LYRR VIVA TOU CONQUIETA AETERRNO AMORA ♠ private

And there he was, in a dazzling array of ice and cold winds that quickly expanded, the snowy-haired figure stood in the middle of the circle as she had anticipated. To her it seemed she had used the correct element in the summoning circle in order to summon an atranoch of the glacier element. There was shock first on his face, followed by a facepalm as he muttered his first words in his time with her. Honestly, they were far from what she had expected. The excited smile on her face melted away for a few moments as he walked right past her, summoning a sword before continuing that it seemed she could summon properly. Ah, so he was going to be like that, was he? Well, two could play at that game. A small smirk crept to her features as he concluded and turned to her. She slowly fingered down on the page labeled “atranochs” and found a blank space just waiting to be scribbled on.

Inglisse began writing notes down with a mirrored smug grin on her face. As she wrote them down, she began to read them aloud. “Glacier Atranochs: Blizzard eruption upon summoning. Temperament upon summoning: Cocky asshole~” she read in a gentle voice with the proud smile plastered on her face. Upon highlighting the last word with her tone, she briskly closed the book with a soft clap of a noise and gazed up at the sapphire-eyed atranoch. “Not really the best way to greet a lady, or anyone for that matter, but I suppose you’ll learn. Introductions first-- my name is Inglisse Carroll,” the platinum blonde-haired girl said politely, absolutely no malice or anything of the sort in her voice. No, she would be formal when directly speaking to him. “Now, to answer your question, I can process your words just fine. However, do enlighten me on how you define ‘pathetic’,” she said with a polite but confident grin. If all of his kind were like this, they certainly were an interesting race or species. Or maybe she just got stuck with the rude one. That was always a possibility.

Inglisse simply maintained her gentle smile as he spoke. “It wasn’t supposed to be a comeback,” she gingerly corrected. It was a note in her book for the sake of research. His cocky words continued, but none of them caused the platinum blonde to react in any way. English? What a funny-sounding language. She did find it amusing that there was a language that sounded quite similar to the name she had chosen for herself. The people in Mistere spoke a common tongue, but it would not surprise her that the atranoch knew more than she regarding languages-- he had lived a lot longer and likely had seen more places.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Oras,” she responded politely with a warm smile, not acknowledging the previous insults. He went on to answer her question, drawing his blade as he did so. It was going to be like that, was it? “I must say though, it’s a shame to be dismayed that you were summoned outside of combat. We’re in a time of fragile peace; do you really wish for it to be war?” Inglisse asked, gently dropping her research book in a manner that would allow it to hit the ground without opening or getting damaged. As he charged for her, the girl simply held one hand in the other behind her back in a relaxed state, her gentle and confident grin unwavering as he charged. She never once batted an eyelash as he made his movements and simply awaited the strike if it were to come. She was not afraid; she had a way to remedy wounds, but would the newly summoned atranoch really be one to kill the person who summoned him into this world? What would the others of his kind think? Such questions excited the mind of the human girl, who was not showing any signs of dodging, blocking, or fighting back. "Surely there is a reason you were the one brought here. Tell me, do you have a wish or goal to achieve while you're here on Skiagis?" she continued quickly but in a kind manner while he rushed.

More insults streamed from the snowy-haired boy. His blade pierced her cheek, but she took it without batting an eyelash or grimacing. She knew he would not kill her; that would mean he would die as well and go back to the plane he came from. If he were here, surely he was not ready to turn in so quickly. The cut on her cheek bled lightly, but she would heal it in time. Why regenerate so quickly or rush to throw some herbs on it when she had nothing to fear?

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” she began sincerely in regards to his mention of her having more fun and him wishing to fight. “I don’t fight unless it’s a necessity. And besides, I won’t have reason to fight anymore; I have you with me~” Inglisse continued with a lighthearted chuckle, turning around to face him, once again meeting his sapphire orbs with her golden hazel ones. She took a few steps closer, casually closing the distance while retaining her calm grin. “You’d do good knowing that I hardly care about your words for me, nor your opinion. Just like you want me to earn your respect, the feeling is mutual,” she spoke eloquently, once more with no malice or cockiness.

He begged the question on why she had summoned him, which was indeed a good question. She partly wondered it herself. She really was in no need for protection, nor did she wish to fight anyone or wage wars. Inglisse was a curious individual who wanted to know more about the odd world she lived in. The atranochs were a subject of interest for the young blonde, who wanted to know more about them and their plane of existence to further a future goal. A righteous goal. “What is the right answer, then? Such open-ended questions with a right or wrong answer like that are a bother, their subjectivity rather annoying, to say the least,” she stated matter of factly, stopping right in front of him, her smile unflinching and her cheek still bleeding.

The girl blinked at his first words, fairly amused. He wanted her to fight? Was that the only thing going on in his mind; brawn over brains? He certainly did try to act intelligent, but at this point the air of ego was beginning to grow old, as if he were hiding something and using the stream of insults to do just that. If he did not want to partner with her, why did he not say it already? He did not seem the type to be attempting to ‘help’ her be someone he would partner with either. So, what were the insults for at this rate? The gentle smile never faltered as he continued. “If you believe fighting or raw strength is the only way to not be pathetic, I’m afraid you’ll be sorely disappointed. I fight when there is a reason to, nothing more, nothing less,” she explained politely, with a small ounce of humility. Brute strength was not the only way to be considered a strong individual. She did not see him as a servant, nor herself as a master. For now they were equals and he was a subject of interest of interest for her.

“I’d say the feeling is mutual, but honestly, I don’t understand what isn’t pathetic in your eyes. You come into this world throwing around insults, but why? Because I wasn’t the summoner you expected? Is it because I’m a girl? Because I’m young? Because you felt I wasn’t a fighter? Or is that how you treat everyone, regardless of who they are?” the blonde asked softly, not frowning or flinching once. “You don’t know me, so why don’t you keep the lectures yourself?”

