Serenity and Serendipity [Feng]

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Karrhig had always admired the wondrous fountain that occupied the center of Nova's town square. Ever since he was a child and his father had taken him to live among the other priests he had always found it enchanting. In his youth, it had been one of his favorite places to take refuge. Wrapped in cloaks for warmth and with a book in hand, he would spend hours reading propped up against the god of knowledge. Years later Karrhig had taken up his usual perch in much the same manner. Bound in aged leather armor the Orkish vagrant sat, one hand trailing circles within the serene waters of the fountain another clasping the spine of a book. Karrhig had forgone the cloaks of his youth, taking joy in the early spring weather. He paid little attention to the people that swarmed about him thoroughly enthralled in Pherox's Flora Novarean. His lone eye danced over the pages and every few heart beats the Ork would thumb his way to a new page towards new tidbits of knowledge. Botany had never been a favorite subject of his but it was the only book he could get his hands on.

No one dared disturb him as he sat his gray skin making him look like an abominable addition to the statues of the divine. In fact, most of the passerbys chose to completely ignore him, suddenly finding the horizon a much more enticing sight than those of the gods. Those that were brave enough had taken up perches upon the benches and watched him with interest. He was, after all, an oddity of sorts. While Orks were known to reside within the city they often kept to the third district with the rest of the human refuse. Rarely did they venture into the more prestigious second district. Even if they had none would dare to do so so very openly. As far as most citizens of Nova knew Orks were completely illiterate. Whispers were exchanged between a few of the onlookers as rumors began to grow. Eventually, like all things that were curious and odd it was brought to the attention of those charged to keep the peace. 

The Civilian Guards approached Karrhig with a surety that only those in power could know. The walked with their hands atop the pommels of their blades and wide "friendly" spread upon their pale faces. Kar gave them no thought, even as they cast a shadow over his book. The two stood together, waiting to be acknowledged for several seconds before things began to grow awkward. More whispers were exchanged, louder now as the guard had become involved. "I don't think I've ever seen a gray skin read before, 'ave you Everett?" the younger of the two guards said looking to his older partner. The other shook his head, his attention drawn to the two hatchets sheathed at Karrhig's sides. "Me neither, it's a neat trick. Wonder if he actually knows some of the words or if he's just playing make believe." Karrhig continued to ignore them turning another page to show a diagram of the flower known as Lunar Drops. "Hey there friend, why don't you do me and my partner a favor and go read your picture book somewhere else, yeah? You're stirring up quite a fuss. Making it awfully hard to keep the peace and all that." The sound of rustling pages was the only response the guards received. This seemed to infuriate the younger guard as he reached out and attempted to slap the tome of botany from the Ork's hand. He only succeeded in pushing it downward, unable to tear it from the man's iron grip. This finally earned them the attention of the Ork.

Karrhig looked to them jaw slackened and eye unfocused as he met their gazes. "Ork, sorry, Ork no mean to cause problems. Just want to look at pretty flowers." Karrhig couldn't help but laugh. He'd wanted to keep up the charade for a bit longer but it was just so over the top he couldn't contain himself. His lips curled slightly at their edges as he closed his book and sat it in his lap. "I'm supposed to say something to that effect, right guardsman?" Now that Kar was actually looking at them bother of them seemed rather young. Kids who had likely joined from some affluent merchant family. Natives of the second district. He doubted they had ever had to run patrols in the third. Soft kids looking at being harder than they were. The guards seemed disturbed by something. Either it was the fact that Kar was poking fun at them or that an Ork was so casually talking down to them. Probably a bit of both, judging by how the younger had gotten red in the face. The younger guard was the first to do something stupid as it always seemed to be. With little grace, he shifted the grip on his sword and began to pull it from its scabbard. Karrhig was just a bit faster, though.

