Review and Study Sessions [D'rorah]

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

(Set after she gets back from China)

Summer was inching closer and Cavan's excitement was something that was hard to contain. His efforts both in the classroom as well as with his free studying had been energized in the last month or so. So much so that he had no worry about any of his class exams. He'd almost finished the second codex volume with even more ease than the first. He was currently sitting not far from the entrance of the library pouring over the first codex he'd learned. Refreshing his memory and double checking all of his work, fixing mistakes he'd missed the first time around and chuckling softly to himself.

The more the read, the easier it was to not only read everything, but also to look at any language and be able to tell what language it was and speak it with only a slight accent, as a good portion of them had died.

What he tried to think less of were the dreams. They were getting more vivid, an ancient language, one he'd knew but was never able to read taunted him from the walls of the temple. He'd started copying the characters he could remember from his dream moments after waking. He'd been keeping the journal for a while and planned to show D'rorah when she arrived.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah stepped into the library. She hadn't been here in a while, but she supposed it was good to get back to her roots... and libraries had always been her favorite places. Today, however, her satchel felt just a bit weightier on her shoulder. Ever since Master Xiu's announcement at dinner, the whole world had felt a bit heavier on her shoulders. For the first time, she was worried that she'd actually been asked to do something she really couldn't do.

Seeing Cavan at a nearby table, she took the seat opposite him. [blue]"So then, Mister Weiss, I assume you are ready for our next tutoring session?"[/blue] she remarked quietly. It was as good a reason as any to see him. After all, plenty of the younger students needed tutors... and D'rorah was quite capable in her studies, so she would be a logical choice for anyone willing to put up with her.

Holding her wand lightly inside her sleeve, she muttered a quick silencing charm... ostensibly so they would not disturb nearby library patrons. But really, she just didn't want anyone to overhear their conversation.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

"So then, Mister Weiss, I assume you are ready for our next tutoring session?"

Cavan beamed as D'rorah sat across from him and nodded in response to her question, "Always." Once he was sure that the silencing charm was up he slid his notebook to her, still beaming. "I'm glad you're back, how was your trip?" He pulled his journals from his bag and set them in front of himself, bouncing in his seat slightly. "Those are my notes from all the languages I've been learning, I went back and corrected some of the stuff I messed up in the beginning."

He was hyper, he'd probably had too much sugar during breakfast, it wasn't hard to do after all. It didn't help that he and D'rorah had both been so busy lately that they hadn't had a 'tutoring' session in a while. He loved being able to sit down with the big sister he'd never had and hash out linguistics. Of course, there was also the matter that he wanted to talk to her about his dreams today. He was hoping that she might be able to shed some light on the language that keep restful sleep from his dreams at night.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

((ooc: since the thread never really got started before, we'll make it after she gets back from her current trip to China where she took the Bryce brothers there away from their home, okay? Otherwise I'll have to go read my old threads to remember the trip! Haha! And welcome back!!))

D'rorah smiled back, disarmed by Cavan's smile as he beamed at her. She looked at the notebook that was slid across the the table cruiously. [blue]"My trip was... interesting,"[/blue] she replied thoughtfully. [blue]"I am glad to have returned,"[/blue] she added, actually happy to have Kang with her now that they had reconciled. He would be a vast help in pushing forward the training of the others and in helping to fight should the need arise. And, to be honest, she'd missed her old training partner... who was the closest thing she'd ever had to a brother growing up. She smirked slightly; she seemed to amassing quite the adopted family between the Kelly brothers, Cavan, and Kang. And there were now the Bryces, whom she had taken under her wing. She was providing their tuition, though she would never tell them that. After all, Nick would likely take it as some blow to his ego and accuse her of having some mal intent. And Tommy would likely think of nothing other than wanting to pay the money back to her. She was glad, at least, that they were somewhere safe and away from their father.

She looked down at the notebook as he clarified that he'd gone back to correct earlier mistakes. She flipped through a few pages thoughtfully, checking for general correctness and to see what all languages he had picked up. [blue]"This is remarkable... I cannot remember ever meeting anyone else who could learn them so quickly,"[/blue] the corner of her lip tilted upward in a smirk as she looked up at him. [blue]"In fact, I believe you are learning more quickly than I did,"[/blue] she added. [blue]"I fully expect you will surpass my language abilities by the time you are my age."[/blue] She looked over the pages carefully before passing the notebook back to him.

