Jaycie hovered awkwardly inside Professor Ellingston's office as she waited for him to arrive after class, just like he'd asked. While her usual mix of people-centric emotions were swirling around her body, a bubbling cocktail of fear, nerves, and anticipation, Jaycie was not truly dreading the conversation that was bound to happen. If anything, she was more curious than the rest of her confusing emotions. Needing something to distract her hands, Jaycie pulled her braid over her shoulder and started fiddling with the blonde strands of hair.

Class had gone better than she'd expected. She'd never really thought of her collection of understandings about the natural world to be knowledge, but come to think of it, it was knowledge. It was a strange thought, that Jay could be knowledgeable about something. That was a Ravenclaw thing, like Caelum. Caelum knew about many things. It was a nice realisation, though. Jaycie felt her faith in herself growing with each passing day, something that hadn't happened in her educational career before.

She stood and watched the room, weaving her hair between her fingers as she waited. The room was cool and organised, with some very tastefully placed furniture sets. It spoke volumes about Professor Ellingston, but they were things she'd already assumed about his person. His office just reaffirmed her observations. Behind her the door creaked and, startled, Jaycie turned and stepped back simultaneously in greeting of the Professor.

Jaycie did as she was told, flitting across the room and gently seating herself on one of the more comfortable looking couches that Professor Ellingston had signalled to. She sat stiff and upright, on the edge of the seat, not willing to relax yet. She'd dropped her hair and placed her hands together in her lap, not wanting to show just how nervous she was feeling.

Her curiosity piqued when the Professor moved to a cabinet and pulled out something she couldn't quite see. A moment later, he was seated across from her, the two seperated by an expensive-looking, dark wood coffee table. An unnerving silence followed, the room stone still. Jaycie held her breath while he regarded her, wondering where this encounter was going. She swallowed awkwardly past the lump that was slowly building a barricade in her throat. It was difficult to keep eye contact with him; he had an incredibly intense gaze.

Eventually his face broke into a smile; it crinkled the corners of his eyes but showed no teeth. Jaycie flicked the corners of her own mouth up in a shadow of the gesture. He began with an apology, to which Jaycie said nothing. It did not feel like an answer was required. Instead, she watched him intently, listening. Before he continued, he summoned over a sheet of paper from his desk and placed it on the coffee table before her. Jaycie immediately recognised her own handwriting and realised it must be the test from in class.

The next thing he said took Jaycie by surprise. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Did he honestly think she was up to par with him? That... was a bit of a shock, to say the least. He mentioned practical work, and how he'd like to see her in action with the dragons. Jaycie's mind was reeling. She thought she handled dragons well, never let them intimidate her despite all their shows of aggression. The Professor seemed to have an awful lot of confidence in her abilities and potential, and she wasn't used to it.

He kept eye contact as he motioned to the paper. Jaycie broke the contact and flickered her eyes down to examine what she'd written earlier. It took a moment for her brain to focus and unscramble the letters, especially with his gaze boring into her face. She scanned her words and then raised her eyes back up to meet his.

Jaycie had a faltering, stammering start. "Uh, well- I, um... I suppose I've noticed, um, when other people-" She couldn't help it and broke eye contact again, searching her hands for answers. Jaycie cleared her throat, her voice sounding smaller than usual. "I've noticed that when other people, uh, w-work with dragons, they really - um - focus on containing them. It's what a lot of books talk about, too." She darted a glance back up at the Professor, before continuing. "I've always been, um, been a watcher, I guess, and I, I, well, I think there's more to dragons than their, um, a-aggression. I've never once seen a trainer try- try to build a s-sense of trust with a dragon before." Jay sucked in a deep breath, hoping her words had made sense.