Her words were once again polite, though matter of fact. They displayed no irritation, only a sense of logic. Even if she refused to fight, she knew that her intelligence could match brawn and raw strength. Would he recognize that? Only if he were not some dim individual. She had to commend him on his observations, however. “Not a lie, but an opinion. Any answer I give you wouldn’t matter. You could easily choose what you wanted to regardless of the response. See why I think such questions are bothersome?” she answered sincerely, flashing that calm smile once more. It would come down to him choosing to stay with her or not regardless of the many answers to his question. He already did not like her for some reason; that much was obvious. Now she wanted to know why.

The girl listened quietly and patiently to his further blabbering about strength. At least she had drawn out that he was not fully obsessed with raw strength, but he appeared to have little regard for wit overall. He had some, surely, but at least not enough to match someone else. It was common sense in all cultures to be polite upon greeting someone; unless all atranochs were like this, she considered him a little less than intelligent. Intelligence was understood in the same way in almost every culture. Scientifically speaking, it was an individual's’ ability to adapt and apply skills and knowledge to situations. Naturally, there was more to it, but from what Inglisse understood off the bat, this man was a fool for thinking that his behavior could get him anywhere.

“Why do I deserve a talk-down?” she asked innocently, still quietly pressing for answers. He was such an interesting and egotistical individual. Did he automatically assume he was better than the one who summoned him? Did all atranochs assume they were of higher status than the one who anchored them to reality? What odd individuals. At his further explanation on not treating others like equals, the girl only shrugged. If that was the case, he would get what he gave. She remained silent, allowing him to finish his speech before applying her own thoughts to the situation. For the sake of curiosity, she gave a nod for him to continue with his terms, despite his condescending attitude. She was curious, after all, but she had not yet agreed to anything. Blood still trickling down her cheek, Inglisse only chuckled as when he finished. “You sure think you’re irreplaceable and special, don’t you?” she asked steadily in a lighthearted giggle, without any hint of ego nor mirror of his attitude. “You needlessly put yourself on a pedestal above me and others. What reason do I have to prove myself to you, besides having you cooperate as an actual partner? I don’t need you. I won't die without you. It’s just one of those ‘would be nice’ things, I guess you could say. Would me proving myself to you just make you feel happier or boost your ego a little further? I do wonder.”

The grinning blonde paused for a moment, walking towards him again across the crunchy frost on the ground. “I know you atranochs have to be willing to come to this world in order for a summoning to be successful. You don’t seem to be very happy here with me, though, so I suppose we could find some way to send you back home and break the bridge. Perhaps this was all a mix-up. I could summon some other atranoch, hopefully one who has at least an ounce of decency,” she said with a smile, arms up in a shrug while her hazel eyes remained fixed boldly on the snowy-haired man. “What do you think~? I am sorry I had inconvenienced you with a summoning you did not want.”

Ah, the one and only nice thing he had ever said about her-- that she was not a moron. Well, at least she had proven that much. Hopefully it applied with his little ‘test’ instructions-- “don’t be a moron”. He wanted to hear true intelligence and wisdom, but that rarely came right away. If he stuck around long enough, he would more than likely see it. He yet again had something nicer to say, that she was not unintelligent or inexperienced. Really, it still seemed that he was more of those two. If he treated everybody lower than him, when he finally did find whether or not someone was intelligent and experienced, they most likely would have forged a lower opinion of him and would not want to associate with him. Really, it was a lack of wisdom and common sense on his part, but if other atranochs tolerated him, he likely had yet to really relearn that around people again. Rudeness was rarely rewarded in their society.

Ha, there it was. He had fallen for it. The blonde maintained her calm grin as he slowly came to accept her words and then began to walk once more, frost forming over the shaded blades of grass. She held eye contact with him, not showing much reaction as he created a new kind of ice. Instead of talking down to her as if she had to prove herself, he was now trying to sell his own worth of being the one summoned to her side, while taking the opportunity to boast. Naturally, he would not know of her tactic. She was subtle, knowing the psychological tact needed to see a fitting response. One could hardly call it true manipulation as much as being well versed in the science of the mind. He created a hot ice, which she could only identify as methane clathrate or some other type of natural or magical ice. It was somewhat impressive, definitely not out of range for an ice user, but one few ice users bothered to ever learn. “Strength isn’t measured by little flavorful ‘extras’ of one who uses a Talent. You know this. It’s measured by efficiency. While that certainly makes you versatile in combat, I’m sure another atranoch could do just as well in combat or at other tasks within their own capabilities. Unless, of course, you’re saying you’re the strongest atranoch to ever exist, which I suppose could explain your ego,” she said with a lighthearted chuckle, ending with a small joking quip.

He brought her book back to her and pressed it against her. Gingerly, she took the book in her hands, hazel eyes still fixed on his own sapphire orbs, the confident yet calm grin never leaving her face. He offered her the secrets of his use of versatile elements, likely appealing to what he observed that she liked. While she adored knowledge and learning, the cost outweighed the benefit when it came to agreeing to his fairly pathetic terms. She still had nothing to prove to him, even for a tiny dose of extra knowledge. Besides, had he not already implied she was not pathetic without realizing it? “I’ll pass. If you really want to go home, I’m sure we could figure something out. Unless you want to stay for some reason, but it seems to me you aren’t quite happy to be here. Not a lot of combat or wars for you to fight in, no sparring partner as your summoner, and a time of relative peace. Really, what reason have you to be here with me, as my partner? You seem very disappointed, so what’s keeping you here?” she asked sincerely, a warm and understanding smile on her face. The blood on the cut on her cheek had finally clotted a little. She would have to properly clean it up a little later.