Escaping [Damien]

[Jazz]

Cam fled the University without so much as looking back.

Not that she should have, of course. She went up and down from the beloved University to central Corus several times a day. Being a resident, the University was a home to Camaria. She couldn't be bothered to get a place of her own. She once had, obviously, but she was hardly spending any time there, while spending a lot of her money on it. It might seem a bit odd for a powerful mage such as herself to be resing there, but she had rooms of her own and she was perfectly comfortable.

Camaria was unaware that she was still in full regalia, her indigo robe billowing out as she raced down the steps. It was so familiar, she forgot to remove it before leaving. but she just couldn't take it anymore, the old, stuffy masters talking about 'the good old days' when mages had trained at the City of Gods. By Gods... the lecturers, mages and so on of the Uiversity were perfectly fine, but the visitors... She sighed, running a hand through her hair. She was no noblewoman, no master of ettiquette. She was a simple, common born, peasant-turned-scholar. She shouldn't have to put up with it, by the Goddess.

She turned another street corner, and the familiar Inner City came into view. Ah, yes. The Theatre, the Dancing Dove, it was all there. But Camaria was in the mood for any of those. She would mind the company, but they were too crowded for her. there was a nice new place of Hyaci- Camaria, lost in her thought had failed to look where she was walking, in typical Alevi behaviour. Flustering, Cam apologized to the yound man she'd walked into: "Oh, my! I'm so sorry.. wasn't looking where I was going..."

[Damien]

Damien exited the Dancing Dove after a heated argument with another patron about the affects of alcohol on the body. He didn't like ale or any sort of liquor, so naturally he was on the side that argued against it. The young man he'd been talking with didn't exactly strike Damien to be a friendly person, and even more-so, a person that liked to engage in verbal conflict.

Entering the crowded streets of the Inner City, he was too flustered to pay attention to where his was walking. His mind was occupied thinking about finding the young man he was arguing with, and how he could somehow manage to appear in his bedroom late at night with a sharp object...

Shaking his head, Damien cleared his head of the ugly thoughts. He hated to be fired up like this; when he was, he couldn't think straight at all. He rounded a corner and tried to calm himself down, thinking about his friends and wondering what they were up to. In the midst of these thoughts, he found himself looking up at the tops of the buildings instead of where he was going. He ran into someone, a young woman. "Oh, my! I'm so sorry.. wasn't looking where I was going..." Laughing, he looked down and grinned. "It's quite all right, milady. It's mostly my own fault."

His brown eyes glimmered in the light of the day. "What's your name, young mage?" he asked her, noticing she wore the robes of a mage from the University.

[Jazz]

"It's quite all right, milady. It's mostly my own fault."

The young man laughed and grinned at her. It was contagious. She felt the corners of her mouth turn up in a smile, as she shook her head, and she pushed her steel-rimmed glasses up. "Nay, my thoughts were elsewhere. Thank you, but I'm not a lady," she said, her smile widening. She pushed her long, thin braids out of her face and tucked them behind an ear, as she assesed this friendly stranger. The brown-haired, dark-eyed man seemed younger than the twenty-four year old, but stood taller than Cam. She stood at average height, so she didn't have to look far up to meet his eyes, but she was still shorter.

"What's your name, young mage?"

She frowned. Was this man a mage? No, she'd have noticed. "How did you kno- Oh," she trailed off, smiling sheepishly as she realized that she still wore the indigo robes of her station. She'd forgotten to take it off. Again. "Cam," she relented, "I'm Camaria Alevi. Can I ask yours?"

[Damien]

"Nay, my thoughts were elsewhere. Thank you, but I'm not a lady," she said, her smile widening.

Damien laughed and shook his head. "Forgive me, but I do seem to give everyone a title, whether they have one or not." He winked at her as she pushed her glasses up. She had braids in her hair, and for once, he didn't have to strain his neck looking down at her. She was still shorter than him, but not as much as some of his other female friends. It was a little difficult to tell if she was older or younger than him, so he decided not to even ask. Asking a lady her age never ended well...

