Varius Giovanni x RangerKay

Rika grinned and opened the door, stepping inside she dragged her suitcase along with her. As she stepped inside she was awed by the architecture of the space. The floor lit up and words scrawled across before her feet. Welcome Mistress Rika DeJour. Please check in then proceed to your room. The words read. She was surprised that the building new her name, let alone recognized people upon entering. She looked up and saw a sign pointing towards student check-in. Rika walked up, continuing to drag her suitcase with her. "Hello." The woman by the counter smiled. "Rika DeJour?" she asked.

Rika nodded at the woman. "How did you know?" She was puzzled.
"The tower. It informs check-in personal after analyzing someone's magic type and the description that you had to send in with your application." The woman said, as if she heard the question all the time. That was extremely likely considering the amount of new students each year. "You are currently placed in room 210. Since you are so new with your magic we currently have no roommate for you. We will gauge your abilities the first few days before pairing you with one of the latecomers. We didn't get many natural earth mage applicants." The woman looked down at a bunch of papers in front of her, putting a check-mark beside her name. "When you get up to your room, just place your hand on the door. Now that the tower recognizes who you are, it has input your information to the room assigned to you."
Rika smiled. "Oh, wow." It was different from her house. Those doors required a key to get in, and if someone lost the key then they had to call the locksmith. Her mother and father had their secrets and their planning rooms were often locked, just in case they had visitors come.
"Good Luck!" The woman said as Rika turned to climb the stairs. She knew she was on the second floor so all she needed to do was get up to her room.
 
Rika reached her room. She did as the woman at the desk had said and put her hand up to the door. She was startled as the door swung open after beeping and turning green.

The door opened, revealing a room that was simple, yet functional. Stepping inside, Rika took note of the door immediately to her right that must be the bathroom. There was a small living space in the center and two doors at the back which must be individual sleeping quarters. She wandered in fully and saw a small kitchen-like area to her left. The door closed behind her and Rika jumped, letting out a small squeaking sound in her surprise. She nervously pushed her hair back and placed a hand over her heart to slow the rapid beating from it. "Okay...sooooo now what?" She mumbled.

"Welcome to room 210 Miss Rika DeJour." A voice sounded from the wall behind her and to her left. Rika jumped and spun on her heel. "As you can see there is a bathroom to your right, living space immediately after the entryway, kitchen connected to that, and your room is the one on the right at the back of the living space. Food supplies are provided on a weekly basis. We also have a garden for the earth mages to practice their magic. That is on the ground floor behind our facility, but you also shall have instructors to help you with that." Rika settled down as she approached a small glowing box in the wall where the voice was coming from. It seemed that the building had an AI to help with information. "If you wish to program someone to be allowed access to your room, all you need is either their full name, or for them to place their hand on the panel. If you have any more questions, please approach my box and ask for your artificial intelligence unit for assistance. Thank you." The box stopped glowing and Rika giggled to herself. She had allowed herself to be so startled by a recorded message from an AI.

She shook her head and dragged her suitcase with her to the back of the living space. Rika wondered for a moment...could she program it to allow Lysander to enter her quarters or was that forbidden? She frowned at the thought. Her mother would paddle her for that kind of thinking.
 
This placed reminded Lysander a lot of the nice Inn's and Hotel's him and his family had stayed at all around the globe. The young Mage had not traveled since he was about fourteen but he had not forgotten the pleasures that the places offered. Looking around the lobby he could see the long wooden table on the far end of the room. It was long enough to just seat twenty four people. Not only that but everything seemed to be or look expensive. The Dishes on the table right now were expensive tea sets from another another country. And another thing...the flowers on the table were living. They were not the typical plants either. These plants fed on solid food, like a venus fly trap, and could communicate to you touched them. It freaked him out a bit to be honest. As beautiful as they were...in his opinion plants were not supposed to do that. His aunt was a florist that raised these kinds of plants and other unusual rare plants. She even helped teach earth magic here...along with supporting the plant life on school grounds.