"Shut it down, recruit!" the Ork barked, rising to his feet to tower over the men. Standing up he was a much more imposing sight. Standing nearly two feet over either of them and as two-thirds as wide as both standing side to side. The most shocking thing though had been his order. An order they had likely received from their superior officers on more than one occasion. "This how you two treat a godsdamned veteran or a citizen of Nova?" he asked, his tone quieter but no less stern. "I've got half a mind to bring you two up on charges. Orks got just as much right to be here as anyone else and nonhuman or not if you're going to remove an undesirable you do so with some damn courtesy. Who's your sergeant?" Kar asked, raising a brow. The two men were silent for a moment, shocked by the chastising remarks. For the first time the older guard, Everett spoke.

"No need for all of that now. Avery was just foolin', right Ave?" The other guard gave a vigorous nod as he released his grip on his word. "Our sergeant doesn't need to hear about this. Why don't the three of us just go our merry ways. You go back to your book and we go about our patrol. Just... Don't make any trouble for us." Karrhig snorted at that, plopping down with an audible thud. 

"Yeah, no trouble." He said, flipping his book back open and riffling through the pages. "I'll be sure to read in a much less menacing nature henceforth." Kar's words seem to be enough for the guards as they turned and began to shoo away some of the gathering onlookers proclaiming that there was nothing to see here. It was too late, though, the whispers had already left the square traveling out into Nova about how a one-eyed Ork had gotten into a verbal altercation with two of the Civilian Guard. Karrhig didn't seem to pay much mind to the chatter about him as he harrumphed and resumed his position nestled under Saden's looming figure. He found his page and did his best to pick up where he left off.  


@feng

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It was always a good thing when the weather was nice on Feng's day off. This season, the weather had just been nice all around, but one could never take that for granted. The sun was high on the bright sky, and though there still was the occasional cold bite to the breeze that reminded people to still dress properly, it was nothing like the winter's sting. No, it was almost pleasantly warm after the long and cold season. The streets of the grand city of Nova certainly seemed to be lively and bustling, full of that energy spring gave them with its warmth and light. And it certainly seemed like there was more of a… Buzz going on, something that caught a certain man's attention.

Feng never missed the chance to snoop closer when something was happening, just like he never missed the chance to use the need for layers to his advantage. For him, dressing modestly meant there had been some kind of a horrible accident, so of course that meant he hadn't spared the cloth or money when it came to his outfit. A coat of green embroidered with golden thread that hid underneath it a vest and a shirt, a matching hat with a large white feather and a warm cape of pure white draped over his shoulders – he did come from afar, after all, even if he did not travel by foot. Protecting himself from the environment was always necessary, and a cape did just that!

The man pushed his way through the crowd that had started to gather around the square's fountain, a glint of interest in those bright eyes of his. He had, unfortunately, managed to miss what it had been at the start, but he did hear the raised voice that boomed over the other sounds nearby. A voice that wasn't one he could recognize immediately, but a voice that was somehow familiar nonetheless.

And as he finally pushed through to see who the man giving a lecture was, he could see the large ork berating the two younger guards before the two were forced to slip away with tails between their looks, attempting to drive the people away. But Feng did not leave, oh no. Had this been any other situation, he would have, having gotten what he already wanted. But when his eyes settled on the one-eyed ork that sat back down to read his book, the feeling of familiarity pushed through and forced his memories to resurface.

"Kary!" The name slipped from his lips as Feng strode over to the ork in question in short but quick steps, the heels of his high boots clicking over the stone and his cape and hair fluttering behind him. A being that perhaps fit the part of the town better than the ork, yet perhaps not quite. Feng had, after all, always wanted to stand out.
"It's you, isn't it? That stern tone, the lectures… I would recognize it anywhere!" The man laughed, perhaps having been on the receiving end of that more than once – and he wasn't laughing then. But now that it wasn't him, he had plenty of reasons to be amused as he covered his mouth with a hand, the jewels in his rings glistening in the sunlight.

