Tesh

Talnic spun to face the speaker, tense, anxious, and done with dealing with people. He just wanted to be alone. But that wasn't an option for him at the moment. He nodded his consent. "Yes." She had found her way to them, and was very likely to play a part in everything.

Talnic grimaced. Of course there would be another quest. And of course he would have to find another dragon. He hated bothering the creatures, and they hated being bothered, especially by people who wanted to kill them. At least he knew how to properly interact with dragons to avoid getting incinerated. But "To mount a strike..." Hopefully he would be able to avoid attacking a dragon, and get away with just some of its hoard, as he had done in the past. The line where it said that others would be going as well, though, that bothered him. The prophecy hadn't specifically mentioned Talnic himself, but each and every one in the past had ended up with him involved in some way or another. And he'd have to do whatever he was supposed to be doing with other people. And knowing the prophecies, it would be the people who had heard the prophecy in the first place. "So," he said slowly, letting his hand drop from his sword. "How do you two feel about hunting down a dragon? I think that there are others who we will need to find, as neither of you are dwarves, but that will happen eventually. We need to take the first steppes, and the rest usually falls into place rather quickly." He hated the stupid prophecies.

Exasperated, Talnic stepped forward, towering over the elf. "It was a prophecy, and when I ignore them, things tend to go downhill very quickly. Now, tell me what I said. I won't be asking next time." Talnic hated threatening violence, but the last time he'd ignored a prophecy, an entire village had nearly been burned to the ground.

Talnic closed his eyes. "Please," he said, trying to soften his voice. "Tell me. It's very important." Should he tell her why? No, not yet. Not unless she still refused to acknowledge his ravings. He'd have to leave Zemel behind for a few years before returning, to make sure that rumors of the prophecy would fade.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium? I love that place. I've been a few times, and it's incredible. I've never watched the live stuff, though! I could never get it to work on my phone. I'd also recommend looking into the jelly fish one. It's really cool. Some teachers will sometimes have it going in their classrooms while students are doing work.

Oof, that's a little rough. We just finished re-watching the third last night, and I hadn't seen them in years. Did you know that if sea otters find a rock they like, they'll carry it around in their armpit? And how do you feel about sea otters?

Hm... I love Alcatraz. It aligns perfectly to my sense of humor. But Skyward is also great... And I love Legion... So... All of them?

How do you feel about Back to the Future?

1. Make him walk the plank. I guess. 2. As in stuff on the Shard? I've read some of the writing posted by other people, and looked into a few role plays, but that's it. 3. Yes. My favorites are The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables. Original London cast recording in both cases. The movies are okay, and the books are better than the musicals in both cases. And the 1925 movie of Phantom is my favorite adaptation. I also love Wicked, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Newsies (the movie) and a few others, but those are at the top of my list. 4. Not unless you count Halloween. I'm slowly making progress on my mistcloak, so hopefully I can soon!

"What did I say?" Talnic asked again, turning his gaze to the elf and ignoring her comment. "Before I fell down."

1. That's Tien the kiwi bird. Kiwi birds are New Zealand's national bird, and I love them. They're huge, flightless, and have nostrils at the end of their beak. They also have the largest egg in proportion to their body size. (Google kiwi bird egg. It's crazy.) 2. NO. I'M GOING SO SLOWLY AND IT'S STUPID. I'M STILL ONLY IN PART TWO. I'd be a lot further along if we hadn't gone skiing yesterday. I only managed to read one chapter. 3. I do not. I apologize. And I'd love to help. Where did you last have it? 4. Third grade. I wrote a story about a lady who swallowed a frog. I wrote it in my journal, and when my teacher read it, she basically said, "this is fun. But I want you to write about yourself in this." Maybe not that, because it was just a solid chunk of dialogue with a few sounds. Maybe The Bird, which I wrote in fourth grade. It's about fifteen pages long, and I don't even know how to explain what it's about. I still have both the Frog and The Bird printed out. And they were bound by my awesome elementary school librarian. I signed them too. Since then I've actually written a few half decent things, started a ton of novels, and finished quite a few short stories. 5. Congrats! Can I have some?

The kid was trying to hide something. And he was doing a terrible job of it. "Listen," Talnic said, taking a small step forward. "If you want to hire me, just tell me. I'm not doing anything else at the moment, and depending on pay, I'd be willing to do just about anything short of murder. If you're just here to annoy me, I'm leaving now." The kid seemed young to be tracking him down, but it wasn't implausible. Talnic himself had started dealing with various underground crews when he was fifteen. Talnic's vision began to fuzz. He let out a small sigh, closing his eyes as his senses began to abandon him. He felt his mouth moving, but didn't hear a sound. There was no pain as he collapsed, crumpling to the wooden walkway. The moment he was able, Talnic forced his eyes open again, and pushed himself to his feet. "What did I say?" he demanded of the elf and the human in a forceful whisper. He'd learned years ago to not dismiss his prophecies, and to show no weakness in the moments after he gave one.

