A Different Sort of Mentorship, part 1
Late afternoon, 7/4
Shadow sat in his study at the Dragon's Gate manor, looking at the number scribbled on a memo pad, and his phone - puzzling out, slowly, how to enter it into his device. "Crystal balls are superior to these foolish things," he muttered, finally achieving his goal, after a few minutes of misentering, beeping, and other strange lights and noises being produced by his 'smart' phone. Fortunately he was well versed in activating the strange, quasi-mystical device known as a cellphone, and soon enough was dialing Shae's number.
Generally Shae would have agreed with Shadow. In fact, she would have been amused to hear his aggravated mutterings. She'd eventually adapted to this technology -- at least enough to send texts and make calls -- and had chosen it since it seemed to be the more widely accepted method of communication. Little did she know her mentor might also be equally 'behind the times', as it were.
Ring Ring.
Today she was at the docks, and the vibration of the phone in her pocket required a careful setting down of her tools before she could fish it forth to answer.
Ring Ring.
The phone clicked over, treating Shadow to the sounds of wind and waves before: "Hello?"
If she could have seen him, she'd have seen the surprise which marked his features every time he successfully made a call, and a voice answered. He held the phone away from his ear to be sure he was deciphering the cryptic script on the screen properly, then drew it close to his mouth once more.
"Shae, this is Shadow. Been a little while, are you well? Am I keeping you from something?"
He tried to decipher the sounds beyond her, but he'd had enough experience with these phones to know sometimes it was just 'static' a strange seemingly mystical energy that affected technology frequently.
"Shadow!" Recognition warmed her voice. "Good, good. I was hoping my message at the orphanage would cross your desk eventually. It strikes me that we never truly established a means of reliable communication. We've been slacking, my mentor." Faint chuckling. Where she was, only the loudest of the distant voices would ever be caught by the speaker on the phone. More prominent might be the cries of a small flock of nearby terns. "I've the time to speak. How are you? Where have you and your household been living since the disaster on the Isle?"
A smile touched his lips at her jest, funnier because it was true. Granted, he had not anticipated the Isle's destruction, and had assumed that meetings at the Lagoon might work. Clearly they were both rather busy of late! "Never let any of the kids hear you call me a slacker, you might give them ideas. But quite right. Thank you for the phone number. Ah, Wilson is much happier now in the Dragon's Gate manor, which he considers a proper home, and Rumpelstiltskin never liked the Water tower much anyway. I was in fact babysitting on the night of the destruction, somewhat to my shame, but also relief. I'm glad you made it out alright."
Busy indeed. It just went to show that nothing was ever permanent. On a future meeting, she might provide him with a less complicated means of contact, provided she caught wind of his preferences. "I shall endeavor not to instill bad habits on my visits. Which, incidentally, is what I was wanting to get in touch with you to speak about. You know, beyond ascertaining that you and yours were alright." It still concerned her, that those in the farther towers might not have had the time to properly evacuate. "I came through just fine. Exhausted, but fine."
"I do appreciate the concern. You know, I am still able to enter the Tower itself. The view from any given window reminds one of an underwater maelstrom. I did not dare try to leave it, not that water is any barrier, but I could not determine the danger of attempting to leave the Tower's demesne." He paused, letting out a soft sigh. "Only time will tell us now what will be. And, you wished to speak with me about bad habits? Oh dear, what have I done?" Another unseen grin, though mirth was clear in his voice, alongside genuine curiosity. "Or, you wish to visit the Orphanage?"
"Really?" Surprise. Perhaps a note of intent interest, even. Questions were certainly swirling in her mind as a result. Such as: "Are you the only Keeper capable of accessing their tower? Or are the others likewise capable? Is transport between the towers possible, or is that still an unknown danger?" She caught herself before she went on and on.
"Not bad habits, per say. Though I'm sure I could lecture them on the dangers of intelligent items and how the ArCane might be slowly taking over your mind." Dryly delivered, but she was clearly joking. "Visits. I wished to speak to you about visits. I'm...touch and go where children are concerned, but I have something of a soft spot for orphans. I wanted to know if there was some way in which I could volunteer. Stories, teaching or mentorship, whatever is called for."
She'd returned him a host of questions, which his own revelations had of course engendered, and so he took them in order. "I do not know of Jesse, but Ahni can reach hers. Not sure about Neo. Travel between the Towers was never really something which could occur without express permission by both Keepers. Ah, you leave the ArCane out of this!" He chuckled softly. "Now then, there's the heart of it. Shae, I am *always* looking for help with the children. I've also just started a new, primarily youth-oriented dojo to teach various forms of self-defense. The magical arts included. You need merely tell me how you wish to contribute and I can see it done."
"Has Jesse been found to be alive?" Last she had heard, the fire keeper was still missing after the portal had closed. "A relief if so, things were looking dire there for a while." A moment of quiet on her end. "I only asked about the transport between towers because, well...if they are stable enough for visitation amidst the chaos, it tends to imply that they are something like anchors. Or could be modified as such. Perhaps...networked efforts with a keeper in each tower. Maybe mages in support. Maybe a coven casting of that scale would allow for the framework of the Isle to be reestablished. Order restored, or at least a region stabilized from which to assess the damage. Hard to say without more information."
"Let's leave the Isle matters for the moment. The existence of the End Bringer indicates that greater powers than even the Keepers are at work, and I have no hard evidence. What you say sounds applicable, but even I cannot tell whether interference at this point would be anything but harmful." He let out another breath, focusing on the matter at hand, the matter he could control.