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Irritation fluttered across the ork's haggard features as yet another interruption seemed to crop up. He'd barely had enough time to find his place before a voice called out to him. Still moderately perturbed by his encounter the guards Karrhig had almost missed the fact that this new disturbance had called him by name. Not just any name, though, but by a seldom spoken nickname. Few people in the world called him "Kary" and fewer still in Nova. Karrhig lifted his head still wearing his annoyance plainly only to be greeted by the sight of a vaguely familiar figure. A strange man dressed rather extravagantly and, if Karrhig was being honest, a bit garishly. The man continued to speak and suddenly the words and face struck a chord in the ork.  The look upon his face softened as his realization slowly began to take the place of irritation. "... Feng?" Karrhig's voice lacked the surety it had possessed moments ago as he visually probed the man's features. A ray of sunlight broke through the fugue of confusion and a smile appeared on the man's face. At least, it was the closest thing that most people got from the ork, a simple upturning of the corner of his lips practically hidden by his protruding tusks. "Feng!"  Kar repeated slamming his book loudly enough to cause some of his former "admirers" to jump. A rumbling chuckle emanated  from Karrhig's chest as he looked toward the direction the guards had traveled in. 

"As only you would. You and my lectures were fairly familiar with each other if my memory serves right. You got it a lot worse than those two louts did, that's for sure." Karrhig's iron gray eye looked back at his former companion. He'd changed in the years in which they had been apart. Older now, nearly the age Kar was when he'd first met the boy all those years ago, if not certainly older. Feng hid his age well, Kar noticing his flawless complexion and healthy glow. His taste had grown more... eccentric as the years had gone by but to be fair Feng had always been on the odd side. Karrhig supposed that was what had made the two such fast friends. Both outcasts for their own reasons it was only fitting that they found refuge with others of a similar ilk. Similar in their difference.

There was something the man wore that had not changed; that confidence. Despite his out of place appearance Feng looked paradoxically at home in his surroundings. It was as if he waltzed into the world and simply shoved his way in until other's had little choice but to accept him. Karrhig respected that about him. It had been one of the primary factors that had caused the two adventurers to butt heads. It was a wise man that once said that what you hate in others is often what you admire the most. He nodded approvingly to Feng without fully expressing his thoughts. Instead, he simply uttered, "You look well."  he found himself quickly adding on, "I can't believe it's you, though. It's been, gods, I don't even remember how long. What are you doing here? I thought you'd still be beyond the Widow Maker Sea fiddling with your potions and whatnot. Figured that you had already blown yourself to kingdom come by this point."  Karrhig shifted, placing his bare feet upon the ground and leaned forward onto his knees, his book clasped between the palms of his hands. Even sitting he was nearly even with Feng's shoulders, tall as he was. 

Karrhig hadn't thought that his life from across the sea would catch up with him in his homeland. He'd all but left it behind once he'd set foot on the vessel bound for Nova. Fate seemed to have other designs, pushing Feng into his path in such a manner. Kar would have been lying if he wasn't pleasantly surprised. In his short time back home he'd found that most of the friends of his youth had either met with the hangman's rope, like many in his profession or had simply moved on to greener pastures. Friends, like many things, were a commodity he was short on and it did his heart well to have run into at least one familiar face.

@feng

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Feng allowed the ork to take in his magnificent feature, giving him plenty of time. No, he was not one bit worried of the irritated glare that had been shot in his direction, even when it came from someone so much bigger and stronger than him. The thought that he might be snapped in half like a twig never seemed to occur to the man, waltzing in to situations like he owned them. And perhaps he did, in his own head.

But he hadn't been mistaken. This ork was none other than Karrhig, the very same ork he had traveled with so many years ago. Feng was quick to reply to the smile with his own much less subdued one, though when Kary brought up how he used to get a lot of rather stern lectures, the smile disappeared and was replaced with a pouty frown, one that surely fit the boy he had been back then better than what he was supposed to be now. Ugh, he was reminded of it all. He was almost starting to regret this meeting now… But he never backed down.

"It is good to know that the years haven't softened your head, grandpa," he bit back before the ork thought that he was fine with the lectures, his expression now more playful than annoyed. He hadn't been fine with them back then, and he wasn't fine with them now. There had been no epiphany for him later down the line that taught him the lectures had allowed him to grow into a balanced person. And of course, even though Karrhig wasn't all that old by the standards of his race, to Feng he was practically ancient.

