Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Trainerblue192
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Reduction? That was an interesting place to start learning transmuting. Then again, there wasn't exactly a natural place to begin to learn how to alter the materials and composition of matter. Salem watched intently as the professor spoke, reciting the incantation in his mind over and over again to try and ensure he memorized the words and how to pronounce them. The sigil used to cast the spell seemed simple enough. But he was beginning to understand why delving into too many magics may become a bit too difficult to maintain. Having to keep track of every sigil, phrase, and motion associated with every set would becoming more difficult with every new spell. So far the two he had seen seemed fairly simple, but he had no doubt that the more advanced applications would have more complex symbols. The student next to him passed down a wooden block, having Salem continue it until everyone had their own blocks and he was absentmindedly tapping his thumb against it.

Salem was ready to try the spell, eagerly shifting in place as he watched the spell performed so that he could attempt it himself. As soon as the professor finished speaking, Salem tapped his finger against the wooden block, imagining the symbol and keeping it focused in his mind as he spoke the words. He felt his magic leave through his fingertip, a spot of green energy spiraling out before it recoiled back into him and Salem erupted intona burst of floral scents. The scent of lavender began to fill his space as embarrassment took over him at the idea of having failed at his first attempt. He tried to push back his emotions, take a deep breath and relax, which was made easier by the calming scents of the lavender. After collecting himself, Salem tried the exercise once more, this time managing to shrink the small wooden block by a small amount. "Are all the spells we learn in this class applicable to living and organic matter as well?"
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Achronum
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January 8th - 12:15am


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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by ReusableSword
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Victor listened to the girl before him. Slight muscle movements across his face as he was thinking. Positioning himself to stand in front of her within reach he nodded. “Learning to fight and defend yourself makes your ability to survive improve, relying on mages can get you killed if you are getting yourself into trouble. They are only human after all. We are Vampires, we don’t tire, we don’t breath, we don’t sweat, if you’re strong enough you can keep fighting up until the sun rises or just after.”

Without giving any indication on what he was doing, Victor moved with speed no mortal could match. Moving to her left side slowing down enough for her to pick up his movement, striking some invisible foe next to her then suddenly he was behind her again striking at some invisible force with a right rear kick. Again moving to her right and striking something again with a precise and balanced side kick. Every movement fluid, balanced, and well-practiced.

Before she could react he was facing her again in an offensive stance. His left arm in a blocking position while his right hand came at her with a rear straight punch. A strike that could cause serious damage if it connected, but he wasn’t aiming for her. His punch ended with his outstretched hand and closed fist next to her head. He held it there for a few moments to judge her reaction before returning to his standing position.

“Some vampires find fighting as a sport or hobby, for me it is a skill I need for my job. This insures the continued survival of my mage, the civilians, the target, and myself. I am not the strongest, or the fastest, or the toughest. I’m not here to scare you or make you quit I’m here to help you grow but it will be tough. If you’re continually paired with me it will be tougher than what the rest of them go through. But it’s worth it in the end.”

“So right now at this moment I would like you to hit me as hard as you can, remember to swing with your shoulder, your hips, push off with your leg, and don’t close your hand around your thumb. You will not be reprimanded and I will not bock it.”
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Scribe of Thoth
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If that response was meant to dissuade him, it sucked. Most students weren't Maxwell Alderman and this class was a waste of time anyway, so he might as well get started on the curriculum for the class he should've been in. She could've at least thrown him a hint though. Whatever, it couldn't be too hard. He spent his last class playing with shapes, and he could do it again. Turning a sphere into some elongated mess sounded like it should be easy anyway.

Max closed his eyes and drew his magic tightly around him before projecting it forward. It wormed its way into the obnoxiously sized metal water bottle sitting on a desk in the row before him easily enough. And the piercings of the girl behind him. And Lilie's pen. For fuck's sake, why was it harder to use less energy? Even stripping the magic from the metallic objects in his surroundings, while vaguely strenuous, did nothing to reduce the field that still lingered around them, hungry to inhabit the vessels they'd been denied the moment Max relaxed. Every tug on the sides of his bubble just reduced the entire field rather than squishing it into a different shape. As usual, he was left pushing and pulling in too many directions at once if he wanted to do what he actually intended to.

Waste of time. Waste of frustration too, seeing as he'd already passed the class according to the professor's criteria. He could probably take a hike out into the woods and master it in ten minutes if he wasn't busy peeling magic away from half the auditorium like gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe. Y'know, if he needed to. This was a dumb skill anyway. So then why was it still pissing him off?

"Is it easier when you're not surrounded by your element?" He questioned offhandedly toward Lilie, though a quick glance in her direction left him pretty sure she wouldn't have a satisfactory answer for him. She probably had yet to even project a dowsing field to begin with, let alone start shaping it. "You have no idea; I don't know why I asked."


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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Bert Macklin
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What Ben would have given to peek into the mind of the past king! Clearly he had seen something in mortals, or at the very least enough to value Geoffrey before turning him. The more Ben heard, however, the more curious the situation became. His history lessons were rusty and he had to force himself to pour over the excessive amount of material Varis had sent him. Yet this was the first he had heard of Noilan origins resting in mortal blood. Both princesses were known to have been turned as well but hearing that their late king was almost made the disdain over the turned vampires puzzling. It could be chalked up to a widespread arrogance that had long been rooted in vampires older than he.

He would not dwell on the thought for too long. It was better to listen and question after he had all the facts. On the other hand, it gave him a small inkling on how to deal with Eris. He decided to play his game for now.

