This one time, in Haviah Camp... (Incen! :D)

[Anonymous]

(Reminder to self: This is AFTER the Pie thread.)

She's remembered pulling out a file at random, one morning- after Jorinth had mercilessly teased her about not having ever taken on a Candidate (and pointing out that even Gabriel had one or two under his wing!), Fala had finally submitted to her dragon's teasing request and decided to look. To be honest, she didn't do any real looking... just stuck her hand in a pile of Candidate files and pulled out one at random. While at first taken Candidates' names popped up, her third snatch at the pile landed up a name she was sure to have remembered if it had ever come up: Alikaahra Ipfeiyi.

From behind her visor, she'd squinted and tilted her head at the name on the file, scowling at the oddness of it all as she tried (and failed, much to her irritation) to say his name thrice in succession... it was how she best remembered things. Oh, this would be simply wonderful. But just as she was about the put the file back into its place and pick another, the Pilot had felt that familiar, disapproving thrum from her Dragon.

<Cheater.> His voice told her openly. When she rolled her eyes and sent him back a wave of discontent at her own choice- she couldn't very well send words, after all- she quickly held her head when he rebuked her soundlessly in her mind. Well, that matter was settled. Alikaahra would be her first candidate. Goody.

Several letter exchanges later, she found herself walking with surprising amounts of curiosity into the halls of the Training Complex. The kid confused her, in a good way- seemed to be a snarky sort of fellow, and apparently knew how to make a good cup of joe. That was good. With Soren only recently lifting the ban he'd instated on Pilots (which had limited them to decaffeinated coffee, tea, and other such beverages), she'd found that her taste for the bitter beverage had only increased for his troubles.

Fala had decided to leave her modified outfit in her room, choosing to retain her normal attire. There was no need to show off cleavage to a new Candidate, let alone a gratuitous show of her belly. Damn Marshal and his begging. She needed to remember not to give in to such stupid requests again; her normal attire was perfect for the job! The new one was just... silly. And slutty.

Though she acknowledged it, she dared anyone to tell that to her face.

Taking out her visor for a moment and giving it a quick cleaning against her semi-transparent skirt, Fala listened to each of the Candidates and Pilots file by, listening for any indication that her own was near. It would be hard to tell, being the first time, but she listened for steps of curious apprehension- steps that indicated that someone would come in close, stare at her for a moment, then keep moving. But she heard no such thing, thankfully- so her strangely delicate cleaning regimen ended fairly quickly. Clicking it back in, she turned her head, looking for the one thing she'd remembered from the file.

That blazing red hair. It was pretty hard to miss. Finding her quarry with little trouble, a cocky smirk crossed her features as she moved towards him. True, he didn't look physically intimidating. But with her own relationship with the Seeker, Marshal? She wouldn't put anything past him, mentally.

Making sure to approach him head-on, she watched for any indications of fear or apprehension- neither of which she expected, if his smart-alecky reply to her letter was any indication- before coming to a stop before him.

"Candidate Ipfeiyi." Fala paused only for a moment to look up from her visor, tilting it down slightly as she arched a brow. Figures that she'd get a taller Candidate... her frame wasn't the tallest in Aedolis.

"My name is Fala Mauburin, Pilot Cardinal. Call me whatever you like, never had a liking for titles, myself.

"Just make sure to call me by some sort of title around other Pilots. I'm sure they don't approve of insubordination, even when it's not their candidate."

[Anonymous]

((OOC: Niiice subject. Probably accurate, too.))

Alik walked in line with the other Candidates, head held high, perfectly in step with the one in front of him, not a hair out of place. Except for the ones that are supposed to be, that is.

He noticed a green-haired woman polishing her visor up ahead, assuming she must be a Pilot by the way she held herself. Seemingly unalert, but... almost definitely not. He turned his head the other way, but not before she noticed him. Her smirk was... interesting. He watched peripherally as she drew closer, head up, not a hair out of place.

"Candidate Ipfeiyi." Alik twitched slightly at the unapologetic butchering of his name. He stepped out of line to talk to her. "That's me, ma'am." He noticed she was a few inches shorter than him, but was careful not to think anything too conspicuous.

The Pilot stared up at him over her newly-cleaned visor. "My name is Fala Mauburin, Pilot Cardinal." Ah, he thought. So this is my mentor, the coffee-lover. He smiled pleasantly. "Nice to meet you in person. We've spoken— rather, corresponded— before. I'm Alikaahra Ipfeiyi," he said, taking great pains to pronounce his last name correctly, "but I go by Alik."

"Just make sure to call me by some sort of title around other Pilots. I'm sure they don't approve of insubordination, even when it's not their candidate." "No problem, Pilot Mauburin," he said, half-jokingly. I should be able to remember how to pronounce that. I just hope I never have to spell it from memory. "Does this mean my training is to begin today? I've been looking forward to it, I guess."

