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With time to kill, Aaron had taken to aimlessly strolling around campus after his little ‘altercation’ with Ralph, a new and foreign spring in his step and mood significantly lifted after getting the douchebag so satisfyingly riled up. Maybe this was the feeling Max got when he sent the more shy of Eris’ badgering fans running. It’d certainly explain some things; just that short exchange had turned Aaron’s dour mood around so completely that he even found himself [i]humming[/i] as he walked, a habit usually reserved for tough cello passages or the odd time Eris got a particularly insufferable pop song stuck in his head. 

Campus was buzzing—right, the other students had been given the night off—but predictably, Aaron was left alone, exempt as he was from getting caught up in slow-walking crowds or accosted for stories from the practical. By now, he didn’t even bat an eye; in fact, he’d long stopped noticing the hush that tended to follow him or the ease at which he could navigate a crowd. Like he’d noted long before, ostracization had its advantages. 

It came as a shock, then, when the footsteps he heard approaching behind him failed to pass him by. His humming stopped short as the two mages flanked him, a wary tension coiling in his chest as they kept pace, not breaking off or passing as everyone else always had before. 

Aaron had almost convinced himself he was reading too far into the situation when the one to his right with the thermos piped up, looking like he’d been rehearsing his little proposition in the mirror all night. Aaron didn’t know whether to be surprised or suspicious, and settled on something in between, regarding the man with a questioning look. Him, Aaron “Retriever” Starag, intimidating? Max would get a laugh out of that. Maybe it really was the sword, though he hadn’t been able to carry Dawn in almost a month. It might be possible that someone of his pedigree could come off as a little unapproachable to mages of lower standing, but he’d have to admit the thought never really crossed his mind. Especially not lately, seeing as a Starag who didn’t serve royalty wasn’t all that much of a Starag at all. Or, so the Princess would apparently have him believe. 

That thought soured his mood a bit, but he was too distracted by his bizarre and improbable situation to worry about it for the moment. This mage and his friend seemed to have been keeping an eye on him for a while—unless it was really just that obvious when he was on assignment, which was always—and he’d confess he wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or a little violated. Above all, it was frankly just surprising that anyone who wasn’t Varis paid any more attention to him than the occasional strange look or tawdry rumour—aside from Ralph, of course, who seemed to dedicate a downright flattering volume of time and energy to hating his guts. 

[color=69F954]“We’ve been interested in asking you over for a while!”[/color]

[color=f0d705]“Have you now?”[/color] Aaron couldn’t help himself, drawling sarcastically as he turned to the mage on his left. The poor guy looked like he wanted nothing to do with this, like he’d been dragged along on the thermos one’s adventure with little to no say in the matter. [color=f0d705]“I can tell.”[/color] 

Turning back to the bouncy one, Aaron stopped walking, crossing his arms. [color=f0d705]“I don’t suppose Ralph put you up to this, did he?”[/color] he half-joked. He wouldn’t put it past the frozen little prick to set him up for something humiliating after getting his ego bruised. 
[right][sub]Feeling out the situation with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Goggles[/sub][/right]
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