"How did you kno- Oh," she trailed off. "Cam," she relented, "I'm Camaria Alevi. Can I ask yours?"

He grinned, absentmindedly running his hand through his wavy brown hair. "Well, Lady Camaria," he said in his playful drawl. "It is an utmost pleasure to meet you. My name is Damien."

His face brightened a little as he continued on. "May I ask what you study at the university? It's not every day that I get to meet a mage, and I've always wanted to know more about what they do."

[Jazz]

"Forgive me, but I do seem to give everyone a title, whether they have one or not."

To her absolute horror, Camaria felt herself blushing as he winked at her. Luck was on her side, however, for it was not easily seen on her dark skin. "It's fine by me," Camaria said, shurgging, "Just watch out. The pretty noblewomen may get jealous." She smiled, while quickly removing her indigo robes, and slinging them over one arm. She wore simple clothes, inexpensive yet well-made. Plain black breeches, a white shirt, and a blue scraf wrapped around her neck to ward off the cold breeze. Camaria was a powerful mage, and she could afford more expensive colthes, but spending money on her attire had always seemed a bit idiotic to her.

"Well, Lady Camaria. It is an utmost pleasure to meet you. My name is Damien."

She gave a small cursty, smiling ironically. "No, no. The pleasure is all mine, Damien." She chuckled softly, shaking her head. It was refreshing, talking to someone who had a sense of humour. Especially after conversing with those old stiffs at the university. "May I ask what you study at the university? It's not every day that I get to meet a mage, and I've always wanted to know more about what they do," he said, slightly brighter. She was slightly surprised at his interest, but pleasantly so. "I don't study so much anymore, actually," she replied, "I've graduated. I'm leaving in a couple of weeks, so I'm not doing much at the moment. But I lecture and teach to students, or I research. I do a lot of cartography as well. Unless you're a healer or suclike, it's each to his own, really. Or her own, I suppose." And she was off again, talking. She winced inwardly. She was a mage, and a scholar. She tended to speak like she was writing an essay. "And you? What do you do?"

[Damien]

"I don't study so much anymore, actually," she replied, "I've graduated. I'm leaving in a couple of weeks, so I'm not doing much at the moment. But I lecture and teach to students, or I research. I do a lot of cartography as well. Unless you're a healer or suchlike, it's each to his own, really. Or her own, I suppose."

Damien grinned at her last sentence. He had always liked women who stood out from everyone else, and who went for their dreams. Becoming a mage was certainly a high achievement; a higher achievement than his own profession. "Teaching, eh?" he said, raising one eyebrow. "I don't think I have the patience for teaching." He laughed a little and continued to smile.

"And you? What do you do?"

His stomach dropped at the question, but he made sure that the distress didn't show in his face. It wasn't often that people asked his profession, so he had to think on his feet. "One could say that I gather information for my employer and run . . . errands." He paused for a moment, thinking frantically. "Most of the time, I just do what they ask of me, there's nothing specific that I actually do."

He felt his heartbeat gradually slow down once he finished talking. With other Rogues, talk of what one did was not often brought up. And with a mage from the University, he couldn't be too careful about giving her information. For all he knew, she was in touch with Lord Provost's men.

[Jazz]

"Teaching, eh? I don't think I have the patience for teaching."

She shook her head, amused. It wasn't everyday that you found a person that could speak their mind. This was certainly very interesting. "Not many do," she said, grinning, "I, for one, hardly do. It's bad enough teaching academics. They stick me with the teenage mages, and it's a recipe for disaster. I've lost count of the explosions." She gave sort of an awkward half-smile. It was nice to be able to speak her mind, without getting judged or patronized.

"One could say that I gather information for my employer and run . . . errands. Most of the time, I just do what they ask of me, there's nothing specific that I actually do."