[Anonymous]

Fala wasn't stupid, and caught on quickly when he carefully and surely pronounced his last name. Oh... she'd butchered the Candidate's name, apparently. It wasn't as if something as menial as this would have normally affected the way she addressed anyone of lower rank.

However, having had her own name butchered more than enough times by superiors to know how utterly annoying it was, she did make an effort to correct herself. Not in the form of an apology, of course.

"Alik Ipfeiyi, then. We'll just keep it at Alik unless a Royal walks around. We'll deal with that when it comes." Thinking offhandedly of Roman's own unfortunate Candidate, she repressed a sigh of resignation. The young man sounded lax... almost too much so. It wouldn't do to have him do that in front of higher-ranking Pilots, lest her own reputation be at stake for allowing such insubordination to flourish beneath her hand.

"Let's see... ah, yes. The basics. I've read your file, Alik." Letting her sentence hang for a moment, she let him think what he wanted of it while surveying his every move. Would he appear proud? Embarrassed? It wasn't as if she picked through the damn thing with a fine-toothed comb, after all. She let his actions tell her half of what she needed to know, and his emotions tel her the other half.

But she didn't feel much of anything from him, rather than a certain smugness, sprinkled with a dash of content. She hadn't expected that- she'd heard from others that anxiety was the norm.

What was it that she was doing differently? Or was it the Candidate who was the odd one? She certainly wouldn't put it past him.

"It says your grades are quite good. Fortunately for you, it means that I don't need to press you to study." Smiling almost sweetly (though she'd been told that her maniacal smile resembled a banshee's grimace, for all its sweetness), Fala pointed to one of the domes, sending a mental image to Jorinth, her mount. Though she could send no words, she did send an 'Open!' signal to her dragon, resisting the urge to sigh in relief as he did as she asked.

For once.

The door she motioned to opened, revealing a small but very functional training room. Hopefully the greenhorn would be too new to realize what it was for immediately. At least until she closed the door behind them, anyway. Most Candidates didn't exactly look forward to physical training sessions with their mentors, after all.

Motioning to the small dojo, she motioned for him to follow as she spoke over her shoulder, knowing full well he'd hear her words and walking quickly enough to where he'd be forced to walk a bit faster than usual to keep up. Call it an unusual habit, but trailing along people like trained dogs never ceased to make Fala smile inside.

"I figure since your scholastic scores are quite good, why not train you in other areas? If you can keep acing your tests after this, you may very well get past the first seven months or so."

[Anonymous]

Alik smiled, hearing her pronounce his name right the second time around. That only works half the time. He would have held on to that train of thought longer, but he knew his mentor would be listening. I hope mental shielding is a first-priority lesson. That's something I have to work on.

"I've read your file, Alik," Fala said, watching him intently. There wouldn't have been anything incriminating on that file, of course. Though the upper-caste parties he frequented—rather, used to frequent—were dodgy at best, he was never the one to make a fool of himself. That was left to other people, always shocked to find themselves all over tabloid blogs the next day. He was a top student, too, so he didn't see why Fala was making such a big deal of having read his file.

"It says your grades are quite good. Fortunately for you, it means that I don't need to press you to study." Alik stood up straighter, which was virtually impossible, and subtly flipped his hair around to one side. There's some good recognition. "Yes ma'am. If I won't study it, I probably already know it." Her smile was... a tad unnerving. He tried not to dwell on that as she pointed somewhere and a door to one of the domes that seemed to be so plentiful in the ATC opened. Cool, he thought. Maybe someday I'll train a candidate, and do neat stuff like open things by pointing at them. He was half-serious, too.

Fala indicated that he was to follow her, and so he did. She walks fast, for her height, Alik thought before he could stop himself. "I figure since your scholastic scores are quite good, why not train you in other areas? If you can keep acing your tests after this, you may very well get past the first seven months or so." Alik's good mood faltered a bit. Eep, he thought, Maybe she heard me. I hope this doesn't mean physical training.

Alik entered the room and looked around, trying not to let on to his dismay. Looks like a yes. "A training room, right?" he asked innocently. "Wow. The program certainly wastes no time."

[Anonymous]

She hoped he wouldn't figure out that she wasn't like the others... nope, no words. At all. While she could hear his thoughts, she couldn't throw her own back at him to communicate in such a manner. Was it a weakness? Of course. If he didn't find out about it? Of course not.

But she didn't need to be psychic to feel that smug attitude of his break for a quick moment, replaced with a bit apprehension. Oh, she loved that feeling- especially when his mood dropped from there. Delightful! She'd figured out a weak point. Now she had something to threaten him with, later.

