2023-10-08: An Unexpected Offer

• Log: An Unexpected Offer
• Cast: Hannah Curie, Eleanor Klein
• Where: Klein Central Ward
• Date: October 08, 2023
• Summary: Hannah is in some serious doldrums after her encounter with the Witchbuster. Eleanor comes to check up on her friend, and to bring a surprising offer from Sielje, after which she repeats an offer of her own.

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============================<* Klein Central Ward *>============================

The central ward of Klein City is dominated by the great, imposing castle of House Klein, black stones with great spires stretching up to the sky atop a high cliff overlooking the rest of the city, with a fine view of the sea far below. ...But while the fortress could be imposing, it is largely open to the public, the government offices of the city sprawling from within the castle itself into the sprawling buildings that have sprung up somewhat less securely. The bureaucratic machine that oversees most of the trade of Meria Boule with other nations requires a great deal of upkeep, and many industries have sprung up to provide for and cater to the officials and merchants involved in the process. Klein City occupies a notable place at the east coast of Meria Boule, and it is in many ways its gateway to the rest of Filgaia, particularly outside Aquvy. Accordingly it is fairly cosmopolitan, favoring bright fashions and a sophistication that can sometimes grate on those who prefer more straightforward talk and manner. The rocky terrain means people are often closer together than not, but it is not known for its great machinery or production as a rule, even if it is one of the more bustling cities of Meria Boule.

BGM: Chrono Cross - Another Termina

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah has been having... a rough time of it.

To put it mildly.

Her homecoming trip had a lot of positives, despite all of the awkwardness, and she'd gotten to show her friends her home (a part of her, deep down, still thought of it as home, wanted it to be home), and reconnect with her family, and it was just nice to be in a place so familiar, even if she was trying to keep certain things hidden.

And then those secrets had been yanked out of the shadows and into a spotlight when the Witchbuster activated and declared her... Anomalous.

It didn't take long for the gossip to start circling. Damzen was booming but it was still a relatively small town. Word spread quickly. Susanna, Miss rochelle, and even David had stuck up for her, which she appreciated, but in the end, she decided to leave, to let the rumor mills die down a bit and... to get some distance to clear her head.

But she'd promised to keep in touch this time. And Susanna knew who to go to to find her if she didn't.

Hannah had been very quiet for the last couple days of her trip to Damzen, and even after returning to Klein, the normally busy, driven girl hadn't immediately set out to start taking on jobs again, or thrown herself into her research, or... much of anything, really. It took Zephyr prodding her to convince her to go eat half the time.

She's tried to play it off as just being tired, needing to recouperate after her experience, but the truth is... she's shut down, a little bit.

Not unlike how she had been when she had suddenly reappeared in Eleanor's life at the Memory Maze.

She's been in her room for most of the day today, and the better portion of that has just been her laying on her bed, curled up, trying to sleep but unable to. Zephyr is watching from a perch, but aside from poking Hannah to eat, there doesn't seem to be much he can do at the moment.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor Klein has had a lot to do, since the incident in Damzen. She had enjoyed the trip--a chance to see Hannah's home was nice, and to meet the children, and of course Miss Rochelle. But the battle had been a tricky one, and the effects it had on Hannah obvious. No... not just the battle.

But once business was taken care of, there were other things to keep her busy at home. One of which related to Hannah..

More about that later.

Eleanor has kept her eye out for Hannah, but she's noticed she hasn't done much. Tired is one thing, but...

But right now, there's a knock on Hannah's door.

"Hannah?" Eleanor's voice comes. "I'd like to talk."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

There's no response to Eleanor's knock. At least, nothing from Hannah. If one listens closely they might pick up Zephyr's chirping, which slowly grows more insistent and more audible until a muffled sound from Hannah causes it to stop.

It's a few long moments after that before Hannah finally crosses the room to open the door. She blinks as she looks up to see her friend. "Oh, Eleanor," she says, as if surprised. Did she not hear Eleanor call her name a moment ago?

