Worst Possible

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It was such a beautiful summer day. The sky was was spotless, a clean, vibrant light blue, the sun was high and bathing the land below with its warm rays. It no longer was an early morning, but there was still plenty of the day left. Around the tree that made up what was the Arch of Ages there was a bit more shade due to the leaves blocking some of the light, but plenty was filtered as beautiful streams of light that dotted the grass and roads. It was no surprise that such a serene scene was popular among both students and teachers, many people having decided to spend their free time outdoors.

It hadn't been so peaceful earlier in the morning, if one had been close enough to Feng's classroom. In fact, one didn't even have to be so close to have heard the familiar berating voice of the alchemy teacher, the sound levels having gotten loud enough.

Peace had returned eventually and life seemed to go on as normal. But eventually the man in question himself strutted out of the door as well, the clicking of his heels on a hard floor soon turning into soft nothing as his soles hit the grass.

Feng didn't look quite his normal self, either. While he was fully clothed, his current attire did seem to be simpler and looser than it normally was. His hair had been wrapped in a towel and his face… Well, in a very surprising turn of events, was free of make-up. His skin did seem a bit damp as well, so that probably explained it.

"UnbeLIEvable," he huffed, voice as dramatic as always as he sat on the bench across the long-haired girl he recognized. She might have looked young indeed, but she was still an instructor, a co-worker – her name had something with N in it, he believed? It would come to him soon. For now, however, he clearly was looking for someone to listen to his woes as he unwrapped the towel to give his wet strands of hair a good drying.

[Nyx]

Date: 4^th of Sato 747 OD

Nyx had been relaxing under one of the shaded trees enjoying a simple lunch of rice and beef. Her hair that day was perfectly straightened and not a single hair out of place given the fact that she had bee teaching self-defence earlier that morning. She was currently in her outfit she found that was the most preferred for her to teach in. It was a simple white top, with the sleeves attached by strings with little decorations of flowers, around the waist was a white obi with cherry blossom. The bottom was red hakama the outfit was designed after the shrine priestess of her world and so far, none of her students questions it since she could move around with ease while fighting of teaching.


Her thoughts were cut short when she saw one of the other instructors walk up and took a seat near her on the bench. From what she remembered he was one of the alchemy teachers but it didn’t explain his correct choice of clothes or the fact that his hair was wrapped in a towel. She looked at him as he dried his hair wondering why he didn’t ask an air mage to mix in a heat spell to dry his hair it would be quicker than using a towel. “Can I help you?” She asked out of concern wondering if he was another one of those teachers that thought that she was too young to be teaching.

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"Oh, no, dear, not even you possibly could," Feng waved his hand at the girl's question before he returned to drying his hair. For a moment, he said nothing, as if he wasn't going to elaborate or was expecting the girl to ask him what was wrong. Perhaps he would have, if he had the patience to wait. The silence didn't last long before he spoke up again.
"Can you believe these kids? I swear they have no idea how to follow simple instructions!"

That was one of the reasons he hated mornings. He was tired. Everyone else was tired – really, he barely ever saw a student that wasn't yawning in early morning classes. Alas, perhaps if he had managed to get a better day, the tragedy would have been avoided.
"Only a little bit. That was what I said. Just a little dash. The next thing I know, the whole place is covered in soot!" The man threw up his arms, exasperated. The towel promptly fell on the ground, heavy with water.

"It was such a horrible mess, darling. There goes the outfit for the day…"

Surely the ones stuck with cleaning the actual classroom were having an even worse time, but that wasn't Feng's concern.

[Nyx]

Nyx just shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat since it seemed like the other instructor wasn’t up for talking. She was about halfway through her meal when he decided to start talking again. Carefully she placed her fork on the bowl while wishing that she still had chops sticks. She rose an eyebrow wondering why he was complaining about the children not following simple instructions when it was common knowledge that children don’t like to listen until something went wrong.


