[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200209/3c127a0725ed581acd946b013fe9da27.png[/img][/center] Somehow Aaron had begun to drift off when a buzz in his pocket pulled him awake again, the blond clumsily pulling his phone out with an annoyed groan. Oh, good. Salem. [i]Now[/i] he chose to respond. Rolling his eyes, Aaron flicked the lock screen open and lazily read the message, suppressing another groan when he finished. Was Salem serious? No answer after dropping that kind of bombshell and now he expected Aaron to trek across campus just to talk to him? Did the man not consider for a second that he might not be [i]able[/i] to make that trip? That he might be occupied with his master, a vampire Salem claimed to know well enough to know what he could be like? No. Aaron wouldn’t do it. Maybe [i]he[/i] would be the petty one for once, pocket his phone with no answer and leave [i]Salem[/i] hanging. The man seemed to think he could drag Aaron this way and that at his convenience, belittling him and his way of life all the way; well this time, Aaron would return the favour. Let Salem feel the weight of his dangerous antics without his help. It might even do him some good to realize the consequences of his actions. Aaron pocketed his phone, leaning stubbornly back against the property wall and training his eyes firmly on the stars, resolute. But, as minutes passed and his energy started to sap from him once more, he sighed in defeat, giving in to his curiosity. Fine. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do anyway. He wasn’t sure if meeting Salem was necessarily a better alternative to spending the day on the lawn, but Aaron got up anyway, brushing the dust from his slacks and smoothing his jacket as he read the message again. Try not to be seen? The discretion Aaron could understand, but that was a little absurd. Salem was far too paranoid. He didn’t even have the heart to question why Salem was with Eris, resolving instead to get his story straight. Eris would probably know that he missed his curfew, but at least this way he could honestly say that he was visiting at Salem’s behest and not to save himself the trouble of this first phase of a likely lengthy punishment. He spent half the walk over swearing to the sun, moon, and every twice-damned star in the sky that Salem would never hear the end of this when a sound pulled him from his mental tirade. Or, rather, the lack of sound; Aaron paused in his walk as he approached the common dorms, peering around at the eerie stillness around him. The distant shouts and music from earlier had faded to silence, and where there had been throngs of students milling about before, the paths were strangely empty. In the distance, Aaron could see a guard on patrol, obsidian armour glinting in the moonlight: that was much heavier gear than the usual guards wore, and Aaron felt a tightness in his chest. His hand instinctively reached for Dawn’s handle, only to grasp air; shoot, that was right, he’d omitted Dawn from his outfit for fear he’d be too easily recognized if he carried it. He cursed himself. Of all nights not to wear his sword… In its place, he pulled his mask off his arm and donned it, hoping that it and his dark tuxedo would conceal him from any prying eyes. It pained him to admit it, but Salem might have been right; he couldn’t help but feel like stealth would be wise tonight. He made it to Eris’ building without incident, recalling the dorm number from a few errands Varis had sent him on in the past. Walking briskly to the door, he pulled off his mask and knocked with as much confidence as he could muster; he had no fear of Noilan guards, but now that Salem had him spooked he couldn’t help but feel like he wasn’t supposed to be anywhere but his own dorm tonight, and didn’t want to look any more suspicious than he already did. Salem had been waiting by the door all night, unsure if Aaron would actually come or if he simply passed away. In truth he hardly expected a response given who his partner was, but he would still wait vigilantly by the door in case the blond mage did show up. To his surprise there was a knock on the door, and Salem peeked to see who it was before cracking the door open and immediately pulling the light mage into the dorm and closing the door, locking it behind him. [color=82ca9d]"I'm surprised you came, I wouldn't have blamed you had you been restricted by Varis, or asleep already. But if figured I owed you an explanation and you seemed to want one."[/color] Salem kept his voice down as he spoke, trying not to bother the others in the household but wondering if the backyard was a wise idea. He tapped his fingers against his leg a few times before speaking again. [color=82ca9d]"Earlier tonight there was at least one murder. I'm sure you've heard by now. I had thought I stumbled across the culprit when in fact it was another who had also managed to find their way towards the crime scene. We attempted to alert the authorities and in doing so were now wrapped up in a murder investigation and although we weren't viewed as culprits, we were still detained. We were taken to Ry…"[/color] Salem stopped for a moment, his hand trembling as he recalled the events. [color=82ca9d]"To a mage adept with illusionary magic who put on the persona of Ryner. She was kind for a moment and seemed to know what we all wanted."