She looks... tired, and a bit bleary-eyed, like she'd been sleeping and only just now woke up. All she has on is her denim shorts and a shirt, and her hair isn't combed out.

There's an awkward pause as Hannah searches for something to say, and eventually she asks, "... did you need something?"

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.

Eleanor waits patiently. Then she waits some more. And a little more. Then, when Hannah opens the door, Eleanor smiles at her friend, despite her bleary-eyed appearance. "Hannah," she says.

She looks her over for a moment, and then nods. "I did. But first, I'd like to ask how you're doing. May I come in?"

She has a briefcase in her hands.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah just nods a little. "I'm fine." She clearly isn't, and she kind of says that like she expects that to end the visit, but the belatedly nods anyway to her request to come on. "Oh, sure..."

She steps back from the door to let Eleanor in, and turns to go clear off the table for Eleanor to sit it. It looks like she was working on, variously, notes, her crest graphs, or her rifle, or... perhaps all 3 at once? Or maybe she lost focus and kept shifting. Either way, she clears off the table (which means just stacking everything at her desk), and then takes a seat herself.

Crossing her arms on the table, Hannah slouches until her head is resting on them.

Zephyr chirps to Eleanor when she comes in, taking off from his perch on the window sill to fly towards her, not quite landing on Eleanor's shoulder, but definitely nearby, making a gesture with his wing in Hannah's direction.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

She definitely isn't. But Eleanor doesn't let that deter her. She waits, for a moment, to look at the table, while it's being cleared, and then takes a seat there. She notices Hannah slouching... But at least Zephyr is there.

"Hello, Zephyr. It's nice to see you, too."

Then she watches Hannah. "Well," she says, "I've received correspondance from Sielje," she says. "They've sent me rather a lot of interesting things..."

Maybe this will be enough to perk Hannah up. Eleanor at least tries to make it sound appealing, to listen to. Her voice lilts, and while she isn't displaying cheer exactly, she's in better spirits than Hannah.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Zephyr moves to perch on a chair by the table, chirping a greeting to Eleanor in return.

It takes a moment to register, but Hannah does blink a little and look up to Eleanor. "... Yeah?" She sighs a little. "I haven't heard back from them... I was hoping they'd send something by now..." She sounds like she's on the edge of finding a new reason to be despondent, but...

Hannah looks to Eleanor with a faint glimmer of curiosity. "So... what did they send?"

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

That at least is a sign of life! Eleanor is encouraged when Hannah looks up, and mysteriously doesn't offer comfort about how she hasn't heard back. Instead...

"Well, first they sent me some materials I'd been asking for, and a few I hadn't. But they also sent me..."

She reaches down into her briefcase, which she's placed on her legs, and pulls an envelope. It is sealed with the mark of Sielje Academy, and on its front is in formal writing the name 'Hannah Curie'.

"They had a proposal, you see. I'd like to tell you about it before you open that letter."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"What..." Hannah lifts her mouth to stifle a yawn. "... sorry, what kind of materials?" She watches as Eleanor reaches into that briefcase and pulls out...

There is stunned silence as she looks at that envelope. Eleanor can probably see her eyes tracing over the formal writing that spells out her name several times, as if trying to confirm just what she's seeing.

"Wha... but..." Her face scrunches up in confusion as she's clearly trying to think but everything is just so slow to process right now. "Was there a mixup because of the address? I thought I chcked for my mail..."

It's confusion instead of excitement, but at least she's engaging with it. She also starts to reach out, but then Eleanor says she wants to talk about it, and pauses, pulling her arm back. "... a proposal? What kind of proposal?" She sounds terribly confused right now, but... that's better than apathetic. Probably.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"Oh, a lot of things." Eleanor doesn't elaborate just yet; instead, she has the envelope, and she indeed watches Hannah's face as she looks at it. Everything may be slow, but Eleanor knows how to do slow; she can build a little anticipation. "No. They sent it to me, instead."