But of course there were many questions. Both of them had to have a lot of them – as the ork said, it had been such a long time since they last saw each other! And it wasn't even on this continent. The fact that they just so happened to be on the very same one, in the very same city on the very same street… Well, it was a rather amazing coincidence!
"Blow myself up? Puh-lease. You should know that I am more skilled than that," Feng dismissed such accusations with the wave of his hand, never having admitted that he might have been reckless enough to do something like that, skill or not.

Already having grown tired of standing around, the man invited himself to sit next to the ork, flicking the cape behind him so it would rest underneath him to protect him from the dirt and any potential coldness the stone might have stored within it.
"And I still 'fiddle with my potions', thank you very much. I'm a teacher now. Figured I'll do it until I grow bored of it. Really, I should be asking why you are here…"

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"What, huh?" The ork made a show of bringing a hand to his pointed ear. "What's that, I seem to have gone deaf in my old age? I do believe that you jus said that you're a teacher of some sort. Giving young'uns your own lectures of sorts I'd wager. I bet they ignore everything you say and act like they know more than you ever could." Karrhig feigned a sigh of deep remorse, clutching his once cupped hand to his chest in a rather melodramatic display of sympathy. "I feel for you, knowing the struggle that goes with the shaping of young minds. A thankless task with little reward beyond knowing you did your best to raise them right and set them on the proper path." For a man who often revealed in silence, Karrhig was quite the actor. He assumed it had something to do with all of the last centuries plays that he read or perhaps it was the month he spent working as a guard for a troupe of traveling mummers that had planted the love of theatrics in the man. Another rumbling chuckle resonated from the man's chest as his jibe came to a close. "Jokes aside, I think it's a rather fitting position for you. You've always been passionate about alchemy, ever since I met you. I think if even an iota of that passion rubs off on some of your students we might experience a revolution in the alchemical sciences within the next couple of decades." Despite his previous jest, Kar spoke with honest sincerity when he spoke of Feng's potential as an educator. He prayed to Mylee that he had a student in his class that was exactly like him, though. If only to know the headaches he had brought Karrhig. 

Karrhig was aware of just how skilled the man sitting beside him was in the realm of poultices, potions, and brews. He'd witnessed some of his brilliance first hand while out and about in the field. It saved Kar's life on at least on occasion. The hand upon his chest fell to his side, laid upon a wound that had long since healed with the aid of Feng's knowledge. He spared his book a glance and surmised that Feng knew every fibrous plant in it and all of its applications as well as some that the book lacked. After all, Pherox had written the book nearly two centuries ago and advancements of all sorts had been made in alchemy since then. Feng's final question took Karrhig's focus from the book beside him and back to the conversation at hand. The ork gave a slight shrug before gesturing to the city around.

"Nova is my home. Has been since I was just a wee thing no taller than the edge of this fountain." Kar patted the low lip on which they sat to add emphasis to his statement. "I spent nearly all of my life here before I jumped ship and headed off to parts unknown. Learned a lot of lessons here. Spent a good chunk of time sitting right here in this spot reading from sunup till sundown and sometimes well after that. Though, I didn't have to worry about laggard guards trying to kick me about back then. I was still small enough to pass for human with the right amount of cloaks and the proper lighting." For a moment Karrhig went silent as he thought of his youth of piety and debauchery. He'd left with so many questions unanswered and so many prospects waiting to be seized. "I suppose I came back because I've got some unfinished business to take care of. Some ghosts that need to be laid to rest, so to speak. I haven't been here long. I only stepped off the boat a few days ago. Since then I haven't taken care of much beyond getting reacquainted with the city. It's changed, a lot." Kar looked about them as he soaked in the once familiar horizon.

"Enough about me. I'm just a boring old ork who likes to make bad jokes and muse out loud. Let's move on to one of your favorite topics; you. What about Feng? Tell me about this school you're teaching at. Tell me what you've been up to since we last crossed paths. Make any wonderous discoveries worthy of being recorded in tomes of knowledge?" Karrhig lifted his ancient text on fauna and shook it endearingly. 