Hearing that ever happened in the class she wondered if all the children were all right, though given the male’s respond it seemed that he wasn’t at all worried about the students. Her eyes turned to look at the male wondering for a moment if he only cared about his clothes and not the well being of his students cause if any of them had inhaled the soot then they should have gone to see the healer right away. “What about your students? Did any of them get hurt?”

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Feng dismissed the girl's worries with a wave of his hand, not seeming to be as worried about the students as she was. Either that was because he honestly did not care or there really had been no reason to worry. Or maybe his story had been overly dramatic and made to sound worse than it really was.
"Have some faith in me! Would I be here if they did?" He asked with a tilt of his head. After all, he knew what the chemicals used were, a great aid to healers so they knew what they were dealing with. He couldn't have very well left – unless he wanted to suffer a lecture about student safety or something.

"The worst thing they're going to have to go through is a bath. I'm sure most of them will manage," Feng crinkled his nose, sometimes wondering if the students did in fact manage that. Not everyone had the access to as much warm water and soap as he did, but that was something that tended to fly over his head.
"Truly awful, still. It took ages to scrub myself clean."

[Nyx]

“Not sure if I can have faith in someone who only worried about they appearances.” Her tone serious since in a normal situation with someone who cared the student’s safety was the top priority. She also couldn't stand people like that who only cared about themselves it was not the thing that she liked to see in other teachers or even other people.



“You know not all the students here come from wealthy backgrounds. It will take them time to get used to the fact that proper hygiene is important.” She said bluntly as he saw him crinkled his nose. As a teacher, it was they job to lead by example not complain about the things some of they students are not used to. Honestly, it was disgraceful in her opinion that this man only cared about the superficial things and not what really mattered which was teaching his students the proper steps, making sure that no one got hurt while under they care.

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Feng's hands stopped fussing around his wet hair as the girl bared her teeth – metaphorically – and gave her a good, long, sideways glance. Seemed like she wasn't the kind of a girl who would just keep her mouth shut, if she had something to say. But neither was he.
"Only worried about their appearances? Strong words for a person who does not know me, don't you think, darling?" The man rotated around the bench which he sat on, kicking his leg over it so he could properly face the girl sitting by the tree.

"To lecture your elders as if they were mere babes… A daring act, for a young girl," Feng lowered his head so he could cup it with his hands, supporting it with his elbows on the table in front of him. His golden eyes had narrowed, inspecting the girl with a piercing gaze. She had managed to get his attention now – for better or for worse – for talking back in such an unbecoming manner. The man didn't look… Angry, but he was definitely willing to take the challenge and push back.

[Nyx]

“I know enough about you based on your actions and words so far that you are a very superficial individual. A notive shows more care that you have so far in during the whole conversation.” She said as she slowly wrapped up her food in the little cloth she had for it. Since it was clear that she wasn’t going to have a peaceful lunch before she had to go back and teach other combat class in the afternoon.



“I only lecture my elders when they do act like mare babes. It is not a daring act darling.” She said throwing his own words back at him. Her eyes would take on a light glow as she built up a small amount of her mana she wasn’t afraid to cause the man a little pain if he decided to remind a thorn in her side. “Now mind telling me why my so call elders is now being a baby about a little bit of dirt.”

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Feng couldn't help but feel… Amused. Perhaps it was because he had already let off so much steam earlier, so his anger hadn't had the chance to come back in full force. But his challenging nature, it was still there, alive and kicking. Perhaps the most he did want at this point was a confrontation with someone, not having had a good enough opponent when it came to the students.
"Using the actions and words of a clearly upset man after a terrible accident, a real tragedy, against him? And they call me rash," the man laughed, still leaning onto his hands.

Well, maybe the girl wasn't wrong – not that Feng would have ever been willing to accept that – but her reasoning certainly was feeling a bit lacking. And that was where he would strike, a smirk plastered onto his face.

"See, darling," his eyes observed the girl, noticing the light glow of her eyes. He was no mage, but he could recognize magic. Not the exact kind of magic, of course, so he had no idea what the girl was doing – if she even was doing anything. He certainly wasn't feeling anything.
"We – all of us, students, teachers – represent this school. If we are not at our very best at every moment, then what kind of an image does it give this very institute?"

