Akira was doing really well in life since the time she had met Shiloh. While the hospitality of those nice halflings was extended out of friendship and generosity, the child could not bring herself to rely on them for long. It was odd to be treated like a real child, not some urchin deserving a kick out the door. For this reason, staying with them was almost oppressive, and Akira had to leave for sanity. Since then, she's been adopted by two lovely women. A shocking development also occurred when the fox-child knocked her toy across the room without being anywhere near the toy in question.

After that, she didn't quite think about it as she healed a man's blistered feet using ice. The child was afraid to go to her mothers, unsure how'd they take the uniqueness she was sure was not the same others. Mommy Celeste could do magic, so she'd be understanding of much of it. She even went so far as to try and teach Akira how to concentrate and utilize her magic, but it wasn't something the child could truly grasp from her. During her granted travels alone, Akira picked up on rumors about an Academy for people with magic. People like her.

It took some tracking down, but Akira finally found out where the Mage Academy resided, and headed straight there. The skyboat landed, and Akira disembarked. First things first, hunger won out as she was greeted with sweet aromas. After finding a pastry stall and trading with a single coin for it, the child sat and ate most of it with gusto. Licking her fingers, the child counted what few coins she had left. It was almost time to return home if she didn't do something to earn coins for herself. While she idly wondered how much she could fetch for Steve, her possessed toy, Akira looked around the city.

In a city this big, how could she find the Academy by herself? A chipmunk poked its head out of Akira's kimono, sniffing the air appreciatively. "Ahh, Iria. Fine choice, young one." "Akira save you some pastry." "Aren't you sweet? Thanks, Akira. You know, you won't find what you seek until you ask for assistance." The chipmunk crawled up to Akira's shoulder and began eating on the provided snack. Knowing this to be true, Akira stood and started wandering through the city, trying to find someone she "felt" the confidence of approaching. Finally, there was someone ahead. Cautiously, Akira walked up and gently tugged on their clothing. "Excuse me. Akira looking for Academy. Can you help?"

"Strange as it is, I never thought I'd think a place in Parvpora to be more like home than Arri." A young woman with short, almost boyish curly golden hair stood in the streets of the city of magic. She had come back from an eye-opening trip to Eyota Etu, and was taking the time to slow down and see the sights as her employer had suggested. Nerine still felt that feeling of a void she couldn't fill ever since that day, but did her best not to keep dwelling on it for long. If she did, then she might lapse back into depression again. It no longer hurt as much as it once had, but recalling those memories did sting. Healing, like many things, took time. After standing around reminiscing about the past, she felt a tug at her traveler's robe. A child's voice piped up beside her: "Excuse me. Akira looking for Academy. Can you help?"

Looking down, she saw a little child with snowy hair and ears of a fox. Giving the little girl a warm smile, the scholar knelt down so she was eye-level with her. "Hello there. It's dangerous to be out all by yourself. Yes, I do know where the mage's academy is. Could you tell me why you want to go there?" She wondered why this young girl wanted to see the city's renowned mage academy. Did she know someone attending as a student, or was it one of the teachers there? Nerine couldn't help but be worried thinking about how long Akira had been wandering around in the city streets all alone. She had a soft spot for children, even if she didn't have as many chances to look after them often. With her work, she was travelling to places that even adults would find daunting. 

"You can call me Nerine, Akira. Where are your parents?" She asked the girl. Normally people wouldn't let their children go off by themselves, so hopefully the child's parents were somewhere close by. Regardless, she decided to stay close to the girl to dissuade less honest folk from approaching her and taking advantage of her innocent soul. Even though Iria was not like Vilpamolan, every place had its dangers. For someone as young as the fox child, if those with ill-will set their sights on her, only the gods could keep her out of their clutches. But as long as it appeared that she had someone with her, then she wouldn't targeted as easily. 

The golden haired woman lowered herself to Akira's level. Where most children who were unaccustomed to Rosenites would gawk at the beauty and red ringed eyes, Akira spent a lot of time in Sularia and was quite used to them. It helped that she had a warm smile, instantly forming that far too easily given trusting bond with the child. Akira smiled back. "Akira want to learn." Wasn't this the obvious reason? As usual, there came the question of her parents. Once upon a time, she'd have given the truth of having no-one to look after her. But now, she could say something new with confidence.

"Um, I don't know. Mommy Larka and Mommy Celeste are mercenaries, always travel. Home in Sularia. But look!" With an extreme sense of pride, Akira thrust her hand out. There was a red ribbon tied neatly around her wrist. "Mommies can always find me, and Akira them." The pixie shaped Puca looked at Nerine, waving cheerfully. "Hello Nerine. I'm Neera. You don't have to worry about Akira. I'll take good care of her. I'm a Puca." "What a Puca?" "A Puca can change into any form. If I need to, you could be defended by a dragon. Remember, when we met, I was a mermaid, and now I'm a pixie."

