geniusmageknight

[geniusmageknight]

It was a bit late at night, but Velouria figured that she might as well leave a gift in front of Kempf's door anyway. It wasn't much, but she had dug out a dusty old tactics book from her collection that she thought that he might have liked. She gently placed it in front of the door, her footsteps crunching in the light dusting of snow as she tromped away. She considered herself a pretty good gift giver, so hopefully this was up to his standards. If only a bit late.

Days after his birthday celebrations, Kempf noticed that the book someone misplaced outside his door had not yet been claimed. He didn't want to report it as a lost item, as that usually resulted in some faculty member pestering everybody in the monastery until someone realizes that it is theirs. Secretly, he was hoping nobody would claim it, so that he could take it for himself. From the cover alone, Kempf could tell this was an older book of tactics, possibly from over 100 years ago. Self-proclaimed geniuses tend to dismiss strategies from before their lifetime as “barbaric” and “useless”, but a true tactician always keeps their mind open! There could be great value in this book! 

Now that it had been a few days, Kempf was willing to take the book for himself. If the person who dropped it really cared, they would have come searching for it! As they failed to do so, they no longer deserved to have the book. Taking it inside and looking it over more, the book’s condition bothered Kempf. It was old, dusty, and yet not damaged in any way at all. How could this be? Either the owner cared about it and would have kept it clean, or they would have just not cared at all and let it fall apart. Who would keep it safe, but also have no desire to make it more presentable?

That’s when it all finally clicked. There was only one person Kempf knew who fit that bill. And once he realized Velouria was the person who had the book, Kempf was able to connect the rest of the dots. This was actually a birthday gift! Of course! He really should have figured it out sooner. Normally he would acknowledge the gift with some sort of kind gesture, but doing so might have Velouria realize that Kempf left the book lying around near his door for days like a fool. As such, the best option would be to just do something nice for Velouria at a later date.

"Maybe I'll gather up some trash around the monastery and give it to her as a gift when her special day rolls around. Velouria seems rather easy to please, seeing how she enjoys random junk so much.”

[geniusmageknight]

"Professor Kempf? Aaah...my apologies for coming in so late." He had completely missed the mark, didn't he? Dimitri never fancied himself the best with dates, but tried to always remember birthdays as they were special. "I saw that it was your birthday! I am so sorry for not coming to you earlier, I got too caught up in my studies."

The prince produced two items: a bouquet of flowers and a red scarf with a silver pin, a fierce lion engraved in it. "As we are currently in a colder season I wished to give you something you could use regardless of where you are. As for the flowers...sorry, my knowledge of flowers is poor, but I tried choosing them based on what I assumed you would like more!"

"Thank you for everything, Professor. I wish you a grand, fulfilling life ahead."

“More birthday gifts? And at such a late hour?”

Dimitri’s flowers and scarf were certainly not unwanted, but Kempf still saw this as a highly unusual situation. How could he be so considerate as to pick out such nice items to celebrate his birthday but fail to bring them on time? Was he really just too busy earlier in the day? 

“Dimitri really must have a lot of work to do if he barely had time to fulfill such an important obligation.”, thought Kempf, as he accepted the gifts being presented. “I almost feel bad for the poor guy.”

“Feel bad...? Wait just a damn minute! I never feel bad!”

This kid was clearly trying to get into Kempf’s good graces and soften him up! Coming in with such a nice gift and an even better excuse! He did this on purpose! EVERYONE knows that the last gifts given are the most memorable! Dimitri easily could have given them earlier in the day, but that scheming little schemer deliberately made sure he would hand-deliver them right before Kempf’s birthday ended! What a tactical move! 

Rather than being totally offended by the trickery, Kempf was rather impressed with how genuine Dimitri made it all look. Any normal person would have taken Dimitri’s word at face value. But not the “brilliant” Kempf! Dimitri was obviously attempting to butter him up! And after buttering him up, he would try to steal him away from the Knights of Seiros and convince him to teach for the Blue Lions! If Dimitri did that, he’d be ensuring that Faerghus would have the wisest leaders in the event of a future war!

“Oh, I see exactly what you’re trying to do here, Dimitri. And I like it! People like you and me understand that any social interaction can be manipulated to our benefit. I thank you for the gift, and for showing me a side of you I failed to previously notice. I will be sure to have yet another great year of my life, and I suspect you shall as well. Now go to bed, its late!”

[geniusmageknight]

"You there, with the enormous collar! Have you the mettle to match your elaborate appearance, or am I going to have to feed that tome to Umbriel?!"

Caught off guard by the sudden provocation, Kempf turned to face his heckler. Expecting someone with a bark worse than their bite, he was a bit taken back when seeing someone who absolutely matched the ferocity of their words! Seeing the scar on the woman’s face, it was immediately obvious that she was a warrior who experienced many harsh battles, and yet always came up as the winner in the end. The look she was giving him reminded Kempf of the warriors of Thracia, who always seemed to be “sizing up” their opponents and waiting to swoop in for the kill. She didn’t seem like she was going to murder him today, hopefully, but Kempf would need to make it known that he is no pushover!