[/color] Salem paused and made his way over towards a seat before patting down the one next to him offering Aaron some comfort so that they weren't standing. [color=8585AD]“She sure as hell didn’t know what I wanted, or she would’ve staked herself on the spot!”[/color] Max abruptly called from the other room, apparently having been listening in. Aaron wrested himself free of Salem's grip as soon as the two were inside, stepping away indignantly as Salem started to explain. He had to resist rolling his eyes at the comment about Varis, but at least for once the fool was smart enough to keep his voice down. Apparently not low enough though, as Max chimed in from another room. [color=f0d705]“Max?! You were--”[/color] Aaron cut himself off with a frustrated groan, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment. He remained standing, collecting his thoughts. [color=f0d705]“How do you manage these things?”[/color] He finally blurted out, too tired and annoyed to keep up his usual ‘gentle’ way of speaking to Salem. [color=f0d705]“Firstly, [i]no,[/i] I haven't [i]heard,[/i] the only indication of anything amiss was the campus being strangely empty when I came over here.”[/color] He glared daggers at Salem. [color=f0d705]“Secondly, how on earth did [i]you[/i] manage to become a suspect? What were you, messing with the body or something? And thirdly--”[/color] Aaron turned to the door where he'd heard Max, [color=f0d705]“Max? How did [i]you[/i] get wrapped up in this?!”[/color] [color=82ca9d]"Well to answer your first question, I became a suspect because I was seen at the crime scene with Max as we diverted the party attendants eyes from the scene to avoid a mass panic. As to how Max got involved, he's the shadow I saw lurking over the body in the first place, the one who I assumed had done it. Which is incidentally how we both got involved I suppose."[/color] Salem began to pet Maxie as he spoke, giving the small creature attention it yearned by two new faces. Salem raised an eyebrow at something Aaron had said. [color=82ca9d]"What were you up to tonight? There were sirens going off, an ambulance, and even some police vehicles earlier tonight near where I left you and Lilie."[/color] Normally an individual might put two and two together, but this far into the game Salem still had yet to notice their liking to each other. [color=8585AD]“I wanted to get drunk, stumbled on a corpse, and for some reason thought I should do the right thing,”[/color] Max continued, still not stepping out of his room, [color=8585AD]“My mistake. Also I think the M-word was supposed to be a secret until they made an official statement, dumbass!”[/color] Not that Max really cared; Aaron didn’t seem like the type to run his mouth, and even if he did, that was Eris and Ryner’s PR team’s problem, not his. [color=f0d705]“Well you don't have to worry about that, because [i]neither[/i] of you are going to breathe a word about this until they do,”[/color] Aaron spat back, a threat clear in his voice. This was not happening. On top of everything else, Salem did [i]not[/i] get wrapped up in a twice-damned [i]murder.[/i] Aaron had to sigh at the realization that yes, it was happening, and yes, of course he did. The man attracted trouble like a corpse attracted flies—he almost smirked at the analogy. His anger slipped away as quickly as it came, a heavy mix of disappointment and exasperation taking its place as Aaron steeled himself with a breath. [color=f0d705]“I didn't hear any sirens,”[/color] he continued more calmly, [color=f0d705]“they must have sounded while I was inside, or something.”[/color] He didn't need to be getting into [i]that[/i] right now, either. [color=f0d705]“So what now?”[/color] He asked the room. [color=82ca9d]"You tell me Starag. You always seem to have the answers, or so you claim. And Max, the agreement between that imposter and Eris is more than likely not going to hold, I don't believe a word she said, especially the fact that this won't affect me at all...regardless if anyone can help us keep Nox off our tail so we aren't incarcerated and forcefully mind read [i]again[/i] then its Aaron."[/color] Salem shook his head at the whole ordeal as he realised the irony that this all happened because Max and him wanted to get drunk separately. Salem took the flask out of his pocket and tossed it in the direction of Max's door. [color=82ca9d]"Heads up Maxie, try and use your magic to catch this if you still want to get drunk."[/color] His attention turned back to Aaron as he placed his fingers together. [color=82ca9d]"So you have your answers. Now what?"