((Fliss and Lucas' second assignment from their History of Rhy'Din class.))
The Cardinal Inn was a well maintained stone building. The kitchen offered simple, but hearty fare and was best known for the delicious chili they served on daily basis. Maggie had her own small suite of rooms on the second floor. The door opened on a cozy sitting room with a fire burning in the hearth. She waved the pair inside. "Hiya! Come in, come in, it's a little quieter in here than in the common room." A sofa and two wingbacked chairs were near the fireplace and a stack of books sat on a nearby table.
Lucas held the door open for Fliss, before following her inside and taking a brief glance around. He was a little bit shy and nervous, though Fliss had assured him Maggie was just as friendly as her own siblings back home at Maple Grove.
Far more used to Lyneth than Lucas was - and therefore not at all intimidated by the Baby Baroness - Fliss squeezed her boyfriend's hand as she slipped into the room, her smile wide for Maggie. "Hey!" she greeted her. "Oh, wait ....Greetings, milady." The curtsy she offered was utterly ridiculous. "How's that?"
She giggled softly. "It was nice! I'm still just Maggie. Please have a seat." She gestured to the sofa and chairs leaving it to Lucas and Fliss to choose first. "There's a coat rack near the door if you want to hang your things up. Would you like some hot chocolate to warm you up?"
The curtsy gave Lucas pause, wondering if he should bow or something. After all, the girl was a baron - or was it baroness" He was still new enough to Rhy'Din, that he was easily confused. "Hot chocolate would be great, thanks!" Lucas replied. "I'm Lucas," he introduced himself, taking a short and slightly ridiculous bow.
Fliss nudged Lucas, winking at him. "Hot chocolate sounds great, thank you," she smiled to Maggie, moving further into the room to thump down on the sofa. "Nice digs you got here, your baroness-ship."
"It's nice to meet you, Lucas!" She smiled warmly then went to the island counter that separated the sitting room from the tiny kitchen and ladled up two mugs of hot chocolate. "Thanks! I picked this room out. Uncle Bertie usually stays down the hall. He's sort of my keeper while I'm staying here." She laughed softly. "Sometimes, though, I wonder who is keeping an eye on who!" She had a small pair of tongs in her hand. "Marshmallows?"
Lucas took both his and Fliss' coats and hung them on the coat rack before joining Fliss on the sofa. "Who's Uncle Bertie?" he asked curiously at the name-dropping.
"He's my godfather; Da's best friend and business partner. They were born on the same day."
Fliss bit her lip against in inevitable "Dirty Uncle Bertie" joke that rose up. She was spending a little too much time with her father these days. As Lucas and Maggie chatted, she pulled her notebook out of her pocket, making herself comfortable. "Dad said you wouldn't mind helping us out with our homework this week," she ventured hopefully. "Our parents aren't that keen on us going to an actual duel, with everything going on in the city, so we figured we'd get the perspective of a duelist."
Lucas nodded, though that really didn't answer his question much, except for the fact that whoever Bertie was, he was obviously like family. He got up off the couch to go over and help Maggie with the cups of hot cocoa, while Fliss took out her notebook to get started.
She set the mugs on coasters on the coffee table and refilled her own mug. "Your Dad is right, I won't mind at all." Maggie beamed. "What would you like to know?"
Glancing at Lucas, Fliss grinned. "We're supposed to get an idea of the culture of the duels, so ....we put some questions together. Just to start, though - what made you want to duel" I mean, you're pretty young to be doing it at all, really."
Once the hot chocolate was sorted, Lucas rejoined Fliss on the sofa, fishing his own notebook and pen from his pack, in case he wanted to take notes. They were working on this assignment as a team, but he had a few questions of his own.
"Learning to use weapons to start was mostly Gran's doing. She says that someone that can use a weapon to defend themselves is far less likely to end up a crime victim. At least, not a helpless one." She took a sip of her drink after blowing some steam off of it. "As for dueling, my mother started at a very young age and I wanted to try it. I waited until both my parents were ok with it. I was six. Dueling is a little like playing chess. You have to learn to out think your opponent as well as out fight them. I like the challenge of trying to figure people out."