Fala's own mentor had always threatened her with more psychic training, which she positively abhorred. Quite the sadistic bastard, really. While the possibility had popped up in her mind that she'd eventually be forced to train Alik in psychic abilities later on, she still hadn't quite figured out how she'd go about it.

<Pathetic. Get to training, woman.> Scowling and looking up (which would no doubt look odd to the poor Candidate) for a moment, Fala sent back a wave of discontent. She'd do her job.

"Yup, a training room. Relax, I'm not going to eat you. Yeesh." Closing the door behind them with a push of a button, the exit was quickly shut off, leaving the two of them quite alone in a room that was bare, save for a large training pad on the floor, a rack of weights, and a keypad on one end of the room. The walls were white- all the better to see how effective their cleaning teams were, for lack of bloodstains- while the training pad was a deep blue.

"No use killing you on the first day. Chill, kid. Just seeing what I'm dealing with, here." Moving to the keypad on the wall, she quickly tapped in a few different orders. Because it was a sealed, contained area, controls were put in place that could accurately change different atmospheric settings in the room- perfect for combat training. Inputting commands that would simulate increased gravity, she experimentally turned the dial twice, looking back to see what the effect of 1.5x gravity would do to him.

If it didn't make him ill, it'd at least make moving about more difficult. He'd feel heavier, his muscles more strained by merely keeping his body up... and with a smile, she tossed a what was formerly a five pound exercise ball at his head, just to see if he'd be able to adjust quickly enough to catch it.

She hadn't, the first time her mentor had done that to her. She'd nursed the bruise on her forehead for weeks.

Her own body adjusted fairly quickly- she loved training in simulated gravity. What made her sick was having no gravity at all.

[Anonymous]

The room was certainly not the pinnacle of Aedolian interior decorating, which was (at least in Alik's opinion) a darned shame. He noticed the weights and essentially gave up all hope of enjoying himself. "No use killing you on the first day. Chill, kid. Just seeing what I'm dealing with, here." He smiled at her. "I didn't think you'd kill me... I just don't know what to expect." Well, if I have to do it, I might as well do well.

At least that was what he thought, until Fala cranked up the gravity. Alik nearly fell over before regaining his footing. He recognized what she had done almost immediately. Artificial gravity? Is this really necessary for an assessment of abilities? He felt as though he'd just walked a mile with the green-haired Pilot strapped to his back. I can still stand, though, so she must not have turned it up too much.

Fala certainly seemed to be enjoying herself. She picked up an exercise ball and threw it at him. Alik moved his arms to block his face, finding that he had to nearly fling them around to make them move normally. He tried to brace himself... the ball hit his wrist, which hit the bridge of his nose, hard. "Owww," he said, worried that he was bleeding. However, not to be outdone, he quickly recovered and caught the ball in both hands, almost losing his balance again. He switched it to one hand and touched his nose with the other. It stung, and was indeed bleeding.

He tried to take a few steps forward. It felt like he was wearing shoes two times too big. Then he tried to throw the ball back, and failed miserably. It made it halfway across the room, landing on the training pad with a thud. "By trajectory was off," he said, hurt nose making him speak oddly. "I oughda have throwd it twice as hard."

[Anonymous]

Well, that was a shock. She'd assumed at his unease that he'd be completely inept in an artificial gravity simulation, and yet he'd almost passed her test! Granted, he was bleeding, but it was a lot better than how she'd done. But Fala kept her mouth shut, and merely smiled as a result.

"Yes, it was off. But I didn't expect you to pick up the differences in gravity immediately, either." Moving forward with ease and picking up the ball, she tossed it from hand to hand, pondering what to do next. He'd done better than she expected, though it was a bit lackluster, naturally.

"I'm not going to push you hard, today. Again, just testing the waters. Expect more of this type of training, later- you could do with a bit of muscle. Unless you'd prefer combat training, that is. That can always be arranged." Moving towards the shelf with her back turned to her Candidate, she pondered the changes she could make before letting him go. Putting the weight back on the shelf and picking up a slightly heavier one, she tossed it up and down in her hand, testing its weight again. Was she feeling evil enough? The ball felt like a dense melon in her hands, even though the outside felt like an innocent, playground-grade rubber ball.

"This was just a reflex test, just to see what I'm starting with. You seem to deal with the gravity pretty well." Two pounds heaver... several more with the gravity enhancement. Would he dodge it, or catch it? She'd have to see.

Turning around swiftly and without a single word, she threw the second ball- a smaller, denser ball- straight towards his head, with as much force as she could muster.

If he didn't dodge it, it'd leave a bruise that would last for weeks and give him a nasty concussion. If he did, she'd be incredibly impressed- even more so if he actually caught it this time, what with him cradling his nose and all like a suckling babe.

"So, how do you feel?"

