passersby.

“Wish more people weren’t so damn scared to say somethin’ about them being there. Excuse sounds like utter bullshit to me.” he grumbled.

astarill replied to your photoset : [So far EU’s been fun, J’hasi finally gets to live…

[I forgot to say, but that armor looks pretty sweet on Jhasi, despite it being whatever you picked up. XD I’ve had characters wear it and it didn’t look nearly as good on them.]

[J’hasi seems to have the unique quality of looking good no matter what except in super fancy clothes lmao]

[So far EU’s been fun, J’hasi finally gets to live his dream of being a mage while I struggle to relearn new ways of fighting AKA not sneakstabbing everything in sight lmao]

Do you like your colleagues at the college, J’hasi? What about the lessons and the professors there, are they any good?

The Khajiit yawned hugely, teeth flashing in the low light of the Arcaneum. He hadn’t been sleeping on a book this time, thank the Hist. He gave his jaw a little push, cracking his stiff neck and rubbing it, slowly adjusting to being awake.

“Don’ mind them, ‘cept the Thalmor whelp can go get lost in a blizzard for all I care. Sometimes he and J’zargo get competitive and it’s just best to leave the area before someone other than them gets singed.” J’hasi rubbed the side of his jaw, eyes flicking down to his text, glad that it was his homework he fell asleep on rather than his…unorthodox research. He cleared his throat, some of the raspiness in his voice giving way for a quiet roughness instead.

“I mostly keep to myself, but it’s…kinda difficult to practice some of our spells alone, so I try to find Brelyna if she’s free. At least she shows some remorse for when her spells go wrong and I have to deal with turning into a-” He snapped his mouth shut, shaking his head.

“Nevermind. Onmund is similarly easy to get along with, though J’zargo I’ve been trying to avoid when possible since the last fiasco.” J’hasi shuddered a little, shaking his head as if to clear the bad memories from it.

“I haven’t dealt with many other students at the College other than them. Koussikka seemed nice, but he doesn’t seem to stick around the College for long periods of time, or I just happen to miss him when I go off grounds.” The Khajiit shrugged.

“Tolfdir is a good teacher. Patient. Hist knows he needs it when it’s time for me to cast.” He stretched, his shoulders popping as his arms spread over his books and papers, clawtips just barely reaching some of the only bare space left on the table, then he arched his neck and back, a chorus of pops and cracks emanating from his spine. J’hasi huffed out a sigh, the barest hint of a smile on his lips as he rolled his shoulders.

“That’s better.” He swiped over his face.

“The other professors are alright. Collette…she tends to go onto tangents in lecture and it’s hard for me to follow if it’s relevant to what she’s actually trying to teach. My notes in her class are…difficult to refer back to because of how much I’ve had to cross out because she was remarking on something that happened earlier that day than the actual magic she was teaching.” The Khajiit yawned again, rubbing his trap in hopes to loosen it up.

“Most of the other classes go alright. As uh…alright as they can, I suppose. It’s difficult for me to cast anything, so I’m not sure if I’m misunderstanding the spell, or if it’s something in when I’m casting. Faralda’s classes always make me nervous, not so much because of her teaching, but because of when I have to cast and knowing that I’ll have to go to Collette afterwards moreso than with other classes. …I actually…surprisingly…miss Astarill’s classes.” He swallowed.

“I mean, I’m fine around dead bodies so long as they stay dead, but when we’re working on them to prep them for reanimation…it’s physical, it’s there, I can be told outright if I’m doing something wrong because Astarill can see what I’m doing wrong. Though um…he did say that there’s something wrong with me when I’m casting so I guess he could see that too?” The topic of the mer’s apparent but possibly-not-actual blindness had been the whispered discussion of Onmund and Brelyna on more than one occasion. J’hasi sighed.

“I mean, we hadn’t gone far into what I was doing wrong, but if I can get that fixed, then maybe classes would be easier.”

HUMBLE. -How does your muse handle praise?

Depends on the person giving it. Usually J’hasi’s default is surprise, then feeling kinda better about himself for a short while afterwards. He doesn’t say much, but the way it makes him feel is very clear in his expression and body language.

If it’s from someone who doesn’t usually give out praise, the most he’d say is like an ‘oh, really?’ and then be a little confused afterwards, with or without the feelgood feeling. (e.g. Astarill giving genuine praise)

If it’s from someone he looks up to, he’ll be surprised, then a big stupid grin will be on his face and he’ll feel pretty good about himself afterwards, but rarely says much. (e.g. Sees-In-Mist teaching him when he was a hatchling)

If it’s from someone he’s usually antagonistic with, which is typically returned, he’ll have the split second of surprise before he realizes it’s genuine and not sarcasm, and then turn right into a smirk, typically accompanied by some sort of quip or remark. (e.g. gods forbid if Icarus ever praised J’hasi ever)

astarill:

Oh, something ‘weird’ happened, huh? In an institute of magical learning? Amazing. Astarill obscured the smirk that threatened to show with a sip of his drink, and he scoffed, quietly.

