Of Mage Girls and Thesonofthewarriorgarcias
Lute flicked her hands dismissively, and a roaring flame devoured the last enemy soldier stupid enough to even attempt to fight against her genius. Without even a second look, she walked away back towards the camp. The crackle of the flames, the thud of a body hitting the ground, and the clang of a dropped lance had reached her ears and informed her that this particular soldier would not be able to attack anyone anymore.
She had her mind set on seeing Artur now that this skirmish was over. The battlefield could be a lonely place, and it was for her. Human enemies were much less interesting than monsters. She was not in a particularly welcoming mood; the feeling was compounded by the fact that she was suffering her monthly bleeding again. Of course, she had told no one about that. Geniuses were not supposed to be affected by such minor things, after all.
A voice she recognized as belonging to the axeman-in-training Ross called out. "Hey, you!"
"Is he calling out to me or someone else?" she wondered. "I hope that that physique-obsessed maniac is not talking to me... I shall just pretend that I cannot hear him."
Stubbornly persistent, Ross's voice called out again. "You, over there!"
"It is rather difficult to determine the location of 'over there' when one is not looking towards the speaker..." Lute thought.
"Mage woman!"
She stopped cold in her tracks. A hot-blooded rush almost overcame her, but she successfully repelled the urge to roast that insolent boy for his insult right then and there. Geniuses were not supposed to be affected by such minor things, after all.
"Are you speaking to me? First, my name is not 'You', nor is it 'Mage woman'. Second, 'over there' serves extremely poorly for indicating a location, especially if the receipent cannot see you. Third, my hearing is perfectly fine; you do not have to shout in order to ensure that I hear your words. Fourth, it is very impolite to summon someone without identifying oneself first!" Her tone of voice conveyed the message that if someone asked her at that exact moment what she felt, she would have done away with the eloquent choice of vocabulary she normally prefered to employ and would simply have muttered: "pissed off".
Apparently Ross's brain was incapable of handling multiple tasks, for he only apologized for the lattermost item. "I'm Ross, the son of the warrior Garcia!"
Lute saw the opportunity to get back at him, and seized it for all it was worth. "So, you are 'Ross Thesonofthewarriorgarcia'. I must admit that that is a rather long, to say nothing of unusual, last name. In any case, I am Lute, mage prodigy extraordinaire. It would not surprise me in the least if you have previously heard of my famous self. Now, Mr. Thesonofthewarriorgarcia, how may I be of service to you?"
As a matter of fact, Ross thought that he had heard of the name "Lute" before, but he was unable to recall more. Ignoring that, he returned to his aim in the conversation, but not before reacting to her carefully worded attack.
"My name is ROSS! You're kinda weird... hey, you use magic, right?"
Connecting the dots, it was obvious that he was trying to draw a connection between magic and dottiness. This irked Lute even more.
"I suppose that that is one rather inaccurate way of putting it. I do not 'use' magic. I am the master of magic. Only a fool makes a mistake twice," Lute replied coolly, hoping that he would understand the underlying meaning of her last statement (that is, that he not make the same mistake again).
Apparently Ross did not understand, for he answered, "Wow, that's really great."
She was somewhat puzzled by this phrase until she remembered to account for his inferior brainpower. "Perhaps for one like you, it is. For me, however, it is merely the norm."
"Isn't it hard to remember all those spells?" Ross asked in something akin to awe.
Lute began to feel like she was lecturing to a child - which, she reminded herself, she actually was. "For the average person, that would probably be a difficult task. For me, it is only like adding the subtle hint of fragrance that makes the difference between a good cake and an excellent delicacy."
"I... I have no idea what that means." At his words, she had to consciously refrain from rolling her eyes because of his dumbness. "Wait a sec! Does it mean even me can learn magic?" he finished excitedly.
Apart from the improper grammar, Lute could not determine how Ross's logic had flowed. If he could not do even these most basic things... she immediately answered "no". There was no more to be gained or to be imparted from this conversation; she turned to leave.
"Hey! At least pretend to think about it before you answer!" he protested.
"Goodbye," she said, ignoring him as she resumed walking back towards the camp.
"Hey! Wait!" he called out again but this time she did not stop.
Geniuses were not supposed to be affected by such minor things, after all.
Author's Note:
In case you don't realize, this little piece is written from Lute's point of view. The thoughts, descriptions, etc. are, even though written in third person, from Lute.