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[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto, Utzi
"hmmmm..." She tapped a finger to her chin as she considered the answer "A very thorough and interesting interpretation. Not the response I had expected, but still perfectly valid nonetheless. Good, that should make the rest of this easier. Now usually we'd move on to memorizing astral and natural patterns and gradually begin studying and reflecting them until we could perfectly hold every detail in our mind. In doing so, we'd become even closer to our element.Takes a good while, and some people take to it faster than others. But I think the eons you already spent having nothing to do but that have gotten you pretty straight there, judging by that great answer you gave. So... we can skip straight to the part where we raise and direct power. Utzi, I want you to focus on what it was like inside the ice. What you thought, what you felt. How the ice gradually moved and shifted, how it crawled relentlessly and slowly like you said Ice is wont to do..."

Another tendril emerged from her shadow, and this time pulled a random peice of a broken decor, what looked to have once been a luxurious seat or table of some kind, over to them. It set the ruined object squarely in front of Utzi.

"And I want you to picture that same slow, relentless, cruel nature manifesting around this junk. Make it feel just as you did in the glacier. Make it feel what you know the Cold to be."

[nuclearwhale]

Ehto, Utzi

Utzi glances at the object for a moment, before closing his eyes and exhaling, a small grimace forming on his face for a moment, before it vanishes into an expression of blank indifference. A thin layer of frost begins to form on the object, as waves of cold air pour off of it. Utzi remains motionless and silent for another minute, before speaking up. "I think that may have done it. I felt... something."

Opening his eyes, Utzi moves to examine the frozen-over piece of trash, picks it up, and snaps it over his leg. Small crystals of ice speckle the garbage deep into it's core, showing that it had been completely frozen solid. Smiling at his handiwork, Utzi holds the frozen solid hunk of garbage out to Ehto so she can examine it.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto, Utzi
Enthusiastic clapping and excited barking were the first thing to greet Utzi's success. It took a moment for the sorceress to mind herself and nip the latter display in the bud, blushing all the while. "Awesome! That's great Utzi, first try too! Not even I could successfully cast on the first shot, and Father used to joke that someday I'd surpass Shrolynder himself. Anyway, so... what did you feel? What was it like?"

[nuclearwhale]

Ehto, Utzi

Utzi's beaming pride at having frozen the piece of junk solid evaporates at the question, and he looks down at his hands. "It felt just like I was back with the voice, but I was in control this time. I could feel a great wall of ice within me, and I just... summoned it forth to crush this... thing. Then a small amount of it just... went to follow my orders." Utzi frowns. "It is difficult to explain. It was like attempting to free a spear wedged in a tree. I needed to pull, but once it popped out, it was free to do what I wanted with."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto, Utzi

"Huh... If I didn't know any better, I'd say that feeling means you definitely have some inborn reservoir of power. That's not very common in my world, aside from monsters and spiritual entities. Curious how our basic methodology still helped you though. I never really considered how the principles of sorcery could affect the latent magic of outworlders til now... Hmmm I'll have to find some more people to research with." Catching herself before she drifted too far off topic, she shook her head. "Anyway, that can wait. Like I was saying, you probably have a lot more power than what you just used. Who knows, with some more practice, maybe we can help you tap into it. And even get some answers in the process, if we're lucky. I'm pretty curious about these greater and lesser spirits from your world, and this voice you heard. Soooooo... how about it?"

Suddenly she was barely a few inches from his face, tail wagging wildly and the widest grin possible plastered on her face. Her eyes were quite literally lit up in excitement, giving them a soft lilac haze that stood out in the rather dreary lighting of the room.

"Will you become my apprentice, Utzi?"

