Date: October 15, 1998
Place: Delphic Citadel
Cast: Aine, Jana
Scene: Amidst all this political turmoil and tension between the races, here's something on the lighter side: two Delphic novices play a prank on one of their teachers.

Seminary - Delphic Citadel - Haven:
      The entrance opens up into a vast chamber, only one doorway found from here to lead further within the structure. Small groupings of benches furnish the chamber, and a table with a decanter of water sits near the entrance. No feasting is permitted here, as it is mandatory for all to break from their learning several times during the day to replenish not only body, but the mind. Therefore, students will leave periodically and make their way to a more secluded area of the grounds, or to the dining hall located across from the seminary.
      During the day, and perhaps well into the evening, groups of students can be found here. Their faint murmurs drift through the chamber, creating an atmosphere like an open market during the high hours. Rarely does a voice raise above the others, as all here are expected to listen and speak equally.

Aine wanders in, rolling a little pebble about between her fingers.

Jana sits on a bench, slouched over an open book on her lap.

Aine grins and ambles over to Jana. She slips into an open seat and whispers, "Ave."

Jana looks up at you, squinting to focus her eyes, then grins back at you. "Ave, Aine. How are you?"

Aine's face lights up with a grin, "Watch this..." She holds the pebble in the palm of her hand, staring at it intently. After a moment, the Aether swirls to her command and the rock pools liquidly and then reaches up, hardening into a pyramid-shape.

As she watches your hand, Jana's eyes once more unfocus. Softly, she murmurs, "Beautiful... I can see the magic." Her lips again twitch into a grin, "You can mold that pebble into any shape you wish?"

Aine laughs lightly, "Sometimes." Her eyes sparkle. "Most of the time, actually... if it's this small."

Jana sits back, then lifts her arms and stretches her back out. "Fascinating..." She relaxes back against the bench, "So how do you fare this lovely morning?"

Aine rolls the stone in her hands back into a pebble. "Good. Very good. It's nice to finally be getting somewhere."

Jana smiles, "I know what you mean." She slowly lets out a sigh, "But it does get to be so tedious doing naught but studies. I itch to get out and do something."

Aine's fingers twitch and her eyes light with some mysterious emotion, "You mean that?"

Jana nods her head once, emphatically. "Indeed."

Aine says,, "I've heard..." She pauses and looks around. "I've heard that Thetis' room is entirely full of water... did you know that?"

Jana furrows her brow and gives you a quizzical look. "No, I did not. How can such be true? But ah... she is a water elementalist, is she not?"

Aine nods and rolls the pebble about on the table. She speaks with exaggerated casualness, "I was just thinking... what would happen... if her room... ah... leaked."

Jana sniffs and quickly brushes her hand against her nose. But she is quite unsuccessful at hiding her grin. Her voice, when she speaks, sounds odd. As if she was trying to refrain from laughing. "I wonder that myself."

Aine muses, "If someone could... oh... watch for other people..." She trails off and looks up at Jana as she pushes her finger through the middle of the pebble.

Jana nods her head solemnly, intoning, "Then curiosity would be sated." She grins for a moment in anticipation, then asks, "But Aine... what if we are caught?"

Aine muses, "It was an accident?" She ventures the idea uncertainly, knowing it's a rather flimsy alibi.

Jana hmms quietly and lifts a finger to her lips. "Well... We will just have to be certain that we will not be caught, I suppose..."

Aine nods enthusiastically, "That's a much better idea."

Jana snickers, then slowly stands up. "Now? I do not know if Thetis would be about or not..."

Aine rises slowly as well, her eyes dancing. "Might as well go see, right?"

Jana tucks her book under her arm and grins, "Lead the way."

[Travel Interlude: Lower Landing - Delphic Citadel - Haven]

Jana arrives from the lower levels of the tower.

Aine chews on her lower lip as she points to a door. "This one?"

Jana peers at the door, then down at the ground. "Well..." she points, "There is the water."

Aine runs her hand over the stone. "Maybe we should peek inside. A hole low enough.." She trails off and giggles. A hole low enough would drain most of the room.

Jana turns her back for a moment to watch the corridors, "There is no one about..."

Aine tip-toes up to the door and eases it open. She puts one finger to her lips and looks inside. At least she has an excuse for visiting. Her eyes widen and she motions for Jana to look as well...

As you open the door, a breath of warm mist washes over you.

