Keris' Scene of Crime
A simple room at first sight; only containing two cots, a big and a small, a closet, a desk and a couch with a small table and a few chairs. Though when looking closer around, one might see that in here rules controlled chaos; stacks upon stacks of charts, books and undefinable hides are scattered on the desk and the floor, and the closet is locked to prevent things from coming crashing out any minute.
Glowbaskets are placed all over, making this room always bright with light. Midnight blue is on the ceiling, together with glow-in-the-dark paint dots creating an illusion of the night sky. The walls are covered with lighter blue, white dots creating a lot of constellations such as 'The Blue Dragon' and 'Love in the Sky', highlighted on black and red areas.
You see Seily's Cot here.
Keris is here.

Linora steps in carefully, a bit hesitantly, loaded down with a huge bundle of freshly-copied hides, and a bit out of breath from carrying them all the way from the dorms. "Um... sorry t'bother you and stuff... but, um... you wanted these?" At least, she /hopes/ he wanted them, and didn't just have her copying them over to keep her busy.

Well, he might, just to be evil. Or simply because he forgot. But, fortunately, Keris lights up at the sight of Linora and bounds out of his chair, ready to greet his beloved a proper welcome. The Charts, of course, not his mentee. "Ah, splendid! How did it go?" Eagerly reaching out hands to take the Charts from the apprentice, the journeyman grins impishly. "Was it difficult? Fun? Hmm?"

Linora carefully puts the charts in Keris's waiting arms, trying not to look too relieved at seeing the last of them. "I dunno if I'd call it fun, 'xactly... " She shifts a little nervously. "It was kinda hard t'breathe and stuff, with the really old ones, cause I had t'look so close t'see what was on 'em. But it /was/ interesting." Or else she would have given up long before she finished, since it was making her so sick.

"I see..... that's why you were sick?" Keris asks, after carefully placing the Charts on his cot. Sleep? Who needs it. "Since you had to go to Ista to recover, I mean? I hope it wasn't because of the Charts?" At least eh has conscience enough to look ashamed, lips forming into a slight pout. The master of cheap tricks.

Linora looks at the floor. "Prolly only because I wasn't all better yet, when I started." She looks back up again, chewing her lip slightly. "I guess I /got/ sick when I went ta Reaches, with Kezz... on accounta I was wet when Dsalth went between."

"You were sick when you started? Why didn't you tell me?" Keris says, his voice growing mildly accusative, though more in the father-scolding-bad-child way than angry-journeyman-on-the-verge-of-demoting-mentee way. "Ah well, 'least you got'm done. Now, tell me, did you maange to find any time to work on your own projects at all?"

Linora cringes anyway at the accusing tone, her eyes huge until she realizes that she's not actually about to be punished, or demoted, or ... well, she doesn't really know /what/ she's afraid of. So it takes her almost a full minute to realize she's being asked a question. "Oh... um... yeah." She's been so wrapped up in the copying, and so busy being sick, she'd forgotten all about it. She fishes in her pack for a moment and pulls out a scroll, holding it out a little hesitantly. "I dunno if I did it right or not, but... um... " her voice trails off, uncertainly.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not going to eat you," Keris grins, shaking his head slightly. Tsk. She should know him better by now - or at least be sinsible enough to listen to rumors. Hehe. "Oh, great. I'll look it over when I get time, then. Thank you," journeyman says cheerily, snatching the scroll out of his mentee's hand.

Linora blinks, then manages to return the grin. Eat her. Was that what she was worried about? It takes a few seconds before she remembers to withdraw her hand, though. "Sure. Um..." she looks around, chewing her lip uncertainly. "I guess I'll see ya... 'less there's anything else ya need me t'do... I'll go... study, and stuff." Yeah, study. She takes a step back towards the door. "Thanks."

"No-no, not anything right now. If I think of something I'll track you down," Keris answers distractedly, fingering the scroll in his hand. "Or get one of my other mentees to do it. They need the exercise, the lazy wherries."

Linora giggles and lets herself out. "See ya."

