HA: Academy Visit

[Rhiannon D Harker]

((Originally posted Jan 20, 2015))

Harker's Academy was down the street from the Old Temple Baronial Manor. The building was stone and two large windows on either side of the entrance. Passersby might be able to get a look at some of the activities going on inside the school. It had a basement where some of the weapons and alchemy work were done. While the building was one of the older structures in the district, the place was well kept and clean inside.

Rhiannon Harker was in the front office attending to paperwork. Maggie, her eight year old, was peering out one of the window as she waited for the expected visitors.

The small party made their way down that street, three small figures flanked by two larger ones, and a sixth that glided along behind them, ominously quiet. As they came up to the building, everyone stopped to look up and around at everything. Toby turned to the quiet figure, and gestured with his head. "We'll be fine, Max. Hang out here. Keep out of sight. Don't scare anyone."

As always, there was no audible reply from the burnt-red armored machine. Its single red eye pulsed once, and it drifted away into the shadows beyond to await the family's return. Toby turned back to his wife Tabitha, and then gestured to the three little girls. "Ok, who wants to ring the bell?" He expected a cacaphony of "me! me!", and was surely not disappointed. Little Selene was the one who got to toddle up and (with an assist from her big sister Maurin), pushed the button for the doorbell.

The ringing of the doorbell was followed by a rushing of small feet and a call of, "Mama! They're here!" Maggie waited for her mother to answer the door. Friendly folk or not, she had been taught to wait.

Rhi opened the door and gestured for the family to come inside out of the chilly winter weather. "Welcome! How are you all today?"

Maggie was excited about this visit. She would get to share the art room and other things with the St. Germain girls. "We're having hot chocolate and banana bread for snacks today. Do you like those?"

Rhi grinned and gestured to Maggie. "You have now met our social director. The rest of the tour will follow shortly." She opened the coat closet so any outerwear could be hung up for the time being. "To add to what Maggie said, snacks are being served in the lunch room at the rear of the building. Maybe the girls would like to start there. My first question for parents and guardians is always "do you have any questions or concerns that I can address for you?"

The girls were quite pleased about the snack situation, and managed to talk over each other as a result, until Maurin settled her younger siblings down and answered in her best 'I'm the big sister' mode. "Yes, please!"

Maggie directed the girls to lunch room so the adults could talk.

With that settled, Toby and Tabitha were able to talk to Rhi while the girls were otherwise occupied. "Oof, wow.. where do we begin," Toby chuckled. "Well, I guess to recap what I was telling Miz Colleen at the snow event.. our three little whirling dervishes there are pretty close in age, and we've been doing a little bit of home schooling up until now. But we both want them to have a proper school education, with other kids, and not be as isolated. And that's something of a complicated issue, because they're all three, um, gifted. Which we'll talk about in more detail."

He glanced over at Tabitha, with a smile. "And it's going to be four rather shortly, as well." Then he turned back again to Rhi. "I guess for myself I''d like to know more about the school, you know?" And a questioning look to Tabi to see what she thought.

With one hand resting on her ever-growing belly, Tabitha looked around the entryway, taking note of where the little ladies had gone. Usually, new places set her on edge, but there was no such feeling here. In fact, Tabitha felt nearly as relaxed as she did at home - which Toby would know the minute she brushed his arm, threading hers through his. "It seems more like a family, rather than the schools I've read about and seem ads for all over Rhydin - you know, the ones with the robed professors and funny hats."

"Please sit down." She gestured to a few chairs and a small sofa in what might have been called a waiting room. "I remember my last few weeks waiting on my children. Standing was not something I wanted to do for long periods!" She smiled gently and took a seat herself.

"All of the students here are gifted in some way or other. A few have more than one talent and we try to work with their abilities and teach them, primarily, to not be afraid of what they were born with. Unfortunately, not all children in Rhydin are blessed with parents that are accepting of those innate gifts. It was one of the reasons I started the school. My cousin, Jacen, who teaches here, is good example. He had to learn the hard way and on his own to cope with what he could do."

A pot of tea with plate of cinnamon rolls and slices of banana bread were brought out from the lunch room and set on a low table. Pearl left three mugs on the table as well. She give Rhi a wink and went on her way back to the lunch room. She was one of people in charge of the chattering bunch of children at least for the time being.