“Do I have mettle? Of course I do. But I also know better than to introduce myself by shouting! I’m known as Kempf of Friege, and I suggest you give me your name! I’ll need something to call you besides “the incredibly rude lady”!”

Normally Kempf would go with a more scathing insult when someone offended him, but this woman was different. There was still a solid chance she was the sort of  maniac that would stab him if he hurt her pride too much.

[geniusmageknight]

Birthday Boy

(OOC: Happy Kempf day! I hope the following doesn’t come across as spiteful, as I was actually kinda hoping nobody would end up messaging him. Its fitting, don’t you think?)

As the night came to a close, Kempf started to become a bit concerned. While he normally did not welcome unwanted interruptions by others, today was different! Today was his special day! Sure, he barely ever did anything for the other students and faculty on their birthdays, but why would that matter! There should be a pile of gifts and adoring letters piling up for him! Declarations of love and loyalty! Apologies for cutting in line at the mess hell! And yet here he was, sitting around at midnight, giftless!

Checking around his room to see if he missed something, Kempf noticed a dusty, unopened box in the corner. The package didn’t seem like it was just dropped off today, but Kempf decided not to continue with that line of thinking. This was HIS birthday and HIS gift! Opening it up, he checked the contents and the included writing.

“Aha! I knew I must have missed it! I knew it! Unfortunately the writing is a bit faded, somehow, so I can’t tell who sent it! I bet that this was some sort of community gift, from everyone here! How thoughtful of them. I knew I was teaching them something of value here, ha!”

After putting away his “birthday gifts”, Kempf was able to sleep soundly, content in the knowledge that he is just as beloved as he thinks he is. Perhaps even more beloved.

[geniusmageknight]

grimalealkin​:

Morgen watched him carefully from her perch in the tree as the professor prowled around below. He was searching for her, but he certainly wasn’t going to find her. She was the hunter here after all, he didn’t stand a goddamn chance. Too bad she hadn’t had the time to set up more traps than just a simple pitfall, then he would really be screwed. As he approached the spot where she had laid her trap, she laughed a little. He wasn’t gonna see this coming in a million years. He stepped over the ground, and she triggered the rope, watching him fall into the hole below. She leapt down from the tree, going over to stand at the edge of the hole, gazing down at the fallen professor.

“How’s that feel Professor Kempf? Bet you didn’t see that coming.” She laughed a little, before turning to take off. With a wave down to him, she ran into the woods.

“Good luck catching me!”

“Gahhhh! Unbelievable! You little tweeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrp!”

While falling into pits was not one of Kempf’s hobbies, he could at least admire the craftsmanship as he tumbled down. He genuinely had not expected to stumble into one so soon, and especially not one so well hidden. How did she even make these pits so fast? Does Morgen just dig these in her free time? Was that her idea of fun? Not even Kempf is enough of a maniac for that. Stuck in the pit, Kempf could only yell at his opponent as a retort.

“Hey, what do you mean by catching you!? As much as I’d like to hunt you down and make you pay, I don’t think I’ll be able to do so anymore! Unfortunately, I seem to have hurt something really badly on my way down! Argh, ough, ow! Really wish I could put up a fight right now, but I’m afraid our duel is as good as over! And if it wouldn’t be so much trouble, please help me get out of this pit at some point, okay?”

Of course, this was yet another of his classic ruses. Kempf was perfectly capable of getting himself out of the pit! But why bother? He would be a sitting duck as he slowly climbed out, and his tactical mind already accepted there was no way the advantage would be gained through fair fighting. Giving the impression of helplessness isn’t exactly honorable, but neither are most people on the battlefield! Students are meant to learn, and Kempf made a vow to fulfill his professorial duties!

Looking ahead, Kempf saw two outcomes. Either Morgen would continue to run off and wait for him to eventually go after her, or she would make her way down to assess his condition. Both would work just fine! As long as he lasts throughout the night, he wins regardless! Those are the rules, after all! And if Morgen chooses to check on Kempf, he has a small blade tucked away as a surprise gift. Only a mastermind could turn what seemed to be a blunder into a surefire victory! Even the best plans mean nothing in the face of ingenuity and the willingness to lie!

[geniusmageknight]

“Have you gone completely mad?! We’re stuck in some stupid book dimension and you- HEY!”

Kempf was interrupted by the splash of mud caused by a cart running through a nearby puddle, just as Deirdre predicted. His anger at his clothes being soaked and sullied soon turned into bewilderment that this seemingly random occurrence was perfectly predicted. Being stuck inside some sort of magical book looking for the younger version of the former Empress wasn’t weird enough, apparently. Walking towards Deirdre, he expressed his disbelief. 

“You were right! Wait, how were you right? You’re not one of those future seers, are you?” 

Kempf figured that if she was capable of seeing the future, she would have avoided her untimely demise in his world’s history. Heck, if she could predict anything at all, Deirdre would have saved him some time and not wandered off into some ridiculous fantasyland to begin with! Kempf only accepted the task of searching for her because he thought it would be easy, and yet he can already tell this isn’t something that will be resolved by dinner time.

