Dreaming, or waking up? (open)

[Koty Hura]

With a grin and a nod, Koty gestured off their current course and toward the student dorms. Surely it would be alright to have a.. culinary study partner in the boys dorms, at least for a while.. right? Meh. He'd take responsibility if anyone took issue with it. He was more likely to be in trouble for his knives than for his study partner. "Very well. I ensure you my room is clean, safe, and I have first-aid supplies in the case of unfortunate circumstances, though we will exercise caution first and foremost."

He pondered the lineup he should put together for her.. He didn't have anything with peanut butter.. and peanut sauce.. well.. wasn't anything like peanut butter. It was most often spicy and red. Did Anthy like spicy foods? Could she even handle wasabi or pickled ginger? Spicy tuna with duck sauce could be.. pretty crazy.. Better to ask than to hope and assume.

"Are you familiar with, and do you enjoy spicy foods, Anthy? Several of my dishes can be made spicy or non.. and those that are made spicy.. 'pack quite a punch' as they say. I would not want to turn you away from sushi by creating the wrong dishes for you to sample." Few truer words had been spoken. Ever. The last thing Koty wanted to do was scare someone away because 'holy shit this is really hot need milk running away now bye'...

Yeah, they would start with salmon nigiri.. then move on to tuna with light wasabi.. Anthy could try out chopsticks.. Then pickled veggies and sour plums.. and then maybe onto spicy tuna or heavier wasabi selections.. That was at least she would know what she was getting into and could have experienced more ahead of time if spiciness was simply too much.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

She was smiling up until he mentioned the first aid supplies in case of unfortunate circumstances. When he brought that up, her eyes widened and she blinked a couple of times in surprise. Unfortunate.... circumstances..? Was it very dangerous to make sushi? She smiled and shook it off though. She trusted that everything would be alright. Like he had said, they'd be careful.

"Probably good, seeing how I have my clumsy moments." She joked with a soft giggle.

She tipped her head a little to the side when Koty asked her about if she liked spicy foods and went to telling her that several of the things they might be making could be made either spicy or not. Then, she smiled a little more at how nice he was being by being concerned about giving her a good experience so she wouldn't be turned away from it later down the line.

"I haven't actually had much int he way of spicy flavours, but I think I might have liked it. So, I'll try anything that you've got in mind." She told him, looking forward to the experience.

[Koty Hura]

"Excellent. We will start small, then, and work our way up." Koty would give Anthy a very brief rundown of what wasabi was, what soy sauce was, and how both were typically used.. That being that wasabi was most often included in the item if it was intended to be there, and soy was at the discretion of the person eating the sushi, but very often used. He would explain rice balls, tofu, pickled veggies, the difference between california style rolls and traditional, why sushi rice was important (because it was the right amount of sticky) and the texture difference between cooked and uncooked meat.. or at least that the texture itself was different.. as well as touch on how with today's refrigeration systems, how rare it was for a person to end up with food poisoning.. just in case Anthy was worried about raw fish.

As they approached the dorms, though, Koty would turn his conversation in a different direction. "If you would not mind.. I am curious about the other friends you have found. Who are they? What are they like? How did you come across them? I am afraid that I may not be the most adept at making friends myself.. I wonder if I could learn something from your endeavors."

[Anthy Blacksmith]

She smiled when he told her that they would start small and work their way up. That was good. As, if they just went right to it, she would have likely gotten lost and forgotten things. Anthy listened attentively as Koty began to explain the different things to her, her trying to take as many mental notes as possible. There were a couple of things she was pretty sure that she would need to ask him again, but from how he had been so far, she had the feeling that he would be patient with her and repeat those things to her again if she needed him to. She appreciated that about him.

When they began to go in a direction she hadn't gone before as far as dorms, she didn't just pause due to his asking her about the different friends she had made, but because she realised that they were on their way to the all boy's part of the school and she wasn't too sure on how alright it might have been to go... But Koty would know what he was doing, right? Maybe... maybe it was alright? Both Lucas and Matt had talked about possibly going to the all girl's part, so there was that... Anthy hadn't really read the rules fully, never having thought to. Well, not on this anyways.