The child nodded knowingly, understanding what was told to her. Then came a sudden wince as a crash was heard somewhere nearby. Her hands went up to her ears, pressing them flat against her ears. Without an explanation, Akira took off toward the sound. A man was somewhat crushed under crates of heavy metal ore he had been delivering to the blacksmith. He had definitely broken something. Looking back to Nerine, Akira pointed. "He broken. It louder than screams." This was what she wanted to figure out, her skills she needed to learn. What if she had the ability to help him and she didn't know how to help? Most things she has done thus far without thinking.

The little fox child wanted to learn magic, this being her reasoning for seeking the academy. What Nerine didn't expect to hear was Akira's reply to where her parents were. "Oh, I see.Your home is in Sularia? That's quite a ways from Iria." She was considering bringing the girl back to her home when she showed her a curious red ribbon tied around her wrist. Taking an end of the ribbon carefully, Nerine confirmed her assumptions. "Well, you certainly are full of surprises, aren't you Akira? Here I had been wondering how your parents would be able to find you, but I never would have guessed it would be a heartstring." From what Akira had told her, the fox child was being looked after by two women who took jobs as mercenaries. It certainly was a bold move to give a young child such great freedom, and her first thought went to Shiloh. Although she now spent more time drawing up diagrams and testing machinery, the deity had mentioned she had taken a few jobs in a similar line of work back before she had her business.

A small creature then emerged from behind Akira, and waved to the Rosenite. Magical creatures weren't a common sight in Iria for a few reasons, and it was a new experience for the scholar to see one in the flesh. "A puca! I've read about your kind in the bestiary compendiums cataloged in the library." Nerine exclaimed, eyes wide. "Please forgive me for being so excited, but this is truly amazing! I never thought I'd ever see one in person! Magical creatures which can transform into almost an unlimited amount of alternate forms are exceedingly rare. Most beings with such ability at most can handle a few forms." Her rambling was soon cut short by a loud crash, and before she could say more the girl dashed off in another direction. "Akira, wait!" 

Following close behind, she was led to the scene of an accident. A man was severely injured, having being crushed by several heavily-loaded crates. A small crowd was gathering as people came to see what was going on. A lump of anxiety was beginning to form in her throat as she assessed the situation. Unfortunately, Nerine was only familiar with remedies involving herbs and natural ingredients. She was no healer, and at most only knew the basics of first aid when it came to treating people. Poisons and wounds she could handle, but broken bones? Taking a deep breath, the scholar rolled up her sleeves and started focusing her thoughts on what she could do. The most she could do for the man, would be to remove the crates from pressing onto him any further. But she couldn't lift them off herself, so she only had one other option. 

Casting a spell, the tips of her fingers glowed as she prepared. From the ground, suddenly large tendril-like plants burst forth and began grappling the crates loaded with ore. Wrapping themselves around the boxes tightly, she told them to move the crates aside, away from the injured man. Like the thick, coiling arms of an enormous octopus, the plants moved the crates aside with ease. Nerine then directed them to carefully reach under the man and form a temporary stretcher so he would be lying flat. Now came the difficult part. Carefully, she checked the man to see where he was injured. She found a few broken bones, thankfully in places that weren't too difficult to reach. "Could somebody call a cleric? Hurry, there might be internal bleeding if he has a cracked rib!" She called out, and a few of the people in the growing crowd ducked out. Taking out a small bundle of herbs from her case, she put a wad of them into the man's mouth. "Here, chew on this. It'll help dull the pain until a healer arrives." She had given him leaves with mild sedative properties, and also was using them to keep him from accidentally biting his tongue.

While waiting for a better-equipped individual to arrive, she used vines to hold together any broken limbs in a makeshift cast. Finally, as a last precaution she took out a Harenian death mask and placed it over the man's face to keep his condition stable. Once all these things were done, the scholar let out a sigh and wiped her brow. She had almost panicked, but hopefully this man would live to see another day. Taking a seat, she watched as the gathering was thinning out now that the moment of danger had passed. 

It was pointless trying to do anything while he was pinned under the heavy crates. With astonishment, she watched as the vines grew at Nerine's command, moving them as if it was nothing. The man was lifted, carefully laid flat, and the Rosenite checked his injuries. Unsure what the mask was for, it seemed that the vines were being used to keep his bones together. While the man wasn't feeling the pain, Akira could hear it all too clearly. Not wanting to wait for some random healer or cleric to be found and brought, Akira slowly approached.

Purposefully, she sat her pack on the ground at the woman's feet, and began rummaging through it. A strange bird like toy was carefully placed next to her, almost as if she was afraid of it, before reaching back in. During this time, the mythical puca shifted into a chinchilla complete with rat like ears, beady eyes, beautiful ashen fur that was super soft, and a fluffy tail. Jumping from the child onto Nerine's lap, she began to clean face. Unfortunately, she had to unpack about half of her bag before finding what she was searching for. Holding it triumphantly, Akira showed off a plump water skin.