The Next Day…

StarCraft Courtyard
Where the hills of Gar meet the softer plains of the valley, rock slowly turns to gravel, dust and earth, leaving a large natural courtyard tucked against the walls of the hall. A low wall marks a boundary for the courtyard, rock and earth's battle for domination kept outside of it. Strong doors set in the hill wall, provide a new way to get into the hall, long windows letting light into the otherwise quite dark hall. They look out upon a grassy valley, filled with water, vineyards and herdbeast. Trails formed by the feet of human wind around rocks and trees, trailing off into the wilderness.
It is a summer midmorning. The sky is a pastel blue, clear of clouds.
Stretched out on the low wall are Venusnv and Azrael.

Keris walks in.

Linora is sitting on the low wall, leaning back on her hands, chin lifted, eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of the sun on her face.

"Ah, Linora! There you are! I thought that apprentice was way off, but it seems he knew his way 'round anyway..." Keris stalks into the courtyard, waving something above his head. A scroll. Ooh. "Here's your scroll back. You can read my comment there," the journeyman informs his mentee, holding the object out towards her.

Linora snaps to attention as her name is called, straightening quickly and opening her eyes. Keris? He doesn't look angry though... and that's definitely not a load of new work for her. "Thanks." She smiles brightly up at him as she takes the scroll, then carefully unrolls it to read it.

Linora blinks, and blinks again as she reads the approval, then looks up with a broad smile. "Really? It's okay?" As if he might change his mind.

Keris just beams like a fresh basket of glows, eagerly circling around Linora while waiting for her dance of joy. Ah, well, so it doesn't work that way, but he can still hope, no? "It's really okay. You did a nice job, there. Oh, wait, I have something else for you...." Rummaging around his pockets, the journeyman frowns. "You did finish most of your classes, didn't you?"

Linora blushes a bit at the compliment, but is distracted from any reply by her mentor's rummaging. What's he looking for? Blink. Question. She nods earnestly. "I took all of 'em," she assures him.

"Hrm..." The comment is directed more towards his seemingly empty pockets than at Linora, though, and Keris frowns some more in annoyance. "Ah, did you? Well, that's good. I couldn't make you work on more copying work unless I promote you," he states, finally finding what he's looking for. "There!"

"Promote me?" Linora's eyes get huge. She doesn't even notice the 'more copying work' part in her delight. She scrambles to her feet, barely keeping herself from throwing her arms around him. That wouldn't be quite proper, now, would it?

Well, Keris certainly wouldn't mind it, really, but someoen might take it the wrong way. "Yes, promote you. Otherwise I'd feel guilty about keeping you out of class. and a senior apprentice's most important duty is to help his or her mentor, didn't you know?" the journeyman says seriously - though there's that impish twinkle in his eyes. "So, here you go, senior apprentice. Add this to your knot," he states, holding out a, yes, it's a small tail. A small, red tail.

Linora has been promoted to Senior Apprentice.

Linora takes the tail, wide-eyed and beaming, and carefully attaches it to her knot, pausing to eye it with considerable pride before turning her face back to her mentor. "Thanks." Beam. Then her eyes turn serious. "Um... what d'you want me t'do first?"

"Oh, I can't think of anything just now.... I'll think of something tomorrow," Keris announces proudly - be scared, be very scared. See hwo those older sr. apprentices of his are lurking around the Hall, looking pale and dusty? Mwaha! "You can just relax today, and, get used to it and everything..."

Linora nods, still too excited to really be scared. Give her time. Instead she just beams up at Keris. "Okay... um... thanks!" Again. Get used to it, indeed!

Keris chuckles. "You're welcome. Though, I'm just rewarding hard work and talent."

Linora flushes again, almost more pleased by the compliment than by the promotion. Almost. For a long moment she looks like she doesn't know which way to turn, then she finally finds her voice. "I don't mind work," she says. "Long as it's interesting." She grins up at him. "So I oughtta look for ya tomorrow, then?" Not overeager, really, just has an overdeveloped sense of duty. Or something. Didn't she nearly kill herself finishing that copy job?

"Well, of course it's interesting," Keris says, almost offended. Really. Charts /are/ interesting. Hrm. "Ah yes, that might be a good idea."

Linora grins. Course it is - what'd he /think/ she meant? Lin doesn't have a sarcastic bone in her body. Why else would she've picked that specialty? And Keris as a mentor? "Okay," she says brightly. "See ya then." She gives him a wave and trots across the courtyard toward the lake.