The first bolt made Zhi flinch. It was fascinating, but when combined with Lalataru's dry lecture, not much to get excited about.
The second? Zhi yelped, jumped back, and hissed all at once as the something hit the wall with a great noise. The fur on her tail stood on end, and it stuck up nearly straight behind her, trapped between her body and the wall as she crowded back against it. It was a threat. It was a warning. It was Lalataru showing her what he was capable of, and what he'd do to her if she pissed him off. In that moment, as she stared at the smoking wall, the mask slipped off. Under it was Zhi, scared beyond measure and irrevocably drawn to the job she'd taken. Lalataru had laid out a challenge. She wasn't craven.
Heartbeat echoing in her ears, she got her expression under control. This time, when she stuttered it wasn't an act. "S-so how do I d-do that? Wi'the -- the aether." She'd heard of aether before, of course, but it had always been an alien concept to her, something other people did. People with power. It'd been beyond her.
The wheels in her mind started to turn. What if -- what if she learned how to do that? What if she became Lalataru's apprentice for true? She could be a big name in Limsa Lominsa, control her own turf and show Galine -- no! Agha, she could show Agha what was what. She pushed off the wall, pupils dilated, and went to her knees before Lalataru. The line between Zhi and Joz smeared as she held her hands up, ears sideways in submission. "How do I do that?" she repeated, fear replaced by eagerness. "Teach me."
The second? Zhi yelped, jumped back, and hissed all at once as the something hit the wall with a great noise. The fur on her tail stood on end, and it stuck up nearly straight behind her, trapped between her body and the wall as she crowded back against it. It was a threat. It was a warning. It was Lalataru showing her what he was capable of, and what he'd do to her if she pissed him off. In that moment, as she stared at the smoking wall, the mask slipped off. Under it was Zhi, scared beyond measure and irrevocably drawn to the job she'd taken. Lalataru had laid out a challenge. She wasn't craven.
Heartbeat echoing in her ears, she got her expression under control. This time, when she stuttered it wasn't an act. "S-so how do I d-do that? Wi'the -- the aether." She'd heard of aether before, of course, but it had always been an alien concept to her, something other people did. People with power. It'd been beyond her.
The wheels in her mind started to turn. What if -- what if she learned how to do that? What if she became Lalataru's apprentice for true? She could be a big name in Limsa Lominsa, control her own turf and show Galine -- no! Agha, she could show Agha what was what. She pushed off the wall, pupils dilated, and went to her knees before Lalataru. The line between Zhi and Joz smeared as she held her hands up, ears sideways in submission. "How do I do that?" she repeated, fear replaced by eagerness. "Teach me."
