For Nostalgia's Sake! - Lessons with Toby

[Reiko Souma]

They come in different varieties and come with a purpose. Venturing down a particular path isn't something that always needs be supported by an audience of any variety, and the destructive path that had started its pavement was of no exception. Sometimes, enough is enough when the first square comes down.

One instance to note is that of a woman returning to Rhy'din after a six-year war on her native planet of Terra; however, this streak may have very well started before then. Following an incident at the Red Dragon Inn a few months ago and a second one nearly a month afterwards, it was recommended that Reiko start speaking with Toby for the reason of her previously seeking his advice on a personal matter.

Toby the friendly bartender now found himself doubling as Reiko's therapist (of sorts) with ideas for therapy and lessons that may or may not leave Reiko less than thrilled with the husband and father of four at times?

*To date, any logs for some of the lessons that aren't recorded in Reiko's journal might have become lost due to an unintentional lack of note-keeping, of which the fault belongs to nobody.

[Reiko Souma]

*This is the earliest record of Reiko's lessons with Toby. Kept in a journal that is currently locked away in a location known only to the Terran native, its existence isn't as known as the journal that the woman keeps on her desk or on her bed. Particularly private thoughts are shared with Toby that Reiko would rather not leave their sessions, so anybody who should come across this for any reason is asked not to include this in their storyline of any sorts.

Tracking...locating...there she is!

A bird has flown inside of the Inn, taking advantage of the front door being left open by one of the patrons as they entered with it. Their presence to each other was unknown, as was the purpose for the former's entrance. Although it's actually mechanical and contains far more than what meets the eye, it looks real enough by sight. What gives it away almost immediately are the sounds of the soft metallic flaps of its wings and the electronic-sounding chirps. This bird has come for Reiko, and it wasn't going anywhere until it had what it was sent here to retrieve.

Really, why did this woman have to be so stubborn? It's as if she hadn't heard it chirping right at her, at least not for too long! These particular chirps, all of which came from the same bird who followed her outside to the back alley behind the Inn, had distinct similarities to the notes that Toby's played on the piano in the past. He's a friendly bartender and easy-going guy who jokes around and plays the piano; at least, that's how he came across to the woman that crept over to the back of Levi's pickup truck. After awhile, the bird has decided that it's had enough of her antics. Flying over, it started to peck at her head with its beak just as Andu came running out. That was the end of Reiko's attempt to ambush and possibly murder Levi Clark.

A slightly ill-faced Reiko meandered from the Inn then, having followed that damn annoying bird with a bottle of wine in her hand. She had snatched it from the counter, what with it being unopened (and now unpaid for), and helped herself to the first sip just before approaching the vehicle cautiously. She suddenly found out the effects that medicine had when she felt this really strong urge to vomit that wine back up...ew! She sat in the back seat of the vehicle once she had opened the door.

"Stupid to ask now...but what's with you and that annoying bird?" Reiko hadn't been able to make out the face right away in the darkness, and certainly not the back of the head.

"It's a prototype security drone I built for where I live. It's designed to patrol, identify, and reconnoiter." As if on cue, Toby would then follow that up with, "And record, did I mention that part?"

She shook her head no. "Honestly, I'm having a bit of trouble right now. Ugh..." Leaning forward, she held her head with both hands by the sides. "I take a sip of wine, and suddenly I feel like I've got another hangover. Bloody Hell." What exactly had happened to that wine, anyways? Reiko had dropped it outside of the vehicle that she now found herself regretting that one sip of wine in, only minus the upchucking.

Her regret didn't take much away from her ability to pay attention. At least, not from the listening aspect of it. "Yeah. You've had a busy night," was said so casually, "I've been waiting while you were hell-raising. I thought about lecturing you, but, y'know. Not my style. Besides, I always find that object lessons stick better than words. Don't you?" Toby said these things conversationally, as he then took the shuttle practically vertical at what could best be described as blistering sped. Coincidentally, the backseat of the shuttle was scotch-guarded - he did have kids, after all.

"Much appreciated." Thankfully, the woman had bottles of fresh water and blueberry-pomegranate juice in her backpack. Looking up would be a horrible idea right now, particularly if she didn't want to see another gross effect of the medicine and wine...some medicine! More like a pill from Hell! "Like the one I'm apparently learning now? Sure?" She shut her eyes.

Toby nodded. "It's somewhere between 'don't look for trouble' and 'don't keep your ride waiting.'" Great. "Along with 'keep to high altitude when flying over the primitive side of town, they get spooked by spacecraft.'" He leveled out somewhere around three thousand feet and headed roughly northwest.

What about avenging the cause of a suicide attempt? she wanted to ask. Instead, Reiko kept her mouth shut. Dare she look up? In a minute, perhaps. The worst of the effect seemed to start to pass, so the woman opened her eyes and peered up some. Then her head raised just enough for her to look to her right. Where were all of the buildings at? Was this even Rhy'din the city anymore? Below, if Reiko chanced to look out the shuttle craft's windows, the city gave way to farms and various villages, and then to no civilization at all - just lots and lots of trees. "I'd say we're not in Kansas anymore, but it looks like we're going back to Kansas...where are we going, Toby?" Reiko asked, looking away from the window. She rubbed her temples.

"North." But, that maddeningly vague response was followed up a few moments later. "The Glen isn't really safe anymore, not with all the nut-jobs and firebugs running around. So, I'm relocating the lessons for the moment to someplace more protected."

"Yeah...so I've heard." The arsonists and maniacs were getting out of hand, in her opinion. Reiko may not have every card in her deck, but she at least admitted to it and tried to find those missing cards. How was that working out for her? Well...considering her earlier attempt to ambush and slowly end Levi's life with as much pain as possible, one could answer with, 'full of bumps.' She was off on her thought train, not immediately realising that the trip was much longer than the one from Star's End Spaceport to the RTS headquarters. Considering the speed at which the shuttle flew, they had to be ungodly far north, probably a day or more by ground vehicle.

[Reiko Souma]

Finally, the shuttle began to drop like a stone toward the far-distant ground. Toby was humming casually as this happened, so it was safe to guess it was not a crash.

Unfortunately for him, Reiko didn't have that same impression. "Wha?" was her reaction when the stone-like drop started. Where was that barf bag?

Surely it must land with a bone-crushing slam...and yet the shuttle touched down with the lightest of shivers, and went still. That landing, although it didn't come with a rough ending, didn't help Reiko's stomach! The engines cycled down, and Toby got out. Lights came on, and they were in what looked for all the world like a garage. There was a workbench and bright ceiling lights, walls of something not entirely unlike concrete. "Well, come on," Toby said briskly, "no time to waste, and all that."

It took Reiko a moment to undo her safety restraints, in the meantime mumbling, "Geez, can I try not upchucking first?" She eventually made it out of the shuttle...into what she didn't expect to see in the middle of the woods. "Where are we?" Reiko asked, looking around as she stepped out and started to follow Toby.

There were several passages of the garage; it appeared to be underground, as if there were no windows anywhere. He took her along one of them, and then up a flight of stairs. They opened up into the cool night air, and they stood next to a cabin. Reiko had received no answer in the meanwhile. Well, she would probably find out sooner or later. Windows lit up from within. "Wait here. I'll be right back," he told her. True to his word, he returned a few minutes later with a familiar figure in tow - his oldest daughter, six year-old Maurin. She was of the dark hair, slightly bossy demeanour, and tomboyish mien. She waved hello to the woman she knew as "Miss Pink" whilst following her father.

