"She's a mage, just like you."
"Just like you."
"like you."
The words echoed in Jacia's mind as they were walking to the Abbey. Really? What sort of ass-backwards life would one have to live to be so idiotic!? Jacia hadn't even met the priestess, and she already knew they were nothing alike. Without even going into the differences between healing magic and the superior magic that Jacia wielded, there was just no way they could be even remotely similar. She was, after all, a genius, and she knew from experience that there were no geniuses in the priesthood. Closing wounds with her mind? That was the feat that so astounded the farm boy? Jacia had to remind herself that most of the people out here were not as intelligent as she, but it still vexed her. If only he knew what magic was truly capable of!
Jacia returned to reality, finding herself with guard, who was now labeled Iridian Valka, the farm boy, Kai, and the product of the rift, who, after proving to be impossible to accurately label, was grudgingly accepted as Flynn Rowe by Jacia. These people were not used to the structure imposed by scientific inquiry, so she was left with no choice but to abide by whatever they deemed appropriate. Such a shame, too.
The group was within the first steps of the abbey. Jacia made a mental note to stop spacing off and lose track of her surroundings. Such actions lead to catastrophes. She glanced at Flynn, speaking with Iridian about leveling the abbey. Iridian must be either very trusting, or very dense. Or deaf.
And then Jacia wished she were deaf. Kai, who appeared to possess fewer manners than a cow, decided that the best way to get the attention of the priestess was to shriek as loud as the human voice would allow, mere feet from Jacia's ears. She let out a disapproving "hmph!" and turned back to Iridian. He was being polite to Flynn, but remained stern. Iridian, she observed, had no patience for jokes when his dead countrymen were the punchline. She wondered if she could get the man to laugh at least once today. Laughing was healthy.
Although Jacia deeply wished to be studying Flynn like a child studies ants, she figured it would be better for everyone's nerves if the priestess were to examine him first. The wait, however, was killing her, and her feet were killing her. There was a bench, and Jacia had tried sitting, but could not keep still for longer than fourteen seconds(she counted), and so took to pacing the perimeter of the foyer, running one finger along the wall. Feeling the imperfections and bumps along the wall, she soon figured out the pattern. It was barely there, and most people might have considered it truly random. However, Jacia was not most people, and she was able to memorize the pattern. She removed her journal, using the wall as a surface and wrote the pattern down, drew a flower, and then wrote a short poem about the sun.
As it had now been exactly three minutes and twelve seconds since arriving at the abbey without moving forward, Jacia let out an audible, "UUGHHHHH", bunny hopped twice, then calmly walked over to Iridian and Flynn and spoke, "Iridian, would you believe me if I told you that I have read over one thousand books in my lifetime, that I have sat through lectures on spellweaving that lasted nearly six hours, and yet nothing I have ever done has ever been as boring as this?" She put her index finger on his chest and pushed, but he was too heavy for her to even budge and so instead she pushed herself onto her heels and further, to the point where she began to fall. In an attempt at catching herself, she grabbed desperately for Iridian's arm, but she feared her momentum would topple them both if he grabbed her.
How come genius always came paired with awkward?