“Very good.” And he said this without a hint of irony, “I can think of no better application of cryomancy than that.”

J’hasi giggled, whether from the comment or Ghost nibbling on his ears it was hard to tell. He took another drink as she puffed her hot breath into his fur.

“Makes him late to class, maybe he’ll get kicked out. Wouldn’t that be nice? Sick of him skulking around and following me, anyways. He’s a terrible sneak.” The Khajiit finally relented, allowing the pale mare pestering him to have a small drink from his tankard.

“Would be nice to experience the College without them around. Everyone’s always so tense.” He looked up at the Altmer with a slight frown.

“Is that why you left?”

astarill:

vvardenfellcat replied to your post:

J’hasi hummed, seeming far more relaxed than usual. The slight scent of spiced pumpkin and mead on his fur might lead one to the culprit. “Food, booze. Maybe archery.” He shrugged, not noticing his horse behind him until she nosed at his scarf. “Honestly whatever gets me away from those Thalmor at the College is worth the trip. Ancano creeps me out.”

The mere mention of the ‘advisor’s’ name brought a sneer to his features, as if the wine in his cup had suddenly gone sour. He shook his head, staring over the crowd. He was still around, was he? Un-fucking-believable. The College’s cowardly approach to the matter hadn’t been his first reason to leave. Not even his second. But it was up there.

“How is the College these days? Aside from their continued acquiescence of Thalmor presence.”

The Khajiit’s mouth stretched into a lopsided frown, only for Ghost to bump into the side of his cheek and startle him a little, lifting a hand up to stroke her nose.

“I guess as normal as it was when I got there. Kinda. Something weird happened on an excavation so that’s…fun. Otherwise classes are alright. Still having problems, but not as bad as it used to be. Still have to sit through Colette’s lectures fairly often, though.” He took a drink of his mead, having to nudge a certain pale mare’s nose away from it first.

“I try to keep off campus as much as I can

because of the ‘guests’, honestly. When I don’t have classes I help with errands, enchantment pickups, and getting books for Urag.” A mischievous grin flicked across J’hasi’s face.

“Oh, and I’m practicing my frost magic more. I freeze the short one’s clothes in a bucket of water in the courtyard every so often.”

“What is your favorite thing about the festival so far?”

astarill:

“The mulled wine, without a doubt.”

That, and the fact that he could take his mind off the fifty different things running through his mind, begging his attention. Alcohol and distraction. Precisely what everyone was here for, surely.

“Was there anything in particular you came for?”

Magnus rises in the Atronach

astarill:

“I should hope you are familiar with the theory that the energy commonly denoted as ‘magicka’ falls to Mundus from Aetherius in its raw form, and that every entity within Mundus has a quantifiable capacity to absorb, store and transform this energy into a workable form – yes?”

He left the Khajiit little time to answer, rising from his seat. “Among those born during the period when the constellation of the Atronach stands in the sky where the sun rises, there are a few individuals that are severely limited if not wholly incapable of processing magicka in its pure, Aetherial form. They can only absorb transformed magicka, and deprived as they are, they will do so much more readily than anyone else. I think you’ll find that’s your problem.”

He crossed his arms and leaned himself back against the desk. “If you care to break your head over the ‘why’ of the matter, I suggest you seek out an astronomer. Or lacking that, a scholar at a temple, if you can stand that kind of people. But for now, I believe your priority ought to be to familiarize yourself with your relative position in the cosmos and learn to compensate for it.”

He wasn’t familiar, no, but…some of it sounded faintly familiar (if confusing for a moment or two afterwards while he worked out roughly what was said, anyways). Was it something he read, or had it just been briefly mentioned in class? He’d have to look at his notes… The Khajiit’s attention snapped back to the mer when he stood, his tail curling a little closer to his legs before Astarill moved to lean against his desk instead. J’hasi’s ears flicked back a little at mention of temple scholars, but otherwise was still until his tail tip started ticking back and forth, thinking.

“So…um… Me being born under the Atronach is why I can’t…get my spells to work?” he asked, eyes flicking back up from where they’d been focused elsewhere while thinking, ears cocked. He wasn’t exactly sure what was all meant, with absorbing m-

His thoughts stopped dead, eyebrows rising a little for a moment. Was that why spells didn’t always hurt him? At the time he’d just been grateful for what he’d thought was other mages messing up on their magic, but… Dargzalzi had mentioned him being difficult to cast spells on, all the troubles with Colette and nearly every other healer that had attempted to heal him with magic, and the many, many times he’d been struck with blasts of fire, shock, Illusion and Alteration magics alike when some times they’d do something, others they just….

They usually just felt like how his hands did when he cast the spell. Tingly, weird, but he wasn’t hurt. J’hasi’s eyes flicked back to the Altmer’s, tail still.

“I…I had no idea that…” He frowned, a bit of confusion still lingering.

“Wait, so that would affect my own spells too? I mean, sometimes I can cast them, but sometimes they blow up in my face too.”