Nightly Lessons Book I: The Book of Beginnings

[Peeker]

Aleksandr and Dimitrius both responded to the girl with a dirty look. Aleksandr pocketed the money, and made a show of placing a silk tassle in the book that had been open between them, before closing it.

"...Miss Harker, we are rather occupied right now." Dimitrius said, mildly. He was being exceptionally forgiving, all things considered: not knocking, public mention of one's undergarments, and tackling one's sire? ...she practically needed another trip over the knee already! Only Aleksandr's 'cautious' glance towards Dimitrius stilled the man's tongue. "...might it be possible for you to knock next time?"

Aleksandr nodded in agreement. "...thank you for remembering to pay your debt, Alice, but I'm currently in the middle of something. Give us five minutes."

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice blinked and then looked appologeticly at both of them. She was young of heart and, as they both had seen, didn't always think before acting.

"Hehe... sorry," She gave a small cursy so show she ment it and released Aleks from her hold, unaware of what she had done to earn a dirty look from Dimitrius, and took a step back, looking at the book.

"What are you guys talking about anyways?" She asked out of curiousity noting that she could read part of the book but not all of it. She still needed to brush up on her latin. "What is that?"

[Peeker]

"Its a book of Wards, Alice. Magics that influence the environment around them. They are needed for the Blood Moon Festival coming up... ...and they are rather complex. ...as I said, we were in the middle of discussing some of them when you came in." Aleksandr explained.

"...and I believe your Sire just told you to give him five minutes, Miss Alice." Dimitrius pointed out, reasonably. "You can find out more about after we're done with business - we'll even give you an explanation of what they'll be used for in the Festival, if you'd like."

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice looked a little chasted but nodded at them and left. She walked a bit down the hallway into the ballroom, knowing that Aleks' TV room was off limits unless she asked, and she wasn't about to learn the wrath of either of them again. Once in the room where the wrost and best parts of the day had began, Alice finally found it in herself to start writting Janus a letter about what had happened, still unaware of the missing day between. It came out nicely, the writting not perfect but legable, and once dry she folded it into an envolope and waited for Aleks to finish so that she could get it sent.

"Now what though?" She tapped the keys of the piano and smiled. "Couldn't hurt... what's this?"

She moved to sit better at the piano and looked at the score in front og her. It was self written, Aleks' by the looks of it, and fairly new if she didn't know better. Seeing no harm in playing a bit, Alice began playing slowly, guessed the different notes and tempos as she played.

"It's pretty nice..." She smiled as she continued, unaware that it was the melody Aleks wrote to her and that she was going to find the most embarassing picture she could imagine by the end of the song.

[Peeker]

Rising from their chairs, Aleksandr and Dimitrius shook hands over their agreed upon plan - Alek would be calling Alice to help him with a few arcane tasks before the Festival, it appeared - and headed out into the halls to meet up with the fledgling.

"She said she wanted to go shopping... I suppose there isn't any harm in that. She should have a rather firm grip on herself after her first meeting with you, Sire..."

Dimitrius' chuckle stopped short when he saw Aleksandr gesturing for silence. He could hear something coming from the ballroom... and apparently wanted to hear it...

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice had finally found a rhythm she likes with the tone, a little faster then the way Aleks played, but only by a quarter of a note. It was the three time she was replaying the front page and by now she was sing happily to her own lyrics for the melody.

"... spinning around on a musical box. Singing a heart's love so strong. We walk hand in hand along the rive side, our hearts forever beating strong..."

She hummed a bit at a part where she couldn't think up of words and played on, her fingers having a new sense of grace with the melody, the haunting feeling inside her that she had heard it once before a long time ago.

"... As winter's snow falls softly down on the gardens of Eve, I'll stand there waiting for you, my hand out for thee... Dancing on top of a musical box of a never end night, I wait for you to return. Back in my hold, in my arms like the love once lost long ago."

There was a ruffle of papers for a second when the music came to the halt of a clang of keys.

"OH MY...!" Pushed the doors quickly open, Aleks and Dimitrius found a very red blushing Alice looking at the score and turning redder by the minute as she realized they had been listening to her sing. "Aleks what the.... what is this!?"

