Castle Gardens

@Caelum Lucus chuckled softly before hopping out of the pond himself "maybe we should stay away from the water for now" he said softly before he looked at Caelum as he talked to his brother before chuckling softly at their little conversation. Lucus looked at him and chuckled slightly before nodding slightly "I am easily distracted to be honest so it's no surprise that happens" he said and shock his head slightly before smiling a little at the question "I wouldn't say I liked to study, I guess it's a habit I have" he shrugged slightly before smiling as he walked over to the middle of the grass "let's play!" He said happily since it had been a while.

@Caelum Lucus couldn't help but chuckle softly and nodded "I'm glad I could save tour foot! Of course I love to play ball" he said softly and smiled softly to the younger, he turned when he herd someone and smiled slightly "it's no problem, glad I could help. Maybe we have met before" he said since he also thought the other looked familiar to him. Lucus blinked slightly before nodding as you remembered "so your the one that keeps knocking me down in the halls" he said laughing slightly since it somehow happened everyday.

@Caelum Lucus looked at what was happening before he walked over making sure everything was ok since the pond wasn't really that deep but it was cold, he got there just in time to hear the younger one said his foot was stuck. Without wasting a second he got into the pond and reached down to help free the boys foot before lifting up to put him back on the ground next to who he believed was this brother and smiled softly to him "are you ok?" He asked softly making sure that he was ok and not hurt anywhere.

@Caelum Lucus let out a sigh as he lay on the freshly cut grass smiling at the smell since he liked it wasn't one of his favourite smells bit he liked it, after a while he sat up when he herd someone and looked around before noticing two people near the pond. Lucus watched curiously before he hot up and stretched slightly "maybe I could go and help?" He mumbled to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck not sure if he should or not. Lucus let out a sigh since he wanted to practice anyway so it was a good chance to do that and he could help himself, he stood there in his thoughts for a while like he always did when he was gabjng a hard time to choose.

@Rayne "That is why I take the students on a run every other morning. Aside from being able to run in case of emergency it also builds physical endurance so that when they have to channel difficult powers they will not be drained as easily." she admitted. "I know they think I am crazy and that they hate me for it but that's alright. A little mutual hate for me between them builds bonds that are not easily broken."

The idea of actually clearing her head was unusual. If she was honest, she didn't overly think or dwell on anything. The reason she liked to wander was because she missed it; the stalk, the hunt, and exploring the unknown. She had never been good at being inside stone walls for long; her heart ached for more than a cage, even a gilded one. "I suppose." she answered vaguely and shrugged her shoulders. "You should get on your run though before you explode on the spot."

@Allydia He hummed softly to himself as he continued to stretch his limbs, "Yeah, I take a run to let out any excess energy I have before I sleep. Of course I shower and then go to bed, but once I've used up my energy to have a jog or run, I am ready to sleep. Also, I just do it to keep fit," he grinned. "After all, running is something everyone needs as a backup just in case we can't teleport," he chuckled.

Listening to what the other listed, Rayne couldn't help but chuckle softly, "I'm not surprised you do those kinds of things, but I'm also happy that you do something like wandering. I suppose you take that time to just clear your head a bit, right?" he asked and then jumped a few times on the spot.

@Rayne If nothing else at least she knew they had one thing in common, neither had ever been in love. The difference between them was that she had no intention of ever making that journey herself. She had to admire him for being open to it though, in some ways she felt it made him braver than she was. But then again she never believed she was brave to begin with.

"You run before bed? How can you go to sleep after?" she asked, eyeing him curiously. It normally took her a while to calm down after running or working out so the idea he could swap so quickly from activity to rest seemed strange, especially given her own activities were much less exciting. "Not anymore. I wander, maybe look at reports, tend to my armor or whatever else I need to do before the next day begins."

@Allydia Rayne was never one to stay still for longer than perhaps a couple hours when conscious. When he was asleep or meditating was another story, but he needed to move around a bit before he would head to bed. "Ah, probably just because of my parents, I don't have a real personal opinion about love. I mean, how can I when I've never been in love," he laughed softly and stood up, stretching some more. Unlike what many people thought, Rayne was trained to be a fighter just as much as a doctor, so he knew he should stretch before he did anything physical.