"You see," Eleanor says when Hannah inquires, "They've accepted your application for return. And they'd like for me to be your primary instructor, in a correspondence course of study. Because you've already done most of your core instruction, they feel that continuing your experience in the field would be valuable, under the supervision of a graduate. ...It will also give us an opportunity to investigate the nature of your magic in suitable environments, without any fear of accidents like you worried about before."

Eleanor extends her arm, holding out the invitation to Hannah.

"If you can accept learning from a friend... They've sent me all the materials I'll need to complete your training."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"They sent it to you? I mean, I know you wrote that letter of recommendation, but..."

Hannah blinks a bit in stunned disbelief as Eleanor says her application was accepted, and this time actually sits up. She clearly wants to ask a variety of questions, but since Eleanor is explaining, she holds onto them to let her get through it.

"They want you..." Something is starting to pick up and clear away the fog. "Wait, wait. They want you to teach me!?" She slaps her cheeks a little to jolt herself awake.

"... in a suitable environment. Meaning, 'not at Sielje.'" She oddly doesn't sound... too down about that, but states it like an objective fact.

To be honest she can't really blame them.

Hannah reaches out to hold the envelope, fingers running over the seal.

If she's okay learning from a friend. "Yes! Of course! But... are you okay with it? It's kind of a lot to put on you, and we're still tryin' to figure out what's wrong with my magic, and you're so busy with ARMS and Sage stuff, and Klein..." She looks down at the table."I don't want to be a bother..."

Which is a classic 'Hannah trying to get out of asking for help' line. It's kind of a reflex at this point.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

There are many questions to ask!

"Yes," Eleanor says, "And yes." She doesn't elaborate--but until they know what's going on with Hannah's magic... It's a risk.

She smiles, when Hannah says she's okay with it, her yellow eyes bright. "I am," she says. "I took some time to think about it--that's why I didn't come to you immediately after receiving the letters when we came back--and it's something I'm willing to do. For personal reasons, and others."

She doesn't want to be a bother...

"Mm. Well, you're not. I want to help, and it would be good for my own studies to review. Additionally, your work with alternate energy sources is fascinating... And..."

"Less pleasantly--having seen the difficulty in your magic in person, i think that figuring out what's wrong is Sage business. So if I can do all of these things at once, why shouldn't I? Certainly while it helps my friend."

"...No, let me put it another way. I would be honored to instruct you."

"Though speaking of ARMS..."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Eleanor doesn't need to elaborate. They were both there, that day in Damzen.

But Eleanor confirms that she's okay with it, and Hannah looks a bit stunned to hear that. "... You really mean it? You're... okay with doin' that for me?"

Eleanor confirms that she's not a bother, and Hannah looks up to her, nodding silently.

"W-well, I don't know that it's an alternate energy source, I just... needed someway to conceptualize the problem, and that seemed to work, so..."

There is, of course, a less charitable way to interpret that statement about Sage business. That Hannah herself is a danger, but... she knows Eleanor doesn't believe that. "It's... it's never done that before..." she admits quietly.

Hannah blushes as Eleanor says she would be honored, and falls silent for a long moment, looking at the envelope some more. She puts the envelope down on the table, gets up from her chair, and goes for a hug.

"They want me back! Even if I'm not goin' back back, I'm still gonna get to finish! And if you're willin' to teach me, that means I don't have to leave you again! An' I promise I'll study really hard n' everything! Thank you, Eleanor!"

She might not be the strongest person around, but she does put her all into the hug all the same.

Finally she pulls back. "Yeah? What about ARMS?" There is a long moment as the gears are clearly turning in her head. "... Oh! If I get to stay, then...!"

There might just be a note of excitement in her voice at that realization sinking in.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor smiles. "I am. And I'm rather looking forwrad to it, actually."

She doens't know, but, "It's an interesting hypothesis, and the techniques you've devised would work as such in theory."

