Obscene Symphony

Make a wish, corrupt a wish.

Granted. The RP you join consumes your life. You forget what the sun looks like. What was your mother's name, again?

I wish for help sorting my belongings!

Of Blood and Magic

_{@Hero @Scribe of Thoth @Trainerblue192 @Gisk @Apoalo}

Aaron and Lilie each got a text at the same time, Lilie’s phone chiming and Aaron’s phone and watch buzzing in tandem.

> Somethings Wrong! All of my stuff, its missing!

Aaron’s brow furrowed at the message, and instinctively he looked around the dining hall for Lucan, though it was crowded enough that if the vampire was there, Aaron couldn't find him. First a suspiciously sudden exit on Salem's part - Aaron made a mental note to inquire about that later - and now his dorm was cleaned out? It would make sense if he returned to a few items missing, if he had anything that the investigation into him might need to look into, but everything? He was already cycling through possible reasons for it in his mind as he tapped out his reply.

> Everything? Are you sure? Are Lucan’s things missing too?
> I'll see what he knows.

To just that end, he also wrote a quick message to Lucan.

> Are you aware that your dorm has been emptied? Salem says all of his belongings are gone! Do you have any idea why that might have happened?

Conversation with Salem

Salem’s reply came soon after, reading:

> Well he never had his things here but yeah everything's missing. I should speak to Ryner about this after class.

Frowning at Salem's texts, Lilie found it strange that his belongings were missing. Could there have been a break in? She hadn't heard of a plant thief before, but he did mention how he used some of the plants for his medicines. It was alarming to think someone would just take everything he had, though she knew the best thing to do was report it and have the school handle it.

> You should go to administration and report it! D:

> You might have a hard time getting a meeting with her on such short notice. Lilie's right, maybe go to administration first? See what they can tell you?

> I suppose it's time to learn who the administration is then.

The bell rang sooner than expected and Cassandra was quick to leave, Aaron standing soon after. He collected his empty tray (and Lilie’s as well) on autopilot, depositing them in the proper place before collecting his things to go and offering Max a wave.

Gathering her backpack from the floor, as she slung it on her back Lilie figured now was as good a time as any to properly apologize to Aaron. It would have been better in private, but the last thing she wanted was any lingering negativity between them. She quietly followed him out of the dining hall, waiting until they were out of earshot from the others before trying to decide what to say. ‘I'm sorry for being stupid’ was a start, but she couldn't help her own curiosity. There probably wasn't going to be another chance to ask, so now was as good a time as any.

Inhaling slowly, Lilie gathered up some courage as she looked up at Aaron, a slight hesitancy before she spoke, “Um...can I ask you something?”

Aaron couldn’t deny that he was pleased that Lilie followed him, hoping she was walking with him on purpose instead of just as a consequence of going the same direction. Her calling him a friend led him to believe the former, and his suspicions were confirmed when she asked him a question, even though her tone was less enthusiastic than before. Salem’s drama was momentarily forgotten as he looked over at her - and then down, she was shorter than he’d realized in comparison to him, even in heels - and offered a small smile, hoping to put her more at ease. “Of course, go ahead.”

Lilie was relieved that Aaron was so receptive, hoping he would stay that way as she decided to go ahead with his blessing. She still hesitated for a second, averting her gaze for a second as she tried not to look too embarrassed. “About earlier...I'm really, really sorry,” She started with an apology first and foremost as she looked back at the taller boy, ignoring the blush on her face as she went ahead with what she wanted to say. “I didn't mean anything by it--I mean, I just thought it was something we could all talk about. Not that I thought it was you! I never would have dreamed that they meant you, you're way too nice to do something like that.” She explained herself as best as she could, trying not to get too flustered.

Aaron’s brow furrowed as Lilie worked through her apology, though his expression softened as she got to her point. He would have time to be flattered by her compliment once he’d cleared the air about what was going around. “Oh, you mean that rumour?” he confirmed, before waving her concerns away. It was mortifying, sure, but it wasn’t her fault. “Don’t worry!” he insisted, “I heard about it from Salem earlier anyway, although I didn’t get all the details...”

He cleared his throat, wanting to move right along from that. “I suppose it’s my own fault, really-- not that it was me!” he corrected quickly, “Salem was right, I was busy all of yesterday, and I would never do something like that anyway. I have no idea where that rumour could have come from.” He took a breath, not wanting to get flustered himself. “I mean that I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised, I suppose. I didn’t really expect rumours to be flying about me, but maybe that’s an unrealistic expectation. I’ll admit, I’m not very familiar with how this -” he gestured to the campus around them, “- all works.”

Saying she was relieved was an understatement, Lilie visibly relaxing as Aaron forgave her easily. She thought she might have needed to go further with it, but he seemed just as surprised as she was. Humiliation aside, she had to admit that knowing he was a Noila mage did pique her interest a bit more, mostly wondering what he was doing here at the Academy in the first place considering that he should have been at the castle. When she first brought up the rumor, his initial response was ‘sort of’.

“I didn't think you were that type of guy, too. You seem more like a gentleman to me,” Lilie agreed with him, mentally noting how silly everything sounded now. After a second, she continued. “But earlier, you said that you're ‘sort of’ a Noila mage. What did you mean by that?”

Ah, yes. That. Aaron started spinning his ring, looking down at his hands as he let out a slightly nervous laugh in an attempt to brush off the discomfort surrounding the issue. Damn it, he shouldn’t have mentioned that. But she would have found out anyway, once she learned who his master was, right?

“Right,” he replied, admittedly stalling. He paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase things, before drawing a long breath.

“So, remember how I told you I grew up around nobles?” he began, “Well, I’m the youngest member of the Starag family, so I was raised to serve the Noilas. My grandmother served the Queen before she passed away, and my mother and one of my aunts serve the Princesses. My other aunt serves Count Alder.” He looked to Lilie to make sure she was following, knowing he was probably over-explaining, but he was admittedly hesitant to get on with the point.

