Apprentice (Private RP)

[Vapor]

Vapor looked vaguely puzzled, then sighed.
Human magicians are, I suppose.
A combination of both, I guess. When I first showed signs of magic, I was trained with the other young dragon magician hopefuls. Then, when they realized I had potential for wind magic, I took on an apprenticeship with one of the ancient wind mages. He... he taught me tha basics, but when it came to intermediate things, it required long periods of flight for the real ceremonies. And... well...
She flapped one short wing half-heartedly.
Ihad to figure out the shapeshifting myself, and I only really got the hang of it after I was exiled. It was a lot harder to figure out how to be a human after I shifted.

[Celestial]

"Still very impressive, I don't think I know anybody who taught themselves to shapeshift without any help!" Celestial exclaimed, growing more and more impressed with Vapor as the conversation progressed.

"Although...I find it strange that flight is needed to learn beyond the basics. Then again, I have not met any full-dragon magicians" she said with a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

"Perhaps...you could finish your studies here, although it would mostly be learning in the human way...it is up to you of course" Celestial suggested, biting her tongue immediately after she said it. Don't be stupid girl, you know a human and a dragon magician are two very different things.

Then how do you exist? another voice spoke in her head. It was the Dragon within, the one whose form she so often assumed.

[Vapor]

Vapor was silent, staring at Celestial with wide eyes.
Well, the things that the Aegis focused on using wind and weather magic was preparing certain currents for specific flight paths, ensuring that a journey would go safely for others. If order to do that, I needed a good view of the entire flight path, plus figure out how the currents were already, and you needed to get pretty high up for that, plus it takes a while to figure out all the calculations and actually do the magic... Considering how important flight was to them, wind mages were highly prized, and the fact that a hybrid could actually preform it was pretty puzzling to some. Also-
It was a full two minutes before Vapor realized that the was babbling to avoid the second question. Vapor bit her lip, studying Celestial. The magician was the first person she'd really talked to in months, and the first person EVER that she ever told that much about her life. Vapor felt an odd sensation of kinship with the mage. She was the first, of either dragon or human, that ever acted like she understood her, and Vapor wasn't sure how to take it, or her offer.
The first thing Vapor learned when she was young was how to deflect a question. After all, her appearance, so different from the other dragons she grew up with, had sparked the curiosity of her peers more than once, and Vapor wasn't fond of explaining her entire history more than once. The most effective way was with a question of her own.
What about you, Celestial?
She blurted hurriedly.
I'm sure a girl with the wings of a dragon has a story to tell.

[Celestial]

She listened to Vapor calmly, slowly understanding what kept the dragon from learning the spells. Vapor certainly had the talent, that much was obvious but she could not fly as well. It was strange how nobody even thought of assisting her. Then again, by the sound of it hybrids were shown no mercy. When Vapor broke off from her ramble, Celestial looked up only to see her looking at the Mage, examining her if you will.

Celestial decided not to meet Vapor's gaze, no matter what her human side, she knew it was not acceptable among dragons. Instead she allowed herself to be examined even if she did feel like an insect under the microscope.

"My story?" Celestial asked, noting the diversion tactic. Well, if she is asking about you instead of answering the question, she doesn't want to answer, the dragon mage decided.

"My story is a lot less exciting than yours. I wasn't born with wings, not at all. I lived in a strange dimension that had no magic, only science. At least, that was the norm there. However, my mother brought me up to believe that magic existed but not the kind of wand-waving magic you find in stories. It was a deep ancient magic, one that slept within the bones of the earth, out of reach of most. She was right but not in the way she expected.

You see, long before science became the norm, back when people still lived in caves, there were dragons in that world. There are still are but they no longer show themselves. In one of those caves there was a man, a shaman trainee in fact. He was not a very obedient pupil and liked to spirit walk for fun a lot. However he made a grave error and walked one day when a dragon was dying. I do know if you know this but when a dragon dies, its spirit releases such energy that it can merge with anything that is on the spirit plane at that moment in time. The man absorbed the dragon's spirit into him, needless to say. When he came back, he found that he had the wings of a dragon and his shamanic powers were enhanced by the dragon's own magic.

Immediately he was kicked out of the tribe, branded a freak. He took to the wilds, somehow surviving by hunting and gathering outside the tribe. Yet he was not the only foolish person who wondered the spirit plane when a dragon lay dying. In the wilds he met more like him, men and women. Some of them were shaman trainees like him, some were just amateurs but each one was half-dragon in spirit, which was more than enough.