[Anonymous]

Fala was acting pretty cavalier, for a Pilot who'd probably just broken her Candidate's nose. Then again, there are probably worse ones than her in that aspect. considering my parents' reaction when they heard I was to be a Candidate, I struck lucky. Bet she's not going to let me fix this, though...

"Yes, it was off," she said. "But I didn't expect you to pick up the differences in gravity immediately, either." Alik smiled, genuinely surprised. That was almost praise! Maybe I will make it through this alive and sane. She played with the ball, and Alik watched from across the room. Are all Pilots disproportionately strong?

She talked to him again. "I'm not going to push you hard, today. Again, just testing the waters. Expect more of this type of training, later- you could do with a bit of muscle. Unless you'd prefer combat training, that is. That can always be arranged." Alik liked the idea of not being pushed too hard the first day, but the idea of combat training was not one of his favorites. "Do Ba'am, this type of traidig is fide." Wow, that was almost completely unintelligible.

Fala walked over to a shelf filled with similar rubber balls, she replaced the first one and picked up another, this one heavier, no doubt. I don't know how much heavier, though. Regardless, the increased gravity shouldn't affect the horizontal vector at all. I just won't let it land on my toe... "This was just a reflex test, just to see what I'm starting with. You seem to deal with the gravity pretty well." Again, a near-compliment.

Then, she threw the ball without warning. I'll do what I should have done the first time, thought Alik, and dropped to his knees. The ball sailed over his head and hit the wall behind him, with enough force to hit him from the other direction. He spun around and put one leg forward, in a lunge position, and caught the ball, though not without being knocked over awkwardly onto his back leg. The ball resting on his stomach felt like he was being sat upon by a small child. He sat back upright, and then stood up, holding the ball. The label on it said seven pounds.

He registered that she had asked how he felt. Lucky, that's how. "I feel... heavy, and by dose hurts. I do't suppose you'd tell be how buch you've raised the gravity, would you?"

[Anonymous]

...Had he actually broken his nose? Looking at him, all she'd seen was a bit of blood before his hands had gone up to hold his nose. She hadn't gotten a chance to see if it'd broken or not, and certainly hadn't heard it, with her being across the room, and all. The way he was talking certainly didn't make it any easier to determine the extent of his injury, let alone understand what he was trying to say.

In fact, she didn't catch the first part at all. While he meant, "No, ma'am, this type of training is fine," she caught nothing but, "Du, bam, tis typu tradings fide." Which, no matter how hard she tried to translate, gave her nothing to work off of whatsoever. Inferring his dislike of physical training and tying it into combat training, however, she assumed that it wouldn't be his cup of tea. Yet.

She'd break it into him, one way or another.

When she followed the ball's trajectory, however, she raised an eyebrow at his sudden dodge, appraising him as she watched him use the additional gravity to his advantage. Notes were taken in her head as he, with surprising speed (considering his time for acclamation was still low), caught the ball, landing on his back as he did so. It was certainly better than she'd hoped. Maybe he wasn't totally hopeless, after all!

Let's see... adaptable. A bit smart-alecky, but I'd bet this knocked him down a peg or two. Shows some semblance of balance, though recovery is slow. We'll have to work on that. Logging the information away for later, Fala turned to him and took the ball from his hands, standing up as she pointed to the small display.

"You're at 1.5x gravity. Nothing too severe. Now get up, wipe off your nose... get it seen to, if you think it's broken." Gaging the distance between her and the weight rack, she tossed the ball back, listening to the other weights creak at her slight miscalculation before the allotted weight fell into its proper place. Tapping one of the buttons on the display with a weak telekenetic bump (she never could manage anything more than that, truly...), the door opened, letting him leave if he so chose.

"I think we're done for today. If you think you'll be fine, why not follow me? I'm off to get some coffee. You could do with a change in pace." She felt the gravity stabilize with the outside environment as soon as the door was opened, greatly reducing her weight and making her feel almost oddly lightheaded as the ease of movement seemed almost unreal. Fala hated the featherweight feeling- nothing made her feel lousy like the feeling of fragility that came with reduced muscle weight.

Turning back, she let her left brow rise a bit.

"Unless you'd like to keep going. But I figure you've had enough, bookworm."

[Anonymous]

Alik watched Fala, an unreadable look on her face. Writing up the assessment? Probably. Thinking up other methods of physical training? Probably. She took the ball and pointed. Alik decided she was indicating the display screen. "You're at 1.5x gravity. Nothing too severe. Now get up, wipe off your nose... get it seen to, if you think it's broken." Alik nodded and obeyed, watching as she chucked the ball back into the weight rack. Nice shot! Most of the blood had dried by now (A first impression?) and Alik felt alright enough. I'll live. I just won't talk as much. You'd like that, eh, Pilot Mauburin?