But it's never done that before... "It was... alarming. I'm concerned for you." 'For', not 'by'. It's as Hannah says; it's not the same as that worry after all.

Eleanor is not entirely surprised when Hannah goes in for a hug, and warmly wraps her arms around her friend. She smiles widely. "That's right," she says. "You are! And you don't!"

"You're very welcome." She might have an interest in keeping Hannah around, as she's mentioned before--and Eleanor is not (minus her Power Bracelet) the strongest person around either. "They're open to you returning to campus as well, later, or while we have time. But they did feel that on the road was the best place for your instruction."

"And..."

If she gets to stay, "I would be very pleased to ask you again if you'd like to lend ARMS your strength."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah rubs the back of her neck. "I didn't know how to build a filter for magic corruption, but I did know how to build an input for a power source, so..." But Eleanor thinks they're interesting nonetheless. "W-well, I guess I can't doubt the expert opinion of my professor, after all..."

She considers that. "Should I call you Professor Klein now?" She's... half joking, but she is also absolutely the type of person who would do that if Eleanor asked her to.

Hannah nods glumly as she looks to the ground. "I'm concerned for me too," she whispers.

But they're open to having her back on campus. Hannah nods. "Later... later sounds good. And I guess there's somethin' to be said for practical experience in the field..."

Hannah smiles as Eleanor extends her the offer again, and sits down in her seat again. This time, though, she's sitting up. She takes a deep breath to steady herself. "Zephyr, what do you think?"

Zephyr flaps over to land on her shoulder and chirps enthusiastically.

Hannah nods. "Okay. Zephyr and I are both in."

She's still scared of that strength she has, but... if she's got Eleanor around to help her keep an eye on it and figure it out, plus all of ARMS' resources... maybe that'll be okay.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"You certainly figured out how," Eleanor points out. She smiles. "True!"

"Oh, no, that I haven't earned. I ran off to join ARMS before I finished my graduate work," Eleanor admits, with a sheepish look. "...No, Eleanor is still fine. But I'll do my best for you. I didn't become the youngest graduate of the Academy for nothing!"

But she's concerned, too. Eleanor wants to give her another hug.

"There certainly is. You're already a more accomplished sorceress than most graduates. We just need to refine your technique, and learn to understand the unusual aspects of your magic."

But she smiles back. She looks between the two of them.

"Then ARMS's resources are prepared to help with your magic, as well. Welcome to ARMS, Hannah, Zephyr."

"I'm sure you'll be a valuable addition to our team."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah blinks a little at that revelation. "Wait, really? But, weren't you really close to finishing?" That... must have happened just after she left Sielje herself, then. "Well, Eleanor'll be just fine then." She nods, "I guess that's true. They must still really trust you if they asked you to teach me, too!"

Hannah will take another hug. She's needed a lot lately.

There's another blush at that compliment about being accomplished. "W-well... I dunno about that, aheh..." But she nods seriously. "Hopefully, if everybody's help, we can figure it out."

"Thanks, Eleanor!" She considers. "... Did ARMS give you a title?"

"I hope so! So... what should we do first? Lessons? ARMS stuff?" She looks down and picks up the letter. "I guess I should reply and let them know I accept their offer..."

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"Fairly," Eleanor says. "I had a bit more research to do. But..." She gestures. "Things happened." She considers. "Though, i could finish that bit of research myself, knowing what I know now..."

She shakes her head. "Ahem. Regardless! They do, I think. It helps that I've been back a few times--and helped defend the school from Odessa."

Also her published work since, like the text on Ley restoration she published after the Prophets' defeat.

With everyone's help... then-

"Ah, ha. No. My title is informal; I'm a field leader, but I don't have a special rank or anything. Marivel and Irving simply trust me to help."

But hmm....