"Well, there is Lucas, he was the first one I made after you. I wouldn't suggest that you meet people the way I did him though, as it was kind of an awkward first impression." She told him with an embarrassed smile and a giggle.

"I was trying to get away from a bee, and ended up tripping over him at the lake and both of us ending up in it." She explained with another giggle.

"Then, came Matt. His tabs had been caught up by the wind and I caught them for him and we started talking from there and he even showed me how to play the guitar. He's actually giving me lessons now and that's where the guitar hobby came from. The piano came from Lucas as he started giving me lessons with that too. funny enough, they're both in the same band." She explained.

"Then, Piper. She was the first out of the girls I met since my quest for friendships. She more of met me than me meeting her, as I was in the lounge reading when she came to ask me about her ears and if they matched. She's a shape shifter and had made her ears cute and pointy like an elf's. Marnie, I met just the other day. I was trying to charge up as this cold I just got over, had me sneezing a lot and each sneeze came with a flash. I'm still pretty tired out from that, as you could probably tell from me having been asleep out in the courtyard." She said with a slight blush.

"And Julien, he doesn't go to Hammel. I met him on my first and only trip off of Hammel Property, at the pet store." Anthy said.

"As far as how each were like.... Ummm... hmmmm.... Well, Lucas is impulsive but he's got more going on with him than he lets most people see. He sometimes goes a little bit overboard but he's trying to work on that and he wants to help me learn control over my ability even if he likes my glowing. Matt is nice too, he was a little... bothered... by my glowing but he cared enough about the friendship enough to push past that. Piper, she's pretty impulsive too, and confident and outgoing. Marnie was more laid back, and she has an Aunt she told me about that has Bioluminesence. Julien, he was pretty shy, but didn't let it over-rule him."

She bit her lip for a moment before she spoke again.

"So.... it's alright for me to be in the all boys dorms?"

[Koty Hura]

Koty's brows had raised in curiosity when Anthy had mentioned that Lucas had been met under odd circumstances, and he'd gone wide-eyed when she'd explained, covering his mouth with a hand to stifle a laugh. Falling into a lake with someone while running from a bee... Deifnitely an awkward first impression. Worse than the one he'd made with Axelle, for sure. At least they'd both stayed dry.

Matt seemed to be much more convenient of a relationship.. Help someone out, stay and chat.. Guitar lessons? Nice. Koty didn't play any instruments, but he was pretty good with a bow staff as well as a katana.. if those were allowed on campus. Perhaps he could speak with Meian-sensei to see if there was a place he could keep such things and practice with them. He was surely getting rusty by now. But Matt and Lucas were in the same band? Odd coincidence.. but neat.

Piper had apparently been met while Anthy was actively questing for companionship of the plutonic sort. Or.. not so active.. but she'd been the first, apparently, to initiate the relationship. That must have been both anxiety-inducing and very welcome at the same time. Someone actually coming to her instead of the other way around. And Piper had an interesting ability as well. Marnie had come after.. and Anthy had come down with a cold recently as well. Koty was sorry he hadn't known. He had some wonderful tea recipes he could have shared that likely would have at least helped her feel a bit better. Koty grinned at the fact that he had, in fact, run across Anthy while she was asleep with a sandwich in hand in the courtyard.

And a boy named Julien who was a non-meta. Apparently he worked at the pet store. Hm. Perhaps a pet would be a good thing for Koty? He should look into it. Something small, easy to look after, and intelligent enough to be interesting or trainable or at least affectionate. Maybe something like a rat or a bird? ...Maybe later.

A red flag waved in the breeze but didn't quite raise as Anthy explained that Lucas was impulsive and apparently a bit complicated.. and that he went overboard and wanted to help her control her ability... But if Matt was nice 'too' the Lucas was apparently nice? Despite being impulsive and going overboard.. Matt also took issue with Anthy's ability but.. was willing to overlook it? Was it bioluminescence on it's own or was it her being a meta in general? Piper sounded.. interesting. Marnie more chill.. and was the connection Anthy now had to a fellow bioluminescent. That was good. Common ground or at least not feeling completely alone was good. Julien was shy but made things work.. which made Koty think of Anthy herself.