The door opened, and suddenly he felt roughly 75 pounds lighter. He stopped straining to stay upright, sighing gratefully. He fixed his hair, which had gone straight under the increased gravity, so it flipped out at the ends the way he liked. "I think we're done for today." Alik brightened up visibly. If you think you'll be fine, why not follow me? I'm off to get some coffee. You could do with a change in pace." "What are you tryig to say, Pilot Fala?" he asked, deliberately avoiding words with Ms or Ns in them. "Was I that bad?"

She turned back, one eyebrow raised. "Unless you'd like to keep going. But I figure you've had enough, bookworm." Alik backtracked in his thoughts. No, no, that's definitely not what I meant. Bookworm, did you say? I hope that nickname's not a permanent fixture. He also needed to avoid tangential thoughts around psychics. "I'll go with you."

[Anonymous]

Dear lord, the kid's mind was loud. Very loud. She was certain every trained psychic in Aedolis would be able to pick up on all of the words his careless mind seemed to spew at an uncontrollable rate, if he kept it up. And yet, she also knew that this loud mind was her main leg up on the Candidate, letting her listen to what he was really thinking. It would be a delightful strategy, provided she had the patience to actually sit back and not snap at him when his continuous mental spiels irritated her half to death.

Patience was never her strong point, but for the sake of later, she bit her tongue. Figuratively, of course- it'd be quite silly for her to do so literally, especially when she had some talking to do!

Fala resisted the urge to laugh at him for his seemingly frivolous personal grooming shortly after the gravitational differential ceased, thankful for her own short, green locks. None of this silly hair-flipping business, for her. So as she watched him fixing his own hair like an obsessed woman, she felt his elation as soon as she'd announced that his first test was actually over.

Looks like the kid hates physical training more than I thought. Oh, well. Tough. But just as she was going to leave, his words made her stop, and turn around with a smirk on her features. If only the kid knew how much was in store for him, he wouldn't be complaining now, of all times!

"What are you tryig to say, Pilot Fala? Was I that bad?" At that, she shook her head, giving him at least a minor confidence boost before the real work began.

"Nah. For the test I just asked you to do? You did all right. 'Course, I've got lots more for you later in the week. I have to show you somethin' later, though." Waving off his questions and making a mental note to remember the books she'd left in her room, Fala reminded herself why she hadn't continued with the day's training. To be perfectly honest, she wasn't feeling all that... into it, today. Pathetically enough, it hadn't been the teen's fault at all that they'd stopped early.

She had just been hit by a mad java craving. The sort of craving that made her abuse anything nearby if she didn't get her fix. Seeing as she didn't want to completely antagonize the redhead on their first day together (she'd have plenty of time for that, later...), she decided to kill two birds with one stone. Three, actually.

Not only would his continuing mental drivel tell her about her student, but she would also be able to satisfy her intense craving and get him the texts that she required that he read, outside of the classroom. It was the sort of things that made mentoring all the more unique- each mentor had their own style of teaching, and each did so at their own tempo.

Alik didn't seem to like that training too much, either, so it was good for him, too.

Navigating to the cafeteria with little trouble at all, she almost stepped to the counter before pausing. Turning to Alik with a rather neutral expression, she pointed to her wallet, then to the counter.

"This may be the first and last time I'm doing this, Alik. Want anything? My treat, this time." Turning to the cashier with a cheeky grin, she fished a few credits out of her wallet and didn't even look up at the menu.

"The usual, Pilot Mauburin?" The woman asked, already motioning the barista to get the coffee ready for her. However, with a shake of the head, the cashier held up a pausing hand, and the surprised barisa arched a brow at her sudden change of pace.

"Nah. Let's try a white chocolate eye-opener, this time."

Aye, three shots of espresso in a white chocolate mocha always did the trick.

[Anonymous]

Alik was glad he hadn't done badly. He had had a friend whose parents had a gravity room in their house. He would go over and mess around in it. One time he had gotten stuck in the middle of the room at zero gravity. That was an agonizing experience, especially when they turned it up to 2 Gs on him, and he nearly broke his tailbone... so, previous experience helped.

"I have to show you somethin' later, though." Alik was interested, probably overly so. Wonder what it is? He tried to curb his interest. It's probably painful.

She started walking, and he followed her obediently. I'm glad I didn't get a crazy Pilot. He still had no idea where anything was in the ATC, so he trusted she wasn't leading him off to rape him or something. Who could blame her, though? He found himself in the cafeteria soon enough. Alik tried to take his wallet out, but realized he had left it in his room. Hopefully that Draygovi doesn't take it. Fala stopped walking, and Alik nearly tripped over her, lost in his own thoughts.

