[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190120/b458a81531631a6916fa9413063c5f80.png[/img][/center][right][sub]Trying not to piss off [@Achronum], [@Hero] and [@Scribe of Thoth][/sub][/right] Aaron chuckled. He’d never exactly seen magical combat in his future either - even if he had spent a good chunk of his free time in his teen years watching TCL fights online - and was about to say as much when they were interrupted by a suddenly urgent Varis sweeping them out the door. Said door almost caught him on the way out - [i]again[/i] - but he was more preoccupied with the stone that dropped into his stomach at the mention of an “appointment.” He didn’t know this little excursion was for [i]him![/i] He wanted to tell himself the Count was having him examined by one of his own doctors or something, but all that talk of “adornments” before made him less than hopeful. Sun and stars, he was going to come home looking like one of his new Lady’s mages wasn’t he?! Luckily there wasn’t much time to start spiraling into dread, as for some reason the mailbox indicator was up. A quick look on the way past revealed a small envelope, apparently the painkillers that life mage had promised earlier. Aaron was content to follow the group quietly; he hadn’t been with Varis for long, but he was already starting to value any chance he got to fade into the background. Odd that Varis hadn’t called for a car, though; then again, they also had to walk to the Princess’ manor the night before. Aaron didn’t exactly see Varis as the “mingling with the common crowd” type, so he must have forgotten. If he wasn’t already sure it would further foul Varis’ mood, Aaron would have smirked at the oversight. The arrival at the bus stop perked him up a bit, first from surprise, and then from intrigue. He’d never actually seen a bus before - not in person, anyway - and had certainly never ridden one. An almost childlike curiosity struck him when it pulled up, the thing holding his gaze a little longer than it probably should have; he caught a few people looking in his direction, but Aaron was pretty sure they were looking at Eris. At least, that was what he told himself as they moved toward the bus, brushing off their gazes. He got a chance to scope out the interior when Varis carved their way on board, and it reminded him of a much larger and more spacious limousine. The lack of privacy was a little unnerving, but he didn’t find it as objectionable as Varis seemed to. He almost laughed; he had almost forgotten that privacy apparently wasn’t a luxury he was afforded anyway. Aaron sat where he was indicated - more easily than he expected with his scabbard - and Max slid in next to him, looking decidedly done with talking. Aaron would have liked a little conversation to get his mind off of their little trip, but he wouldn’t pry. As if on cue, his phone and watch buzzed in tandem, showing a notification that one of the races he had his eye on just completed. Glancing down, he found the tablet in his armrest and pulled it up, navigating to the race website and scrolling through the results as he opened the calculator app on his phone. A few calculations and double-checks later and a grin tugged at his lip; he’d chosen the right horse and tripled his bet, bringing his total winnings to a record high at this point in the season. The odds had been a bit long for his taste, but he’d taken the gamble knowing his usual favourite had been going through a rough patch outside of races, and he was pleased to see his educated guess pay off.