[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/190120/b458a81531631a6916fa9413063c5f80.png[/img][/center]
Aaron glanced back as Eris wandered off, swinging his key and whistling without a care in the world. A bit of a contrast from his former concern, but Aaron supposed he’d never seen Eris let anything get him down for more than a couple of minutes. Still, that he let a “spat” with Max get him down at all was unexpected in itself. Frankly, he never expected there was anything anyone other than Varis could say or do to hurt Eris’—feelings? Pride? Whatever it was—that much. 

He expected to leave the issue there, but the farther he walked, the more the curiosity gnawed at him. What on earth [i]happened?[/i] Surely all this couldn’t have been brought about just because Eris and Max couldn’t manage to coexist. Had Max said something particularly cutting? Done something to Eris? It was improper to pry, but… he [i]was[/i] tasked with getting to know Max better. Twice, in fact. 

Giving in to his curiosity, Aaron pulled out his phone, tapping out a quick message. 

[color=f0d705][i]> Hey, did something happen? I just ran into Eris and he was all doom and gloom about the two of you not getting along. What did you do?[/i][/color]

While he had his phone handy, he gave Malek a call, quickly listing off the documents Varis asked for and getting little more in response than a raspy, painfully monotone confirmation before the call abruptly ended. Aaron was still getting used to that; the department heads back at the castle at least had a bit more charisma to them, even with the lower staff—of which Aaron certainly was one now, to his mild chagrin. Still, it was clear the man earned his position well; only someone extremely well-versed in Varis’ methods and preferences would be capable of squeezing that much general disappointment into just a few words.

The infirmary was a tad busier than usual, a few of the waiting room chairs filled with mages Aaron assumed had just returned from the practical themselves. Many were dirty and tired-looking, holding sore arms or ankles, and one girl cradled her hands in her lap, bloodied palms peppered with shredded bits of leaves likely from taking a fall in the woods. An obviously concerned vampire looked over her from the adjacent chair, though when her eyes met Aaron’s, she looked more embarrassed than anything. Past her, the receptionist already looked bored, though to her credit, she put on a smile as Aaron approached the desk. 

Pleasantries were exchanged, and before she had the chance to ask him to wait, a subtle flash of his earring and the seal on his letter got him sent straight to an examination room. That was one thing he actually appreciated about his earring, not to mention the crests on the rest of his clothes; priority treatment at every campus office and town shop made the thing feel less like a tag and much more like the gift Varis made it out to be. He didn’t even really need to throw his last name around anymore—not that he did it all that much to start with—although when it came to campus business, there was still one purpose for which his name would always weigh heavier than Varis’.

Alone in the examination room, Aaron allowed himself a weary sigh. Was that even true anymore? After all this nonsense in the exam, he couldn’t help but think the Starag name and its secrets weren’t all that high up on Ryner’s priority list at all. He didn’t want to believe that—Ryner had always treated his family with care and dignity—but what other conclusion could he come to? She allowed massive family secrets to be thrown around as the freaking [i]venue[/i] for a trial, and outed one of his own besides— not to mention his clone’s talk of Yvaine! Even if Ryner didn’t directly oversee what her mages did for the exam, how could she allow such sensitive information (she herself had called the nightmares a matter of national security for stars’ sake) to just sneak out like that, to who knew what student might see?!

He slumped against the back of his chair. Unless she’d [i]intended[/i] to reveal all that to Varis—in which case, telling him to keep the nightmares from him was pointless—this was, at best, a massive, critical oversight, and that didn’t sit right with Aaron. Reputation aside, a vampire didn’t live to be as old as Ryner did if they were prone to such glaring mistakes. In which case, she [i]did[/i] plan it, and all that secret information Aaron safeguarded so preciously in his head really wasn’t worth much to her at all. He was between a frightening rock and an uncomfortable hard place, and he didn’t like his chances with either. 