"This may be the first and last time I'm doing this, Alik. Want anything? My treat, this time." Alik smiled, glad the Pilot was being nice on the first day. "A hazelnut latte would be nice," he said sweetly. She was probably on a first-name basis with the barista here... he listened to her order. Wow, he thought, admiringly. Now that's hardcore.

[Anonymous]

The teen was clearly more prepared than she thought- as soon as they'd left the gravitational simulator, his thoughts were veiled somewhat to her 'mental ear,' as she'd liked to call it. All of the sudden, the clamor and superfluous thoughts that ran through his mind went quiet, leaving her with the strange ringing sensation as mental silence prevailed once again. While she'd expected that of Stage 2 candidates, she hadn't expected to get that from a fresh greenhorn, so to speak.

He hadn't quite hit her, but his lurch forward didn't go unnoticed- Fala tensed, ready to move aside if he was going to fall on her. Let the metal counter catch his face, if he decided to keep falling and use her body as a pillow! Luckily, however, he caught himself in time, shaking off whatever he was thinking about and fishing into his clothes for that elusive (and apparently forgotten) wallet.

"Hazelnut latte it is, then. Make it the largest size ya got. Thanks, dear." Handing over the credits in a single, smooth transaction- to the point where the cashier didn't even have to tell her how much it all cost- Fala nodded to the barista and ushered Alik over to the tables. One such circular table had two metal chairs already pulled up to it, and so she went to that one. While there were quite a few tables meant to seat two, most either had too many chairs (which might lead to interruptions, god forbid, while she enjoyed her drink) or had one... or none at all.

Besides, it was the barista who had to follow them to wherever they sat, not the other way around.

Ushering to the chair across from her, Fala leaned back, clearly relaxed and at home in the Training Complex's cafeteria. She often came here when Jorinth threw his occasional hissy fits at her (though she normally started them...), and thus got to know the area quite well. She could only hope that Alik would stay long enough to do the same, lest she never mentor again if her first student was sent packing to TRIM.

"So, Alik. Answer me honestly: Do you actually want to become a Pilot, or just get through the program?" Waving over the barista as he carried their steaming drinks, she watched the fellow smile as he acknowledged her presence and made his way to their table. Her hair wasn't hard to spot, after all, and neither was that bright, reddish-pink visor of hers.

"Hazelnut latte for you, sir?" Putting the steaming drink before Alik, the barista turned then to Fala, chuckling a bit as she smiled with familiarity.

"And the cup of caffeine for Fala?" He laughed when she swatted his shoulder jokingly, and they shared a good chuckle together before he left them with a cordial wave, running back to run his coffee magic for other thirsty individuals.

"And if you just want to get through, how'd they catch you? I'm assuming that if you're not here to become an Aedolis militant, you had to have done something stupid to be seen.'

[Anonymous]

Alik smiled pleasantly. "Thank you, ma'am." He followed her over to the tables and watched as she scrutinized each one before picking a table that seemed fit for the two of them. She walked over and sat down, and Alik sat across from her. She looked just as comfortable here as she had when chucking balls at his head.

"So, Alik. Answer me honestly: Do you actually want to become a Pilot, or just get through the program?" That sort of startled him, he assumed the Pilots wouldn't care about the reason their students were here. He mulled the answer over in his head... it was a combination of things. I didn't have any single motivation.

The barista came over and placed the hazelnut latte on the table next to Alik. "Thank you," he said, smiling at him. "And the cup of caffeine for Fala?" He watched the two of them, smiling. I was right about the first-name basis thing, apparently.

"And if you just want to get through," she said after the barista had left, "how'd they catch you? I'm assuming that if you're not here to become an Aedolis militant, you had to have done something stupid to be seen.' Alik chuckled, his nose feeling somewhat better. "I didn't mean anything like that." He stirred his coffee, waiting for it to cool off a bit. "It's just... my life as an upper-caste kid on Aedolis was nice, but it wasn't going anywhere. I didn't want to ride on my family's coattails my whole life. I knew I was a psychic at the time, and was trying to figure out whether I should hide it or do something with it." He sipped the latte. Better than the high-end coffee-shops in Haviah, he thought. They really do go all-out for the Pilots. "My father was always a huge supporter of the military, so I decided to take a shot at becoming a Pilot." He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "Who knows? Even if I don't make it, at least TRIM will be a new experience." He smirked, looking back at Fala. "I didn't mean that. Please don't cart me off to TRIM now."

[Anonymous]

Yeesh. Was the kid going to jump at every question she asked him? Resisting the urge to roll her eyes (even though it'd be hard for Alik to see them through her visor) at his startled pause to her first question, she almost regretted asking. All she was doing was making small talk before the coffee got there, not waiting to eat him alive if he said he didn't want to be a Pilot.

