As Nama continued to try and tidy up her office, Lauri had taken his place, sitting down on the one empty chair. Flipping through a rather large book, Lauri had been attracted to it due to the cover. Keeping his finger in the book so he wouldn't lose his place, he closed the book slightly to look at its cover.
'Ferocious Fiends and Where to Find Them. I can't imagine why anyone would want to actually find Fiends. Sick bastards.'
Opening the book again, Lauri skimmed through the names of a few Fiends.
'Grove Tender, inhabitant of the Endless Sanctuary. Lepper Eel, inhabitant of the Upturned Sea. Knight of Sickness, inhabitant of the Sickening Swamps… What is that.'
Lauri's eye's narrowed as he came across a familiar name.
'Lucent Protector, inhabitant of the Ever Dawn… Lucent… Could this be tied to the Lucent bugs, and the Ever Dawn?'
"So Lauri," Having finished with sorting out her office, Nama finally took a seat behind her desk. She had spoken wanting to begin helping Lauri with his classes, but Lauri interrupted her.
Putting the book he was holding onto the desk. Lauri pointed at the Lucent Protector's paragraph.
Trying to keep his voice calm, Lauri failed as a sense of urgency crept into his words. "Is there anything you can tell me about this?"
Looking at where his finger was pointing, Lauri sat back as Nama picked the book up, to have a closer look at the passage. As she read it, she glanced over the top of the book at Lauri with a questioning gaze.
"Why do you ask?"
Lauri shuffled in his seat.
"It just caught my eye, since my the Talents my Title provides are light related."
Keeping her focus on Lauri for a few more moments, Nama shrugged, placing the book back down.
"The Fiend you're asking about is a Lucent Protector. A very dangerous Fiend, not just because of it's power. But because of the Lucent Swarm." Casting a glance at the text on the book one more time, Nama closed the book. "The Lucent Swarm operates under a caste system, there's the Lucent Drones, Workers, Protectors, Stalkers. Really the list goes on, there's theories about there being a Lucent Queen, or King. But those are just theories, the region of the Aether that those bugs reside in is officially declared a Danger Category One Regional Sector."
Nama watched Lauri tilt his head in confusion.
"Danger Category One Regional Sector? Big words, explains very little. So I understand it is dangerous?"
Nama chuckled, "Dangerous is an understatement. The Regional index has ten ratings, any region that falls under the third, second or first classification are registered as Dead Zones, meaning it is not fit for human life. Be it the environment, the flora, or the fauna. You just had to pick one of the most dangerous. To put it simply, the Ever Dawn is a Dead Zone, because humanity is unable to make a dent in the defences of those Lucent bugs. That's mostly what's stopping humanities advance in the Aether Stream, we've mapped out all the easy places."
As Nama dryly chuckled to herself, Lauri sighed.
'Well, it seems I won't be able to find out any secrets that the Lucent Swarm may have… Pity.'
Picking up Ferocious Fiends and Where to Find Them, Nama chucked it onto a stack of books at the edge of the room. Turning back to Lauri, Nama interlaced her fingers as she lent her elbows on the table.
"Now, enough shenanigans, Lauri. Let's discuss, do you have anything in mind for your lessons?"
Rubbing the back of his head, Lauri leant back in his chair for a moment, leaning forward again, a small smile on his lips.
"I do not."
Nama blinked.
"Huh. Ok fine," Grabbing a pen and paper, she prepared to write something.
"Do you have any skills with a weapon?"
Lauri nodded, "I was trained how to use a knife in self-defence."
Nama scribbled something onto the paper.
"Do you have any knowledge on how to survive in the wilderness?"
Lauri nodded, "I was once trained by a master of wilderness survival."
Nama scribbled something else, "How well can you use your Talent?"
Lauri thought for a second, "It's not very complicated, so I think I'll be able to master it before long."
Looking at the piece of paper, Nama chewed on the cap of her pen for a moment before asking a series of questions.
"Do you have any experience with a sword or any other kind of weapon? Does your knowledge of wilderness survival extend to building a fire, starting a fire, keeping the fire going, cooking food over a fire and gathering water and lastly. Is your Talent strong in offence or defence?"
Rubbing his chin as he thought of how to respond. Lauri took a deep breath.
"My few experiences with a sword are all rather negative, yes, yes, yes, somewhat yes and yes, my Talent is somewhat offensive focused, but I can think of ways it could be used in a defensive manner."
Lauri was of course referring to how his Talent [Light's Edge] could be used in an offensive way to make things like a replica of his dagger, swords and no doubt other bladed weaponry. Lauri had an idea that it could also be used in a defensive way, like being used to create a shield.
Writing what Lauri had said down onto her piece of paper, Nama paused, rereading a section of the paper, she scribbled it out writing something next to it. Placing the paper down, she looked at Lauri.
"I think… Yes, I think you shouldn't worry about taking any classes that have to do with combat. As you don't even know the basics of swordplay starting now would only take away from the time you could put into other classes, you know the basics and maybe more to wilderness survival and with only a month left until the Summer Equinox, as Rel said. You should use your time, wisely."
Staring back at Nama, Lauri frowned slightly, resting his hands on his knees.
"But, um, surely I should learn something about how to wield a sword, right? If I can't even defend myself, what's the point in knowing how to survive the wilderness? I might as well serve myself up on a silver platter to the very first Fiend I see."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Reclining in her chair, Nama held her hands up. "You should have faith in your instincts. You survived your Penumbra right, of course you did, you wouldn't be sitting in front of me if you didn't. So have more faith, Lauri."
Lauri's eyes narrowed.
'Penumbra, there's that word again. First Rel mentioned it, and now Nama. Is there a way I can learn about these concepts, like a book or something?'
Although Nama had been only kind and courteous to Lauri, he still couldn't bring himself to trust this woman. Her bright green eyes filled him with a certain uncomfortable feeling he couldn't quite describe. No matter how kind she was, she was still one of Yang's underlings.
'Sorry, Nama, you don't seem to be an Indebted, but I still can't trust you.'
Unaware of Lauri's dark thoughts, Nama brightly smiled as he reached for another blank sheet of lined paper.
"Now, let's discuss how I think you should be spending your time. Over the next month."