“Never mind any of that! As you SHOULD know, I am Kempf of Friege! I was tasked by the Knights of Seiros to track you down, as they were concerned that you had gone missing. Unfortunately, now they’ll think I’ve gone missing too! While we could wait until someone else gets suckered into this book, I think we should start working on a plan to leave. You seem to have been here for a bit, so would you mind sharing any observations on what mess we’ve gotten ourselves into?”

Little Town, It’s a Quiet Village

You watch as the storybook characters play out their scripted lives, day in and day out.  As though fettered, they stick to their routines; they fulfill their roles - or lack thereof. They do what must be done to keep the main beats of their storybook life going. But what happens if something new and different were to be introduced by an outside force? Will they continue on as if nothing happened? Or will they instead break? Perhaps you might be inclined to find out. [Grants Reason +1]

It did not take long before Deirdre was able to piece together that she has somehow been transported into the pages of the very book she had been enjoying.  She recognized the animal features of the villagers and and even some of the names that the residents call each other.  

Everything looks exactly how it had in her mind as she was reading.  It is so incredible that she does not bother to question what is going on and simply opts to enjoy the time she has here while she has it.  It is far from a daily occurrence that a person gets swept into a book!

The villagers go about their mundane lives but something strange happens as the clock strikes noon.  Everything and everyone returns to the exact same place they had been when she first appeared in this strange world.

It is toward the beginning of the fourth repetition of this cycle that something different happens.  Another face she recognizes from the monastery joins her.

“Oh!  Professor!”  She greets him with a wave as she waits outside of one of the houses.  “You will want to move a little bit out of the way.  In a few moments, a cart will run through that puddle and the mud will splash right where you are standing.”

@geniusmageknight

[geniusmageknight]

velouriavonwolfchild​:

geniusmageknight​:

Dog Date Discussion

“Waiting? Why, I hardly had to wait at all! Although there was that one time I was left waiting the whole night for my date to make an appearance at the ball, and it later turned out she completely forgot which day the ball was!”

Kempf looked over his punctual partner for the night and was pleasantly surprised at how she chose to dress up. Velouria had elected to not wear her usual hood, and instead selected something formal but also distinct. She isn’t like the other girls, so why dress like them?

Of course, he wasn’t looking too shabby himself. For tonight’s occasion he brought out his old tuxedo and pants he wore back in Friege. He felt no need to show off with some overdesigned mess of an outfit unlike some people he knew back there. Kempf felt that if you needed a fancy outfit to stand out, you were an insult to the nobility! That, and his fanciest outfit was destroyed years ago in a tragic fruit punch incident.

After a short stroll, the two arrived at their destination. Analyzing his surroundings, Kempf noticed that the students and staff were wasting no time in getting the night underway. He looked the students over and felt some of them glaring towards his direction. Understanding the situation Velouria was in, Friege’s star tactician felt the need to give her some unsolicited advice.

“Take a good look around! This may present itself as an occasion for “mirth and merriment”, but this ballroom may as well be a battlefield! Your fellow students may seem friendly, but I assure you some of them are sizing you up! They think they’re better than you, and I intend to help you prove them wrong! The very first move you make tonight will make a big impression, so think it through! Whatever you decide, whether it be getting a table for food or making conversation, I shall support you!”

Velouria raised an eyebrow. She certainly wouldn’t describe this as a ‘battlefield’. She glanced around the ballroom, catching eyes with a Morgen who had seemed to hear what Kempf had proclaimed, a look of confusion on her own face. Humph, she would have to talk to the other tactician later, to see what she thought of the ballroom being described like that. She certainly didn’t think that the other students thought they were better than her either. Though, in a way, this speech amused her. No one would dare to cross her, not with the fluffy ears that she spouted on her head. She giggled.

“Alright then! Since getting food is a battle, we should do that first!” Also, she was just hungry.

“A perfect plan! Nothing brilliant was ever accomplished on an empty stomach!”

In all his preparations, Kempf had almost forgotten about the whole “eating food” portion of the festivities. How silly of him. Moments like this made Kempf think more about the benefits of having a companion around. Going solo was his preferred way of doing things, but there are some benefits to having a close confidant. Sometimes there’s value in a second opinion, and it can help to have someone watching your back. As long as they aren’t planning on stabbing you in it later.

Locating an open table in the bustling ball, Kempf led his date over and sat down, waiting to be served. He was once again caught off guard when the food was brought over immediately, without requesting his specific order. It seems like the ball organizers decided to just serve the same food to everyone, in order to make things easier for the kitchen. Tonight he would have to settle for a basic meat and potato dish, which was a step down from the more refined Judgral meals he was used to. But Kempf’s opinion wasn’t the only one that mattered, for once! Was his date equally whelmed, or was she perhaps offended?

“I’m used to more extravagant meals, but I suppose this isn’t too bad. Of course, if this isn’t up to your standards either, I could see about making a request for something else! I’d hate to think of you having to put up with something that fails to meet your standards.”

After all, she must have high standards if she was here with him, right? Right?

