Val had heard the name before, but he had no idea where. He didn't really pay attention to reputations and the like. He nodded though, at the name Asterrio.<br/>He took notice of the slightly mangled cuff of the other man's thick coat, the faintest weathering of Ian's boots. Little things would take some concentration to fix, but nothing at all in the grand scheme. It had taken him six tries to get Annie's bridle in working condition again, the first two making it worse, the next taking it back to the condition it originally was, and the next three working on it bit by bit. Asterrio had told him that at first, his type of magic took a lot of tries to get it to work. '<i>You'll get better as you practice and grow.'</i><br/><br/>"Yeah, I know Asterrio. Come on, he's probably at the school," Val turned to look up the road. Asterrio had been alright to him in the past, letting him stay at the school in the past in exchange for fixing a few ripped books or helping him write out lessons. He side-eyed the device Ian held in his hand, the rod and orb catching Val's eyes. It looked<i>old</i>, and worth a lot of money if the embroidery at the end was any indication. Nothing indicated its value, just an old and expensive trinket that would eventually break and be required to fix.<br/><br/>"I mean, I went for a while. Mostly on and off, ya know? Mr. Asterrio though, said I had a real knack for it. This magic stuff, I mean. I liked his classes, first adult who really told me I was actually<i>good</i>at something. Said I was good at<i>memory</i>or some stuffy word like that. I didn't pay attention to what it was called, I just know I look at something and know how to fix it, and<i>boom</i>, it's fixed," Val made an explosion-type gesture with his hands to emphasize his point, looking at Ian and the other guy.<br/>He fell silent as he waited for what they would say.<i>Valentine you dumbass, you probably sound like a dweeb to them. They're from </i>White Castle.