"Since I can't seem to shake you off, I wonder if we could make our time more productive," Ben said. "Your extensive knowledge must give you an insight into which Eve is looking to challenge my father."

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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Obscene Symphony
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Aaron listened intently to Daun’s critique until Varis stood, at which point the Count got his full attention. He stood almost a little too straight as Varis spoke, and bowed a little too quickly, but he couldn’t help it; after the emotional roller coaster of this evening so far, hearing something positive from Varis had him strangely on edge, like there was another, much less pleasant shoe just waiting to fall. But aside from a brisk reminder about his conduct, none did; he bowed his affirmation and Varis quit the place, leaving both Aaron and the Professor intact. At the risk of getting too confident, Aaron would call that a success.

Daun’s joke brought a guilty smile to his lips, but the very concept of invisibility snapped his mind back to the lesson – it would take diligent work on the fundamentals for him to manage those kinds of feats, and he was all too eager to get started.

Turning his attention to the butterfly in the Professor’s hand, Aaron tried to do as he was instructed, studying the form and gentle movement of the butterfly until he thought he had a pretty good idea of the key features. Two overlapping wings on each side, six long legs, a strangely mechanical way of moving, and of course that iconic pattern… It would take a long time to memorize all the details, but he had a suspicion that if he captured the gist, he could probably convince most people it was real, even if the fine details were wrong.

“Should I consider my audience?” Aaron asked absently, eyes still locked on the butterfly. “Say, there’s probably less room for error if the person who’s supposed to be convinced by my illusion has more knowledge of the model, right?” The questions were almost rhetorical, the wheels in his mind turning as he looked over the model. What if he needed to replicate a person? He’d probably need to be near-perfect to fool someone who knew that person well, but could probably get away with some mistakes to fool strangers. And he’d probably have more room for error if he was trying to fool something like a camera system over human eyes, right? Not to mention vampire eyes – it beggared belief any mage could possibly fool them, but there must be a way. The possibilities stretched out endlessly before him, growing exponentially with every new variable and situation that came to mind. How on earth could anyone perfect illusions with that much to consider, let alone move on to the myriad more complicated applications of Light magic?

Ah, but he was thinking too big. Right now, he needed to think small – about the size of a butterfly. Without waiting for an answer, he closed his eyes and tried the exercise again, making sure to stay more conscious of the process. When his magic tried to go its own way, he reigned it in. Guiding the process “manually” was more difficult, but soon enough he had an orange and black butterfly perched in his hand, moving its wings up and down like clockwork.

It certainly wasn't perfect, but at least it wasn't glowing. “A few more tries…”

Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Hero
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Oh, right, no fun allowed. The only thing that kept Eris from outright booing at the terrible excuse of an "explanation" was common decency. He tilted his head backwards and let out a silent chuckle before looking back at the elder vampire, his eyes barely glazing over. While the lessons were a joke, maybe he would actually need them--this guy was so boring! Some of the things he was talking about was a little interesting, but wow, Eris could just as easily doze off any second now. Maybe he could credit it to being more interested in his dismissed question, but since there was no "evidence" he probably wasn't going to get a proper answer.

Great Anastasia, he couldn't believe anyone could make history so dull. Eris let himself relax a touch, figuring he could just mentally go over his to-do list and quiz the Eve kid on any interesting points. Maybe he could record the lecture in the future discreetly and have Maxwell--no, all that would do is have a crumpled recorder pressed into his forehead. Or worse, he could tell him the wrong information on purpose. Man, that kid was an unreliable dick, but at least he was entertaining.

Eris tuned in just in time for ol' Benji to pipe up. His lips widened into a smile, the blond staring directly at the Eve. "I happen to know him very well. Here, I'll introduce you," He rummaged through his pockets, pulling out a mirror compact and placing it on Benji's lap. "He's kind of an asshole and doesn't really stand a chance, but between you and me, I'm rooting for him."






Ugh, this was hard. Why was this so hard?! Lilie didn't want to admit it, but she was struggling. Why was she struggling so much?! Actually, she knew the answer to that since her previous semester had basically drilled it into her head that her affinity was stubborn when it came to being apart from her. Still, she was just as stubborn, refusing to give up. Still, it was like peeling away wet clothes that clung to her skin. It was possible, and the clothes were heavy, but the water made it more difficult than it needed to.

When Max spoke, Lilie lost all concentration. She opened her mouth to respond, though he quickly retracted his question. She closed her mouth, looking back to the front of the classroom. Okay, rude, but she supposed it was fair. Still, his question turned the gears in her head, especially as she remembered the last time they talked about their respective affinities.

"I would think yes in your case," She told him slowly as she tried to concentrate again. "After what you said before, though, I'd think that maybe you should try the opposite of what everyone does. Affinities usually have to have magic pushed outwards, but since your magic consistently pulls everything to you and you'd have to consciously push everything away, it'd be harder for you to learn the way everyone else does. Maybe try it outside or something to get the hang of it better and then try it slowly in other places that have less metal, like...a gym or an empty room that only has wooden furniture."

Lilie exhaled as she let her magic collapse back into her, letting out a sigh. "Why are you so clingy...!" She whispered to her magic in frustration. It was her affinity lesson all over again!


Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by WeepingLiberty
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This type of tomato? There are more than one? Amaris thought as surprise lit up her face. Perhaps another version might have been a better fit flavor-wise, however, the more Nasir spoke on the subject, the less she agreed with her own assumption. She could understand the clashing textures, as the slices had been rather soft and saturated with water… but how was she to know about the acidity? The deliciously red food hadn’t given her any indications that it would be such a counterproductively bold ingredient.

