Mother of Learning. Arc 3 Incomplete

Actually, that last one was extremely easy. Considering the effect was almost identical to the ‘Spook Animal’ cantrip he had learned back in their second year, he shouldn’t have been surprised. Though that did give him an idea… mind spells that affected animals weren’t restricted as heavily as spells that targeted humans. Hell, some of them were freely available in the academy library! It might be a good idea to try some in one of the future restarts and compare the results with what he could achieve with psychic powers.

For now though, he concentrated on another idea — rather than flat out puppeteer the pigeon, he was trying to simply dampen its fear and influence it into approaching him on its own. It was a lot harder than scaring the bird away. The pigeons were already inclined to bolt at the slightest provocation, so it didn’t take much to send them running, but having them approach a strange man with no food that kept staring at them went against their instincts.

It took him over twenty tries, but he gradually learned how to steer the pigeons towards him. Finally, on his 24th attempt, he found a pigeon fearless enough to play along with his game. It slowly meandered close and then briefly took flight in order to land on the same bench Zorian was occupying.

It cooed and stared at him, and when Zorian reached out with his hand and scooped it up it did not resist in the slightest.

Success! Zorian reached into his pocket and offered the docile pigeon in his hand some bread. It was only proper to reward such a cooperative experiment subject.

And his achievement was just in time too, since Kael’s train was arriving at the station. He put the pigeon down on the bench and left to help Kael disembark.

«Kael Tverinov? I’m Zorian Kazinski, one of your classmates. Miss Zileti sent me to help you settle down and show you around the city. Don’t worry about your daughter, I know the value of being discreet.»

Kael gave him a searching look before nodding. «I appreciate the help, mister Kazinski. As well as your silence. Lead the way, if you will.»

«It’s no problem at all,» Zorian said, creating a floating disc of force and loading the other boy’s luggage on the platform. «We live at the same place, after all.»

«We do?» Kael asked curiously.

«Well yes. Or at least we will if you have rented a room at the place Miss Zileti had recommended to you. She recommended the same place to me when I told her I’m bringing my little sister with me this year and sought alternatives to academy housing.»

«Your little sister?» asked Kael, shifting Kana in his hands. The little girl studied everything around them with her bright blue eyes but remained resolutely quiet. «How come you brought her with you, if you don’t mind me asking?»

«Our parents went on a trip to Koth and someone has to take care of her. And, well, that someone has always been me in cases like this. I don’t mind all that much really, and the owner of the place seems to be good with kids.»

«Well that’s a relief,» Kael said. «To be honest I had great reservations about coming here, and I was kind of worried Miss Zileti overstated her friend’s fondness for children in order to get me on board with the enrollment.»

«I don’t think you have a lot to worry about. Imaya, the owner of the place, seems honest and friendly enough. And I’m an empath, so I can usually tell.»

Kael gave him a sharp, questioning look.

«Too sudden?» Zorian asked. «Sorry, but I wanted to get it out of the way first. I know some people can’t stand the idea of someone knowing their private emotions, but I don’t think I can keep it a secret from someone that I’m going to share a roof with on a permanent basis.»

«If you aren’t worried about living with a morlock, I don’t think I have rights to complain about you being an empath,» Kael said, shaking his head. He gave his daughter a sad look. «Truthfully, I am sort of jealous. Kana is so quiet most days, I sometimes wish I could peer into her head and see what she’s thinking about.»

Kana immediately wrapped her little hands around Kael’s head and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Kael snorted derisively and ruffled her hair, a smile dancing on his lips.

‘Kana 1, Kael 0,’ Zorian thought to himself. Quiet she might be, but Kana clearly knew how to deal with her father effectively.

A few moments later, when the moment had passed, the two boys resumed their conversation in a much less reserved fashion, the ice having been successfully broken.