Wine Killer

Alyra gazes at Cage as the man scribbles in his notebook. He writes under the table, notebook on his leg to block his substitute teacher from seeing his writing. Cage told her that he wasn't proud of his handwriting, which is true. His handwriting is a messy jumble of letters, which is only made worse by his lack of an arm to steady the page. He can read it though, and that's all that matters.

However, the real reason is that Cage is writing in a language that doesn't even exist in this universe. English is the only language he's ever known, until he absorbed Mavyl, that is. Yoru has taught him to read basic words and symbols in the Trellian language, but his reading skill in his first language is still leagues better.

Alyra raises her glass, half-full with that almost glowing blue liquid. She swirls it around in her hand, then throws the glass back, downing the entire thing. She grabs the near-empty bottle beside her and pours another glass, hiccuping as she glances at Cage, who has just finished writing, "Alrighty. Tell me what you've written so far," Alyra says, setting the bottle down again.

Cage looks up from his notebook, raising a brow at Alyra. The woman is tipsy by now, on the verge of being blasted. He glances at the bottle, which was once full, but now only has a glass full left at the bottom. It's been a little over an hour since they started the lesson, and Alyra has been steady sipping the whole time. However, she can clearly handle herself, and she has seemed even more excited about the lesson than before.

Cage chuckles to himself, looking down at his notebook, "There are two types of magic known to the Praesi; Vas and Anima. Vas is physical magic that affects the physical world according to the user's will, while Anima is a magic that allows the user to manifest their soul in reality, taking the form of a weapon that represents their unique life experiences. While both are extremely rare, Vas users are much more common than Anima users," he reads the words slowly, excitement rising in his heart despite this being his fifth time reading them.

"Vas magic is powered by Vas particals, which are what make up every physical thing in the Praesi. There are two categories of Vas magic; External and Internal. External Vas magic is the most common and allows the user to directly affect inanimate objects, the effects different for each user. The larger and heavier the object, the more Vas is required to affect said object. If a certain object is being used by a Vas user, then that object can't be affected by any other source of Vas. And lastly, External Vas cannot be used on an organism, dead or alive."

"Internal magic is a rarer version of Vas. It allows the user to affect their own body, and just the same as External users, no two individuals have the same power. While External users funnel the Vas particles within their bodies into objects, Internal users are the opposite, pulling the particles from their surroundings and into their bodies. Internal users can always be ready in any situation since they do not need an outside source to function, however, in the right circumstances and with suitable surroundings, an External user is much more versatile."

Cage sighs as he finishes the words, looking up at Alyra, "That all so far," he says. It's a lot to take in all at once, but Cage doesn't mind. This is the most interesting lesson so far.

"Good, good," Alyra responds with a smile, taking a sip of the Moonfruit wine again. Her long black hair shines in the light of the setting sun peeking through the window. Alyra looks at Cage with those big silver eyes, which are a bit glossy for obvious reasons, "Though you did forget one thing. Vas regenerates over time after being used."

"Oh yeah," Cage says, scribbling in his notebook. He looks up at Alyra expectantly moments later.

Alyra narrows her eyes, swirling her glass before her lips, "Mmm, don't look at me like that," she says in a rather seductive voice.

The hairs on the back of Cage's neck stand up. That voice is dangerous, "What?" he asks.

"Nothing," Alyra says in a nonchalant voice, taking another sip, "Tell me, what do you think happens when a Vas user empties out their Vas stores? I'll give you a hint; it doesn't regenerate."

"Hmm," Cage stares at Alyra, the cogs in his mind turning, "Well, it can't be good. Vas makes up everything physical, and if you remove that from your body completely, then..."

"Right," Alyra nods, "For Externals, running out of Vas means death. Their bodies break down and dissolve until there's nothing left. From the reports I've read, it's at least a painless death."

Cage nods. He'll need to watch out for Kyro. The Rajin isn't the type to overlook such a limitation, but he is also not always in his right mind. Cage looks at Alyra, brows furrowed, "What about Internals then? They absorb Vas particles from their surroundings, so they can't really run out."

"it's worse for them," Alyra responds with blunt words, "Absorbing too many Vas particles can cause terrible pain and sickness. There are Records of Internal users that ignored these symptoms and continued to use their powers, and well..." Alyra imitates an explosion with her hands, adding a 'pshhh' sound effect with it, "Instant death. And far from painless."

"Oof," Cage replies with raised brows, "So they just explode? That sounds horrible."

"It is," Alyra says, pouring the last of the bottle into her glass, "If Yoru is busy again tomorrow and she needs me, then I'll tell you what happens to Anima users. When their magic runs dry, the repercussions are multiple times worse than any that Vas users experience."

"Can't you tell me now?" Cage asks, "I don't see the need to wait."

Alyra smirks, hiccuping, "If I tell you now, then I won't have a reason to come tomorrow, will I?" she asks in a teasing voice.

Cage raises his brows, "Well, that's only if Yoru-"

"Ah," Alyra raises a hand to interrupt him, "Logic is the last thing you answer that with."

Cage furrows his brows, gazing at Alyra as she takes a rather aggressive sip of the Moonfruit wine, "Okay, then," he replies. Alyra's functionality slips with every passing moment. She moves slower, and her smile is a bit lazier. The gloss over her eyes has thickened, and tiny blood vessels stretch across the white of her eyes. The bottle always wins in the end.