"So for you, dueling is more about getting under someone's skin than it is about spanking them with a sword, right?" Fliss asked with another cheeky grin, taking a sip of her own chocolate as her fingertips scorched notes on her black paper.
"Yes. I like figuring out how people's minds work. I don't scout my opponents to see how they fight. Anyone that depends on a duelist's patterns and past match information is just learning what someone did before not what they might do when they are facing them."
While Fliss was busy asking the questions and Maggie was busy answering them, Lucas was scribbling notes on his pad of paper, scowling a little at Fliss' method of note-taking, but refraining from calling her a cheater. "There are different kinds of duels, right' Have you tried them all, and if so, which is your favorite?" The question wasn't on their list, but he thought it was an important question.
"I haven't tried Fists. Magic is fun and it helps me practice controlling some abilities that I don't always use. I'm best at Swords. I think that's partly because my family has a long standing history there."
"And you're the right size to cut people's feet out from under them," Fliss chuckled. "Do you have a favorite story about the duels, or a favorite duelist, past or present?"
"You know magic?" Lucas blurted, wide-eyed, interrupting Fliss' question and quickly blushing.
"Most of them, yes, but they're are some races with adults that are tinier than me." She nodded to Lucas. "Yes, I was born with it. My Da is human, but Mama is half fae and half demigoddess. I think that's how it works."
"See?" Fliss murmured to Lucas as she snickered, wriggling her fingers at him. "We're everywhere."
"That's not magic," Lucas chided Fliss, though maybe it was. He was too used to her and her father to be very impressed with fire magic anymore. "Demigoddess?" Lucas echoed, though that wasn't really part of the interview. "Oh," he said, realizing he'd gotten off track. "Um, what was that question again? Oh, yeah ..." He glanced at his notes, reading verbatim. "Do you have a favorite story about the duels, or a favorite duelist, past or present?"
The Cardinal Inn was a well maintained stone building. The kitchen offered simple, but hearty fare and was best known for the delicious chili they served on daily basis. Maggie had her own small suite of rooms on the second floor. The door opened on a cozy sitting room with a fire burning in the hearth. She waved the pair inside. "Hiya! Come in, come in, it's a little quieter in here than in the common room." A sofa and two wingbacked chairs were near the fireplace and a stack of books sat on a nearby table.
Lucas held the door open for Fliss, before following her inside and taking a brief glance around. He was a little bit shy and nervous, though Fliss had assured him Maggie was just as friendly as her own siblings back home at Maple Grove.
Far more used to Lyneth than Lucas was - and therefore not at all intimidated by the Baby Baroness - Fliss squeezed her boyfriend's hand as she slipped into the room, her smile wide for Maggie. "Hey!" she greeted her. "Oh, wait ....Greetings, milady." The curtsy she offered was utterly ridiculous. "How's that?"
She giggled softly. "It was nice! I'm still just Maggie. Please have a seat." She gestured to the sofa and chairs leaving it to Lucas and Fliss to choose first. "There's a coat rack near the door if you want to hang your things up. Would you like some hot chocolate to warm you up?"
The curtsy gave Lucas pause, wondering if he should bow or something. After all, the girl was a baron - or was it baroness" He was still new enough to Rhy'Din, that he was easily confused. "Hot chocolate would be great, thanks!" Lucas replied. "I'm Lucas," he introduced himself, taking a short and slightly ridiculous bow.
Fliss nudged Lucas, winking at him. "Hot chocolate sounds great, thank you," she smiled to Maggie, moving further into the room to thump down on the sofa. "Nice digs you got here, your baroness-ship."
"It's nice to meet you, Lucas!" She smiled warmly then went to the island counter that separated the sitting room from the tiny kitchen and ladled up two mugs of hot chocolate. "Thanks! I picked this room out. Uncle Bertie usually stays down the hall. He's sort of my keeper while I'm staying here." She laughed softly. "Sometimes, though, I wonder who is keeping an eye on who!" She had a small pair of tongs in her hand. "Marshmallows?"