His eyes widened as he remembered the girl he met used Earth Magic. Lysander's heart dropped into his belly as he shook his head. It wouldn't be long before his name got out. After All he Shared the same last name as his aunt. Trying to shake off the thought he also noticed that in this building they had maids and butlers who were ghosts dressed in old time clothing. They could interact with their master but that was about it...them not being allowed to do anything else. Trapped to this building, forever doomed to wander about cooking and cleaning fro the students who came and left year after year. This building was infused with old time magic...each building having a different example of the vastly different types there were. Rika's building had new age magic and machines. It was one of the older buildings on campus but it was built to look that way as well...the technology being updated as needed. There were some other old world magic touches he noticed as he walked over to the check in desk. It was one of the studied magic mages who stayed in this building year around. His guess was that she had control over the ghosts here as a tamer. When she saw him she smiled.

"Good Morning Mr. Buford...we were expecting you! You have room eighteen..a suite on the top, second, floor. Your maid will be..." she paused, frowninga bit as she thought. Then she spoke again, calling out to one of the ghosts. "BETH! BETH! Get over here now!"

Coming over quickly was a woman ghost. She looked to maybe be a little bit older than him but not by much. These ghosts were rumored to have died in the accident that occurred during the building of the school. But the Ghost Beth was beautiful...she had flowing long blonde hair that was hanging in graceful, loose curls. They cascaded down her back in golden waves. Her eyes, despite having a ghostly glow, would have been bright enough in themselves. They were a silver color. She must have been a catch when she was alive...such a pity she had died so young.

"This is Lysander Buford Beth...his father is a very important person. Do whatever he wants and no arguments or complaints yes...?"

She nodded quickly, motioning for him to follow her after he was exused. Beth lead him up to his room, opening the door for him to reveal his extravagant, large room.


 
Rika whistled as she walked into 'her' room. It was beautiful...there was a large window, letting in the sunlight to the room. The bed was a canopy bed and she had her own dresser. It was a room she could have only dreamed about. Even being an only child, she had never had anything so grand as a canopy bed. The window, she frowned, might cause a problem in waking her up at the crack of dawn but she knew she could go down to the check-in desk and inquire about the local shops. She paused...does a place like this even have local shops? She wondered. Rika sighed as the silence of her room filled her ears.

Yes, silence...it too has a sound...Rika closed her eyes. She had tried to explain to her friends, well...the few she had, that silence does have a sound. It is made up of the sound of your own heartbeat, your breath leaving and entering your lungs, the rasping of fabric as it moved with your body. It had a way of making you feel utterly alone, aware of just how insignificant you could be. Rika wiped away tears, missing her plants and the sounds of many people in her home. She had once been angry with her parents for holding the meetings in her house, the strangers invading her home and taking over her spaces like a well-settled pest. Now, all she could do was fight the tears down...she was devastatingly lonely. Rika's whole journey up until she met Lysander had been lonely. She had slept alone in the cold on her journey, sometimes barely finding the company of the trees. Other students did not appreciate just how far she had to come, from the anti-mage lands to this academy that held so much hope for her. She rubbed her arms, standing up from the bed where she found herself sitting.

Rika wiped away the tears from her eyes and made herself busy putting away the few possessions she had brought with her. Realizing she was still in the green dress, she stripped and pulled on some brown pants that highlighted her long legs. Then, finding a nice green blouse, she tugged it on hoping that the ruffles hid her small chest. She had seen some of the girls that were walking around campus were well-endowed and she felt self-conscious. Sighing, she decided she had better find out where the garden was and pick some simple vegetables for her cupboards. She wasn't sure what she had and she was already growing antsy in her dorm.

Rika raced out the door, and down the stairs, blowing past a surprised check-in clerk on her way out the door. Pushing stray hair out of her face, she silently mused as to if she would run into Lysander. She needed friends and from the looks the other students were giving her, she doubted she would find many. Could word of my parentage have reached this far this quickly?
 