“Anyway,” he forced himself to get on with it, painting on a smile in an effort to seem more nonchalant about the subject than he was, “The Starags have always served the Noilas, ever since my great-grandfather originally submitted to the Queen. But…” He let out another nervous laugh and shrugged before finally coming out with it. “I guess I’m the first one to break the tradition.”

Saying Lilie was shocked was an understatement all things considered, her jaw agape at the news. She had already thought Aaron was a step above her growing up around nobles, but he wasn't just a Noila mage, he was a Starag. An actual Starag! She honestly had no idea what to do with this information, a flurry of different thoughts hitting her. Maybe she should apologize again. Maybe she should excuse herself and run away. Maybe she should say another stupid thing to distract from the fact that she had no idea who Aaron actually was. If he didn't think she was stupid before, he definitely must have now. All the signs were there, too, and she never pieced them together: the Noila symbol on his sword, his upbringing, how he seemed comfortable with vampires, how he fell into place quickly.

Snapping back to reality, Lilie cleared her throat as she tried to think of what to say. “Wow...that's really something,” She tried to remain calm, ignoring her anxiety building up as she focused on the positives. “You're basically royalty! That's amazing!” She focused more on him than her own ignorance, though she couldn't hide her surprise. “The first one here, huh? Lucky you!”

Smiling bashfully at the royalty comment, Aaron tugged at his ear, doing his best to swallow the uncertainty that had been swirling around the subject that Lilie brought up. “Yeah, lucky me,” he commented, before quickly moving the subject along.

“But hey, this is the Academy, right?” he offered, more optimistically this time, “I would imagine everyone who got accepted here is probably feeling pretty lucky.” He offered Lilie a more genuine smile. “But now that you know all about where I come from, how about you? Are you the first mage in your family?”

Lilie nodded slowly, her hands lightly tugging at her shirt. “Yeah,” Her response came out a little quieter than she had intended, though she caught herself. No point in being negative, if she was going to get depressed at every mention of her family, she was going to give people the wrong impression. No need to drag Aaron down that road. Besides, Aaron's question was innocent enough. She couldn't possibly be the only person who was the first mage in their family.

“Yeah, so I'm taking things day by day, I really have no idea what I'm doing and no guideline to follow,” She was a lot more optimistic as she spoke, shaking off the uncertainty as she released her shirt. She was a little embarrassed at admitting how clueless she was, but she felt like he wouldn't judge her too harshly. “If you have any pointers, I'd be happy to take them!” She joked, nudging him with her elbow before clasping her hands together.

Aaron wasn’t blind to that little crestfallen moment, but it was all forgotten when Lilie brightened back up, and he smiled when she nudged him. “Well, if you have any questions, like I said earlier, I’d be happy to help,” he offered in return, delighted that her opinion of him hadn’t been soiled by that rumour. He was trying to think of any general pointers he could offer Lilie as they approached the entrance to Rose Hall.

Aaron reached for the door handle, though Lilie would put her hand on his arm to stop him. Before they would go in, there was something else she wanted to tell him. She debated internally for a moment before finally speaking her mind.

“Um...I wanted to thank you for last night,” She said, giving him a shy smile. “I know it didn't seem like much, but everything's been a lot harder than I thought it would be and it's really good to know I have a friend nearby. I just thought you should know,” She finished somewhat lamely, but she meant it.

Surprise turned to humility when Lilie stopped him to get something on her chest, and Aaron could feel his ears burning again as he offered Lilie a bashful smile, glancing down. “Thank you, too,” he replied, lowering his voice. “Truth be told, the feeling is mutual.”

He didn’t know if that would mean anything to Lilie, but while he’d never been good at voicing this sort of thing, he didn’t want Lilie to think she was some kind of burden. With his own admission off his chest, he opened the door to the hall, gesturing inside. “After you.”

Lilie beamed at the blond, all too happy to get into the classroom. A gentleman indeed! And the feeling was mutual! He definitely thought of them as friends, too, and she felt herself swell with excitement. There was no way she could possibly get any giddier, unable to dim her smile even if she wanted to. As the pair entered, their classmates seemed to have caught up, filling the empty seats. His tall stature made it easy for her to keep track, but people were starting to duck between them, causing her to stop. She wanted to make sure they got to sit next to one another, so she decided to take a hold of the strap of his messenger bag to better follow him.

Once they reached the second row, Aaron would stop, and Lilie released him long enough to put her bag down. Taking her seat, she dug up a blank notebook and her fluffy pom-pom pen, she wrote “Spell Theory” on the top line, following it with the date on the right hand corner. “I've been looking forward to this one all day,” She leaned over and whispered to Aaron.

Aaron’s ears continued burning when Lilie took the strap of his bag, and he dared not look back in case he was actually blushing. Luckily that faded quickly as they took their seats and he focused briefly on getting out a notebook, producing a fountain pen as well from a pocket in his bag. He could get away without it in Treaty Law, but he definitely wanted to take notes in this class. He took a moment, as Lilie did, to title and date his page, before leaning over a bit to hear what Lilie was telling him.

Not wanting to talk any more - the professor looked like he wouldn’t be impressed by it - he simply gave her a warm smile in response. He’d been looking forward to this class too, though he was pretty sure his reason was different than Lilie’s.

As soon as the hall quieted, the sharply-dressed professor began teaching, speaking in a no-nonsense tone that Aaron was quite familiar with from his instructors back home. Aaron listened eagerly, soaking up as much of this new information - his first class of the night where he was learning something new, he noted - as he could and taking notes as he did, only rarely glancing down to make sure his lines weren’t crossing. He didn’t write in English, though; much like in Affinity Mastery, his notes consisted of a series of loops, lines and curves, looking more like nonsensical doodles than words.