[blue]"So then, I assume there is something I can assist you with? Some learning I can help with perhaps? You seem to be doing quite well at the languages on your own, thus far with the help of the lexicons. I can find others for other languages for you as well,"[/blue] she added. [blue]"Whenever you are ready for them that is."[/blue]

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

"My trip was... interesting. I am glad to have returned."

"I'm glad you're back. All this homework and then all your trips, it makes it very hard for me to keep and eye on you. Though you do look like you're actually eating now." He grinned up at her as she looked through his notes.

"This is remarkable... I cannot remember ever meeting anyone else who could learn them so quickly. In fact, I believe you are learning more quickly than I did. I fully expect you will surpass my language abilities by the time you are my age."

He blushed and beamed, "Really? You think so?" He always appreciated praise when the people who were given knew what they were talking about. D'rorah was one of those people who always seemed to know what she was talking about, and he knew that if she didn't, then she tried her hardest to find out.


"So then, I assume there is something I can assist you with? Some learning I can help with perhaps? You seem to be doing quite well at the languages on your own, thus far with the help of the lexicons. I can find others for other languages for you as well," she added. "Whenever you are ready for them that is."

"Well actually, I want to show you something..." He handed his journals to her with knitted brows. "I've been keeping track since they started, so that's everything. But I guess I should start at the beginning." He took a deep breath, looking suddenly very serious, save for the fact that he was still bouncing in his chair. "I started having really weird dreams right around the same time that I started studying the first lexicon you gave me. They got weirder after I started on the new lexicon my mom got me. They're all about this dark temple or castle or something. On all the walls there is this weird but somehow really familiar writing that I understand at the time, but can't understand, if that makes any sense at all... And the more languages I learn, the scarier that seems to be to me. I know somehow that whatever the words say that it's really important. I wrote down everything I saw in my dreams in those journals, I even sketched some of the other stuff I saw... I thought maybe you might recognize it, since you know a lot more than I do... And I'd love to learn more, I'm ready whenever you are."

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah smirked at him and arched an eyebrow as he said it looked like she was eating now. [blue]"I suppose I have been more attentive to my dietary needs,"[/blue] she replied. [blue]"However, I might warn against any similar statement for most females, most of whom are rather more easily offended at any remark implying increased weight,"[/blue] she teased. Of course, she knew she had been in bed, wishing to starve herself to death the last time Cavan had seen her. It really had been a long time... she'd been through heartbreak with Dylan and had moved on to feeling quite secure with Kerridon in all the time since she'd last seen Cavan. Of course, the relationship with Kerridon was still a very carefully guarded secret, one even he wouldn't know. What a strange year it had been.

Seeing him blush and beam as she complimented his language abilities, she smirked. Cavan well knew she wasn't the sort to idly give out compliments. In fact, she wasn't much of the sort to give out compliments at all, even when they were due. She had been trying to work on that though. After all, everyone needed a bit of positive reinforcement. She had gotten hers from Master Xiu while she had been in China, which was likely the reason she was in a better mood since she had come back. [blue]"Of course I really think so. I would not waste breath speaking the words if I did not believe them,"[/blue] she replied with a slightly teasing lilt to her voice.

She took the journals as he handed them to her, seeing the shift in his demeanor as he began to speak about them. Not wanting to interrupt, she listened quietly as he spoke. The dark castle sounded to her like the Fortress of Shadows in the Shadow Realm. Though she didn't remember seeing writing on any of the walls, she also hadn't lingered for a tour the times she'd been there. She began flipping through the journals as he said he had written and sketched things in them, trying to discern what it was that he'd seen. She looked back up at him. [blue]"So you still have not been sleeping well then,"[/blue] she concluded before turning her eyes back to the journal before her. Some of the things he had sketched were Shadow Warrior chants... well, almost... they were written in the language of Shadow Warrior chants, but these were certainly not the chants she and the other Shadow Warriors learned to use against Shadows. Unfortunately, the depictions of the writing were vague enough that they were difficult to read. This wasn't a language she had given Cavan to learn... the last thing she wanted was for him to unknowingly invoke Shadow Magic in his study. [blue]"These are Shadow Runes,"[/blue] she said quietly. [blue]"At least, they appear to be... this is the language of Dark Magic... Your visions are of the Shadow Realm,"[/blue] she explained. She didn't like this... not one bit. She hadn't wanted Cavan pulled in beyond being a simple scribe. Why was the Shadow Realm calling to his dreams? [blue]"There are no written texts for this language... it would be too dangerous were such an item to fall into the wrong hands. The language is passed only directly from teacher to student..."[/blue]