Lucas took both his and Fliss' coats and hung them on the coat rack before joining Fliss on the sofa. "Who's Uncle Bertie?" he asked curiously at the name-dropping.
"He's my godfather; Da's best friend and business partner. They were born on the same day."
Fliss bit her lip against in inevitable "Dirty Uncle Bertie" joke that rose up. She was spending a little too much time with her father these days. As Lucas and Maggie chatted, she pulled her notebook out of her pocket, making herself comfortable. "Dad said you wouldn't mind helping us out with our homework this week," she ventured hopefully. "Our parents aren't that keen on us going to an actual duel, with everything going on in the city, so we figured we'd get the perspective of a duelist."
Lucas nodded, though that really didn't answer his question much, except for the fact that whoever Bertie was, he was obviously like family. He got up off the couch to go over and help Maggie with the cups of hot cocoa, while Fliss took out her notebook to get started.
She set the mugs on coasters on the coffee table and refilled her own mug. "Your Dad is right, I won't mind at all." Maggie beamed. "What would you like to know?"
Glancing at Lucas, Fliss grinned. "We're supposed to get an idea of the culture of the duels, so ....we put some questions together. Just to start, though - what made you want to duel" I mean, you're pretty young to be doing it at all, really."
Once the hot chocolate was sorted, Lucas rejoined Fliss on the sofa, fishing his own notebook and pen from his pack, in case he wanted to take notes. They were working on this assignment as a team, but he had a few questions of his own.
"Learning to use weapons to start was mostly Gran's doing. She says that someone that can use a weapon to defend themselves is far less likely to end up a crime victim. At least, not a helpless one." She took a sip of her drink after blowing some steam off of it. "As for dueling, my mother started at a very young age and I wanted to try it. I waited until both my parents were ok with it. I was six. Dueling is a little like playing chess. You have to learn to out think your opponent as well as out fight them. I like the challenge of trying to figure people out."
"So for you, dueling is more about getting under someone's skin than it is about spanking them with a sword, right?" Fliss asked with another cheeky grin, taking a sip of her own chocolate as her fingertips scorched notes on her black paper.
"Yes. I like figuring out how people's minds work. I don't scout my opponents to see how they fight. Anyone that depends on a duelist's patterns and past match information is just learning what someone did before not what they might do when they are facing them."
While Fliss was busy asking the questions and Maggie was busy answering them, Lucas was scribbling notes on his pad of paper, scowling a little at Fliss' method of note-taking, but refraining from calling her a cheater. "There are different kinds of duels, right' Have you tried them all, and if so, which is your favorite?" The question wasn't on their list, but he thought it was an important question.
"I haven't tried Fists. Magic is fun and it helps me practice controlling some abilities that I don't always use. I'm best at Swords. I think that's partly because my family has a long standing history there."
"And you're the right size to cut people's feet out from under them," Fliss chuckled. "Do you have a favorite story about the duels, or a favorite duelist, past or present?"
"You know magic?" Lucas blurted, wide-eyed, interrupting Fliss' question and quickly blushing.
"Most of them, yes, but they're are some races with adults that are tinier than me." She nodded to Lucas. "Yes, I was born with it. My Da is human, but Mama is half fae and half demigoddess. I think that's how it works."
"See?" Fliss murmured to Lucas as she snickered, wriggling her fingers at him. "We're everywhere."
"That's not magic," Lucas chided Fliss, though maybe it was. He was too used to her and her father to be very impressed with fire magic anymore. "Demigoddess?" Lucas echoed, though that wasn't really part of the interview. "Oh," he said, realizing he'd gotten off track. "Um, what was that question again? Oh, yeah ..." He glanced at his notes, reading verbatim. "Do you have a favorite story about the duels, or a favorite duelist, past or present?"