"Well, if you're gonna train them harder tomorrow, I better go for my night run and then head to bed," he scoffed softly, "And maybe you should sleep too. I mean, if you wanna train them harder then you should have more energy than them, right?" he grinned as he stretched out his legs a bit. "Do you do anything before you go to bed? Like reading or meditating?" he asked curiously.

@Rayne Even the idea of a mushy kind of love was so alien to Allydia that she couldn't really even reconcile it in her mind. She hadn't been old enough to remember her parents and she never encountered what most would consider a normal love until she was much older. Sure she could fake it well enough if she had to but she just couldn't grasp how someone could feel like that for real. It seemed so unnatural and she was willing to bet her life she would never experience it for herself.

"Maybe." was all she replied, not willing to give up anything else about herself for the night. "But for a man who doesn't have much of an opinion you seem to speak of it a great deal. Maybe you have more of an opinion on the subject than you realize." Her fingers only stopped their work briefly as she looked up at the doctor again and nodded. "Probably. I am going to work them harder tomorrow."

@Allydia Rayne was now laughing at himself mostly, since he had no real experience with love and the like, "The closest I've been to love is seeing how mushy my parents were. Once I was old enough to be independent, they their love switches and urgh, it was lovely and all, but I honestly didn't need to see all of that," he chuckled softly, thinking about how his parents were.

He quirked a brow at the other's words, humming in thought, "Hmm, well, you never know. Once you feel it, you might never wanna stop," he grinned, "I honestly don't have much of an opinion about love though," he nodded. Yawning and stretching, Rayne sat up slowly and turned to the headmistress, "I should probably head to bed soon," he mumbled.

@Rayne Allydia was not at all surprised that he would take the story from a medical doctor's point of view and focus on that part instead of the anecdotal storm. In some ways he was exactly what she was used to in her head when she thought of healers. He was decidedly more cheerful though and in some way she was actually starting to enjoy it.

"No stories and no romance? What have you done when you weren't studying?" she asked him, playing with the thin blades of grass beneath her. Her nimble fingers twisted the green fibers into knots as she absentmindedly made a chain. "Love is overrated in my eyes. Or maybe I have never been in love. Either way I am happier when I don't have to even think on it."

@Allydia Rayne's eyes widened in surprise for a moment and then nodded, "That does happen every so often," he said, "Birthing in nature," he chuckled. He hummed, shaking his head to the other, "Unfortunately I don't know of any such stories," he laughed softly. He continued to stare up at the sky and sighed softly as he felt quite content just lying there beneath the stars.

He nodded in agreement at the other's words, knowing that, but also knowing what kind of person he was. "Yes, I know it doesn't have to be romantic. But even with friendship, people find it difficult to have me around when I'm either never around or when I am around, I get distracted easily," he chuckled rather sheepishly. "But I do wanna know what love feels like one day," he smiled.

@Rayne "I knew a woman who was born in the ocean. I'm not kidding. Her mother gave birth to her in a small raft in the middle of a storm. Her father used to say that the squall calmed as soon as she entered this world." she told him,echoing a similar sentiment. "I doubt it was true but it does make a great story. Do you have any such stories?"

The way he spoke about relationships gave her pause and she couldn't help but to stare at him for a moment. "You can be spoiled without being in a relationship or otherwise romantically entangled." she informed him. "And I wouldn't worry so much about that anyway. Most people make entirely too much fuss about those emotions but I have never found them particularly useful."

@Allydia He smiled to the other and then hummed, nodding in affirmation, "Mhmm, I was born right by the ocean actually. I mean not literally, but in a house by the ocean," he clarified and smiled, "But I've always been drawn to water, not matter what form it's in," he sighed almost dreamily. "It was an odd choice to come up here for me, but I'm not so deeply connected that I need to be by the ocean. I can go visit whenever I want to after all," he explained.

He wasn't taken aback by the laughter, he was actually really glad that at least something had made the other laugh. He blinked a few times and chuckled softly at the question. "No one spoils me but myself," he grinned and stretched a bit. "Sometimes I think that maybe I'm just not fit to be in any kind of relationship as yet, maybe someday, but not particularly right now," he smiled.

@Rayne All she could do was blink at him as he admitted he couldn't garden. Despite whatever one might thing about Allydia, especially given her past, making things grow was actually something she was very good at. Her sisters never could let that irony pass without comment but she chose to remain silent on the matter. "Were you born in Essara territory then?" she asked. "Or did you simply have that affinity for your ancestral way of life?"