Needless to say, the Countess was rather disappointed in her failure. Her expression spoke clearly to her frustrations, but she kept her concerns to herself and instead refocused on the advice the professor was supplying her. It wasn’t as if the ingredient was a bad one, it had simply been a poor choice when paired with her other selections. To combat the softness of the ingredient she should have used something crisp or crunchy, which bacon or lettuce was recommended for. After a moment’s deliberation, Amaris nodded her head in understanding and smiled her acceptance of her new instruction.

I appreciate your guidance sir, I will certainly try to make full use of these notes.” Turning back to her station, Amaris stepped up to the plate and cast her failed creation aside. Rather than starting with the bread, same as she had the first time, the Countess instead decided to pull the tomato, lettuce, and bacon before her on the table. From what she understood of the ingredients, they should have worked fine on their own, but something still felt lacking. There had to be something else she could add that would compliment the combination the instructor had suggested, but what was left for her to work with? Without the peanut butter and slices of banana, Amaris was left with just three options: jelly, mayo, and mustard.

A spread could tie the flavors together without drastically altering the texture… If I pick the right one.” She mused softly to herself. But which one was the right one?

The Countess carefully slid the jelly to sit among the triad before leaning in to take in the scent. All she was met with, however, was the overwhelmingly sweetness of whatever fruit the jelly had been made of. If the smell alone was capable of drowning out the rest of the ingredients, Amaris assumed it would do the same with the taste. That left her with only two options: the mayo and the mustard. She repeated the same process with each of the spreads, but neither stood out as being particularly inappropriate for the selection. Still, she had to choose something. After a bit of back and forth, Amaris finally settled on the more subtle of the two options and set to work carefully constructing the sandwich she would be presenting to Maddie.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Achronum
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January 8th - 12:45am


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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Scribe of Thoth
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Ugh, Max hated the way she spoke so calmly about his... magic situation. Then again, what was he supposed to do? Tell Lilie to stop talking about it because weirdos like Eris want to use him as breeding stock? She already wanted to use Aaron as breeding stock; probably wouldn't even understand where the issue was.

"So wouldn't it follow that you should go jump in a lake to get a better handle on this?" Max mused unenthusiastically, "Go underwater, get used to shaping a sphere and then repeat without the vessel to hold all your magic." At least, that was how he would do it if he wanted a large portion of his magic to vacate his immediate vicinity. Maybe he could line up a bunch of cans and bounce his magic across them until his dowsing field compressed, now that he thought of it. No, he'd probably just get another mental 'stretch'. Or send all the cans flying - better out in the woods than here, though.

With their dismissal, Max promptly dropped that train of thought. Waste of time. Not worth caring about. He could cross that bridge when he got to it, preferrably with a competent instructor next to him.

"Whatever, I don't care. I'm hungry." Of course all his exhausting classes had to be before lunch. Not that this should've been an exhausting class, but apparently entertaining the professor's weird complex was also part of the curriculum. Just like high school, except the eccentricities were twice as bad when the teachers were half-insane from years of vampiric servitude and the power trip of being able to shoot fire from their hands.

A bleak future to look forward to. Hopefully when he finally snaps he'll get lucky and take Eris with him.

Speaking of Eris, lunchtime was probably his cue to try and pester Max into doing his homework for him in whatever mortal psychology class he probably padded his schedule with. Okay, he had absolutely no idea what vampire classes were even about, but Max assumed they were probably mortal-related. They had like a century to learn all the ins and outs of vampirism beforehand, after all.

The mage rose with a sigh and trudged off toward the exit, heedless of whether Short, Pale, and Lovestruck was finished with their theorizing or not. And even that was infuriating because there was a little Eris somewhere in the back of his head saying, 'That's right, always make them chase you,' and that meant Max was marketable to all that leech's tabloid sycophants. He couldn't fucking win today.


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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Obscene Symphony
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Aaron could feel fatigue creeping in as he worked, but he was so accustomed to it that it only served to encourage him, letting him know he was accomplishing something. Much like learning a new technique with Lucan, each attempt felt a little more controlled than the last, and recognizing his mistakes and how to fix them ratcheted up his confidence a little each time. He didn’t even notice the time passing until Professor Daun spoke up to tell him class was over.

With a deep breath he hadn’t noticed he needed, Aaron straightened from the hunch he’d sunk into while he worked, cracking his back and looking around like he’d forgotten what room he was in. In a way he had; even now his mind was swarmed with butterflies as his concentration reluctantly faded away. Aaron would have preferred to practice longer, but Daun’s praise was welcome, and his stomach complained almost on cue at the mention of eating.

“Yes sir,” he muttered amicably, giving the professor a smile with his thanks as he gathered up his things.

Out in the brisk winter air, the snap of cold helped Aaron shake off the fog of intense focus completely – of course, with the unwelcome side effect of remembering all the things other than magic that demanded his attention tonight. A glance at his phone for his schedule reminded him about Varis’ proposal; one that, if he was smart, he’d spend every spare moment weighing. Not that there was much to weigh – in every sense he’d already basically accepted. What choice did he have? It wasn’t like he could refuse. Even if Varis kept him around and didn’t dispose of him outright, there was no way he could serve a master who couldn’t trust him. The very thought brought back a wave of the intense shame he’d felt when Varis told him so. He meant what he said; whoever he was, it wasn’t right to force a vampire to live with a mage he couldn’t trust. And how could Aaron live with himself knowing he was nothing but an untrustworthy burden, rather than an asset? That would be a fate worse than expulsion from service altogether.

