"No, no, no. Not like that. What are you even doing? That's completely wrong." Byures was strict with his teaching methods, but kind enough. The fixation on learning the new spell had only somewhat distracted Caleb from the fact that he was learning from a criminal. Edward never seemed to mind at all, though, and even used this time to rest a little. The black-haired boy recalled how he wanted his own horse to ride back on the Dwarven island, but not like this. The younger hippocampus was his friend and suffering from the pains of a physical body as it were. Not to mention that the fresh water was limiting his abilities on top of that. To ask to ride him like this was beyond cruelty. "Repeat this motion. . Do it [i]exactly[/i] as I do." 

"[i]I am[/i] repeating that motion. [u]Exactly[/u] as you are doing it too!" Magic was easy enough for Caleb to understand. For the most part anyway. He had no formal education, of course, but Eaglestown had seen more than its fair share of traveling scholars. The non-uptight ones often spent their time with the local children and teenagers. Usually this led to lessons on some of the more "basic" spells. Nothing cool or dangerous like fire, but smaller incantations that allowed mages to levitate small objects, for example. This seemed like an easy enough spell to learn yet the result had been repeated failures for the past twenty or so minutes. "Are you sure that [i]you[/i] have the right spell?"

"I'm no mage, but yes. I absolutely have the right spell and I think that you're just missing something." The alligator-man shook his head at the younger boy with disapproval. There was a light scowl of annoyance yet he remained oddly patient. Surprisingly tame for a criminal as even Caleb had to admit. Edward, meanwhile, was failing even more spectacularly than his counterpart. Caleb had his suspicions that the hippocampus wasn't exactly trying though. "Alright then. . Let's just start from the top, okay?"

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"Thank you for your help, ma'am." Thorn City was bustling as per usual and crime was expected to come along with that. Sara Nieve was far too old for such games, however, and she had no fear of petty criminals. She dealt with plenty of confrontation in her time and had even run with local organizations in the distant past. Backing down was neither in her lexicon nor her husband's though. Or late husband as seen by the fact that Ribbon had come back on her own. She could only imagine that the worst had happened to him. [i]But who brought the dog home?[/i] That was answer that she hoped to find soon enough. "You've done a great deed to Thorn City today."

"It was my pleasure." There was something biting in the politeness of the elderly woman's smile. An entire crowd had been drawn around the commotion by now. The thieving lizardwoman was in the process of being roused from unconsciousness and dragged off by a city guard. A pearl had been hidden beneath Sara's shawl at some point during the arrest process. As much as she wanted to believe that the authorities could be trusted, she knew better. They were just as corrupt as the syndicates that had taken over at some point during her twenty years living in Thorn City. "Safe travels, Liz."

"This isn't over, you old hag." Handcuffs were dropped around the scaly thief's wrists. "I'll remember this."

"I'm sure that you will, dearie. If old age doesn't kill me first, then I promise to let you have a fair shot at me when next we meet." Another bitingly polite smile was shot in the woman's direction and Sara turned on her heels. A gentle hand was rested atop the dog's head. In response was a furiously wagging tail and a light bark of what could only be concern. "Alright, girl. Now back to the matter at hand. We've to look for your traveling companions, don't we?"

Then, from the edge of the crowd, there was a call for the dog. "Ribbon!"