Hmm... He'd probably have gotten away with it if it weren't for that sentence. She'd hit a nerve, or at least she thought so. You learn to read people. But she wasn't going to push it. It wasn't her business what people did, quite honestly. "Ah." Well, it was slightly better than 'hmmmm'. "We do, however, seem to be blocking the street," she commented airily, waving a vague arm in the general direction of people walking around them.

[Damien]

"Not many do. I, for one, hardly do. It's bad enough teaching academics. They stick me with the teenage mages, and it's a recipe for disaster. I've lost count of the explosions."

Damien laughed as she smiled awkwardly. In his own experiences, he had only met teachers who were deeply devoted to their work, and they loved what they did. It had never occurred to him that there might be others that didn't enjoy it as much. "Teenage mages can't be all that bad, now can they?" he asked Cam. "When I was a teenager, explosions weren't really my sort of thing," he told her with a wry grin.

"Ah. We do, however, seem to be blocking the street."

He looked suddenly around, seeing that she was right. The people in the street were having to move to the side in order to get around them. A sigh escaped his lungs and he put a hand on Cam's shoulder and led her to the side of the road, where they would not be in the way of anyone.

((Sorry for the delay....and the shortness....))

[Jazz]

"Teenage mages can't be all that bad, now can they?"

Camaria nodded emphatically, but her smile gave it away as simply teasing. "Nay, they're sweet. The explosions get a bit trying after a while, like the questions. I must have been a nightmare when I was that age, judging by the insatiable curiosity of that bunch," she told him truthfully. She knew she was naturally inquisitive, and she reminded herself to go easy on the questions in future. The endless questions from her bunch were enough to make her wince, and roll her eyes. How much worse was she, asking questions that people didn't even understand, on the most random things?

"When I was a teenager, explosions weren't really my sort of thing."

"Good for you. And your surroundings," she replied, returning her wry grin with a dry smile of her own. "I don't think I can say quite the same for myself." She tucked a loose braid bacck behind her ear as her new acquaintance led her off the street. What an odd conversation, to be picked up in the middle of the streets. She was gratfeul, though. It was nice to meet new people, and his sense of humour was refreshing.

[[No problem]]

[Damien]

"Nay, they're sweet. The explosions get a bit trying after a while, like the questions. I must have been a nightmare when I was that age, judging by the insatiable curiosity of that bunch."

Damien laughed, genuinely amused by her truthfulness. It was hard these days to find someone who would tell things like they were, and not sugarcoat them. Camaria was definitely one of those honest people, and, after living with the none-too-truthful Rogues, it was a bit refreshing. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and smiled. "You? Explosions?" he inquired, his eyes shifting to her robes, and then back to her face. "Are all mages that bad when they start out?"

"Good for you. And your surroundings; I don't think I can say quite the same for myself."

This woman was certainly interesting, he decided. She wasn't like many of the vague spies he'd met, and he found himself admiring her blunt honesty more and more. A grin crossed his face when she pulled a braid back behind her ear. She's different, he told himself, and frankly it's quite nice.

[Jazz]

"You? Explosions? Are all mages that bad when they start out?"

Camaria laughed, then shrugged. "Yes, me," she said, her eyes twinkling with humour. "And no. Not all mages. And it's not 'bad' per se. It's mainly caused by mages trying something new, or atempting a spell they aren't yet ready for. Frankly, without mishaps they'd -we'd - never learn. It depends, really, on many variables. For example, your level of control, your age, the amount and strength of your magic, ergo I doubt many mages actually mess up in the same way and - oh, dear."

Cam smiled apologetically. "I keep forgetting I'm not lecturing. I'm not boring you, am I?" Her tone was light, not very serious. She used to get worried about such things, about seeming to be too bookish, but she frankly didn't much care anymore. She was always going off, talking endlessly about anything at all, but she knew when to stop. If she was boring him, then she wouldn't. And if she wasn't, then she wouldn't be so cautious. He was a ncie person to have a conversation with, altough after spending so much time in the university, Camaria had to remind herself that most people would actually wait for you to finish speaking, and not speak regardless.