Lysander looked around the room that was given to him. Well...It was the room his father had paid for so it wasn't really "Given" to him. It was a rather large room. The floors were a polished darker natural wood that still had the essance of Earth magic pulsing though them. He would have to be careful. Because...Since he was a small child, the boy had been able to absorb some of the magic around him. It was apart of his abilities, to disable one's magic. He had his limits though...absorbing someone's magic was exausting and it made his heart race. The first time he had done that he had, by accident, stolen all the magic out of an Earth Magic raised plant. It made his heart rate speed up and it endanged his life. So much so his mother called a doctor to bring it down. It was then that he learned that he had a weaker heart than a normal person. But that hard lesson taught him how to control how much he could take safely...and how much he could take that wouldn't kill him but was beyond safe.

Looking around he saw the other features of the room. In one corner he saw a king sized bed, one of the extravegant canopy beds with expensive, heavy drapes to the side. To pull around the sides of the bed and keep the morning rays of light from waking him. There were three cealing to floor windows. One on either sides of the room, and another one was in the Window seat area. Off to one side was a bathroom and smaller table set up, much like the one downstairs. It was a beautiful room...but much to big. Too big for his needs anyways. It was like his father though...to buy more than he needed or over pay for something. This made a smile come across his lips as it reminded him of the rest of his family. As much trouble as they caused him, this was the first time he was going to be away from home for a long length of time. He would really miss them...especilly his little sister. Growing up they had been close despite the gap in their ages. Suddenly a voice with a hint of other worldly echo in it spoke...It was soft and beautiful. He learned this to be the Voice of Beth. Lysander looked to her, listening as she spoke to him. Her nervously playing with her hands, looking down at the floor.

"M-Master...forgive me for speaking without being spoken to but I must tell you...I will be here all the time so just ask if you need anything at all. And I control who enters and leaves the room besides you of course...no one can enter without your permission unless you tell me who they are...."

Lysander gave her a happy smile and spoke to her as well.

"It is Lysander...Y-You really don't have to call me your master.....oh! I need to go for now. But perhaps we can talk more later. And...take it easy around me. Well, at the very least around me..."

With that Lysander made his way towards the garden area near the Tower Rika was staying in. He had to find his aunt and he knew she would be there. At this time of day she would be looking after the fall and winter vegetables and taking out any weeds. His aunt had short hair that fell short just above her shoulders. Her eyes were bright blue and cheerful looking with a bright personality to match it. He just hoped he could get there and find her before Rika did. The young man had forgotten to tell her that his aunt worked here...and would be helping teach earth magic. Plus it would be very awkward if he didn't let her know...before she found out on her own.


 
Rika rounded the corner to where a staff member had pointed where the garden area was. Her green eyes widened at the large area, there was a large greenhouse that must hold off-season plants. The garden was neatly sectioned off, each area holding a different plant or vegetable. Rika could only stand there with mouth agape at the beauty that surrounded her. Each room that belonged to an earth mage had it's own box plot. A few of them already had seedlings growing and Rika wandered over towards her box plot. There were packets of seeds sitting inside a small wooden box of all varieties of vegetables and fruit, there were several packets of the same item and Rika was startled to see that the multiples were of her favorites.

Rika bent down, running her hands through the soil, relishing that she had her own plot and a 6x9 plot at that! She had never had her own plot at home, her parents had denied her that, saying that they weren't poor enough to worry about growing their own food. She tried to explain her passion for growing things from seed, and they had instead given her extra work to do for the anti-mage council. Rika had eventually taken some old pots and cups and grown her own plants in her room, buying a few seeds from farmers or growing some that she had randomly found on the family's land.

She lifted up a packet of carrots, running her long fingers over it with joy and anticipation. She could not wait to begin working in the soil. She wiped away a tear, unknowingly smearing dirt on her cheek and she picked up the other packets, wondering what she should attempt to grow first.
 
The woman had seen the girl enter the Garderning area for the Earth mages. It made her smile happily as she saw how girl's mouth fell open at the extent of the practice area. She was a pretty girl but definitly a country maid. Or that is what thye used to call them anyways. It had beem awhile since he had seen someone this suprised by this space. Most of the Mages here came from rich families that had a vast garden, far greater than this one. It was nice to see that people still appricated a garden for what it was supposed to be. Lydia watched from one of the patches, where she was tending to winter squash, as she wandered over to a box plot she had sectioned off for a student by the name of Rika. As the girl bent down and ran her fingers though the dirt, the instructor walked towards her. She stopped infont of her as the younger girl smeared some dirt on her cheek. A small laugh escaped her lips as she spoke up, her clear blue eyes potraying cheerfulness along with the smile on her face. Lydia didn't bother to dust off the dirt from her hands as she moved some of her brown neck length strands of hair from her face.

