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It was a mercy that no one in the room seemed to pay any attention to him, but only a small one; Count Benjamin’s quip and Count Victor’s little offering only primed Varis for another round, and it was all Aaron could do to keep his eyes off the floor as he continued to drag his reputation through the mud. He’d chastised him for his supposed [i]pride[/i] before - Aaron could concede that he thought too highly of himself at the start of this perilous journey, but evidently the Sinnenodel definition of pride was to dare not to resent the accident of one’s birth as a mage rather than a vampire - but what really rankled him was that Varis applied the same judgement to his [i]family.[/i] He wasn’t sure whether to be angry or ashamed; the Starags [i]deserved[/i] their pride, they served as an example to all the mages of the realm and they carried forth Landar’s legacy. If his shortcomings really were a stain on their name, then… 

Ugh, he couldn’t think about that right now. 

Compared to all that, Varis’ offhand mention of breaking bones was hardly a threat; if anything, it would be a relief for Aaron to go back to the methods he was accustomed to. But he doubted there was any truth to it, and besides, he wouldn’t be surprised if his time with Varis had ruined him for his old ways. He’d probably be far too jumpy now, or too weak - Count Victor had a point, he’d lost some muscle since arriving at the Academy, and his new workout regimen had yet to recover all of it. So if the old ways wouldn’t work, and the new ways obviously weren’t, maybe he really was an impossible project. At this point, it wouldn’t be a shocking revelation. 

Aaron straightened further when he was addressed, dipping his head in acknowledgement before turning to offer a deeper, more formal bow to Count Victor. [color=f0d705]“Please accept my humblest apologies, Count Victor,”[/color] he said evenly, [color=f0d705]“my transgression was merely a lapse in judgement, not intended to offend. It won’t happen again.”[/color] 

He paused as long as was expected before straightening, gathering his tray of empty glasses and dropping them in the kitchen before making for the mages. He stepped into the living room quite a bit paler than he was when he left, and looking fairly worse for wear, formally cleared his throat. [color=f0d705]“If I may have your attention,”[/color] he announced to the room, [color=f0d705]“the sun will be up soon, and it’s time for tonight’s events to come to a close. Thank you all for coming; please follow me to the door and I will see you out.”[/color] 
[right][sub][@ReusableSword], all of the mages[/sub][/right]