[Nyx]

“Yes cause ash on one clothes and in one’s hair is a terrible tragedy compared to getting blasted with a fireball or even an earth mage causing an earthquake and trapping people below the ground is not a tragedy at all.” She said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at the man who seem to think that the sun revolved around him and not the other way around.



Keeping her mana at a low level she allowed to reminded at a low level since she knew that she had some limits since she left her staff in her classroom and her fans were in her bedroom since she didn’t carry them around with her. Her mind quickly brought up small flashing visions of the man in front of her as she thought about harming him, a small smile graced her features as the images flashed in her mind of him looking like well-done meat and other more horrible tasteful ideas that she would have to consider given the current path things were one.



Nyx heard him as he spoke about them looking they best to represent the school. This man really was self-involved if he thought looking his best would give the school a good image. Her smile turned to a smirk as she stared at him in the eyes. “Well if you could seem to recall my dear ageing elder since it seems your memory is already failing you. The thing that shows the image of our school is that we have skillfully trained respected members of society. After all magic and alchemy are not highly welcome in this kingdom. Our skill being used for the better of the kingdom is what represents this school, not our appearance.”

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"Ah, yes, of course. Because there are worse things out there, you can never complain about anything. There always is something worse and that apparently that makes everything else invalid and good, of course," Feng just rolled his eyes, not quite having thought that this was the angle the girl was going for with her lecture. He had certainly hoped for something, well, better, rather than something so half-assed and easily counterable.
"Darling, how old were you again? I would expect such a response from a sheltered child, not a young woman who has some years and experience behind her…"

The fact that someone like Feng implied that someone not him was a sheltered life surely was out of place, looking at him.

But even if he had been mostly amused and able to keep his cool in the conversation, being called aging certainly struck a chord, causing him to snort. Exasperated and the wind taken from his sails, he quickly retorted as he attempted to get back on his feet – metaphorically.
"Excuse me, I may indeed be your elder, but hardly that old," he harrumphed, nose in the air as he fluffed his hair as if to emphasize his youthful looks. Of course, what with his hair being wet, it wasn't exactly fluffy.

"How do you think a person becomes respected? Looking like they just rolled around in garbage hardly helps and only gives you a poor reputation," Feng waved his finger as he looked back at the girl and returned to the subject at hand,
"And do trust me, my dear… Threatening others with magic will only set back the trust mages and others capable of magic have built back many, many years. Actions… They have consequences."

[Nyx]

“You are complaining about a bit of dirt.” She said as she bend down and plucked a few strangles of grass and blew it towards the man just to get a small rise out of him. “So of course, I can not take your complains seriously when dirt is part of life.” Folding her arms under her chest she stared at him she almost rolled her eyes when he said he expected her to be a sheltered child based on her respond. She laughed a bit she had more world and life experience that that man even if she was younger in age she been to hell and back and now she was teaching young mages who might have to go to hell and back as well. “Now old do you think I am.”



Moving her hand she took a picked up a single lock of Feng’s hair. “Oh but I see that you are always getting what those human call a gray hair from age.” She said as she let go of the hair as she giggled a bit since based on what she seen so far he might start to panic over the thought of white hair. She didn’t have to worry as much since her hair was naturally silver but she knew once she got older it would lose some of the brightness and bit more dull.



“Now who said anything about threatening anyone with magic? Is my dear elder already losing his hearing as well.”

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"Watch it!" Feng hissed as the girl blew some grass in his direction, holding an arm in front of his face as to not get anything on it. Who knew what gross might have touched that, or what was still attached to them! With a frown, the man stared at her with an unblinking, unrelenting gaze. While it was full of hatred that surely only Feng could muster after having grass thrown at him, it did soften slightly as he considered the girl's question about her age. She… Looked young, that was sure. But that hardly meant much. Creatures that weren't human but looked very much like a human were among them, often barely aging when they got to a certain age.

