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What the hell?

For the first time in what felt like a really long time, Eris was genuinely stunned. Not in the sense of a pleasant surprise or receiving some bad news, of course, but it had been some time since anyone had managed to actually leave the vampire speechless. Of course, even if Eris had wanted to say anything, Max slamming the door had promptly ended the conversation. The blonde stood there for a few seconds, completely dumbfounded as his brain tried to wrap itself around what just happened.

The kid pitching a fit wasn't something Eris had expected, sure, but what really surprised him was that for just the tiniest moment, [i]he[/i] felt bad. Alienating Max wasn't exactly something that Eris had planned for--and he remained true that he sooner expected the kid to stab him in the back sooner than later--but he felt like he had done something wrong. That he had said the wrong thing and there was going to be a lot of work done to fix it. Now [i]that[/i] was a thought, [i]him[/i] having to fix something between himself and a mage. No, no way, this was [i]not[/i] his fault. Was it? Did he feel [i]guilt[/i] over a [i]mage[/i]? No! Why was he even giving this a second guess?! What was wrong with him?! 

The frustration in him seemed to hit its limit, the vampire shaking with rage before he lifted his fist, only stopping himself at the last second from breaking down the door. Of course, he only avoided that by slamming his fist against the wall instead, but details. With a huff, Eris spun on his heel and had to consciously stop himself from stomping back to his room. Peeling off his dirty clothes, he focused on taking a quick, cold shower. He needed to get his shit together, going into a conversation with a Sinnenodel at anything less than one hundred percent capacity was as stupid as leaving the curtains open on a sunny day. 

Fortunately, the icy water soothed him, hitting a few aches and attacking a stiffness he didn't know he had. Alright, now that he had calmed himself down a little, he needed to strategize. In hindsight, agreeing to see one another wasn't the best course of action, he should have declined and remained quiet, make the count come to him. Then again, Varis coming to him happened so little that it would probably take weeks for that to happen. He needed to spin this around, he needed to divert the attention away from him and pin the blame solely on the vampire. Which was easy, he fucking admitted he didn't care about anyone. How [i]dare[/i] he lead him on like that! The thought nearly caused Eris to burn up again, but the coolness of the shower kept him grounded. 

Exiting the shower, Eris took a moment to stare at the bruise, letting out a small groan. His perfect skin was [i]marred[/i] by such an ugly thing, and it wasn't even stylish enough to pass as a tattoo. Maybe it would go away in a few days' time? He winced a little as he remembered Not-Varis biting into his skin, his fingers tracing the mark once more. Maybe telling Max to find out about it was the wrong move, if Eris himself had no idea, how could a kid with no resources find out anything?

Catching himself, Eris dropped his arms as he let his head hang, slowly bringing it up as he turned towards the bathroom mirror. [color=ccff99]"You need to get your shit together,"[/color] He warned his reflection. [color=ccff99]"Focus on the now. Everything else will follow."[/color] He slicked his hair back and away from his face, relieved that at least it felt like its usual silky smoothness. Once he dried himself, he threw on a pair of slacks and opted for a long sleeved shirt. At the very least the mark was additionally hidden by his watch, so as long as he didn't draw any attention to it, it shouldn't be noticeable to anyone. 

With a makeshift plan in mind, Eris exited his room, stopping only to double check his reflection in the hallway mirror. A tiny whine caught his attention, and he looked down at Maxie pawing at Max's door. There was that stupid feeling in his chest again telling him that he should probably at least [i]try[/i] to say something. Yeah, he'd try to apologize and then he'd end up with Max's foot on his neck. Like he would ever let [i]anyone [/i]have a hold on him. 

And yet Eris stood there, staring at the door. 

After about a minute, Eris tore himself away, fully intending on walking out, but he stopped again. Despite knowing it wouldn't do anything and despite his head yet again arguing that he should just [i]go[/i], he just couldn't for some reason. But he wasn't going to stand outside Max's door waiting for the kid to open up, no, he wasn't going to disrespect himself [i]that[/i] much. Instead, he walked over to his study, grabbing a piece of his stationary and a pen. He didn't really think too hard on what to write, if only because he was only willing to write one word. He still felt like it was stupid and pointless, if he kid didn't hate him before, then he certainly did now. 

Folding the paper in half, Eris walked back to Max's door, carefully sliding it underneath. 

[hider=Eris' Note]
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Maxie let out another whine, but Eris only patted her head for a few seconds before standing up. At least now he didn't feel so bad. [i]Now[/i] he could focus. Eris left the dorm and began the walk to the Sinnenodel dorm, carefully articulating a plan for the uncomfortable conversation he was going to have.

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[sub][right]Leaving [@Scribe of Thoth] behind and heading to [@Achronum]'s dorm.[/right][/sub]