[nuclearwhale]

Ehto, Utzi

The caveman's eyes widen at the sudden approach of the wolf-woman. They widen even further once he hears and processes her words. "To be the apprentice of a sorcerer is something reserved for those who are untainted. Our elder said many times that my presence would disturb his rituals. Are you certain you want me as an apprentice? I would hate to ruin your magics."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto, Utzi
"Ruin Smuin!" The sorceress, looking more like a mere girl in all her excitement, pouted. "Forget all that nonsense your Elder said about you. Where I come from, sorcery is just as much as a science as it is an art! Cold is cold, Shadows are dark, and flames are hot, no matter who cast the spell or what their background is. No amount of fear or superstition will ever change those demonstrable truths! I've even been called tainted myself, just look-" 
   She extended an arm out to her side, and instantly the temperature raised as her hair writhed and became alive, crawling down the limb and merging with her own shadow in a rapid metamorphosis of flesh, bone, and sinew. Less than a second later what had been an ordinary, albeit surprisingly well toned arm, was now an elongated, hulking mass of pure predatory muscle molded from the night itself, each of its fingers ending in a massive claw that would easily put any carving knife from Utzi's world to shame. Ehto snarled at the nearest wall and raked those dreaded natural weapons across it's face, carving out deep swaths from the stone as if it were child's play. She returned her attention to Utzi, the limb slowly reverting back to normal as she did so.

"-so don't go worrying about any of that, okay? If the nature of one's birth really had any bearing on their capacity to use Sorcery, I would've never learned. And remember, people call me an outright monster. You're just a really cool guy who had a run of bad luck while hunting. If it doesn't hold me back, it shouldn't hold you back either."

[nuclearwhale]

Ehto, Utzi

Utzi's jaw goes slack as Ehto's arm becomes that of a great beasts. "...I see. I suppose if my presence hasn't already disturbed your magic, it will not anytime soon. What will being your apprentice entail? My cousin, Ahre, was the apprentice to the elder, but she never liked to talk about anything she did while learning under him, and the elder certainly wouldn't tell me such secrets."

As he speaks, something behind Utzi's eyes seems to light up in realization. "I do not suppose you would like to go hunting sometime as part of my training? If you can turn your whole body into such a beast, I would not mind an oppritunity for a nice, easy hunt for once. Especially since you claim to have fought bear before. I have as well, but..." Utzi opens his cloak a little, revealing a set of massive claw marks across his chest. "I imagine they went much better for you."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto, Utzi
"Nothing much. If this were back home there'd be a registration process with the Council and some side stuff you have to in order to help with your master or instructors research, and an exam or two to get a full license, but um... We've already established that the powers that be back home kinda hate my guts, so none of that really matters." She shrugged and smirked, crossing her arms behind her head in surprisingly nonchalant fashion for what otherwise was a rather serious matter. Probably. "Just do your best to learn all the knowledge I pass down. We'll practice your ice magic to help you improve, and heck, I'll probably end up learning something from you in the process."

She seemed to give the second part of the request some thought. Evidentially it wasn't asking much, because she just grinned wolfishly after less than a second. "And sure, I'd love to go hunting! Gives an easy way to keep my hunger manageable. Bears actually tend to run from me if they sense I'm near, so a lot of the time I have to stay downwind and be pretty quiet in order to catch them. Or sneak up in this form and then shift mid-pounce. Oh, ya know, that could be a pretty interesting exercise for you: setting up some type of ice trap to catch them as they flee."

[nuclearwhale]

Ehto, Utzi

A small grin forms on Utzi's face as Ehto confirms the hunt. "I am uncertain I will be able to do that, but I suppose that would be what you are teaching me for. If nothing else, I can help you stay downwind, Mammoth are much better at smelling than bears."