No, he wasn’t so much considering his choice as he was dreading what it meant. As much as he tried to convince himself that his old life didn’t matter, he couldn’t just shake off twenty-one years of utter devotion. And Starag or not, any mage would be daunted by the complete loss of contact with his family for a whole year, not to mention being banned from seeking Princess Ryner’s counsel. He knew this was the only respectable choice, but that didn’t stop him from agonizing over it.

It took Aaron a moment to realize he’d just been standing in the snow, but an insistent nudge from his stomach reminded him that he only had half the usual lunch period to eat and get going. Trying to leave his dark thoughts outside, he rushed to the dining hall, letting the warmth and the hum of conversation distract him for the moment. There was something else demanding his attention too – Lilie!

Just the name in his head lifted Aaron’s spirits.. Right, he’d promised her they’d meet at lunch, and talk about that lovely little date she wanted to treat him to! A giddy warmth replaced the growing knot in his chest at the thought, and his eyes brightened as he looked around the dining hall, searching for a streak of white among the heads of the students.

Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by WeepingLiberty
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Amaris Marivaldi

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The Countess beamed down at her creation, hands lifted away from the sandwich at the professor’s call. There was a part of her that was still questioning whether she had made the right selection of ingredients her second time around, but there wasn’t anything that she could do now except to present the dish to her partner and hope for the best. As carefully as she could manage, Amaris wrapped the sandwich up and prepared it for delivery according to the instructions left out for the students. She found herself imagining what Maddie’s reaction was going to be when she presented her with the hand made ‘meal’, seeing as she had been waiting to surprise the mage once the classes had actually started. While sooner than she expected, she was still very much looking forward to the reveal.

Amaris was quick to tidy up her own station and return her cart to its home in the cooler, impatient to get a move on toward the lunch space where her partner should be. However, she was not so rushed as to forget to thank her professor before gathering up her belongings and exiting the room. The halls were packed with students trying to fight their way to their destination, whether it be the main food space like the majority or a more secluded spot away from prying eyes.

Despite the hordes of people before her, the Countess continued to scan the halls with the small hope of catching sight of her mage. It wasn’t necessarily a regular occurrence to run into her along the way, but with the new schedules it wasn’t entirely off the table either.
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Hero
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Maybe jumping into a lake was kinda excessive, but Lilie did think Max had the right of it, all things considered. She did have to work on separating her magic (again) from herself, but having her element nearby would ideally help her better. Fortunately for her, she already ended up dedicating most of her bathtimes to playing around with her magic, so she was sure she was going to get the hang of this in no time. Not that she would tell anyone that since the last person she admitted it to ended up laughing so hard he ended up falling off the couch, but her brother was a jerk and he definitely deserved that.

As Lilie decided to reply, Max cut her off with a dismissal. Aww, didn't he want to talk about the perspective differences in their approach to their affinities? Who wouldn't want to? Closing her mouth shut, she ended up gathering her things quickly. She didn't really want to linger too much here, this teacher scared her and she thought that maybe if she caught up to Max, she could bounce some ideas off him.

Shoving everything into her bag, she ended up having to squeeze past some people, quickly catching up to the brunet. "See, it's interesting that you would mention a sphere because I can't even get my magic to project in front of me," She picked up the conversation where it was left off. "It makes me wonder if maybe there are advantages to projecting all around or if it's better to focus on one particular direction when it comes to your magic."

If there was any literature on it, Lilie would have to look into it. As she pulled out her phone to check her schedule, however, she caught herself. She would have loved to continue theorizing, but lunchtime meant she was going to go meet up with Aaron. "Actually, I'll just text you my theories, I have to go meet up with someone," She gave him an apologetic look, practically skipping away in a hurry to get to the cafeteria.

Arriving in another huff, Lilie took a second to catch her breath as she pulled out her compact. Every hair was in place, her makeup was perfect, and she couldn't stop smiling. She'd have to work on that last one, she didn't want to come off as weird. Even as she put away her compact to look around, however, she was way too giddy, especially as she found the blond first.

Swelling with a combination of excitement, happiness, and a flutter of butterflies surging through her stomach, Lilie walked forward comfortably. He'd probably see her approaching since he was looking around, but she wasn't really looking to surprise him, so that was fine. Once she reached him, she took a hold of his hand, lacing her fingers in between his.

"Hi," She greeted him. "Waiting long?"


Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Bert Macklin
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I have no one to blame but myself, Ben lamented inwardly as he made eye contact with his reflection. While he would not have considered productivity to include ridicule, he should have known better than to expect Eris to reply the same way he always did. For once, however, Ben wasn’t disappointed as he closed the compact and placed it back on Eris’ lap. Fortunately for the pair, Ben was too mature to let such childish antics get to him. Fortunately for Eris, Ben was more focused on staying on Varis’ good side.

“That I would have your support is comforting and flattering. I thank you,” Ben said.

Yeah, Eris was proud of himself for that one. He couldn’t help but flash a grin as he looked back at the aged vampire finally dozing off. Ugh, finally, they were done. Once the rest of the vampires stood, Eris followed suit. The most disappointing part of this class was that he knew most of the stuff mentioned already and got denied when he tried to ask about something else.

