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[sup][right]Collab between: Inertia & [@mantou][/right][/sup]
[indent][color=gray]Ixius’ ears pricked at the door clicking open again. [i][color=crimson]Great,[/color][/i] He sighed, he honestly wanted to be alone. More room for himself- his books, scrolls, and experiments. He didn’t bother craning his neck to look at Calven and continued reading his book. Hopefully, the stranger could read body language… but apparently not. The voice spewed out a vomit of words.

[color=#85B0BE]”Even though you seem pretty busy, care for a mana muffin? I made them myself, and they’re meant to restore your energy for this morning spent moving. Don’t worry, you can’t actually taste the mana in them.”[/color]

Never mind, he could read body language but just chose to willfully ignore it. Ixius could tell he would love this roommate, though he did ponder his last few words.  [i][color=crimson]Wait, did this bufoon say mana... muffin?[/color][/i]

[b][color=crimson]”Did you just say ‘Mana muffin’. What in the hells is that, and why does it sound vaguely familiar?”[/color][/b] Ixius replied, he had heard of something like this back at the Librarium. He also didn’t admit that injecting mana into food was a relatively impressive but impractical feat. Rumours say that the conversion rate from mana inputted to output is abysmal.

[color=#85B0BE]”OH, my name is Calven by the way. Calven Fallard. Nice to meet you, roomie!”[/color]

This time Ixius did crane his neck and rested his cheek on the back of his [url=https://i.imgur.com/yLaaLBS.png]hand[/url] before addressing the blond, [b][color=crimson]”Fallard… Fallard, the son of High Magus Theodore Fallard?”[/color][/b] Ixius paused as he gathered his thoughts, [b][color=crimson]”The so-called ‘problem child’ of the Librarium.”[/color][/b] It seemed that Ixius didn’t get the irony. [b][color=crimson]”What [sup]rotten[/sup] luck to have a fellow Magus as my roommate.[/color][/b] Ixius continued, flipping a page and letting the conversation lull to a stop.

Cal gasped, his excitement had grown stronger at the sight of the other students’ magus garb. [color=#85B0BE][i]Oh wow… How lucky AM I![/i][/color] he thought, eyes turned up to form crescents at the boy sitting down. The blond’s train of thoughts began, cycling through each and every future scenario spanning the next 4 years with his newfound friend. All situations had to do with magic, food, adventure, and their soon-to-be friendship. With Cal’s imagination having difficulty coming to a rest, even his roommate’s haughty remarks went in through one ear and out the other. And did he mention something about his father?

Ixius’ felt uncomfortable at the blond Magus’ blankly staring at him. It seemed that his gears were turning, trying to place who Ixius was. Should he bother introducing himself? It wasn’t like Calven, nor any other Magus as a matter-of-fact, would even know him. Still, Calven was a member of the Librarium, a high-ranking one at that, and that... deserved some respect, with another weary sigh, he deigned to introduce himself. [b][color=crimson]”Ixius Delthrane.”[/color][/b]

As the raven-haired boy finally introduced himself, Calven internally came to a screeching halt.

The student chef exclaimed with eyes wide: [color=#85B0BE]“Ixius? Ixius DELTHRANE?”[/color] The boy mused as he recalled his father’s late-night telepathic meetings, discussing with other council members about a student called Delthrane. It wasn’t gossip, per se, but the meetings weren’t for very notable, or even good reasons to say the least… so Cal chose to leave it at that.

[b][color=crimson]”Yes, that is indeed my name.”[/color][/b] Ixius replied, the faintest hint of biting sarcasm in his tone.

The blond broke away from his thoughts and beamed back at his roommate, [color=#85B0BE]”Ixius, my fellow problem child. It’s great to finally meet you!”[/color]

Ixius halted his reading; the red-eyed boy opened his mouth as if to speak but closed it after a moment of consideration. It wasn’t worth the energy talking to this gleaming pile of optimism, Ixius’ words would just bounce right off. The boy seemed to be the type to endlessly chatter, regardless if there was a participant or not. Instead, he replied with another turn of a page.

The chef attempted to feign a calmness he did not feel; the spring in Cal’s step betraying him as he made his way across the room to the bed. Unpacking was an issue on the schedule to be worried about later, after the feast. The boys had just gotten acquainted with each other - for now he just wanted to relax, kick his boots off, and release himself from his heavily-embellished magus robe. With a quick swipe past the clasp, his robe proceeded to fall to the bed with a light [i]thud[/i]. A second heavier [i]THUD[/i] followed as Calven lay sprawled on top of his garb, assuming a starfish position. He let out a sigh as he felt the mana that went into baking those muffins start to regenerate steadily.

The noise caused Ixius to glance at Calven, who was now practically sinking into his bed. The robes sank with him, the robes that signified one’s dignity as a Magus and he treated it like a mattress. Ixius got up, his chair screeched as it dragged across the floor, and turned to the blond. His mouth contorted, he couldn’t find the words. His hands shook unsteadily. Even his mana rose and fell in equal measures.