These men and women became what is now known today as the Draconis Order, a society of magicians who owed their powers to dragons. The half-dragon soul was genetic apparently and over time, the children of those few founders grew in strength and number. They lived in a half-cave, half-palace high in the mountains where they practiced their craft. At the hieght of their power they numbered 5,000 individuals, each one able to practice fire and air magic as well as shapeshifting into dragons and other powers which have since then been lost" she paused and looked up as Vapor.

"Hard to believe that those 5,000 individuals could have been reduced to just me" she said sadly, pausing for dramatic effect.

"I can always just cut to the chase if you want"

[Vapor]

Vapor was shocked. She sat there, dumbly, then burst out into laughter.
It seems you have more in common with dragons than I thought! I never..
Still shaking with mirth, she finally controlled herself, shaking her head.
Well, at least a dying dragon found a good use for the energy of his life in you.
She gazed into Celestial's face carefully, then grinned, fully exposing every one of her long, curved teeth. A very wise person that Vapor had known had once said that a dragon's smile is a terrible thing, and Vapor didn't doubt him. Vapor liked Celestial very much, but now that Vapor knew that Celestial was human, albeit a clever and kind one, Vapor was basing her decision entirely on her reaction.
Please, continue.

[Celestial]

"Oh no, this was long before I was even born. My origin does not begin until much later but it is true, my soul is half-dragon and by now I'm sure my genes are" Celestial laughed. She noticed Vapor smiling and while her human side was terrified, her dragon side lept with joy. However, the two opposing reactions hurt inside, forcing Celestial to smile weakly but kindly at Vapor.

"Having two sides of the same coin so radically different causes problems. I have these problems a lot from the minor one you just witnessed, with my human side not liking your smile as opposed to my dragon side who loved it. They have yet to disagree about anything major but I would rather they did not. It causes the mind to lose control. We know of only one recorded case when that happened but it brought down the whole order.

Back in the middle ages when the plague was rampant, witch-burnings were also common. A Dragon Mage got caught in the line of fire sadly. He witnessed a witch burning and while his human side was horrified but wanted no part in it, his dragon side wanted to save the innocent girl. The two sides fought until the man lost control. He wiped out the entire town with his magic in the madness. As soon as they heart what happened, everyone from around there came to the Dragon Mages and slaughtered whoever they could find as witches. A few survived by turning into dragons and as dragons they remained forever. Fewer went East and these were my ancestors.

Sadly, the gene for this magic is recessive. As the Dragon Mages mingled with the population, they lost their magic. Each generation was born with weaker and weaker powers until they were almost extinct. A few individuals retained their powers but as long as they had children with somebody whose ancestor was also a Dragon Mage, their children could be magicians too. But they spread too thinly. It was almost impossible to find anybody and slowly, the order died out. They carried the gene as well as the feeling that they were special but nothing more.

Slowly however, the magic began to come back. People began spreading out, travelling further and meeting new people. This was when my ancestors began gaining more power even if they did not notice it. They survived what would have killed most ordinary people. It was amazing and very well too for the times they lived in were violent. Then times calmed down but the power grew as people could travel even further and find new partners, one which carried the gene.

I was born at a time of great turmoil and upheaval. Yet what I did not know what how strong a magician each one of my parents was, especially my mother. I became the first Dragon Mage to be revived. But I did not know until I was seventeen..." Celestial paused, laughing a little.

"I cannot believe it has been more than five years. So much has changed since then. Anyway, I began displaying signs of being a magician at a very early age but my powers came through for real when I was seventeen. For the few weeks before my seventeenth birthday I had been having pain in my back and on the last few days it was so acute that I had to stay in bed. I woke up on that day and there was blood and shredded cloth everywhere on the bed. I also felt something heavy on my back. I couldn't shake it off so assuming it was just something with my back again. By chance I happened to look in the mirror as I was getting up to get my mother about the blood and this is when I saw them: two perfectly formed wings.

