smartass_captain

From:

So this is the human mage. Rondo is studying him, mild and polite, but beneath the facade he's analyzing, observing the details of his behavior, the flux of his energy, utterly curious. The concept still seems wrong to him on a deep, visceral level, but he's learning to tame his tongue after that chat with Jim, and he's prepared to do more listening than talking.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm Rondo dan Olorthavaas," he says, and returns the bow, though the way he moves is tight and reserved rather than sweeping, a light bend at the waist. He offers an armclasp then, though. Significantly shorter than Felix, he'll have to reach up, but his grip is firm. "A pleasure to meet you."

Battlemage? His brows crease a little at that title, which is foreign to the point of striking him as bizarre. "We...don't have those where I'm from. Is it...um. A dangerous profession?"

A unified planetary government means that wars within Arraka'ar itself are few and far between since the Revolution. Civil unrest is always possible, but there's been nothing serious within Rondo's lifetime, which means the military is entirely devoted to defense of the planet and its colonies. There are mages in the military just the same as there are in most other professions, but they would be force-mages, elementalists, maybe healers, and would bear the same ranks as their nonmagical counterparts.

The familiar darting past visibly distracts him, and he blinks after it for a moment. There will be Questions later. Especially when he gets a better look at it, because like many of his kind, he's frightened of dogs.

"...um." What was he about to say? "Oh! Yes! Well, traditionally every elf gets a lantern as a birth gift. It's symbolic. And then you light the twin lantern from yours and your partner's, when you wed, and hang it on the wall of the home with the rest of the family lights. Desert elves are more adherent; most of the people I know just light theirs on holidays, but either way it's a symbol of your life, and sharing it with another person."

"I assume you don't have your own birth lanterns, but...well, you can adapt it." He was careful to get a lantern without holy symbols for them, and with a more human-influenced design. A real traditionalist would be horrified.

He smiles when Jim appears, a little relieved even if it does mean there are two people looming over him now. "You're welcome! I hadn't been in the Nexus in a while anyway--oh, wow, I bet I look different this time around, don't I?"

It hadn't occurred to him until now that Jim hasn't even seen him properly yet.