[i][color=crimson]It’s his robes, he’s free to do as he wants-[/color][/i] Ixius repeated in his mind, it was the only thing holding him back, [i][color=crimson]He’s a high magus’ son, He’s a high magus’ son, He’s a high magus’ son.[/color][/i]

Ixius massaged his temple as he slowly collected himself. [b][color=crimson]”So this,”[/color][/b] He gestures to Calven’s, well, everything, [b][color=crimson]”... is why High Magus Fallard is greying, as young as he is.”[/color][/b]

Calven lifted his head up in response, [color=#85B0BE]“Oh? I thought he just preferred the salt and pepper look.”[/color] he chirped. [color=#85B0BE]“You should try one of my muffins, you’ve been massaging that temple of yours for a while now. Speaking of which, toss me one!”[/color]

Ixius blinked incredulously. Was Calven really going to eat that muffin and leave crumbs all over his bed- and even worse, all over his robes? It was at this point that Ixius mentally checked out. He grabbed one of the muffins, there definitely was mana. It was carefully knitted into the bread, it seemed that his claims were atleast true. Ixius walked over to the lying blond and carefully placed it next to him.

Calven smiled, reached for the muffin, and was about to stuff it into his mouth before his roommate gave him a word of caution.

[b][color=crimson]”Don’t leave crumbs in the room,”[/color][/b] Ixius warned, mentally blocking out the robes’ desecration at the hands of this boy,  [b][color=crimson]”If I find bugs gnawing at my research...”[/color][/b] He stopped himself and shook his head. With another weary sigh he found his seat again.
 
[color=#85B0BE][i]Don’t leave crumbs when eating delicious food… that’s almost like saying don’t laugh when you hear a funny joke.[/i][/color] Then Calven swiftly laid back down, muffin in hand, and bit into it, making sure all of the crumbs fell straight into his mouth to the best of his ability. The things people do for friendship.

Calven chewed twice, opening his mouth to speak, [color=#85B0BE][i]”Therehh, hyou happfy?”[/i][/color] consequently letting loose crumbs scatter on both the robe and the bed.

[b][color=crimson]”So help me, [i]Calven[/i],”[/color][/b] Ixius didn’t even turn from his book, but he could definitely tell that crumbs were already all over Calven’s floor, bed, and... [b][i]robes.[/i][/b] [b][color=crimson]”The moment I find a single bug- ant, fly, cockroach, [i]I will[/i] separate our room by a barrier.”[/color][/b]

The student chef promptly dusted the fallen crumbs off his bed, as if having them on the floor was a much better choice. The boy made a mental note to put in some effort to sweep the room out later. Calven finished dusting and shot a toothy grin to the back of Ixius' head, who was still very much engrossed in his book.

 [color=#85B0BE]"Like hell I'd let you do that! Roomies stick together regardless of insect colonies."[/color] He hopped onto his feet to get to the next point of interest - the wardrobe. The uniforms piqued his curiosity when he ran into some students who had worn them earlier, though they were female. Exclaiming in advance, Calven excitedly unlocked the hatch to their closet and his voice died in his throat. The design was rather fetching, not too shabby in the slightest. The color scheme was especially appealing to the eye. However, the thing that bothered him the most was the fact that the uniform set came with a coat blazer. And a scarf. On top of that, he was also expected to wear the magus robes over it? Did the council not consider that their apprentices had pores to sweat from? The blond already felt a layer of sweat that formed on his back. Magus Librarium, really… no matter how adept at magic you are, you can't just ignore the heat rashes…

In the end, Calven decided to simply fold the red scarf into a pocket square and tuck it into the front of his magus robe. Unfortunately, he still had on two layers of long-sleeved garments, but at least he could have his magus robes unbuttoned to alleviate some of the stuffiness. Even if it didn't help much, the heat would have to be endured, and Ixius would have to endure his complaints.

Ixius glanced at the clock, and with Calven dressing up, he figured it best to follow suit. He barely spared a glance at the design nor make of the uniform. He fastened the belts on the long-sleeved torso and slid his legs into the white cargo pants. Like Calven, he carefully placed his robes over the uniform but left the middle bare to keep his uniform visible. The logo of Hoseforn and the Insignia of the Magus’ Librarium were both shown.  Finally, he wrapped the red scarf (meant to be on his neck) around his right arm.

[color=#85B0BE]"Over-layering aside, we look pretty damn good if I do say so myself…"[/color] Calven stated while giving Ixius an unwarranted turn-around. Just then, a thought popped into the little chef's head.

[color=#85B0BE]"Hey… we forgot to bathe."[/color]

[indent][hr][/indent]
Forty minutes later, the two made their way down to their second stop. It wasn’t too difficult to find, especially with the help of the map Athena provided them with. A pre-marked route was easy enough to follow, and soon enough, they found themselves at the grand entrance of Hoseforn's Feast Hall. Calven quickly ushered an exasperated Ixius to the first seats his eyes landed on, and paid no mind to the fact that they were nearly twenty minutes early. 
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