Clucking his tongue in disappointment, the blond pocketed his compact and jumped to his feet. “Welp, this was boring. Hopefully lunchtime will be more interesting,” He mused out loud, turning to Benji. ”I hope you paid close attention, Benson, Varis is gonna drill you on this later.”

Ben never was one for note taking. However, Eris’ comment brought about one realization and one surprise: Varis was going to not only ask for an engaging conversation on the topic and if he failed he would end up losing his favor, but the three had a shared lunch. The latter meant there was no escape for Ben and there was no period in between to buffer. The situation was a terrible trap for which there was no escape.

“I look forward to the commentary, albeit I share your sentiment,” Ben said. “I ask that you tone down the public displays of affection while I’m around, however.”

Eris narrowed his eyes at Ben. What, they had lunch together? Great. As annoyed as he was at the idea of old Benji sniffing around his business in person, too, he wasn’t about to miss the chance to tease him. “If you behave, I’ll let you join,” Eris batted his eyelashes.

“Great Anastasia, is there anyone who you don’t bat your eyelashes at?” Ben asked, in awe. “I would think someone like you would relish in making people chase you, yet here you are, propositioning me!”

He was well aware that his reaction was likely what Eris was looking for. That didn’t stop him.

Eris couldn’t help but laugh, patting Ben’s shoulder and beckoning him to follow. Oh, lunch would be fun with Benji around if he was going to be this entertaining. “It’s called a joke. I only chase after people that are just as pretty as I am,” He chuckled.

Ben didn’t care. “That must mean there are some slim pickings for you. How tragic,” He said.

The blond’s jaw dropped as he stopped walking. Did Bentley just say what he thought he just said?! “I knew it, you do think I’m hot--and now no one’s going to believe me. Great. Just great, thanks Benicio,” Eris threw his arms up in frustration, deciding to leave the class in a huff.

“It’s Benjamin,” Ben muttered, following Eris.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by ReusableSword
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Victor Astorio


The girl could at least somewhat keep up with his movements so he could at least give her that. Her strikes however were less than satisfactory. He would stop her after every other punch and adjust her fist, her alignment, tell her how to angle and use her bodies’ momentum and leverage to her advantage.

By the end of it she at least seemed to be feeling better about striking another vampire and he would hope that next time she would be more comfortable and put more effort into it without holding herself back. With lunch quickly approaching the arena trainees quickly moved out of the area to continue with their school day.

Victor watched his training partner for a moment and furrowed his brow, “here.” He said reaching into his jacket and pulling out a small paper card. “this is my number, if you want me to build you a work out regime and help you with your fighting ability give me a call and we will set up a place to meet.” The large vampire began to put his clothes back on while he still watched her. “I work with humans and Vampires if you want your mage to join, the only thing this would cost you is a favor and your time.” He knew he was bad at acquiring the base currency that fuels their economy and is well aware that this one may not hold much for political strength now, but could be useful in the future.

After the girl left or decided to stick around Victor did decide to stick around the fighting ring. With a swig from his flask he smiled at his instructor, “if you don’t mind I’m going to stay and watch these ones fight for a bit.” He was still holding his flask while he spoke to Thomas with a small grin, “so how did you piss off that duke that got you here?” Victor did enjoy hearing stories from others and found he was the most relaxed and sociable with fellow fighters.

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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Obscene Symphony
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It wasn’t long before Lilie emerged from the crowd, looking to Aaron like a dove among pigeons as she strode toward him, smiling. He smiled too at the sight of her, heart fluttering as she drew near, remembering with disbelief that the feelings they shared, their kiss, everything really did happen. The past few weeks were so wild he wasn’t sure until now that it wasn’t just a dream.

Despite his delight, his heart jumped into his throat when he felt Lilie twine her fingers in his. Something ingrained and instinctive sounded in the back of his head, some alarm bell he didn’t even have the time to name, and by reflex he pulled away, glancing around to make sure nobody had seen. That was risky, right? Who knew who was watching, what might spark rumours – who knew what Count Benjamin might think, let alone Varis! The smart part of his brain told Aaron his reaction was perfectly logical, but even still, his hand felt intolerably empty the second Lilie’s left it.

It all shot through his mind in the space of a second, and realizing Lilie might be offended, Aaron recovered by placing his hand appropriately on her back, moving with an apologetic smile to guide her to a seat.

“I just got here,” he reassured her as they walked, eager to move past his awkwardness. In any case, even as much as leading Lilie to a seat, however chaste and proper, was enough to make his heart flutter. “How were your classes?”

The sudden movement spooked Lilie for a second, her eyes wide as she looked up at Aaron. About half a dozen questions popped into her head: Was that too forward? Did her nails accidentally scratch him? Were her hands dry? Did it feel weird? Did she do something wrong? Maybe there was some sort of mage etiquette that she had missed—Ben wanted her covered from elbow to knee but then continuously walked in on her, so she was shaky on the rules.

Lilie semi-recovered once she sat down, though her hands were a little more fidgety than she would have liked. “Um, they were okay,” She replied. “Though the Dowsing class I just had with Max is gonna be a little rough, the teacher is scary. I think anything that isn’t pure affinity is going to need a lot of attention on my part.”

“Dowsing?” Aaron asked, noticing Lilie’s discomfort and feeling like a monster for it. Maybe that was uncalled for, it was such a simple gesture after all – and not to mention how badly he realized he wanted it now that he’d pushed it away. Goodness, it almost felt like his first day at the Academy again. Not that his first experience with Varis was anything close to this exciting new path he was tiptoeing, but he felt the same sense of insecurity, not knowing whether he was stepping on solid ground.