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

"I suppose I have been more attentive to my dietary needs. However, I might warn against any similar statement for most females, most of whom are rather more easily offended at any remark implying increased weight."

Cavan smiled at D`rorah as she spoke, knowing full well what she was telling him, but also knowing that he would say the same to anyone he considered family.

"Of course I really think so. I would not waste breath speaking the words if I did not believe them."

His blush continued for a little while longer before it finally faded. He felt a large amount of pride for his ability thanks to D`rorah`s praise. He couldn`t help but feel lucky that he had such a gift.

"So you still have not been sleeping well then."

He shook his head, there wasn`t much he could do to keep himself from seeing the shadows out of the corner of his eyes, or when it got late enough. And with everything that he had heard and the small amount of things that he had seen, it was doubtful that he would be able to sleep well. "I`m sleeping a little better, but now I have these dreams to deal with..."

"These are Shadow Runes. At least, they appear to be... this is the language of Dark Magic... Your visions are of the Shadow Realm. There are no written texts for this language... it would be too dangerous were such an item to fall into the wrong hands. The language is passed only directly from teacher to student..."

He frowned slightly, "Really? So I shouldn`t know the language... That makes me feel a little better and a little worse. How can I know it then, how could it be familiar to me if it`s not kept written down?" He pondered silently for a moment, trying to think of any explaination for this. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he could see the shadows when it seemed most people couldn`t. Or perhaps he was the reincarnation of someone who knew them and it had somehow passed through lives? Was that possible. He looked to D`rorah for any kind of answer.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah frowned as well as he spoke. [blue]"No, you should now know the language. I cannot imagine why it might be familiar to you. However, if you are seeing the Shadow Realms in your dreams, I would think something is calling to you from there."[/blue] Her lip twitched. There was no way she would ever knowingly allow Cavan to go to the Shadow Realm. She herself was a Shadow Warrior and she hated the place... it was cold and dark... frightening... she had heard tales of Azkaban, Shadows were much more powerful than Dementors. The Shadow Realm was like Azkaban amplified a hundred times. And it was much larger... and much more difficult to escape.

She peered at him curiously, looking from the notebooks to Cavan as she thought over everything she knew. She tried to remember... something about this struck a chord within her, but it hadn't yet struck it hard enough for her to recall anything specific. That irked her. She prided herself in her memory. [blue]"There are those of us who are born with an affinity for Shadow Language. Usually it is only females... Shadow Warriors,"[/blue] she clarified. [blue]"We learn the chants more quickly because they are our best weapon against Darkness. I have heard before of Shadow Warriors dreaming of Shadows and strange writing before... but that is clearly not what is happening here because you are male."[/blue] She was thinking aloud, trying to chase down something that was eluding her.

She sat silently for a moment, her eyes moving back and forth slightly as she searched for the information in her mind. She looked from Cavan to the journal and back again. [blue]"Perhaps I shall have to speak with Master Xiu about this,"[/blue] she admitted finally. Though, she was certain he was the one who'd spoken to her about it before. [blue]"Perhaps there was something to do with a prophecy... those are usually shrouded in magic that makes them difficult to recall."[/blue] She frowned. She loathed prophecy... it was nearly useless as far as she was concerned. A prophecy might say that something was going to happen, but almost never why or how. It wasn't uncommon for something to sound particularly disastrous, only to have it turn out to be a positive outcome after all. They of course always made sense after the fact, when everything had happened... but predicting the past was hardly a difficult talent to master for anyone who bothered to occasionally picked up a history book. She had trailed off from speaking, still searching her mind to try to think of something that was just outside of her grasp.