My reaction was first horror and then sheer joy. Ever since I was little I had expressed a desire to fly and now I could fulfil it. I ran to my mother to tell her about this. When she saw them she was dumbstruck but she knew of magic. When I told her exactly what happened, she told me to go for my own safety. I asked her why and she told me the story I told you, about the Draconis Order. She also told me it was not safe for me to be among humans. It was a terrible time for me but she was right. I went to the mountains, where for the first time in my life I met a dragon face to face. But I was not scared.

The dragons took me and taught me how to be a dragon, instructing me on my Dragon form but also on dragon society and everything else I should need to know if I was to ever deal with dragons well. In their watchful care I also learnt to control my magic but found it was mostly limited to fire, air and shapeshifting. However, those three were still potent if you knew the right spells and what to do. At first I learnt the basics but moved on. This entire process took three years.

I then learnt to travel through dimensions. First time I did so I came to a dimension where winged people were a lot more common than they were in mine and I finally bought myself clothes that fit. Everything that I wear now was brought from them, albeit a bit more recently. Since Purple was the colour of my dragon form and wings, I went for purple.

I travelled around dimensions more and more, somehow earning a living up until a year ago when I first came upon this place. I joined the Mages but was not very active until a conflict a few months ago pulled me in. Ever since then...here I am" she said with a dramatic flourish.

"Hope I didn't bore you or anything" Celestial said a little sheepishly.

[Vapor]

Vapor was quiet. Without saying a word, the dragon rose and stepped over to Celestial. Unabashed, she wrapped both arms and a wing around the girl and held her tightly for a long moment. Somehow she expressed a nameless emotion filled with quiet hope, homesickness, desperation, joy and relief in that single moment, emotions she's held inside for years.
When Vapor broke away, there were tears in her eyes. She stepped back, wiping them away.
I... I have lived for fifty-two years.
She began, sniffing.
In the mountains, I would still be consitered a small child. In the valley, I'd be an elder. I.. have no idea how long I'm supposed to live. I figure I'm about fifteen years old in human age. Maybe a few years more than that in human maturity.
I've traveled with freak shows, circuses, scholars and vagabonds. I've dined with nobles and shared scraps with beggars... You'd be surprised just how many people will invite a teenaged stranger or a dragon into their home.
And yet, in none of my travels have I ever met someone quite like you.
Realizing Celestial might take that at facial value, Vapor quickly added,
You're one of the most experienced people I've ever met. You compare your life to mine, but you don't realize that quite a lot more has happened to you in a very short amount of time than has happened to me throughout my entire life. You're wise far beyond your years, and wiser than some that have those years. You survived in a dragon society despite the fact being quite edible. You learned magic, despite having grown up in a scientific world. You survived in a society you were born in, despite being so drastically different in a world brutal to the different.
You know your history. You remember a family. And...
She gestured to the room around her, indicating the manor.
You have a home. You've accomplished in a little over two decades that I haven't been able to do in a little over five.
Vapor paused, and picked up her pack.
I think anyone can recognize the similarities between us. But it's the differences that interest me the most.
She stepped over to the bed, and emptied out the pack, organizing them in piles.
Hmm... To finish my studies, I'd have to study under a master, yes? I think you'd call them... apprentices, that's the word.
She scooped the food she had bought earlier and pushed them into Celestial's hands.
There, I don't think I have a use for all this anymore; if you're any indication, I don't think you mages starve your apprentices. I suppose I'll see you in the morning for breakfast?

[Celestial]

Celestial's face registered surprise when Vapor hugged her. She did not know how to react or what to do. Smiling broadly, she hugged the dragon back very tightly. When the dragon stepped back there were tears in her eyes and it was when Celestial's heart melted: she had never seen a dragon cry.

She did not react to the praise heaped upon her except blushing readily. Of course she would have survived in dragon society, cannibalism was frowned upon there and if anybody licked their lips she would only have to shapeshift into her dragon form but said nothing. However when Vapor proposed that she finish her studies, Celestial was taken aback.

"Vapor...I did not deserve the praise you have heaped upon me, it was only what I did because I had no choice. Yet if you would like to stay here and become my apprentice, I would be more than glad to take you on. Do not worry about not being able to fly, for the spells that require it I shall help you" she smiled, picking the food up from the bed.

"We don't strave our apprentices, we pamper them silly!" Celestial laughed, going to the door. "Though you might want to go to the living quarters in the West Wing and pick a room for yourself. If you need any help, I'll take this food back to the kitchen and come"

"And Vapor...thank you. It is a great honour to have you as an apprentice"