Meanwhile, Lilie's page was quickly filling up, making sure she got nearly every word the professor was saying. No slides to condense, and she had no prior experience with magic so she couldn't tell what was important and what wasn't. Fortunately, he didn't seem like the type to waste his time, so she had nothing to lose by writing everything down. At the mention of her own element, Lilie frowned slightly, listening intently. Arcane magic must be anything that wasn't her affinity, so it would be easier to control her element for the payoff of struggling more when it came to anything else. Deflating slightly at the thought, she figured the best thing to do was focus on controlling her affinity and then see just how difficult everything else would be before putting in more effort. Aside from the workload from this class and Treaty Law, she assumed she would have plenty of free time to practice; she would dedicate as many hours as it took.

On the margin of the page, Lilie put small symbols defining the elements she knew and writing down names of the people she knew that matched to them, sorting them by their classification: Cassandra the fire mage in Primary, Salem the plant mage in Secondary, and Aaron the light mage in Conditional. There was the slightest bit of jealousy on her end, wishing she had a more interesting element to use, or at least something that didn't fluctuate with her emotions so much. The sooner she got control of it, the better. Then maybe she could move on to more interesting things, or at least practice safely. Cassandra was already able to produce a flame, Aaron could produce light, she hadn't asked Salem his own control but he seemed to know what he was doing--she wanted to keep up with everyone, so she promised herself to give it everything she had going forward.

The Conditional elements seemed like the most elusive study-wise, and she found herself smiling a little at that. Go figure, an amazing element for Aaron. He was leagues ahead of her in everything, it seemed. Flickering her eyes to the blond, she reached over and scribbled something on his page, returning to her own notebook as she jotted down few more thoughts she had.

Sparing only the odd glance at the distracting and comically adorable puff at the end of Lilie’s pen, not to mention her strangely endearing expression as she concentrated, Aaron paid otherwise rapt attention to the lesson. The categorization of affinities was fascinating in that it explained the relationships between affinities; he knew already how different types of affinities behaved, but he’d been considering them more as basic vs complex, rather than falling into four distinct categories. Already he was connecting the dots of what he’d experienced and what he was learning, from his mother’s difficulty with arcane magic to Dora and Clara’s differing issues. Unsurprisingly, he was most interested in Conditionals; he wrote the phrase “Light -> Conditional = Primary <-> Tertiary” in English in his notes for emphasis. It was exciting to learn why he and his magic seemed to get along so well - it felt more like an extension of his body than a force to be negotiated with - in the context of affinity categories, and he hoped they’d delve into it further later on. As he wrote, the small puff at the end of Lilie's pen came into view, scribbling something on the top of his page:

Oh good lord, she was doing this on purpose! No sooner had Aaron read that little note than the burn in his ears was back, a little bashful smile sneaking onto his face despite his best efforts. But there was no time to be flattered and humbled and all-around delighted as the professor opened the floor for questions, Aaron raising his pen in the air to pose one.

“Professor, are Sound and Emotion affinities also considered Conditionals?” he asked once he was acknowledged, “Also, if Conditionals can sometimes behave as Primary affinities, does that mean that in those cases it’s possible to use them without a casting focus?”

Of Blood and Magic

_{@Hero @Scribe of Thoth @Trainerblue192 @Gisk}

Lilie explaining her affinity mastery experience, stumbling as it was, was strangely endearing to Aaron, who was almost disappointed when a newcomer joined the group and moved the conversation on. Loath to be rude, of course, Aaron offered a wave to Cassandra when he was introduced, admittedly happier than perhaps he should have been at Lilie describing him as her friend. It was nice enough to hear over text the night before, but now in public as well? Any lingering humiliation from the rumour fled his mind at the thought.

With introductions done with, Aaron decided to follow Max’s lead and get some food of his own, returning with a simple plate of roast chicken and vegetables. All too aware of how he’d been slacking, he pulled a small journal out of his bag, taking his first bite with one hand as he wrote the contents of his meal in English under the correct date and time with the other. He also added what he remembered of his meals for nights past in the appropriate sections and looked back up as he finished, flipping the cover shut with the back of his pen. A sort of quiet settled over the table when Max left Lilie’s comment hanging; remembering something Salem had said earlier, Aaron looked around at the group, hoping to start a conversation.

“So you two are in the same Treaty Law group? You’re assigned to the Sinnenodels, right?” he asked Salem and Max, before looking to the women at the table. “How about you two? I’m in the Marivaldi group with Lucan and Eris Samael, if you can believe it -” he smiled, but a stone settled in his stomach as he remembered Varis’ comment “- but I didn’t recognize my third partner.”

Of Blood and Magic

_{With a brief aside from Lilie
@Hero @Scribe of Thoth @Trainerblue192 and maybe @Gisk?}

Aaron watched as Lilie quirked a curious eyebrow at Salem’s talk about a hamburger, though she didn't make a comment on it, only giving a gentle giggle of amusement that frankly delighted Aaron more than he would have liked to admit. But no sooner had Salem returned than Lilie decided to get the conversation rolling with some gossip, and Aaron could have sworn he tasted blood in his mouth when she told them what it was. The persistence and frighteningly quick spread of that rumour was bad enough, but apparently there was one small and rather important detail he’d missed:

“...for having…relations with a Noila mage.”

Aaron might have passed out from the shock had his horror not been keeping him wide awake. His ears burned fiercely under his hair, and he could even feel a bit of a flush forming on his cheekbones. So what, it was the first day of class and apparently the whole school already thought he was some kind of slut? Good lord, some of his family worked at this school! What if they heard? Or the Princess, or Count Alder, or Sariel and William… what would they think? And Lilie! She was looking right at him when she said it! What would she think?! Did she think less of him? It didn’t seem like it, she was smiling and seemed no more than entertained at the news, apparently didn’t even know a Noila mage was attending…

Wait, did she not know it was him?