Late afternoon, 7/4
Shadow sat in his study at the Dragon's Gate manor, looking at the number scribbled on a memo pad, and his phone - puzzling out, slowly, how to enter it into his device. "Crystal balls are superior to these foolish things," he muttered, finally achieving his goal, after a few minutes of misentering, beeping, and other strange lights and noises being produced by his 'smart' phone. Fortunately he was well versed in activating the strange, quasi-mystical device known as a cellphone, and soon enough was dialing Shae's number.
Generally Shae would have agreed with Shadow. In fact, she would have been amused to hear his aggravated mutterings. She'd eventually adapted to this technology -- at least enough to send texts and make calls -- and had chosen it since it seemed to be the more widely accepted method of communication. Little did she know her mentor might also be equally 'behind the times', as it were.
Ring Ring.
Today she was at the docks, and the vibration of the phone in her pocket required a careful setting down of her tools before she could fish it forth to answer.
Ring Ring.
The phone clicked over, treating Shadow to the sounds of wind and waves before: "Hello?"
If she could have seen him, she'd have seen the surprise which marked his features every time he successfully made a call, and a voice answered. He held the phone away from his ear to be sure he was deciphering the cryptic script on the screen properly, then drew it close to his mouth once more.
"Shae, this is Shadow. Been a little while, are you well? Am I keeping you from something?"
He tried to decipher the sounds beyond her, but he'd had enough experience with these phones to know sometimes it was just 'static' a strange seemingly mystical energy that affected technology frequently.
"Shadow!" Recognition warmed her voice. "Good, good. I was hoping my message at the orphanage would cross your desk eventually. It strikes me that we never truly established a means of reliable communication. We've been slacking, my mentor." Faint chuckling. Where she was, only the loudest of the distant voices would ever be caught by the speaker on the phone. More prominent might be the cries of a small flock of nearby terns. "I've the time to speak. How are you? Where have you and your household been living since the disaster on the Isle?"
A smile touched his lips at her jest, funnier because it was true. Granted, he had not anticipated the Isle's destruction, and had assumed that meetings at the Lagoon might work. Clearly they were both rather busy of late! "Never let any of the kids hear you call me a slacker, you might give them ideas. But quite right. Thank you for the phone number. Ah, Wilson is much happier now in the Dragon's Gate manor, which he considers a proper home, and Rumpelstiltskin never liked the Water tower much anyway. I was in fact babysitting on the night of the destruction, somewhat to my shame, but also relief. I'm glad you made it out alright."
Busy indeed. It just went to show that nothing was ever permanent. On a future meeting, she might provide him with a less complicated means of contact, provided she caught wind of his preferences. "I shall endeavor not to instill bad habits on my visits. Which, incidentally, is what I was wanting to get in touch with you to speak about. You know, beyond ascertaining that you and yours were alright." It still concerned her, that those in the farther towers might not have had the time to properly evacuate. "I came through just fine. Exhausted, but fine."
"I do appreciate the concern. You know, I am still able to enter the Tower itself. The view from any given window reminds one of an underwater maelstrom. I did not dare try to leave it, not that water is any barrier, but I could not determine the danger of attempting to leave the Tower's demesne." He paused, letting out a soft sigh. "Only time will tell us now what will be. And, you wished to speak with me about bad habits? Oh dear, what have I done?" Another unseen grin, though mirth was clear in his voice, alongside genuine curiosity. "Or, you wish to visit the Orphanage?"
"Really?" Surprise. Perhaps a note of intent interest, even. Questions were certainly swirling in her mind as a result. Such as: "Are you the only Keeper capable of accessing their tower? Or are the others likewise capable? Is transport between the towers possible, or is that still an unknown danger?" She caught herself before she went on and on.
"Not bad habits, per say. Though I'm sure I could lecture them on the dangers of intelligent items and how the ArCane might be slowly taking over your mind." Dryly delivered, but she was clearly joking. "Visits. I wished to speak to you about visits. I'm...touch and go where children are concerned, but I have something of a soft spot for orphans. I wanted to know if there was some way in which I could volunteer. Stories, teaching or mentorship, whatever is called for."
She'd returned him a host of questions, which his own revelations had of course engendered, and so he took them in order. "I do not know of Jesse, but Ahni can reach hers. Not sure about Neo. Travel between the Towers was never really something which could occur without express permission by both Keepers. Ah, you leave the ArCane out of this!" He chuckled softly. "Now then, there's the heart of it. Shae, I am *always* looking for help with the children. I've also just started a new, primarily youth-oriented dojo to teach various forms of self-defense. The magical arts included. You need merely tell me how you wish to contribute and I can see it done."
"Has Jesse been found to be alive?" Last she had heard, the fire keeper was still missing after the portal had closed. "A relief if so, things were looking dire there for a while." A moment of quiet on her end. "I only asked about the transport between towers because, well...if they are stable enough for visitation amidst the chaos, it tends to imply that they are something like anchors. Or could be modified as such. Perhaps...networked efforts with a keeper in each tower. Maybe mages in support. Maybe a coven casting of that scale would allow for the framework of the Isle to be reestablished. Order restored, or at least a region stabilized from which to assess the damage. Hard to say without more information."
"Let's leave the Isle matters for the moment. The existence of the End Bringer indicates that greater powers than even the Keepers are at work, and I have no hard evidence. What you say sounds applicable, but even I cannot tell whether interference at this point would be anything but harmful." He let out another breath, focusing on the matter at hand, the matter he could control.