"Um… what do you mean he can't go to the Keep?" Pheona said angrily, her hands on her hips as she looked up at the magi in front of her. Rynu glanced to his cousin with a wry smirk. It didn't matter to her that the magi she was arguing with was not only decades older than her, but was also a master of earth magic and one of the council of Magi from the Keep.
"I mean- he cannot learn to be a master of earth magic. You children would not understand." The man said gruffly, glancing at Rynu with distrust. "He has shown tendencies of dark magic and a short temper. That is a volatile and unsafe mix for a magi- and therefore, he will not be taught how to be a master of earth magic."
Rynu glared up at the man, his mouth pressed together to keep himself quiet in his anger. He couldn't help but feel frustrated and hurt that no one would allow him the same chances Pheona had- she had already been given as an apprentice to a fire magi.
Pheona let out a frustrated yell, her red eyes burning as she looked up at the magi. "That's stupid! Rynu is a nice guy- how could you say such horrible things about him? You don't even know him!" She yelled. Rynu set a hand on his cousins arm, telling her with a glance to stop making a scene.
"I'll be fine. I'll learn on my own." He said, giving the magi one last glare before pulling Pheona out of the room and shutting the door behind them.
"I cannot believe those people!" Pheona growled angrily. "You're just as much of a magi as the rest of us- why the hell can't you be taught earth magic? You're already better at it than I am with fire. You wouldn't even need as much training." Pheona said, staring at the door with blazing eyes.
Rynu couldn't help but feel flattered that Pheona- who was normally so calm and nice- was so angry about them not teaching him magic. She must really care for him.
"I'll be fine. I'll… learn somehow." He said, glancing to the floor uneasily. He didn't even know how to read- he didn't know how he would ever find out the right spells to use…
He felt a wriggle from inside the large pocket inside his jacket and took Medusa out, who was now long enough to wind around his forearm. She had sensed his unease and looked up at him through the small black cloth he had tied around her eyes ever since she had turned a bird into stone. He figured it was safer that way. He let Medusa slither around his arm, setting her head against the top of his hand.
"Really- don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." He said, to both of them.
Pheona looked to him and sighed in defeat. "Alright- but I'm still angry about it." She muttered, glancing at the door one last time before walking down the hallway.
Rynu sighed in boredom as he walked through the streets of Synara. Conintor had another of his… friends… over. He had left to save Conintor the trouble of having to explain why a child wasn't learning magic at the keep when he was obviously a magi.
The fact that he wasn't allowed to still made him bitter with rage. He should learn to accept it- that had been nearly half a year ago now, but it still angered him.
"Say kid, why aren't you with your master?" An older teenage boy grinned at Rynu from across the street.
Rynu ignored him, sending a warning glance his way before continuing walking down the street- he wanted to go to the tea shop to get some kiwi juice.
"They won't teach you, huh? How old are you- 12? You should already be learning beginning spells by now." The boy grinned cruelly as he walked beside Rynu.
"And why do you give a crap? Leave me alone." Rynu growled at the man, Medusa slithering to Rynu's shoulders and hissing and baring her fangs at the stranger.
"Woah- a basilisk! How do you have a basilisk? You're just a kid." The teenager looked at Medusa with wide eyes.
"Don't mess with her." Rynu said, stopping to glared at the other boy. The teenager smiled mischievously and made a grab for Medusa, the hatchling hissing in fear and hiding herself within Rynu's black tunic.
"I said leave her alone!" Rynu yelled in anger, turning and punching the boy in the face. The teenager fell to the ground with a groan, wiping the blood of his cheek from a bloody nose. He smiled up at Rynu in satisfaction.
"That's what I thought. You have dark magic in you, just like the rest of us. You should join with us- leave the rest of these goody goody magi to their spell books and enchantments. We can teach you real magic." The boy raised the sleeve of his shirt, revealing a long serpent moving against his skin- its red eyes glowed and fangs snapping together in threat. It looked like a tattoo of some sort- but obviously tattoos didn't move on their own.
Rynu couldn't help but be impressed. He had heard of powerful magic, but had never seen it before. Surely this had to be a spell cast by a master.
A master who was willing to teach him…
"Where are they?" Rynu said darkly, ignoring Medusa's hiss of horror against his neck.
The boy stood up, wiping more blood onto his sleeve and sniffed loudly. "Follow me." He said, and started walking down the street.
Rynu looked up at the large stone building in front of him, feeling intimidated by the sheer size of the structure. Medusa hissed in fear against his neck, shaking. He set a hand against her head reassuringly as he walked into the building after the teenager.
There were dozens of magi inside- and all of them looked up with glares when he walked in. Some were holding creatures, others were talking amongst themselves. In the middle of the room sat three baskets, eggs piled up in them carelessly.
"And who have you brought today, Carlile?" A smooth voice said, a man approaching them. He flipped back the black hood of his long robe, revealing a man with black hair and strangely enough- black eyes. It was like he had no emotions, and Rynu tried not to show the shiver that ran up his spine from that look.
"M-my name is Rynu." He said, wanting to curse at himself for stuttering.
"No need to be afraid, boy. You're welcome here." The man smiled down at him, and glanced to Carlile, who nodded and walked off to his duties. "My name is Demetre. I'm the leader of this particular branch of this group. Were you looking to have a teacher?"
Rynu nodded, not wanting to say anything else. This man was being too nice- it made him uneasy.
"Very well- Tam- would you come over here please?" Demetre waved over a red-headed younger man, who looked down at Rynu in surprise. Tam looked up at Demetre in question.
"This boy would like to learn magic… earth, I'm presuming?" Demetre glanced back down to Rynu.
Rynu nodded, looking up at Tam. He seemed different from the rest of them… Rynu nodded in answer to Demetre's question.
"Very good. Tam, please teach this child the basics of earth magic. After that I'll teach him." Demetre said, smiling down at Rynu. Rynu looked into Demetre's eyes, noticing a harsh cruelty in there that made him uneasy… what had he gotten himself into?