Oh...shit, the thought flew through her mind when she saw Maurin. Implement that word filter to the max! In case of possible slippage, use "sign language" instead. Reiko waved to Maurin with this mostly goofy, but somewhat nervous, look on her face.

Toby gestured Reiko to follow. As soon as she started to follow, a nervous gulp was swallowed. What exactly did Toby have planned..? He had a bottle of what looked like water in each hand as he set off along a path from the cabin. To their left, she could see the land descend to a lake about fifty yards away whilst the path they were taking headed towards the woods that surrounded the great clearing on all side. The path led towards the trees at the south edge of the great clearing, but he stopped short of them. There leaves everywhere, as autumn was in the last stages of its glory.

He handed Reiko one of the bottles of water. "Have a seat," was said kindly enough. The woman made a face as she took the bottle of water. She was used to being given water, but sitting sounded really good right now. "And get some of that in you. Maurin's lesson is first, since she has an earlier bedtime than you...you can recover in the meantime." Maurin almost made a face at her father, but looked innocent by the time he turned back to her. There was a strong sense he was not fooled, though.

Maurin sank down onto her knees on the grass, and Toby sat opposite her, with Reiko at the third point on the compass to one side. Sitting to complete this "triangle" formation, Reiko placed the bottle down in front of her. She pulled her black backpack off and set it in her lap for easier access to her water and her juice. Her stomach was still trying to settle itself some more. "Yay, recovery...thanks for that," was said as she took out her own bottle of water and started to drink from it. She wanted to finish that one first.

With a gesture from her father, the girl closed her eyes, put her hands on her knees, and looked like she was trying to achieve calm. Though from her expression, she was not very good at that. He spoke, and while he was instructing his daughter, the words seemed as much for Reiko. "Anyone can be strong. The key is control. And before you can control anything, or anyone, you have to control yourself. To do that...you first have to achieve peace. Sometimes that's the hardest thing."

Oh, Reiko was listening for sure. That was the very first thing she'd learnt when she'd started to see Toby for therapy and lessons. Even if he wasn't speaking strictly to her, the woman was still listening. She sipped her water in the meanwhile.

"Okay, Ree," the man said quietly, "hold out your hand." He reached his own out and put a single leaf in the girl's hand. It was one of those big ones with multiple veined branches, looking for all the world like a miniature tree itself. Then he said quietly, to Reiko, "Her challenge is to make the leaf stand on end, in her hand." The dark-haired girl stared at the leaf, her eyes the exact same shade of cobalt as her father. She frowned heavily at it, brows drawn up as if trying to remember something she'd forgotten.

[Reiko Souma]

The now-empty bottle sat in front of the woman now, the challenge catching her interest. Make it stand? "How on Ea-Rhy'din..?" Reiko mumbled very quietly. She didn't want to distract the young girl from her seemingly impossible attempt. Seeing the look on her face pretty much matched the thought on Reiko's mind: impossible! Only a sorcerer could do that! she thought.

At first, the leaf quivered...it lay still. Toby was very quiet well as he spoke, for Reiko's ears alone. "My daughter is gifted. Watch." Again, the leaf quivered...it almost rolled over. Then it went still. There was no breeze to detect.

! Now that had her complete attention! Reiko was watching very carefully without even budging. Other than the necessary breathing, the woman wasn't moving. The thing was moving by itself! What was she seeing, here? Reiko's eyes started to narrow some. Was she watching sorcery in action?

Toby spoke once more, quietly still, as the leaf kept twitching. "It's about control. About will." The leaf started to rise, and then quivering violently in the grip of some unseen force, the stress was too much, and it was torn to pieces. Maurin's face crumpled in frustration and disappointment; Toby gently patted her shoulder. "Take a break...relax. We'll try again in a few."

Well, now Reiko's head was tilted curiosity. Control, huh. "What did I just watch..?" she couldn't help asking. Yes, Reiko was an admitted idiot to...well, whatever this "gift" of Maurin's was.

As Maurin took a drink from her own water bottle and tried not to look sulky, Toby spoke quietly to Reiko. "Mind over matter. We realized, to some surprise, when she was just a year old and her toys would float out of her crib. The question is teaching her control. To keep her from being a danger to herself, and to others. The principles apply to you too, just not the cause." He was watching her closely, to gauge her reaction to this.

What Toby would see from Reiko was a raised eyebrow and her arms folded in front of her. "Mind over matter...like sorcery, in other words..." she said first. Then she arched that raised eyebrow. "...what are you trying to say, here?"

"No," simply said at first, "Sorcery, what you'd call magic, is something else." His hands were folded in front of him, as if assuming a teacher's mode. It was here that the explanations began in order to try helping Reiko understand: Magic is a real thing. It's a force, an energy that exists in the world around us. There are those who have a gift with it, the ability to manipulate magic, to control it and use it to do things. "Ree is not magically gifted. We know this for sure; her godfather is a sorcerer and confirmed it. What Ree can do is different - it's within her. Mind over matter." He tilted his head at Reiko. "There's a word from your world, my wife told me. Telekinesis. It's...well, more limited. It is literally as I said it, mind over matter. Where magic is nearly limitless in what it can do. Understand, I'm only reciting what's basically a child's textbook description of magic. I don't really understand it...I can't. I have absolutely no gift for it either. I can only repeat what others tell me about it. Technology has always been my thing, so that's a whole different world."

Reiko put up her hands some. Toby had lost her some time ago. "Whoa...let's slow this down some." Okay, a lot. "Where I was born, all of those words were apparently used to describe who knows what. Where I actually grew up, all of that got classified as sorcery...people are very spiritual on those islands in different ways from what I'm used to, and it drives me crazy." Why? Because the sorcery just looked weird is all. Unnatural. "I'm starting to understand technology better...but this? All of this, no offence to your daughter, is weird." Reiko was really biting her tongue with the word filters.

To this, the man was nodding. "Of course it's weird. My wife said the exact same thing when she came here from your world. Rhy'din is built on weird. You hang out regularly with a ten foot...um...whatever Andu is...and a dragon." A wry smile was formed then. Why did Reiko hang out with Andu and Icer regularly? They had been among the first to welcome her to this world years ago, she had admitted then. She's seen them before and their likeness in books as a kid. "Right now, Ree is learning to focus on a single thing, a leaf, and make it dance. It's her first step towards learning control. In time, she will be able to do much more."

And, she knew that this was nothing like Terra in terms of inhabitants or anything like that. "There's weird, and then there's Weird."

Another nod followed. "And for good or ill, you're seeing it up close. If nothing else, you need to know these things exist, to prepare yourself." First, there was a pause. Then, he spoke one word. "Watch." He stood up slowly, brushing leaves off his cargo pants.

Maurin ceased feigning any interest in her water bottle, watching him. She knew what was coming and loved to watch it; she moved over to sit down next to Reiko for a good vantage point. As there was no wind tonight, it was easy to hear the soft crunch of leaves under Toby's boots as he walked away from them, towards the clearing proper. Around them, and stretched for hundreds of yards to the west, the clearing was carpeted with fallen leaves from the trees that bordered it. Toby stood motionless for a while, looking off to the side.