[/color] The flask clattered uselessly to the floor outside Max’s doorway and sat there for a brief moment as the metal mage weighed his options. They were [i]both[/i] talking shit now, in [i]his[/i] dorm, no less. The flask slowly levitated upward and, after hovering momentarily, shot forward in Salem and Aaron’s general direction to try and peg one of them, or at least scare them. Though without a clear visual on the room, he was basically firing blind. [color=8585AD]“Piss off, both of you, the rat barks enough around here.”[/color] Aaron caught the flask as it careened toward his shoulder, and very nearly threw it back at Salem. But he refrained, placing it on a nearby end table, out of Salem’s reach. He glanced down when Eris’ little white puffball of a dog let out a yap in Max’s general direction, but paid it little mind, raising his hands. [color=f0d705]“Excellent suggestion Max,”[/color] he stated flatly, turning to the door. [color=f0d705]“I want no part in this.”[/color] There was a mostly unnoticed murmur coming from Eris’ room, steadily growing louder. By the time Aaron decided to make Max’s suggestion, everything went quiet. The door suddenly burst open, a mildly disgruntled Eris with slightly disheveled hair and in only a towel stomping out for a few steps before giving Aaron a shrill whistle, free hand gripping his phone. [color=ccff99]“Get comfortable, Sunny, the entire campus is under martial law and Varis would have my ass hanging above the fireplace if you got caught and he found out you were here,”[/color] He stated sharply, whipping his hair out of his face. [color=ccff99]“As for the whole ‘now what’ thing, that’s a loaded question coming from a pair that can’t [i]do[/i] anything,”[/color] Eris continued as he walked to the kitchen, returning shortly with a bottle. [color=ccff99]“I’m already taking care of things, the very minimum you boys have to do is not saying anything to anyone.”[/color] Aaron nearly flinched as a sharp whistle pierced his ears, whipping around to face a towel-clad Eris. He dipped his head immediately - partly out of respect, partly because he was already more familiar with a disrobed Eris than he ever wanted to be - but took a long enough detour to glare daggers at Salem before his eyes landed on the coffee table. [color=f0d705]“Yes, sir. Pardon me,”[/color] he apologized quietly. He sank into the nearest chair, spinning his ring. At least Eris had some sense; Max, too, really. Which, predictably, left only one contender for the situation’s only possible problem. Salem wasn't sure if he should avoid his eyes, or just look on casually as if this was supposed to be normal. He elected to turn his gaze onto Aaron without looking at Eris' exposed visage. He was fully unaware as to why he was being glared at, Aaron had asked for all of this. He couldn't expect to ask for details on a murder investigation and then say he wanted no part in it. [color=82ca9d]"With the exception of Starag over here, I don't plan to tell anyone. I only offered to speak to him about this because I had messaged him prior to meeting the princess so he was already involved to a degree. I trust your resourcefulness Eris."[/color] [color=ccff99]“Your validation means nothing to me,”[/color] The blond replied, shaking his head. [color=ccff99]“The whole ‘corralling everyone into their dorms’ thing is only going to make people speculate. Once the news comes out, everyone is going to do anything and everything it takes to find out what actually happened.”[/color] He was a little more concerned on who or how many people actually saw them, tapping his phone to his chin. [color=ccff99]“Keep your head down, deny any allegations, and in the worst case scenario, get your story straight [i]before[/i] word gets out. Otherwise you end up with rumors circulating around about how much of a manwhore you are or you get pointed out as a traitor to the crown,”[/color] He said, walking back to his room. [color=ccff99]“And you two already know you can’t afford any more attention than what you already have.”[/color] Aaron bristled at the insult - come on, he wasn’t the one who got himself tangled up in a murder investigation here - but, begrudgingly, he figured “rumoured manwhore” was at least a step above “rumoured traitor” and didn't comment. Instead, he looked at his watch again, nearly grimacing at the time before he went back to impatiently spinning his ring. [color=f0d705]“I'm confident that Her Highness has a handle on things,”[/color] he stated, more for his own benefit than anyone else’s. He willed himself to calm down, taking a long breath. [color=f0d705]“And besides, I saw a guard in full obsidian plate on the way over. Those aren’t Academy guards; they're Princess Nox’s men.”[/color] He looked to Salem. [color=f0d705]“I know you're nervous about her, but at least take comfort that with her here, no one else is going to come to harm tonight.”[/color] Unless they were being interrogated, anyway. But if Salem and co. had been released as easily as they made it sound, he doubted Nox would have much in the way of questions for them anyway. [color=8585AD]“I [i]told[/i] you Nox would come sniffing in this direction! Did anyone listen? Nooo,”[/color] Max barked out again from the other room, [color=8585AD]“If she shows up, I was never here and the window was already broken.”