She gestured to the score but kept the picture hidden, not wishing for Dimitrius to see a drawing of her in a child-like state. Seventeen and sucking your thumb... it was almost as bad as being a bed wetter which thankful Alice had stopped being long before the age of five.

[Peeker]

Aleksandr smiled softly, trying to defuse the girl before she overreacted.

"...Kapad's spell lasted an extra day, Alice. ...but this second day, it influenced your mind, as well..." He gave her a moment for that to sink in. "...while... you were as you were... I found myself... well... inspired to write a bit of music. That's what that is. ...and that bit that you're hiding is from yesterday as well."

With a snap of his fingers, Aleksandr had the pages of music bound tightly in a thin sleeve of red fabric, tied with a simple black cord. He looked at the girl. "Better?"

Dimitrius, on the other hand, was taking his time walking up to the pair. Obviously, this was something he'd had no connection to. "You are quite the poet, Miss Harker." He complimented. "Your lyrics... Aleksandr is not a lyrical person... they are well spoken indeed."

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice quickly set the music down blushing with embrarassment. It was bad enough Aleks had drawn her sucking her thumb, but she had been a five year old around him? And they had heard her singing too?!?

"I'd rather you burned it," She admitted unhappily before sitting down unable to really face them. "along with those pictures..."

Her head collided with the keys as she groaned at her own stupidity. Of all the things to mention those photos weren't some that she had wanted the world or even light to see again. What was worse, they were Aleks' to show so she could do a damn thing about it.

Well she could, but her rear wasn't up for that challenge as of yet.

"Eerr... thank you... Dimi," She answered and then smiled at him and quickly added. "I mean Lord Dimitrius! Lord Dimitrius." She let out a reliefed sigh and smiled at them. "Sooo.... what were those spells about huh? You gonna tell me now?"

[Peeker]

Dimitrius chuckled. "...go ahead, magus."

Aleksandr bowed theatrically to his Sire, and opened his hand. From it bloomed a large web of flickering light. The electric blue flare dimmed into a series of lines and circles crossing each other, marked with runes in a language Alice had never seen before.

"This diagram is in that Arcane primer I gave you, Alice. You never asked what this was - but its basically magic, as we understand it. The interconnectedness of all spells, meshes with the huge variety of forces that we can call upon, at the risk of losing ourselves to it, due to a weak will."

The diagram vanished... that lesson would come at another time. "Wards are one of the most fundamental forms of magic. They impose a different world upon the one that exists. While illusions can effect how we sense things - sounds, tastes, appearance - wards change the fundamental nature of a thing, even if they don't appear to be any different.... it is the difference between Aristotle's Substance and Accident.... you.... you have some knowledge of Aristotle, don't you?"

He considered the blank look on her face.

"Right." He conjured a small red ball. "This ball bounces through the air." He dropped the ball, and it sprung off the hard floor, back into his hand.

"With a ward in place, however... that changes the nature of the air..." A grey flicker crossed Aleksandr's eyes, and he dropped the ball again - it bounced into his hand - but it had only made it down to his knees before bouncing back up.

"...the very nature of things can change. Wards can make objects less solid, places less noticable, and people less frightened. There is a slim difference between an enchantment and a ward.... but that's a different story."

He shook his head. "...for the Festival, I'll be installing wards of protection to keep our guests safe, and may be adding to the decorations and even the location by adjusting a few things with some other spells. ...it will be complex - I'll actually be needing your help with a few of the preparatory spells, love."

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice listened to him closely, the webbed diagram taking her by surprise if not worrying her a bit. It looked so... difficult to remember, she wasn't sure how she ever would.

"Ari who?" She blushed a bit, unsure if he was pulling a name that she should have known and idly played with her chocker. "Sorry, no."

Her eyes widened though when he mentioned needing her help with the barriar spells and it left her thunderstruck.

"You want me to help you? With magic?" She became a little nervous, her mind drawing up the worse case scenerio again which was a bit of a end of the world kind of thing. "Aleks I suuu-.... I'm horrible had normal spells."

She was a bit proud of herself for stoping in mid-swear. The word 'suck' was a hard one for her to get ride off as it still didn't strike her as a swear word in the lest.

"What if some thing goes wrong because of me?" She bit her lip nervously as a new question came to mind. "Errr, Aleks... just how many are coming to this... party exactly?"