Literacy Intimacy

Kiersa sat herself down in the guild's hall after having collected one of the tomes that she could find on demons. She'd picked it up from a book store in Magnolia when she was last there. If she was going to have any chance of defeating Uru, then she had to try and figure out their weaknesses and strengths. If this tome, or any to be found here, could help her... then all the better.

She had to become stronger... She couldn't let Aayla do all her fighting for her... The nun sighed before she opened the cover, almost shutting it immediately at the sight of the image on the first page. She put a hand over her mouth to fight back the urge to vomit, swallowing it back down and shuddering.

Slowly she opened it back up and slowly began to read, trying to keep down her bile as well as the memories the tome seemed to wish to surface.

Strolling into the guildhall, Eli cracked his neck rather loudly. He was still particularly sore from a previous "spar" with Emilia, though it was more like him doing his best punching-bag impression. Right now he just wanted to relax, and not have to deal with anything else relating to fighting. Or breathing really. Unfortunately that wasn't an option, so just stretching out his sore bones sounded like a good job. Making his way towards his signature seat, he noticed a new face in the hall.

It was another younger girl, dressed rather strangely if he said so himself. It was like she was dressed for some kind of order. Assuming it was a member he had yet to meet, he wondered what she was up to exactly. She seemed to be reading something, but whatever it was clearly wasn't agreeing with her. She was powering through it, but whatever it was looked like it was about to make her vomit. Walking over to her seat, he let out a soft whistle, trying to get her attention without spooking her and actually making her project the contents of her stomach she was so desperately trying to keep down. Taking a seat across from her, he spoke softly and calmly, trying to relax the clearly struggling girl. "You know, forcing yourself through a bad book is never for the best." Giving her a warm smile, he extended a hand across the table. "Eli Validus. If you want, I could recommend a few books that would probably have a better result. It's a tragedy to see a beautiful young girl like yourself making such an ugly expression." He could already feel that small part of him want to try and help the girl, trying his best to be friendly and calm to relax her.

Kiersa gave a small eeep as the whistling spooked her, and given the contents of what she was reading at the time... "Stigmata of the Seraphim!" she intoned, her arms becoming shields of Holy light as she brought them up in a guarded position as if she were expecting some kind of attack. Her wrists began to bleed at the spells activation before she realised it wasn't a demon striking at her from the shadows... but was instead a human boy...

The nun let out a slow breath as she cancelled the shields, rubbing her wrists as she looked away. "I... I'm sorry... I... I thought... Sorry." she apologised before hearing his words. She shook her head at his offer of different books. "I... I have to... To get... to get stronger..." said Kiersa, still not looking at the man she had thought to be a demon attacking her. She blushed furiously though when he called her beautiful. "N-no I'm not..." she tried to deflect, glancing in his direction before finding the floor to be of much greater interest for her gaze.

Acting on instinct, Eli's hand was already inside his cardbox when he saw Kiersa's magic. It took a second for him to realize it wasn't an attack of any sort, but rather a defensive magic. He must have spooked her. He chuckled softly, one mistake almost had the pair of them into action. Realizing she wasn't going to shake his hand, he took it back to himself, before noticing the blood on her wrist and reaching into his satchel. He was sure he had a spare cloth or two he hadn't put a circle on yet....

Finding a bright red one, he ripped it in half quickly before extending it to Kiersa. "Here, use this. It's better than getting blood over your hands and then your book, right?" She did seem like a fairly shy person, she hadn't even introduced herself to him yet. As well, the reaction to his compliment was something else completely. He was unable to stifle a smile at it, it was cute. "I'd say that's my decision. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? And I'm fairly certain what I see before me is beautiful." He was slightly curious about her comment about getting stronger, but he was fairly certain that'd just rile her up more if he asked. He wanted to try and get her to relax right now. Leaning back in his seat, he decided he'd try and do a trick to calm her down. He reached into his bag for his deck. "So, do you mind if I ask your name? Pardon me if it's presumptuous, but I'm assuming you're a member of the guild, and I'd like to know all of my fellow guildmates names."

Kiersa looked at the bright red cloth and tentatively accepted it, wiping at her wrists with it, her face going crimson as he complimented her once more before she closed her eyes and let out a slow breath to compose herself a little. "Umm... thank you..." she said, offering him the cloth back before answering his question. "Umm... yes... I only just joined..." said the nun softly, pulling up her robes a little to show the guild mark on her left thigh before she dropped the robes back down once more. "My name... is Kiersa Bec... Sorry again..."

Taking the cloth back, Eli folded it gently and returned it to his satchel. He hoped that the girl was alright; he assumed the bleeding was an aftereffect of her magic, but it wasn't exactly something to take lightly. Coupled with the fact that the girl seemed more scared than someone staring down a knife, he doubted that she'd even mention if anything was wrong. At this point, he knew the best course of action was to be calm and gentle to help relax her. He didn't want to give the poor girl a heart attack after all. Patience was a virtue. "There's no need to thank me. It's a gentleman's duty to help a lady in distress after all." Liar, he was not a gentleman in any shape of the word. At this point in time, Eli's lies flew off his lips effortlessly, sometimes even convincing himself they were true.