[/color] Eris openly rolled his eyes, uncorking the bottle as he replied, [color=ccff99]"Yeah, she's going to come all the way over here for [i]you[/i] since she has something against smartass mages instead of apprehending the [i]actual[/i] murderer."[/color] He shook his head. Despite the tension, Aaron almost laughed, a ghost of a smirk appearing on his face before he shook his head. [color=f0d705]“Mr. Samael is right,”[/color] he called, [color=f0d705]“Her Highness’ main priority right now will be locking down the campus. I don't imagine she’ll move on to knocking down doors for another few hours at least. And if you were spirited away to some facsimile of Princess Ryner so quickly, I doubt Nox is going to be after you.”[/color] He supposed there was a chance, but if everything had gone as smoothly as Salem made it seem, it was probably unlikely. [color=f0d705]“Could you shed some light on what exactly happened, though?”[/color] He asked the room, [color=f0d705]“What did you… find?”[/color] [color=8585AD]“Oh, fuck you Eric, you know what I meant,”[/color] Max grumbled, still refusing to leave his room. At this point he was just being childish, [color=8585AD]“We found a dead girl with all the blood drained out of her, what did you expect?”[/color] Aaron almost put his face in his hands. Good lord, why was it always like pulling teeth with these people? [color=f0d705]“We’ve established that there was a body,”[/color] he replied, doing his best to conceal his remounting irritation. [color=f0d705]“What else did you find? Anything? And what happened next to bring you to an illusion mage representing Princess Ryner, of all people?”[/color] Good grief, no wonder Varis was so annoyed with the kid’s lack of thinking skills. Didn’t Flower Boy already tell him what happened? Eris guessed connecting the dots wasn’t a strong suit of his, slowly sipping at his drink as he rolled his eyes. He leaned against the wall, slicking his hair out of his face as he sighed. [color=ccff99]“Did you forget the part where we were arrested? We were told we would be taken into Her Highness’ custody and wound up with an imposter,”[/color] He reminded Aaron. [color=ccff99]“Why? Who knows. I didn’t think you had it in you to question the crown like that.”[/color] Taking a more elementary route, he laid out the events. [color=ccff99]“The body that had been attacked by a vampire was found. The victim held onto some evidence in her hand that I probably shouldn’t have touched, and we got arrested as a result. Supposedly, Princess Ryner’s orders made it so we were taken to her at her office--it wasn’t her, it was an illusionist or mentalist or whatever the fuck those mages are called. We were released, and here we are,”[/color] He said it as plainly as he could. [color=ccff99]“If you want to find out why your princess decided not to speak to us in person, by all means, ask and let me know, I’d love to hear that.”[/color] The blatant disrespect for the crown predictably grated on Aaron, but he let it slide - not that he was about to voice his displeasure to his master’s lover anyway. So they were taken to the Princess’ office? Considering Aaron was confident that no one could possibly get in there without her express consent, that at least meant that whoever they’d spoken to had at least had permission from Ryner to act on her behalf. [color=f0d705]“Do you have any idea why they wanted you in her office, sir?”[/color] he asked. [color=f0d705]“And what evidence did you find?”[/color] [color=8585AD]“You’re asking a lot of fucking questions for a guy who just had his panties in a twist about us shutting up about what we saw,”[/color] Max commented again from his room. Maxie hurried off in the direction of his voice excitedly, apparently having heard Max yell ‘shut up’ at her enough to recognize the words. Either that, or she felt slighted by the inattention from the other three. [color=8585AD]“What? Go away.”[/color] Max could be heard muttering from the doorway. Maxie just barked in response. Aaron watched the dog go, his irritation almost entirely fading at the sight of Max thwarted by a fluffy rat. [color=f0d705]“Well I don’t want anyone going around starting a panic or a rumour mill,”[/color] he replied, [color=f0d705]“but given that I’m involved now I think you’ll agree it’s prudent to find out as much as I can.”