[geniusmageknight]

“Waiting? Why, I hardly had to wait at all! Although there was that one time I was left waiting the whole night for my date to make an appearance at the ball, and it later turned out she completely forgot which day the ball was!”

Kempf looked over his punctual partner for the night and was pleasantly surprised at how she chose to dress up. Velouria had elected to not wear her usual hood, and instead selected something formal but also distinct. She isn’t like the other girls, so why dress like them?

Of course, he wasn’t looking too shabby himself. For tonight’s occasion he brought out his old tuxedo and pants he wore back in Friege. He felt no need to show off with some overdesigned mess of an outfit unlike some people he knew back there. Kempf felt that if you needed a fancy outfit to stand out, you were an insult to the nobility! That, and his fanciest outfit was destroyed years ago in a tragic fruit punch incident.

After a short stroll, the two arrived at their destination. Analyzing his surroundings, Kempf noticed that the students and staff were wasting no time in getting the night underway. He looked the students over and felt some of them glaring towards his direction. Understanding the situation Velouria was in, Friege’s star tactician felt the need to give her some unsolicited advice.

“Take a good look around! This may present itself as an occasion for “mirth and merriment”, but this ballroom may as well be a battlefield! Your fellow students may seem friendly, but I assure you some of them are sizing you up! They think they’re better than you, and I intend to help you prove them wrong! The very first move you make tonight will make a big impression, so think it through! Whatever you decide, whether it be getting a table for food or making conversation, I shall support you!”

Dog Date Discussion

Velouria once again stared at him in confusion. Formal traditions? What were those? She tried to think back to any balls or parties that she had attended with her daddy, but she couldn’t think of anything. Wolfskin weren’t much for formal things, perhaps she could tell him that.

“Uh… we don’t really have any formal traditions. Or ideas really. Wolfksin don’t like being formal. It’s more fun to just roll around the hills of Nohr and play in the dirt than to get all dressed up and try to be fancy. But I guess I can do it just this once. I don’t mind getting all dressed up for this ball as long as I get to dance with some of my friends.”

No traditions? None at all? Kempf was shocked! “How could a proper civilization exist without an appreciation for fancy affairs?” Velouria was in a highly unusual situation, but not an entirely unfixable one. Rather than despair at the thought of attending the Ethereal Ball with a cultureless furball, Kempf used his brilliant mind to flip the situation to be in their favor.

“Velouria, you may not realize it, but the Ball presents a glorious opportunity for you and your people! The wolfskin may not have any traditions currently, but that just means you get to be the one to start those traditions! Think about it! Whatever you say, goes! You’ll be a trendsetter! A visionary! Nobody could ever tell you that you’re wrong, because your people have no rules when it comes to these occasions yet! Together with me, you’ll be able to create the wolfskin’s place in high society! Think hard about how you want to show the strength of your people, and rest well!”

Once his task for Velouria was made clear, and before she could possibly argue against his idea, Kempf finished his meal and set off. Tonight, he would prepare himself in both body and mind for the chaos that may unfold at the Ethereal Ball once Velouria is set loose upon it. Should she impress everyone, he would take credit, obviously. Should she manage to be an embarrassment, Kempf would utilize an escape route in order to evade any responsibility or involvement. Backup plans are critical in important matters such as these.

“I do hope she manages to pull off something spectacular! After all, everyone would clearly assume she got her talent from being around me!”

Velouria stared at herself in the mirror that night as she prepared for the ball. She had borrowed a few things from Morgen, not realizing that she could truly make herself look so pretty with a little makeup and a good hair brushing. She giggled a little as she did a little twirl, satisfied by the way that the dress she had ended up picking out spun. She grabbed a cloak that she had bought especially to go with this outfit, drapping it easily around herself. Mmmm cloak. Cloaks were always so comfy. She could always put it on if she got too cold and take it off if she was too warm. Heh. She stepped outside of her dorm room, into the cold brisk air, looking around for the silver haired man who was supposed to be her “date”.

“Oh, there you are. Were you waiting for very long?” Her ears twitched along with her question, unnaturally exposed to the fresh air. It felt a bit weird to not have them sheltered by her hood, but sometimes a little difference in appearance was fun and festive. Heh… hopefully the ball would be fun.

[geniusmageknight]

No traditions? None at all? Kempf was shocked! “How could a proper civilization exist without an appreciation for fancy affairs?” Velouria was in a highly unusual situation, but not an entirely unfixable one. Rather than despair at the thought of attending the Ethereal Ball with a cultureless furball, Kempf used his brilliant mind to flip the situation to be in their favor.

“Velouria, you may not realize it, but the Ball presents a glorious opportunity for you and your people! The wolfskin may not have any traditions currently, but that just means you get to be the one to start those traditions! Think about it! Whatever you say, goes! You’ll be a trendsetter! A visionary! Nobody could ever tell you that you’re wrong, because your people have no rules when it comes to these occasions yet! Together with me, you’ll be able to create the wolfskin’s place in high society! Think hard about how you want to show the strength of your people, and rest well!”