"Thank you, Pearl." Rhi smiled. "She's one of our teacher's aides." She offered to pour for Tabi and Toby. "This is a family run school. I'm careful of who I invite as guest instructors. There are plenty of people in Rhydin that are willing to help within their scope of knowledge. Shylah, for instance, gave a wonderful presentation on navigating by the night sky." She poured the tea and slid the condiments tray toward the couple. "Open minds tend to make life easier for people. The kids seem to enjoy field trips from time to time." She chuckled softly. "Matt Simon has gained a few young admirers after he spoke on zero-g travel and such." Rhi took a long drink from her tea. "What I'm trying to get at is we try to keep things educational and fun. Bored children or children that aren't being challenged enough often feel out of place and lose interest."

[Rhiannon D Harker]

Toby sat back, his fingers steepled together in what Maurin called 'Daddy's thinkin' mode.' "Well, you hit on the big difficulty that we had with finding a school for the girls. A couple of them, actually. Speaking for myself, I, er.. also had to learn the hard way for a long time. I grew up in the spaceport area, and then later on... " He paused, clearing his throat. "I did find a teacher of my own. But she has rather a .. colourful reputation in Rhydin. And it occurred to me, more than once, that while she is an 'effective teacher,' I am not so sure I would want her molding my childrens' minds. If you''ve met Kairee, you know what I mean. If not, I know your mother can tell you lots of stories." He added, drily. "Some of them rather awful."

"To put it bluntly, I am both incredibly paranoid, and extremely cynical when it comes to Rhydin. I've lived here my whole life, though Tabi comes from Terr-," pausing to catch himself, "from Earth. I could count the people I'd trust with the girls on one hand, frankly. So it was a rather long and difficult search. But, two of the people I *do* trust are my friend Xenograg, and Ms., ' again pausing to correct himself, "Queen Teleperien, and she pointed me to you without hesitation."

"If it's not an imposition, and to whatever degree you are comfortable with, I'd like to know a little about you and the family, so we can see where the other is coming from. Not a full history, I've heard enough to know that'll keep us here rather a long time." A grin flashed. "But just a little bit, you know?"

Settling into a comfortable chair, Tabitha happily prepared a cup of tea (one lump of sugar, and a splash of cream) and indulged in both a slice of the warm banana bread and a cinnamon roll - both of which reminds her of her grandmother's cooking. After finishing a bite of the roll - and catching a drip of icing that almost escaped - she nodded her agreement with Toby. "A challenging curriculum would be welcome, especially for Reinette. She always seems to be not only one step ahead of us, but a whole city ahead at times. Of the girls, she's the one I worry about the most - she has a knack for ... manipulation. Nothing cruel or anything along those lines, but when it comes to chores, she is supremely talented at getting one of her sisters to do the jobs - especially little Selene." She took a quick sip of her tea, then continued. "I wanted to make sure you were aware, in case she starts with her teachers, getting out of homework and projects that don't catch her attention."

Rhiannon curled her fingers around her mug. "My eldest sister, Christina, was the governess for Princess Erwyn when she was younger. She's the one in charge of the basic studies here: reading, history, mathematics and so on. She's also a good painter and has been passing those skills along to our students. I expect Her Majesty learned of Chrisy's presence here and it was extra in the academy's favor." She cleared her throat. "Paranoia in small doses isn't necessarily a bad thing, you know."

She smiled slightly. "As for my family, that could get into a tangled family tree as you already pointed out. However, I'll stick to my own small family for the moment, you can ask what you like about my siblings and all afterward." She set the mug on a coaster. "My husband, Dennis, and his business partner, Albert Hall, have their own architectural firm. My brother, Garrick, has taken an interest in the building side of things. I do the public relations for them." A teasing smile flitted across her lips. "Dennis and I often joke that Bertie's charm would get him into too much trouble to be the public face of the business. They've been friends since they were quite young. He's Maggie's godfather and has his own quarters in our home." Rhi paused to consider what else to add without getting overly long winded again. "I've been active in the Duel of Swords since I was younger than Maggie. My mother and I have been criticized for allowing children to take part. I feel that's between us and our children. I don't force Maggie to take part. Rick and Catie have well developed skills, but have no interest in competing there. People get the wrong idea."

She took a bite of a cinnamon bun and licked her lips. "My Aunt Ariana makes these. We have them brought in fresh from her shop." Her head tilted slightly. "Is there anything more specific I can answer for either of you on my family?" She looked to Tabitha. "I think we can find plenty to engage Reinette. The key is finding what she likes to do and wants to learn."

Toby shook his head, for his part. "I guess the next thing would be to tell you a little about ourselves, now, and about the girls. Both for the social reasons, which are fun.. and so you know the people coming in here. If I were in your place, I know I'd want to know exactly what's walking through that door to mingle with the kids under my care." He leaned his head back slightly, fingers steepled again in thought.