[/color] Not to mention that no small part of him was horrified that such a thing could have happened on Academy grounds, of all places. He wouldn’t admit it, but the thought that he’d spent his evening wandering about in the dark without care (or brooding unprotected on his lawn) while a [i]murderer[/i] was prowling around had him shaken to the core. That was the last time he ever left his dorm without Dawn at his side, that much was certain. As much as he lived by the standard of “don’t ask, don’t tell”, now that he was involved experience had taught him that [i]not[/i] knowing would probably torment him more than whatever gruesome details they could provide. Eris looked offended for a second, watching the pomeranian wait patiently outside of Max’s door. He didn’t have to be so rude to her, she didn’t do anything wrong. As for Aaron’s question, Eris shrugged. [color=ccff99]“Considering we were led to believe that we were talking to the real princess under the guise of sparing us from the [i]other[/i] princess’ wrath, I want to think that the original intention of protecting her students was what Princess Ryner wanted,”[/color] He threw in his best guess. [color=ccff99]“For whatever reason, she wanted us or whoever to believe that she was there.”[/color] [color=ccff99]“And as for the evidence, it was a bundle of multicolored strings. Pretty sure that was taken directly from the murderer’s garb,”[/color] Eris closed his eyes as he remembered. [color=ccff99]“Green and silver, likely from either an expensive dress or a cheap suit. I’m more inclined to believe it was the former, there weren’t many lessers at the ballroom.”[/color] [color=82ca9d]"Apart from that, as it's already been explained, the victim had similar puncture wounds as a feeding vampire, though the bite itself was a bit strange. I did inspect them to make sure they were alive first, and gathered this was either an attack to make it seem like a vampire’s doing to cause strife, or it was an actual feeding. The lack of blood pooling around them suggests it was the latter while the wounds let me know this wasn't a ravenous attack. It was nothing like the ones I've seen in the poorer human districts, this was precise, deep, and controlled. Yet they were also larger, and more jagged than a normal bite. They were in a proper state of mind when attacking and feeding...well maybe not proper but definitely weren't feral."[/color] Aaron nodded as the others spoke, though he wasn’t sure why he was trying to put the pieces together. Investigating murders was not his job, and experience taught him that things such as these were much better left alone. Still, it didn’t stop him from trying. He agreed that Salem’s information suggested a vampire in their right mind, though he supposed that could have been assumed from the start; a feral vampire could never have exhibited the self control needed to remain undetected. No, the whole campus would have known were that the case. As for the strings… Aaron could recall only one person wearing green and silver at the ball: the stranger he’d danced with. His stomach twisted in knots at the idea that he could have come so close to a killer, but he stubbornly pushed the thought from his mind. No. he couldn’t jump to conclusions. There were [i]dozens[/i] of people at the ball, and droves more crawling around various other events on campus; surely she couldn’t have been the [i]only[/i] vampire in green and silver. [color=f0d705]“Disturbing,”[/color] he sounded a little more nonchalant than he probably should have, but he wasn’t sure what else he could add. [color=f0d705]“That was everything, then?”[/color] Salem nodded in agreement. [color=82ca9d]"Aside from a rune that disappeared after a while that's it. Unfortunately I'm not far enough along in my studies to know exactly what it was or what it was meant to do aside from attract attention by providing a dim glow on an otherwise dark night. It could potentially have been the Rune to signify someone finished their allotted drink but again we got no real information from our time with that mage or officers besides the fact that Nox was supposedly out for us and wanting to interrogate with the use of mind magic."[/color] Brow furrowing at the mention of a rune, Aaron shook his head. [color=f0d705]“As long as you told the guard everything you knew, then you don't need to worry about what any of it means.”[/color] He gave Salem a flat look. [color=f0d705]“And don’t take Princess Nox’s actions too personally. Her only goal is to get to the bottom of this - she has no interest in torturing you unless she thinks you’re hiding something.”[/color] With that settled, Aaron checked his watch, grimacing a bit at the time. Logically he knew it didn’t matter - he was already in trouble and locked out, it made little difference whether he spent the day here or on the lawn - but he looked up to Eris just the same. [color=f0d705]“Sir, respectfully, how long do you want me to stay here? It’s… rather urgent that I get back on time in the evening.”[/color] [color=ccff99]"The entire student body was instructed to stay indoors, I figure you could head out at sunrise and be alright,"[/color] Eris said, waving his hand around. [color=ccff99]"I'm heading to bed, the couch is all yours."[/color] He stepped into his room and almost closed the door before he remembered something, snapping his fingers and pointing to the pair. [color=ccff99]"And no sucking face, keep it in your pants please and thank you,"[/color] He warned them both, leaving the door open a crack in case Maxie decided to join him.