And then questions about the dorm. Koty got a bit of a blush and blinked before shrugging. "I certainly hope so. I am under the impression that the rules regarding gender separation have more to do with curfew. It does not seem entirely reasonable that a female friend is not allowed to even visit my dorm during normal hours.. or that I would be forbidden to visit hers should the need or desire arise." He paused, realizing that they were basically at his dorm now. Anthy talking so much was.. refreshing. It was also a very welcome and pleasant distraction. One that Koty had been sorely missing from his daily life lately and hadn't realized until now.

"You have a very pleasant voice, Anthy. You are.. very easy to listen to. Thank you for sharing." And he came to a stop, opening the door to his dorm and ushering Anthy graciously inside before leading her to his room.

Koty's rom was painted a calming deep blue color with slightly darker baseboards and trim. He had a deep, earthy colored desk and bed. The desk to the right of the door and the bed across from it. Next to the desk was his mini fridge, and on top of this sat his rice cooker. His bedspread and pillowcase were a similar deep blue to his walls and the desk had a simple brass lamp on it. The closet door was open and on the floor was a mat.. this was where Koty meditated when he didn't feel like leaving the room to do so. Above the bed was a shelf with several books, some in Japanese, others in English..

He went immediately to the fridge, withdrawing several packages containing what appeared to be different kinds of fish, setting them on his desk before dumping a few bottles of water into the rice cooker and pouring rice in from a bag he'd gotten from a desk drawer.. He then opened the center drawer and withdrew a fancy-looking cloth that was rolled up, setting this down and unrolling it. Inside it were three very nice-looking, very expensive knives.. Visible in the drawer, if Anthy looked, were two different wetstones in tupperware trays full of water, as well as a sushi roller covered in plastic wrap.

"The most important tools for a sushi chef are his or her knives. Generally each has a purpose, but for now we will simply see which you are most comfortable holding." He withdrew all three knives, treating them with the utmost respect and almost reverence as he withdrew them from the cloth and showed them to her one at a time. "This is a nine-inch blade with a twenty-three degree bevel.. Damascus steel, thick, with a durable cutting edge. It is most often used for fileting whole fish and I do not use it often." He placed it down and took the next, holding this one up for her to get a better look, the flat of thd blade resting on his palm as he gently held the handle. "Nine-inch twelve-degree bevel. A more typical sushi knife.. A steel alloy that reduces weight and adds a small amount of flex to the blade. This knife is extremely sharp and simply dragging the unweighted blade across your skin would require a trip to the infirmary." The third knife had a curved cutting edge and was shorter. "This knife is most often used for preparing vegetables or other cuts in preparation for sushi, but will work adequately for our purposes. It has a blade just shy of seven inches in length, a curved cutting edge, has a ten degree bevel, and is much lighter and more maneuverable than either of the other two. If you wish to practice, I would recommend you try this knife first. It is also extremely sharp and requires the utmost respect and caution, exactly the same as with any tool or weapon."

He would hold the knife out to Anthy, if she was willing to take it, showing her exactly how to hold it, going so far as to gently position her fingers correctly so she could get a feel for the weight and balance of the blade.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

As Koty told her what he believed the rules were and why he believed them to be as such, she felt a little less nervous about going to the all boys dorm with him. The rules at the boarding school she had used to go to two years before Hammel, had been extremely strict so she guessed that she was still kind of getting used to more laxed rules even if she had lived at Hammel for two years. Back at the boarding school, if it had been no boys allowed, it would have been no boys at any time. But then again, it had been an all girl's school too. But still.

He was bringing her thoughts back to the present time and location. As he complimented her on her voice by telling her that it was pleasant and telling her she was very easy to listen to, she blushed and wasn't really sure on what to say. No one had complimented her on her voice before, never mind thanking her for sharing.

"Um.... uh... Thank you." It was all she could really think of to say, and it was followed by a shy smile.

As they entered his dorm room, Anthy looked around, taking in the sight. It was pretty different from the girls dorms, but at the same time there were enough similarities to make sure that it didn't look like it belonged to a whole different building or something. She also noticed how tidy the room was. As Koty moved to the mini fridge though, she began to pay more attention to what he was doing, moving a little closer so she could see everything. The set up of it was something she hadn't spotted in other fridges before.