Aaron almost smacked himself. Of course! She didn’t know it was him! He supposed it made sense, she appeared to come from a human family, and it was probably a little arrogant on his part to think that everyone would just know--

“Not possible, Aaron's been preoccupied with a lot of things and they involved me as well. So unless I was drugged and he either slipped out and had a quick bit of fun or I was in a uh... menage a trois, then I doubt the validity of this claim.”

That time, Aaron almost smacked Salem. Sure, refusing the rumour was good and his willingness to help was appreciated, but the guy could have at least given him a chance to do some damage control! And that awful implication… in that moment, he wasn’t sure if he would rather hang Salem or himself.

As it was, Aaron could only watch on helplessly, wishing he could turn invisible as he watched Lilie’s expression shift at the news, her smile slowly fading and turning into one of confusion, looking back over at him with wide eyes. Her mouth formed a small ‘o’ of realization, as if she was just figuring out something now.

“Wait, so...the Noila mage from the rumor is you…?” Lilie asked slowly, clearly only just getting the implication of what Salem had said.

As his public image crumbled around him, Aaron would have liked nothing more than to either dissipate into mist or jump up on the table and exclaim to the entire dining hall, “I didn’t sleep with anybody!” But of course, one was unwise and one was impossible, so he settled for a tight smile and an uneasy laugh, tugging on his still-burning ear and hoping his face wasn’t turning too red.

“Well, yes and no,” he managed to hurry out, “yes as in yes, I am the Noila mage, sort of, but no because I can’t be from the rumour because Salem is right and that rumour is categorically false.” His voice took on a notable urgency, emphasizing the last two words with both his tone and two jabs of his finger into the tabletop.

Thankfully, mercifully, Salem seemed just as eager as Aaron was to change the subject, and he went with it enthusiastically, clearing his throat and doing his best to brighten up, figuratively speaking. “Yeah, how did affinity mastery go?” he spoke to the group, but mostly to Lilie, seeing as his affinity seemed like a touchy subject for Max. “Your affinity is water, right? Have you ever had any magical training before this?”

Of Blood and Magic

_{@Hero @Scribe of Thoth @Trainerblue192}

Slave, nice. The Astorios weren’t exactly known for their tact, but bored or not, Aaron had to wonder what Max had said or done to earn such a spiel from a vampire that had nothing to do with him. The mention of Salem, however, earned somewhat of an exasperated sigh, Aaron briefly rubbing his temple as he walked. “Yeah, it’s a bit of a long story but apparently he’s pretty intent on getting his head chopped off before the week is out.”

Max’s next comment was no more fun a topic, though Aaron had to smirk at the wording. Teacher’s pet… a little morbid, but he supposed it wasn’t terribly far from the truth. Of course, his smirk didn’t linger long; it was clear enough that Max wasn’t impressed with what he saw. Aaron supposed it made sense, Max’s demeanour practically screamed “human upbringing.”

“Count Sinnenodel is my…” He trailed off for a second, hesitant to finish that sentence and goad Max into some other snide comment. He cleared his throat. “...I’m Count Sinnenodel’s mage.” He looked over to Max, eager to change the subject. “Anyway, where is your partner? I can’t imagine he’d be thrilled about that little exchange back there. It might be wise to lie a little lower, you could end up getting the both of you in trouble.”

Max gave the subtlest beginnings of a smirk at Aaron dancing around the word ‘master’. He was just kissing the floor a few minutes ago, did he really have any pride left to defend? Retriever being Cinnamon’s mage was an interesting twist. But why was Varis teaching a class if he was a freshman? Or could first year mages be assigned to upperclassman vampires? No, that wouldn’t make sense, given that the vampire would leave the school before the mage did.

“Dunno, haven’t seen him since yesterday. Maybe he has treaty law in a different hall,” Max responded nonchalantly. He honestly hadn’t given Morrigan much thought at all. Maybe he was just unconsciously blocking the fact out of his head that he was now legally at the beck and call of some newly-turned wimp. “And I didn’t even do anything. Astorio came over there of his own accord and started getting in my face while I was talking to your girlfriend.” It was mostly true, it’s not like Max was being particularly antagonistic back there, especially compared to Flower Boy.

Hmm, another one gone since yesterday? Aaron would be lying if he said he was terribly interested in the doings of some random Embraced, but at the very least it got them off the topic of Varis. It might have been strange for both Lucan and… Morgan? Morrigan! To have disappeared on the same night if Aaron didn't know the reason for Luc’s disappearance. Unless the Royal Guard employed a meek new Embraced fresh out of the turning process without his knowledge, Aaron was sure it was a coincidence.

Dismissing it as just that, he was more concerned with talk of that Astorio count, shaking his head at Max. “No, I mean your response. I'd be more confused than surprised that an Astorio decided to mess with you, but it's usually best to just smile and nod until they get bored with you. Standing your ground like that is only going to make it worse, especially in your position.”

Max snorted dismissively, “I just asked if he was trying to kiss me. He was about an inch from my face, and I know how eccentric these noble types can get. It was a valid question.” He feigned his best face of innocent curiosity, as if his response hadn’t been a deliberate jab. The act held for a moment or two, then Max dropped it in favor of his usual apathetic stare.

“But I don’t really care about him anymore. Talk to me about magic, since I just can’t help myself but get into trouble, apparently.” Max muttered, flexing his fingers in front of him for effect. Not that he expected anything to happen, let alone without a catalyst, but he still wished he could feel something when he tried to do magic. “I need to generate a pool of energy to work with, everything else is secondary at this point, especially asinine partner exercises.”

Aaron might have laughed at the kiss comment had Max had that little exchange with anyone else, but as it was, the thought of back-talking a noble like that just sent a shiver up his spine. The subject change to magic was a welcome one, though; tonight had already been stressful enough without dwelling on all that.

“Well if you're talking about your magical stamina, that just takes practice, like physical stamina. That will come with time.” He shrugged. “It sounds more like you need to clear whatever is blocking you and get the magic flowing to begin with.”

