Time: Morning, Wed. December 15th, 2038
Location: Kingston-Gray estate
As morning came up, Victoria set the sculpting materials down. Her head was far clearer now, and she started replaying the many events of yesterday. It was almost hard to believe all that was jammed into 24 hours. A rogue thought made its way to her head: If her mimicry software could give her a headache, would grabbing a mug of coffee make her look more energetic?
She set off to the kitchen to find out, and settled in the corner with a mug of steaming black fluid, quietly watching Danni slinging waffles and other food items. It was almost therapeutic, albeit it invoked a slight pang of jealousy - He made it look effortless.
To say that Max was exhausted would be an understatement. The events of the previous day still weighing on him between a psionic event, entanglement talk, housing multiple kids, dealing with an ancient curse, and having one of the children drop some very concerning information towards the end that he didn't even have time to address. He'd hoped the deal they spoke of didn't happen within the very land he owned, but it was still possible. First, however, he needed some caffeine.
Max teleported himself downstairs, the rush of cold as a black hole tore open briefly upon a nearby counter before closing to reveal himself sitting atop it. He reached over and grabbed his own mug, pouring himself a cup before turning his attention to Vicky.
”Crazy to see him so focused isn't it? A method to chaos.” He said so only she could hear before taking a long sip of his drink.
”G’morning.” Vicky mumbled into her own cup. The coffee wasn’t working.
”It’s almost like a one man orchestra. When I try cooking… last time I ended up covered head to toe in flour, and an egg somehow exploded and was stuck to the ceiling. He’s balancing the physics, chemistry, biology and logistics of it on instinct. I suppose that’s what talent is.” she whispered, almost as if not wanting to disturb Danni with her voice being too loud.
”Thanks, by the way.” she said, her eyes finally ticking to Max,
”For Sabine, I mean. Glad to see there’s still some parental figures of our class that care to offer help, rather than apathy or blame. Double when you were the offended party.””Well you can't always pay attention to the numbers. Sometimes all of those calculations hide the truth beneath it all. You need to be capable, and willing, to embrace your instincts, your heart, and move forward with what is simply Faith. That's what Danni is doing right now, it's what Sabine did the other night, and it's how I handled the situation. I saw in her something I've seen many times before. A scared child with no direction to walk in. All I did was offer her a pathway less fraught with danger and with a bit more lighting to show her the way. She did the rest on her own.” Max took another sip of his coffee hoping Vicky would understand he was referring to her as well. Vision had long since abandoned what was ‘logical’ and embraced more human aspects. In time, Max was certain Vicky would do the same.
Victoria chuckled.
"Faith. Nice way to sugarcoat 'pragmatically doing your best with limited information'." She chugged the rest of the cup.
"Regardless, I am glad you did that. The school staff and other adults I had dealings with this year are what's causing me to lose faith. Make that a double for wizards. I'm just glad to see there are exceptions."Max tried his best not to side eye Victoria as she mentioned ‘Wizards’. But the night before she had mentioned something about owing a favour of some sorts, now seemed as good a time as any to parent another child on the dangers of making mystical deals. Question was, how to approach it.
”I'm sorry to hear that. Would that i could teach in two places at once I'd have certainly taken the offer to work at Margaret Carter, which while I doubt I alone could help the school in the matters you're describing, it still helps to have at least one adult you can turn to in times of need. Even in my old school when I was around your ages did I need that. Granted we didn't have schools for the genetically enhanced.” Max placed his cup onto the counter beside him, crossing one ankle over another before he spoke up again.
”Though I'd hate to pry in another's matters, what exactly have ‘wizards’ done to you that have made you feel this way? I believe the other night you mentioned…a deal?”The next chuckle was dry and humorless.
”Well, the worst offender has to be the so-called Lady of the Lake. She believes that we’ll amount to nothing much if we do not grow through suffering, which she is all too happy not only to allow, but inflict. I’m starting to think Agatha might not have been pulling Danni’s leg when she told him Nimue was a Sinister clone. She’s sinister enough, alright.” A dark look that promised suffering in return briefly crossed Victoria’s face, before she banished it.
”As far as deals go, that was the doing of an arse named MacLeod, back in the academy. I got a bit lost there and he asked for a price to help me get out. I’ve smelled a rat so I put in terms of the deal I thought I could live with, but it’s like dealing with lawyers. I didn’t tell him not to pad out his effort, so of course he did. So, if anything he told me is actually true, he is now owed a favor of what I would consider a significant effort on my part, albeit he can only ask of me what I would not have a moral problem doing anyway.” she shared. Smeg knows why she was pouring out something that could be used against her, but if anyone, Max has earned himself enough credit to be trusted. She turned to look him in the eye:
”Was he lying?”Max rolled his eyes at the mention of
another Sinister clone. If the school truly had allowed something like that to slip under the radar then he may need to lay a visit to the institute soon and see how it was they managed to let one of the most despicable people he's ever met inside. Sure he believed everyone deserved redemption. But Sinister? He was beyond it. Now as for the name… Macleod? The name rang a bell, though Max couldn't exactly pinpoint it. Not one of his students that was for sure, he tried his best to remember each and every one as well as some of their interests and habits so that he could best connect and help them learn their craft.
”I know it sounds obvious to say this, but as a parent I have to anyway. You shouldn't make deals with strangers. Especially mystical ones. They're bound by the ancient laws of magic, and adding that clause was a smart move on your part. The short of it is no, he wasn't lying. If the deal you made was equal effort then they can ask anything of you with as little effort as possible all the way to their amount they'd put in. However, adding in that clause changes the nature of the deal, so now the former is true so long as it stays within the line of your morality. The magic won't allow them and they'll know if they attempt to ask. But if it's a student asking you, chances are it'll be something mundane like trying to steal a test's answers or something. As if they aren't enchanted to fight against cheating. Cute when they try though.” Max said with a bit of a chuckle.
Vicky breathed a sigh of relief, albeit small one.
”How much do you reckon being tossed through thrice as many realms as I can remember via some place called Pathways is worth?” she asked, not really sure she wanted to know the answer.
”And does he only get to collect once, or am I his personal vigilante until the effort is equal?”Smirking, she gave Max an amused glance.
“You know, me being in that situation is technically your fault. I am not a contestant, yet what do you know, a portal swallowed me and deposited me there regardless.” She said, her face telling she wasn’t actually blaming him.
”Hard to say to be honest. The things I do would be difficult for some, easy for others. I knew a practitioner so torn with grief and love they rewrote the entirety of the world just to have their family. Who knows how much effort that really took them to do. But all magic comes at a cost. As for how long you'll be in debt, a favour given is a favour owed that's all. So once they ask the favour of you and you complete the favour as asked, well then it's done.” If Max had to guess, he'd assume it was some student trying to get better at their craft, finding an easy mark to practice on and trying it out. Though the talk of ‘Pathways' made him wonder. At her last comment, he held his hands up.
” Hey don't look at me. I was told all students be sent to examinations on the dot otherwise they were disqualified. I suppose in the mayhem of losing two coaches and trying to find replacements and all they forgot to mention some students weren't participating in the contest.””Hah! So that’s what Vis meant by having made a mistake. He gave you a faulty list. Tough to be fair, yeah, guy probably has a lot on his plate these last few days.” the junior robot snorted.
”Anyway, lesson learned: Be careful squared when dealing with magicians. Thanks.”
