The King of Chaos (Peregrine x Andy)

Armen’s greeting seemed to cause Haliyah to almost shrink in on herself, shoulders hunching in as the fabric of her skirt swayed slightly. Even though the martial courtyard appeared open to the sky, granting everyone within a view of the golden leaves of the great tree, it was as well protected as the rest of the Patriarch’s house. There was no such thing as a stray breeze that could work its way into the courtyard. Therefore, the only possible source of Haliyah’s swaying skirt would be her own trembling legs.

Tucked away behind her back, her small hands balled into fists, nails momentarily biting into her skin. A moment later and she jerked her bent head up, meeting Armen’s eyes with a gaze that had gone from submissive to near-confrontational in a split second.

“...Hello!” she replied, words coming out with an explosive force that denied her anxiety. A moment later, and she grabbed the edges of her skirt, dipping down into a slightly shaky, but still proper, formal curtsy.

It was only when she looked back up that she spotted Armen’s outstretched hand. Her eyes went wide for an instant, before they strayed around the room, seeming to seek out something she clearly wasn’t able to find. Stuck between the dilemma of ignoring his gesture, or daring to take the initiative as a commoner to physically touch a member of the Albilon household, Haliyah could only tremble harder.

Eleric came to her rescue a moment later, patting her on the back in a way that caused her to take a stumbling step forward, causing her to all-but collide with Armen’s hand, which she grabbed unconsciously.

“Haliyah is the youngest daughter of a mayoral family here in the Snakescale Forest, and a rare dual aptitude mage, both wind and fire. As a wind mage myself, I’ve taken her on as my personal apprentice, and your mother requested she be trained alongside you.”

Although there were a lot of children in the Albilon household, and more than a few of them were close in age to Armen, none of them were the kind of people who could be brought into his training. Clearly his mother was hoping that pairing him with a child about his age would help Armen relax a little bit, instead of always pursuing his training with such intensity.

Haliyah curtsied again in response to Eleric’s introduction, still looking mildly panicked. Eleric glanced down at her sympathetically. “Would you be willing to see how much she knows, Armen? I know we’ve explored wind rather extensively in your training, and have touched on fire, so you should be able to get a good sense for both her skills and knowledge of mana theory.”
 
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As Armen stood there with his hand outstretched waiting for this clearly frightened girl to say something to him or..anything..for that matter..he couldn't help but wonder how in the world someone like her was here. He wasn't going to say that she wasn't welcome or anything like that but..if she was this hard up on even saying hi to him how in the world was she going to take on any of the training that Eleric was going to put her through? However that changed a moment later when she suddenly glared up into his eyes like he had done something wrong and said the most confrontational hello that he had ever heard in either of his two lives.

When Eleric introduced her properly though it began to make sense and his own eyes lit up a bit in response. A dual apptitude..that did explain everything right there especially considering they were for wind and fire. With Wind being Eleric's area of expertise it only made sense that he would be the perfect teacher for her..so he couldn't deny that he was excited to learn more and see more of what this girl could do because of her dual aptitude..however there was a small part of him that was a little frustrated that she was a wind user and that only meant that they were going to start going over wind magic yet again..that just seemed to be where most of their focus was..yes it made sense but there was only so much he could learn from wind magic at this point until he had actually cracked the mana configuration and was able to start using it regularly like Eleric could..and that was honestly what he spent most of his time doing..trying to figure out the way that the wind mana moved and how to manipulate it properly..but it was definitely a lot harder then he initially thought it would be. It was actually quite frustrating how hard it was to learn and use a type of mana that you didn't have an aptitude for..but he wasn't going to give up..he had to learn as much as he could he had to break the limits that this world had set upon itself and prove to the Goddess that he had been the right choice for this mission.

Turning his attention back to the girl..no..his new training partner Haliyah he would give her a gentle smile and nod his head "I'd love to see what she can do..that is if she's willing to show me what she knows so far. Besides even if she isn't I look forward to learning and growing beside her. It'll be a lot more fun with two people training together instead of just one."
 
"Good," Eleric replied, his head bobbing a few times. He had no doubt that this was precisely Lian's intentions when she'd requested to have Haliyah join Armen's training. While Eleric had always been pleased with the maturity and dedication of his student, he was also aware that he was not looking at it from the perspective of a mother.

To Lian, it was quite likely that Armen's near obsession with magic was quite worrisome, especially since Eleric had heard many rumors that she'd caught Armen staying up late into the night, repeating the things that Eleric had taught him that day over and over and over again. Doubtless, Lady Lian was hoping that having someone his own age around would help Armen get to experience a childhood a little bit.