Thetis' Chambers - Delphic Citadel - Haven:
      A quiet chamber, this. With no windows to look out onto the city, this chamber is completely enclosed. The walls are clothed in pale blues and light pink silks hanging from ceiling to floor. The ceiling itself is shrouded in a soft silk of varying shades of greens and blues. What would be considered the most remarkable feature of this chamber is that it has no solid floor past a pace from the doors entrance. As one would step from the door, the basin which greets one is filled with water. Its depth is nearly ten feet and length of the entire chamber. Centered in the pool is a fountain spouting forth cool water in a gentle spray from the mouth of a dolphin whose tail rests easily in the water. This chamber is clearly not for those a'feared of water.
      Hidden behind a draped cloth beside the entry is a rack holding several long, warm, dry towels.

Aine crouches down and runs her hand through the water with a sigh. "Oh... if my room could be like this..."

Jana hurriedly steps inside, keeping the door open only a crack. She softly whispers, "Oh my... 'Tis lovely in here."

Aine plunges her head into the water and emerges quickly, spraying water everywhere. "I think I might be able to do better from inside." She holds out her pebble. "I'll go in and you watch from the door. If you see someone coming, throw that in the water."

Jana takes the pebble firmly, then nods. "All right..." She is about to say something, then shakes her head and ducks back to watch the corridors from the threshold.

Aine unsuccessfully smothers a giggle and sheds her kaftan. She slips nude into the water and heads toward the bottom.

Jana glances back once with a smirk, then a giggle. Images of torrents of water flooding the Citadel dance through her head. She looks back to the corridors hurriedly.

Moments stretch out. Longer and longer and longer. Only the sound of the spray from the fountain echoes throughout the chamber. Suddenly, there's the sound of footsteps approaching from the hallway. Thump. Thump. Thump. They approach... closer... closer. They pause for an achingly long moment.

Quick as a dart and silent as a mouse, Jana turns and tosses the pebble into the pool. Plop.

Nothing happens. Only the fading ripples and the sinking rock.

Blissfully, the steps start again, this time fading.

Longer moments pass, and soundlessly a head appears from the water as Aine slides out onto the ledge, dripping. Water abruptly re-sheets down her neck and front as she blows water from her gills and begins to breathe. From her crouch, she whispers, "Trouble?"

Jana holds a finger to her lips, gesturing for silence. However, she does give you a nod of her head. Only when the steps are gone does she speak, and this time in a whisper, "I had heard footsteps, but they seem to be gone now..."

Aine wrings water from her hair and brushes it from her body before dragging her black robe over wet skin. "I think I got it. It took longer because I thought to make it look like a crack. I'm not sure it went through, though..."

Jana looks back at the water level in the pool. "A crack?" She grins, "Not a bad idea... But when will we notice a leak?"

Aine says, "It's small... but it'll probably drain out a good bit overnight." She grins. "The beauty of it is that Thetis calls more water even if she doesn't will it. Ever noticed that? She's always wet. If she sleeps here... the pool will probably stay full."

Jana cannot help but snicker now, and she gives way to a full-throated laugh. She claps her hands over her mouth, but she still continues to giggle.

Aine ducks, covering her head as if this will stop the noise. Still, when her head comes back up, her eyes glitter with the same humor. Her finger is pressed firmly to her lips. "Come on. We've got to get back to our rooms without being noticed."

Jana nods her head quickly, "I'll go first... And warn you if anyone is around."

Aine grins. "Good plan."

Jana opens the only door out, returning to the hallway.

From afar, Jana waves her hand around the door. The coast is clear.

[Travel Interlude: Pallas Chamber - Delphic Citadel - Haven]

Jana joins you from the corridor.

Only after she has entered does Jana give way to her stifled laughter. "That was deliciously evil fun!"

Aine bursts out into laughter, flopping on her bed, "Oh, what I wouldn't have given to think I might have gotten away with making a hole big enough to turn the stairs into a waterfall..."

Jana's eyes gleam, "Ah... but perhaps that can be done later. Cracks do not always start out so very large."

Aine laughs, "And.. we do have a start. If I can find it from the outside..."

Jana giggles again, "It is only unfortunate that Dominus Damian's chambers do not lie directly beneath."

Aine claps her hands to her mouth, "Pasiphae preserve us, we could have flooded it from bottom to top!"

Jana cackles--she actually cackles--at the thought of Damian's furious expression. After she calms herself a little, she says, "Perhaps we can do something else to him."

Aine bounces on her bed, curling up cross-legged. "If you come up with an idea... and we're not skinned for this one... I'll help." She laughs.

Jana grins and nods her head, "I had best return to my room now... But I do have a few ideas that I shall tell you about soon."

Aine nods, "Yes. I'll try to think of some, too." She grins. "Oh, what fun we'll have!"

Jana grins as she opens the door, then waves. "Vale, Aine. I shall return soon."

"Vale, Jana."

FIN  

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