"Cecil-!"<br/><br/>A soft, silvery laugh pealed from Arisa Ortensia's silky throat, the air caressing her snow-white hair; Her lissome legs crossing with a supple<em>scrape</em>of smooth stockings, a hand coming to rest on her curvy hip - Those striking crimson eyes settling on him, as her lips curved in a half-smile.<br/><br/>His senses were getting sharper. That was good.<br/><br/><em>He's improving, and *fast*,</em>she thought, as she ran slim fingers through her pale hair - Her schoolbag's strap resting against her slim shoulder, as she favored him with a warm smile. In her (rather fetching) blue and white school uniform, the lovely exchange student made for quite the alluring figure...Carrying herself with a dancer's easy grace.<br/><br/>She'd come right from swim practice, but you'd never know it to look at her...Arisa's lissome form entirely at ease, as fresh as if she'd just woken up.<br/><br/>"Did I keep you waiting?" she asked, her gaze alighting on the book he'd been reading - She made no comment, though her smile became a shade warmer, a trifle more approving!<br/><br/>-Even after all this, she couldn't<em>believe</em>he was *the* one. The one the Order had been seeking, all this time; the last descendant (Or was it the reincarnation? The Gospel was more than a little spotty, there) of Hermes Trismegistus, the Thrice-Great - The Unifier, the Inheritor...<br/><br/>The Chosen One.<br/><br/>When the Order had chosen<em>her</em>, Arisa had starkly aware of the honor - *And* the responsibility. At any one time - For centuries! - the Order had the Knights out in the field, scattered around the globe, on their eternal mission to slay the demons that plagued Man...And, of course, to find the Inheritor. There'd been many failures, but plenty of successes, too-<br/><br/>...But none of them had found the One. Ever.<br/><br/>Except now, Arisa was beginning to believe that - Just maybe...<br/><br/><em>"Test him,"</em>the Order had told her.<em>"To his very limits. His strength. His spirit. His will. Only then will he be ready - Only then can we be *sure*."</em><br/><br/>And *that*, to Arisa's mind, was just fine with her! Oh, she'd done as she'd instructed, all right - She'd found...to her surprise *and* her consternation...that the city was teeming with demons. All right, every city was...But this one,<em>especially</em>so. There was never any shortage of targets...If she'd been alone, she'd have had her hands full!<br/><br/>Except - to her own surprise - she'd *liked* this. She'd been here for less than a full month, and - Arisa had to admit - it was so much *better* than her life with the Order. No more stern regimes of prayer, alchemically-infused food, meditation and brutal sparring to clear the mind of all distractions...No, for the very first time, she was free to go where she wanted. Do what she wanted. She could do...<em>anything</em>.<br/><br/>The thought still made her a little giddy, as she slipped her satchel from her shoulder, drawing a deep breath. This routine was almost-familiar, now...It came so *easily* to her. She'd sent him after relatively minor demons, carefully - and oh-so-slowly - escalating things. For now, he still needed her help, but...He was learning *fast*. While he still needed her touch to bring forth his spiritual weapon - He'd learnt, in mere weeks, what it'd taken her *years* to grasp!<br/><br/>At any other time, Arisa would've been jealous. But now? At this moment? She had *no* complaints. In fact...This was almost *fun*-!<br/><br/>Arisa let her expression turn serious, all the same, as she slipped the satchel from her slim shoulder...She'd put a map of the city in it, carefully marking out the problem area - His test for the day. A nest of minor demons - For the first time, she could feel a tingle of trepidation at her fingertips...<br/><br/>-Because she'd been ordered to see if he could fend for<em>himself</em>.<br/><br/>"Cecil," she said, softly - "There's trouble."<br/><br/>They were settling into a routine, now?<em>More demons?</em>he'd ask, or something like that - She'd nod, and lay it out for him...Stressing the importance of their mission, the *good* they were doing.<br/><br/>And after all - Wasn't that what mattered?<br/><br/>Arisa's brow furrowed, ever-so-slightly, as she concentrated - Doing her best to recall the details. Scrying was *hardly* her specialty...But she needed to give the Chosen One a clear picture of what she'd seen!