Placing his elbow on the table, he rested his head into his hand and starred into Kiersa's eyes. He wondered what exactly her motivation was. She wasn't exactly the adventuring type, at least from what he had saw, and she didn't seem like one to go on jobs for living. There had to be some kind of motivation to her ways. Still, he doubted asking now would do anything more than upset the girl more. A warm smile on his face, his free hand began to rifle through his bags, his eyes never leaving hers. "So Kiersa, do you wish to play a friendly game between guildmates? It seems like the best way for us to relax, and get to know each other."

Kiersa blushed a little at his words. "I... I'm not a lady... I'm a Sister... N-nothing fancy like a lady..." she dismissed softly. She watched him looking into her eyes, her own looking away. It felt like he was trying to peer inside of her for some reason... and the nun didn't feel like letting anyone inside her walls just yet. When he suggested a game she looked at him curiously. "What kind of game?" she asked hesitantly.

Eli smiled softly at Kiersa. So she was a sister? That explained the outfit. Eli wasn't a religious man himself, nor did he really understand the point behind it all. What did it matter what happened after you were dead when you are currently alive? Still, that didn't really matter to him right now. She was shoving her beliefs down his throat so he had no reason to say anything. "You can be both Kiersa, and I think you are. That's up to the eye of the beholder, is it not?"

Finding what he was looking for, Eli pulled out a deck of cards. He fanned them out on the table, inspecting it to make sure it was the right one. Determining it was, he stacked it back up and began to shuffle it. "I'd like to play a game of cards. It's kind of my forte." He began to show off a bit, rotating his shuffling to some more showy styles from his shows. His inner braggart was starting to get out. "If you'd be willing to join me, I have many different ones we could play. The choice is yours though." He doubted that she'd decline, but it would be rude of him to start it without her permission. Cards flying from one hand to the other, he smiled at Kiersa, trying to seem warm, friendly, and inviting.

"I-I thought a l-lady was one of the... one of the n-nobility?" asked the nun, confusion on her face, trying to figure out how exactly she could be a noblewoman and a Sister at the same time according to this person. He was a very confusing man that was for certain. When he explained what the game was, Kiersa bit her lip and looked down, her hands clenching at her robes. "I... I've um... n-never... um... well... played cards b-before... Sorry..." she apologised softly. "I-I'm sorry..."

Eli chuckled softly at her comment. It seemed like Kiersa was fairly sheltered, if he said so himself. He found himself wondering more and more as to what pushed a girl to her to this type of work. There was also that book she was reading earlier. Questions just seemed to keep forming in the man's mind. Still, it would be rude to ask, and Eli was all about a good impression. "That's true, a lady is a noble. However, the term can also be used to describe a regular woman, it's a more polite term in that sense. It also evokes an idea of a type of woman, a very refined, dignified, pleasant woman, which I feel fits you perfectly." He then quickly changed to a concerned look. "Though, if me saying that bothers you, I can stop saying that right away."

He gave Kiersa a soft smile, shaking his head slightly. "Now this simply will not do. If you do not know, then it must be my goal to teach you." Placing the deck down in front of him, he fanned it out again, revealing the backs of all of the cards, before flipping them all face up in one smooth motion across the fan, revealing a perfectly aligned set of cards; all cards in ascending order organized by suit. "There are hundreds of different card games, which means there are many I can teach you, if you wish to learn." The entire time as the cards moved, Eli kept his view on Kiersa. "We also have to do something about that attitude of yours. You have nothing to apologize for. What's wrong with not knowing what I know? We have different lives and lived differently, of course we would know different things. It's just natural. So just relax my dear and enjoy yourself. If you wish to learn I'm always here."

The nun shook her head. "N-no, it... it d-doesn't bother me... s-sorry if I m-made you think th-that... J-just not used t-to it is all... sorry again..." she said softly, watching him play with the cards for a moment before she caught him looking at her the entire time. "I-I'm sorry f-for a-apologising so much..." she said, wincing as she realised she'd just said sorry again. "S-sorry! Eep! S-sorry again! Gah!" said Kiersa as she buried her face in her hands and shook her head.

Eli sighed, shaking his head. She really was just a bundle of positivity, wasn't she. He hadn't seen someone this submissive in years. It was actually kind of an accomplishment. Stopping his fanning of the cards, letting them lay flat on the table a she stared at Kiersa, he had to help her relax before anything else. "It's alright Kiersa, just relax. There's nothing wrong with what you're doing, and there's no reason to apologize for anything." Standing up, he moved around and beside her slowly, trying not to scare her once again. He knelt down, meeting her at eye level with a calm expression.

Placing a hand on her shoulder gently, he spoke to her softly. "Just relax, OK Kiersa? There's nothing wrong, nor anything to apologize for, so just take a second to breathe." He seriously wondered what was riling her up so much, he hadn't really done anything yet and she was already tripping all over herself. "Just focus on what makes you feel good and relax for the time being. You're in a safe place, and are a healthy, beautiful young lady, so there's nothing to apologize for, alright?" Maybe he was being too serious, but Eli was an entertainer at heart. He wanted to see people laugh and smile, and not freak out. Well, he did enjoy watching people freak out, but not in this case.

