An Afternoon in the Spring (Lucinda)

[Deleted]

A few days after Lucinda had returned from Palico, Adrain had made arrangements for training when she had time to step away. Of course, it would be nice to spend time with the blonde princess and to that end he came up with something of a clever plan. First, he decided a place, a secluded, natural alcove in the heart of his land. He knew where her ring would teleport her to, but he had an amusing way to surprise her. He would set up a second portal under where she would pop out at so that she would land on a stack of cusions on the other end. It would rile her up much to his likely amusement.

Along the river edge that he had found, it was a warmer day as spring was starting to take hold. Adrain set up a couple of fire crystal lamps to keep warm if needed but as far as he could tell it was comfortable. A picnic basket would be set up waiting to be unpacked on top of a large quilt with cusioning and other comforts set up as well as an ice sculpture with wine lodged in to keep it cold. He would lay casually his arms behind his head as he waited on his guest to drop in.

Adrain would be wearing a black robe as typical covering some nicer high quality mage weave garments below, his eyes were closed as a breeze drifted over his hair.

[Lucinda Noru]

Life at the castle had been quite busy since Lucinda's return to Nova. Between the trial and the dinner party, and with her nosy brother in town, she hadn't had much time at all to herself. Nor had she had any time to see Adrain, aside from the one trip with Aria which wasn't the alone time the princess was craving. So when Lucinda found out about the arrangement the Headmaster had made, she was ecstatic.

But what to do about Silas? The princess bit her lip, thinking. Eventually she decided it would be best to simply leave a note in her room, should he come looking for her. She didn't want to seek him out or send someone to attract his attention, lest he decide he should want to accompany her. That settled, she quickly penned the note on a piece of parchment and then bounced into her closet to pick out her wardrobe.

Today's choice of dress was a long, navy blue color. The dress had one shoulder strap over her left shoulder that was edged in a sky blue lace with fringe hanging down to cover her shoulder. The material was fitted, showing off her curves nicely and had a pattern of stars down the front. The dress was paired with a brown corset that had the same sky blue fringe along the bottom, along with 3 threads that hung down and were strung with star shaped beads. A sash tied around the top of the corset that started as a matching sky blue and faded out into a light brown, adding another layer to the dress. She decided to leave her hair mostly down, pulling back her bangs and securing them with an intricate pin that had sky blue ribbons and threads with star beads.

Satisfied with her outfit, Lucinda used her ring to teleport to the Arch. The usual portal opened at her feet and she fell through, expecting to land on the couch, which she did initially. However, it seemed her mage had been feeling playful that morning because as soon as Lucinda hit the couch, a second portal opened that dropped her onto a pile of cushions in the middle of the forest.

The unexpected, additional drop caused the princess to squeal and she looked around in surprise for a moment at her new surroundings. They were situated in a secluded spot by the river. Adrain had everything set up already. Lucinda smiled warmly as she spotted the mage lying on the quilt. She fought her way out of the cushion pile and made her way over to him. The princess sat on the quilt next to him and caressed his cheek, smiling but not saying anything just yet.

Outfit

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When Lucinda touched his cheek, Adrain disappeared into a collection of mana. A note would be where Adrain once was, only indicating that she would have to find him. In the area surrounding there were several places he might be. There was a collection of large leaves set up almost like a canopy, the solid part of course facing where Lucinda was. There would also be three distinct mana signatures nearby: one in a large willow tree a few hundred feet to the east, one in the water of the stream, and one behind a small hill.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda gasped as Adrain disappeared, surprised. She picked up the note he left behind and read it quickly, laughing as she got to the end, her bell like tones sounding through the area. The princess wasn't quite dressed for hide and seek but she wasn't concerned with that. Standing, she closed her eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths, centering herself and feeling out her connection to the mana of the world.

She opened her eyes and turned toward the stream, feeling the mana signature from there first. She walked over to the river and stood on the edge, summoning a small globe of water and throwing it into the main body of the stream where she felt the signature. "Are you hiding here, Adrain? Am I hot or cold?" she called out, giggling.

[Deleted]

As Lucinda threw the ball of mana at the source in the river, it reacted as it erupts from a glyph at the bottom of the river, a pillar of ice erupts and expands, twisting and contorting into an ice sculpture of a flower rising about four feet out of the water and forming a radiant bloom that reflected the sunlight as a prism. There is no other reaction in the area and thus not the location of Adrain.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda gasped as the water erupted, the sound easing into an 'ooo' of amazement as the ice formed into a beautiful flower. She marveled at the texture and the way the light bounced off the ice for a moment. "It's gorgeous.." she murmured before sighing in defeat and turning to survey the area once more.

She located a second mana signature coming from a small hill and made her way over there. "Are you hiding here, Adrain?" she questioned, looking at the hill curiously and tossing another volley of water behind it.

[Deleted]

As Lucinda throws the ball of water over the hill, an audible splash could be heard as a fierce growl would be heard. A sound in the bushes and rustling begins to approach Lucinda, visible as they move from side to side as something approached..

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda grinned as she heard the splash of her water ball hitting something, thinking it was likely Adrain. The growl that followed, however, raised goosebumps on her delicate skin and caused a flash of fear to light in her eyes. She could see the the bushes rustling as something made it's way in her direction and the princess reacted without thinking, backing slowly in the opposite direction. Her gaze turned for just a moment as she sensed the last mana signature by the willow, but she couldn't possibly make it over there in time....The petite blonde bit her lip as she thought, unconsciously standing still.