@feng

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Feng's eyes narrowed, warning the ork that he was treading on thin ice acting as if he was in a state of disbelief that he might have become a teacher and be giving lectures just like the ork had, back in the day. It didn't last very long, however, his arms thrown into the air.
"Exactly!" He was quick to reply with a loud exclamation when Karrhig finally said something he agreed with: the students never seemed to listen (except when they did) and never learned (except when they did). The irony of him agreeing with the sentiment flew completely over his head. Though, he hadn't exactly expected the ork that had given him so many stern lectures in the past to actually… Support him? Consider him a good teacher, even? It was like he wasn't even trying to challenge him. That was… Well, unexpected.

The man's eyes had been fixated on Karrhig's face for perhaps a moment too long before he averted his gaze and looked away, his arms falling to his lap.
"Or Nova gets blown up," he mused, uncertain if any of his students could really do much better than wanton destruction. Honestly, if there was a revolution and a breakthrough, he would have wanted to achieve that himself, oh yes. The fire in his chest was there, filling him with energy. And no, it wasn't heartburn.
"Complimenting me and I haven't even had to save your life? That's so unlike you! Maybe it wasn't your head that has gone soft, but everything else," a playful and very weak jab was punched at the ork's shoulder as Feng turned to face Kary again.

Feng hadn't known that the ork had been born and raised where they were now, however. Alright, maybe Karrhig had mentioned it in the past at some point, but by now it had to be obvious that Feng rarely listened to such conversations, especially if he had something else on his mind. It did make sense for the ork to be here then, yes. It made less sense for him to be there, himself, yet here he was. He pressed his lips together tightly as he listened, having a hard time imagining the ork as something small and young.

And he certainly hoped he never felt the need to return to his home to settle things. Past was the past, but he only wanted to go forward.

"I was wondering where you have been hiding if I hadn't seen you here before, but that explains it," the man nodded a few times as if to agree with himself, luckily not having gone blind with the years. Karrhig had just recently arrived, so that certainly made sense. But the ork wasn't the only one with a tale to tell, Feng's eyes just lighting up as he was more or less given the permission to talk about what he had been doing.
"Psah. If I wrote everything I knew in books, I would be executed come next dawn. Not that my findings would be on the pages of something so basic," the ork's reading material was swiftly insulted,
"The Manna experiments didn't go so well… But I do have a recipe for powder that gives people the worst rash imaginable," he had to admit that his discoveries perhaps weren't all that amazing, yet… But he certainly had a strong finish with a mischievous grin that surely did not mean anything good.

"The school… It's called the Arch of Ages. Mostly consisting of mages and seemed like some kind of a safe place for them. Guess there have been issues here with magic, especially in the past," Feng shrugged,
"It's not too close to Nova, but I would go crazy if I had to stay there or in the village all the time. Every time I get the chance, I come back here. There's more… Everything here. People, clothes, food… The village is so backwater I want to scream, nothing ever happens there."

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Karrhig rolled his eye as his joke seemingly flew completely over Feng's head. It seemed that the alchemy teacher was experiencing the same troubles that Kar had while they'd traveled together. He knew pointing out the similarities in their situations would only ruffle Feng's feathers and so, for the moment, the ork kept his big mouth shut. Still, Karrhig couldn't help but feel grateful to the universe for giving Feng his comeuppance. "Well, blowing up a small country is technically revolutionary. Not in the way I had meant but it certainly qualifies." Kar said as he lackadaisically leaned into the marble figure of the God of Knowledge. He chuckled at the mention of him going soft in his old age. "Aye, I'm just a big ol' teddy bear now. A veritable saint among orks, going about spreading good cheer and good tidings." 