"Well, as I mentioned, I am native to Rhydin. I grew up in the spaceport, which means that I was effectively a gang kid until I was about seventeen years of age. I got better. My interests, or field, if you will, are primarily technological. I do still hold a pilot's license, and maintain a cargo craft that I've had for..., " he thought about that, "about twenty years. I am very big on tinkering, and my field of expertise is applied energy field manipulation. And if that wasn't weird enough, I am the assistant manager for Star's End Bar, under Mr. Kane."

There was a bit of a pause here. When he resumed speaking, his voice was considerably more subdued. "I was unaware that there was anything more to me until about the age of thirty. Without going into tedious and overdramatic detail, I am gifted in the field of psionics. Many, but not all, of the things the girls can do come from me." A sidelong look at Tabitha, as he knew she'd fill in the rest of the blanks there. "That's how I came to study under Kairee, and please do not hold that against me - I swear that I am not an accident waiting to happen." A wry smile.

Maurin is our oldest, she will be turning six very soon. She's very, er, forceful. She's been told more than once just how she's to talk to an adult, but she can be stubborn. I don't know where she got that." Utterly, utterly deadpan. "She's very keen on electronics and technology, and she has long had quite a fascination with her godmother/Aunt Wyh's sword. We plan on giving all three of them a basic grounding in basic swordsmanship, just because? well? you've lived here. You know what Rhydin is like. Xenograg, their godfather, is going to be handling that, but as such I'd be happy to know that they can get additional instruction and practice here, in a safe environment."

[Rhiannon D Harker]

"Maurin is also telekinetic. She, and the other girls, have had.. blocks in place from a young age, to keep them from endangering themselves, but also so they could have a normal childhood. She was able to make her toys move around from a very young age, hence the reason I did that. However, I've been slowly allowing those to lapse? I don't want to make the mistake of making them wait to learn to control these things. That's what happened to me, and it did not go well. She occasionally shows hints of other things, what I could best describe as perceptions. We honestly do not know the absolute extent of what they inherited from the two of us, but that's the majority when it comes to her."

"Reinette is four and a half, and she is a charmer, as Tabitha mentioned. Part of it comes naturally, she just has that sort of personality. All little girls have that gift for batting the eyes at you, but she has a knack for it." He paused, looking at his tea. "But Reinette seems to have more than just a knack for it. I could probably best describe it almost like a form of 'offensive' empathy - she can get her way almost subconsciously. I think she knows it, but doesn't know *how*. Mind you, it's a lot harder for her to pull it off if you're ready for it. And now you are." Another pause. "She, and Selene too, have a little hint of telekinesis, but very.. very minor."

"Selene just turned three last month and she is a different kind of special. And by that I mean, she has a gift that has nothing to do with me. We first realized it when she was only a few months old, and we swore we saw her almost go transparent on us. Tabitha was ... terrified. She called me home in a panic. It took us a long time, and talking to many people, before the truth came out. She's gifted with Dreams. She was able to nearly disappear into her own, and we almost lost her before someone else we know with that gift was able to go in and find her. It terrifies me, I will be honest, because it's something I have no knowledge of, no way to control aside from the block I was able to put on her. But there it is. She's not shown too much in the way of other gifts, at least not yet."

Toby sat forward a little, now. "By objective standards, Maurin is the 'strongest' of the three of them, she's shown the most aptitude for her gifts - probably because she's the oldest. But, and this is something Tabitha and I have not spoken of to almost anyone else. Reinette is the one that we worry about. I can't really put it into words, but potentially.. she could be ..., " Toby trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish that thought. He went silent now, turning to look at Tabitha.

Tabitha gave Toby a reassuring touch to his arm, before speaking. "As Toby mentioned, I'm originally from Earth - the Midwestern United States, to be specific. One fall afternoon, I took a walk in a large park near where I lived, following a path I'd never seen before. The next thing I knew, the trees were all changed, and I found myself at the Red Dragon Inn face to face with beings I'd only read about. Toby and I met, became fast friends, drifted apart because of circumstance and a Nexus storm, and reunited when I fell into his lake. We've been married for.. almost seven years now." A gentle squeeze of Toby's arm punctuated the upcoming milestone.

"Maurin, as you may have guessed, is the most 'active' of the three. She's always puttering, building.. tinkering." SHe gave Toby a fond smile. "In that, she;'s truly her father's daughter. For Christmas, he bought her a tool kit of her very own - real tools sized for smaller hands, with purple handles so she knows for sure which are hers."

A nibble of banana bread, and then she continued. "Reinette, while not as physically active as Maurin, does have a focus when it comes to history and languages - especially languages. At four years old, she's already picked up enough Elven to be considered fluent - and that was just from listening to the vendors at the Marketplace when we'd go. I taught her what little Gaelic I know, which she mastered within a week - and that's not an easy language to learn. Too many silent letters."