"Miss Rika...and pardon me if I don't say this right...DeJour? I am Ms. Lydia...Lydia Buford. I help teach the Earth Magic here...I couldn't help but notice you were the first to come by and see the garden. What do you think...?"

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Lysander hurried towards the garden Area and got there in no time. But he was too late...he saw his Aunt talking to Rika. Figuring he shouldn't make his presance known right away he stayed back and watched them interact...talk. His Aunt Lydia had always been sociable and kind. Despite the trouble she caused him, by putting him in awkward situations in front of other girls his age, she tried her best to try and make every Earth Mage feel welcome...welcome and at ease.
 
Rika looked up, startled by the woman standing in front of her. She smiled at the woman. "You pronounced it correctly." Her smile was warm and winning. The one thing her parents had taught her correctly was manners. Excitement bubbled in her at the size of the garden, the promise and beauty it held. "This garden...It's absolutely lovely Ms. Lydia! I didn't know they provided this for Earth Mages or I would have applied sooner!" The thought that she would have her own garden, that she wasn't mocked or ridiculed for being who she was...it brought tears to her eyes. "Thank you so very much!" The thought that Lydia shared Lysander's last name didn't affect Rika at all, in fact, with the excitement from the garden space, it was a detail left ignored.

Rika picked up the seeds, clutching them in her hands as if she was afraid to let them go. Quickly she stood, "Oh, I apologize, please forgive my lack of manners." She curtsied, still holding the packets to her chest. Her green shirt was now smudged with the soil and Rika was thankful she had worn her worn down black jeans.
 
When she had gotten her attention the girl look a bit startled but she did manage to smile back. It was a friendly and warm. As she asked the question to the new student about the garden, she could see the happiness and excitment building up in the girl's lean frame. When she spoke she told her it was beautiful and that she didn't know that the school would have such a facility for the up and coming earth mages. That if she knew that it was here, she would have come much sooner. She could see that there were tears forming in her eyes...but knew why. Lydia was familiar with her last name...DeJour was the name of the couple that ran the Anti-Mage protests and all other things Anti-Mage. It was strange, she admitted, that the only child of a huge Anti magic association was coming to school here. How she had managed to do that...she didn't know. But it was likely her parent's didn't know she was here. The girl quickly stood up then, clutching a package of Carrots in her hands, and gave her a curtsy, Apologizing for her lack of manners. Lydia waved a hand at her, a friendly smile at her pretty lips.

"No need to be so formal Dear, I just want you to feel comfortable around here....I can see you found the seeds I left here at the box. They are just basics but we have just about anything you can think of. They are in the seed store house At the end of the biggest Green house. Everything is organized. Feel free to take anything you'd like. But As I am sure you are already aware some are harder to grow and come by than others so choose carefully! Oh and one more thing...In the green house there is a special seed that you will need to plant and raise before the semester is over. It is kind of slow growing so it will need some TLC...It is called a Plameris. I only have one seed for each student since they are quite expensive and rare. I don't know if you know about them but they are the only plant life that is capable of communication by telepathy. And when they start to flower they eat living things like the venus fly trap...but they are beautiful and hardy. There are other plants harder to grow then them but they are the most fun to have around since they talk back. It is basic human words but they are the first...each one is very different so pick carefully..."

With that she turned on her heel and looked over. her shoulder.

"I've heard alot about you Miss. Dejour...It isn't often that country girls like you get accepted. But congradulations...you must be talented. Can't wait to see your work! So I'll leave you too it. Let me know if you need anything at all!"
 