Popping the cork, Akira splashed much of it into her hand. Instead of spilling down to the thirsty ground, the water stayed in the form of a sphere. Without a word, the child approached the man, reaching for one of the injury spots. Water completely engulfed her hand as it began to softly glow. Gently pressing her hand against him, Akira closed her eyes. This was where the pain was loudest.

Using such precise magic to speed up the growth of plants in less than ideal conditions was tiring, and she had enough only to keep the vines sustained in their current positions. While waiting for a cleric, the little fox child came up to inspect the injured. Akira took out several things from her bag, most of them being typical things a child her age would own. The puca Neera then changed its shape to a chinchilla, and made itself comfortable in Nerine's lap as she rested. The scholar herself was wondering what Akira was doing when the girl produced a water skin, and began pouring it out. With a surprising level of skill for a child her age, Akira used magic utilizing the water as a conduit to heal the man. Hydromancy, combined with healing magic? Nerine was familiar with water weaving, but rarely had she ever seen this used aside from the obvious applications. The most she knew about alternate applications were the oracles' scrying bowls and mystic arts, but this was limited to Arri. 

She watched quietly as the girl began to restore the injured man to health. With the Harenian death mask in place, the healing process was able to take place unhindered. She could hear the man's breathing stabilize, and the sedative was finally taking effect. When all was done, she approached the man and laid a few fingers across his wrist. Moving to check the side of his neck for the strength of his pulse, she was relieved. It was strong, and steady–as it should be. Taking off the death mask, she set it aside as the vines she had called receded away. No longer needing to sustain the plants, she was already feeling her energy return. The man was asleep now, resting peacefully.

"Akira, where did you learn how to do that? I've never seen anything like it." The scholar smiled, showing the girl that she had done well. Now she could see why the fox child wanted to find the mage's academy. She wished to further develop her talents, and be able to use them to better help others in need. Everyone was given different talents from birth, and it never ceased to amaze her how much good one could do. 

Slowly but surely, she worked diligently until the life threatening injuries were healed. From there, she went to his leg, feeling the bones begin to mend together. Each second that passed by, the more energy she used, the quieter his pain became. Finally, the excess noise was quiet, and Akira could finally relax. Sitting down, Akira experimentally sipped at the water she had used, Neera watching her intently. Deciding it tasted a little funny, she allowed the water to cascade from her hand to the waiting parched stones.

Rubbing at an eye, the child looked up at the woman. Her smile was friendly, and infectious, even if Akira's answering smile seemed a bit tired. "Akira didn't learn. I just do." The puca crawled up onto Akira's lap, burrowing her way into her kimono, only to turn around and peak out right at the nape of Akira's neck. This caused her to giggle, as the soft fur and tiny claws tickled the skin. "One day, Gods were mad. Turned ocean into lava. Townspeople threw shinies in lava, but they cry to do so. Akira went to see, and found man with bad burns on feet. First time Akira heal."

"Aaaakiiiirrraaa." The foxling groaned as she turned, eyeing the toy bird. "Shush, Steve. You no talk." "Tell her, Akirrraa. Tell her how you learned of it, how you hurt me. Abuse!" With a frustrated scream, Steve was picked up and slammed back into the pack. "I said 'Don't talk to me'!" He was stuffed under the water skin and a blanket. Hopefully, it would keep the stupid toy in there as she carefully ensured the pack was securely fastened. "Steve bad toy. Tell me kill Kyu, Mommy Larka's puppy. Akira slap Steve across room, but I was in Larka's arms. Don't know what or how I do. Akira need to learn."

After shouldering her pack, the child stood. "Maybe you can help? Akira… feels pain. Akira hears it. Pain screams. That woman?" A single delicate finger pointed out an old woman leaning heavily on a cane, but Nerine would notice that Akira's eyes were glued to her own face, that the child would have to had turned a good portion in order to properly see the elder. "Her leg crooked. Pain in hip, in knee, in ankle, and in fingers. Both hands. Blacksmith inside? Back aches, arms tired. Akira try not to hear, try filter them out. Most time, it work… Until accidents happen." Accidents like the man who was just healed.

From what Akira had said, Nerine began connecting things together. She must have been in Canelux when the spire of sin emerged in the plains, and had passed through Egjora at some point. The scholar remembered when the Steward gathered everyone aboard the Clephsydra and debriefed them on the situations of nine key areas on the continent. Egjora had been one of the areas where they had been strictly forbidden to venture into, and this girl was a witness to the gods' terrible wrath. An unsettling voice interrupted, and the fox child's happy demeanor changed. The sound was coming from a creepy looking toy, and something about it felt…wrong. It kept pestering her, goading Akira until she shoved it back into her bag angrily. Calming down a bit, the fox child then told her more about the strange talking toy.