[Deleted]

Out of the brush, Serai casually strolls out. He looks at Lucinda, tilts his head and seemingly purrs or growls as he walks toward her, casually lowering his head and walking toward her, if she doesn't move she will be scooped up in a sorts onto the large cat's back as he begins to walk in the direction of the original campsite. Regardless of whether Lucinda would be swept up atop his back, the cat would prowl that way.

[Lucinda Noru]

As Serai emerged from the brush, Lucinda stared at the large cat in surprise for a moment before laughing and sighing in relief. She waited for him to reach her, running her hands through his thick fur. "You scared me, Serai. I let my imagination run away with me. It's good to see you," she smiled as she greeted the tiger.

When she didn't move, the large cat managed to scoop her onto his back. Lucinda made a small noise of surprise but quickly wound her hands into the fur around his neck, gently so as not to pull on accident but enough to help her maintain her balance as he made his way back towards the original picnic area. She sighed as they walked. "I guess I'm not that great at searching for mana signatures yet. I didn't find Adrain at all," she muttered under her breath.

[Deleted]

Serai lets out a noncommittal growl at Lucinda's moment of self pity or self loathing, whatever one might want to call it. When he arrived at the campsite, he sniffs the air around then seemingly get a bead on something wanders over to the small construct of large leaves like a canopy was made and he lets out a growl, walking over and standing on the far side of it where Adrain was actually asleep this time, somehow not having an active mana signature.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda let Serai escort her back to the picnic area, not surprised to find that Adrain was not there. She watched as Serai sniffed around, her own head tilted curiously as they searched. The large cat seemed to have better luck, he growled and made his way over to a canopy of leaves. The princess smiled when they found Adrain, as the archmage had fallen asleep. She thought it odd that he didn't have an active mana signature, but attributed that to him sleeping.

Carefully, Lucinda climbed off of Serai, giving him another gentle scratch behind his large ears as a thank you. Carefully, Lucinda laid down next to Adrain, pressing her small form into his and then lightly stroking his face. She bit her lip, torn between letting him sleep and waking him up.

[Deleted]

As Lucinda touched Adrain's face, a vision would occur to her. A world beyond any she could imagine on Teair, crystalline buildings line the skies as thousands would make their way across the city. Magic would be used freely and kids turn into dragons to wrestle one another. Massive flying ships float overhead while a palace larger than the entire city of Nova itself rose above it all. It was all crystalline, well sculpted. Soldiers were highly trained and carried complicated weaponry and armor as they patrolled.

The vision would end as Adrain stirs and then sits up. He rubs his eyes and then looks at Lucinda with a small chuckle.

"Oh you're finally here. How did you like the test of your sensory abilities?"

[Lucinda Noru]

As soon as Lucinda touched Adrain's face, her eyes glazed over and she gasped a little at the vision that was presented to her. The city that rose around her now was no place she'd ever been. Everything seemed to be made of some kind of crystal and it was beautiful. She knew, somehow, that this wasn't a place that existed in Teair. Lucinda spotted children playing, one minute human and the next dragons. Soldiers patrolled the streets with strange weapons unlike anything she'd ever seen and everywhere she looked was evidence of magic being openly used. It was if these people lived and breathed magic. A shadow drew her eye to the sky where huge ships flew as if the air were water.

The vision faded and Lucinda blinked, confused for a moment and looked at Adrain blankly until he chuckled and spoke. The princess gave him a distracted half smile. "Well, I still need practice. I found the flower and then Serai, who gave me a fright. He's the one that found you actually, brought me over here," she answered, laughing a little herself at the thought. The image of the crystal city persisted though. "Adrain, I had the strangest thing happen to me just now..." she began, trailing off and biting her lip. She wasn't sure she should mention it.

Lucinda looked out at the river as she thought for a moment. Adrain was the Headmaster and an archmage. This seemed to fall under his area of expertise. "When I touched your face just now, I saw this beautiful city. It was made all of crystal and the people were using magic as if it were the most normal thing," she said. It took her several more minutes to completely describe the scene to Adrain, including the dragon children and flying ships. By the time she finished, she was staring at him anxiously. "Am I going crazy? I've never heard of a place like that in all of Teair," she said, quietly and fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

[Deleted]

"Oh, you saw that? Maybe its a side effect of the presence suppression spell that I was testing while I was asleep." he says, stretching a little and then looking at Lucinda with a shrug and look to him. "It's one of a few dreams that I get every so often, I'm never fully sure what to make of it since there is nothing for a point of reference beyond it, the perspective is kind of panoramic so I'm not even fully sure if its supposed to be from mine or someone else's sight." he says with a small shrug.

"But it is where I get some of my ideas from for improving this world. The flying ship I hope to replicate in a more...reasonable form down the road since imagine what this world would be like if you could cross the lands in a matter of hours instead of days." he says, trailing off on a tangent before he laughed a little.

"Sorry, mind wandering off just now, that's one thing I've been trying to blueprint mentally but it hasn't been easy to make something that feels right enough to start upon. Anyway, how are you today?"