The nun flinched slightly when he put his hand on her shoulder before she relaxed slightly, her hands falling to the table as she tried to compose herself with a few slow breaths. When he suggested focusing on what made her feel good, she gave a slow nod and closed her eyes and tried to think of things like that.

She gave a small smile as her mind filled with thoughts of looking after the baby rabbits back at the convent, getting to bite down on one of the first strawberries of the harvest... but those memories were tainted as she recalled what happened next... the fire, the deaths, the stares... Kiersa's hands tightened into small fists in close proximity to the book she was reading earlier before she shook her head, almost violently so, as she fought to push down the memories for the time being, letting out a slow sigh. "I-I'm sorry..." she said softly, although it sounded like a distant apology.

Kiersa's eyes found themselves opening up and looking at the front cover of the tome she had been reading earlier. Taking off her habit she used the headwear to cover up the book and put it to the side, taking another few slow breaths before looking over at Eli. "S-so... um... s-still want to... um... try t-to teach cards?" the nun asked slowly, unsure if he would even still want to at this point.

There was clearly something bothering her, and if Eli had to wager on it, he'd say something happened to something she cared for. She seemed to listen when he suggested thinking of something happy, but when her reaction suddenly changed he made a mental note of it. It was none of his business, but Eli always made sure to know as much as he could about people; it often lead to an advantage later on one way or another. As she covered the book, Eli stood up and returned to his seat, sitting down gently and returning his hands to the fanned out cards.

He gave her a small smile. "If you want to, I'm more than willing. I'm gonna teach you a simple game, one that's played almost everywhere across the world; Blackjack." He decided to leave out that it was a gambling game, what the nun didn't know couldn't hurt her. "The point of the game is simple; you play against the dealer to try and get cards that add up closest to 21. You count the King, Queen, and Jack as 10, and an Ace can be 1 or 11, your choice." Stacking the deck together, he shuffled it methodically and nicely. He was gonna teach her a simpler version, it should be easy. "I'll play the dealer. I deal you a card, then myself one." Doing this, he placed a one in front of Kiersa, the Seven of Hearts, and one in front of himself, the Nine of Spades. "Next, I deal you one more face up, and one face down for me." He then dealt the 3 of Spades to her and one face down to himself.

"Right now, your hand is 10, while you only know that mine is 9. What happens next is this; you have the choice to either take a "hit", which is where I deal you another card, or "Stand", where I don't deal you anything. You can take as many hits as you want to try and get to 21, but if you go over you "bust" and lose. After you finish your turn, I go. I flip my face down card face up. If it puts me under 17, I have to deal myself until I hit 17 or higher, including if I bust." He explained it all thuoughly and slowly, trying to make it easy for her to understand. "Now, it's your turn, do you wish to hit or stand?" He wondered what action the girl would take first; was she going to aggressively hit or play safe?

Kiersa listened carefully to his instructions on how this game was played, tilting her head as he showed off the cards and what each one represented. When he played for her to the Seven of Hearts, followed by the Three of Spades, she put the tip of her thumb into her mouth as she considered what to do. I have ten right now... and there are four suits, each with a King, Queen, Jack and Ace... that means there are eighteen cards in there that could get me to my goal... but that's eighteen out of fifty two... The nun looked at the stacked deck in thought before she took a slow breath and nodded at Eli. "I... I'll hit please..." she said softly, casting the die of fate into this game of cards. "If... If I've g-got ten... then i-it's better to h-hit than safe i-if I w-want to get to t-twenty one..."

Eli watched Kiersa think about her decision. She seemed to be putting a lot of effort into it. He liked that; a lot of people just tended to put it to luck when it came to first learning the game. In the end though, Eli knew the results. He had shuffled the deck to deal an exact situation. After all, what good is a con who can't stack a deck. Kiersa had made the right move, or at least he had predicted. Dealing the top card, he revealed the Ace of Diamonds, giving Kiersa a total of 21. "And you got Blackjack. Which means at best I need to hit it myself to at least draw the game."

He knew he lost however. "Now I flip my set card." Revealing it to be the Five of Diamonds, he dealt himself another card, the Queen of Hearts, giving him a grand told of 24. "And since I have to meet at least 17, I deal once more and I go bust. Which means you win the first game, congratulations!" He gave her a smile. He wondered how she'd take the victory. He knew from the start that she would win, but she didn't.

The nun braced herself as the card was dealt to her, revealing itself to be one of the Ace cards. That could count as one or eleven... only four aces in the deck... how? She thought to herself as she stared at the three cards that had allowed her to win this game when Eli went "bust". Could her luck really be that good to win her first game of cards like that?

Kiersa looked up at Eli suspiciously, but didn't say anything, not wishing to offend someone who was taking time out of their day to try and teach her something. She bowed her head towards him and instead said, "Th-thank y-you Mister Validus..."