[Vinsue] One Cog Moves Another

[Vivian]

TIME STAMP

She came from such humble beginnings yet was rattling off how to do...things he had no idea about...without blinking. The daughter of a barmaid and a factory worker? Vivian chewed his food as he guided her back to his room, shutting the door behind him. Something wasn't adding up. A kid wanting books on Artificing instead of, who knew...candy was all he'd wanted at her age. Well, candy and someone who gave half a shit. If her mother was a barmaid and her father a factory worker, why was she here in Amoren? How did she get this far on her own? He eyed her suspiciously, putting his book on the desk in his room.

"Only if you tell me where you picked up those acting skills, kid." Vivian said slowly. "Some things aren't piecing together for me, but you've got your secrets and I've got mine. You teach me how to use these formulae..." he patted the book on the desk. "And I'll happily teach you how to be a thief. We can even steal some things from Lucas; he doesn't mind, I steal things from him all the damn time and I'll put them back. Your main concern will be dodging the Veir. They're a sadistic pair, those two. You keep out of sight. Shoes off in the house, heel toe it, and be careful how you creep around. Yeah?"

Vivian dug in his pockets and set the food on his desk, sighing and looking at her. "My name's Vivian, by the way. Vivian Kreine, Master Malformist."

[Vinsue]

"Easy. Samie, one of the guys that didn't mind my questions back at mom's bar. He was an actor who was a very fun drunk. He thought I would make a cute addition to one of his plays. He taught me what he could before mom put a stop to it." She shrugged honestly. She would hide her bag under his bed and pull out her new book.

He was being suspicious. And well she figured he would have been. He seemed to have trust problems anyway and well she was relying on the fact he assumed she was a kid.

"OK, I'm sorry I lied. They didn't send me off to school. They died in a terrible accident involving a golem. I figured if I studied enough then I could find out what went wrong and prevent someone else from dying. But I don't want everyone knowing I'm an orphan. And it's much sadder than being sent off." She smiled and clapped her hands as he agreed to the proposed trade. She was more happy that they could practice without actually stealing anything. She felt bad enough about the book. But she could return hers later after she gets the information she needed.

"What is Veir? Are they like the people who look like rats and slaps people with measuring sticks just for fun?" She asked. She then nodded and started to eat another one of the food cake things she was given earlier

"Nice to meet you Vivian." She gave a quick laugh. "Our names start with the same letter. I'm Vin. Vinsue Tecknick. She said than realised "Malformist as in magic shapeshifter." She immediately took a few steps back. Most of her features become several shades lighter. As if she had seen a spider she began to mumble. She had an absolutely tragic experience with a magic user. And of her mumbling the word 'no' was repeated several times along with the words 'he died." Any attempt to approach would be met with her backing away.

[Vivian]

TIME STAMP

Cheerful little thing despite her parents' death wasn't she? Vivian felt sympathetic, but he was also keenly aware that she had already sold him on one lie. She wasn't about to sell him on another. He folded his arms across his chest, wincing slightly. Alright, that was going to be off limits in the future as his chest became more and more sensitive. Just another way he missed having a Mentalist around....check that. Degare would have pulled it from her throat whether she wanted to or not. Poor little thing. "If that's truly what happened to you this time...I'm sorry that happened." Vivian told her earnestly. At least she was happy about the trade, and he now had a mathematics tutor. Gods, he hoped she didn't snore.

His face became a little more serious when she asked what a Veir was. "Clearly you haven't been here very long. A Veir is a lord, in service to the Entente and usually powerful mages. They're unilaterally vicious, and usually just out for themselves. I'm in service to this house and this Veir, I can't leave or I risk becoming as homeless as you were." He said, trying to impart with his tone just how important this information was. "There is a woman with birds and a cold, deadly looking man wandering about. You keep away from them at all costs. Don't leave your things for them to find or engage them in conversation. Veirs are always looking for toys."

Vivian's face relaxed, and he smiled. "Vin and Vivian." he chuckled. Her face fell the minute he declared himself a mage, and she took a step back. She was pale as a ghost. Vivian's face fell too, when he realized what she was reacting to. "Listen to me. I don't like hurting people. I didn't choose this, girl. I was forced to become a Malformist when I was about your age, Initiated against my will. I...look, do you really think I'd take in a street urchin if I was like the monsters who own this house?" He sighed helplessly and gestured to his belly. "At least until my son arrives, I've got room to help folk."

[Vinsue]

"Don't worry. I'll stay away from them." She had said. More reason to not like mages. Particularly the ones known as Veir. The entirety of the information about them was all kinds of wrong. People are not toys nor should they be. People should not be slaves this included the you serve me or your lower than street scum idea. Maybe she should set up some unpleasant contraption. That thought left her as fast as it came. That was an incredibly stupid idea.

