Merlin had his nose buried in a book about dragon anatomy and their growth cycle when he heard someone walking down one of the larger aisles. "For anyone in this section, it's almost fifth bell. Just to let you know!" What had to be the librarian who spoke moved off, probably to deliver their message to the dozens of other silent sections.
He almost ignored the warning completely, so engrossed was he in his book. But it tickled a memory in the back of his mind. 'Wonderful! I'll leave you to get acquainted with the city today, but I'll expect to see you at fifth bell tomorrow in Prana House…'
He sprang up as if stung, hastily marking his page in his book and shoving the others onto the re-shelving rack before sprinting off for the stairs. In his excitement about the massive stores of magical knowledge he now had access to, he had completely forgotten about his promise to study magic with Eldert at Prana House.
He flew down the tight spirals of the wrought iron stairs to the main floor, then took off through the stacks at a run. It was a few stacks latter that his haste caused him to barrel headlong into an elderly librarian carrying a teetering pile of books. He managed to save her from toppling over, but the books she was carrying, as well as his own, fell to the floor.
"What do you think your doing? Charging through the stacks like a maniac!" snapped the brisk librarian as he scrambled to retrieve the fallen books, apologizing profusely.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was going. Did I hurt you?" he asked hesitantly as he handed her the books. She paid him no mind as she snatched them back, going over the spines of each one to check for any damage.
"Your lucky none of these were damaged," she said, producing a wooden ruler from somewhere and brandishing it in his face. "Do not let me catch to charging through the stacks again. I'm letting you off the hook this time, but if I catch you again, I won't be so lenient." She waved the ruler in front of his face some more, making plain her threat of punishment if he was caught again.
He mumbled another apology as he bent to retrieve his own book and turned, walking away as quickly as he could without actually running. He stopped off at the reception desk in the atrium to hand over his book, asking them to hold it for him until he came back latter today to pick it up. It wasn't until he reached the main doors that he risked sprinting off again.
'It's a good thing I asked for directions to Prana House this morning before I left the rooming house,' he thought as he dashed around the people milling around the streets.
He turned down a deserted side street, allowing himself to run off at full tilt, hoping not to be late for his first ever true magic lesson. As he turned another corner, he heard a concerned squawk from above him, and glanced up to see Aithusa trailing him through the air.
'What's wrong?' she asked while he continued running. 'Why are you in such a hurry?'
'I'm going to be late to meet Eldert and learn magic. I lost track of time at the library.'
'You've never really minded being late for things before…'
'Yes, well, I was never in that much of a hurry to have goblets thrown at my head then, was I?' He felt her slight amusement while she continued to follow him.
With his headlong sprint, he was able to make it to Prana House in the outer ring of the city just as the fifth bell rang. He skidded to a halt and leaned against the building, gasping for breath while trying to massage out the burning stitch in his side. Aithusa landed next to him and nuzzled his leg as he recovered.
The doors of the House opened and people filled out in groups of twos and threes, chatting animatedly between themselves. As they passed, many noticed Aithusa at his side and pointed her out to their companions. The volume of chatter dropped off a little, making the curious whispers more noticeable as people passed, trying not to be too obvious while they ogled him being nuzzled affectionately by a dragon. Once he got his breath back, Aithusa reclaimed her spot on his shoulder.
'Did you have a good hunt?' he asked, trying to ignore the stairs he was now getting. He hated being the centre of attention. It wasn't a safe place to be.
'I did,' said Aithusa. 'But I had to go pretty far to find any prey with how cold the surrounding mountains are.'
As the crowds leaving Prana House lessened, he slipped through the doors into the entrance hall, trying desperately to ignore the people around him. The building was far less sumptuous than the library had been, being built of large slabs of blue-gray stone rather than white. There were still the odd finely carved details here and there, but they numbered much fewer and were always a part of a feature which was otherwise completely practical. Ahead of him were large barn doors, with a small open doorway to the side allowing the smell of horses to spill out. He could hear the odd bray and whinny, as well as the calls of other barn animals. To his left was another hall filled with the sounds of hawks, eagles, and rustling feathers. He spotted a few cats sulking around, looking despondently at the large birds as if whishing they were smaller so they could catch themselves a snack.
The last few stragglers were coming from the much smaller hallway to his right.
"Merlin! Hello again, and welcome to Prana House."
He turned to see Eldert approach from the barn, the odd bit of straw stuck in his hair. He tried valiantly to hold back a grin at the sight. Aithusa let out a funny chirping hum that he knew was meant to cover her laughter, though he doubted Eldert would recognize it for what it was.
"Hello to you too," said Eldert to Aithusa before turning back to him. "I'm glad you could make it."
"I almost didn't," he managed to say with a straight face.
Eldert raised a curious eyebrow while they shook hands. "Any why might that be?"
He smiled a little ruefully at his own forgetfulness. "I lost track of time in the library. If someone hadn't have come by and mentioned the hour, I would have completely forgotten to come. As it was, I had to run the whole way here to make it on time."