Rika was startled by the information given to her, and that there was such a plant that could speak back. "Thank you...thank you very much!" She watched as Ms. Lydia walked away and then she knelt by the box plot, looking through the box of seeds. She decided that she wanted to try carrots first since they had a shorter growth time. She had never really gotten much of a chance to grow anything in large quantities and even she herself was unsure of her own abilities. Ripping open the packet, she poked holes in the soil with her forefinger, following the instructions for distance and depth from the back of the packet. Then, she began to pop the seeds into the holes, covering them up gently.

A thought came to her mind that maybe she should sing to the little sprouts. She had always loved singing, it helped calm her and she hoped that maybe it would help her plants to grow.
 
The two didn't talk for terribly long so he just stood out of sight and watched them. In the garden he noticed how happy Rika looked to just be surrounded with this mant plants...and oppertunities. It had brought a smile to his face. Coming from where she did the girl didn't look like she had a whole ton of experience...unlike the other girls who walked around here. The girls who had come usually had previous training with a mentor before coming good enough to enter the school. He wondered exactly how much experience she had...or what she could grow for that matter. After his aunt had disappeared into the green house he slowly approached her and watched her in silence. She was already at work planting something...from the package she was holding he saw it was carrots. He guessed he might see that just now...how fast would they grow? He knew it took his Aunt about five days to raise an entire plot of Carrots and his father two days but how skilled was she? Lysander paused infront of her box and looked down, a smile on his face as he watched her try and preform Magic. If she would notice his he would just wave her on, Pretend that he wasn't there.
 
Rika was oblivious to everything around her. All she could do was focus on her plants. She leaned forward, over the plot of carrots she had just planted, humming to them a silly little ditty she had learned in the country. She was perfectly at home amongst the earth and plants and thankful that she was at a place that could make her so happy. She hoped she could linger here, forgetting the loneliness of her room. She didn't think she would be this lonely by herself. She folded her legs underself and cocked her head, continuing to hum at her plants as she pondered her new living quarters. Rika wondered how much food the pantries stocked.

She brushed her hair back, smudging more soil across her face. At least, she hadn't run into any more of those nasty girls. Mean, nasty, city girls with beautiful bodies and perfectly groomed hair. Rika's nose wrinkled in disgust. To be so cruelly treated, she shook her head dispelling the thoughts of the Anti-mage council. She was starting over, and yet thoughts of home would not leave her mind.
 
He just watched in in silence, her perfectly unaware of his now lingering presence. Rika was focused on her freshly planted carrots, buried in the dirt. Then she leaned forwards, closer to the plants and began to hum. The song wasn't anything he had heard before but it was a a happy, upbeat tune. Sounding very much like songs his friend back home had sang to his siblings when they were fussy or just upset. It was only then when he saw her, dirt smuged on her face and knelt amungst the plants, did he notice just how much she looked like she belonged there. She are the moment reminded him of the Earth Fae he had heard about in stories. Beautiful girls who watched over the plants and animals in the forest and had remarkable magic that they used to protect what they loved. He snapped back to reality as she brushed her hair back, smearing more of the earth on her face. Beautiful...? Yes...Rika was a very Pretty woman. It was indeed a different version of pretty compared to the city girls. But somehow all his crushes had always been on the country girls. They just had a natural beauty that couldn't be matched by all the hair curlers and expesive make up and dresses the other girls wore. Waiting patiently, he watched the place where she had planted the seeds intently.
 
Rika yawned, exhausted after her trek here. She put her fingers in the earth, enjoying the feel of it. Calling up her magic, very carefully, since she didn't know the extent of her powers and hadn't had training. She allowed the magic to flow from her chest, down her arms, and into her fingers. The magic soaked into the earth but Rika jerked her hands out of the ground quickly, afraid of losing the control she had carefully maintained at home. It was a larger garden plot than she was used to, and the excitement had begun to affect her control over her magic. Rika pulled her hands up to her chest, her eyes widening as she saw the soil shift. After a few moments of it shifting, it stopped and stayed still for a few moments.

"Odd....that's never happened before." Rika murmered.
 