Utzi puffs his cheeks in thought as he considers the rest of Ehto's sentence, including the new word he hadn't heard before. "You say that apprentices help with "research". What is that? If there is some task that is usually expected of apprentices, I would like to do it anyway."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto, Utzi
"Research is what scientists and scholars do in order to find out more about how things work," Ehto began, "think of it as the same as scouting or stalking an animal- that's actually a form of research in itself, and we've got an entire profession of sorcerers back home who do just that, but for monsters. You go out, observe, gather as much information as you can, and then use that information to figure out what's going on. Let's say for example, a hunter wonders why Mammoth's move so much. They might go out, spend a few days spying on them, and notice that over time the grazing area loses more and more vegetation. After a while, the Mammoth's stop feeding and move on. From what the hunter sees, they conclude that because Mammoths eat the vegetation, and the vegetation can't grow fast enough to offset the mammoth's feeding, eventually there won't be enough left. And because the hunter knows Mammoths have to eat like everything else, the only logical conclusion is that once the herd realizes there's not enough food, it will begin to move on in search of new food. Hence the answer to their question: They move in order to avoid starving."
   She stopped and thought for a moment, her smile vanishing as she did so. "...Like I said though, it doesn't matter here. I don't have any grand research to pursue, and I'm technically a renegade sorceress, so I wouldn't even be able to publish my findings if I did. All I've been doing is searching for my Father, and seeing more of the world in the process. Worlds, at this point, I guess."

[nuclearwhale]

Ehto, Utzi

"The strange men I talked to before meeting you said that we will have to fight strange beasts called trespassers, who move into other lands and destroy them. Perhaps we can "research" how to defeat them? If I am to be an apprentice, you can be a sorcerer without the help of your "Council". We may not be able to spread the information we learn as far as you could on your own world, but even spreading such things to the other people here could make the difference between a failed and successful hunt."

Utzi offers an understanding smile. "Do not tell me that you have never wanted to "research" given a chance."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto, Utzi

"Hmmm... you do have a point," She began pacing, hands clasped behind her back and tail lightly swishing the floor with every step. "Official or no, it could prove invaluable for both those of us gathered here, and the countless worlds we represent. Aaaand it could be kinda fun. Aaaaaand it may even help with the Horrors back home, if they turn out to be as similar as I think they are. Just imagine the type of leverage I could exert on policy if I strolled back home with the key to stopping the crisis in hand. I could finally prove that they were all wrong about me, too. Three birds with one stone, not bad, not bad..."
   She whirled around on her heels, beaming again with one hand firmly on her hip and the other pointing at Utzi. "Alright my apprentice, you've convinced me! We'll be researching the trespassers as our side work. Where they come from, what they want, and how to stop them. Especially how to stop them. Who knows, maybe if we do a good enough job, someday we'll have an automated system of sorts that doesn't require a bunch of people from different worlds to just throw themselves at them and hope for the best!"

Even though she laughed at the end, it was entirely unclear whether or not that was a joke. The conviction in her voice as she delivered it was far too much for common Sarcasm. Assuming Utzi was even familiar with the concept.

[nuclearwhale]

Ehto,Utzi

Utzi raises an eyebrow at the closing remark, but chooses not to respond to that particular part. Hunts needed hunters, and while he didn't know what these automated systems were, he wouldn't trust anything but a trained hunter to handle such dangerous beasts. Instead, the caveman nods sagely at his excited teacher prancing about. "Of course. If you manage to redeem your name, it would be much easier for me to take that test, too."

Utzi takes one of his spears off his back, and touches the tip of it to his finger, nodding in approval at it's sharpness as he thinks.
"How do we begin, then? If it is like scouting as you say, I think we should ask some of the other people who have seen them before. There are none here, so asking the hunters who have encountered them before about what to expect is the best thing I can think of to scout ahead for a hunt without the creature anywhere around to actually stalk."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto, Utzi
She thought about it for a while, stroking her chin as her tail meandered through the air "Hmmmm... a good question. Asking some of the veterans is about as a good a place to start as any, sure. Here, why don't we split up for a bit, see who we can find who's been here for a while? I also wanna see if this place has any library or records left behind that might help. And well, if there are any places we can make one if not, just to help with logistics. Sound good, Utzi?"