Almost fluidly, Koty was moving from one spot to another to set up everything they would need for the sushi lesson and Anthy tried to keep in mind everything that was going on. Oh how she wished she had better memory skills right now. But, the skills she had, would have to do for the time being.

As Koty began to explain the knives, it was a little easier as she had a verbal explanation to what was going on and what was involved. Anthy tended to learn better that way for some reason. As he told her about each knife and their uses as well as warnings for them, she nodded a little. Then, as he held the knife he most suggested for her, she almost delicately accepted it holding it in the way he was guiding her to.

"If you think this is the best one to start with, then I'll go with this one. And don't worry, I'll try to be careful." She replied with a smile.

She tried to get the feel of the wright of the knife as well as remembering to have respect towards it's sharpness so not to have any accidents.

[Koty Hura]

Koty would give Anthy a deep nod.. Very serious when it came to knives or blades as he was. They were to be respected and cared for, not simply used. He would coach her gently through little safety tips that would help her avoid cutting herself if she followed them, then finally moved on to actually showing her how to hold the knives on the cutting board, where her fingers on her off hand needed to be, how to lead the blade wit her knuckles.. and eventually would have her very finely chop some scallions.. just to get her comfortable with the blade. Besides, they made a pretty enough garnish. He'd have her go very slowly and deliberately, pushing her gently to make her slices thinner and thinner so she could understand how thin good knives were capable of cutting, how little effort they required.. and how much they deserved the respect that he gave them.

Once the scallions were good to go, he would unwrap some of the fish.. In this case, tuna.. skillfully and quickly separating it into useable portions that they could then focus on cutting. He would go through one of the portions, showing Anthy the angle he worked at, how he ensured that there was no chance of being cut, the difference between a sushi roll cut and that for nigiri, how she should always ensure that the blade traveled in one smooth arc and never started or stopped once it was touching the fish.. only the gentlest of pressure guiding it through the meat, only ever touching the side of the blade....

And at some point the rice cooker would have gotten done (quick little thing) and Koty would put in some rice vinegar with it and mix it well, showing Anthy how to portion rice by eye for both nigiri and sushi.. eventually getting through into making standard and california rolls and using the shushi roller. Koty was a calm, patient, and gentle teacher. Sushi was a bit of a passion to him, and it was so rare that someone was interested enough in it to brave the risks..

Once they'd made several practice rolls and nigiri servings, he would explain pickled ginger and wasabi to her.. putting progressively larger dabs of wasabi on several of the nigiri servings they'd made. Finally, he filled a small dish most of the way with soy sauce and showed Anthy the proper way to eat sushi nigiri.. which to Koty was with one's fingers. Dip in soy sauce, cover any drips with a hand beneath, guide to mouth, eat whole.. Enjoy the hell out of.

Of course, at this point he was open to any and all questions Anthy had. He'd been very serious and to the point especially during their work with the knives, and was now finally seeming more relaxed. Now was a taste session. Now talk was fair game.. When one's mouth wasn't full, of course.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

Anthy was silent the whole time that Koty was explaining and showing things to her, following his instructions to the best of her ability. Sure, she wasn't sure on if it was all going to stick in this one lesson, but it would be nice to try to get the most that she could get from it so she could remember a majority of it for the next lesson if he would give her another one. She had the feeling that he might if she asked him, but that didn't mean that she was going to take this time around for granted. No, Anthy planned on doing her best. That was why she was so careful when she copied him. Even if it was almost startling how sharp the knife she was using was. Seriously, some of those slices of the scallions had been almost paper thin, if not exactly paper thin.

And the way the blade just cleanly moved through the fish. It was amazing. She hadn't actually paused while slicing through them, but she almost had had the reflex to due to the surprise even after having seen the knife in action with the scallion slicing. Anthy was kind of glad that Koty had done the portioning and such though, as she had no idea that picking out the parts to use was so complicated. Seeing how complex each step was gave her another level of respect for the dish.

