Kings Cup [Rozenn]

Gaspard had been studying under the Demin Harbinger Rozenn for quite some time now, and he’d hit his wall; he was bored, and frustrated. Where he’d found fairly even progress and success in his own element, he found repetition and stagnation. It was in part due to the fact that working with a second affinity was always slower, and took more effort to learn, and the other part was that Rozenn seemed hellbent on making sure every technique was perfect ten times over. And while Gaspard was the same with his students, he was also not a Discipuli anymore, and knew that his technique wasn’t the end all of things.

And being that he wasn’t one to sugarcoat his feelings about anything, the man had decided that he’d had enough as he sat there listening to Roz outline the tasks for the days lesson. Up until the moment the Harbinger had stopped speaking Gaspard had managed to keep himself from propping his feet up on the big stone table in front of them. But just as he prepared to make his case, the man sat back in his chair and kicked his feet up onto the table before crossing them at the ankle. As he did so, Gaspard shot the Harbinger a look, wanting to see her reaction. Normally, he wasn’t one to push his luck with his Elemental elders, but he figured that one act of rebellion was best preceded by another.

Offering her a small shrug the man spoke flatly “No. We’ve been covering the same set of lessons for almost a month now. I’m bored.” He paused, letting his words sink in “I’m a Zealot, not some Discipuli who cant even summon the basic Demin. I think I’ll bide my time here until you take me seriously, and give me something that’s actually worth my time.” He knew he was pushing the envelope farther than he likely ever had with any elder, but he enjoyed pushing Rozenn’s buttons.

"Get your feet off the table," she said flatly, never once turning around to look at him. Pressing the quill to the paper, she paused. "It's older than you. Show it some respect."

Rozenn had focused so much time on achieving balance within her own element that she could tell when things were off. For example, when a certain stubborn student of hers was propping his feet upon the marble top. She took a little more time to outline what she had planned for him for that day. They had already gone over some of the more advanced spells and while Rozenn was confident that he'd have no problem mastering them, she just wasn't quite sure that he was ready to move on. He was her most promising student to date, but that didn't stop her from expecting better than the best from him.

She turned to face him and as she did he spoke once more. She pursed her lips and arched a brow as he spoke, and soon she found herself chuckling at the absurdity of it all. "We've been covering them because you've yet to perfect them. I'm well aware that you are a Zealot, but do you think I'm going to toss some spells your way and assume that you will perfect them in such a short time? We take years to learn and master spells. However, fine." Setting her outline down, she sat back in her seat and smirked at him. "What would you like to learn? Perhaps a spell that I didn't learn until I was nearly fifty years old? Or maybe an ancient stone spell I read in a scroll. Better yet, how about something very dangerous?"

At her rebuke the blonde elemental smiled at her turned back, she was good, and even he could admit it. But that didn’t mean he would let himself be out done, oh no. He knew  what he was about to say would land him in a rather deep hole, but the prospective tet-a-tet was all too promising to pass up. So, without an ounce of hesitation the man spoke, smugness mixed with humor coloring his tone “Well...I supposed if I have to pay respects at all, better this table than you.” With that, he let his feet drop audibly to the floor, waiting to see what would happen next.

He narrowed his eyes as she chuckled at him as she turned to face him, Gaspard Archambault didn’t take kindly to being laughed at, even if he enjoyed laughing at others. As she spoke about perfection the man raised an eyebrow of his own in response “If my techniques not perfect, it’s pretty damn close. And last I checked, nothing was ever perfect.” His self assuredness was starting to seep through, but at the moment the Garth Zealot wasn’t particularly concerned with what Rozenn thought of him, and was more concerned with being right.

But it was getting harder for the man to be civil, what with Rozenn clearly toying with him. Giving her a deadpan stare Gaspard waited till she’d finished before he started speaking, though he laughed as he did so “We both know you’re not going to teach me any of that. Dangerous spells might have gotten my attention about twenty years ago, but even I know a farce when I see one. I’m just asking for less repetition, not to be patronized, despite the fact that I am nearing fifty, thank you very much.” He had started this game, and he had every intention to finish it.

Rozenn snorted and rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Do you -" Speak to your mother like that? No, that was insensitive. She hadn't been at Inverness when he came to them, but she had heard that his parents were rogues and abandoned him at the Council. She couldn't understand how a mother could abandon her child like that. What was so important that it meant leaving her child with a group of individuals the child didn't know? Did the mother even know the Elementals at the Council? Rozenn doubted the woman did, otherwise she would have never left Gaspard to them. "- speak to the other Council elders that way?"

And just like that mood turned sour. The thoughts moments before had opened up a set of memories she had sealed away. Memories of her long dead daughter playing in the front yard as she and Magnus watched, smiling and laughing, and being happy. Memories of the Council coming for them and keeping Katell away from her. Memories of the Council keeping her locked up as she suffered through her second pregnancy, and then the memory of them telling her the baby had died. That was a reason to go rogue. That was a reason to fight for your child, not abandon it.

She cleared her throat, suddenly remembering that she had company. She repeated his words in her head, hoping they'd clear the thoughts that had plagued her. "It is close, but not close enough." Leaning towards him, she now smirked. "Are you sure about that? What if I told you there's a spell that turns rock into liquid lava, or another that can create islands or extend continents?" Sitting back, she raised a brow. "Fine. Seeing as you are nearly fifty, I suppose we can move on to something fun. There is a spell, though the Council considers it bad practice but is legal, that crushes one's opponent between two large rocks. Or we can go over creating marble statues and animating them. What is your ultimate goal with Demin? With the Council, even?"