[Reiko Souma]

From the looks of things, it was about to get interesting. Reiko didn't move when Maurin moved next to her since her curiosity was now completely piqued like a kitten. She wasn't going to bother asking what Toby was going to do since she was going to find out anyways, she thought. In that moment, the wind must have decided it was time to make an appearance as the leaves rustled from the west towards them, lifted off the ground by the sudden gust, and soared skyward in a massive cloud of gold, red, yellow and brown. It seemed like the wind was kicking up every leaf that had fallen recently, for a great big storm of them drifted eastward overhead. Higher and higher, they spiraled on the breeze into the gradually darkening sky. In the dying light, they looked almost like a great flock of birds.

Next to Reiko, Maurin bounced with glee as she watched. It was around this point that Reiko might realise that whatever wind was blowing the leaves, not a single hair on her head was stirring. Nor were the trees themselves. Meanwhile, the leaves spiralled hundreds of feet in the air, more and more of them gathering in a thicker and thicker mass. Then they began to spread out, as the spiral updraft lost cohesion. Instead of falling, they began to spread out further. They never stopped moving, but some areas of the sky remained clearer. Others saw more and more leaves gathered in.

Before long, it was much like staring at a cloud until you see a bunny rabbit? The shape of a great wolf was evident. Formed by thousands and thousands of leaves in motion, it stood far out in the clearing, its tail slowly lashing as it stared at the trees beyond them. Easily fifty feet tall, it was. It seemed to rear its great head back, silently howling at the emerging moon above the trees. Even its ears swept back in the motion. It was utterly lifelike to behold.

Maurin was rapt, eyes big and eager as she stared at it.

If it had never been noticed before, then there was a singular image airbrushed on the back of Toby's favourite leather jacket. The image was now replicated by those thousands of captive leaves.

All this time, the woman was watching this unfold before her. It would certainly help if she knew what she was watching. At first, it had looked like the leaves were being tossed about by the elements themselves. Out of the corner of Reiko's left eye, she noticed Maurin's reaction. It seemed like the child knew exactly what was happening...but how? She placed her own hands on the side of her head. Sure enough, even now, her hair wasn't moving with the rest of the leaves...how weird was that? She didn't have to hold on, but she did continue to watch with her hands on the sides of her head anyways. As the leaves continued to move, they seemed to now reveal some sort of...a wolf? The woman was spellbound now, unable to speak.

The great wolf finally disappeared, the mass of leaves losing their shape and returning into that great spiralling mass...which exploded outwards, like one would see when they shake a tree wildly in autumn. Leaves flew everywhere until Toby finally moved. He raised his hand, and they all stopped. Motionless, held in mid-air in defiance of gravity's will, were thousands of leaves like a photograph taken, a moment captured in time.

There was a pause, just for a moment. Then he let his hand fall, and so fell the leaves. Wordlessly, he returned to where they sat, while Maurin screamed in joy and clapped her hands. "Again! Do it again!"

He sat down again, and all he said was, "Mind over matter," quietly.

[Reiko Souma]

Mind over matter? That's what Reiko had just watched?

"G'wan home. It's your bedtime, and Mama's gonna be waiting," Toby nudged Maurin. She grumbled, but gave him a hug good night and even gave Reiko one (which was returned quickly and politely) before she darted off through the newly fallen leaves towards the cabin.

Reiko looked back to Toby once Maurin was inside and asked quietly, "You mean to tell me that you did that all by yourself...with just your mind?"

"Yes," he answered simply, "it all started with one leaf, a long time ago. My teacher handed it to me, and told me to make it stand on end. That's how I learned precision, subtlety. Control. The same lesson I'm teaching my daughter. You asked me once just what made me qualified to teach anyone about mental discipline. Your guardian asked nearly the same thing." Toby quietly added, "There is your answer."

Oh boy...that was the answer to her question. Her guardian, being a native of the islands where the majority of her childhood was spent, wasn't nearly this open. It was confusing to the woman now, but it was very slowly starting to make sense. Sort of, anyways. "And you're saying that willpower enables you to move things with your mind, like what you did with those leaves?" Reiko asked confusedly, pointing to a random area of leaves.

"Yes." This was said slowly. "It's not only willpower, but if you have no strength of will, you cannot do what I did. With strength of will, many things are possible. But that alone isn't enough. It's easy to hurl things. That's raw force. That's nothing." Toby toyed with the cap of his water bottle. "The precision, the subtlety to make each leaf dance exactly where I wanted it, to know where they were all going, to know where they'd end up...that's the real key. There is so much more to it. But I think you might feel more at ease if I just stick to this for now, yea? I reckoned it was time you got a glimpse of what's out there besides people with swords and guns."

Reiko nodded. Get anymore in-depth, and her head just might explode. Right now, she was trying to digest everything else! "And conventional weapons in general, apparently?"

Digesting everything else would be, for the moment, halted with Toby clearing his throat. "I am what you would call a psion. Some people argue that it's just another form of magic; I don't. Psions, in a nutshell, are the arts of the mind, of which you've now seen one. Telekinesis. Mind over matter." He elaborated further with his own struggles, a terrible struggle to gain the kind of control he has now. He had sought out any and every kind of mental discipline trick and meditation form one could imagine. "I learned a lot about myself in the process, and while I'm not going to be teaching you how to make a leaf stand on end, I feel confident as I did before, that I can teach you self-control, the kind you need."

Even after all of that, upon hearing the words "psion" and "telekinesis," Reiko for some reason thought of sorcery. She apparently had to disassociate those words from one another but, another time. When she had more time in the day to think, anyways. Right now, it's gone back to self-control. Basically, what she's just witnessed with those leaves. "What do you have in mind, then?" Reiko dared to ask.

"Just what we've been doing. Meditation. Exercises. And as you see fit, talking it out." Like now, as they were doing. "You need to master yourself. Master your passions. Master your impulses. You already know this, but now it's time to put up or shut up, as they say." Toby paused to take a sip of his water. He then continued. "Do you remember what I told you, about finding good reasons not to drink? Do you understand a little better why I don't drink, now?"

"Yes, I do." Her more recent dances with alcohol were reason enough; the others were bonuses. Reiko hasn't touched the bottle that Toby had given to her earlier, having only drank that one bottle of water that she'd brought with her. "That medicine you suggested...it's the Pill from Hell if one sip of cheap wine made me gag." A look of disgust at the earlier tiff complemented the woman's wording quite appropriately.

"Oh yeah. I also showed you this for another reason." He remained quiet in volume as he spoke. Reiko assumed this was to keep from waking young ears, if that was why. "I told you that the bird I sent was a prototype, designed to patrol and record. So you know I saw what went on in there tonight, right?" That was enough to shut Reiko up completely. If she was capable of going any paler than the white that she was already, then there was no doubt that she would be discovering the newest shade of white. Fifty Shades of White, maybe?

[Reiko Souma]

A whispered curse parted her lips after a very long silence.

"That means..." she started to say, only for the thought to remain unfinished as it trailed off.