Her favorite part had to have been the portioning of the rice and the rolling. It was just fun, she supposed. Though, she tried to keep a straight face while doing it. Well, she still ended up smiling, but she managed to not smile so much to the point of making it seem like she was playing around, she hoped. And when they got to the preparation part, like the part that came before eating it, she couldn't help but to feel a bit excited.

She was just about to thank Koty for teaching her this and to tell him that everything looked great but only ended up blushing instead when her stomach growled, one of her hands going over it while the other covered her mouth in a surprised manner. With her cheeks still a little red, she lowered her hands again and took a breath before speaking.

"I think what my stomach was trying to say is, this looks and smells great. Thank you Koty, for teaching me how to do this all." She said, smiling at him cheerfully.

When it seemed like the best time to try a taste, she picked up a piece carefully with her fingertips like she had been shown and placed it whole in her mouth. It took about the count of three for her eyes to suddenly widen and her hand came quickly up to cover her mouth as she gave a soft inward squeak. She was fanning herself with her other hand. It had been the wasabi. When she had thought spicy, she hadn't thought that it would be a cold kind of hot that would rush into the nose all of the sudden. She kept chewing though, even as she tried to contain giggles and once her mouth was empty she giggled more freely.

"Oh that was wonderful!" She exclaimed.

It hadn't lingered, and though it had been intense it had been pretty fun too. Even if she had been speckled with pinpricks of light that had moved over her skin before disappearing again.

[Koty Hura]

Koty had grinned an honest grin when Anthy's stomach growled, giving her a small bow at her praise. "You are most welcome, but your praise is hardly necessary. I should thank you for your interest, your trust, and your efforts. I have yet to meet another student who was interested in more than simply eating sushi. I must admit that your interest continues to be.. refreshing." And it was. Seriously, if we were to break character for a moment, Anthy was some ultra-shy white-beyond-white chick.. who here recently had not only started learning guitar and piano, but just now, literally mere moments ago, made some very respectable bits of sushi. Or.. well.. her rolls could still use quite a bit of practice, but she was notably proficient at portioning and rolling rice. Her nigiri was more than serviceable. It was.. well.. very nearly on par with Koty's. Fantastic for someone who had never even eaten nigiri before.

As they nommed, Koty's eyes went a bit wide and he had to fight to stifle a chuckle when Anthy got her first taste of wasabi and reacted in a way that.. he could only describe as perfectly fitting herself. When she finally got the mouthful down and verbally confirmed that she had indeed enjoyed the experience, Koty couldn't quite contain himself, smiling and not quite avoiding a small snort. "I am more than glad that you approve, Anthy. Wasabi and horseradish are among my favorite spicy things and I am only glad that I am able to share the experience with you." Koty picked up another piece - one of the ones Anthy had made, no less - dipped it in his soy and nommed, swallowing and following up with a pleased sigh.

"You take instruction remarkably well, Anthy. I am not a master sushi chef, but I am notably impressed with how quickly you seem to have picked up several of the skills I shared with you. If you truly enjoy sushi and are willing to practice, I have complete faith that you will find yourself a very capable chef in the future. --A sushi chef's work does not end until he or she has prepared their tools for the following day, though. Please enjoy your fill, you have more than earned it, and when your stomach finds itself satiated and no longer in the mood for conversation I will show you how to sharpen your blade." Koty grinned again. This was, generally, about as far as Koty ever got where 'good natured teasing' was concerned.

Sharpening didn't need to happen just now, though. Or.. at all, really. It could happen another time. Given the relatively small amount of work Koty's knives had done today, they would likely be alright without a sharpening so long as they underwent a thorough cleaning. Between them, Koty and Anthy had half a dozen sushi rolls and another dozen or so pieces of nigiri.. More than a meal for the two of them. If Anthy was such a fan of Wasabi, Koty would keep it coming, enjoying it right along with her.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

Initially her stomach growling had been a bit embarrassing but it ended up being something that caused amusement to the both of them it seemed as she spotted Koty's grin in response to the sound. As he went to giving a bow and telling her that she was welcome before going on to tell her that her praise wasn't really necessary, she wasn't exactly sure on how to respond. What did people do when someone bowed at them? Would bowing back be a good thing, or would it be looked at as something silly if it was done at the wrong time? Anthy just kind of ended up standing there smiling a little before blushing at his comment about thanking her and his compliments.

