[Amelia/Ravindra] - halp
Who:
Amelia
Ravindra
When: After meeting Sunny.
Where: Ravi's house
Rating & Warnings: G, Amelia being whiny
Amelia goes to ask her Uncle Ravi for advice on what to do about getting assigned THE WORST NEOPHYTE EVER as a shadow.
He is unsympathetic to her plight.
MY SELF-LOGS LOOK LIKE COTTON CANDY.
"Uncle Raviiiiiii!" It was a familiar sound in this house, preceded by the noise of Amelia throwing open the front door. A long, mournful wail that harkened back to her youth, to times when it would be followed with "so-and-so was mean to me" or "can you fix this thing I broke". The keening cry of a child in need.
Ravindra knew it well and was trained to respond instinctively. It was only when he saw her standing in the doorway that he remembered she was an adult now, with grown-up problems that were not so easily solved by careful application of fatherly knowledge.
After the initial panic subsided--an ingrained response that would never fade--he asked her, "What is it, Amelia?"
She walked over and flung herself down in one of his comfortably upholstered chairs--not leather, of course, never leather. She slumped, her chest nearly even with the chair's arms. "I need advice," she said.
Another wave of fatherly panic. A thousand things flew through his thoughts: was she in danger? was she being kicked out of the Hour? was it a boy? a girl?
Amelia did not have the priorities of a normal person, he reminded himself. She was probably upset over something silly and inconsequential. He moved to the chair beside the one she'd taken and sat, leaning forward with his arms folded loosely over his legs. The "I am interested in what you have to say" posture. "Hm?"
He didn't need to say anything. His reaction was enough for her to know he wanted her to elaborate. She wriggled herself into a proper seated position, still slouched but at least not looking like her spine had turned to water. "I got my first shadow today," she started.
His face turned skeptical, one eyebrow raising by an infinitesimal degree as the other lowered an equivalent distance. Wasn't that a good thing? Didn't that mean they trusted her as an Adept?
She saw that face. She knew it meant he was doubting her. "No, Uncle Ravi," she insisted, "it's awful! They gave me Sunny. You don't understand."
He was well-accustomed to the way she assumed everyone knew the context of what she was saying as well as she did. He had a lot of practice in dealing with it; her father had been the same. "Who is Sunny?" he asked, his tone even and patient.
"He is the worst neophyte ever," she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "He's been a neophyte for ages and ages and everyone knows he'll never make Adept because he is soooo incompetent, I mean he does stuff like trip over his own feet and get his hands locked in trunks and walk into trees and ruins everything he touches, like that Greek guy, Minas? Only backwards."
"Midas," he corrected. "I think you are exaggerating, Amelia."
His correction was met with an eyeroll.
His dismissal, however, was met with outrage and dismay. "I'm not exaggerating! You haven't seen him! He's famous--infamous! Everyone knows his name, everyone knows he's terrible, he's like a curse, Uncle Ravi, a curse on Adepts to make them hate their lives. I have bad enough luck already with my inventions exploding in my face, I don't need help!"
He sighed, straightening and leaning back, his arms resting on the arms of the chair. He looked at her, a slight cant to his head, his expression one of mild exasperation.
Before she could interpret the look for what it was and respond appropriately, he told her, "See it as a test."
"A test?" she repeated, looking at him like he was crazy. "What, like, if I get him to Adept then I pass? That's crazy, that'll never happen."
He held in the sigh this time. "No, Amelia. A test of how well you do under bad circumstances. How well you handle problems."
She was about to refute him again, but instead closed her mouth and thought about it for a moment. The Magus did say it was because she was the responsiblest (which was totally a word). Maybe he was really trusting her to keep Sunny out of trouble, or to get him to shape up a bit, or at least to act like an adult about it and prove she was worthy of her title.
"Mmmmaaaaybe," she agreed, very very tentatively. "But then, how should I handle it?"
'The same way I handle you.' He didn't say that. "Patience."
She pulled a face. Patience was something she'd never been good at, and besides she didn't see how it would help here when she needed to keep somebody from destroying her office now.
He responded with an amused noise, the hint of a smile on his face. "It is not the end of the world, Amelia. Patience is a good thing to have. To train somebody difficult is a learning experience. You will be better for it."
"Fiiiine," she sighed, dropping her chin into her hand, elbow set on the armrest. She didn't like it one bit, and she still thought Uncle Ravi might change his mind and maybe even go to the Magus himself if he actually met Sunny, but for now it looked like her best bet was to just...deal with it. "Maybe I just won't let him touch anything and only have him do my errands for me," she muttered.
"Send him to look for a left-handed screwdriver, see how long it takes."
She gave him a skeptical look. "They don't make left-handed screwdrivers, you can use normal ones left-handed."
He shrugged, smiling. "Exactly."
That look didn't change. What the heck was he on about?
He sighed. "Never mind, Amelia. I will explain it later. Are you staying for dinner?"
"I gueeeess." At least it'd get her mind off of Sunny for a while, if nothing else. And maybe Aunt Sofie would have better advice than "deal with it." Why couldn't Uncle Ravi only tell her what she wanted to hear? It was so inconvenient!