"That guy, whatever his name was, the one you were going to have words and probably blows with. He looks pretty unspectacular, right? Certainly to someone who's had combat training like you have, yes?" His tone remained casual.

Meanwhile, Reiko's mind was unleashing some colourful language in thought. It was something in the form of a partial expletive alphabet that ended with, 'for a bitch's arse!' and so much more. However, she and Levi had met a few times before. Months ago. "He's part of a group of gypsies...I know there's more to him than his tendency to nap and drive someone to near-suicide."

"But he's unassuming enough that you felt confident to take him out." There was a long pause. Reiko finally nodded. Okay, so she had thought of an all-out ambush on Levi...but she'd had enough of a mind to not go in 'guns blazing.' She'd waited to see if he would come out, only she had been foiled by Andu, Icer, and what she now knew was Toby's prototype. Damnit! "I'm also pretty unassuming, if you look at me." Toby stood up slowly. "I'm going to show you what I would do to someone who attacked me, and didn't kill or disable me on the first hit." He took out something from his pocket; Reiko had seen it many times before...that silver ball, like a pool ball, that he liked to play catch with. He held it up, and it floated off of his palm, hovering placidly in the air before him. Then Toby flung his hand out, and the silver sphere shot away from him like a bullet from a gun - it punched through a tree trunk with an almighty CRACK! before he gestured sharply, and it circled back around to fly at him. The noise had been loud enough to force Reiko's hands over her ears. Loud much? Holy shit! Toby caught the ball with a sharp smack in his hand.

Very softly then, "You cannot assume." Quietly, he sat back down. "I don't mean to be scary or horrifying or anything like that. But you needed to see that."

That's what he could do with that ball?! Her hands were still over her ears. "Did...you just tell that thing what to do, and it listened to you and put a hole in that tree?!"

"It's just a sphere." He offered it to her for inspection. "Metal." It was a little heavier than a pool ball, but unremarkable otherwise. "It's no different from me throwing it. Except instead of using the muscles of my arm, I used my mind to accelerate it to a speed that would punch it through the tree." He lifted his hand and crooked a finger. One of the leaves of the ground floated up, delicately as one pleased, and balanced on the top of his finger. It slowly rotated like a ballerina. Finally, he let it fall to the ground again. "There are people who hide all sorts of gifts in there. It's a hard lesson I learned...you're a good kid." There was a wry smile. "I'd rather not see you learn the same one. Not the same way, anyway."

Call me a kid again... She was anything but! Up until that exact moment, her mind was filled with repetitive thoughts of, Holy crap! Obviously, she wouldn't be saying or doing anything to piss Toby off anytime in any of her lifetimes! Well, she really did respect him for the kind-hearted person he was...even if he did have her a bit on the freaked-out side, anyways. Deep down, a still-stunned Reiko had a new level of respect for Toby now.

"Eh, meant nothing by it." That was said mildly. "But fair enough. There's one last reason I've showed you all this." He went on. "In our conversations, you've started to slowly open up a little. You've given me some hints as to what kind of terrible things you've gone through, and I don't have to tell you that those things are not going to pass my lips. Not even to my wife. It occurred to me that you might not think me capable of understanding those terrible things."

[Reiko Souma]

There was another very long pause here. During this pause, Reiko thought about those hints. She'd so willingly revealed to him the one secret that she hasn't even shared with anybody else yet. One would think that maybe Andu would know, but no. She hadn't even showed him. Her guardian knew, but that's because he had to raise her sleeves countless times for basic check-ups and discovered the tattoo by accident. He'd also learnt first-hand what could happen if it was touched at all. "Much appreciated." She would be pissed if confidence was broken! Reiko didn't trust anybody easily, let alone further than she could throw a piano, and she had taken a big gamble by opening up. "Hm?" She took another bottle of sealed water from her backpack and started to drink slowly.

"If it will help you trust me, if it will help you understand that I can empathize, then I want you to think about what kind of terrible things someone with these gifts can do. I promise you this, I can empathise. And if I could learn to forgive myself and change, to become the person talking to you right now? Then I have hope for anyone."

When he had finished, he took a long sip of water. Or, she thought that Toby had finished.

Apparently not. "One request," he started again, "it's not exactly a secret what I am. I've had to use it now and again, though it's not too many people who actually know. I'd like to keep it that way." Just like that, Reiko's current train of thought was derailed. From her own secret to Toby's request, it was quite the switch. "Most people just know me as the friendly guy who tends bar and plays the piano, and jokes around. I'd rather not be known for what else I am unless I have no other choice."

Reiko blinked. That was it? Why would she even want to divulge something that she was still trying to make sense of, let alone something that wasn't her place to share with others to begin with? "I'd like to not have anymore than necessary know about my own that I've shared with you, so let's call it even and make a deal." Hell, she'll shake hands on it if she must.

"I think that's fair." It was deliberate, of course. By giving her a secret to hold, so to speak, Toby had evened the playing field. Now he was equally beholden as she was in that sense. It was a little fairer.

"Thank you," she said simply. Then, with no other words, she took a huge swig of the water. That was out of relief.

"I am going to set your homework, of course." He looked around at the leaves everywhere. "I want you to spend an hour each day with those meditation exercises I've been teaching you. Do you have someplace you can do them that's isolated, with no distractions?"

The woman started to mull through her mind, racking at the possibilities. Her bedroom? Nope. Chewy was there, and Gaia altogether was distracting. The Inn? Hell no! That place was never empty; besides, it was too full of temptations...temptations were amongst the worst of distractions. Her mind continued to rack through until one more came to her mind: Lair. Specifically Dragontopia. Reiko's been spending the last two days there to recover from the previous events. It was completely distraction-free.

"I do," she answered at last.

[Reiko Souma]

"Good. And I want you to hold this when you do." He handed her a leaf.

Before she took it, Reiko glanced at it. Then she looked up at Toby, and back down at the leaf. "What the..?" was immediately asked. And, why?

"It's a leaf," he said, utterly deadpan. Then finally, he continued. "It's a small thing, isn't it? Just a little leaf, but it's a part of the tree above us, and that tree is part of the great forest that surrounds us...which is part of the whole of this world. It's good for perspective."

That look on Reiko's face at first? Everything about it implied, Really?

"I won't expect you to make it stand on end." Another wry smile was offered. "If you do, then we need to have another talk."

"Pft! The day I start making things move by themselves is the day the sun freezes over."

"Good. We've got enough going on as it is." Toby chuckled.

What Reiko ended up asking next, however, was, "Why give it to me?" It couldn't be just for perspective!

"Why am I giving it to you? Because you're my student. And that leaf is yours now," was the answer to her question. "If you want another reason, only four other people have been given a leaf in that way. And they're all related to me. So this makes you special." One hand gestured to it, and Reiko was now looking at that leaf again. She interpreted it to mean that she should take care of it, and looked up at him once more. Eyes widened in surprise, and she looked back down at the leaf once more. As if analysing it in great detail, her eyes levelled some. A closer look would reveal that Reiko was silently starting to cry at the weight of the compliment given to her. Toby pretended not to notice, of course. "I think that might be enough for tonight. Certainly you've gotten a lot to absorb."

