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Description

Word Count: 865

Suijin is a grimsby grove NPC

11/525 Acorns

Acorn Tracker
~~~ ~~~

“Again!” Angus's voice came from somewhere behind him, where exactly he didn’t want to know. As long as it wasn’t at him just yet, he was fine. Class had started not that long ago, so plenty of other folk were also struggling like he was. The only problem was that most of them sounded to at least have gotten their water out of the cup and were trying to make their way through the paper mazes set before them. William had one finger dipped into his water, swirling it almost absent mindedly but staring at it as though he was ready for it to bite him any second, still trying to coax the liquid into floating out of the cup at the very least.

Sure, his mind was still elsewhere, but after the response he’d gotten from finally getting a chance to speak with the dark gray folk he’d been anxiously watching the previous two weeks in class, on top of everything that came afterwards, he couldn’t bear to face him again. Besides, this week took a lot more-

“Get yer head outta the clouds and get it through the course before it ends up somewhere else!” William practically jumped out of his skin, grappling for his little cup of water before it could spill. His chest pounding, he turned to face Angus, but the old folk was already walking away. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself again, resisting the urge to look around at anyone else. He shook off the dampness from his previous hesitation and stared intensely at his designated water now.

The trouble he was having was that any magic he cast before was more physical: from his previous life, he either had to think of something to change his physical form or he’d have to put his hands onto something for magic to just sort of happen as far as he could tell. And then again here: magic just came easier to him when he could put his hands to something and think of what would happen. He flexed his hands now, even shook them out as though that would help, as he continued to… hesitate. Or maybe psych himself up? This simply worked to draw someone else’s attention instead.

Once again, he jumped as he was approached, but this time he’d accidentally frozen the water as the Druid who had been overlooking the class alongside Angus stood by his side. “Are you having trouble? I understand it might be difficult since it’s not your home magic.” The fishy Folk looked down at William’s hands in time to see him letting the magic surrounding them dissipate. William wasn’t sure what the look meant, still unsure if his coming from an alternate world was meant to be a secret or not. He looked down at the frozen water sheepishly, still unsure whether he was being made fun of or if this folk was really just this genuine, seemingly the total opposite of Angus.

“I’m just… having a bit of trouble.” William said with a chuckle, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck while Suijin righted the cup and reversed the ice back into water for him. Suijin smiled at him kindly in response afterwards, stirring old memories of someone from the past, vanishing as quickly as it had come. William felt himself relax a bit seeing this. “Is there some special trick to it? Or am I just bad at this?”

Suijin laughed at this. “I’ve seen kits do worse. And there’s no real ‘trick’, you just need to…”

From there, Suijin helped William with his magic, first helping him practice getting the water out of the cup without having to touch it, then to move it between them back and forth. Now with a bit of practice (and much less freezing occurring), Suijin left him to attempt the course on his own. He still failed, several times over and gaining an earful or two from the old sharp-toothed folk, but with each reset of the course, William grew more determined.

Finally, when he reached the end of the maze, he almost questioned where the rest of it might have been before he actually realized he’d done it. His short fur was fairly soaked from the chest down from his failed attempts, but he puffed out his chest proudly as though the dampness was his badge of honor and smiled confidently as he confirmed with both the magic teachers that he was finally successful and could walk free.

William now allowed himself to look around the classroom, deciding he was too curious about who he knew that might still be here. It had been longer than he’d thought, as half the class was already gone, Zel included. He did spot Breve at one table, still trying at it, water on the floor surrounding him. Having stopped before the door, Suijin gave him a curious look while Angus looked on from another point in the room with a suspicious glare. William glanced at Breve again, apparently reaching a conclusion in his mind with a small smile he couldn’t withhold, and nodding another thanks to Suijin.

He then stepped outside.

Description

Word Count: 865

Suijin is a grimsby grove NPC

11/525 Acorns

Acorn Tracker
~~~ ~~~

“Again!” Angus's voice came from somewhere behind him, where exactly he didn’t want to know. As long as it wasn’t at him just yet, he was fine. Class had started not that long ago, so plenty of other folk were also struggling like he was. The only problem was that most of them sounded to at least have gotten their water out of the cup and were trying to make their way through the paper mazes set before them. William had one finger dipped into his water, swirling it almost absent mindedly but staring at it as though he was ready for it to bite him any second, still trying to coax the liquid into floating out of the cup at the very least.

Sure, his mind was still elsewhere, but after the response he’d gotten from finally getting a chance to speak with the dark gray folk he’d been anxiously watching the previous two weeks in class, on top of everything that came afterwards, he couldn’t bear to face him again. Besides, this week took a lot more-

“Get yer head outta the clouds and get it through the course before it ends up somewhere else!” William practically jumped out of his skin, grappling for his little cup of water before it could spill. His chest pounding, he turned to face Angus, but the old folk was already walking away. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself again, resisting the urge to look around at anyone else. He shook off the dampness from his previous hesitation and stared intensely at his designated water now.

The trouble he was having was that any magic he cast before was more physical: from his previous life, he either had to think of something to change his physical form or he’d have to put his hands onto something for magic to just sort of happen as far as he could tell. And then again here: magic just came easier to him when he could put his hands to something and think of what would happen. He flexed his hands now, even shook them out as though that would help, as he continued to… hesitate. Or maybe psych himself up? This simply worked to draw someone else’s attention instead.

Once again, he jumped as he was approached, but this time he’d accidentally frozen the water as the Druid who had been overlooking the class alongside Angus stood by his side. “Are you having trouble? I understand it might be difficult since it’s not your home magic.” The fishy Folk looked down at William’s hands in time to see him letting the magic surrounding them dissipate. William wasn’t sure what the look meant, still unsure if his coming from an alternate world was meant to be a secret or not. He looked down at the frozen water sheepishly, still unsure whether he was being made fun of or if this folk was really just this genuine, seemingly the total opposite of Angus.

“I’m just… having a bit of trouble.” William said with a chuckle, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck while Suijin righted the cup and reversed the ice back into water for him. Suijin smiled at him kindly in response afterwards, stirring old memories of someone from the past, vanishing as quickly as it had come. William felt himself relax a bit seeing this. “Is there some special trick to it? Or am I just bad at this?”

Suijin laughed at this. “I’ve seen kits do worse. And there’s no real ‘trick’, you just need to…”

From there, Suijin helped William with his magic, first helping him practice getting the water out of the cup without having to touch it, then to move it between them back and forth. Now with a bit of practice (and much less freezing occurring), Suijin left him to attempt the course on his own. He still failed, several times over and gaining an earful or two from the old sharp-toothed folk, but with each reset of the course, William grew more determined.

Finally, when he reached the end of the maze, he almost questioned where the rest of it might have been before he actually realized he’d done it. His short fur was fairly soaked from the chest down from his failed attempts, but he puffed out his chest proudly as though the dampness was his badge of honor and smiled confidently as he confirmed with both the magic teachers that he was finally successful and could walk free.

William now allowed himself to look around the classroom, deciding he was too curious about who he knew that might still be here. It had been longer than he’d thought, as half the class was already gone, Zel included. He did spot Breve at one table, still trying at it, water on the floor surrounding him. Having stopped before the door, Suijin gave him a curious look while Angus looked on from another point in the room with a suspicious glare. William glanced at Breve again, apparently reaching a conclusion in his mind with a small smile he couldn’t withhold, and nodding another thanks to Suijin.

He then stepped outside.