Now back to the fact she was mere feet away from a mage. Of all things he could have said, I don't like hurting people. This implies two things when one is scared. First, he does hurt people. And secondly a possible threat. Yes it was likely irrational but logic often vanishes with trauma. He was a master which meant he could initiate others. His words confirmed that one can be initiated against their will. This was not helping. Actually it was making it worse.

"All I know about you is you're a thief. You have mood swings and you're a master magic person. I don't know what you would want with a street kid." She was beginning to shake. "The monsters who own this house like toys, you said so yourself. How am I to know you don't want me as a toy?" She sat down crossing her arms as she began to cry. Lies and tricks from a magic person killed her best friend. And now it was possible she would also be forced into something that she did not want. Something that would probably kill her.

She knew that the gods would punish her. She did bad things and asked to get better at them. Apparently the gods did not care that she was trying to learn these skills to help with the clogs' mission to find their lost kingdom. She was beginning to think about asking for forgiveness but that almost always made things worse

[Vivian]

TIME STAMP

Vivian sighed and sat down on the floor with her. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t want her to bolt. If she ran through this house she really would be a toy for the Veirs and that was the furthest thing he wanted. “Listen to me, little one. How do you think I ended up in this house? I was trapped here, by the man who used to own it. This particular monster was named Degare. He was…troubled. He was going to torture me until he saw the mark on my spine. He insisted I give it to him, so I was to stay here until I was a Master and I could give him the mark.”

He spoke in a gentle tone of voice, keeping his distance. “Malformists seek to understand the world around them by experiencing it through another’s eyes. Some of my kind want to force this on others but I had this mark forced on me. I survived. I never want someone to experience that.” He said softly. “I want to understand and help the world, not harm the people in it. Certainly not someone like you. Magic isn’t cruel or evil. It’s the people who wield it like that. Is a hammer mean because the man holding it uses it to hurt folks, or is it the man who holds the hammer?”

Vivian reached out to her, offering his hand. “I know you’re frightened. Probably because of mages that hurt you. I’m not going to hurt you. My magic is built around understanding the small and misunderstood. It’s not built around terrifying little girls.” He said, in what he hoped was a soothing way.

[Vinsue]

Vinsue expected something to happen. Hands to grab her or to be changed into a worm or something. But no. Instead the other sat on the floor across from her. Then he spoke soft and distant about how he came to use the magic. He was forced by a mean man who wanted to learn magic. Even so he said he used it to understand.

She peaked over her arms and looked at him. Hiding them again when he looked at her. She being a blacksmith she could never use a hammer as a weapon. A hammer was like a pen, a tool used to create and never as a weapon but some use it quite effectively as one. The hammer itself was a very unforgiving tool. One that was quick to teach you a lesson if you mishandled it And suddenly she understood what he meant. She would look at him again and then at his hand. She would eventually wipe her eyes.

"You promise not to force me into magic." She said then eyed him as she awaited an answer. She then would take his hand. "Magic killed my best friend," she said. "He was going to be the best storyteller Dagrun," She said. She would have the mark if it wasn't for him going first. But he would not be dead if they would have been aware of the dangers beforehand.

She thought of some of the things he said. "Are you a slave to this house?" She asked. He had mentioned being trapped and that leaving this place would make him homeless again. She may not be as scared as she was now but her nerves were still shot all the same. She got up deciding to distract herself by looking through her new book. But quickly realized it was hard to read with wet eyes so she put the book back up.

[Vivian]

She hid, looked at him warily, and Vivian could see the cogs moving in her head. Finally, she spoke. He smiled in return. "Easiest promise I've ever made." he said earnestly. He never wanted to force an Initiation or be forced. When someone was worthy of Malformity they would come to him. They would be empathetic, show connection to the creatures most ignored or feared, and submit themselves to Vivian as a teacher. He had learned from Degare's mistakes. He wasn't going to be cruel, or domineering. He was going to be fair, and decent. He shook her hand.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "Some mages don't care how they initiate or what that might do to a person. Not everyone can survive it and many don't. Even so, still others aren't worthy of it. I believe mages who pay attention to their pupils could stand to learn something, and see if they can spot a failed Initiation before it begins. Here, let me show you something." He leaned under the bed, and considered her question. "Not a slave. I do have rights, and to be quite frank I'm very dangerous when pressed. But I don't have money, or a home, or any way of supporting myself. I have to stay here."

Vivian pulled out a small box, and settled it in his lap. "See this? This was going to be my master's initiation before he disappeared. Don't be afraid; it doesn't do anything. Not now. He wasn't worthy of it anyway, the cold bastard." He opened it to show her. The caterpillar inside was writhing painfully, in the last stages of death. The wasp larvae inside wriggled under the skin, competing for the last scraps of meat that weren't vital to the still-breathing caterpillar. He shut the lid and laid it aside. "Initiations are very intimate. Very secretive. They're dangerous, for both Initiate and Initiator. It takes a long ritual, and a sort of...catalyst, at least for my magic. I am tied to insects. Thus, the poor caterpillar. When the wasps hatch I'll let them mate and raise another generation until someone's worthy of the gift." He shrugged, and smiled. "See? Nothing to be afraid of."

