<span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><span style="font-size: 15px">(Sounds like a plan to me! I'm just gonna time skip to the next morning with him getting ready to meet Lydia out in the gardens with Ayaan, but if you wanna do something different just lemme know and I can change my response!)<br/>
<br/>
Sebastian stared after Ayaan with an odd mix of emotion. He wasn't exactly surprised at Ayaan fleeing, but his outburst was a little startling, and he was definitely disappointed, but in the end he just felt bad for pushing him too far. He could understand where it had come from, why he was so averse to furthering their interactions. Sebastian didn't think he'd misinterpreted the signals Ayaan was giving off. But then again, he barely knew the boy. <br/>
<br/>
He sighed and sank down into the water until his nose was covered, lifting a hand to push his hair back from his forehead. What had he gotten himself into?<br/>
</span></span><br/><div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><span style="font-size: 15px">***</span></span>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><span style="font-size: 15px">The next morning, Sebastian awoke from a fitful sleep, which was fairly usual for him. If he slept the whole night through, without a single nightmare to plague him, it was a miracle. Friends often joked that he'd have a far improved attitude if only he could get a good night's sleep. Sebastian was almost inclined to agree sometimes. He was much grumpier in the mornings, which he supposed would make sense if their theory was to be believed. <br/>
<br/>
Sleep tugged at his limbs as he went about his morning routine, urging him back into the bed. He couldn't shake the exhaustion until he was full clothed, all his weapons back on his person, and moving down the hallway towards the exit that would lead him to the gardens. A servant - notably not Ayaan - had been the one to wake him that morning and informed him that Miss Lydia would be waiting in the gardens for their session within the next hour or so. Of course, this had only encouraged Sebastian to take his time getting out of bed, clothing himself, reattaching all his weapons, and making the bed. <br/>
<br/>
The lady could wait. Sebastian felt no inclination to appease her in the slightest. And she was indeed waiting, rather impatiently, when he found her in the heart of the gardens. She sat in a chair too ornate for the outdoors, smoking a long pipe with a glass of what looked like wine dangling from her free hand. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at that; it felt a little early to be drinking, but he held his tongue. Lady Lydia raised both eyebrows back at him, her lips curling with distaste. <br/>
<br/>
"You appear to be a fan of making me into an impatient woman," she noted, uncrossing her legs and sitting straighter. She set her glass down on the table beside her and took a long drag from her pipe. "And my slave is skittish this morning. Whatever you did to him, that will be punishment enough. If he is not focused, it will be harder to show you the full extent of what I can do with him."<br/>
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Sebastian was unimpressed with her threats. He knew she wanted him to defend himself, to claim that he hadn't done anything and in doing so, reveal that he had. Instead, he casted a glance around the gardens and frowned at the distinct like of Ayaan anywhere in sight. "Where is the boy?" he asked gruffly. He thought of adding that Ayaan really couldn't show them anything if he wasn't there to do it, but again held his tongue. He didn't want to piss off the snake; only to make annoy it. <br/>
<br/>
"I told him not to come until you'd been out here for a while. There are some things I'd like to discuss without him." <br/>
<br/>
Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the woman. He didn't like the sound of that. It felt like she had an advantage over him, which made him feel like he was backed into a corner. Sebastian was not a fan of being backed into corners. He thought for a moment about what she could possibly want to tell him that she wouldn't want the boy to know. And then it occurred to him: maybe she needed to inform him of something the boy already didn't know, so he would not slip up and reveal it to him. Sebastian's confused expression shifted into a glare. <br/>
<br/>
"He does not know he is an Accendo."<br/>
<br/>
Lydia shrugged as though this was no big deal, waving her pipe through the air. "He knows that I like him around when I work; that's all he need ever know. In other words, I want to keep it that way. Are we clear?" <br/>
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Sebastian shook his head. "I don't think so. Your block is likely because he doesn't know. If we tell him what he can do, he can focus his energies better and use them to help you unlock your second gift."<br/>
<br/>
Lydia laughed, clear and high pitched. It made Sebastian's ears ring uncomfortably. "Oh, dear brute. The boy is not the problem, I am. He has already helped me unlock my Undus abilities on top my natural Ventus gifts. I am seeking my third in the practice of Tellus, which is why I called you."<br/>
<br/>
Sebastian's usual mask of indifference cracked, for a brief moment, under his shock. He stared at Lydia with wide, disbelieving eyes. He'd heard of an Accendo helping someone gain a second ability, if they worked hard enough together, but usually an Accendo just helped increase a person's power. There was no way Ayaan would be able to give her a third gift. But in the letter, it implied that she'd been able to accomplish the basics in Tellus. It was the advanced stuff she was still having trouble with. But how? How could an Accendo be that powerful? Sebastian couldn't believe it until he'd seen it. <br/>
<br/>
"Show me," he demanded, his face settling back into a scowl. <br/>
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Lydia remained unintimidated and unimpressed, waving her pipe through the air dismissively once again. "When the boy gets here, I will. In the meantime, sit. Have breakfast." She gestured to the seat on the other side of the small table. <br/>
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Sebastian eyed it warily for a moment before reluctantly moving forward. He left the food untouched though. He didn't like eating in front of people, especially people like Lydia. He felt it left him exposed and vulnerable, preferring to do it in private without the watchful gazes of those around him. He would eat when he had a moment alone. Besides, he was too anxious for Ayaan's arrival - for a multitude of reasons - to eat. Sebastian turned his gaze back towards the building, watching and waiting for the servant boy to arrive. </span></span>