Eldert let out a loud bark of laughter. "You ran all the way here from the library!? You've certainly got more stamina than me kid, if I'd have tried that I'd be nothing more than an exhausted puddle on the floor."
"I did have a nasty stitch in my side by the time I got here," he pointed out graciously.
Eldert chuckled again. "I have no doubt." He looked ready to throw his arm around his shoulders, but glanced at Aithusa and seemed to think better of it. "For future reference, time slips past most people in the library, and the clerks are not the most observant about the hour either. It's best not to go if you have somewhere else to be latter. Oh, and don't fret too much about being late. Most people around here have a very lose sense of time. You'll fit right in, I assure you, by being a little late."
Eldert motioned for him to follow and led him off down the hall the crowds had just left.
"So what am I actually going to be doing today?" he asked as they walked.
"Today I think you'd be best served by us figuring out what you already know and what areas you'll need the most help in," explained Eldert as he led them into what looked like a very messy office filled with books, random pieces of horse tack, falconry tools, and other paraphernalia for training animals. He moved a stack of horseshoes from a chair and sat while Eldert rummaged through the detritus looking for something.
"Who were the people leaving as I got here?" he asked after several minutes of watching.
Eldert stopped his continuous grumbles about never being able to find what he was looking for to answer him. "Those were the other members of Prana House. At least the ones still in training. Well, the ones still in classes who haven't yet reached apprenticeship status."
"So your school offers classes and apprenticeships for learning magic?" he asked as Aithusa moved to his lap.
Eldert nodded before letting out a triumphant exclamation, having finally found what he was looking for. He grabbed a book sitting squished beneath a teetering pile of office detritus and yanked it out. It took a moment for the pile to release it's hold, but then it flew out, almost causing Eldert to topple over backwards and making the pile slip sideways and spill everywhere. He stood looking forlornly at the mess for a moment before giving a defeated sigh and turning his back on it.
'He doesn't seem very organized, does he?' commented Aithusa while Eldert cleared himself a seat.
He tried really hard not to snort or burst out laughing. 'No, he doesn't,'
"My school holds classes for those just learning or trying to hone their skills in the earth-based magic we study. Apprenticeships are for people who have mastered the basics and want to learn how to apply their skills practically. You become a full-fledged member of Prana House when whomever your apprenticing with decides your ready."
"Why didn't you have me start in the classes if they're already for people just learning magic?"
"I didn't have you do that because they are designed for people working from the ground up. From what I saw at the eyrie yesterday, you have already figured out at least some earth-magic for yourself, even if you never realized that was what you were doing. I thought you'd be better served if we were to first figure out what you can already do, and then decide where to put you in the school."
So they worked for the rest of the day through all of the concepts and lessons that were taught at the school. He found that while he never knew any of it before, he did not have any trouble understanding once it was explained. What the day consisted of more than anything was filling in the gaps and sharpening his understanding of how and why certain things worked, rather than just accepting it one way or the other. Eldert sometimes used his book to introduce or explain certain topics, other times he would pose questions about how he would react in a given scenarios. He explained about how it was easy for him to manage animals that others found too rowdy, and how he was always able to find even the rarest herbs whenever Giaus sent him out collecting. He just always knew where to look for them.
"I think we could safely put you in an apprenticeship today," said Eldert happily once the sun had started to sink back towards the mountains.
He felt a spike of self-doubt shoot through him for a moment. Yes, he had had no trouble understanding anything they went over that day, but he didn't believe he was really as good as Eldert seemed to believe he was. "Do you…maybe have an advanced level class that I can join first?" he asked hesitantly.
Eldert scrutinized him with intense eyes while Aithusa nuzzled his hand to get his attention. 'What are you so afraid of? You haven't had any trouble with the magic today,' she prodded. He didn't bother to give her an answer.
"I do not believe you need take any classes," said Eldert carefully. "But if you really don't feel able, we have a more advanced class tomorrow you could take part in. It starts at fourth bell and runs every other day."
"Thank you. I think I'll do that then."
They shook hands and he made to leave, Aithusa returning again to his shoulder. Eldert inclined his head a little sadly at him. "Then it'll be up to the professor to decide what to do with you."
He said goodbye and Aithusa chirped in farewell.
He walked in relative silence back towards the rooming house. 'Merlin?' prodded Aithusa into the silence.
'Yeah,'
'Why are you doubting yourself so much?'
Once again he did not offer her any answer, though he couldn't stop his thoughts and feelings from flowing through their connection to her.
'You know you've always been able to do what you've needed to, even when you didn't fully understand what you were doing,'
He hugged her to himself as he walked. It was the only response he could give, especially when he disagreed. She knew his real thoughts, he was sure, but didn't press him any further on the matter.
AN: Magic School! I like Prana House being all disorganized and Eldert just straight up giving up on it and leaving it be.
So what do you guys think of the stuff going on here? Merlin's really excited about learning magic, but it doesn't look like he's very confident about his abilities.
Let me know what you think! And thanks to everyone who reads and/or leaves a review.
May the water warm you.