The invitation for her to ask questions came with him toying with the water bottle. All she could do was shake her head to the offer, too affected emotionally to speak. Her free hand rose to wipe at her tears as they fell, and she lowered her head so that she wouldn't be embarrassed at her own display of weakness. She didn't want him to see that her shoulders were shaking (trembling) as she tried to keep herself from crying harder. How was she to know what it meant to be special to anybody? She honestly didn't.

[Reiko Souma]

Toby still pretended not to notice, to spare her the further embarrassment of having it pointed out. "You've already figured it out, but this is where I live. There are no neighbors, not for hundreds upon hundreds of miles. This is so far north, it's probably technically beyond anything we'd still call Rhy'din." Yes, she's figured it out early on. The clearing itself was pretty huge, several football fields in length and width. The only major features were the cabin on a small hill rise, which looked down upon a silvery lake. It emptied out into a river which disappeared into the forest on the clearing's east end. There was a second, larger hill just west of the lake, on which a nearly-completed house sat. The rest of it was just open space and grass, surrounded on all side by the forest. Venture north of where they were, eventually, and they would get to the foothills, and then the mountains.

"Beyond that, I've never gone, but it's pretty cold up there. The entire land that I own is somewhere in the neighborhood of six hundred acres. Almost the entirety of that is forest; I've left it the way it was when I acquired it. Just the cabin, and the house we're building beyond it, and a pool house and dock down at the lake." For one family though, that sure was a lot of land to own! It was bigger than the village that she had grown up in on the Islands, that's for sure. She was fortunate if she was in one that was a quarter the size, never mind half. Wanderers likely got very lost, very quickly, without a map...or with a very crappy one.

Thinking about that with a slightly amusing visual of someone being chased back into civilization by bears, Reiko started to wipe at her tears, looking up once more to show that she indeed was paying attention. Besides, Toby was still telling her about the land of his that they were on. "I've been slowly adding onto the borders of it overtime. I like my privacy; there's technically a road." He gestured to a well-worn path that led from the cabin's hill rise, south into the trees where they opened up. "Eventually it does join up with one of the trail roads heading south, and will eventually reach Rhy'din City. But it's a long-arse trip. I like it that way." Who didn't like their privacy? Frankly, the woman might have been a bit concerned if she had been told of the complete lack of security beyond Toby's vast-sized property.

"I bought this land about nine years ago. I was single then." He was musing. Reiko's eyes shifted at the mention of his previous status, but she wasn't going to succumb to the urge to ask. She instead let him talk. "Built the cabin. It was my, I guess you'd call it a sanctuary. Retreat." Just the way he said that left a lot of meaning unspoken about just what it was a retreat from. "After the fourth kid, we kind of figured the cabin was a wee bit too small, though." He elaborated on the plans for the new house, which had started after Selene was born. Keith's birth added to the importance. The borders? Those were well-protected, courtesy of Kairee - Toby's teacher - helping with magical wards.

"I put my own technological defenses and barriers up as well. That bird? It's part of my next phase. I plan to eventually build a whole fleet-er, flock, of them to roam the woods, keep an eye on things, gather information, locate intruders, and so forth, while blending in. Less obtrusive than flying droids would be."

Those birds. Reiko made a face at that. "Yeah, thanks for the invasion of my privacy..."

"Well, you were supposed to come right out. We'd agreed on a time, you know," Toby said with a droll, "Next time, I'll come in myself." He flashed a cheery smile at this.

"Damnit, Toby..!" Reiko had stopped crying by now. The slight shift in her expression feigned a lack of amusement in a sarcastic sense. "Not my fault a certain individual showed up."

At this point, the lesson was over. Because of the vast distance from their current location to Gaia, Toby gave Reiko a ride back in the same vehicle that he had picked her up in once they had finally finished talking. This time, there would be no complaints of needing a barf bag. Why? Not only has Reiko recovered from the one sip of alcohol she had taken back at the Inn earlier, she was far too tired to really say or do anything more. Needless to say, the ride back was quite peaceful as the Terran native ended up sleeping the entire way. Her next lesson? Well, things may or may not get a bit more interesting?

[Reiko Souma]

*For context, this lesson took place after the Governor's Yule Ball on the Monday before the Christmas holiday.

With winter coming, the Glen was no longer a viable place for meetings. So, the Great Hall it was. It was quiet tonight, no meetings or dances or festivities going on.

Reiko wasn't wanting to try manoeuvring around in her parka and winter outdoor attire as it was, and a message came to her to come to the Great Hall. This was a surprise for her, as she had just been there for the Governor's Yule Ball days ago. Before that, she had sat in on the last town meeting to learn more about her newfound home. Coming from the Palazzo Estate, where she was spending a few days to rest and recover her energy, Reiko was travelling by train and foot. She soon arrived and pushed the doors open, stepping forward slowly and looking around. "Hello..?" she called quietly.

"Right on time." Toby was sitting on the Great Hall's bar, which was quite a bit bigger than the Inn's.

"!" The woman would shed her pink parka and outdoor winter attire as she stepped forward some more, this time with a direction towards the bar…yeah, she hadn't seen that during the ball. Now she knew it existed, but holy cow! It was quite large. No gown this time, just casual "around the house" clothes that Anya had lent her. "That's a relief. I thought I was going to be late," was Reiko's response, "I'm staying at a friend's house away from Gaia for a few days."

"Taking a vacation?" he queried.

A soft sigh parted from her, but with a hint of sadness. Her countenance seemed to take on a slightly gloomy appearance as she slowed to a stop before the bar. "You can say that," was her answer. Her hands went into her pockets as she lowered her eyes some.

"Well, that sounds promising," was said wryly, "wanna tell me what happened?"

"Do I have to?" That was probably the wrong answer to give, but it was had slipped free before she could stop herself; Reiko was shaking her head afterwards.

"Let's pretend you have to," came the mild answer.

"Andu and I…we're not speaking to each other." In truth, the woman had sort of dreaded the moment of talking about the disaster that two-thirds of her weekend had been. "I'd be surprised if your mechanical surveillance bird didn't pick up on everything that Gaia herself did…I know I'm being watched, probably right now, even."

Toby listened. Then he asked, "Oh? Why the blow-up?" He sipped on his water.

A gulp was swallowed. No pretending! Her arms folded in front of her uncomfortably as she lowered her head in guilt. "I was the idiot who decided to go chocolate and caffeine-happy two nights ago, got too hyper, apparently cussed Ethan out…" Reiko paused, raising her head to look up. "…Andu tried to make me track everything I consume, or am tempted to consume, before I consume it…with the reason why. I'd rather starve to death than track my consumption like a prisoner." She sat cross-legged on the floor where she had been standing. Her eyes levelled. "It all blew up last night…because I got pissed." Two napkins flew from different dispensers and towards Reiko at the trace of her disdain.

"Really." The one-word response was toneless.

Seeing the napkins flying, her eyes widened. A sigh was exhaled as she shut her eyes and tried to focus, and those napkins came to a stop before slowly falling to the ground. "Sorry…sorry…I'm slowly learning that it's more emotionally-driven than I thought." Reiko placed a hand to her forehead, her eyes still shut. "This happened at the ball when I was trying to show Moneypenny what I can do…it got out of hand."