At least this round of nerves made him giddy instead of sick!

“I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of ‘dowsing’ before; I haven’t the slightest idea what that means,” he chuckled, very interested in moving the subject on. “But you don’t need to give me a lesson. You must be tired I’m sure.”

He knew he was. And hungry – maybe they should continue this conversation after getting some food. But he just sat them down, would it be weird to get up again so fast?

At long last, Aaron had to laugh at his own awkwardness, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, I must seem a wreck,” he finally confessed, looking bashfully over to Lilie. His eyes were doubtlessly bloodshot and rimmed with dark circles that even concealer couldn’t cover, and he had no idea what he was doing. Why pretend he was anything but a total mess? It was Lilie who wanted him to lean on her, after all.

“I’m just so glad to see you,” he finally said. His jaw worked for a second, thinking he had something else to say, but eventually he closed his mouth, realizing that was the only coherent phrase he could utter at the moment.

If Aaron thought she was tired, she wasn’t sure what he would use to describe himself. It had been noticeable enough for her to notice when they first met up, but now that they were on semi-even level, it was obvious the poor guy was ragged. Lilie wanted to ask, but now she hesitated; he already withdrew from her once, what if he reacted poorly to her asking? He did say he'd explain later, and it was later, so it was probably better not to. Right?

His apology poked at her already bubbling guilt, though it wasn’t until he admitted he was glad to see her that Lilie finally gave him a much more genuine smile. Ah, there were the butterflies! Maybe she really was overthinking things.

"I'm happy you're here with me, too," She replied cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "I think any hard class will be easy so long as I get to see you."

As she finished talking, she felt her stomach grumble. Oh, right, lunch! She got up and placed her bag on her chair, turning to Aaron. "Let's leave our bags here and get something to eat first, though," She patted her stomach. "My cycle's all messed up again. I tried to be good, but my inner clock gets so wacky when I go back home. I guess you never have to worry about that at the castle, huh?"

It was such a small thing, but even just that little comment made all of the unpleasantness buzzing in Aaron’s head melt away. He didn’t dream it the first time; Lilie was happy just to see him! He stood up dreamily as she did, still floating in the giddy warmth that spread over him at something so small.

“Good idea,” he agreed, following Lilie. He grinned at her comment about her day-night cycle. “Nah, I guess not. Although they do try to get me to sleep in when I go home, I always end up getting up at the normal time anyway. Old habits I suppose.”

An unusually quiet sense of melancholy tried to speak up in the back of Aaron’s head, remembering how miserable he’d secretly been at the realization that they wanted him to sleep in because they now had someone else to do all his old tasks. As painful as that had been to swallow, Aaron had a sudden thought that Noila castle seemed awfully dreary compared to the dining hall this evening – and present company.

Hm. Maybe with Lilie around, a year away from the Noilas might not be so hard to survive.

“But aside from that, you must have enjoyed your break, seeing your family,” he continued, filling a plate with a hearty, balanced meal. “They must be proud of you.”

Lilie followed suit, not being too picky with her choices. Admittedly she wasn’t completely paying attention to the food as she was hanging onto Aaron’s every word. As he mentioned her family, however, she couldn’t stop her frown.

"I don't know, they were a little weird this time," She ended up admitting. "I mean, the first few days were fine, and I guess my brother was the same as always, but they were...um, how do I describe it?"

How did she describe her mom's sudden distance? Her dad said it wasn't related to Lilie at all, but it happened from one day to the next! She kept staring at the pictures in the hallway looking depressed, too, and she usually only did that around the anniversary of Lilie’s grandmother’s death.

“...I don’t know how to describe it,” Lilie ended up admitting, shaking her head. “But it’s not just them that are acting differently. Everyone in town kept staring and whispering, and some of them were taking pictures of me! I mean, it’s better than getting glares, but this was just as weird!”

Letting out a sigh, Lilie felt like she was complaining too much. “It was good to be home. But there’s a lot of stuff that’s changing for everyone, and I guess I just need more time to get used to it, you know?” She tried to spin it as a positive, not wanting to drag down the conversation. “How about your family? I bet your mom was happy to see you.”

Aaron’s brow furrowed at the sudden sadness in Lilie’s voice. Things were chilly at home? And he’d just ignored her for weeks on top of that! He wanted to reach out and hug her, but that annoying little alarm bell in his head wouldn’t let him.

“They’re probably not used to having noble mages like yourself visit their town,” he offered, trying, like Lilie, to lighten the mood. As for his own family…

“She was, yeah. She always is,” he ended up murmuring the last part, remembering the pain he was about to inflict on the poor woman by cutting ties for a year. A year! Stars above, he’d been so wrapped up in how he would be affected by the distance that he hadn’t even spared a thought for his poor mother! Could she handle it? He knew nobody stronger in the world, but she was ill – it was hard enough on her when he left the household, how would she manage complete silence for a year?

Aaron felt sick to his stomach as the two of them returned to their seats, and his food was suddenly a lot less appealing. But he tried to push the thought away. She always insisted she was stronger than she looked, and she had Dora and Clara and Princess Ryner to look after her. And if he told her why he was doing this, surely she’d at least understand, if not forgive him for it. They’d all made sacrifices for their charges; it was time for him to make his.

“Of course, I kinda stressed them out the past few weeks,” he added delicately, doing his best to tease out an uneasy grin. “But luckily that’s over now, and we— I shouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“That’s good!” Lilie was happy to hear that at least he was better. She picked up her fork as she looked down at her food, deciding now was a good time to get in a bite before continuing the conversation. As she did, she chewed slowly, a thoughtful expression on her face. She let out a small noise of discontent, inhaling sharply as she held her hand out to stop Aaron from continuing.