[Vinsue]

She was learning that she had a lot that she did not know. Using malformity was to understand the misunderstood. She had no clue that magic could be used as good like that. But she was still cautious nonetheless. Honestly so far this pregnant man had been helping her. Food, shelter, theft. But one was to wonder what would happen if he ever found out she was an adult. Just a gnome not a human. He was so kind and had some interesting ideas. If the man who killed her friend had been able to read his worthiness before actually initiating him, her friend would still be alive. They would be together as a team, and she would not be so afraid of magic.

She simply watched him get something under the bed. Curiosity took hold. What could he be getting out from under the bed? Was it another book? Could it be a trinket? She liked trinkets and was determined to start collecting them. But they were expensive and hard to find.

He responded to her question about him being a slave and understood. "So you're here because the alternative is far worse. Would you leave if you had somewhere else to go?" She asked. Whatever he answered she would remember.

She saw the box and curiosity struck again. Such a small box. A Initiation into Malformity. What could that be? She crowed closer so she could look in the box. She had not taken time to learn anything about the magics. Therefore she believed just about anything could be in that box. That said a bug was not something she was expecting. She tilted her head slightly confused but watched it.

The bug was hurt which caused her to frown. She noticed it's skin crawl and she sat back about the same time he closed the box. Why would he show a scard kid that? Then he spoke and she understood. "It looks so dangerous and yet you would be willing to be the dying caterpillar?"

[Vivian]

Vivian's mouth quirked. "If I had the opportunity? Maybe. I would need somewhere safe for my things." he shrugged, and watched her reaction to the box. She seemed a bit disturbed by it, but that was usual. He shut the box carefully and set it back, raising an eyebrow at her question. "No. It's a metaphor. The wasp uses a barb to put eggs in the caterpillar. The eggs hatch, incubated by the caterpillar's warmth, eating its flesh. They save the most critical organs for last, calculated and careful, until they are ready to age and grow." He said softly. "My magic is the egg. The man, or woman, I initiate is the caterpillar. It is up to them whether they descend into madness and mageblight or harness it and burst into glory. Transformation is a critical part of my magic. Both the caterpillar and the wasp represent transformation in very different ways."

Vivian smiled. "Alright kid. Show me some of the theorems there, and I'll show you how to steal right from under cook's nose. You're going to learn two principle things about robbing people; timing, and stealth. Knowing your own resources and how to utilize them is critical." he reached out and patted her shoulder. He pulled down his book, and flicked it open. "Alright, tell me what the fuck these letters are in math. This is....2x+5=y. How the shit does something equal y? How do I solve for x with this? What does solving for x even mean? What the shit does this have to do with engineering..."

[Vinsue]

A bug was a gross example but it seemed to fit all the things he was talking about. So appropriate, yes. But still gross. It even represented both possibilities of death or success.


And then he mentioned math and theft. Timing and stealth. Timing she would get easily she thought but stealth may be a little harder. She did stand out in this area by being a redhead and a gnome. And she never had another reason to be stealthy. But hopefully he will be a good teacher. Now to the other half. Something she was good at. She smiled. Ready for the lesson. 2x+5=y. He was starting with a rather complicated idea. "First rule of math always have something to write on and with." She looked at the book and saw the graph beside the equation. "The x and y are dot positions on a graph. Like quadrants on a map." She would point to the map "they can represent just about anything. Five is where the line crosses the x if y is 0." 



She could see that she was already losing her student. "OK. Real world example. Say your caterpillar is 5 cm long when it hatched and it grows 2 cm each day. You need to know how long will it be in 5 days?" She let him have time to think. "In this case y represents length which is what we are trying to find. Therefore y will stay y. X represents days. You know the information you need is day 5. So you replace x with the five. So 5 times 2 is?" She would allow time for the answer. "So 5 times 2 is 10. So it is now 10cm longer than it was when it hatched. But you want to know its total length. It began at 5cm. Do you add 5 cm to the 10 cm. 5 and 10 equals 15 so in this case y equals 15 cm on the fifth day." 


"To solve for x you need to know how long you want the caterpillar to be. Let's say that for the wasp to have the best growth it's host must be 11 cm long. So this time we know y is 11. That makes your equation 2x+5=11. We can't solve for x with all the numbers on that side so we move the numbers over to the other side by undoing the math and balancing the equation. So to get rid of 5 we must subtract it from both sides. 5 less than 11 is?" She would again give time to answer. "That means your equation is now 2x= 6. Now we need to get rid of the 2. To do that we must undo the times by doing the opposite and dividing 2 by each side. So half of 6 is?" She would allow time for an answer. "Half of 6 is 3 so for your wasp to get the best nutritional value for your wasp is for it to hatch when the caterpillar is 3 days old. This math would mostly be used to see efficiency and size requirements." She said, "Before we get any farther where is the chalk board? It's much easier to show on a chalkboard."