Talnic cast a glance out at the sparring student, an odd sort of melancholy settling over him. "Watching something that is a part of me for what might be the last time," he said. "But I don't belong here. I am leaving, now." He pulled his hat down a little ways and made to leave, but stopped as he saw a tall teenage boy step out into the courtyard. He was around Talnic's age, although likely a few years younger. The boy was looking directly at Talnic. Brushing his coat to the side so he could easily reach his sword, Talnic glared at the kid. "Can I help you?" he asked, ignoring the elf for the moment.

The large double doors that Talnic had slipped through just moments before creeped open again, and a young elf walked out, a satchel slung over her shoulder. Several tendrils of mist flowed through the air behind her, faint in the dim winter sunlight.

*purpose Hm... Strikingly terrific inferior koalas.

@Channelknight Fadran?

1. A macaw and a cat. 2. Both, but usually open. 3. Eh... Better than I have been in a while. 4. Gray, probably. Maybe a sort of blueish gray. Fantastic.

Talnic could have sworn that he had heard something. And it had sounded hauntingly familiar. He looked about, trying to pinpoint the origin of the sound, remaining all but motionless in the middle of the road. A few hurried passersby shot him odd looks, but it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t remain in their minds for long. It wasn’t like he had drawn his sword or fallen and spouted off a random prophecy. Not yet, at least. He heard the sound again, louder, more insistent. It was accompanied by shouting, this time, and it was familiar. Distant, yes, but he would recognize that sound anywhere. Metal on metal, shouts coming from an instructor or from a sparring match. The noise was coming from behind a tall stone building, one that Talnic hadn’t seen on his previous trip to Zemel. It didn’t, however, seem like a Satheth monastery or martial arts school, which was a little odd. But then again, Talnic himself had had very little experience with organized fighting or training besides his time spent with Satheth Rine in Cazimar, so for all he knew, the building might be a perfectly normal place to hold swordsmanship training. He watched the building, listening to the sounds of swords clashing, and the faint shouts, feeling distant from the snow covered street around him. Talnic decided to go in. He pushed his way through the wrought iron gate, the cold of the metal seeping through the thick cloth of his gloves. He closed the gate behind him, and began walking up the cobblestone path, swept clean of snow. The sounds stopped, then started again. Talnic paused, his hand resting on the handle of the thick wooden door. His mind warred against itself, part of him wanting to leave behind the foolish notion of watching the training, but the other wishing to see something familiar after so many months away from Cazimar. Talnic closed his eyes for a moment, thoroughly annoyed with himself, and then pushed the door open. He stepped into a wide hall, lit and warmed by braziers that were placed at regular intervals along both walls. The space was empty, likely due to the approach of evening. Talnic walked down the hall at a brisk pace, towards the tall double doors at the end of the hall. If this building was similar in depth as the others he had seen in Zemel, then those doors would lead out into the courtyard, where he assumed the sparring was taking place. The part of him that had wanted to just turn and leave wanted to hide, to sneak out before he was spotted, use the shadows and the flickering light of the fire to hide his escape. He wasn’t welcome in this place. He had to turn, run and hide. What did it matter that people were training ahead? He had been planning on returning to Cazimar to visit Rine soon. He could watch then. But all the people there knew him. They knew his name, his face, his skill. These people here would not. He might be able to watch, undisturbed, not being asked for a bout every five minutes, not having to turn down people asking for him to teach a class on swordsmanship. The part of him that wanted to continue won the mental fight. That part of him knew that he might not return to Cazimar. His bonds with the city were too tight, and were beginning to restrict him. That part of him wanted to make sure he was able to watch a fight at least one last time without having to hold the blade himself. Talnic reached the doors, and opened one a crack. It glided open on well-oiled hinges, and he slipped through, pulling it closed softly in his wake. Talnic had to resist the urge to gape as he saw the training that was taking place. He forced himself to move into a shadowed corner, where he could stand partly hidden and watch without fear of someone coming up behind him. He stood tall, keeping his hat low, acting like he was supposed to be there, even though he was in awe. He had apparently found his way to the academy of magic. A group of students stood in the courtyard below, some fighting, others watching. The ones who were fighting were fighting not only with swords, but with magic as well. The scene was lit by braziers similar to the ones in the hall, and the students cast dancing shadows in the light as they moved about gracefully with their swords. The instructor called out, and the students switched places. The new group was obviously less skilled, but with the aid of magic, they still would have had an undeniable edge in a fight against any normal foe.