“Wait,” Her muffled word came out, though she took a second to swallow before giving Aaron a serious look. “What do you think of the food here?”

Aaron did a bit of a double take when Lilie spoke up, thinking for a moment that she was about to spit out her food. At her question, he simply stared for a moment, feeling immediately self conscious.

“Uh, it’s… fine, I guess? Good?” he answered slowly, not sure if he should admit that food was food to him and the food here nourished him as much as the food at home did.

Making direct eye contact with the blond, Lilie slowly shook her head. “Fine. Just fine,” She repeated his words before using her free hand to point to her plate. “Exactly. I cook way, way better than this. So when are you coming over so I can show you how much better I am than these cooks here?”

The laugh escaped before Aaron could catch it, the blond hunching over the table as his shoulders shook in silent laughter. “Don’t let Her Highness hear you say that, I think she hired these cooks herself,” he joked, composing himself enough to take a bite of his food as he considered her question.

When could he go over? The logical part of his brain said never, it was a ridiculous idea to start with and he would be a fool to attend. Come on, a visit, most likely unannounced, to another Count’s dorm just so he could have dinner with his mage? Ha! Anyone else and he’d have laughed the idea out of the room. What a ridiculous risk, and what a flagrant disregard for his own master’s confidence, especially since his sneaking around was the very thing that got him into the present mess.

But the logical part of Aaron’s brain was uncharacteristically quiet for the moment, and drowned out by a newer and significantly louder part that told him he’d be a fool not to do it. He was about to wilfully cut himself off from everyone he knew and loved for a year to cleanse himself of his sneaky, lying, untrustworthy sins – what was one more to finish it all off? It was just like in movies, when a character goes on one last binge before quitting drinking. If anything, it’d be smart to purge his last few rebellious urges before committing himself to Varis, right?

He almost chuckled again – the very thought of him, of all people, having a rebellious streak would be funny if it wasn’t apparently true – but his mind was already made up, and some deep part of him feared that if he reneged on his decision now, he’d never find the courage to make it again.

“I’ll have to get back to you on the time, but tonight would be lovely. I’d have to be done by six regardless, but I bet we can make it work.” He took a drink of water before he could take the promise back. Goodness, what on earth got into him? He wasn’t sure, but he was surprisingly steadfast in wanting to ride with it for as long as he could. Besides, tonight was prime for something like this; ironically, Varis’ annoyance would work in his favour, and Aaron predicted he’d want the dorm to himself for the morning. Plus, there was the fact that it was now or never – once he walked back through that door, he’d have to give up on sneaking for good.

Somehow, Lilie didn’t think she could possibly be any happier, but on Aaron’s answer, her face lit up considerably. For some reason she thought that he would say no, but she was delighted to see that he kept to his word. She couldn’t really stop her smile even as she ate, completely satisfied that he finally made the commitment. Sorta. But that was good enough for her! In the back of her mind, though, she figured at least she didn’t have to worry too much about impressing him—she meant no offense to Her Highness, but her skills in the kitchen were way better—and started mentally considering what she could make. Oh, she’d have to make sure Ben wouldn’t stick around, she wanted some private time for just the two of them to make up for the lack of communication. And maybe for something else that was better kept behind closed doors.

Lilie couldn’t keep her eyes off Aaron despite the tiny blush building up on her cheeks. “Then it’s a date,” She wanted to say it confidently, but her giddiness got the better of her, and it came out as the words of a lovestruck, shy girl as she batted her eyelashes at him.

Seeing Lilie light up further reassured Aaron that he made the right decision, and hearing the word date filled his stomach with butterflies. He busied himself with his food, hoping Lilie wouldn’t notice the red flush in his ears, though he did pause long enough to say, smiling, “Can’t wait.”
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Achronum
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Achronum The Pyro

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January 8th - 4:45am


Early morning mist drifted off the ocean, seeping across the campus to swirl around students’ ankles as the last lingering classes finally ended. At first the campus was still quiet, the exhaustion that came with extended magical working after a break period dimmed the excitement that came with the freedom from classes but it couldn’t last forever. Soon enough, the campus buzzed with energy and noise as friends found each other again, tales of how they’d spent their breaks breaking into radacious laughter. The paths filled with students unhurriedly finding their ways to hang out spots, club meetings, and even the occasional rush to the library or arena to get a head start on assignments.

Varis clicked his tongue irritably as he stepped out of the lecture hall and into the cool morning air. The chaos that the campus inevitably devolved into after the structure of the schedule fell away exhausted and annoyed him to no end. Didn’t these ingrates have anything better to do than involve themselves in meaningless conversation? Even his own mage had succumbed to it, slouching outside between periods and playing with his phone. He’d thought the boy above that but apparently Starags were still just mages, short attention span and all. He instinctively started debating how many lines it was worth but caught himself. Varis should technically reward the boy for when he accepted the offer―Varis knew he’d get him even before they’d left the dorm this morning, Staragian sense of duty and all―but he hadn’t been sure what would be appropriate. Forgiving him a single transgression seemed reasonable, Varis supposed.

