She rolls her eyes at him. "No, no, I don't want to learn fire magic. It's just the starting point, the means to an end. I want to learn defensive magics: wards, barriers, that sort of thing. It's what I've been studying, what I've been trying to do for so long. But until now, I... couldn't do anything." Her lips draw into a thin line and she crosses her arms in front of her chest, finally taking a pause that's longer than a few seconds to think. It's surprisingly hard at this particular moment.

"You're right, though. I need..." A beat and a frown. "Fuck, I need a lot of things to make this work. I need more time, patience, and energy than I have to get through all of this on top of a plan so I don't get overwhelmed. Dreams, I need so much more time!" She makes a small noise of frustration and begins pacing the room, pulling down her hair from its normal position to brush it out slowly to keep her hands busy.

"I'm never going to find it, you know." Her eyes track over to him as she paces the tiny room, her steps carefully moving around the books and papers scattered on the floor. He'll note that some of them look a little singed in places. "A guide, I mean. A mentor... whatever you want to call it. No one's going to take the time for me. I'm not naturally gifted like you. I don't come from a magical family or any of that. I'm rash, impatient, stubborn, flawed - I'm nothing." She stops suddenly, her hands falling to her side and her hair pin clenched tightly in her right hand. Slowly, she shakes her head and settles her eyes on the floor in front of her. "There's no reason to believe I'm not doing this alone."