"Selene.. if I have one worry aside from her Dreaming, it's that she always seems to have an.. inward focus, like what she's seeing is within herself rather than on the outside." She picked up her cup, fidgeting with it as she continued. "I'm not sure that makes very much sense, but it's like she can play contentedly while her sisters war all around her." She looked to Toby, then back to Rhi. "Otherwise, they're perfectly normal little girls with normal rivalries who are very eager to meet their brother - who I imagine will be the most pampered prince in all of Rhydin once he's born." That thought made her grin, trailing off as she refreshed her tea.

Toby nodded emphatically. "And we want that for them, a normal childhood.. as normal as it gets around here. Friends, classes, not to be isolated up at the top of the world."

Rhiannon had listened to both of them and took note of what each had to say about their daughters. "One of the things I have learned while working with children, my own and others, is that it's better open the valve slowly and let them get a grasp of what they can control before it runs them over like a fast train or a hurricane." She took a slow, deep breath. "The hard part is pacing to their comfort. As I'm sure you've discovered with your gifts, we don't always get choice with what manifests or when." She chuckled a bit. "Reminds of something Maggie related after an outing with her aunt and uncle. She said someone in the inn wanted to give real fairy wands and shaman staffs to children to play with. The adult in question didn't seem to understand why toy wooden ones were better in the hands of children that might have undiscovered talents or were untrained in using magic." She turned her hand palm upward. "This is something we have in Rhydin. People that mean well, but are often unaware the possible consequences."

Rhi set a booklet on the table. "We have someone on staff who is gifted with languages. She has had the benefit of using several libraries and some technology not native to Rhydin. You met her just a bit ago, Pearl. I have a list here of some of the languages she can teach, mostly Earth European, but it is a challenge to keep up. As for Elvish, my niece comes from time to time. Conversing in a language helps keep it fresh in the memory. Melly also teaches archery for students that wish to learn, providing their parents allow it." She straightened in her seat. "I have a couple of students, much like your Selene, that prefer to focus inward. I try to find the compromise point with them. Some activities are better with groups. We use the observatory's facilities for some of the art and other projects. I have the feeling you might want to get a look at those. There's a science class geared toward children that Maurin might like. They vary the material over the term."

[Rhiannon D Harker]

She looked up as someone passed the window outside then turned her attention back to the St. Germains. 'In the interests of disclosure, I'm an empath and gifted in the healing arts. It's not so easy for a child to pull one over on me." She flashed a wink.

Maggie knocked on the doorframe of the opened waiting room door. "Excuse me, please."

Rhi's head turned. Blessedly, Maggie was using her company manners. "Yes, Maggie?"

"Snack time is over. Could we please start the tour before the food sleep thing starts?"

Rhi hid a smile behind her hand. "I think we're ready. That is, unless, there are other questions?"

Toby glanced at Tabitha, and there was that one moment of silent eyes meeting - any married couple knows it, even if one isn't a telepath and the other an empath. He then shook his head and set down the teacup. "As it always works out, we'll probably think of two dozen questions after we've been less than two minutes out of this meeting." A low chuckle. "But for now, we'd love to see the place."

Rhi got to her feet and leaned toward Maggie. "Are you playing tour guide, today?"

The answer came without hesitation and with a squeal of delight. "I can do that!" Maggie beamed brightly and directed everyone toward a door along the wall. "Are the girls coming? If not, they can do the art project with Aunt Chrisy." Maggie opened the door. At the top of the stairway was a large landing with group of shelves that held art and other supplies. In the interests of safety, it had been built to help prevent anyone from tumbling down the stairs. The same was true of the double set of railings on either side of the closed stairwell. The lower set made it easier for the wee folk to navigate on their own. "Take your time and hold on!" Maggie called before going downward.

The basement was painted in bright blues and yellows. It had been decorated by the students and some parts of the walls looked like a primary school class had been hard at work. This was where weapon skills were taught. The floor felt cushiony, it had been made to ward off severe injuries from falls, but allow a stable walking space. "This is the rack of stuff and things!" Maggie said gleefully as she gestured to the wooden practice weapons. "The metal stuff is locked up. We have to learn with the wood first. School rule is always have a grown person or someone with the ..." she looked to her mother then the progress chart on the wall, "bigger number on that chart to show you stuff."

Rhi cleared her throat. "That's our experience chart. It shows the progress of all students with each type of weapon we have available. As you can see, some are good with all, some specialize with one or a few. It's what they feel comfortable trying and what parents consent to."