He spun his ring for a moment, thinking. “When I started, my magic was like a really sensitive light switch,” he explained, “It was either full power or totally off, and nothing in between. So my problem was figuring out how to moderate the flow, like a dimmer switch.” He gestured to Max. “Yours sounds kind of like a faucet with a rusted tap. It needs a good yank to get it unstuck and something to keep it moving before you can do anything with it.”

“And how do I do that?” Max grumbled with a hint of growing annoyance. He could define his problem just fine, but that didn’t give him any clues on how he was supposed to fix it. The lack of tangible information on the subject was infuriating and honestly baffling, even considering how great a feat characterizing the metaphysical must be. “I’ve already tried brute-forcing it, it didn’t budge. Unless I can coax my magic out with treats like a dog, I’m out of ideas save for blind trial and error.”

Honestly, he just needed enough magic in the crystal to characterize his affinity. He assumed similar affinities acted in similar ways, so that would at least give him an idea of what to reference for further development. Although he didn’t suppose a light mage would give him any tips on that. He doubted he’d be lucky enough to get an affinity like that anyway. Plus, it was way too passive for his taste in every circumstance aside from melting leeches.

“So, does your magic work the same way other light mages’ magic does? Or am I going to be playing a guessing game for my entire career?” Wouldn’t hurt to confirm his theories; the TA was right about one thing, adhering too strictly to false information would set him back further than just blindly experimenting would.

“Probably more of those asinine partner exercises,” Aaron quirked an eyebrow at Max, and couldn't help but crack a smile at his impatience. He'd been practicing magic for what, a night so far? If he expected to develop his skills instantly, he was going to be in for a rude awakening. But Aaron supposed he could sympathize to a point. He'd been so excited to start practicing after his awakening that he'd nearly injured himself more than once trying techniques that were way beyond his skill level. Somehow, though, it didn't sound like excitement was the source of Max's hurry.

He'd take pity on the guy, though. “And I really don't know, I've never met any other light mages,” he admitted, “but magic is a very personal thing. It develops just like your personality does, accumulating over a lifetime of experiences and emotions. You'll probably find yours is a lot like you. Maybe that's why it's so stubborn.” Aaron chuckled at the comment, but it was a legitimate piece of advice.

“Seriously though, emotional issues can often manifest as problems with your magic. Maybe your impatience is actually the thing holding you back,” he suggested, more sincerely this time. “You might be putting too much pressure on yourself. It could help to relax your expectations a bit and let your magic work at its own pace. I mean, if someone kept nagging at you to do something you didn't want to, how likely would you be to cooperate?”

Damn it, the Retriever was… actually making sense. Frustrating sense, but sense. Take it slow. Max could do that. Probably. Wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter if he wanted to actually get somewhere. Slow progress was better than no progress, even if it was infuriating.

“Alright, I guess you have a point,” he grumbled out defeatedly, “but what else do I try? Do I lazily sit there with my hand on the crystal for hours until something happens? And don’t say partner exercises because I’m not even competent enough at this point to participate in those.”

Max really wasn’t used to tackling something without being gung-ho about it, especially if there wasn’t even gradual progress to justify the glacial pacing. Either he did it or he didn’t, and there wasn’t much use worrying about what he decided he didn’t want to do. Ultimately, though, he knew that waiting for something to happen was basically what he was stuck with, at least until his magic decided to cooperate. That still didn’t stop him from fumbling around for an alternative, though.

Aaron grinned, not really having expected Max to agree. Maybe he’d been a little harsh on him. After all, being too eager was better than being apathetic, even if it posed some of the same problems. He just wished he could be of more help; a teacher he was not, and magic was such a personal thing that it was difficult to apply his experience to someone else. Although, now that he really thought about it, the underlying concepts were similar, just manifesting in different ways. Hopefully that would be enough to at least push Max in the right direction.

Max’s next question kept Aaron quiet for a moment, trying to remember exactly how he’d worked around his own challenges early on. Really, talking Max through all this basic magical theory was getting his own mind working, forcing him to consider problems he’d never faced. It was a fun exercise.

“...Well, like I said before class, you could try to motivate it,” he finally mused, “like… have you ever had a moment where your magic did something of its own accord?” He looked up at the sky, noting that the clouds had begun to clear. “For example, after my Awakening, bright lights and lighting changes never bothered me. My eyes adjusted right away when the lights turned off, and I could look right at the sun without squinting. Or, when my mother was first learning, she accidentally set my aunt’s hair on fire in a fit of frustration.” He chuckled at the memory; Clara still made fun of his mother for that.

He looked over to Max curiously. “Have you ever had anything like that happen? Even something small? Because whatever you were feeling or doing in that moment would have motivated your magic, and it might be something you can tap into again to convince it to cooperate.”

Max considered it for a moment. Nothing particularly extraordinary had happened to him in relation to his magic; even yesterday could’ve easily been a fluke. Still, it was something to work with. What was he doing before that? Oh, right, everyone on campus decided to pester him one after the other for some reason. His face soured outwardly, though he didn’t seem to be directly focusing on Aaron.

“Yesterday, about half the student body decided they wanted to bug me on my way back to my dorm for some reason, and some idiot trampled me on the sidewalk,” He started, eyes narrowing in distaste, “I ended up roped into some petty feud he was having with his vampire; long story short, I got mad that I couldn’t just, y’know, blow him up or something and I felt this… jolt up my arm.”

It sounded pretty pathetic when he put it that way. Whatever, no Noila dog’s opinion of him mattered anyway. Though spelling it out did get him thinking. While his magic may not respond to him getting mad at it, it seemed to respond to perceived external threats. At least, he was assuming - one incident didn’t make a trend.

Aaron nodded as he listened, somewhat amused both by Max’s expressions and by finding out that his gruff exterior apparently wasn’t just skin deep. The reaction he described was weak, but then again, Aaron’s had been too; it had taken him a while to realize that the changes in his vision were a result of magic and not just weird coincidence. An emotional trigger, though, now that was interesting.