Once his task for Velouria was made clear, and before she could possibly argue against his idea, Kempf finished his meal and set off. Tonight, he would prepare himself in both body and mind for the chaos that may unfold at the Ethereal Ball once Velouria is set loose upon it. Should she impress everyone, he would take credit, obviously. Should she manage to be an embarrassment, Kempf would utilize an escape route in order to evade any responsibility or involvement. Backup plans are critical in important matters such as these.

“I do hope she manages to pull off something spectacular! After all, everyone would clearly assume she got her talent from being around me!”

geniusmageknight​:

Dog Date Discussion

Velouria blinked at him in confusion. This had not certainly been what she was expecting. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to be rude and not answer his questions, but uh… well he was odd. Very odd. Odd little man that she wanted to throw into a ditch and forget about until it was convient for her. Oh, wait, that probably wasn’t very nice. Her ears twitched and her tail wagged behind her gently. She would answer his questions, but if she brought up her daddy and he said one bad thing about him, she would… well it wouldn’t end well for him.

“I’m a Velouria. Or rather, a wolfskin. Though I’m only half wolfskin. It just seems like I take more after my daddy. I do like to climb up stairs on all fours, but that’s only because it’s faster most of the time. And I can track by scent. I have an exceptionally strong nose, even for a wolfskin.” She preened proudly that fact. She had always been so proud of her nose, her daddy had said that she had the greatest nose in generations of the wolfskin tribe.

“I don’t think there’s cat people, but we do have foxes. I like them though! One of them is my best friend! And I also like cats, but they don’t really like me.” She giggled softly, hoping that her answers would be satisfactory. She would hate to disappoint him when he seemed so eager.

“Is that what you wanted?”

Shockingly, she had answered without any fuss or hesitation. Not very academic answers, but that should have been expected. The whole bit about fox people was new to Kempf, and he was also glad to have an official term with which to refer to Velouria’s people. Of course, he would have preferred more information on how the wolfskin differ from the usual human, but that’s something he will be able to observe for himself over time.

“That is exactly what I wanted, yes. Thank you for being reasonable about answering! You’d be surprised at how innocent questions can provoke such a strong response from people sometimes! As thanks, I’ll let you choose how we handle things for the Ethereal Ball. I rarely let people tell me what to do, but I’m interested to see what traditions and ideas the wolfskin have when it comes to formal affairs.”

I’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t suggest I start sniffing butts or anything…

Velouria once again stared at him in confusion. Formal traditions? What were those? She tried to think back to any balls or parties that she had attended with her daddy, but she couldn’t think of anything. Wolfskin weren’t much for formal things, perhaps she could tell him that.

“Uh… we don’t really have any formal traditions. Or ideas really. Wolfksin don’t like being formal. It’s more fun to just roll around the hills of Nohr and play in the dirt than to get all dressed up and try to be fancy. But I guess I can do it just this once. I don’t mind getting all dressed up for this ball as long as I get to dance with some of my friends.”

[geniusmageknight]

Shockingly, she had answered without any fuss or hesitation. Not very academic answers, but that should have been expected. The whole bit about fox people was new to Kempf, and he was also glad to have an official term with which to refer to Velouria’s people. Of course, he would have preferred more information on how the wolfskin differ from the usual human, but that’s something he will be able to observe for himself over time.

“That is exactly what I wanted, yes. Thank you for being reasonable about answering! You’d be surprised at how innocent questions can provoke such a strong response from people sometimes! As thanks, I’ll let you choose how we handle things for the Ethereal Ball. I rarely let people tell me what to do, but I’m interested to see what traditions and ideas the wolfskin have when it comes to formal affairs.”

I’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t suggest I start sniffing butts or anything...

geniusmageknight​:

Dog Date Discussion

Continued from here with @velouriavonwolfchild

With his offer of companionship accepted, Kempf was more than happy to take Velouria down to the mess hall and have a meal with her. As it turned out, she was much better behaved than he had initially anticipated. He didn’t even need a leash to have her follow along! Once seated, Kempf’s curiosity started to get the better of him. Sure, they were supposed to have a nice, frilly discussion about the impending Ethereal Ball, but Velouria is far from your average date! There’s just so much Kempf wanted to know about her! While taking the time to interrogate her may be rude, Friege’s finest general would never forgive himself if he squandered this opportunity.

“I’m not sure of a polite way to phrase these questions so I won’t even bother to try. What exactly ARE you? Are you just from a different country where everyone has this whole wolf thing going on? Is this some sort of genetic condition? Did a wolf bite you and cause this? Is your whole family like this? Do you ever walk around on all fours when nobody’s watching? Can you track a person down by just their scent? Are there similar people who look like cats, and if so, do you hold resentment towards them? I know I may be asking a lot, but I’d rather get these questions out of the way ahead of time! Geniuses like myself have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. You can ask me anything too!”

Pulling out a pen and paper, Kempf eagerly awaited her response. Should she give enough info, perhaps he could write a book about her kind in the future. All proceeds would go directly to him, of course.