Alyra continues the lesson by reading Records aloud to Cage, some of which seem to be the ones Alyra spoke of earlier. 'Painless,' doesn't seem like the right word for the death of an overextended External user. The physical pain may not be there, but knowing that you are moments from death is a much deeper pain than any cut or broken bone can match.

Cage notices that most of the Records are from the perspective of witnesses, and not the actual Vas users. It makes sense. Vas users are already rare, and ones willing to reveal their powers to an entire civilization must be almost non-existent. There is one, however.

Alyra reads the final Record, and Cage's ears perk up as he hears Kyro's name. In the Record, Kyro speaks of how he has used his Vas to slaughter thousands of Utherians over the years. He was already extremely strong before gaining Vas, and the magic only made him more of a monster.

Kyro mostly used his Vas on his sword, but he speaks of times he had used it directly on his enemy. Once, he changed the shape of an entire ship to that of a giant wooden box, which trapped every Utherian on the ship inside. None of those soldiers lived through the fall that followed.

Kyro says in the Record that this was the closest he had ever come to running out of Vas. He had already been using it on his blade for most of the battle. According to him, he knew he was running because of a feeling inside him. An empty feeling.

Cage listens to Alyra reading with slightly slurred words. He already knew that Kyro was strong, but this is just ridiculous. Sure, he had thousands of Rajin soldiers behind him, but Kyro himself had slain hundreds with just his physical prowess. With Vas, that number reached the thousands. Cage is glad that Vas users are rare, because this is just plain unfair.

"That's the last one," Alyra says, closing the book with a thud.

"Who wrote that last one?" Cage asks.

"Yoru," Alyra says, "Every Scribe wanted to have the honor of writing about the strongest soldier in Rajin history, but Yoru had written every Record about Kyro before this one, and with her position, no one could really tell her differently," Alyra sighs, running a finger over the leather cover of the book.

"How do you know? Didn't you just become a Scribe?" Cage asks, brows furrowed.

"Yoru told me. I've known her since I was a child. But even if she didn't, Scribes and their records are a popular topic among all Rajin women," Alyra responds.

Cage hums, Scribes really are important. He thinks for a moment, and a question comes to his mind, "How do people become Vas users? Are they just born that way?" he asks.

Alyra shakes her head, "Most of them just manifest their powers one day, usually sometime during their teenage years. Like Kyro. There is one other way, but it's extremely rare and far from enjoyable. There are only a few on record, but some manifest Vas magic after coming close to death, and I don't mean a rock falling beside their head. No, they were taking their last few breaths in this world before the Vas saved them."

Cage raises his brows, "Well..." That's terrible, he wants to say. But it won't be any more obvious with him saying it.

"Yep. It's a little different for Anima users, but mostly the same," Alyra says, reaching across the table and grabbing the glass she poured for Cage earlier, "I'll be taking this."

Cage watches the woman sip the glass, which was supposed to be his. Even if he wanted to drink it, there would be no point since the alcohol has no way to get into his system. He was curious as to the taste earlier, and still is. He looks at Alyra, a slight smile on his lips, "At least let me taste it," he says.

Alyra pauses mid-sip, a brow raised. She pops it from her lips, "You didn't touch it for over an hour, but now you want a taste?" she asks.

Cage shrugs, "I'm just curious," he replies.

Alyra hums, gazing at Cage. Suddenly, she down the entire glass in one go. The glass clinks against the table, and the crimson-skinned woman crawls around the table, the string of her dress hanging off her shoulder, black fabric silky over her toned body.

Cage raises a brow, watching the woman as she approaches. Her eyes are fully glossed over now, and as she comes closer, Alyra rises to her knees, grabbing Cage's chin and pulls it back until he looks up at her, "Uh, Alyra. I know what you're thinking, but-" a pair of plump lips connect with his own, and a cool liquid drains into his mouth.

Cage tries to swallow the liquid, but it catches in his throat, causing him to spit the liquid back out before he chokes. Alyra's lips are forced from Cage's, and the woman is served with a face full of Moonfruit wine. Cage coughs hard a few times, glancing at Alyra, who sits beside him with her legs tucked beneath her, entire head drenched with wine, "How big is your mouth? That was a lot," he says between coughs.

Alyra wipes the wine from her face, throwing wet locks of black hair back, "You were supposed to swallow," she responds.

"I tried," Cage says. He stares at Alyra for a moment. The splash of wine to her face seems to have sobered her up a bit. Cage begins to chuckle, soon bursting into a bout of laughter. He falls to his side, holding his stomach as it quickly becomes sore, "It hurts! Oh no!" Cage yells, wheezing as another bout of uncontrollable laughter strikes.

"That was supposed to be romantic! Don't laugh!" Alyra says, her words betraying the laughter escaping her lips as she watches Cage writhe on the floor.

"That? Romantic?" Cage says between howling laughs, "I said I want a taste! Not a bird feeding!"

The two continue to lose themselves in laughter, oblivious to the third set of eyes watching in confusion from the entrance. Yoru had heard yelling when entering her home and was fearful that someone had broken in and attacked her student. Yet all she finds is a clearly drunk Scribe and a howling man, both drenched in what seems to be the Moonfruit wine she had given to Alyra.

Yoru walks up to the two laughing clutzes, a silver brow raised, "Did I miss out on something?" she asks, eyes turning between Alyra and Cage, "And please do tell what caused this mess."

Cage pauses his laughter, looking up at Yoru. He still holds his stomach, and even as he collects his thoughts, he lay on the floor, chuckling slightly, "Alyra's a bird mother now."