And now Varis was on track to uncover it all. Aaron wanted to believe Ryner would throw him off the scent, but did he have any basis for that? For all he knew, she could lay it all bare and just watch him squirm when Varis’ ire reached him—though that didn’t make a lot of sense either. Nightmares and scars aside, that mausoleum was a problem. It was highly illegal, blatant special treatment of the Starags by the royal family, which of course would [i]not[/i] go over well if revealed publicly. Granted, Varis wasn’t the type to throw information around without getting something in return, and he doubted the Count really cared much about how the Starags lived back at the castle, but leverage was leverage, and in this case, it was leverage against [i]Ryner[/i]— she’d been the one to approve the mausoleum’s construction in the first place. So, assuming it [i]wasn’t[/i] accidental, why would she open herself up to that sort of blackmail? It didn’t make sense. 

He ran an agitated hand through his hair. Ugh, [i]nothing[/i] made sense! And he was supposed to keep his mouth shut about all of it, while she threw around the keys to every lock in his head! This was the problem with secrets, right here. One vampire tells him to keep quiet, the other tells him to spill, and who’s he supposed to listen to? Varis, his master? Ryner, who raised him, who told him his secrets were a matter of national security? De facto leader of the realm, or the man who decided if he got medical attention? The man to whom, lest he forget, Ryner personally handed him over. Seriously! How could she tell him to hold his peace while handing his leash to the family that dealt in information and played inside people’s heads? 

Aaron’s leg was bouncing, and he impatiently checked his watch, surprised to see that only a short time had passed since he’d been sent to the examination room. Whatever the answer was, he couldn’t just let Varis traipse into Ryner’s office and find out his mage had lied about a lot more than a little scar on his ear. He could only hope that Ryner didn’t out him straight away, and if that was to be the case, she needed some warning. He would have also liked to give her a piece of his mind, but even as irritated as he was, he wasn’t [i]that[/i] stupid. Standing, he looked around the room for something to write with, coming up only with a cheap pen and a pad of prescription notes. Tearing a leaf off the pad, he flipped it over to the back and wrote: 

[hider=Letter][color=f0d705][i]Your Royal Highness,

I fear one of your mages may have made a gross oversight proctoring the exam. My Master now has an interest in crypts and someone named Yvaine. 

You can expect him soon. 

Cordially Yours,
Aaron Starag[/i][/color][/hider]
There. He folded the paper into his pocket, returning the pen to its place and sitting back down as if nothing had happened. He'd send that when he was done with the life mage. Now no one could say he didn’t do what he could, though the irony of resolving lies and subterfuge with yet more subterfuge wasn’t lost on him. It all left a bad taste in his mouth; he didn’t [i]want[/i] to hide things from Varis. Not only was it exhausting, stressful, and altogether too complicated for his taste, but keeping things from his master legitimately didn’t sit right with him. He was an [i]attendant[/i]. His job was to [i]help[/i] his master, to be dependable and valuable, and the sort of master-servant relationship he’d always idealized (even if only a shadow of it was attainable with Varis) required trust on both ends. He wasn’t so presumptuous to think he could rightfully expect respect and honesty from his master if he couldn’t provide it in return, and on top of it all, secrecy was simply a huge slap in the face to his superiors. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose. None of this was making his headache any better. As pressing and confusing and [i]frustrating[/i] as it all was, he’d done as much as he could for the time being. He needed a distraction. As luck would have it, pulling his phone out of his pocket provided just that: a response from Max, apparently from a few minutes ago. Weird, Aaron hadn’t noticed; either he was [i]that[/i] wrapped up in his thoughts (a real possibility) or he must have sent it while he was talking to the receptionist. 

[color=8585AD][i]> Yeah he’s having a meltdown or something idk[/i][/color]

Aaron almost rolled his eyes. Yeah, he could have guessed that from what Eris told him, but that wasn’t what he asked. 

[color=f0d705][i]> Well yeah, but what actually happened? Whatever you did, he seemed pretty upset about it.
> Or, as upset as Eris can be, I guess.[/i][/color]
[right][sub]Upsetti over [@Achronum] and texting [@Scribe of Thoth][/sub][/right]