And, although Eleric would never admit it, he was also glad that Armen would have someone else to focus his attention on. Sometimes even Eleric himself ended up slightly overwhelmed by the boy's genius, and as proud as he was to have been called the boy's teacher, it was likely that he would soon graduate from Eleric's tutelage. He would have to go on to a larger playing field, with even more skilled teachers.

Eleric knelt down in front of Haliyah, watching the girl briefly dip her head, before she forced herself to look up into his eyes and smile.

"I'm going to go talk to the patriarch and find out where you're going to be staying, alright? You stay here, and listen to Armen."

Haliyah nodded, and Eleric stood once more. He nodded to Armen, before walking back out of the training room.

Haliyah tugged lightly at her skirt, glancing at Armen before dropping her eyes once more. In truth, she was very curious about this new 'training partner' of hers. She'd heard that he was the greatest genius in the Albilon family, and that the adults had great expectations for him. But Haliyah also knew full well that, despite her title of being his partner, she was not his equal.

In her mind, she saw her mother's eyes, filled with mixed expectation and worry as she stared at Haliyah and spoke to her gently. If she did well, if she was able to enter into service with the Albilon family in the future, it would help her family and their town flourish. However, if she made a mistake and got kicked out, it would likely spell catastrophe not only for her, but also for her family and maybe even for their whole town. She couldn't let that happen.

That's why she had to be polite. That's why she always had to be on her best behavior. She would, she would.

The silence stretched on.
 
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Armen would watch his new training partner in silence for a moment after Eleric left. Clearly the girl was nervous beyond belief..likely because she was from a small town or something along those lines and she felt like she was A. under a lot of pressure from her family and her village to do well and if she did then she would help bring some prosperity to them, and B. because she felt like she didn't belong here..she probably didn't feel like she was worthy enough to be taught how to use magic from Eleric..let alone to be Armen's training partner. So..he needed to figure out a way to break her out of her shell..and allow her to be herself. But how was the question..he honestly wasn't sure..

After another moment of silence Armen would give her a gentle smile and step towards her and offer her his hand again in a friendly handshake "Hey um..look..I don't want you to be nervous around me..ok? I..I really could use some help understanding some of Eleric's lessons and if your as talented as Eleric says you are..I could really use your help to understand them better. And I really think that I could help you get better too. I um..I just want to learn and have fun while doing it, and I think it'll be a lot more fun learning together then learning by ourselves don't you? So..if you don't mind I'd like it if we could be friends and..if you would be willing to show me what you can do. I'm really interested to see just what you've learned so far and pick at your brain for some tips..because Eleric's lessons sometimes are hard to understand..It's like he forgets I'm still a kid sometimes and starts talking like I've been doing this ever since I was born." A little humor right there because secretly he had been doing this before he was born..so if you counted that time in he probably had her beat by twice as long in terms of experience in that sense..but he knew he still had a lot to learn..but he also knew he wasn't going to learn properly if this girl was constantly a nervous wreck around him..
 
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Haliyah gulped slightly as Armen extended his hand towards her again, uncertain what he wanted. They'd already shaken hands once. Kind of. Did he want something from her? Was she supposed to have brought a first meeting gift?

She was jolted out of her circling thoughts by the sound of Armen's voice. Eleric's words instantly came back to mind. She was supposed to listen to what he had to say. Whatever he wanted, he'd surely make it clear now.

Yet, his request took her by surprise. He wanted... her help?

Much later, once she'd had time to settle in to living in the central Albilon residence and grown used to her magic training, it would occur to Haliyah exactly how strange Armen's request was. How was it possible that he, a genius of magic about whom rumors had spread through the entire Snakescale forest, a genius who had been undergoing magic training since his third birthday, needed the help of the daughter of a village mayor, who had never received formal training? Yet, at that moment, all Haliyah could think about was the fact that Armen had asked her for something she could provide.

"I...I can help," Haliyah agreed. There was a faint stutter in her voice, but also a glow of determination in her eyes. Surely it would be good, surely her mother would be proud, if she was able to help the Young Master Armen. "Ummm... Ummmm... Here!"

Gently, she took his outstretched hand, turning it over so that it was cupped in both of hers. She stared at the palm of his hand, unconsciously biting her lower lip in concentration. A moment later, and a little red and yellow orb appeared in the palm of his hand. It wavered for a moment, before suddenly unfolding into the petals of a blooming peony, layer upon layer entirely made up of tongues of flame.

The fire flower was only barely warm. It was doubtful that it would even have enough power to melt the wax of a candle. But what it lacked in power, it made up for in control. Haliyah had clearly long since grasped the basics of manipulating mana, although she was still a long ways away from stepping into the same realm as Eleric, a Mana Holder.