Velouria blinked at him in confusion. This had not certainly been what she was expecting. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to be rude and not answer his questions, but uh… well he was odd. Very odd. Odd little man that she wanted to throw into a ditch and forget about until it was convient for her. Oh, wait, that probably wasn’t very nice. Her ears twitched and her tail wagged behind her gently. She would answer his questions, but if she brought up her daddy and he said one bad thing about him, she would… well it wouldn’t end well for him.

“I’m a Velouria. Or rather, a wolfskin. Though I’m only half wolfskin. It just seems like I take more after my daddy. I do like to climb up stairs on all fours, but that’s only because it’s faster most of the time. And I can track by scent. I have an exceptionally strong nose, even for a wolfskin.” She preened proudly that fact. She had always been so proud of her nose, her daddy had said that she had the greatest nose in generations of the wolfskin tribe.

“I don’t think there’s cat people, but we do have foxes. I like them though! One of them is my best friend! And I also like cats, but they don’t really like me.” She giggled softly, hoping that her answers would be satisfactory. She would hate to disappoint him when he seemed so eager.

“Is that what you wanted?”

[geniusmageknight]

Dog Date Discussion

Continued from here with @velouriavonwolfchild

With his offer of companionship accepted, Kempf was more than happy to take Velouria down to the mess hall and have a meal with her. As it turned out, she was much better behaved than he had initially anticipated. He didn’t even need a leash to have her follow along! Once seated, Kempf’s curiosity started to get the better of him. Sure, they were supposed to have a nice, frilly discussion about the impending Ethereal Ball, but Velouria is far from your average date! There’s just so much Kempf wanted to know about her! While taking the time to interrogate her may be rude, Friege’s finest general would never forgive himself if he squandered this opportunity.

“I’m not sure of a polite way to phrase these questions so I won’t even bother to try. What exactly ARE you? Are you just from a different country where everyone has this whole wolf thing going on? Is this some sort of genetic condition? Did a wolf bite you and cause this? Is your whole family like this? Do you ever walk around on all fours when nobody’s watching? Can you track a person down by just their scent? Are there similar people who look like cats, and if so, do you hold resentment towards them? I know I may be asking a lot, but I’d rather get these questions out of the way ahead of time! Geniuses like myself have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. You can ask me anything too!”

Pulling out a pen and paper, Kempf eagerly awaited her response. Should she give enough info, perhaps he could write a book about her kind in the future. All proceeds would go directly to him, of course.

[geniusmageknight]

Velouria, completly fed up with this game by now, marched up to the person she best figured as her final guess, slamming the papers into him. If it wasn't him, she was going to eat these damn papers and then run away to go live in a cave in shame.

"Is this you?!"

WHAT MAKES YOU A GREAT DATE FOR THE BALL? Where to begin? I'm extremely well versed in the art of dance, and have considerable experience in attending fancy events similar to this one. Unlike other so-called nobles, I am not some pathetic excuse for a man that will spend the night trying to woo every girl they see. Anyone who's my date will receive the respect they are properly owed, and I only ask for the same in return! Trust me, you'll receive the VIP treatment with me as your companion, as nobody would dare to give you anything less in my presence! I really could go on about all the other benefits I provide, but we'll have all night for that, won't we?

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A DATE? Looking for someone who isn't afraid to think outside the box. The sort of person who doesn't just mindlessly follow what's considered "trendy", or "popular", or "legal". I can find someone like that anywhere! What I truly want is someone who can show me something I haven't seen before. I've been to balls with a boring date before, and its just awful. Can't recommend.

WHAT ARE THREE OF YOUR FAVOURITE THINGS? A good wit, a sense of humor, and a nice home-cooked meal.

HOW TALL ARE YOU? Tall enough. What are you gonna do, bring a measuring tool to prove me wrong?

AFFILIATION Unaffliated.

Kempf was a bit shocked to be approached by some sort of wolf-woman, and even moreso when he realized that she was somehow going to be his partner for the ball.

I thought this was about getting a date, not adopting a pet! This is not the sort of date I was looking for! How could anyone believe she’s a suitable match for me? Didn’t the idiots behind this pay attention to what I wanted in a partner?!

Upon reading back the dating profile in Velouria’s hands(do they qualify as paws?), Kempf started to realize his initial impression of her was perhaps a bit too harsh.

Well, I suppose a wolf girl does qualify as someone non-conventional and non-boring, which I did specifically request. Canines are also known for their loyalty, and I do appreciate that as well. Going to the ball with someone from a different species also fulfills my request for something I’ve never seen or done before. Well I’ll be damned, maybe she IS the perfect date!

Kempf accepted the list from Velouria and proudly announced himself as her date-to-be.

“It may have taken you some time to find me, but your effort shall finally be rewarded! I am indeed the mysterious bachelor behind these writings, and I will be happy to take you to the Ethereal Ball as my personal date! You’ll have everything a girl like yourself could possibly want! I’m not entirely sure what a girl like yourself wants, but I’m sure I’ll figure that out along the way! You’ll have a fantastic time at the Ethereal Ball with me around. Your friends will be green with envy! So, how about we find a place to sit down and eat? We have some planning to do, after all!”

She isn’t going to say no, right?

