"I really want to figure out how to stop soon though," she says, hauling herself onto Skan's back, "can you -"

"Oh, you are strong enough to fly with a passenger? Meet me at the top, then, do you see that balcony?" 

Skan has very good eyesight. "The white one? With gargoyless under it?" 

"Yes, that one." 

Skan takes off and pumps his wings hard, trying to gain altitude. With such a short runway, he has to work hard, but he's very strong.

They reach the balcony, presumably well before the mage-teacher can possibly have caught up.  

There are nearly always hertasi around, though, and this is no exception. One of them pops out. "Can I help you?" 

"I have a new Gift and don't know how to stop using it and the first grownup we found said to go to Urtho?"

"Oh, goodness! Congratulations! Urtho is working, but he never minds being interrupted for that, so I will take you right there!" 

This hertasi also has to be told to slow down by Skan, but after that they make their way down the hallway without incident. The hertasi knocks on a heavy oak door and waits. 

The hertasi's gears are different and it's interesting but she's trying not to stare.

A tall, thin man with silver hair falling to his shoulders and piercing blue eyes over a beak-like nose opens the door. Looks a bit confused, then turns his gaze downward and sees Azabel. He beams at her. "Why, hello there! What brings you here, child?" 

His mind is incredible. The gears are in such an incredibly vastly complex pattern, so perfectly shaped, fitting together into such an elegant whole. Some of the movement is refocused on her, but most of it is still spinning and whirling away, absorbed in something else. 

Ooooooh - wait no this is still HEINOUSLY RUDE - "I have a new Gift and I don't know what it is or how to stop."

"Oh!" He's so excited! More of the gears switch directions, it's pretty self-evident that this represents his attention shifting to her. "Well, do come in and have a seat - tea? ...Where did I put the teapot, oh, thank you, Gesten... May I have a look?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well, I imagine you are here because it was not obvious what the new Gift is, usually the youngsters are not brought to me right away if it is that obvious, and so the simplest way for me to check is to just go and look in your head. Only for a moment, and I will not be reading your thoughts or feelings at all, merely having a peek at the place where Gifts go. It does not hurt but it does feel funny, I am told." 

"Okay."

He puts his hand gently on the top of her head. It takes about three seconds, and as promised it doesn't hurt, but it does feel a bit like someone is tickling the inside of her head, vaguely near where the feeling-of-seeing-gears started from. 

"Yeep!"

"I am so sorry for startling you, dear. All done." He's grinning, though, his gears whizzing. "You are going to be a Mindhealer! A very rare and important Gift, I am so pleased for you. And potential for others, too! I expect you will be a Mindspeaker, and you have the potential for mage-gift, though I am not sure if it will awaken." 

"- can you make it awaken - also how do I stop looking at everybody's gears, they're very pretty but I can't stop and I can't ask!"

"Oh, I had better teach you to shield then - new Gifts can be so distracting, but no one will be upset with you for it, we understand how difficult it is. I am afraid we do not know the secret of why some Gifts awaken while others stay dormant, nor how to awaken them on purpose. You seem young for it, too - how old are you?"

"Almost ten. I would be mad if somebody was looking at all my gears!"

"Fair enough, I suppose. It will be good when you do learn to shield reliably, just, do not beat yourself up about it if it takes time to learn. I must teach you to centre and ground, first. You need to focus on your breathing and - try to feel the point inside you that feels the most stable and still, that does not move even when the breath does - does that make sense?" 

"...my feet don't move when I breathe?"

"I suppose not! Most people find a spot that is sort of inside their chest or stomach or throat, but perhaps feet will work for you. Now, I want you to try to clear your mind and focus all of your attention on that point, and when you have done that, try to feel the place where you and the floor beneath you connect. It might help to imagine the walls all the way down the Tower and how that connects to the earth and the bedrock. And feel how it is much bigger than you, and very stable, and you can use it to steady yourself." 

Like how it helps to hold on to things when she's balancing, maybe. Feet seem like the easiest option if you're trying to connect to the ground, don't they? She tries.