"Yes. First things first, we write a letter! Or rather, you write a letter. We can onboard you to ARMS next--we'll want to take you to see Irving at the Valeria Chateau, and get a room for you there as well, though you don't have to stay there. Then we can start your lessons the day after that."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah nods. She gets 'things happened.' "You should finish it! Then I could call you Professor Klein! Or Professor Eleanor!" She grins a little. "I'm gonna go for my doctorate, so you should try and finish yours before I do..."

"Oh yeah... That would probably earn you favor with them..." She considers. "... Do they know about the whole Sage thing?"

Hannah tried to keep up with her academic reding, especially anything Eleanor put out, during her self-imposed reclusion from society.

But no title... "Okay."

Hannah is already opening the letter from Sielje so she can read it, and she is taking care to absorb everything she can. "Right..." Letter first. Then... She blinks and looks up from the letter. "Oh! Okay, um..." She looks down at herself, and then lifts a hand to run it through her hair. "I should... probably get cleaned up before I meet anybody." But then she nods. "Okay! What.... kinds of things did they send you? I still have all my old textbooks, or at least everythin' I was able to take..."

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"I should," Eleanor agrees, smiling now that she's realized she can. "It's... Well, we'll talk about it later," she says. It was difficult. Then she laughs a little. "You could, you could. I'd better get back on it then, hm?"

"They do," Eleanor says. "I've been in correspondence with the Dean. There's... things I have to work out. What I can tell an educational institution, and what I should hold in reserve."

"It's more complicated than I once imagined."

But she smiles, after that. Letter first. "...Yes," Eleanor agrees. "There's new editions of a couple of your textbooks; they sent me those. As well as a number of testing materials for certain advanced concepts. And..."

"The silver uniform."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah has a task and a goal at hand now, and that's helping pull her mind out of the funk it was in. "Yep. Unless you wanna be beaten to your doctorate, Misses Youngest Sielje Graduate."

"Oh yeah, I guess not everythin' would be suitable to tell them, huh...?" Lots of ancient secrets about the past.

New textbook editions... "I guess that makes sense... Ain't really... had the resources to buy any updated books... Nice of 'em to send them, though. And the testing materials." She blinks and frowns in thought. "I never cheated, on a test, I swear, but, uh... Now that we know about me n' Zephyr's link, we might wanna make arrangements about that."

Zephyr chirps to Hannah curiously.

"I know, I know, and I don't plan on startin', I'm just... tryin' to be honest, is all."

She blinks and looks up. "The silver uniform?" she asks in a hushed whisper. "... Really?"

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"I don't!" Eleanor laughs.

But, "That's right. I would once have said that all knowledge should be shared, should be understood and brought to light. ...But now I believe that there are some things that must be kept in reserve, for the good of the world. It's... difficult, to reconcile with my academic beliefs, but necessary."

But textbooks, "Yes. You of course saw in the letter that on top of admission they've reinstated your scholarship." Pause. Cheating...

Eleanor is wry. "I'll make sure Zephyr doesn't see the materials," Eleanor says, without any real suspicion. And then she smiles.

"Yes. You won't have all the bells and whistles yet, of course. But they decided that as an adult student in good standing, you deserve the uniform."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

But the sharing of knowledge... Hannah nods. "I think I used to believe that, too... I... when I was younger, I got excited at the idea of going to ruins and unearthing knowledge to share with the world, but... there are some pretty dangerous things out there too, huh?"

Hannah nods! "I did! That's kind of a relief, to be honest. It... wouldn't be good if I had to keep takin' on jobs so I could pay for my studies and try to send money home." Home, not 'to the orphanage.' She pauses. "Though I guess I am in ARMS now... Never had a steady job before..."

"Yeah, and Zephyr wouldn't let me cheat even if I asked 'im. 'Course, you only have my word for that, really..." Zephyr chirps from Hannah's shoulder though. "But I just wanted to be transparent about things."

Hannah nods. "I'll... I'll make sure I wear it whenever we have the time to go back, then," she says with a quiet, happy smile.