Not a lot of people actively looked forward to working with the dragons. Many of the TRIM-sent Candidates preferred death to working in the totalitarian government's military, and their minds had been broken before their mindless forms were tossed aside into the transport units. Hell, even some of the current Pilots hadn't looked forward to their jobs, and some still weren't all that fond of it!

Listening to his words and processing them as they came out, Fala's eyes narrowed slightly as she tried to piece together where he was coming from. While Candidates and many Pilots found such past stories utterly frivolous and useless, Fala was surprised to discover that this minor look into his upbringing revealed quite a bit about him. The fact that he was upper-caste, for instance, meant that he was brought up with far more perks than she. If Alik wasn't spoiled, it'd be a damn miracle.

But he was also rebellious and adventurous, if he'd decided to step out from his family's name and jump straight into the Pilot program.

"So, it's a social experiment, then. At least you've got your reasons." Stirring her coffee just enough to get the espresso fully incorporated into her drink- as it had a nasty habit of settling if left alone for small amounts of time- Fala took a sip of her drink. Ahh, the people here knew what she liked- the sharp, robust taste of coffee without the bitter aftertaste, which was dulled considerably by the pleasant serenade of white chocolate that graced her tongue. Absolutely delicious. The little demon of addiction that had been gnawing at her seemed to settle down, purring in contentment.

"Careful what you wish for, kiddo. TRIM's no walk in the park. Can't send you off to TRIM now if I wanted to- you're a gracie. You've got six months to royally fuck up and shape up, and I can't send you away. But as soon as that six month mark elapses, that'll all change." Taking another drink and smiling at the taste, she pointed at his own drink with a smirk.

"Betcha can't go back to regular coffee now, huh? These guys make it so much better than the others, and still charge the same price. Being a Pilot isn't so bad."

[Anonymous]

He watched Fala take in everything he said. I didn't think it was that interesting. "So, it's a social experiment, then. At least you've got your reasons." Alik was grateful she chose not to think of him as a reckless thrill-seeker. That's the reaction I got from most people.

Alik sipped his coffee contentedly as Fala told him about the grace period. If there is one valid argument for theism in this day and age, he thought, it's the hazelnut latte. Such a thing could not possibly have been created by the destructive hands of man alone. He used vanilla cream when he made them, though. Apart from water, a hazelnut latte was probably the least sissy thing Alik would drink. "That's good news. You probably shouldn't have told me that. Especially not before the first psychic training session."

She pointed at his drink, a superior look on her face. "Betcha can't go back to regular coffee now, huh? These guys make it so much better than the others, and still charge the same price. Being a Pilot isn't so bad." Alik switched back into brat mode for a brief moment. "I don't know..." he said. "I bet my mom and I could outdo these guys in a bean-off." He leaned in closer, as though to impart valuable knowledge. "You oughta try my Cinnamon Caramel Cappuccino Chimera... it's an Ipfeiyi special." He winked and sat back in his chair. Alik had a long history of making good coffee, and hated to be outdone.

[Anonymous]

"That's good news. You probably shouldn't have told me that. Especially not before the first psychic training session." Swirling her cup in her hand for a moment, Fala looked up at his content response to her mention of the grace period. Had he seriously not known about it? Most Candidates embraced the six-month period and abused it for the first few months. After the first three or so, though, they shaped up, lest they get shipped out at six months and a day after their arrival.

"So you say. Careful. If I remember you screwing up royals at the beginning and know you haven't fixed it by the end of six months, I could very well ship you off on those grounds. So mess up if you want- makes it harder for you." Snidely grinning at Alik, she tapped her temple with a white-gloved finger, almost as if to say, 'Smart choice there, buddy!'. If he was going to let her know he was going to take the easy way out, she'd simply block off the exit, was all.

Better to force him through the labyrinth and come out a strong Pilot, rather than going through a harmless hallway and coming out as an insubordinate failure to the program.

But when he mentioned his coffee, her eyes flew open, and she literally took off her visor to look at him. The normal ruby that covered her vision was replaced by clear, true colors as her dark blue eyes looked at him with careful curiosity. That was quite the boast to make, considering she held a delicacy in her hands... but she wasn't going to shoot him down. Oh, no.

If what he said was true, she'd just pester him to make her coffee for free. Ahh, the benefits of being a mentor!

"Really, now? Tomorrow, then, we'll see about doing that." Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, she didn't care about how much her palm ports had been showing during the conversation. If the kid asked, that was his prerogative.

"Come on, take your drink. We're heading to my place- I forgot somethin' that you need. You need to see the Citadel anyway."

[Anonymous]

Fala appeared to enjoy his answer. In a twisted, what-can-I-do-to-step-on-him sort of way. "So you say. Careful. If I remember you screwing up royals at the beginning and know you haven't fixed it by the end of six months, I could very well ship you off on those grounds. So mess up if you want- makes it harder for you." She tapped her head, and Alik rolled his eyes. "I inspire such little confidence in you! I wouldn't actually try to screw up."