"Oh.. I... That is... I guess I just like learning new things? And this is really interesting. I'm just glad that I was okay with it. But then again, I have a good teacher, so there's that." She told him, the flattery having caused her to stumble over her words a little at first but things smoothing out at the end.

As they began eating and she had her first wasabi experience, it seemed to amuse him as well. If she hadn't known any better, she might have thought he had almost been about to laugh. This just made her giggle a little more before she nodded in an agreement to his comment about being glad that they could share the experience. She was glad too. Not only was it something new and exciting, but it was a nice bonding experience with a friend. Anthy did take mental notes about his likes though, hoping to remember them for later as she carefully picked out another piece to enjoy.

Koty went to causing her to blush again by giving her more compliments about how well she learned and she tried not to glow from it. It started happening anyways though, causing those already warm spots on her body to heat up more. The burns hadn't healed yet, despite it having been a week. Sure, the majority of it had faded into what looked like a tan, but the worse parts she kept covered up with her long sleeves and pants, were still bad enough to need bandages and ointment and were still pretty sensitive to stronger than normal temperatures even if she had gotten used to moving around, sitting and laying. It didn't stop her from smiling in amusement when Koty commented on her stomach's mood for conversation though, even if she didn't quite giggle. She hid the discomfort the best that she could, hoping that he wouldn't notice.

"I think I'd like that. Learning how to prepare for the next day, that is. Can't skip out with the work not done after all." She told him with a bright smile now that the glowing, and the burn that came with it, had passed.

She then went to squeaking softly again at the next wasabi blast she exposed her mouth and sinus to, enjoying every moment of it.

[Koty Hura]

Unfortunately (or maybe very fortunately?) for Anthy, Koty was pretty observant. He always payed close attention to the faces of westerners.. Their faces were so often insanely easy to read. Anthy's spoke of amusement as well as a hint of worry.. possibly even pain. Like she was enjoying herself but was maybe trying to hide some sort of discomfort? At the very least, Koty was relatively sure it wasn't his company that was causing it.. Which left Anthy either being sore (from exertion or from her cold) or.. um.. Well, he didn't honestly know about the limits of her ability of that she could glow bring enough that she could cause herself harm. So the thought didn't even occur to him. It was cool out.. it didn't seem odd for someone to wear long sleeves and pants. Heck, Koty himself was wearing long sleeves and pants. He always did.

So in short, he had no idea what was wrong or where Anthy's seeming discomfort had come from. He could see her fingers. He knew she hadn't cut herself making sushi.. Half of his lesson had been about safety and how to avoid that very thing. He'd ask momentarily.. "Alright. I will give the abbreviated lesson, as the use of my knives has been minimal and they have not been misused."

Koty would move everything on his desk to the side, making an open area in the center of it, then placing one of the wetstones from the drawer on the desk still in it's tupperware. "This is a wetstone.. it is for polishing and sharpening. I have two. One-thousand grit and four-thousand grit. The higher the number, the smoother the stone. One starts with lower numbers and works their way higher. As long as a knife is treated properly and sharpened often, a sushi knife should not need lower than one-thousand grit to sharpen, and four-thousand to polish the edge."

He removed his gloves and beckoned Anthy closer as he removed the lower grit stone from it's watery resting place, more or less asking her to lean over in front of him so he could position her hands correctly. If she did, he would give her the correct grip on the handle of the knife, then place her fingers in the correct spot on the flat of the blade, using her hands to guide the knife instead of his own so she could get a good idea of pressure and force. He would show her how to bring the knife up past the edge in order to feel it bite into the stone then relax it back down to ensure her angle was optimal, no matter what angle the blade was sharpened at... and all the while he would gently be attempting to decipher what had made her look uncomfortable earlier as his skin touched hers.. without making it obvious he'd peeked into her mind.