"Of course it's emotionally-driven." The thin response gave Reiko an idea that this was only the beginning. "Why do you think I've been giving you all these control exercises? Even before this arose, you needed them. You need them infinitely more now." Toby got off the bar and slowly began to pace. Some might call it predatory. Others might call it ominous.

In the pacing, Reiko's hand came down from her forehead. Opening her eyes once more, they started to follow Toby's slow pace. "Clearly…tired me the heck out to where Andu had to take me home, so I…" She was admittedly guilty, but her eyes didn't shut this time. Nor did she move otherwise. "…I'm sorry, Toby. I was so exhausted after making a tornado out of the napkins that I ended up skipping my exercises that I was supposed to do that night. I just couldn't keep my eyes open."

[Reiko Souma]

"So, let me make sure I have this right," Toby started, mildly, "You overdid it on sugar and caffeine, and cussed out Ethan, who is probably the mildest guy I've known in a long time. When Andu, who is the guy you're supposed to be listening to, tells you to take responsibility for your diet and sugar intake - which caused the incident - you respond my throwing a tantrum, going on a hunger strike, and losing your temper. Along with it, you thought you'd put on a big display for someone of your gifts. And, by doing so, you skip the very exercises that will help you master the self-control you are lacking so badly." Perhaps the most frightening of this moment was how even the tone of the man's voice was. "Did I miss anything?"

Reiko blanched. Why did she get the feeling that something was about to go down tonight? Like she needed to get into anymore trouble than she as in already, but she wasn't supposed to really hide anything. So, best to confess sooner than later. "Governor witnessed me apparently making an utter idiot of myself with the demonstration...but I thought I'd be able to keep it under control with just moving two napkins! I didn't expect my feelings for Bond to change that!"

He whirled on her so fast, he was nearly a blur. "I lost control the first time over a girl. I caused so much damage that I left the Inn in a wrecked state, and if anyone else had been in there, I probably would have hurt them very, very badly. So let me make it absolutely crystal clear. Yes. Emotion changes everything; it sends it out of control, it fuels it. But more than that, it takes away the control. Showing off does not help, but I'm not just talking about that anymore. Andu made a reasonable request. You know it as well as I do, because it's a step to help you control your situation. By taking responsibility for your diet, you assume the responsibility for what you do. And that's where we seem to have a difference of opinion." Toby stared. "Responsibility."

If hearts could jump, then her heart would have just done a leap with the speed that Toby had just moved to face her. This left Reiko silent and very unwilling to move, her breath catching. Responsibility was something that the woman was still very much a child in. "..." No words came to her just then as she sat quietly and tried to ignore her heart beating a little faster.

But, Toby wasn't quite finished yet. "Let's talk about responsibility. I have taken responsibility for you now, as a teacher. But, it's time you started to take responsibility too. This? This was a fit. I would expect this from one of my kids. So you refused to do what Andu asked, fine. What happens if I ask you to do it?" He continued to stare as he waited for Reiko to answer.

"..." It had clearly been a fit, for sure. Being compared to one of Toby's kids? That didn't sit well with Reiko, but she was swallowing gulps and more than nervous as her eyes slowly widened again. Her voice was very quiet, maybe just above a whisper, as she mustered an, "I do it, no questions asked," as an answer.

"I have appealed to your better nature. I've appealed to your common sense. I have a few other things to try now. Let's start with the nicer one. You are military. Retired, perhaps, but you never stop being it, I'm told. So in a military context, what would I be to you?"

Oh...shit. There was no other way to phrase that particular thought flooding her mind. This was the nicer method? Compared to the methods she's witnessed being handed down to comrades being court-marshalled, this was incredibly nice. "Affirmative. Once a member of the military, you die with that honour if you don't screw yourself over into a dishonourable discharge of any sort." So, to answer his other question? "My commanding officer."

Thank the fates for the technicalities being spared here. Reiko really didn't want to go into the differences in the order of ranks between branches. Such could be easily recalled in an instant; now wasn't a time when she wished to do so. "For now, let's assume his authority is on a different branch from mine." Fuck. "But if he asks you to do something, and it's not horribly unreasonable, then I'm asking you right now to do it. He and I have one thing in common, Reiko. We give a crap. If we didn't, we wouldn't be doing this for you. Or to you, if you like. But you're going to start helping us, not fighting us. No more demonstrations. The leaf...that's it. Until you can master yourself, you cannot master your gifts. Until you master your gifts, you don't need to be flaunting them. Now. I realise that the only authority I have over you is what you ceded to me. I also know that in Rhy'din, might has always made right. So if you want to go against what we're doing here..." He was deceptively quiet now, "...then you had better be able to be stronger than me. Are you?"

Reiko's eyes were still wide, an indication of her current state. It was still in the oh shit mode. Dare she tell Toby that she sometimes questioned whether Andu truly gave a crap or not? Not right now, for sure! She kept her mouth shut when not being directed to response, which had to be the smartest thing she's done thus far. At the moment, though the thought hasn't crossed her mind about nor the realisation yet made, Toby was actually the only person that Reiko seemed to listen to without question lately. That wasn't the question, though. It was a question of her strength in comparison to his.

"Negative," she answered.

"No, you're not," he said quietly, "and you never will be until you can master yourself. Discipline your mind. So now, I'm going to give you two things. First, a challenge. I want to see if you're capable of being a better student than my six-year old daughter."

When Reiko let slip the word, "What?" Toby raised an eyebrow. Better than his daughter? Was she not human? But wait, this wasn't Terra, where every generation of six-year old became more spoilt and seemed to behave worse every year.

"Maurin does not throw a fit, scream at people, cause havoc, or disrespect her teacher. Time for you to ante up and do the same."

Reiko bit her lip. "Just how is this supposed to happen?" she had to ask.

"Well, you can start by not doing most of what you just told me you did this weekend. Consider this a 'What Not to Do' list." What a list that was! Looking up and away from Toby at last, now having something to focus on, Reiko started to count on her left hand. In addition to staying away from alcohol, she now had to limit her consumption of sugar and caffeine. That meant putting the cap on those pastries, hot chocolate, and coffee. Limit that, no more demonstrations, no more shouting at people - who she now owed Ethan an apology, as well as Andu at some point, when she actually wanted to look at him again - no more hunger strikes (especially after fainting last night), no more threatening to set things on fire (such as that journal, but she didn't have to write in it now that her hunger strike had successfully changed Andu's mind about that)...she probably shouldn't show anyone the gun magazine that she's been looking at. Damnit! She ran out of fingers on her hand to count the 'Do not do' items on! That wasn't good...what next? No more slamming doors?

"Affirmative?" She looked back down at Toby once she was done counting, having gone onto her right hand. Above all, she noticed that Toby's voice had never raised. It was almost eery how calm he was.

[Reiko Souma]

He had paused for a long moment. Then, "But, I know that's not enough. Because we've talked about this before. So listen, and listen well. When you do those things, you disrespect me. Your teacher. You make me look stupid. There are a few things in life I will not accept, that I do not take, and one of them is being made to look foolish." Rather than raise it any, Toby's voice actually went down in pitch. "I won't have it. Do you remember that I told you this gift is essentially mind over matter? That it's how you can pick up something and move it?"