"Oh, so that was how it happened. Akira, if Steve bothers you so much, why didn't you throw it away?" Nerine didn't want to scare the girl more, but she was already figuring out what was wrong with the bird-like toy. "If Steve is being too mean, I know somebody who can fix him for you." The term 'fix' wasn't quite accurate, as the person who she had in mind would first start with a hammer than a set of toymaker's tools. The thing certainly seemed cursed, or at least haunted. It was too dangerous for a young girl to be carrying around. Moving on to the next subject, Nerine took a moment to think over what the girl had told her. "Hmm… Akira, I think I know how you were able to move Steve without touching him. I also might know why you can hear other people's pain." Seeing the injured man was completely healed, she got up and prepared to leave. "Let's continue talking elsewhere. Would you like me to bring you to the mage's academy? I used to study there before I went back home. I've lived in Iria for a few years, so I know all the main streets like the back of my hand." She held out her hand for the girl to hold, while keeping a lookout for any unsavory folk loitering in the crowds. 

Akira sighed. It wasn't as if disposing of Steve had been easy. Somehow, despite all of the combined attempts of several adults in conjunction of her own, the blasted doll managed to escape them all. To see a child who was accepting things as they were without fighting them with the knowledge of futility was almost disheartening for most. With her head hung low, she shook her head sadly. "No, we tried. Steve… always escape." Or comes back when she thought he had been disposed of. "Sword, fire, lava. Nothing work." Sadly, he has bit Larka, shown great speed when his life was in danger, and loved to hide behind the small child. At one point, when Akira thought he was gone, he managed to return to her, virtually unscathed.

The conversation moved toward something easier, or at the very least, something more pleasing. Nerine believed she understood what was happening with the fox child. Eagerly thrusting her trusting hand into the waiting hand of an adult, she nodded almost vigorously, Akira's whole attitude seemed to perk up. "Yes please! You know why? Why Akira do things I do?" Together, the pair walked, past stalls and display windows. While Akira's eyes wandered over them appreciatively, for once she did not run up to each glittering pile of shinies to oogle over them. No, there was something far more important for her to do right now, and that was to learn about this so she could proudly return home and share her adventures with her mothers.

"My mommies are awesome! Larka has one arm, but she really strong. Celeste is magic water. Akira like her in magic. But Celeste is trying learn about herbs and how affect body. They super nice, and they has two pets. Kyu awesome wolf with lightning magic! Reika pretty white tiger, acts just like regular house cat but gets training. When Akira with Celeste, we go for runs. Akira not as fast." The child was happily rambling, but it showed how happy she truly was with them. Their choice was a beneficial one for all of them. What Akira liked best was their support, and without all the smothering she received from the nice people who had taken her in once or twice before.

The little girl was eager to hear what her theory was, and Nerine hoped what she would explain wouldn't go over Akira's head. "I have a friend who can move things without touching them. It's a power called 'telekinesis'. When you use it, you move things with your thoughts. So if you thought hard enough about moving something to you, it would come. The same would be for sending things away. Think of it like…an invisible string. When you tell the string to pull, it does and when you tell the string to stop pulling or pull away from you, that happens." As for the fox child being able to sense others' pain, that was more complicated. "Hmm…from what you told me, it would appear you have a very strong mind and a pure heart. You can hear when people are in pain because you want to help, and that is a very special ability. Not everybody can do that."

It was sweet to hear the fox girl talk so happily about her family. She had been adopted by two women–one who sounded like a fighter while the other who possessed water magic and knowledge of healing. She had never heard of a lightning wolf, so the mention of it piqued her interest. "Oh, a wolf with magic? I've never seen one, but if magical creatures exist then surely animals who are extra special can learn magic like people. What does Kyu look like?" Soon they were in front of the mages' academy, and Nerine let go of Akira's hand. "Here we are. It's as big as I remember. Standing here like this brings back memories of when I first came to study. Let's go inside, I'm sure they won't mind. Do you like books Akira? There's a library inside with lots of books with interesting pictures." An encyclopedia would be more engaging than technical literature and rhetoric, and a few even were in color. Those copies were extremely rare, as not many were printed. 

The high ceilings and spacious hallways made the school feel like a maze. There were many people out and about, some students and others teachers preparing in between classes. There were elves, orcs, humans, halflings, dwarves, and much more. Iria had always been a melting pot of sorts, and unlike Canelux's traditionalist attitudes people of different backgrounds mingled more easily here. The city in general was a haven for free thinkers, as knights and monarchies were a thing of the past. It was both surprising and refreshing in a way. It was as if there were no limitations on what you could be.