She was actually kind of nervous. After her walk in the park, Katrina had initially planned to go home but...she might as well get it over with. I mean, she was afraid of it, so there was no reason to postpone getting rid of it.

Her clean tennis shoes padded silently down the hall to his office, hoping that he would be there. Now that she thought about it and didn't have a conversation taking her mind off of it, she was more and more anxious to get it gone.

Her fingers twisted unconciously in the curls of her scarf's tassels and she fiddled with a button on her maroon velvet pea coat.

Her clearest thoughts were, Please let him be here...

He's there. He's actually about to leave, but he is there at the moment.

In fact, here he comes out his door, briefcase in hand and coat on. He doesn't look like a man with questionable sanity; he looks like a distinguished academic who's had a bit of a long day and wants to go home.

He locks his office door behind himself, turns, and pauses.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sullivan."

He's not saying Katrina again. He just isn't.

Well if he's leaving, she doesn't want to detain him...but she has to, this is something that has to get taken care of.

"Hi, um," well...how is she supposed to begin?

"I, uh, I made a decision," she looks a little worried about it, too.

"And?"

He'll react after she's told him what her decision is.

He's not quite sure what he wants to hear from her. If she says she wants him to teach her, then he will have to deal with her on an even more regular basis than he does already. If she doesn't, somehow, it will seem an insult to him...

"Well.." and then, for no reason other than her strange inability to decide, she remembers what Matteo said.

"Um..well," her decision is shattered.

"Is it true that there are scarier magicky things out there than..this?" Meaning her own scary magicky thing.

He pauses for a moment, then unlocks his office door and waves her inside.

"Yes."

He could have said 'that depends on your definition of scary.' He could have quibbled and pretended that of course not, there's nothing scary about magic. he could have lied.

However, he doesn't make it a practice to lie to his magic students. He just... doesn't tell them his plans for them.

So Matteo was right. Yes, that completely blows her decision out of the water.

So which is worse? Being scared of something that's been inside of you your entire life and possibly being able to defend yourself or being terrified of what's out there and knowing that you gave up the opportunity to defend yourself?

As Katrina walks into his office, she honestly doesn't know the answer to that question.

Why can't things be simple?

A small thought in the back of her mind reminds Katrina that the professor can make it as if she'd never found out at all...

No! She doesn't like not knowing things!

"Then, what would you recommend?"

She really hopes he has the answer, because if he doesn't then they're back to square one.

"Training."

He seems to be using the one word answers more than usual today. That might be because he's not quite sure what he's going to do, just yet...

Also, teaching her is going to be hell on his nerves. If he hadn't promised Keye he wouldn't drink, that would be nice...

Not the answer she wanted to hear. But at this point, it's going to be difficult saying what she wants to hear because even she isn't sure of it. Not a very clear girl, is she?

As contrary as this is to what the world tells people is right, she likes people telling her what to do. It gives her life a sort of structure.

"When?"

These are responses she doesn't really have to think about. And that's a very good thing for her. Thinking hurts.

Alexander manages the barest glimmer of a smile.

"Immediately, if that suits you. I've nothing further to do this evening. We could start right now."

Before he has time to decide he doesn't want to do this, you see. If they start now, he's committed, and doesn't have to talk himself out of it and back in twenty or thirty times.

Just, oh, ten or so.

That is much sooner than she expected.

"OK, me neither. Um, should I sit down or..?"

Believe it or not, she's never done this sort of thing before. And it's good that they're starting right away, it doesn't give her as much time to be afraid. She's a girl that needs to keep busy.

He takes off his coat and lays it across the back of his armchair, puts his briefcase down, all the normal sorts of things that you might expect someone to do when they have an unexpected reason to stay instead of leave.

It's to hide that he's trying to control his emotions.

"Yes, sit down, Miss Sullivan."

He takes a seat in his armchair and leans forward, looking intently at her.

"Do you remember the focusing exercise I taught you?"

Katrina's scarf and coat are both taken off and draped over the back of the other chair in the office before the girl, herself, sits down and clasps her hands together in her lap. Then she twiddles them a little nervously while he gives her that intent, focused look.

"Mhmm," she nods.

"It's only the first half."

He then proceeds to walk her through what he's already taught her, with some minor changes, and then beyond.

It probably feels weird; the point of this exercise is to sense the magic, although not to use it.

It is strange and odd, but Katrina is somehow comforted by the thought that Professor Barclay is right there and if her magic does decide to go on a rampage then he'll be right there to help or put a stop to it. She doesn't have to feel entirely helpless to it.

She's doing every single thing he tells her to, very careful not to deviate at all.

Alexander is using this to keep himself calm. It's impossible to fly into an emotional panic when you're concentrating this hard on something.

"Feel it, Miss Sullivan?"

His voice has a hypnotic quality. That's deliberate. That's what he does when he's teaching magic. Even if she weren't being careful, it would be hard to deviate from what that voice said.

It's a trick he learned. And a hint of magic in his voice.

"Uh huh," and a nod. This is a lot easier than she thought it would be...and it is slowly becoming less scary. It isn't so bad, she finds, when she's being told what to do.