The oh shit thought was now back, but with Reiko freezing mid-count. Her eyes were widening again, but just some this time. Then guilt hit her, and hit her hard. Her antics were disrespectful to Toby? Reiko makes him look stupid when she does those things? Never has that thought ever crossed her mind.

When Toby's voice lowered, the woman started to worry. Someone who lowered their pitch instead of raising it unnerved her because she was so used to being screamed and hollered at from her days as a toddler. Which was too young to be yelling at a child! But, now was no time to take a trip down Memory Lane. All she could do was nod in response to Toby's questions, visibly nervous of what was next.

He gestured with his fingertip, a simple "come hither," and one of those napkins fluttered up like a butterfly, flapping in mid-air next to him. It may be a napkin, but Reiko couldn't help raising her finger to try poking it. Butterflies always got her attention; it was tempting to poke the napkin-made "butterfly" whilst listening to Toby speak with that eerily quiet tone of his.

"You can do great things with the power that emotion drives, but you have no focus, no strength. You could probably make the napkins fly all over the place. But only once you have control of yourself, mastered yourself, can you do this." He glanced sideways at the napkin, which was still flapping like a butterfly. Because he was speaking so quietly, Reiko had to make more of an effort to listen and less of an effort to let the fluttering napkin distract her. To hear of her complete lack of focus and strength took care of that, sobering her up at once. The "butterfly"-flapping napkin was short-lived anyways.

"Or this."

The air around it distorted, shimmering like a heat haze. From one edge of the napkin, it simply dissolved into a fine powder, disintegrating in mid-air. Unmade, the particles that were once fabric rained down like spilt salt to the ground below. With a flick of his fingers, they were blown away into the further reaches of the room.

"No!" Reiko's hands flew up to cover her mouth at the outburst. They would remain there as she watched the particles fall and then be blown away at Toby's doing.

"Mind over matter, taken to its logical extreme," he said bluntly, "you have a good imagination. Imagine the kind of horror I could cause with that ability. Forget throwing things around, when you can unmake them in place. Imagine what I could do to people. That is why I preach control. Why I am pushing you to grow up and wake up. Because I know quite well, what it can lead to." His tone was unyielding. "You should be much more afraid than you are. Of me, of yourself. Only then can you make the change in yourself." He turned and walked, pacing once again.

Forgetting about what he had just done to that "butterfly" would be nice! Had that been a real butterfly that the man had done that to, Reiko wasn't sure that she would be able to refrain from either crying from devastation or wanting to push Toby to the ground out of lividity. She didn't want to think about what he could do to people! Yet the image came to her mind, and she turned her head away for fear of vomiting. Yes, the visual of blood and a disintegrated body had that effect on her. Thus her not following Toby's pace with her eyes this time.

Without looking at her, he asked lowly, "Horrified?" He didn't have to be to make that assumption.

What do you think? she wanted to tell him as she finally did get sick from the visual that she quickly tried to vanish from her mind. Always the same reaction, even in the military. The difference was, you don't let that reaction show there like she did here. "Af...firmative."

"I think you should be horrified. I think you should be even more horrified than you are, because you haven't yet asked me the obvious question. Have I ever done that to someone?" Having paused for the moment, he resumed pacing. Meanwhile, Reiko froze completely. She'd been wanting to avoid asking that question, but of course now she wanted to ask. She didn't have to now! "The answer is no. I've never used telekinesis to take a life. The worst I've ever done is throw someone to the side in self-defence." An amendment was made to that. "Well. Not a human life. I may have killed a few...spiders."

On any other day, had she not have gotten herself into so much "trouble" (or Trouble, perception depending on the individual), Reiko would make a remark about apologising if she's ever pissed Toby off. Nope! Not now. She shuddered at the thought of spiders being killed, now that she was done vomiting. Looking around now for one of the napkins that she had sent flying earlier, of which there might only be one left now, she needed something to wipe her mouth with. And maybe some water, too. Not seeing a napkin close enough for her to reach, and frankly a bit scared to think about using her telekinesis to summon one now, Reiko was forced to use the edge of one of her sleeves to wipe at her mouth. She didn't need any vomit-flavoured lip balm. No thanks.

After a long pause, "Now I double down. I've hinted to you that I understand what it is to have done something terrible. I wasn't joking. I don't have to tell you that there are worse things than pain and death...let me rephrase that. Physical pain. So you have to be asking yourself, what could I do that is worse than what you just saw?"

Her head raised as she finally shifted into a more proper sitting position once more, her eyes making contact with Toby to show that he hasn't lost her attention. Kind of really hard to now! "More like...do I really want to know?"

"No, I don't think that you do," was the sober answer, "I told you all this, and showed you this, for two reasons, Reiko. One, so that you have a new appreciation for just how important control is. Two, I've come to the conclusion that you needed a good scare to show you I mean business." Well, the scare worked! "The next time you have the urge to throw a fit at those of us who give a damn, or to stage a hunger strike over something irrational, or to go off on someone for no reason, I want you to remember tonight." He softened. "And I want you to think about what I would be like if I really did get angry. Now, come here." How long the scare would work was up to her, but the attempted demonstrations would surely be no longer. She remained silent, having barely spoken at all tonight. Pink eyes were slightly wide. She didn't want to think about what Toby would be like if he was to truly get mad! Though she did slowly rise to her feet and walk over to Toby when told to, not saying a word still. "Do we have an understanding?" he asked quietly.

"Y-Yes, Toby." For the first time ever since the end of the war, Reiko didn't answer with an affirmative or a negative.

"I don't like to get involved in people's affairs. Please don't make me regret my choice to do so now. I'd like to think that I will help you the way someone once helped me. Which is how I went from the very worst version of myself, to someone who is at peace with himself and building a life here."

He really was going out of his way for her...after screwing up so many times already, this had better be a wake-up call for Reiko to get her shit together and keep it together. "Yes..." she said. And, she lowered her head and covered her face with her hands. Nobody had ever really given her a second chance before except for Shourim.

"Next time, I'm going to get serious. So, let's not have a next time." He raised an eyebrow. No, let's not have a next time. Her head nodded very quickly in agreement. "Now, I think it's time for you to get to bed. I say this because I know it's time for me to do so, and if I'm tired, you've gotta be."

After that, it would be a total surprise if she was even able to sleep a wink. "Ah, sure..." Was she kidding? She wasn't going to skip her exercises a second time just because she had a lesson tonight! "...I mean, after my exercises!" Reiko added very quickly.

That made him smile. After exchanging the goodnight wishes, Reiko tuned to retrieve her parka and matching outdoor attire from the nearby chair that she had dropped them on. She was careful to dodge the area of the floor that would need to be cleaned up.

[Reiko Souma]

*Note: Enjoy the madness that comes with this lesson being completely unplanned!

*This impromptu lesson took place just a week after Reiko rung in the new year at the Inn for the first time.

Winter's finally come to Rhy'din with full force. Snow was doing more than landing at this point; it piled up like nobody's business. Perhaps that was why the Inn was emptier than usual on this Friday evening. Ethan himself had just arrived and was settling in, reading the paper whilst leaned up against the bar. Too tired to walk, Reiko used GaiaCom to assist in transport. The woman appeared in the middle of a bright blue light, which vanished a moment later. A single look around showed an empty Inn, for the most part. It didn't last for too long, as patrons were soon trickling in by the ones or the occasional twos.

