Vox (IC)

[Supercape]

"Maths and science, well I never" remarked Quentin, genuinely rather surprised.

"Anyway, I imagine learning the classics like Latin and Greek will help you in your field. And of course you will have access to the finest philosophy and mythology in the original language. You could read Plato, or Catalus, in the original language! fancy that eh? To my shame I never learned ancient Greek myself" he sighed, looking genuinely ashamed. "Too much else to learn, you know how it is, biochemistry one week, ancient anthropology the next, always learning!" he chuckled. "But Latin is a good language, lots of fine literature in Latin, and good for biology. Those zoologists and botanists love naming stuff don't they?"

[Aoiroo]

"I am not surprised at your surprised, people cannot find links between on subject and another if they are never taught or properly shown such things. Am I correct to say I am one of the first practioners you have seen? I am not really a good example, since my magic moves around the more elaborate magics that can create actual change and is more commonly performed through rituals, spoken words and gestures. It should be noted, that I am incapable of even the most basic spell and gesture based magic of this realm. I know it in theory, can identify it accurately and know the intent instantly but I cannot recreate the results. I do not mind though, it is a rather natural trade off I have made for what I am capable of."

[Supercape]

"The very first I have met" replied Quentin. "Well, the very first I have met and actually known about. I don't know what's what these days, with every third kid saying they are a new age witch or spiritualist or something... I over-stress the point, but I guess you real artists wouldn't go around broadcasting the fact?"

[GranspearZX]

"I tell most people that I'm just a shapeshifter. It's usually enough to get them to stop asking questions."

Marcus smiled faintly; already he was starting to relax, and the change was visible, like ice melting. "I know that I can, but... I'd rather know what I'm doing instead of slinging around forces I only barely understand... That's really why I need to learn as much as I can. Some of these circles, have Latin words written in them, in fact... I'd have to just spout something and summon some demon by mistake. Goodness knows there's been enough of that lately..."

[Aoiroo]

"I do not mind letting people assume that I am either unpowered, or different like lots of others are different in this city. There are some that do not think well of magic, and will meet it with ridicule, if not hatred. This is a reason that magic users in this realm seem very reclusive. Another reason is that magic can be rather dangerous as Marcus said, if it becomes more common knowledge there are those who will seek out magic from bad places, this is how outer creatures otherwise held by the Pact enter and effect our realm. Though the scale is not always as large, an example would be that bad magic that was all around the city in October as well as the happenings that we met Quentin."

[GranspearZX]

Marcus nods. "Believe it or not... I'm actually a little more interested in science and physics than magic lately. I need to think about what I'm gonna do when I graduate. I always thought I'd just be able to get a sports scholarship or something, but that... might not be a good idea. And since there's plenty of science involved in that kind of magic I study, well... I mean, there's always art, but I really don't think I could make it as a starving artist." He shrugged; it was a practical line of thinking after all, and though learning Greek and Latin wouldn't further that particular goal, it would give him a decent head start.

[Supercape]

Quentin patted Marcus on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "Just do what you enjoy, my boy, that's the only real direction you can follow! There are worse things than being an artist, after all - and they don't all starve. Why, that chap DeSaens, who lives right here, has done pretty well for himself!" he chuckled.

He started rummaging through a few books in the library "Cattalus... Histories... Homer.... all good reads in the original, I'm told. Although I haven't mastered Greek myself. The Latin is quite good...." He wandered off, picking off a few choice texts for Marcus.

[GranspearZX]

"I've seen Mr. DeSaens's artwork; it's actually pretty impressive. I don't like painting though... it's actually harder than it looks." There was also the fact that Rene had several decades of practice, but he certainly wasn't going to say that. "Homer... I think I did a paper on that my freshman year. "

He got up to follow Quentin, figuring he might as well tag along. By now he was used to being surrounded by books.

[Supercape]

Quentin placed, rather roughly, several slightly dusty books into Marcus arms.

