[hr][center][h3][u][b][The Stoneworks - Interior][/b][/u][/h3][/center][hr]

Yue accepted the coffee with a nod of thanks, eyeing the "unicorn" cookies for a long time before a rumble from her stomach prompted her to snatch two off the plate.  They were both gone in the next instant with no regards to taste, flavor, texture, or ingredients as she chewed ravenously.  She exhaled heavily, reaching for a third at a more relaxed pace while she listened to Zolya speak.  Her gaze flicked down to Zolya's rings involuntarily, she froze for a solid moment as she raised an eyebrow, before she took a long sip of too-hot coffee without flinching.  She squinted, her eyes flicking back and forth between Zolya and Archer.

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Let me get this straight,"[/color][/b] she replied curtly.  [b][color=#CE2B95]"I got dragged all the way back out here to ass-nowhere, to be told by my friend of eight years... and two weirdos I met this morning... that what- I'm the protagonist in a badly written young adult urban fantasy fanfiction?"[/color][/b]

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Next you're gonna say: 'Our star is unique in that it's saturated with Aether: a semi-cognizant primordial force sustained by the presence of life.  Aether is both intangible and invisible to the 'Mundane' and those that can see and manipulate it are known as 'The Exalted,'"[/color][/b] she quoted, squinting at Archer.

[b][color=#c45302]"That... [i]is[/i] more or less what I was going to say, yes.  Listen, none of these concepts are incorrect,"[/color][/b] he sighed as Yue's eyes narrowed at him over the rim of her coffee cup.  They squinted at one another for a long time before either of them moved, though Archer did hold up a hand when he sensed Zolya about to fill the silence... probably with a lewd comment.  

[b][color=#c45302]"Let's play a game,"[/color][/b] he suggested, pulling the coffee table closer to them without breaking eye contact.  Yue raised an eyebrow but didn't decline the challenge.  He produced his deck of tarot cards from the pouch on his belt and shuffled them expertly.  [b][color=#c45302]"The game is Memory.  Find the matching cards.  You may use your super-advanced perception in order to observe me and prevent me from cheating."[/color][/b]

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Any [i]other[/i] rules?"[/color][/b]

[b][color=#c45302]"You may choose the pairs at any time as soon as you see them, once the cards are on the table I'm not allowed to touch them,"[/color][/b] he explained, pausing his shuffle to lay his hand on the table.  [b][color=#c45302]"I must deal the cards as quickly as I am able, and I'm not allowed to look at them.  I may shuffle the deck at any time.  If you misidentify a pair, all collected cards are re-shuffled into the deck.  The game continues until you collect all the pairs, give up, or figure out how I'm manipulating the deck."[/color][/b]

[b][color=#CE2B95]"Fine,"[/color][/b] agreed Yue curtly, setting her coffee down.  Archer smirked.

[b][color=#c45302]"When she first came to the templar, I played this game with her a lot in order to help her learn how to control her powers,"[/color][/b] he explained to Zolya.  [b][color=#c45302]"Those moments you noticed, where it seems like she's off in her own little world?  She is: she's experiencing seconds as minutes and can hyper-analyze the smallest detail.  Facial expressions, minute involuntary movements, a single droplet of rain falling in a storm.  She can come up with complex plans seemingly instantaneously and process information at an incredibly rapid pace.  In spite of all this, I've never lost."[/color][/b]

[b][color=#CE2B95]"He cheats,"[/color][/b] she muttered.

[b][color=#c45302]"That was never in question.  I told you ahead of time I was manipulating the deck, the question is [i]how[/i]?"[/color][/b] he smirked.  Yue set her cup down and leaned forward.  Her gaze widened, the [Crimson] pulsed through her eyes, and her pupils stretched, becoming slitted.  The temperature and weight of the air seemed to increase as Archer began to rapidly deal cards while looking directly at Yue.

[b][color=#c45302]"The drawback to her ability is the advantage it gives: she can no longer process my speech because it's happening too slow,"[/color][/b] he explained.  Often the cards never reached the table, as Yue snatched them out of the air, and sometimes out of Archer's fingers.  Occasionally several cards would vanish off the table into her hand all at once.  

[b][color=#c45302]"Her affinity is Fortification, which would normally classify her as an Adept... or someone that generally uses magic to enhance their personal physical attributes,"[/color][/b] he grinned at Raudd, dealing a card which Yue snatched up in flight along with another card that had nearly reached the table.  Yue flinched and slid her hand across the table towards him, and he scooped up the cards in a fluid motion, shuffled, and began dealing again.  Yue squinted at Archer, and they held eye contact for a long moment before her focus shifted back to the cards.

[b][color=#c45302]"That would technically be an [i]incorrect[/i] classification though.  Part of the reason she's able to use her abilities to the extent she can, through pure intuition is that she experiences resonance through items, it's how she can match the cards before looking at them,"[/color][/b] he said, as Yue picked a card out of the air, and then off the top of his deck between deals.  [b][color=#c45302]"We call this [i]'Spathí Tragoúdi'[/i]... Sword Song."[/color][/b]

Yue picked up a card from the table, and then slid her hand back to Archer with a huff.  He scooped them up, and Yue's hand darted into the stack during the shuffle as she reclaimed several pairs.  Archer smiled as he continued.

[b][color=#c45302]"The part she hasn't been able to figure out is, that the cards are blank.  If I do nothing, the image on the face is a reflection of the enchantment on the card... but as long as I deal the card in my [i]Territory[/i] it can be whatever I choose.  For the purpose of this game, my [i]Territory[/i] is the array I placed on the table when I touched it, which is under the effect of the Suppression Seal that hides my Signature."[/color][/b]

Archer paused to do a mid-deal shuffle, and Yue pulled a card near the bottom of the pile fast enough for it to catch fire from the friction.  She pressed a finger to the top of the deck as the last card fell, pausing the game.  He grinned, watching her eyes flick from the card, to the table, to the deck, to him as the card burned.

[b][color=#c45302]"Oop.  She's formulating a hypothesis,"[/color][/b] he explained, as Yue's laser-like gaze bored into him.  [b][color=#c45302]"While she's like this she's experiencing a phenomenon called [i]Hyperthymesia[/i].  She can perfectly recall events in vivid detail while under the influence of this spell.  Right now, I imagine she's re-watching the entire game, or pieces of it at least.  When she's satisfied she'll either announce her theory, or continue the game,"[/color][/b] he explained as they stared at one another unblinking for a long time.

[b][color=#c45302]"The suppression seal isn't perfect.  Every time I manipulate a card, a pulse of mana could be caught before the Seal disguises it... assuming she's paying close enough attention, I've never disguised that, though I could... because if she comes to the conclusion that magic is real on her own, then technically I never violated my station,"[/color][/b] he smirked.