Maggie pointed to her name on the chart. "I'm learning this one. G-l-a-i-v-e spells glaive."

Rhiannon opened a double set of doors at the back of the practice room. "We set this up with basics, but after Hannibal hit, we fleshed it out some." It was a shelter with cots, canned food and other items on shelves and several closed packages that held clean bedding. "We never know what nature or Rhydin in general will toss at us. As Mother is fond of saying, better to have this ready and not need it than need it and not have it."

As they walked along, looking around, Toby paused. "Do all the students commute here? Or do any stay here?" He was probably thinking of the boarding schools from various stories he'd read. "We live rather a long way up north, far beyond into the forest regions near the mountains. But in my case, I can drop the girls off, and pick them up."

"They commute. However, if there are emergency circumstances, we can make arrangements for an overnight stay." She gesture toward the front of the building. "Two of my sisters live across the way, advantages of having a big family."

The next question was one that had been on Toby's mind since the very first time he'd ever considered sending the girls to a school that wasn't in their own house. His tone went sober, as he looked back to Rhi. "What can you tell me about defensive measures?"

"Mechanical, magical, or those that have been divinely invoked?" Clearly Rhi was not joking. Keeping the children in her charge safe was paramount.

"Any and all, anything that isn't kept classified for security reasons." He was just as serious, though pleased to see that it was a topic that was taken quite seriously. "It's almost a cliche, but you know what Rhydin is like. The hardest thing for Tabitha and I was convincing ourselves to let the girls go someplace that's not home - somewhere where I can't protect them, by whatever means available. Our greatest fear would be some maniac deciding that the best way to make a name for themselves would be to come after the kids." Not his kids in particular, of course - just the kids in general.

"Any part of the building past the entrance way and waiting room is warded. At the back and sides of the building we have walls and doors that can withstand heavy weapons fire and a bomb blast. Between my husband's skills as an architect and my sister's with tech, we are not unprotected here." She cleared her throat. "The front room isn't warded and is open to the public in case someone is need of shelter from the weather or help. That did cause a window to be broken, but it also saved a couple of people to shelter from storms and at least one person from being mugged. Good with the bad as they say." She studied Toby a moment. "My uncle specializes in weapons and custom armor. I tend to make arrangements with him for the students. One of things I try to instill in the younger children is that sometimes they will need their skills to protect themselves, but the best option when available is to hide or run to get help. Depends on the circumstances."

[Rhiannon D Harker]

A slow nod. They understood each other, it seemed. "You mentioned technology. I didn't think to ask this when I spoke to Collie previously, but I'm assuming that the school is connected up to where it can be reached over electronic communication? GalNet, the HoloNet, that sort of thing? For emergencies, mostly, or if one of my little dust devils goes and knocks her tooth out." A beat, and a wry smile. "Again." Then serious once more. "In a true emergency I have my own ways to get somewhere fast, but it's a little too melodramatic for my taste to appear on the doorstep for something relatively minor. I'll give you my commcode, which links to both my personal comm," Toby tapped the device on his belt, "and to the cabin. Plus even if I'm not actually working at the Bar, I have it set up to where any message sent to Star's End Bar or the Red Dragon will be relayed on to me."

"We are connected, yes. Anything that can't be handled by those with first aid training or a healer's gift, the child or children are taken immediately to Riverview Clinic. Doc Anya as Maggie likes to call her has been our family physician for several years. No matter how trivial someone might think they are, accident notifications are always sent to parents immediately. When one is responsible for someone else's child, no injury should be considered too trivial to tell them." She took a deep breath. "Worst case scenario," she tapped hand on wooden weapon," has happened only twice. Once was an allergic reaction. Not even the parents knew she was allergic to peppers."

Toby was quiet for a while. "I'll be honest, I can't think of anything else I want to ask right now. I'm sure we'll think of a million things, but.. " He turned to face her. "I'm very pleased with what I've seen, and what I've heard. I think I can safely say that if there's any place I would let the girls go, this is it."

"I'm glad you feel that way." Rhiannon smiled warmly. "We can show the art room and other classrooms then discuss the particulars. Our fees are nominal, but I should warn you ahead of time that I believe in community involvement. However the children can help, I encourage them to do so. We have had a few wonderful ideas from the children, too."

The tour continued through the rest of the building and onward into Rhiannon's office to discuss fees, activities, and whether or not the family had any faith based issues or if the girls had any known allergies that needed to be addressed.

((Co-written with the wonderful players of Toby and Tabitha St. Germain.

This takes place before the birth of Toby and Tabby's fourth child.))