“Now that we’ve finally escaped that dreadfully dusty Professor’s sad excuse of a lecture,” Varis sighed, disappointed in Ryner’s choice of staff. Between permitting mages such unregulated freedom and her staff’s clear incompetency, he was surprised the Queen hadn’t razed the whole place to the ground. “I have to get my living quarters arriaged sufficiently for a serious night. I made the boy an offer that he won't turn away and I need the proper ambiance.” Varis didn’t bother looking back to see if Eris had followed him out of the hall. “Do you need to attend to the sad excuse of a mage Ryner stuck you with?”




A rotund vampire watched the mage as he left his lecture, unseen by those around her. She’d barely understood a word of the language, the modern tongue having slipped her mind long ago, but she’d caught a name: Taldin. She remembered that mage. A funny little man whose magic didn’t work quite right. It was a sad night when she’d put him down.

But that didn’t matter as she stalked the mage. The hair color was off, brown instead of black, but otherwise if she hadn’t known better, she might think her daughter walked once more. He was surly where she’d been inquisitive, defensive where she’d been loving, but the eyes, were full of life and passion, spoke to a time long ago before everything was so messy, so complicated.

She hadn’t been looking for him. That thief thought he’d been so well hidden but she’d always had a nose for his bullshit and it only took half a century to find where he’d squirreled himself away. She’d followed him after he left, trailed him back to this grooming ground, without really knowing what to do now that she’d found him but it didn’t matter anymore because she found something far more precious.

Maxwell Aldermann.

She’d failed her daughter. She won’t fail this time.
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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by ReusableSword
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ReusableSword The Mighty.

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Victor Astorio


The rest of the day went along in a smooth manner for the count. Taking a chunk out of his lunch break he stayed at the arena to observe the advanced fighting classes. However, he was unable to get the instructor to tell him how he pissed off that duke. Victor took the rest of his lunch time to reflect on the day so far in a secluded portion of the campus while trying to enjoy what he had left in his flask. It wasn’t until the second half of the day when he felt truly enlightened by the interesting classes that were myth and mystery: Lycanthrope and myth and mystery: the originals. These classes definitely left an impression on the young count and he found himself looking forward to it next evening.

Now that classes were over for the day he could only wonder what he was to do for the rest of the morning. He knew he still had a few hours left until the sun rose in the sky once more. At least he knew that Salem stayed out of trouble for the most part as nothing was burning down and no one came out to get him for an emergency, perhaps the rest of the morning will be just as uneventful and peaceful.

Victor stood just outside one of the buildings watching the comings and goings of the other students while he fidgeted with something in his pocket only for him to realize he had a radio. Pulling it from his jacket he could see at some point he cracked the screen slightly but otherwise it was working. At least he was familiar enough with this to know that the battery was only down by one bar out of four. Pressing the talk button on the radio and holding for a couple seconds he spoke.

“Victor to Ben, you still trying to figure out how the radio works? Over.”

The count hoped that his fellow count had forgotten he had the thing on him and he may be able to drive the man crazy if even make him jump a little. Perhaps he would get that response from Amaris they were all on the same channel or at least supposed to be, then again she could still be inside the building as he hadn’t seen her come out yet. Pushing himself off the wall Victor walked into the hustle and bustle of the fellow students, surprisingly in a good mood.

@Bert Macklin@WeepingLiberty
Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by Obscene Symphony
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Obscene Symphony sea wench

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Hidden 2 yrs ago Post by WeepingLiberty
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WeepingLiberty ~Friendly Garden Statue~ / ~Blink And You're Dead~

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Amaris Marivaldi

Mentions: Maddie @Achronum and Victor @ReusableSword


Amaris hummed to herself quietly as she scooped up the remainder of her notes and packed them away. She had spent the night drifting excitedly from one class to the next, absorbing as much information as her attention span would allow. Between her Culinary Arts in the early evening and her late course of Myth and Mystery, Amaris found herself gleefully invested in her course work. There was, however, one unfortunate sore spot to an otherwise delightful schedule; Dark Age Economy: Rise of Favors. She had thought she lucked out this time around with the lack of Sinnenodel presence in her day, but the Countess couldn’t escape the noble forever it seemed. Still, she was determined to maintain as much of a courteous distance as she could for the sake of her partner, at least.

Looking around, Amaris realized that most of her classmates had already filed out of the room to enjoy the remainder of their time. She hadn’t really planned anything in particular for once classes had let out, so the Countess made the decision to try and catch the end of Maddie’s final course of the night. The mage’s night was only extended by an additional 45 minutes, but Amaris thought it might be nice for her partner to find her waiting up for her once it finally let out. The young vampire subtly picked up the pace out of excitement as she began making her way to the other building.

Had her excitement not distracted her, the crackling of static emanating from her bag might have spooked the Countess, however, it wasn’t until she heard Victor’s voice that she slowed to a halt and looked around her. She couldn’t see the Count anywhere but he sounded so close when he spoke. And what was this about a…

Oh, the radio!” She exclaimed to herself, fishing through her bag to retrieve the device. The Countess fumbled with the device as she continued on her way to check in with Maddie, looking up every other moment just to be sure she was moving in the right direction.

Over and over the walkie talkie turned in her hands. What were her instructions again? There was only one button she was meant to interact with, right? Steadying herself, Amaris pressed her thumb into the button.

Okay, that’s the button… Ummm, Amaris to Victor? Is this thing working? ……… Oh, uh, over!” The Countess managed to stumble her way through something concerning the device. The single button was easy enough to understand but Victor clearly understood that there was some kind of etiquette when speaking through the box, and the best she could do was parrot it back to him where she could. Shaking her head, she gripped the radio close to her as she hurried on toward her destination.
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