This time she couldn't stop the short laugh that came out of her as she thought about being spoiled. The urge to tell him how far from the truth it was lingered on the tip of her tongue, begging to be released, but she held it in. Instead she decided to try and focus the conversation away from her entirely. "So who spoils you?" she inquired quietly, watching to see if he would give anything away.

@Allydia Rayne thought about that question quite seriously and then came up with something, "One thing I definitely don't do is gardening. Although I like being in a garden and admiring flowers, I cannot take care of a garden," he explained and chuckled softly, "Not that it matters anyway since I'm much more fond of swimming," he chuckled softly. He was glad when the other decided to take a seat after who knows how long.

"True true," he nodded, agreeing with the headmistress, "But I don't lose track of things, even though it would seem like I would be all over the place all the time," he chuckled softly, "I know where everything is that I own and use and I know pretty much anyone's medical history once I've seen them about twice," he explained. He sighed softly and shook his head, "I only do this kind of thing to people who I think need a bit of spoiling. Some need it when others don't after all," he smiled.

@Rayne Whether pudding went rancid or not she didn't much care as she figured bad would be bad regardless of what it was called. "Is there anything you don't do?" she asked, teasing him just a little as she found herself a seat on the grass. The night was fairly young but the verdant blades were already beginning to gather dew, not that she minded at all. Her armor kept her quite warm and comfortable despite the elements.

"Daily updates on the health and well-being of the troops is actually a good thing. Losing track of something like that could be detrimental." she reminded him. "Especially because most of these students have never been through anything like this. It would be easy for things to get out of hand." Allydia couldn't help but to shake her head at him, amused by the doctor. "Are you like this with everyone or just up to the Headmistress?"

@Allydia Rayne nodded to the other at the request, "That's also something I like to do when I get bored! I like to cook and bake things," he explained, "And no, pudding doesn't go rancid, but it can become a weird texture when it's about time to throw it out." He cringed at the one time he saw the off pudding, it having reminded him of a mixture between water and eggnog.

He nodded and then hummed, "But I'll still take care of the smaller matters for you, and maybe I'll just give you updates every two weeks instead," he thought aloud. He hummed and nodded to the other, "Okay, that's all I need to know then~ I'll come by your office some time this week then with some sandwiches and pudding," he grinned.

@Rayne "You know, I have only had pudding once in my life before. If you do end up making some, please let me know so I can try it." she replied quietly, playing along with his little dalliance. "Even if it was bad I probably wouldn't know the difference so you'd get a glowing review. Unless it was rancid. Does pudding get rancid?"

The blonde remained relatively stoic in the dark, only arching an eyebrow at the doctor curiously at his response. "You should still give those to me. That way if someone wants to complain they only have one stop to make." Allydia reasoned, pausing only for a moment to think about what she wanted in her sandwich, "Please just savory. And nothing with a lot of spice."

@Allydia He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the description of the students and smiled, "Pudding sounds nice. I should have some again, it's been a while," he said. He hummed softly and then wiggled his legs a bit, excited by the thought of dessert. "Maybe I'll even try making it myself," he said softly.

Rayne laughed softly and nodded, "Sounds like a plan to me. And I'll just sign off all those little things from the infirmary," he grinned, "Lessen your load and give myself something to do for a change." He looked over at the other and saw the glow of her eyes, "Would you prefer sweet or savoury fillings for the sandwich? Maybe a range?" he asked.

@Rayne Again he surprised her with his response but she didn't remark upon it. "That is the tricky part, learning how far I can push. How far can I bend them until they break and cannot be remade? Never before have I been responsible for so many and my pupils before, they knew what was expected but these... they are soft. And sweet. Like pudding." she said quietly, again sharing a small sincere glimpse into her mind. If he could understand their situation then he would be a good ally to have and if he didn't then it was better to know so that she could handle him accordingly.

"I may just stop filing reports except for the important ones." the blonde said with a nonchalant shrug. "It's not like they will replace me." Allydia was more than confident in her statements and her position. She had been trying to play by their rules to smooth ruffled political feathers but the time for that was drawing to a close. The warrior was done playing nice with the bureaucrats. As she looked at the healer she met his eyes, even then her blue orbs almost glowed in the dark with the slightest hint of mirth. "The tea was good. Maybe next time bring me a sandwich too? I have to keep up the strength in my pen arm."

