[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190120/b458a81531631a6916fa9413063c5f80.png[/img][/center][right][sub]Tiptoeing around [@Hero], [@Achronum] and [@Scribe of Thoth][/sub][/right] [color=f7976a]“Don’t dote on him.”[/color] [color=f0d705][i]Yes please don’t, thank you V—[/i][/color] [color=f7976a]“Competent mages deserve praise and the child is anything but.”[/color] [color=f0d705][i]Nevermind.[/i][/color] Aaron weathered the Count’s barrage of insults with a dipped head; partly for humility, but partly to avoid Eris’ gaze. His “doting” felt distinctly more like patronizing, and Aaron still couldn’t shake that invasive feeling when the vampire looked at him. But luckily - or perhaps not - Varis’ reprimands had his attention. Ditching Max in the entryway, sure, he would wear that, but flinching during feeding? He’d been practically catatonic — as had Varis, he might add. He was sure he hadn’t moved a muscle. Was that the Count’s excuse for such a sloppy feeding? Neatly shelving away his indignation, Aaron departed wordlessly when he was dismissed, bowing to Varis and stepping quickly out of the room and into his own. He caught the end of an ominous insult towards Max as he made his way into his bathroom, setting the washcloth to soak with the rest, but it was Varis’ words in the hallway that caught his attention. Adornments? What was [i]that[/i] supposed to mean? Of course he immediately feared the worst, mind going back to that poor mutilated girl; she and the rest of Lady Sinnenodel’s mages had all been poked full of grotesque piercings. Was that going to happen to him?! He paused in what he was doing to take a breath, gripping the edge of the counter. There was more talk in the living room; another jab at Max. Right, he couldn’t very well start working himself up into a panic now, with company around to see him squirm. He couldn’t exactly tell himself everything would be alright, but he could at least push his worries into the back of his mind to be fretted over in semi-privacy later. It only took a moment for Aaron to collect himself, mustering up a lifetime of court manners behind a polite expression, and soon he was straightening his tie and returning to the living room. He heard Varis still talking through the open bedroom door - apparently his clothes were being replaced, [i]lovely[/i] - but disregarded it for now, taking a seat across from Max. [color=f0d705]“I didn’t see you in Self Defence tonight,”[/color] he offered after a long pause. He would have preferred to ask why on earth Max was here with [i]Eris[/i], but that could wait until said vampire wasn’t in the next room. [color=f0d705]“What held you up? I thought we all had that class at the same time.”[/color]