"You are a big strong lad, I'm sure you can carry them!" he smiled. It was true, of course.

The tomes looked rather out of date. Clearly classic Greek and Latin literature (in classic Greek and Latin language) was not a popular choice in the Library.

"Well you could do worse than have a peek at those if you want to study the language. They are the classics, after all. "

[Aoiroo]

Etain stayed at her place at the table as Quentin led Marcus away and pulled her own book from her bag and began to read. It was good that they were getting along, but she didn't doubtit. Quentin was pleasantly open about the whole magic thing, her guardians didn't seem to want anything to do with it, and Marcus being intent on approaching from a scientific perspective greatly worked towards the advantage since it made things far more easy for Quentin to relate too. A grim thought came over head as Etain thought of her own science homework. She was sure Quentin would love to help if she asked, but for now, Marcus's need for learning Latin seemed more a priority since it was too late in the year for him to enter into that particular language course. Maybe she could persuade him into joining it next semester. Shrugging she set her eyes on the book on runes she had purchased from Cross Roads instead, it was similiar to sciences she admitted, but she far prefered the magic books if only because they spoke more in terms she understood.

[GranspearZX]

Marcus grimaced, not so much from the weight of the books than at the dust coming off them. Even outside his bestial form, his nose had developed an odd sensitivity that made him react a little differently to things other people might not notice. He stifled a sneeze, resisting comment on having the old books thrust into his arms.

"Maybe I should've asked for a Cliff's Notes version," he muttered, mostly joking as he headed back to their table. He'd noticed Etain hadn't followed them.

"You alright, Etain?" He set the books down as gently as he could, pushing the stack closer to his side of the table, where he'd left his own book as well as his jacket.

[Aoiroo]

She was in the middle of an interesting paragraph about the runes favored by Germanic pagons before she heard a voice interupting. She smiled as she set it down,

"Yes, I am fine."

Glancing over at him she saw the stack of old books in his arms and glanced at the spines,

"Huh, do you have any of the books that have the stories of Mr. Arthur and his followers?"

[Supercape]

"Mister Arthur" said Quentin, scratching his head. "You, er, mean, King Arthur? It was in French first wasn't it. "

Once again, he caught himself wondering exactly where Etain came from, and how old was she anyway?

"Good read of course, and a fine role model for all young heroes of Freedom City!" he said with a twirling finger that erupted into a friendly and encouraging pat on Marcus' back.

[Aoiroo]

Etain turned her head a bit confused,

"Is he still called that here? He has not been a king for a few centuries?"

She thought about it for a few seconds before looking at Quentin,

"I am unfamiliar with the story that is told in this realm, how does Arthur's story end?"

[Supercape]

"Errrr....not so well. That is to say, somewhat ambigious... err... he dies, basically. Some vague notion that if England is ever threatened again, he will return and wield Excalibur etc etc. "

He shrugged. "Myth's... what can I say. Even if they are based on fact, they are perverted into fiction. I just remember thinking it was a dashing good read when I was a young lad. And the code of chivalry is one that we should all aspire to. "

[Aoiroo]

Etain took a few seconds to consider it,

"I guess it is accurate that he left the world, though I cannot say I really agree with the code you speak of, since it is what made him never fight fully. Though, I did not win when he only used a part of his skill, so it might of been for the best."

Looking over at Marcus and his stacks of books, she smiled again,

"That is quite a lot you have there, we should sort them to see which we might want to put back since I do not know how many books you might want to take with you."

[GranspearZX]

Marcus listened to the conversation, sorting through the books to try and figure out what he wanted to take with him. It made him, too, wonder where--and when--Etain was from. He'd never really thought about it before. To him, she was just who she was, and she seemed nice enough that he was willing to accept that at face value. She'd never pried into his past, after all, and he figured the least he could do was offer the same courtesy.

Still, the idea that King Arthur was a real figure was an intriguing one.

"I think four should do it..." He sat back down, putting his chosen books on top of the one he'd brought with him.