[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240213/6a1af8e5082bd8470db334cb0cc5c1d1.png[/img][/center][right][sub][@Obscene Symphony] [@Hero][/sub][/right][hr]Renault breathed deeply. There’d been no time to, after his release; the Church’s goons had thrown him on the first transport to the Prince’s castle almost as soon as they’d gotten the shackles off. Now that he was back—properly back—he was reminded of just how much sweeter the air in his homeland was. Like sugar, or antifreeze. Enough of either would kill you, and that, he thought, fit Doumerc just as well. 

The academy hadn’t changed drastically, but like all things in academia, it had changed minutely in many ways. New rugs, brighter bulbs, nigh-undetectably-different hues of the same color paints. People saw scholars and imagined meek, doddering bookworms, but few minds worked [i]faster[/i] than those of mages. These fields of study required a keenness, a decisiveness, that most would expect to find in Rodion duelists or Lorenzian gunslingers. 

Rhaveus’s room was suspiciously empty. It was indeed strange for someone to stand up not one but [i]three[/i] Scions, one of them being royalty. Renault smirked, he suddenly found the professor quite respectable. It didn’t surprise him to hear some of their group was impatient, and he was glad the madam of gravity took a more sociable approach. 

They followed her to a hallway where, unprompted, she did her best impression of a startled cat. 

Renault craned his neck around the corner while Maya snapped quietly at her Templar. His initial assessment was proving more and more correct, it seemed. The line between paranoia and cowardice was thin, and blurry, and she appeared to have crossed it from one direction or another. 

Those were undeniably Kaudians, but they were also undeniably [i]set dressing[/i]. Fancy uniforms, military attention, and a cleared hallway. This wasn’t an invasion, it was babysitting. 

More than that, it was interesting. 

“[color=9e005d]Lets not embarrass ourselves, dear,[/color]” Renault said, throwing Maya an amused smile. He rounded the corner into the hall, clearing his throat and slipping into a more welcoming tone. “[color=9e005d][i]Dobar dan[/i], gentlemen, hello![/color]” he said to the guardsmen. “[color=9e005d]My friends and I were looking for a professor Rhaveus, would you happen to have seen him? We’re told he may be around here.[/color]”