But he never managed to come to a conclusion. The implication of gray hair certainly caused him to jolt, quickly checking his hair for proof. He didn't manage to see anything, but… But! That made it worse. He didn't have a mirror on him to see the parts he couldn't normally see, the man doing his best to pull his hair closer to his eyes with his hands. He hadn't seen any that morning, it was true. But after that harrowing experience he had gone through? Maybe he had gotten gray hairs!

"Am noooot!" Feng whined, flopping over the bench and disappearing behind the table in his usual overdramatic way. A true pinnacle of maturity, he was. It did seem like he calmed his trashing after a while, but stayed down with his back against the bench and eyes skyward, staring at the canopy above.
"Don't try to feign ignorance. I'm keeping my eye on you," a hand rose from below, pointing in the girl's direction from behind the table. He had seen. The magic. Surely she had been having bad thoughts in her mind… Unless she already did something and he hadn't noticed?

[Nyx]

Nyx giggled even more as he started to freak out about a simple blade of grass. It was something she seen in some of her female classmates in the first year or two of school before they got over it and accepted that it was part of they new job unless they fail to make it and ended up with a desk job so they didn't have to worry about dirt anymore. Still, this was a grown male before her acting as if a simple blade of grass was doing to harm him in some way. Turning her eyes to the sky she just folded her arms in her sleeves and wondered how did this man make it through his job ever year if dirt makes him act like that. Taking a deep calming breath​ knowing that it might be some god sent miracle that he lasted this long as a teacher.



Then again as she saw him freaking out about that nonexistent gray hair that she had found only made her smile more. Oh, she was going to have fun with this one for sure whenever she got the chance since it's not all the time she meets someone like this man that she can poke fun at some small things. She sent a silent pray to Fate for bringing her to this world just this once. "You know if you get worried about a single gray hair I fear for when you start to lose it all my dear elder." Her voice had a hint of mock worry for him about him going bald.



Nyx only raised an eyebrow at his overly dramatic behaviour for someone that was older than herself he surely didn't act his age. Adjusting her position so that she back as against the table with her legs stretched out before her as watched the others around them some had started looking at them because of the male while others seem to be trying not to laugh. It was delightful for sure that she could bring out a pleasant reaction to those sharing the area with them. She only raised another eyebrow when he said he saw her use magic this only brought a smile to her face. Lending over so that she could watch his face as she spoke her next words so that only him could hear her. "Trust me if I wanted to harm you with magic I can without you noticing. Plus I don't need magic to harm you." Her voice was a little dark before it was replaced with her normal smile. "You see I'm what this country call a seer. I can see things of what to come along with different versions. It happens at random times so I can't control it since it's a gift that is passed down to the first born of my family."

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"Heavens, no!" Feng exclaimed when the girl brought up balding, perhaps a bit too loud and with a bit too much emotion in his voice. He didn't even want to think of such a tragedy, being someone who quite enjoyed those thick locks of his. The terrible parts of aging, truly. But Feng wasn't someone who would have wanted to let something as trivial as time to get the best of him! Oh no, he was an alchemist! He was sure he'd figure something out… Eventually.

The man pouted as he continued lying on the bench, that raised arm of his eventually falling down and returning to his side limply. He continued looking upwards until the girl inched close enough for him to glance in her direction, his eyes narrowing with her threats.
"Thinly veiled threats are such brutish things to do, darling," he returned his gaze to the sky, seeming to disapprove of her actions. It certainly didn't seem like such threats affected the man much.

But there was more she had to say. Her magic. She was a seer, apparently – and a hint was provided that the girl wasn't from the country they both now resided in. Feng was very much the same, but he couldn't quite place the girl into any culture he had seen on his travels…
"Sounds like a bothersome gift. I suppose it has its uses," the man mused, certainly not wanting such an unpredictable ability himself. Who knew what someone like him would do with the knowledge, anyway…

Feng brought his soles on top of the bench he was lying on, bringing them closer to his buttocks and raising his knees. His arms he brought on top of his stomach to rest.
"Where did you come from, then?"