The Pilot took off her visor to stare incredulously at Alik at the mention of the Cinnamon Caramel Cappuccino Chimera. Now that's the reaction it deserves! He locked her dark blue eyes with his violet ones, and smirked, quite sure of his coffee-making prowess. "Really, now? Tomorrow, then, we'll see about doing that." Alik liked that idea. "You're on!" He noticed what appeared to be an electrical port in her hand as she pushed back her hair, and shrugged it off. Probably part-cybernetic or something. Not my place to ask.

She got up from her seat. "Come on, take your drink. We're heading to my place- I forgot somethin' that you need. You need to see the Citadel anyway." Alik's expression went from competetive to bright. "Alright," he said, getting up and pushing his chair in. "Which way is it from here?"

[Anonymous]

"I inspire such little confidence in you! I wouldn't actually try to screw up." At that comment, she repressed a laugh. Her Candidate... was quite the character. At least he realized when she doubted him, and actually got her to laugh at him. It felt good to laugh at someone, especially when the victim was from a higher caste than she had come from.

"Good. I used to room with a kid that did that. She got shipped off to TRIM the day after her grace period." Smiling cheekily, she acknowledged his competitive spirit and led the way, pointing down one of the irritatingly identical corridors. Just as she was going to tell him that led to the upper levels of the Citadel if he took the proper transportation, the irritated thrum of her dragon interrupted them both sharply.

<Oh, no you don't. Neither of you two are to get to the Citadel. I had your things taken down, Fala- it's your fault you'd forgotten.> Realizing then that Jorinth was addressing them both, and not just her alone, Fala slapped her palm to her forehead and immediately expressed her dislike of his public communication. To which he'd actually taken the time to reply, which didn't help matters too much.

<It's his first day- far too early to get to a Pilots-only area. Later, perhaps.> And though she expressed her discontent yet again, this time he ignored her. However, the tan dragon in his hangar wasn't through with her Candidate- with his thoughts open to the both of them, Jorinth continued to speak.

His voice wasn't overbearingly loud- just enough to get the point across that he wasn't something to disrespect- but it was quite deep, just as his true voice was.

<Candidate Ipfeiyi, you will follow Fala to your room. I've had the supplies she'd neglected brought there.>

And with that, the connection simply vanished.

Irritated at her dragon's interference, Fala heaved a heavy sigh, looking to Alik with a resigned shrug.

"Jorinth's my dragon- maybe you'll see him soon. Normally he doesn't interfere like this. So, where's your room? There's a few things we have to cover before I can leave you alone for a while."

[Anonymous]

Alik made a face. "That's a pity. Well, at least they, um... weeded her out early?" He said the last part deliberately insincerely. "Must make it hard for the scientists, though, to deal with psychics who are perfectly fine..." He followed him as she walked, and was stopped in his tracks by a resounding psychic voice.

<Oh, no you don't. Neither of you two are to get to the Citadel. I had your things taken down, Fala- it's your fault you'd forgotten.> He stepped back, startled, trying to collect himself. That must be her dragon. He remained attentive, but not cocky, since he was apparently speaking to the both of them. Fala slapped her forehead, irritated at his pointing out her error.

<It's his first day- far too early to get to a Pilots-only area. Later, perhaps.> That sounds reasonable, thought Alik, startled that the dragon knew where he was without ever meeting him face-to-face. Initially scary, but reasonable.

This time the dragon spoke to him. <Candidate Ipfeiyi, you will follow Fala to your room. I've had the supplies she'd neglected brought there.> He was about to attempt an affirmative response, but the connection dropped before he had the chance. "Alright, then..." he said, still rather shaken. He'd never had someone just... speak to his mind like that before.

Fala sighed, and shrugged. "Jorinth's my dragon- maybe you'll see him soon. Normally he doesn't interfere like this. So, where's your room? There's a few things we have to cover before I can leave you alone for a while." "Um," Alik replied. "Looking forward to it, or something."

He took a few steps back from the hallway that led to the Citadel, and pointed a few halls down. "It's this way, I think. Now, the way he said it, it sounded like you should be leading the way..." He stepped aside, gesturing, straight-backed, for Fala to walk in front of him.

He looked at the doors as they walked past. Each one had a placard to the side of it, with two names listed on it. Some of them were names of Candidates he recognized, so he kept walking. It just struck me now... these placards are removable, aren't they? "Okay," he said, spotting his name on a placard, below Draygovi's. "Here we are," he said brightly, opening the door. The room was sparsely decorated, at least on his side. Most of his possessions either had not arrived yet, or had been left with his family. He saw a stack of books on the table next to his bed. "Are these what you wanted to show me?"