[geniusmageknight]

Petra had been mulling over the note since the owl had dropped it off a while ago. She could rule out some candidates, but others… She stares at the campus of students and staff alike whom she had spoken to. Her eyes land on a silver haired man and she hesitates at first, but if she was wrong, she could find the next person.

"Excuse me, but are you recognizing this note?" She asks and holds the paper out to him.

WHAT MAKES YOU A GREAT DATE TO THE ETHEREAL BALL? I'm hoity toity and stuck up so I've been to balls before.

Kempf’s excitement at a potential date turned to confusion when reading the hint Petra provided.

Is this some sort of insult? How could she possibly think of me as “hoity toity” or stuck up? Is she just guessing at complete random? Or perhaps she was desperately hoping to be matched with me to the point where she’s ignoring the hints entirely! In that case, too bad.

“I must unfortunately let you know that I am not the person who wrote this. I would also like to let you know that this sounds nothing like me at all. Please don’t be too disappointed! While the real writer of this does seem to be a bit…. odd, I’m sure they’re just not used to this whole dating profile thing. In fact, I actually have a hint for you that should help narrow down who this mysterious fellow is.”

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A DATE? “Someone as obsessed with nobility as I am”

“Wow. Uh, sounds like a real winner. Best of luck?”

Kempf was shocked that the academy would even allow someone so obnoxious to roam its halls. Poor Petra. Kempf supposed she could use her idiotic date as target practice should things get too unbearable.

[geniusmageknight]

Setting out towards the Sealed Forest, Kempf was feeling more sure of himself than usual. All he had to do was get through a single night without being defeated, and he was an expert in escaping hairy situations. Normally this would be undertaken by two students, but Kempf was willing to step in as the "partner" for Morgen in this test. According to some of the other students, many of them were fearful of Morgen due to her supposed "tactical genius" and apparently being the daughter of "the most brilliant tactician alive". Those fears were clearly somewhat unfounded and untrue on account of Kempf being alive and having no daughter, but some caution would be used in approaching her. Observing his surroundings, he noticed many trees in which his opponent could be hiding, but narrowing it down would take longer than the night he was given. Heck, was he really going to wait here the whole night to get done with this? Might as well just shout to try and catch her off guard.

"If you're out there, feel free to get this started! I've a very busy schedule in the coming days, and I'd rather not waste my whole night in this stupid forest!"

Walking forward, Kempf didn't even take notice of the possibility that traps were laid out for him. After all, she didn't have enough time to hide them, right?

Hunter... or Hunted?

You better not be exhausted of war games just yet! Your survival professor has thrown a surprise test at the lot of you, and it’s worth a good chunk of your final grade to boot. One of you must head into the Sealed Forest and survive through the night, with only a small pouch of tools and a weapon to aid you. There is a twist: one of your classmates will be playing the role of an assassin from the enemy army, hunting you down. [Grants Bow + 1]

starter for @geniusmageknight

The best laid traps were ones that the enemy would never even see coming. That’s what she had learned from the tactics books that her father had leant her when she was younger. And sometimes, it was fun to lay a trap that they would totally see coming but would also totally still fall for because they wouldn’t expect for the other army to choose the obvious trap. Morgen sat up in a tree, surveying the surrounding area for a good place to set her trap. It was pretty weird to be hunting a professor, but she could totally do it! She was going to make this man regret ever living by the time she was through with him. Spotting the perfect place for her pitfall, she leapt down from the tree, trowel in hand to begin digging. She hopefully had enough time to dig as deep as she wanted to, but she would make do with a few meters if she didn’t.

                                       ★・・・・♧••••♧・・・・★

She hopped out the hole, stepping back to admire to her work before setting together the proper ropes. Normally she would just cover the trap as accurately as possible, but this time, she wanted to be the one to pull the trigger. That would make this hunting game a little more fun! She scrabbled back up the tree to wait for the professor to pass by, yawning slightly at the idea of sitting still and waiting for so long.

“You better hurry it up Professor Kempf. I’ll be waiting…”

[geniusmageknight]

prayerwitch​:

sara remembers when it suits her. she can remember scores of incantations for spellcraft and the faces and names of men who are no longer in this world, having given their lives to leif’s cause. for years to come, she will see the faces of the priests who raised her around every darkened corner of the monastery. so when she does not remember the charade of a man before her, she knows it must be because he is not someone worth any place in her memory.

“you recall wrong,” she corrects him, disinterested.

every student has their preferences of professors, those they gravitate to most naturally and are favored by in kind. it is just a shame that sara really does not care for this one in the slightest. her face remains impassive for the greater half of his spiel, clearly not taken in by the offer. she exhales quietly, bored, “i learn better on my own. i’ll be going now. i’m not sure where yet, just not here. see ya.”

“Learn better on her own? How could she possibly think she’d learn BETTER without my genius lesson plan? Is she implying that I have no value as a teacher? Or has she already learned some secret knowledge that invalidates anything I could possibly offer her?”