Amelia
Ravindra
When: After meeting Sunny.
Where: Ravi's house
Rating & Warnings: G, Amelia being whiny
Amelia goes to ask her Uncle Ravi for advice on what to do about getting assigned THE WORST NEOPHYTE EVER as a shadow.
He is unsympathetic to her plight.
MY SELF-LOGS LOOK LIKE COTTON CANDY.
"Uncle Raviiiiiii!" It was a familiar sound in this house, preceded by the noise of Amelia throwing open the front door. A long, mournful wail that harkened back to her youth, to times when it would be followed with "so-and-so was mean to me" or "can you fix this thing I broke". The keening cry of a child in need.
Ravindra knew it well and was trained to respond instinctively. It was only when he saw her standing in the doorway that he remembered she was an adult now, with grown-up problems that were not so easily solved by careful application of fatherly knowledge.
After the initial panic subsided--an ingrained response that would never fade--he asked her, "What is it, Amelia?"
She walked over and flung herself down in one of his comfortably upholstered chairs--not leather, of course, never leather. She slumped, her chest nearly even with the chair's arms. "I need advice," she said.
Another wave of fatherly panic. A thousand things flew through his thoughts: was she in danger? was she being kicked out of the Hour? was it a boy? a girl?
Amelia did not have the priorities of a normal person, he reminded himself. She was probably upset over something silly and inconsequential. He moved to the chair beside the one she'd taken and sat, leaning forward with his arms folded loosely over his legs. The "I am interested in what you have to say" posture. "Hm?"
He didn't need to say anything. His reaction was enough for her to know he wanted her to elaborate. She wriggled herself into a proper seated position, still slouched but at least not looking like her spine had turned to water. "I got my first shadow today," she started.
His face turned skeptical, one eyebrow raising by an infinitesimal degree as the other lowered an equivalent distance. Wasn't that a good thing? Didn't that mean they trusted her as an Adept?
She saw that face. She knew it meant he was doubting her. "No, Uncle Ravi," she insisted, "it's awful! They gave me Sunny. You don't understand."
He was well-accustomed to the way she assumed everyone knew the context of what she was saying as well as she did. He had a lot of practice in dealing with it; her father had been the same. "Who is Sunny?" he asked, his tone even and patient.
"He is the worst neophyte ever," she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "He's been a neophyte for ages and ages and everyone knows he'll never make Adept because he is soooo incompetent, I mean he does stuff like trip over his own feet and get his hands locked in trunks and walk into trees and ruins everything he touches, like that Greek guy, Minas? Only backwards."
"Midas," he corrected. "I think you are exaggerating, Amelia."
His correction was met with an eyeroll.
His dismissal, however, was met with outrage and dismay. "I'm not exaggerating! You haven't seen him! He's famous--infamous! Everyone knows his name, everyone knows he's terrible, he's like a curse, Uncle Ravi, a curse on Adepts to make them hate their lives. I have bad enough luck already with my inventions exploding in my face, I don't need help!"
He sighed, straightening and leaning back, his arms resting on the arms of the chair. He looked at her, a slight cant to his head, his expression one of mild exasperation.
Before she could interpret the look for what it was and respond appropriately, he told her, "See it as a test."
"A test?" she repeated, looking at him like he was crazy. "What, like, if I get him to Adept then I pass? That's crazy, that'll never happen."
He held in the sigh this time. "No, Amelia. A test of how well you do under bad circumstances. How well you handle problems."
She was about to refute him again, but instead closed her mouth and thought about it for a moment. The Magus did say it was because she was the responsiblest (which was totally a word). Maybe he was really trusting her to keep Sunny out of trouble, or to get him to shape up a bit, or at least to act like an adult about it and prove she was worthy of her title.
"Mmmmaaaaybe," she agreed, very very tentatively. "But then, how should I handle it?"
'The same way I handle you.' He didn't say that. "Patience."
She pulled a face. Patience was something she'd never been good at, and besides she didn't see how it would help here when she needed to keep somebody from destroying her office now.
He responded with an amused noise, the hint of a smile on his face. "It is not the end of the world, Amelia. Patience is a good thing to have. To train somebody difficult is a learning experience. You will be better for it."
"Fiiiine," she sighed, dropping her chin into her hand, elbow set on the armrest. She didn't like it one bit, and she still thought Uncle Ravi might change his mind and maybe even go to the Magus himself if he actually met Sunny, but for now it looked like her best bet was to just...deal with it. "Maybe I just won't let him touch anything and only have him do my errands for me," she muttered.
"Send him to look for a left-handed screwdriver, see how long it takes."
She gave him a skeptical look. "They don't make left-handed screwdrivers, you can use normal ones left-handed."
He shrugged, smiling. "Exactly."
That look didn't change. What the heck was he on about?
He sighed. "Never mind, Amelia. I will explain it later. Are you staying for dinner?"
"I gueeeess." At least it'd get her mind off of Sunny for a while, if nothing else. And maybe Aunt Sofie would have better advice than "deal with it." Why couldn't Uncle Ravi only tell her what she wanted to hear? It was so inconvenient!