[h2]V I N C E N T  &  A L E X A N D E R[/h2]
[hr][hr]
Alexander raised his brows at Rowena, following her former gaze to…ah. “Of course, my dear,” he said, giving her a smile and kissing her hand. “I will see you soon.”

He watched her walk away before making his way over to the corner in which Vincent seemed to be hiding himself in. “Dr. Halverson,” he said. “Skulking in corners, are we?” Alexander turned, facing the rest of the room. “It’s not a bad corner, actually.” He gave him a sideways glance, a smirk playing across his lips. “Leave it to you to find the best hiding place.” A wink.

The blond was careful about keeping his gaze more toward the gathered room, not wanting to ruin Vincent’s hiding just because Alexander himself was easily spotted. “I trust you are in good health?” He laughed lightly.

[hr]
Vincent had spent the requisite amount of time greeting the captain (who was exceedingly polite, he found, if a bit on the quiet side) and taking stock of the other persons gathered in the library. Aside from Alexander and Lady Imperia-Airwright, there were very few people whom he recognized. Most, however, seemed to be at least a few years younger than he was. 

The altercation with a young lady in an elegant blue gown and an utterly inoffensive door frame had not gone unnoticed by Vincent, though he observed that the captain had been otherwise occupied when it occurred. [i]Is our grumpy young lady a member of the Legionnaire Guild?[/i] Vincent wondered to himself, idly.

Vincent was still unsure of why Captain Kingsford, and by extension, Lady Imperia-Airwright, had decided to have him [i]directly[/i] involved. He was no evil mastermind, nor was he really a genius— and he would have thought that Rowena would have known that he would heal anyone she put in front of him, no questions asked. 

[i]Perhaps they wish for me to disclose of anything I would have learned while with Archibald Sullivan,[/i] he mused to himself. [i]Though Lady Imperia-Airwright is engaged to his father. Would she not have known what his son was doing by now?[/i]

In any case, Vincent supposed that dwelling on this matter for too long would not make it any less bewildering. He watched Alexander and Rowena re-enter the library together; Lady Imperia-Airwright glided off in the direction of Captain Kingsford, while Alexander made his way towards Vincent, who was off to the side, in a corner.

A slight smile flitted across his features as Alexander approached. “Perhaps,” he answered bemusedly, “though skulking is much too…[i]dramatic[/i] for my tastes. I prefer, hmm, [i]loitering[/i]?”

“I am indeed in good health, thank you. And you?”

[hr]
Alexander laughed lightly. “Yes, perhaps you are right. Though I do believe ‘loitering’ does not carry the same weight nor definition, for I know you are not merely standing here waiting, but observing those around you almost as carefully as I have.” He raised his brows, a semblance of a smile still on his lips. “Is that not the case, geranium?”

He sighed, shifting his hair idly. How long it had been since someone had played with it in even a platonic sense. He hadn’t reason as of late for anyone to style it, as his own fingers were capable of brushing it or putting it up in a simple updo if that was what he desired.

“Better than I have been as of late, thank you, though you are well aware of that,” Alexander replied. “This” — he gestured to his cane — “is again more decoration than actual necessity or use, and I hope it remains as such.”

[hr]
Vincent let a small half-smile form on his lips, his expression carefully neutral. He did not reply to Alexander’s question.

“I am glad to hear it,” he said instead, inclining his head slightly in acknowledgement of Alexander’s statement. 

[i]Merely a decoration, is it? Hmm. If I’m not mistaken, there is a blade concealed in the end. Although I imagine that Alexander would not be particularly keen on the idea of putting it to use—blood is horribly messy.[/i]

Some wistful part of him recalled Stephen’s penchant for cane swords. [i]Though he was always more partial to actual swords,[/i] he reflected. [i]And revolvers, and gadgets that could bring the entire Council to its knees, if he’d ever had half a mind to do so.[/i]

[i]But such is the case with all graduates of the Institute, I suppose. Well. Most of them. Neither Alexander nor I are particularly inclined to weaponized machinery, I’m afraid.[/i]

“If I may ask, Alexander, what do you think Supreme Commander Osborne has summoned us all here for? Pardon my forwardness, but it is surely not for the…food?”

[hr]
Alexander nodded slowly at the question. “The question of the hour,” he stated. “You are not the first to ask. Do I really seem to know everything?”

He paused. “Don’t answer that.” Of course he did. He was Alexander Amidale. Anyone who knew him or knew of him from the Institute would know the rumors of his spy network. Of course he would seem to know everything.

Still, it was in the case of this that he did [i]not[/i] in fact have an answer. He hadn’t bothered to pry, or at least hadn’t gotten the information in time to do anything with it or come to any conclusions. “I’m afraid I do not have adequate information, but, given those in attendance…well, it can only be something…indelicate that must be handled with delicate hands. Thus, graduates of both schools are best suited for such tasks. Though Lady Chandler’s appearance here is a bit questionable. It seems more like they’d go for her husband, but he’s too high profile for such an occupation. And yet his wife would seem to be, too, would she not?”

Alexander frowned. “I’m afraid, dear doctor, that I have more questions than answers myself, and yet knowing Rowena’s involvement must extend a bit higher than ours, I can only believe we will be left with the same proportion when we leave.” He gave Vincent a look. “She [i]does[/i], after all, have a way of phrasing things in particularly complex ways and makes you figure it all out for yourself.”