Feng facing execution was not such a far fetched thought to the ork. The man had a knack for landing himself in trouble or rubbing folks the wrong way. He was usually charming or wily enough to worm his way out of any serious repercussions. When he hadn't Kar had been there, a giant gray deterrent for any who sought retribution against Feng. The mockery of Kar's reading material prompted another joke from the ork's lips. "Ork no read smart books. Read dumb book, look at pretty pictures," he said, donning his guise of his savage, uneducated brethren. "I'm sorry that my reading material seems plebian to you. I had very little choice in the matter. It was this or some tome about theoretical uses for magic in dentistry. I picked what looked to be the more interesting of the two." Kar slipped out of his character quickly enough in order to defend his book from any more of Feng's verbal abuse. His choice in book had always been determined by the fact that it was one of only two he could whisk away before the bookseller finished with his more reputable customers. There was no need to let Feng know about that.

Kar listened as his friend began to recount his exploits while they had been separated. He remembered vividly the man's obsession with manna and his various experimentations with it. Karrhig had avoided discussing it with him back then only telling him that Caster Sorrow was not something to be trifled with. He wondered if Feng was still dabbling with the red vapors. Even if the experiments had not gone well it did not mean that he had abandoned them entirely. The look upon Feng's face, that mischevious grin of his gave Karrhig a bad feeling. 

"Oh, rash powder, I'm sure that'll be all the rage. You should start making up a batch now for the Escapade of Fools this month. Could probably make a bit of coin selling it to some pranksters." Kar's tone was only half joking as his thoughts turned towards the upcoming festival of thieves and fools. It was fitting that he had returned home in time for it. Feng went on to describe the new school he worked for. He had heard rumors about the school in his youth but had never had the opportunity to verify them. He hadn't cared back then, magic was something he had a tendency to avoid due to it's volatile and unpredictable nature. "The charm of Nova is short lived. Eventually, you'll get tired of it too and want to put it behind you. Next thing you know you'll be aching for a bit of adventure and see yourself braving the Widow Maker Sear or trekking through Heaven's Pass." Karrhig thought of his departure from Nova and his reasons. Boredom had been the smallest of reasons but a reason nonetheless. 

"Then again, you might not. I'm sure a school for mages is very exciting. Couldn't imagine what the curriculm looks like. Introduction to immolation, begginer's lightning throwing, explosive alchemy? How close am I?"

@feng

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Feng quickly waved his hand with a dismissive puff of air as Kary did his usual dumb ork schtick. It didn't exactly work when used against him, as he knew the ork better than that. He knew what the other was capable of – and perhaps he did want to see the ork as something smart, considering that Karrigh was the one who had lectured him way too much back in the day. There was no way Feng's pride would have allowed him to accept someone lesser than him in a better position. Not that he liked accepting anyone as his superior, but here they were. Though honestly, considering the books Kary had gotten to choose from? The one about dentistry seemed a lot more interesting… Even if neither of them was particularly magically inclined. But hey, if someone could do it with magic, he was pretty sure he could achieve it with his potions.

"Don't underestimate the rash, Kary," there was surprising gravity behind those words, the man's face suddenly quite serious at the suggestions of using his powder as a mere toy for pranks.
"It's very deceptive. Stealthy. It starts out so innocent, barely noticeable. And then, bam!" Feng threw his arms out to the sides to emphasize his sound effect, weakly slapping the ork's arm in the process,
"Like a pile of dragon dung falling onto you from above, right from the source. You think it's unfortunate and maybe even funny, but is it really, Kary? That size, that weight, that altitude… If the man's neck didn't break from that, then he's at least currently drowning in shit, wishing he had been killed outright," the metaphor certainly was going places, if nothing else. It was the price one had to pay when having a chat with with this particular human.

Feng stretched out his legs, already wiggling and kicking them around as if he had gotten bored from sitting down. Indeed, perhaps his stay in Nova wouldn't last so long, considering how easily he tended to want to do new things. Arch of Ages, it wasn't exactly exciting, causing the man to blow a dismissive raspberry with his lips.
"I don't care much for their magical lessons, but I honestly can't do all that much, myself. Nothing dangerous should be in the hands of students," the way Feng said it almost felt like they were the exact words someone had said to him at some point,
"And really, they would probably kill me at the same time if they did get their hands on something dangerous, so that works for me. You don't learn anything exciting in classrooms, there has to be more… Danger. Adventure. Adrenaline. Desperation. Something to squeeze those creative juices out and force you to improvise!"