Between Ethan and Reiko, the count for the use of the word "quiet," otherwise referred to as the "Q word," has reached four without incident or immediate reaction of any form. One would think that Reiko would see Toby's wide grin as enough of a hint for the woman to quit whilst she was ahead. "What's the worst that could happen? Or...wouldn't that be exciting?"

"Surely nothing could go wrong," might have just been the tipping point there, spoken by none other than the extremely bored woman herself, Reiko. The first thing she tried to do to fix her boredom was ask for alcohol. It wasn't just any alcohol that she wanted, however, but one that was potent enough to make one feel like their brain was melting. Her protests were met with denial by Toby, and she pouted then, making a face at her teacher. "I wouldn't be able to feel anything melting! Look!" Reiko finally took the object she had been guarding out of her pocket and, standing, walked over to show Toby, Andu, and those present. First, she unwrapped the silk to reveal a red stone.

"Whassat?" Toby asked, looking at it. Ethan too peered at the stone for a moment.

"Well...it's..." What exactly was it, other than sorcery, according to Rachael. She glanced down at it. "I don't know if it has a name, but a mage was trying to heal my migraine that came on last night." The cause of it, she wouldn't disclose. "This stone represents all of my pain...or my ability to feel it, anyways. Physically. Don't touch it, whatever you do!"

"How come?" Toby asked. Mayflower let out a long and low mewl, terrified, before flattening on the bar with a shiver.

Reiko shook her head. "If it's supposed to represent my ability to experience physical pain, then I'd like to believe that anyone else who touches it would then absorb it and experience the pain I deal with daily." She quickly wrapped it back up. "Mayflower's right to shiver..." As Rosie and Wander lapped at their eggynog with gusto, Mayflower looked at the saucer before she took a tiny lap at it.

"You oughta shrink-wrap it," Toby told Reiko with a nod.

Andu gave Mayflower a raised eyebrow. "Is there something wrong, Mayflower?"

"Bad bad hurts but gone now," Mayflower answered.

Reiko looked down at the silk-wrapped stone once more, and she returned it to her pocket. "Shrink-wrap...it's wrapped in silk. Why should I shrink-wrap the one thing that holds my ability to feel physical pain?" She was massively confused, she must note.

"So no one else can touch it directly," Toby answered, nodding again. Leaning against the bar rail, Toby retrieved a silver sphere from his pocket and tossed it up to catch again.

Ah, Reiko's spaced out for some time after that. She last heard Toby suggesting that she wrap the stone in shrink-wrap for others' safety, but then it all went fuzzy from there until now. She found herself staring down at the floor instead. "..." Wait, Ethan was already leaving? "Shit. Missed it..." Reiko shook her head before waving to Ethan. "...goodnight, Ethan!" Reiko said. She rubbed her eyes gently whilst icy eyes belonging to a dragoness who had arrived a short time ago followed Toby's sphere. It was shiny!

[Reiko Souma]

Pink eyes were the third pair of eyes, apparently, to start following the movements of Toby's sphere. Good timing too, because Reiko didn't feel like chasing down loose napkins or other objects that fell within her designated weight limit. "Because shiny," was said to nobody, and she raised her hand to try intercepting it. Since there was still a crowd, Icer remained up in the rafters. Her wings rustled as she watched the sphere.

Rosie looked up upon hearing the word 'shiny.' Her green eyes got big whilst following the path of the shiny ball. Small minds were quite easily amused. Whilst Reiko wasn't particularly easily amused by an object as small as a sphere, it was a night where she was going to try playing Interception. She retracted her hand some before reaching out quickly to see if she could try again at catching it, and she sure would have...if Toby hadn't lifted his hand higher to catch it first.

"Tsk. Too short," Toby teased with a grin. Rosie scooted over to plop her furry butt in between Toby and Reiko.

"Kitten in the middle!" It was the Katz version of the kids' game Monkey in the Middle, and of course Icer wanted in on this as well. Her tail tip twitched as she crouched on her perch.

Strike two! Another pout came as she pulled her hand back a second time and folded her arms, tapping one foot on the floor. "Damnit..." Reiko's pout shifted into a frown as she unfolded her arms. "...sounds like fun! If I can catch it, that is..!" Swipe! "I miss this time, I'm going to drastic measures..." Not too drastic! Maybe.

"Looks like you have competition..." was said to Reiko. He gave another high toss of the silver ball, looping it over the rafter directly above his head this time, before it plummeted back toward his hands. Rosie did a dive for the ball and flopped on her furry tummy. Reiko was determined not to miss this time! She reached out further than her previous two tries and tried for the third time to retrieve the sphere from Toby as it started back for his hands, but Toby casually gestured with his finger, and the silver sphere found itself perched on Reiko's head, unmoving.

Surely a tempting target for any reputable kitten.

Rosie looked up to see where the shiny ball was. Was this a trick? Icer, in the meanwhile, had missed! But then again, she'd not been ready! Her tail tip twitched. "Score! ... Wait...what?" She thought she had it anyways! "Hey..." Reiko moved both hands towards the top of her head, but she slowed towards the sides. She wasn't going to hit herself! Then again...her hands snaked up her head before clamping down really hard on the ball, trying to retrieve it from above. It promptly rolled off of Reiko's head and onto the back of her hand. It then kept rolling, apparently taking a tour of her. Rosie's eyes seemed to get bigger and bigger whilst she watched.

Smack! That should have hurt, the hard impact of her hands landing on top of her head. The lack of a reaction to any pain may or may not concern anybody watching. The only reaction Reiko gave was to her missing. Again. Now it was on the back of one of her hands! "You're just...fudging...with me at this point, aren't you?" she asked, feeling it roll off of her hand and down her arm. Yes, she was watching her language in front of her nieces. Honestly, what the Hell? The silver ball rolled down Reiko's arm, then back up and down to her backside where it glinted quite ostentatiously. Reiko could feel it sitting there, and Toby just sat there whistling. Icer eyed Reiko from her perch. This could be dangerous!

"Careful, Rosie," Andu cautioned, "that thing looks big enough to take you for a ride." As he said this, Icer lowered down into a haunch wiggle. Then the little dragon sprung! Ball!

Rosie let out a little cry. "Auntie Reiko's kitten in the middle now!" she exclaimed. The sphere wasn't going anywhere, but if Reiko tried...it would surely move!

Watching Icer, her eyes widened. "Ohhhhh no...no no no no...Toby!" The woman was stuck! Shutting her eyes, she braced herself for impact by positioning herself and decided to focus on that damned shiny! Maybe she could move it away with her mind!

"Run, Forrest, run!" he called out. Three pairs of pawhands covered their eyes at the anticipated collision of Icer versus Reiko, and Andu winced as he saw Icer going for the shiny ball on Reiko. The dragoness might be back-winging, but still!

"Run? A little late for-OOF!" There went the collision! Dragon met human of average height, with human going down towards the ground. One time to not feel pain? That was now! She was suddenly glad for the inability as she crashed to the ground with the hippo-sized dragon apparently landing on top of her. "All this for a shiny..." Reiko said from the floor.

And there went the ball, rolling away from the tangled pile of folk.