“And you know it’s not a basic affinity,” he repeated from earlier, thinking out loud. It was usually basic affinities, like his mother’s, that reacted to emotional triggers, complex affinities usually being more connected to more complex brain processes as far as he could remember. Of course, it was possible to trigger one’s magic in a plethora of ways, as far as he knew, and the issue of magic being such a personal thing made guesswork difficult. It did get him thinking though, and he had at least part of an idea.

“It’s possible you and your magic could be more in tune than you think,” Aaron suggested. “Sounds to me like it reacted to your frustration, like how two people who don’t otherwise get along can find common ground when they have a common enemy.” He shrugged, resting a hand on his pommel. “I don’t know how wise it is to go around looking for trouble to try and recreate that, but maybe you could try to stimulate it by doing something that energizes you in a more positive way. Can you think of anything that might do that?”

“I don’t know what it reacts to. I’ve gotten mad plenty of times since then, and it didn’t do anything.” Max grumbled in annoyance. There was nuance to this, somewhere, but whatever it was, he was missing it. And what did the Retriever mean by ‘positive way’? What did he have to be positive about? He was surrounded by annoying leeches and their bootlickers who won’t leave him alone for some reason.

“I’ll figure something out, I guess. Do you think they have books on this stuff?” He assumed the answer was ‘no’, but it couldn’t hurt to ask. He hoped grasping the basics was the hardest part, otherwise he’d spend his entire school career resisting the temptation to rip his own hair out.

Aaron nodded as the pair approached the dining hall, pausing in front of the door. “I would imagine,” he replied nonchalantly, “Surely someone has researched this kind of thing. Try the Academy library after class, I hear Her Highness has amassed a pretty impressive collection.”

He was going to add some comment about how it was only night one and how Max should try to have patience, but as he reached for the dining hall door he felt something collide with the back of his head. Aaron turned around abruptly, half-expecting to find Ralph laughing and readying another projectile, but was met instead by Lilie and Salem, the latter of whom made his presence known with a comically late, “Duck!”

At the sight of the two, Aaron’s expression fell from irritation to something more polite, the mage sighing as he bent to pick up the projectile; another one of Salem’s notes, apparently. Tucking it into his pocket, he offered the pair a smile, willing his initial aggression to subside. Goodness, he was more tense than he realized. Maybe that little scuffle back in Treaty Law had shaken him a little more than he’d thought.

“Good aim,” he joked, waving the two over. “Come on, why don’t you sit with us?”

Aaron led the group to an unoccupied table near the middle of the dining hall, glancing around at the paper butterflies fluttering about before fishing Salem’s note out of his pocket and opening it. He read over the contents of the note twice, a smirk forming despite the gravity of the situation Salem was joking about. Instead of writing his reply, however, he re-folded the note and looked to Max, who had seated himself two seats away and looked generally as if he wanted nothing to do with any of them. Thinking it would be better not to poke at him, Aaron instead turned to Salem and Lilie, offering a friendly grin.

“Salem, Lilie, this is Max,” he introduced them, gesturing to the brooding mage across the table before looking to Salem specifically. “We’re out of class now, how about we try talking again?” he gently suggested, “I mean, it might be a little hard to eat and write notes at the same time, and we wouldn’t want to be rude.”

Of Blood and Magic

_{Interacting with: @Hero @Scribe of Thoth mentioning @Trainerblue192}

Aaron kept his eyes on the group in the seats as Varis explained, and hearing him refer to Salem as Count Astorio’s “pet” finally jogged his memory. He’d seen the tall vampire in Affinity Mastery, up on the balcony. He hadn’t paid any mind to him, but now Varis was talking as if Salem belonged to him. But that didn’t make any sense. Salem was Lucan’s vampire. Right?

He was tempted to ask, but Varis only paused in his reprimanding to snap his fingers at him and issue a command, claiming Aaron’s attention. Making a mental note to ask Lucan about all of that later, he shoved his concerns aside in favour of his task, offering only a dip of the head in acknowledgement before he set off up the steps. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it out of earshot in time to miss Eris and Varis’ conversation picking back up.

“Unfortunately, I feel you would enjoy him far too much to train him properly. I believe it's best he stay with me; although, you are more than welcome to visit him if you wish.”

Enjoy him? How? That stone in Aaron’s stomach grew heavier, and the reactive side of his mind immediately remembered their “preparations” before dinner, and Varis’ lewd suggestion on night one. It took a conscious effort not to look back (or squirm from that horrible feeling creeping back up his spine), Aaron instead looking over to Salem and Lilie. Lilie was still visibly uncomfortable, and when he caught her eye he shot her a serious look, darting his eyes toward the exit in a silent signal he hoped she’d understand as “leave.”

Salem, on the other hand, was only further stressing him out. Had he learned nothing from their ordeal last night? He’d already lost so much standing on his soap box with the Queen; was this really the hill he wanted to die on now, preaching respect for mages to an Astorio? Because Aaron wasn’t sure Salem knew how legitimate a possibility that really was. He sincerely hoped Salem learned well from those etiquette lessons Princess Ryner had placed him in; if he kept carrying on like this with nobility - or any vampire, really - he was liable to end up getting himself killed.

As much as Aaron would have loved to drag Salem away from the Astorio Count and knock some sense into him, he’d have to leave that task to whichever etiquette instructor he ended up with; “immediately” meant “immediately,” and Aaron was already all too familiar with Varis’ objections to hesitation. By the time he reached Max he’d only half-heard whatever sarcastic comment went with that tone, though that contemptuous look on his face was clear as the moon in the sky. Not happy about having an escort, probably.

Aaron kept quiet until they were out of the room, waiting until the door had fully closed behind them before giving Max an incredulous look of his own, gesturing back at the lecture hall. “What was all that about?”