He had really gotten some wind into his sails now, his voice rising into that strong, passionate boom that might very well rally people into battle. Battle of art. Or something. Feng was really into it too, but with a deep breath, he seemed to calm down and point back at the ork's book.
"So really, with the beginners, I make them read stuff like that and then we use that knowledge in something basic. It's more interesting with the more advanced students, I suppose… You can actually challenge them. Have them work hard to impress you. They don't get anywhere if they don't have the drive for perfection."

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The man's metaphor prompted an honest, chest rumbling laugh from Karrhig prompting more of the surrounding bystanders to look at the odd pair. "Oh, you've got me quaking in my nonexistent boots there, Feng." The barefoot ork feigned a shudder of fear at the prospect of the alchemist's rash-inducing powder. "I'll have to take your word for it that your powder is as potent as you say it is. Gods have mercy on whatever poor sap ends up getting hit with your figurative pile of dragon dung. Sounds like a poor way to go." Karrhig was used to Feng's particular brand of humor and all of its vulgarities. The ork figured he was one of the few men in all of Nova that actually enjoyed Feng's peculiar quips and odd comments. Talk of Feng's professional duties took the conversation away from those both imagined and metaphorical.

Kar gave Feng a sidelong glance as he recalled being the one to say something of a similar nature. "The young tend to do stupid things whenever they're handed anything dangerous. Put something that only has a modicum of danger associated with it in a teenager's hands and the worst possible outcome is bound to happen. Give a kid flint and steel and your house is on fire. Give'em a knife they end up getting stabbed or stabbing someone. Give them volatile salves and flesh eating poultices... Well, I'm sure you have a better notion of what could happen with that than I do. Alchemy, much like magic, has never been my foray." Feng's fervent talk of creativity caused Kar to raise an eyebrow quizzically. "If I didn't know any better I'd say that you're implying that your students need to get off of their bums and go on needlessly dangerous quests like their teacher before them. Trial by fire and all that nonsense." The real world had a way of giving the young a much-needed kick in the ass and providing them with a healthy dose of common sense. It had done so for Feng in his travels just as Nova's third district did for Karrhig when he was that age.  There were some things that one could not learn from a book or in a lecture. Things that needed to be experienced first hand.

"Hmm, your older students seem like they have it rough if you're throwing around words like perfection. I imagine that they're all trying to impress you with whatever knowledge that can figure out for themselves or glean from texts they probably shouldn't be reading." Perfection had a way of running parallel with ruin. Striving for it was tantamount to running head first into destruction. Karrhig had never cared much for perfection, resigning it to being something completely unattainable and was quite happy with terms like 'effective, decent, or good enough'. Feng, like many scholars, didn't seem happy to end things at good enough. 

@feng

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"Mmmmaybe," Feng pouted at Karrhig's insight and assumption as to whether or not he thought that his students should go on those needlessly dangerous quests – though if you asked him, they hardly were needless! His job certainly was a lot easier if he didn't actually have to teach anyone and life taught them instead. But he could hardly say that. Suggesting such impressionable youths to do foolish things apparently made their parents or something really angry, and he wasn't allowed to make them angry. Life truly was suffering.

"Psh, rough. Look, I treat them with such a soft touch," the man just scoffed at the ork's suggestion that there was something wrong with striving for perfection and wiggled his fingers that certainly seemed to be glad in silk gloves. Or perhaps some other kind of soft material or something that looked soft, it was difficult to say without touching.
"You know I accept nothing less, Kary. Why be mediocre when you can be so much more? I'm sure even my reputation would the dragged through the mud if my students can't do something amazing," Feng continued to muse, his fingers steepled as he rested his head on them as if in deep thought.

Who even knew what the man's reputation was. Most likely, it was quite different from what his idea of his own reputation was.

Stretching his legs, Feng got on his feet all of a sudden, apparently having gotten enough of just sitting around for now.
"What are we even doing, sitting here like some vagrants! We should go somewhere, for a drink," he declared proudly, though he quickly added,
"Literally just a drink for you."