Kempf was filled with many conflicting emotions at Sara’s complete disregard for him. On one hand, her complete confidence in herself was admirable, but to completely brush him aside like a leaf on the grass was uncalled for! Nobody gets away with that! However, Sara did have a point. Just as you cannot make a horse drink the water it has been led to, you can’t convince a student to work with a genius they have been led to. Well, unless you get creative. Before Sara could finish walking away, Kempf approached her and decided to tell her some “helpful information”.

“I was hoping it would not come to this, but I must confess that my initial offer of tutelage was somewhat dishonest. You see, I’m really here to do a bit of investigative work into you. Many of my colleagues have reported some, shall we say, concerns regarding your academic performance. Now, at first I was very confused as to what issue they may have had with you. Looking through your records, you’ve always seemed to perform well in assignments and assessments. But therein lies the problem. Apparently, you have a reputation of "wandering off” during classes in addition to failing to show up for them at all. That alone isn’t too terrible, but supposedly you’ve managed to know quite a bit about subjects taught in classes you didn’t even attend! This combination of poor attendance and good grades has led to other members of the faculty suspecting you of the most heinous crime in all of academia! You can probably guess what they’re thinking, no?“

As he rambled on, Kempf’s expression turned to a smirk. While he couldn’t send people to be executed like in the good old days as a general, his position as professor provided its own set of tools to bully those beneath him. And what kind of tactician would he be if he was not making use of the opportunities he’s been granted?

"They think you’re a CHEATER! Of course, because I’m such a nice guy, I advocated on your behalf and begged them to delay any serious inquiry into these claims. Unfortunately for you, this means you must prove to me your innocence by explaining your unique learning methods and talents. Should you fail to provide me with an explanation that satisfies myself and the other teachers, you risk a serious investigation into your background and academic integrity! So don’t try and play it off as the birdies of the forest giving you test answers or something stupid!”

With his threat plainly clear, Kempf wrote down a time and location for their next meeting on paper and handed it to the little forest sprout. Blackmailing this child had restored his wounded ego, and Kempf would rest easy tonight now that he was now “winning” in this conflict he had gotten himself into.

“I highly recommend you attend! After all, I’ve heard that cheaters at this academy get thrown into deep, dark dungeons! Wouldn’t that just be TERRIBLE for a girl your age?”

"you..." the narrow of her eyes is only slight, lips drawn into a thin line. "odd, have we met? i'm afraid i struggle to recall those who leave little impression on me. again, where is it you hail from, professor?"

“Clearly we must not have met! If we had, you would not have dared to-”

Before continuing with his response(one that would certainly end with an insult), Kempf noticed that he may have actually met this child before. According to his flawless memory, the little mage here was one of Leif’s brats, but not one Kempf encountered during the conflict in Thracia. In fact, she was the one who seemed to display an usually high amount of skill with magic, to the point where Kempf was interested in learning from her. Wait. Learn from her? That couldn’t be right, assumed Kempf. Clearly she was the one who wanted to learn from him.

“Ahem. What I meant to say was, I’m here all the way from Jugdral, just to teach little students such as yourself. Normally I reside in Friege, but due to immense demand I have found my way here in order to pass on my numerous skills in combat tactics! As I recall, you previously had requested a personal session from the great Professor Kempf, and as I am in a generous mood, I shall grant you one!”

[geniusmageknight]

Succession Obsession

Normally the missions thrust upon Kempf as part of his Knight duties were tasks like boring little peacekeeping trips or looking into bandit squabbles, but luck was finally with him for once! The situation before him today was something a cunning tactician like himself could actually appreciate! Normally, funerals were drab affairs Kempf rarely saw a point in attending. After all, if you really wanted to pay your respects to someone, waiting until they were dead made the whole thing rather pointless.

But what made this funeral of particular note was the looming conflict over succession. Three cousins, all with their eyes focused on the prize and each others’s throats. Sure, all the fancy decorations and proceedings were supposedly about the “unfortunate and sudden” deaths of House Marika’s ruler and heir apparent. However, studying the behavior of the attendees told the real story. Eren, Drayden, and Celene all were keeping their distance, having hushed conversations with what appeared to be their inner circles.

Potential succession squabbles are fun, but the other factor which added to Kempf’s enjoyment today was the student assigned to him. Rather than being the usual bright-eyed noble with their head in the clouds, the young looking man assigned as the Golden Deer representative appeared to have his head quite grounded. Perhaps Soren would even be willing to indulge Kempf in speculating about how this whole mess came about.

“Hey. You think one of those lordlings orchestrated the “accident”? Or maybe, all three of them were in on it at first, but now one of them wants a bigger piece of the political pie than originally planned. I feel that if only one of these chumps arranged for the deaths, they would have been better off just killing every other possible heir right away! Sure, its unkind to think about, but it would have left no possibility for the potential bloodbath that could happen now that there’s no clear heir! Or perhaps you feel differently? Don’t be shy, I’m truly interested to get another perspective. It would certainly help relieve the usual funeral boredom.”

[geniusmageknight]

"It has come to my attention that a different student managed to complete the crossword WITHOUT defacing it. I now announce the TRUE winner to be, err, Ricken!"

"The reward? Why, being smart is its own reward!"

superior tactic, huh….. maybe this guy’s onto something!

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