[hr]
There was a faint glimmer of amusement in Vincent’s eyes as he took in Alexander’s words. [i]Something indelicate that must be handled with delicate hands. That is quite exactly how I would have put it.[/i]

Alexander’s mention of Rowena, however, made Vincent pause. Though she was always perfectly polite to him, Vincent did not like the idea of [i]trusting[/i] her. Especially after the...incident.

Nevertheless, he smiled slightly at his comment. “Indeed,” he answered, though he gave no further comment on Alexander’s rather accurate characterization of Lady Imperia-Airwright.

There had been times, in the past, when he had wondered about the…[i]extent[/i] of Rowena and Alexander’s relationship. There were rumors about them, he was sure; the two were frequently seen together, despite the fact that Rowena was engaged to some man or another more often than not, and it was well-known that they were [i]very[/i] good friends. 

Before he had met Alexander, he had not particularly cared about the rumors. But after seeing Rowena and Alexander interact, Vincent knew that he could conclude that there was nothing romantic whatsoever about...them. 

In truth, he suspected that Alexander had no taste for women at all. He did not, however, want to jump to conclusions.

Besides. Why did it matter?

“I suppose you are acquainted with many of the individuals that are present?” Vincent said, arching an eyebrow questioningly. A small smile played on his lips. “We have quite the, ah, variety.”

[hr]
Alexander raised his brows. “Acquainted?” He faked scandalization. “My goodness, Dr. Halverson, are you suggesting I know some of the guests in this room in a more…intimate fashion?” He looked around. “You would be quite wrong, I’m afraid. Everyone in this room is either not interested in me or I am not interested in them. It is truly a pity.”

Still, he sighed. “Still, I do know a…a handful of those in attendance. Of course we both know Rowena, and both she and I know Lord Finnegan Oaks, whom I have just been informed has a younger brother who will be joining us, however his health does not permit him to join us tonight.” He looked around. [i]Oh my, who is [/i]that[i] dashing creature? Such silver embellishments, contrasting my gold, and what a mask…I wonder what kind of face lies beneath it.[/i]

“I am familiar with the Lady Chandler, we take tea once a month, her children [i]adore[/i] me.” He nodded in the direction of a set of metal wings. “Of course Lady Grey, though she prefers Professor, I am told, used to less-than-subtlely attend a handful of my classes while we were at our respective institutions, though it didn’t seem the professors paid much mind. Why, I have no idea. I suppose I am more surprised no other students complained about the obviously female presence in their otherwise all-male school.” He shook his head. 

“But are you familiar with anyone here other than myself and our dear moonlace? Intimately or not, of course.”

[hr]
Vincent gave a small, bemused smile. “Oh, no, of course not,” he said neutrally. He listened as Alexander listed the people he knew. Vincent thought that he had maybe [i]heard[/i] of Finnegan Oaks before—the perfumist, yes? And Lady Chandler was, of course, the wife of a Minister. He had never interacted with Professor Grey before, although there had been [i]quite[/i] a fuss when she was given her position at the Polytechnique Institute.

When Alexander asked if he recognized anybody in the room, Vincent let his gaze flit from Rowena and Captain Kingsford to Professor Grey (the one with the elaborate wings, presumably) and a young woman with pink hair. Beside the pink-haired woman was another young woman, who was wearing a gown as pink as her companion’s hair.

“I am acquainted with Charlotte Vernell,” said Vincent, finally. “Her brothers and I had classes together in school, and my parents are quite fond of their teahouse. But I do not know anybody else, I am afraid.”

[hr]
Alexander turned slightly to look at Vincent. “Don’t be afraid. You know me.” He gave him a smile, a bit warmer than his usual smiles. “No one here will do anything to you so long as I’m here. You have my word.”

He turned his head. “Not even Rowena would give you that.”

Admittedly, Alexander wasn’t sure just how many people Rowena would turn on if they were suddenly…well, no longer on her side. Traitors. Villains. Even if only to her. He wasn’t even sure just how much she really cared for him, at her heart. But loneliness made for too close a companion, and thus he stayed friends with her, if only to say he had one.

Likewise his friendship with Finnegan was hardly the most positive. The perfumist was practically a manipulative rake for God’s sake! How often had Finnegan manipulated him in some way? Usually only small ones, ways Alexander was happy to oblige in, but what happened when the day came where Alexander couldn’t oblige, or it was in a way that made him uncomfortable?

His smile faded. “At least you seem to surround yourself in better company than I do.”

[hr]
Alexander’s next words were unusually somber, [i]especially[/i] given his otherwise frivolous demeanor. Nevertheless, Vincent duly pretended that he had not noticed the shift, nodding along obligingly. He wondered how much of his own past Alexander knew; they didn’t call him the best source of gossip in Hourglass City for nothing, of course.

[i]Yes. Better company. If you count a lover who was better at killing than at loving and a scientist with intentions that were not exactly...pure.[/i]

It was obviously a rather delicate subject for Alexander, so Vincent decided to steer their conversation in a different direction. “I wonder when we will find out what is going on, exactly,” he mused out loud, shifting his gaze to where Captain Kingsford was standing. 

[hr]
If Alexander was grateful for the shift in tone (and he was), he didn’t show it, merely resuming his otherwise casual decorum. “Yes, I wonder indeed. Rowena mentioned it would be soon, I do believe, but ‘soon’ seemed some time ago.”

He adjusted his stance and resumed studying the room, almost wishing he were closer to Vincent, and not just in a physical way…