Andreas Vine's Links
I have nothing but respect for my father. He's taught me much since I was young, as he has my siblings. I find it respectable how he manages to balance teaching us alongside his own career as a general. He is a role model for me and always has been. He is a very effective teacher. Strict, yes, but only to ensure that we learn. He's shown us nothing but kindness, though many don't seem to think he has.
Andreas is dedicated to his goals, and always has been. I can tell that he wants to do what I do, and be good at it, but I worry that sometimes he wants to become me in some ways. Regardless, he's a fine boy and will grow to be someone of importance if he widens his horizons.
My mother could not have done any better for us. As the mother to many children, her hands are always full, yet she's never struck us. I value that she has encouraged us to seek interests outside of our family traditions and has involved us all in raising each other. She can be distant at times, but all of us can be.
Andreas was the first well-behaved child, despite his temper, so I constantly thank the heavens for him. I know I can count on him to scold his siblings, which I'm also thankful for. He's taken a load off of my hands. Everyone tends to see him as argumentative, and while that may be true, it's hardly ever without purpose. I've always thought he's been a bit silly, which he hates.
Lynn is... complicated. I mostly think it's because of the accident that happened when she was young, but I've never confessed this to anyone but mother. She helped raise me and I looked up to her a lot when I was a child, but never has anyone treated me with such cruelness in the same hand as kindness. She's very distant from the family nowadays, and I oftentimes find myself wondering what she is up to. It's always nice to see her when she visits, up until the point where she starts a fight with someone.
Andreas has always been a huge kiss-up to dad, which is fine, I guess. It's just annoying to watch. I wish he'd realize that the world's a little bigger than what he's made it out to be.
Vera was one of the people I look to when I think about my beginnings in magic. She was very open to helping me with my studies and open to showing me just how much I could learn. She was a very harsh teacher, but I think that I couldn't have made such strides had she not pushed me as hard as she did. She is the best magician in our house after mother. I admire her prowess. She's very busy nowadays working with a library elsewhere, so she's not been home much, which is a shame.
Andreas had a hard time grasping magic but sure was determined to learn it. He had decent teachers but none were brave enough to kick his ass until it sunk in. I guess that's what family is for.
I wish he'd lighten up a little. He's a funny guy when he lets himself, and that's when I find him the most fun to be around.
Monica's always been erratic, and I figure it's because of the way that father found her. I've always felt sympathy for her. She's never really shared with us about her life before our family, and I figure it's because she doesn't know much of it. She was very asocial when we were kids, and hardly verbal. She's gotten much better since then, and I'm proud of her progress. As a kid I always liked to watch her hex people. Whenever I asked where she learned it, she would never tell me, and I still wonder to this day.
Andreas has always been nice to me, and never made me feel like I wasn't welcome in the family. But I also never have felt that he is my blood brother. I don't have any hard feelings towards him, it's just how things are. I don't spend a lot of time with him, but when we talk about books and stuff, it's okay. Other than that, though, we don't have much in common.
Cossette is the sister I get along with the least, but I still care for her. We've always been a bit at odds, and somewhat in competition with each other, it feels. I just try to mind my own when around her.
Andreas is a great older brother. I mean sure we've definitely gotten in our share of fights, but after that one time he never pulled my hair again. I love that he can be a real pushover if you know how to phrase things right! It makes my life a lot easier!
Michael is... well to be quite honest, I do not get along with Michael. I never have. He's a very entitled person, and I don't know how he became that way. He's certainly talented at what he does, but he's also talented at being an absolute headache to deal with. If I ever had to hire an assassin who would then turn around and stab me, I'd hire Michael.
Andreas always has such a fucking stick up his ass. Thank god mom likes me better!
Avery has taught me a lot about being an older sibling. Their journey with magic has been fascinating to watch. Occasionally I find myself becoming a little jealous with the ease that magic comes to them, but nevertheless, I support them wholeheartedly and couldn't ever find myself harboring any sort of resentment towards them. I want to continue to help them learn and hone their magic, though at this point, they could probably teach me some. At least I can continue being helpful in sword training.
Andreas is super sweet! He has always been there to help me for as long as I can remember with anything and everything! Recently though I can tell he's getting frustrated when we work on magic together, but I always make sure to reassure him that my magic was gifted to me and so it's different!
Lily has caused me to have to rethink a lot of things that I had held as firm beliefs. At first I didn't know how to take my younger siblings fearlessly scolding me for just being "mean", but coming from her it never seems like it's out of self-importance. She's by far an odd one out in this family, and I know it can frustrate mother and father to some end that she refuses to be callous when times call for it, but I wish her to stay strong in her convictions. I look up to that quality in her.
Andreas is very sweet to me, but he's not always a kind person. I tell him that he hurts a lot of people, and I can tell that hurts his feelings sometimes. But I won't stop telling him until he gets what I mean and learns the lesson! He at least seems to listen to me, though. Not everyone does.
I have a lot to say about Mason. The first of which is that I don't like the reason he goes by Guilliard. I can tell it bothers him that I refuse to call him by his last name, but he rarely corrects me on the matter. The next is that I don't want him to continue serving me. As my page it is my responsibility to teach him what I can and provide him opportunities to grow, and I shall. However, I know that he cannot fully flourish under me. Our morals differ far too much, even though he insists that they don't. I don't want him to bend his will to mine just to succeed as a knight. If he does, he has failed and I will hate him for wasting our time together and will personally dismiss him.
I wish Andreas would see that I can do a lot more than he lets me do. He always seems to be nervous to let me prove myself to him! And then don't get me started on when he starts to lecture me on "not being willing to sacrifice what I need to" when I'm working with him. I look up to him, but jeez, he can be hard to work for.
What REALLY drives me nuts is that he makes me do the work that Tiff used to do like running letters into town and doing laundry. Are you kidding?
I value Cartier's guidance highly. He never seems to hesitate to argue with me about damn near anything. He argues his points fiercely and does not hide his frustrations after an arguement. Because of this I know that any time I seek his guidance he will address it with a pointed honesty, even if it isn't something I want to hear.
He's been of great aid to me many of times and I find him to be invaluable.
Andreas is a fair person to work for. His conditions are good, and there is more payout than just decent living and allowance. His family has a great magic bloodline and many of his siblings are willing to speak to me about magic, as is he. Even his father has spoken to me on the topic before. It's a place where I know I can hone my craft.
However, I do believe Andreas to still be very inexperienced in most areas of his life that he wishes himself to excell in. I'm not scared to tell him this, and do, often. Whether he takes it to heart is his matter, and I have no benefit to undermine his orders, even if I don't agree with them. It's too much trouble to.
Tiffany has grown on me. I used to find her clumsy nature infuriating, and still do, from time to time. However, I've found she is more than her faults, and I find her of great service, and as a friend.
She is always willing to weigh in on the more "close to home" and emotional sides of decisions I have to make. I've found her humanitarian suggestions often boost morale, which is priceless. She also is remarkable at the stables, it's the only place I've never seen her falter. She has a confidence there that I try to encourage by assigning her to work there as often as possible.
Andreas used to scare me a lot, his whole family did, to be fair. We used to not get along at all when I started working with him. He would yell at me when I would mess things up. I've gotten a lot better at not messing things up, and he's yelled at me less.
I don't really do the jobs I used to when I started, which I'm thankful for. I wasn't very good at them, and I think we have gotten closer since then. I actually enjoy working with him nowadays, even if he can be a little intimidating, I'm not actually SCARED of him.