Presumably, whatever was uncomfortable aught to be close to the forefront and easy enough to get a sneak peek at.. but if anything else happened to be there, he would likely get a glimpse of that as well, all while keeping Anthy focused on the knife in her hands and favoring the entire place rather than any one part of it. Even sharpening was as important as frequent sharpening, after all..

[Anthy Blacksmith]

Anthy smiled when Koty told her that he would give her a lesson, even if he had said it would be an abbreviated one, and went to quickly finishing the morsel she happened to have been eating at the moment of his speech as she was eager to learn. Yes, despite her lack of social participation in class and such, the teachers she had had in the past did seem to like her due to her liking to pick up on things. Maybe it was spill-over from her wanting to please people? She didn't know. Anthy did get genuine pleasure out of learning new things though, so it wasn't completely people pleasing or the urge to do so that drove her.

She watched on with curiosity as Koty moved everything to the side to clear a space on the desk and blinked a couple of times at a tupperware that seemed to contain a rectangular block in it, on the space. As he explained that it was something called a wetstone, she tipped her head a little to the side until he went on to telling her it was used for sharpening and polishing. So... it was kind of like a file? She wasn't exactly sure on what grit was, but she took in the information he told her about the significance of the lower and higher numbers and hoped she would remember it later.

"Is there a reason why the stone's kept in water?" She asked him even as she moved to where he seemed to want her to go to.

As silly as it was, she wondered if it was something like trying to keep sparks down during the sharpening or something. Though, was that a silly thought? She didn't know. Anthy tried to relax as she did when Matt posed her with the guitar or when Lucas posed her on the piano, trying to offer the least amount of resistance so to be postured and moved easily while trying to pay attention to what he was having her do so she could try to repeat it later on her own without messing it up too much hopefully.

As Koty went sifting through her surface thoughts, he would have come across thoughts mainly of that, but lingering thoughts about the not so comfort of the still healing flash burns. Sure, the majority had faded to a tan in a way, but the parts that had been really bad were still tender when it came to temperatures and some movements. And the bandages were a bit itchy. But neither of those compared to how guilty she kept feeling each time she was aware of any of that.

Anthy tried not to show her guilt just like she tried not to show her discomfort, but it was there. She felt like she should have been able to control it, or at least should have been able to get away from Matt in time to not burn him too. He likely still had those hand prints on him... What if Lucas hasn't let go that time? What if he had held on even longer than he had that first time? Would she have burned him too? She kept trying to not think about it, but it was like telling someone not to think about an elephant.

[Koty Hura]

"Water actually acts as a lubricant in this case. While there are no risks of sparks or heat buildup with a manual procedure, the water helps the blade to glide along the stone rather than bearing in to it and in addition, as a knife is sharpened, tiny pieces of the stone are broken loose. These mix with the water and form a polishing compound. The lower-grit less so and the higher grit more so."

As Koty guided Anthy's hands, she would be able to see the water remaining on the stone start to look muddied with the color of the stone.. the first being an orangy red color. The second was a creamy white, but they hadn't gotten there yet. He casually guided her hands for angle and technique, making sure to go over how to keep the angle correct every few strokes on the stone, keeping things slow and steady and accurate.. Not only because a beginner needed to stay slow and deliberate, but also because sifting through Anthy's ample amount of surface thoughts took more than a little bit of concentration. He'd only touched her mind once before, and very briefly at that..

Koty wasn't surprised to find that Anthy seemed to be putting no small amount of concentration on the task she was learning.. comparing it to other things she'd been learning recently.. getting glimpses of her emotions and reactions to Matt and Lucas both. Apparently here recently Anthy had become a bit of a hands-on learner.. Which was good. She was in practice to pick up on the correct ques to become good at this if she ever decided to put in the practice on her own.

Also there were burns. Flash burns? ..Bandages? Guilt.. The phenominal amount of effort involved in repressing that guilt.. Matt. She's burned Matt as well. And had a close call with Lucas. Poor girl. She'd had a close call with Koty as well. At least she had a very reliable self-defense mechanism if she ever needed it. Poor girl. That was a huge weight to carry on her shoulders.. One that Koty had less-than-innocently learned about. On the one hand he felt a little guilty.. On the other, as soon as he'd opened up his mind to listening, Anthy's thoughts had nearly jumped into his skull. The girl had no shielding whatsoever...

