Snippet #1512276

It was a day similar to any other in District Delta. The air was thick with smog and the sun shone through a mild haze, the sky becoming cast in a fuzzy texture that was nothing short of normal. And on this day, as was the case most days, Felix Windsor wasn't around to see it, he was in Alpha, teaching at the institute. It was a job that never ceased to surprise him. He'd seen powerful mages come and go, from incredible healers to destructive war machines. He himself was born to lean towards the latter. And as genes could not be changed his ability remained the same as always. He was further along the combat magic scale than most mages and, though he rarely demonstrated it, was capable of dealing out quite obscene amounts of damage to anything around him. Coupled with his tendency for physical over metaphysical magic, he was a force to be reckoned with when he reached his limits.

In the classroom at the Facility, the door swung open in front of Felix without him touching it. A simple enough trick but also a key part of the learning process. For the kids here to learn how to control themselves they needed to witness control on a basic level every day. Which meant doing a lot of magic, turning teaching into an even more exhausting job than usual.

"Good morning class, are we well?"

He greeted them the same as always and they responded in the same ill-timed way as usual. There was actually nothing happening around him that so much as hinted at anything being different that day. But there was a lot going on, big news had reached the District about a cure for the lung disease that was running rampant and Felix knew several people who would directly benefit from such a thing. There were magi healers but their reign could only go so far, a breakthrough like this would save a lot of people.

"Today's focus will probably come as no real shock to you all." He looked around at the faces of the younger class and saw most of them knew well what he was speaking about. "After an incident involving a pair of our older students that has lef our usual room somwhat charred, we'll be moving on to control of combat magic."

The Facility was a prime source of teenage angst, high-running emotions and frayed tempers. As such the ocassional venting of steam or displays of bravado took the form of fights, something that must be witnessed to be believed considering the nature of the students involved. A particularly bad one the day before had ended with students near the scene getting a display of powerful healing magic.

"Everybody reacts differently to the same stimulus. Where one person might laugh, another might get mad. And anger is the most dangerous emotion for a mage, it makes us unpredictable. It makes us volatile. It makes us lose control. And we need control, that's why you're all here after all, but before we can control our magic we need to be able to control ourselves."

It was here, in this same complex, that Felix had learned the same lesson so many years before. He attributed his endless patience to his intructors back then, as well as his considerable power. But that was the past, what he needed to concentrate on most at the moment was the kids. They were the future and he was the one to shape them. But that wasn't to say he couldn't have a little fun while he did it.

"Now, I seem to recall everyone agreeing that they learned better with visual aids. So let's do a little roleplay." He pointed out a small kid from the middle row. "Jonathon, come down here, you're going to be an angry boy." The poor kid didn't have an angry bone in his body, he was shy and reserved, but a large part of effective use of magic was confidence as far as he was concerned. Jonathon obeyed, albeit grudgingly, and another lad was brought down to simulate his opponent. It was a technique he'd used many times. He gave them each lines and choices and explained each bit, making sure to really hammer home the point, which was that you had to do everything in your power to stay in control at all times.

It went well, as it usually did, and the class got a few laughs out of it before the lesson ended. They all made a run for the door and left Felix alone in the classroom, where he stayed for no longer than five minutes. His teaching for the day was done, it was a short shift today, so he decided to take a slow walk back to the station, in no real rush to get home. There would be no rush anyway, despite the commute being so bad there had yet to be a direct line between Alpha and Delta Districts which meant he had to change at least once each journey. Still, he thought it was worth it.