With so many other things to look at in the room, Dhivael noticed the almost imperceptible wisp of steam that he used to enact his spell; Gideon watched her eyes as she traced the path to his brow. He had tried to be discreet of course, for that was the polite thing to do, but now that the ‘cat was out of the bag’, he didn’t want to leave things left unspoken. He figured that the alien girl was uncertain about the propriety of asking about what he had done. “A spell, Dhivael. A spell to protect me against telepathy and mind tampering”, he admitted. “You must forgive me, but, not knowing you or your abilities, one must take all reasonable precautions.” The darkhaired professor made some quick notes in his book, looking sideways at his future student , “It’s nothing personal, I assure you.”
Gideon understood the hesitancy with which Dhivael placed her hand in his; just as he didn’t know her, she didn’t know him either and magic was a mysterious thing for her to put her trust in. When his scan was finished, he let her know that it was just a general scan to compare the two species, Human and Rihan, and that he could do other generalized tests for her with the right materials and proper preparation.
Dhivael’s questions about the importance of dogs versus foxes struck Gideon as very charming. The professor cleared his throat and leaned forward on his desk, “You look so much like any other human, I spoke, making the assumption you would know all of our old stories, fables, myths, etc. In human folklore, the fox is characterized as being highly intelligent, very clever, a trickster and even a sorcerer”, he smiled and rubbed his chin, “Whereas dogs, though we love them and call them ‘man’s best friend’ are considered lazy and dirty and low. To call someone a dog is a terrible insult. “ Gideon jotted something in the corner of his notebook, “In reality, neither is superior than the other. Dogs are wonderful animals. They are fine companions to mankind and even work as service animals to the handicapped. Have I given you what you need?”
“Absolutely fascinating…”, Gideon mumbled as he wrote everything Dhivael said in his notebook. “Now, sister planets, you say? How many inhabited planets are in your solar system, if you don’t mind me asking, and are they all Rihanssu?”, the professor lived for moments like this!
“Yes, spirit allows our magic to work. It is the conduit. Perhaps you have heard ‘As above, so below’? Well, that saying has many meanings. One of them pertains to the craft”. Gideon was very impressed with Dhivael’s ability to understand any subject they spoke of and ask pertinent questions about it. He did have to laugh when she asked him if he wasn’t always alert, though. With a grin, the professor explained, “Don’t worry, my dear, I am always alert. My earlier comment was a compliment to you. It’s a thing humans do sometimes to casually compliment someone in a not so obvious way. Instead of me saying, ‘Dhivael, you are very smart’, I said ‘I think you will keep me alert’. That means that you are smart enough to challenge the teacher and keep him from getting lazy.” Gideon’s dark eyes looked at the alien girl and hoped his explanation made sense. Human reasoning may not make sense, but there was nothing he could do about that.