Practice Makes Perfect (OTA, tag Rikki)

[youngmerlin]

With the coming of the cooler weather, the Quidditch arena was pretty scarce of people and it was one of the reasons why Merlin thought it would be a great place to practice with Rikki. They could do it in relative privacy, away from other people, and the dirt ground provided a safety measure to her fire abilities

Comments

[h20grl]

Rikki didn't know what a quidditch pitch looked like but she did know what a football pitch looked like and this was close enough, plus it was by the magic school like Merlin said it would be. She saw him with a few objects around him and smiled as she approached.

"Hullo." Rikki raised her arm in greeting.

[youngmerlin]

He smiled when he saw her approach and did the same gesture with his own arm. "Hi. I'm glad you could make it."

[h20grl]

"Looks like you came prepared." Rikki grinned as she looked around. "See? You're a good tutor and you didn't even know it."

[youngmerlin]

He flushed a little and ducked his head, but nodded. "I'm just used to being prepared, is all." It came with having to take care of Arthur all the time. "But, thank you." He offered her a small, but sincere smile.

[h20grl]

"I have a friend like that, two actually, which means I don't have to be." Rikki shot him a grin. "I'm a thinking on my feet person. Gets me in trouble most times." She was very impulsive but she was trying to get better at that.

[youngmerlin]

"Sometimes I'm like that too, but it's not because I have a choice. Usually Arthur decides to charge into or at whatever is causing trouble and if I don't chase after him, he'd be dead ten times over by now."

So Merlin had gotten pretty good at thinking on his feet too.

[h20grl]

Rikki laughed, "yeah my mates would probably say the same thing about me and how they have to cover for me. You always chased after your friend Arthur?"

[youngmerlin]

He nodded. "It's my job to protect him, even if he doesn't want me to or know that I do it." And he was okay with that. Arthur deserved it.

[h20grl]

"You're his bodyguard then?" Rikki was beginning to get the picture of who Merlin actually was. It wasn't that she was dense, only that she certainly didn't expect to meet Arthur and Merlin.

[youngmerlin]

"I guess you could say that... although I don't think Arthur would. He thinks I'm just his manservant." Which he was, too.

[h20grl]

“I was a waitress for a while and a lot of people thought of me as part of the furniture, you know?” Rikki’s eyes crinkled, “which is sometimes a good thing because you get away with more than if they paid attention to you.”

[youngmerlin]

He nodded. "That's basically what it's like. I can use my magic to help him without anyone realizing." So he could save Arthur and not be burned alive in the process.

"Speaking of magic. I, um, I had an idea on what we could practice today."

[h20grl]

"Brilliant." Rikki motioned with her hands, "lead on, teach. What do you need me to do?"

[youngmerlin]

"I thought maybe we'd practice manipulating the fire?" He motioned her towards where a small gathering of leaves. He had more for practice if needed. To demonstrate, though, Merlin produced a small candle from his back pocket.

He concentrated on the wick of the candle. His eyes flashed gold for a moment and then the fire appeared. He smiled - he always smiled when magic happened - and then he looked at Rikki.

"Like this..." His eyes went back to the flame and after a moment the flame lifted off the wick and moved about in the air as if it were floating. He held it there for a moment before he brought the fire back to the candle and then blew it out.

[h20grl]

Rikki felt her jaw drop and knew that it probably literally had as she watched the flame move. She'd never seen anything like that before. It was almost like Cleo making the water move but with flames.

"That is wicked. You reckon I can do that?"

[youngmerlin]

He nodded with confidence. "Yes. Maybe even better, since its the element you come naturally to."