Ariana

Ariana had taken the time to memorise the names of every person in the Stone Dragon, and made a point of learning all the new guests’ names. She always greeted everyone by name with a smile. If she happened to be passing through reception while guests were checking in, she always offered to carry the bags to the room, and always refused the tip, asking instead that it be donated to the charity box on the front desk.

Although she’d never had cause to speak to him beyond a smile and a hello, Ariana knew Oren’s name and knew he was the son of Olive. The latter had helped her create a sprawling family tree in her notebook so she could keep track of all the relationships within the Dragon, complicated as they were. Ariana had looked at it nightly until it was etched in her brain.

Oren came up beside her; she saw him out of the corner of her eye. She was busy burying as much of the fire as she could under soil, and over the noise of the shouts, creaking wood and crackling fire she missed the exchange between Oren and his mother. She couldn’t help but notice, though, that his response wasn’t exactly immediate. It took him a minute or so to conjure anything, and then suddenly half the flames were dowsed in water and Oren had fallen onto his backside. A couple of water-bending guests had taken out most of the rest of the fire and it seemed to be under control, so she turned to offer him a hand up.

“Focused calm is needed for a balanced application of magic,” she told him. “I recommend meditating for ten minutes per day, or as long as you can manage, to help with the mental processes.”

“Yeah,” came Cesar’s voice from behind her, “but of all the hippies who say they meditate, how many actually do?”

Ariana hadn’t realised that her familiar had followed her back round to the stables. Cesar was stood so close behind her that when she turned on her heel, she almost knocked into his chest. He took a hasty step back.

“Except you, Ari,” he conceded in the tone of one who realised he’d said something he shouldn’t and was now trying to make amends.

Ariana turned deliberately away from him. “I’m Ariana,” she told Oren. “I have some books on water magic I could loan you.”