Obscene's Scratchpad

_{Interacting with: [Hero] [Scribe of Thoth] mentioning [Trainerblue192]}

Aaron kept his eyes on the group in the seats as Varis explained, and hearing him refer to Salem as Count Astorio’s “pet” finally jogged his memory. He’d seen the tall vampire in Affinity Mastery, up on the balcony. He hadn’t paid any mind to him, but now Varis was talking as if Salem belonged to him. But that didn’t make any sense. Salem was Lucan’s vampire. Right?

He was tempted to ask, but Varis only paused in his reprimanding to snap his fingers at him and issue a command, claiming Aaron’s attention. Making a mental note to ask Lucan about all of that later, he shoved his concerns aside in favour of his task, offering only a dip of the head in acknowledgement before he set off up the steps. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it out of earshot in time to miss Eris and Varis’ conversation picking up.

“Unfortunately, I feel you would enjoy him far too much to train him properly. I believe it's best he stay with me; although, you are more than welcome to visit him if you wish.”

Enjoy him? How? That stone in Aaron’s stomach grew heavier, and the reactive side of his mind immediately remembered their “preparations” before dinner, and Varis’ lewd suggestion on night one. It took a conscious effort not to look back, Aaron instead looking to Salem and Lilie. Lilie was still visibly uncomfortable, and when he caught her eye he shot her a serious look, darting his eyes toward the exit in a silent signal he hoped she’d understand as “leave.”

Salem, on the other hand, was stressing him out. Had he learned nothing from their ordeal at dinner? He’d already lost so much standing on his soap box with the Queen; was this really the hill he wanted to die on now, preaching respect for mages to an Astorio? Because Aaron wasn’t sure Salem knew how legitimate a possibility that really was. He sincerely hoped Salem learned well from those etiquette lessons Princess Ryner had placed him in; if he kept carrying on like this with nobility - or any vampire, really - he was liable to end up getting himself killed.

As much as Aaron would have loved to drag Salem out and knock some sense into him, he’d have to leave that task to whichever etiquette instructor he ended up with; “immediately” meant “immediately,” and Aaron was already all too familiar with Varis’ objections to hesitation. By the time he reached Max he’d only half-heard whatever sarcastic comment went with that tone, though the look of utter contempt on his face was clear as the moon in the sky. Aaron kept quiet until they were out of the building, waiting until the door had fully closed behind them before giving Max an incredulous look of his own, gesturing back at the lecture hall. “What was all that about?”

Obscene's Scratchpad

Max
Feliks

𝓘𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓽𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓭

Still facing the tapestry, Feliks’ eyebrows shot up at Katya’s mention of rumours, the gears in his head whirring a little faster. He was silent for a long moment, deliberating. Could it work? Or was it all too foolish and dangerous? They’d be gambling everything, putting their lives in danger, for a reward that might not come, after all. A ten-million-ruble reward, he reminded himself. If she said yes. Was it worth it?

After an almost suspiciously long time, Feliks made up his mind.

“Funny you should mention rumours,” he began, almost cautiously, “I heard one just this morning that the Grand Duchess Katerina survived.”

Katya thought Feliks was going to leave her in suspense forever, though when he spoke again he managed to surprise her. “Right...that’s the...one of those girls,” She said, shaking her head as she looked up at the tapestry. “A ray of hope for our country? The Bolsheviks aren’t exactly well liked.”

Feliks smirked, uncharacteristically amused by Katya’s fumbling. “The youngest one,” he explained, tapping the child with the shock-blonde hair and giving Katya an amused look. His grey eyes glinted like steel, a rare spark lighting them, but he shook his head.

“But no, unfortunately I doubt it. It would be far too dangerous for her to reveal herself in Russia. However,” his voice took on a daring edge, Feliks turning to face Katya with a much more hospitable demeanour than before. “What I heard this morning was that her grandmother, the Dowager Empress who fled to Paris, is offering a reward to whoever can find her.”

No wonder the rumors had started up again. It was actually a little sad now that she thought about it; probably the hopes of a sad, old woman. “Assuming she’s still alive,” Katya replied. “But even if she was, don’t you think it’s odd that she would show up now?”

“I do,” Feliks admitted, almost chuckling at Katya voicing his exact thoughts when he’d first laid eyes on her. “But I suppose she would have been here all along, and her grandmother is only now desperate enough to search for her.” Feliks shrugged, crossing the landing to lean on a banister as his hip started to complain.

“She could have been taken in and hidden by some monarchist, or taken shelter in the country, been hidden away in an orphanage all these years…” his thoughts returned once more to that horrible night of the siege, seeing Katerina cornered in that room, the soldier, the gunshots. A chill ran up his spine even now. “...after all, who would chase down a little girl in winter, thinking she wouldn’t survive the night?”

It happened in winter? Katya scratched her cheek as she listened to Feliks’ line of thinking. She supposed it made sense now that she was hearing it out loud. At the mention of an orphanage Katya raised her eyebrows at the man. “That...sounds like…” Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, and despite the jump in logic, she couldn’t quite contain her suspicion. “You really think she’s alive?”

As bitter as he was most of the time, Feliks almost couldn’t contain his internal celebration that Katya seemed to be picking up on his implications. “You know, I really didn’t,” he admitted, tilting his head at the tapestry, “But the Dowager clearly does, and…” he paused for a moment, debating whether he should be so heavy handed with it, and deciding that, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

He looked to Katya. “To be perfectly honest, when I first laid eyes on you, I thought you were her.” He chuckled a little, not wanting to come across as too off-putting.

There was probably a better way to show her surprise, but Katya’s jaw dropped nonetheless. “What?” Came the response of disbelief, though it didn’t last too long as the blonde burst out laughing. “Yes, because as the Grand Duchess, I decided living on the streets and freezing my tailbone was so much more appealing than living in royalty.”

What a great laugh that was. As Katya looked at Feliks she shook her head at him. “That’s very flattering that you think I could pass for a duchess, best compliment I’ve received in years,” She replied in earnest.

