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Enslaved mage verse Wisterias meet Elvira
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Yuna seems more excited that she's taking part.

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She'll wait for a few minutes.

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“Did you want to try throwing one?” Andrew offers her one of his projectiles. 

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(she is not supposed to say she's at-disposal, she is not supposed to be still and shiver and radiate obedience. This is a way they talk here and she needs to be figuring it out.) 

Looking to Yuna.

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“You should! Get a feel for it,” Yuna says with energetic nods. 

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Given context, the actually clear order is a relief and somewhat terrifying. Much better than all this trying to guess, but 'unusually emphatic' tends to come with some - corollaries. 

"Yes Yuna, ma'am."

She's been watching Andrew, and watched his demonstration; she knows how he throws them. Not exactly how she'd throw, but better to match and take the penalty for lower performance than the alternative. 

She throws. The projectile catches on fire and hits the target off center.

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Yuna applauds the effort, grinning widely. 

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“That was really good for your first try!”

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Oh, Yuna is into watching this. That explains it. (For - some reason. She thinks she saw somewhere or other than humans like fire sometimes. (She's kind of wishing she had some better training on human sex things. Or books.)) She should probably have caught on to that earlier, even with 'generally acts - odd - toward Andrew so it stood out less' and 'distracted by the situation' as factors. If this was an observation test in training she could expect a punishment. Instead it's herself in her head so - keep working on it and all that.

 

That's close enough to a compliment to get a moment of terror before she sorts it out. "For your first try" - acceptable performance now, but she'd better be improving. Well. She can do that.

Head-duck. Waiting to see if they want to check her magic work or have her do something else.

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"Have another go?" Andrew offers, seeing her so concerned by the praise. He thinks about dialling it back a little, just to make sure he's not making her uncomfortable.

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So they're not going to issue correction in the 'tell her what to be changing' way either, along with not in the 'hit her' way (at least at the moment). She'll do her best to correct herself.

('Uncomfortable' would not be the word she'd use. The moment of terror is reflexive. And-if-the-Authority-of-Mages-gets-her-back-)

Look to Yuna. If it looks like she still has approval she'll throw again. She knows how to learn these things - the throw is better.

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"You've got blanket approval to practise magic, Elvira! Whatever you want to do."

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(If 'what you want' is bad, 'what you want, with magic', is incomparably worse.)

 

She was trained as an agent, she was trained as a field mage; she does not pass out from terror. 

After a few moments, she even manages to think.

The statement is not, obviously, true, even neglecting other factors. Yuna does not in fact want her to make anyone's food poisonous, or spy on areas she's not in, or sabotage wards if the house has them, or set the table on fire, or follow humans around invisibly, or teleport out of the house, regardless of how she might feel about those things.

So - she needs to stick to 'what magic (and not only magic; the action in question had been throwing the fireball) they would actually approve of her doing', and they're not going to tell her what that is. That is - not really what she would have chosen to have to do, had she the choice, but she has never had the choice in her life and so that's not especially interesting.

(And if the Authority of Mages gets her back - 'they didn't want to be personally managing all details, they wanted her working within desired parameters...' The stack of reminders she's due is going to keep growing, but if it will be only that -)

"Yes, Yuna, ma'am."

 

It is probably about as safe a bet as there is here that they approve of her continuing to try to make and throw fireballs. She does that.

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Yuna dials down the praise, seeing that it upsets or confuses Elvira, but does still smile and nod.

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Andrew offers a couple of pointers to making the throws harder, if she wants them.

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Smiling continues to be not exactly good news but she's figured that part out already, it's not really a surprise anymore. Nodding is probably good; current lack of anger and the like is certainly good.

 

She is attentive and makes adjustments promptly.

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Andrew even shows her a couple of tricks he came up with himself. He proves to be quite adept with magic. 

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Does he mention that he came up with them?

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He does, and quite proudly. 

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That's - staggering. She doesn't stare at Yuna, because that is very unlikely to be a good idea. Doesn't show it (much), because she doesn't think that's what they want. (She's not surprised by adept, wouldn't be one way or the other.)

It's not forbidden for mages to develop new magic, if one's masters desire it. There are mages for that. Like this it's worse than unheard of, but it's not forbidden. She smiles between what she might do at a mage on recess with a new game and what she might do in field cover and hopes that's about close enough to what's wanted. And continues to rather hope this does not all end with her getting tortured to death.

She studies.

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Andrew sees some of the cogs whirling in Elvira's brain, and hopes that means she's willing to relax a little more.

He dutifully shows her again and again.

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She wouldn't really describe herself as relaxed (though to be fair, she's not sure that would be on the list of things she was especially interested in, if someone asked her for some reason). But she's trying out some nonverbals more like Andrew's (liking them in him doesn't mean Yuna will like them in her, but if she wants to figure things out, especially sooner, she's probably going to have to try some.)

She pays attention and practices.

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Soon, Yuna checks the time and calls them over. “Lunch time!”

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“Good, I am actually starving. Coming, Elvira?”

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Nod. (She's not currently sure how to address him/respond to him in these circumstances). She'll watch him for what cleanup they're expected to do first.

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