@Allydia Rayne knew for a fact that although he didn't hide much, he didn't say much either. He was someone who would tell the truth when asked, but if he wasn't asked, then he wouldn't say anything. That behaviour did come off as being sometimes a little oblivious and confusing, but he was a lot more intelligent than what everyone thought, probably even more than what Allydia expected of him.

He scoffed softly at the reply, "Maybe, it's your class," he smiled. He continued to look up at the sky, seeing the odd glimmer of the barrier. "I see, well, I would hate that office too if I were you. I would have already gotten in trouble from soaking, freezing and destroying them all to be honest," he laughed softly and glanced over at the headmistress, "Did you end up finishing that tea, by the way?"

@Rayne The scolding she had been expecting never came, in fact it was the opposite and she wasn't really sure what to do with it. Rayne was an odd one and she wondered if maybe he actually understood the grand scheme of things and that there was more going on aside from that at the academy. It was only then that she really questioned who he was. He was a healer so why would he come to school meant for war? The two ideals rarely went together so she was suddenly very curious how he justified it.

"Maybe I should have pushed them harder then." came her cool reply as she looked up at the sky. At night it was harder to see the barrier, only the barest golden glimmer would streak across the dark like a mist and then disappear. It was a sight that she found unnerving and unnatural but she covered that up too by offering some small truths. "I like to spend time outside after being inside most of the day. I hate that office sometimes."

@Allydia Rayne smiled to himself a bit, standing there. This was one of his more calm moments, when he wouldn't just say things and laugh, but when he didn't say too much. "I was a bit exhausted from the last few days. I haven't been sleeping like I should since I'm getting pretty close to nearly never melting ice," he chuckled softly. "And I just needed some fresh air," he added.

He looked up at the sky and smiled to himself, "Nice job by the way, only one student today," he smiled. He sighed softly before deciding to lay down on the grass to look up at the sky. "Night skies are always so pretty," he sighed softly. "What are you doing out here?" he asked back after a few moments of silence.

@Rayne Allydia scarcely had time to stop before she heard the sound of her name in the dark and she immediately recognized the voice. Inwardly she sighed and frowned but she did not show it outwardly. The woman was preparing herself for some sort of tongue lashing, not sure that he would understand why she pushed the students so hard. In her experience, doctors were more than a little overprotective and generally looked upon her as a danger.

"I wish I had seen you there, Rayne." she replied dryly, standing before the man. In the dim light she could hardly make out his features but she guessed he would be smiling. "What are you doing out here so late? Weren't you the one talking about good sleep earlier?"

@Allydia Rayne had a bit of a longer day, a student having been brought in after fainting from overdoing it during the midday exercises. He chuckled and shook his head in amusement since he knew it was Allydia's doing, such a tough instructor she was. The student was back up in a matter of a couple of hours though, went back to his dorm and rested for the remainder of the day, just as Rayne had suggested.

By the time the sun had set, Rayne needed some kind of peace and quiet. Some time to just let everything settle, to not think about anything for a few minutes. He had been a bit under the weather physically for the last couple of days, probably from not sleeping enough. So, he was out in the garden, in one of his more subtle versions of the Embrace of the Sea, just to rejuvenate himself a bit. Being in the bubble of water, he was slightly off of the ground, sitting in the lotus position. He heard someone approaching though and stopped his actions, the water disappearing as he stepped out and looked around, "Oh, nice to see you outside Allydia."

@Rayne The sun had long since set over the old mountain castle and silence hung in the air like a gossamer cloak in the night. Even the smallest of sounds seemed to disturb it, the grounds so quiet and peaceful that Allydia could scarcely believe that there were dozens of students training to be warriors within the walls. Then again she knew they all had a tough day, at least physically, as she hadn't exactly been gentle with them during their midday exercises. Only the one fainted though and that was an improvement on the day before so she couldn't complain and she had managed to avoid the good doctor in case he decided to scold her.

That was the issue foremost on her mind as she set the tea set into his office at the infirmary and attempted to disappear into the garden. With any luck, she wouldn't run into the man until whenever he checked on her the next day and he would forget about it completely. Although she truly doubted she had that kind of luck but she had to try. So with a determined expression she rounded the corner and quietly made her way up the flower-lined paths.