Her brow wrinkled in concentration, Haliyah was able to maintain the flower for four or five seconds. However, with a faint gasp from the girl, the flower dissolved into sparks, before vanishing altogether. She stood there for a couple of seconds, breathing carefully, before abruptly seeming to realize that she and Armen were still holding hands. She recoiled abruptly from him, a faint blush staining her cheeks.
 
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Armen would give a small pause when she suddenly looked up at him with a fire in her eyes. She was incredibly determined..that was for certain..and he was happy that he was helping to light that fire. If he played his cards right she was not only going to be a great training partner but he was going to be a powerful ally in the future..if he could keep her motivated and focused on training that is. When she turned his hand over and proceeded to show him what she could do though..he had to admit he was impressed. The display of mana control was absolutely beautiful. While admittedly she couldn't hold it for long..he hadn't tried anything like this yet..and hell even he wasn't sure if he could do it.

After it was all said and done he stood there in silence for a long moment as he just stared at his palm in wonder before he looked at her with wide eyes and a big smile before he reached forward and took her hand in his own and gently pulled her closer to him and excitedly spoke "That was beautiful! I've never seen mana manipulated like that before! It was absolutely amazing! I..I it was so beautiful! The colors! The way it flowed! All of it! It was just..it was absolutely amazing! Please you have to tell me how to do that! You have to show me again! Please teach me and show me how to do that! I've never even tried to do that before! I've never attempted to do something like that before! Please show me more! I'll show you everything that I can as well! Please! I think you and I can be great friends and great training partners! We can learn so much together and with Master Eleric! It'll be so much fun!"
 
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Haliyah flushed in embarrassment as Armen pulled her closer, but she didn't try and tug away from his grip. Instead, she glanced up, left, right, down, anywhere but directly at the face of the young boy a scant foot in front of her. However, as the excited words continued to spill out of his mouth, the flush on her face grew deeper.

And, there was no denying the smile that crossed her face, or the warm rush of satisfaction that filled her heart at his praise.

"Th-thank you," she stammered slightly, finally gaining the courage to lift her head. She offered a small, sweet smile to Armen, her face still flushed a delicate shade of red. She dropped her eyes a moment later, tugging unconsciously at a lock of dark hair.

"I can teach you," she replied softly. "I'm... not very good at using large amounts of mana at once, though." The confession seemed more like an admission of wrongdoing than anything. As though she was trying to proclaim why she wasn't worthy of teaching him anything. "But I've always been okay at control."

She took another deep breath, before another red spark appeared between their faces. It stretched into a long oval, before unfolding into the shape of a butterfly. The flame butterfly fluttered through the air for a second, before vanishing. She'd managed to hold it together for even less time on her second try than she had on her first.

She steadied herself, taking a slow, deep breath, before continuing to speak.

"What element do you use, Ar... uhhh... Young Master Armen?"
 
Armen was honestly truly amazed at her level of control already. He was moving at a pretty amazing rate..and he had heard as much from pretty much everyone around him..but even he had hit his roadblocks from time to time..but it didn't take him very long to punch through them normally but even still..the level of control she had made his almost pale in comparison. But when you took into account that he could put out a lot more powerful mana then she could..and for much longer..that changed a lot of things. She had a lot of talent..she just needed someone to help nurture the talent..someone like him.

As she showed him her little trick with her flames and the butterfly he would smile in amazement..and true enough like she said her control was spot on but because her output was so low the trick itself lasted for hardly even a second before it fluttered out. That was definitely something that they would need to work on together. She would help him work on his control and broaden his horizons on how to use it..and he could help her with her output and use it was a perfect deal. "If your willing to teach me then I'm willing to teach you as well. We can learn together. You said your output isn't the best well I can help you with that in return then. Along with anything else. We help each other out. We're training partners now right? It's what they do. We have to help push each other to get better and better and before long we'll both be master's in no time!"

When she asked him what element he used he would pause for a moment before he slowly shook his head at her "I don't use an element. My main mana control..or my aptitude is like my fathers..it's linked with animal control so I don't have an element per say. But that doesn't faze me!" He would smile wide and step back a bit "I'm going to learn how to use all of them anyways! I know it'll be tough but I'll figure it out! I'm sure theres a way to do it. One day I'm going to learn how to use all kinds of different manas even without aptitudes for them."

He would look back at her again and give her another gentle smile "Oh and you can just call me Armen when it's just the two of us. You don't have to call me Master or young master or anything like that. Just Armen..at least when it's just the two of us ok?"