Anywhere in the country was a long way to come to be here. This city was large and extended far beyond the School on the edge of town. So when he saw her yawn it was understandable. But what made him curious as as to why she came here before getting some sleep. But thinking about it...she must have just loved the plants that much...her magic. Just looking at her, his father would have told him the same thing he already knew. With this love for Earth Magic she could have to potential of being a very strong mage. If one didn't love their art they could never be any better than they wanted to be. Which was why he struggled with his magic so much at times. Except him and his grandmother, the rest of the family was Natural Magic Mages. He just hoped that one day he could learn to love it....right now it was a different story. When he snapped back to attention he saw her quickly pull her hands out of the dirt. As she pulled her hands to her chest, he saw the soil shift and she murmured that this had never happened before. He crouched down and looked at the the earth closer, he looked up at her with a charming smile.

"That's good then...Keep trying."

He didn't move but kept watching her...motioning for her to keep trying.


 
Rika squeaked and put a hand to her mouth. "I didn't know you were here." She whispered. "How long have you been standing there?" She looked up at him before glancing down at her soil crusted fingers, some of her hair falling into her face. She quickly rubbed her hands on her pants, blushing in her embarrassment.

The fact that anyone would see her trying her magic, and the way she must look in this state, set her on edge. She knew she would have to get used to doing magic in front of people, but for her it was still a habit to do it in secret. The only difference for her in her mindset was that now she had a bigger plot.
 
As she squeaked and put a hand to her mouth, he chuckled softly. She whispered that she didn't know that he had been there and asked how long he hand been standing there. The man watched as she glanced down at her fingers, covered in Dirt, she wiped her hands off on her pants. The woman blushed in embaressment. It was obvious that Rika had never practiced her magic in front of other people because she looked somewhat on edge.

"Hmm..." he said. "I think it was about the time you started Humming to them...apperently it is working. But...It is fairly obvious that you haven't practiced much in front of others...It's okay. You don't need to worry. The City girls here may be snobbish and kind of rude but the Earth mages here should be at the very least more slightly laid back. At least that is my experience with them...but you will definitly want to avoid the fire mages...they can be kind of cruel sometimes...and you will but heads..."




 
Rika laughed as Lysander mentioned fire mages. "Oh, boy do we ever!!! I met one on the way here, she insisted that we were rivals. We ended up traveling together for about a day before things went haywire." She held up her arm and pulled her tshirt down to expose part of her shoulder. There was a large red burn across her right shoulder, angry and aggravated. Her eyes softened, "No I haven't practiced too much in front of others, not with my parentage as you can imagine." She glanced at her own burn. "And I was trying to avoid any more hot-headed fire mages."
 
When he did mention the fire mages Rika laughed, much to his surprise. He listened as she told him how on the way here she had met up with one. That the girl had insisted that they were Rivals but the both of them had traveled togeather for one day. Then things flew off the handle. She pulled back her shirt, showing her his shoulder. The wound was a large burn across her entire shoulder. It was cherry red and looked very aggravated...to be honest it looked very painful. Fire mages had a wild temper and power to match it. Earth Mages always clashed with fire and water with wind. This magic user had attacked Rika, probably after a disagreement. Lysander looked back to the girl as her eyes softened, saying it was her parentage that prevented her from practicing and that she was trying to avoid any other fire mages. He smiled warmly, brushing some of his dark hair from his face.


"That looks pretty bad...and painful. You should probably go see the nurse. She can remove the essence of the fire magic for your wound...Or I can try as well but I also run the risk of taking your store of earth magic as well...you wouldn't be able to use your magic for at least a couple of days so...Y-Your better off asking the nurse...maybe when your done here I can show you to her..."

He sat down of the ground and looked to the dirt in the box she was trying to grow the carrots.



 
Rika blushed and put the shoulder of her shirt back in place. "Oh, well...no, I'm okay. I don't need a nurse." She looked back at her box plot.

A doctor had only been called for her once by her parents. In her village the only doctor they had was a practiced mage and he had only been called because Rika had been near death. She had caught a cold one day doing work for the anti-mage council. It had progressed quickly over night and her parents had gotten rid of all the plants in her room, locking her up in her room, away from the nature she so craved. Under the covers and in a stuffy room, her cold turned into bronchitis, and then swiftly into pneumonia. The memory of the mage helping her, even with her parents mocking him, made her want to avoid the nurses.