After Koty had gone over things well enough that he trusted Anthy not to completely destroy his knife on her own, he released her hands and guided her gently to the chair so that she could sit and get up closer and more comfortable and get used to the motions with her instructor watching over her shoulder.. He gently placed one hand on the chair, the other on Anthy's shoulder as he leaned down. "I apologize, but I could not help but to gaze into your thoughts. I have two pieces of advice. Consider asking your trainer about at least rudimentary mental shielding, and stop blaming yourself.. If Matt and Lucas are your friends, neither of them do. You should not carry such weight on your shoulders every day. You are far too delicate for such strenuous work, Anthy."

Koty's voice had been nearly a whisper, but in the almost silent dorm room, Anthy had heard every syllable without a doubt.

[Anthy Blacksmith]

A lubricant. That was what the water was for. Well, she could see that she supposed. If there was less friction, there could be more control, right? And it kept there from being too much buildup of grains of stone on the blade too, it seemed as she saw the water getting clouded up with the colour of the stone that was being used to sharpen the knife with. She might have thought more about it had she not been focusing on following the directions that were given to her both from what he had told her and how he was directing her hands with his own. Anthy was actually pretty glad he decided to guide her like this as it would make it a bit easier for her to retain the lesson this way. She didn't know why but she had always been better with learning things when there was physical assistance involved.

By the time he moved his hands away from hers, she believed she had a decent hang of the sharpening and this kept her from getting too nervous. Sure, there was the hint of sorry still there about hurting the knife or something, but she wasn't anxious about it or anything like that. She just made sure to be careful. Though, she did pause though when Koty put his hand on her shoulder and apologized. Anthy turned her head to look at him even as he explained why he was apologizing and as he went to telling her he had two pieces of advise, she gave him a curious look.

At the comment about asking her trainer about mental shielding, she was a little confused and a little amused at the same time. Anthy wasn't even sure exactly, on why she found it funny at all but a hint of it was there. Though, she blushed and felt discomfort filter in when he brought up her blaming herself. And as he went to speaking about Matt and Lucas, she felt a little less comfortable as she figured out exactly what he might have been speaking about when it came to the guilt.

"They... they don't blame me because they're much too nice to. Because they're my friends. Friends don't blame each other after all. And friends look out for each other. So, of course there's forgiveness for things... As far as guilt... Well... I... If I'd taken lessons sooner to control the light rather than suppressing it... well, trying to... then... then maybe I wouldn't have..."

She cut herself off with a soft sigh then went to biting her lip some.

"What... what do you mean too delicate for such strenuous work? As far as shielding, sorry if my head was too loud." She commented with a shy smile, preferring to talk about the other things he had brought up.

[Koty Hura]

Koty let out a small sigh and allowed himself a small grin. "You do not seem to understand friendship as well as I would have hoped. When no blame is given, there is no blame for you to feel guilt over. It is that simple. What was no your fault is not, will not be held against you and your friends would feel bad if they knew you were blaming yourself for something that they can do nothing to help you get past. Their reassurances only remind you that 'they are too good to you, too kind'. You are wrong. You were never forgiven because there was nothing to forgive. There was no blame because there was no fault."

And then there was the other issue. "You are forbidden, if you will allow, to ever apologize for your thoughts. Not to me, not to any telepath, Anthy, not to anyone. You cannot help that they are there, nor their 'volume' as it were. You can, however, work to change them. Referencing, of course, the guilt that you feel. I mean no offense calling you 'delicate'.. but you are an extremely kind, extremely thoughtful, open, generous, pure, and dedicated individual. The weight of guilt is a thing that has crushed kings beneath itself. Men who have sworn to uphold honor above all things and fought to the death more times than they could count. Someone as.. as sweet as you should never bear such a burden, least of all over a thing that you could not control."

He paused, staring at the knife in Anthy's hands. "If you cannot let go of your guilt, at least use it in a positive way.. the weight on a catapult. Use your desire to avoid similar situations to push yourself in learning to control your ability, but never let it hinder you. Never let it hold you back."