Feliks laughed along, though he raised an eyebrow at the woman as he fished in his coat for his cigarettes. “Those trash bin fires are cozy,” he reasoned, grinning as he pulled out a cigarette and searched for his matches, gripping it in his teeth.

When the laughter died down, though, and Feliks had taken his first drag on the new cigarette, he quirked his chin to the tapestry once more. “Honestly, though. Take a look at that girl and tell me you don’t think you look like her.”

Wrinkling her nose at the cigarette, Katya was all too happy to divert her attention away from the source, following Feliks’ gesture to the tapestry. She had to tell herself to stop looking at the oldest girl, instead going to the opposite end of the family and to the one he had indicated. The girl certainly shared Katya’s hair down to the soft waves, a few common features giving claim to what Feliks said. The previous disbelief didn’t seem as certain as before, and she supposed he had a point.

“I guess I can see it,” She gave him that much. “Is that why you were so surprised when I first approached you? Because I look like the girl in the tapestry?”

Feliks shrugged, but nodded. That was one way to put it, he supposed. He brought his cigarette back to his lips, taking a drag before replying. “Yes,” he admitted, “That and the incredible coincidence of you showing up moments after I heard the rumour about the Dowager Empress’ reward, wanting to go to Paris.”

“Huh. What a coincidence, right?” Katya asked him, waving away the scent of his smoke as he exhaled. Taking a moment to think to herself, she stayed quiet until she had a thought. “...My nana thought someone in Paris would recognize me. If I look like the duchess, maybe I'm a cousin or something? Or is that too much of a stretch?” She asked him, frowning.

Feliks shrugged again, gesturing with his cigarette hand and leaving trails of smoke twisting through the air. “You never know,” he encouraged subtly, “Like you said, you don’t remember anything, right? You could be anyone.” He was quiet for a moment, before adding, “That would be some way to get to Paris though, wouldn’t it?”

Pausing once again, Katya rubbed her arm as she stared at Feliks. “It would be,” She gave him that much before she would think to herself again, though he would notice her eyes flickering back to the tapestry. The resemblance really was uncanny, wasn't it? “Think I could get a discount on my ticket on resemblance alone?”

Feliks gave a ghost of a laugh, but he was somewhat more serious. “Maybe not a discount, but the reward waiting in Paris would be more than enough to cover the fare,” he suggested, watching Katya out of the corner of his eye.

“The reward from the Dowager Empress?” Katya asked, a little surprised at his suggestion. “But that's for finding Katerina, isn't it?”

“Yes, but I would imagine that if the Dowager Empress has ten million rubles to spare, whatever life awaiting the newly found Katerina would be more than enough to make it worth the trip.” Feliks spoke offhandedly, but his eyes glinted with a dangerous idea. Once he’d finished off his cigarette and flicked it away, he turned to face Katya, a little more life seeping into him than before.

“Think of it, really now,” he insisted, humour replaced by something like cautious optimism - a rare thing indeed. “You’re looking to get to Paris, and I’m very much interested in that reward. If we go, and we fail, and she turns us away, then you’ve still made it to Paris and I’m the only one at a loss.”

He eyed Katya carefully, gauging her response. “But if we succeed, and the Dowager accepts you as Katerina, I’ll be ten million rubles richer and you’ll be living like…” he gestured for a moment, before something like a breathy laugh escaped him. “...Well, like a princess.”

Saying Katya was shocked at the suggestion was putting it lightly, the blonde looking around for a second as if seeing if he was talking to someone else. When she confirmed that he was, in fact, referring to her, she crossed her arms. That idea was crazy! Yes, the resemblance was there, but if she was understanding him right, he wanted her to pretend she was Katerina.

After a moment of deliberation, Katya raised a hand to her forehead. “You realize the Dowager would take one look at me--” She lowered her hands to her tattered coat, pulling on it to show Feliks what she was talking about. “--and know I'm not exactly princess material, right?”

Feliks couldn’t help but follow Katya’s gesture, a bit of his former disgust at her clothes returning before he brushed it back aside, waving away Katya’s concern.

“Well obviously,” he shot back sarcastically, “But Katerina’s been missing for what, twelve years? Surely the Dowager wouldn’t expect her to have all the makings of a lifelong princess.” He turned to lean backwards against the banister, almost sitting on it. “Besides, it’s not as if we’re being chased out of Russia. We can stay here for a while longer and whip you into shape before facing the Empress.”

Tilting her head to the side, Katya watched Feliks as he spoke. He seemed to have put in a lot more thought into this than she would have thought, considering they just noticed the resemblance. Unless he had seen it earlier--he did mention that he had noticed it a lot earlier than she did. But it also felt like they were trying to trick an old woman for the money, or at least, the reward was something he was interested in. He did say that there wasn't much to lose, and if they were turned away, then all's well that ends well.

“I guess there's no harm in trying,” Katya frowned at Feliks, her hands at her sides as she gave him a shrug. Pausing for a second, she eyed him for a second before asking, “And how exactly are you planning to ‘whip me into shape’? You don't exactly scream royalty yourself.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong,” Feliks replied, flashing something of a cocky grin. It only hovered a moment, however, before he schooled his features into something more polite and cleared his throat. “I used to work here,” he explained, gesturing to the palace around them, “I remember a lot of the protocol, and I bet we could find materials in here somewhere to make up the rest.”

“Besides,” he added, heaving himself off the banister and walking in his particular way to the middle of the landing, standing tall. “I never start a project I don’t intend to perfect. For ten million rubles, I will turn you into a princess.” He spoke with conviction, holding out his right hand.

“So, what do you say?”

Of Blood and Magic

_{Interacting with: @Hero @Achronum mentioning: @Trainerblue192 @Scribe of Thoth @ReusableSword}

"I'd be more than happy to take him off your hands."

Aaron remained cordial even as his insides squirmed, Eris’ up-and-down look doing nothing to dispel the dirty feeling creeping up his spine. The vampire didn’t seem malicious, but Aaron could feel him appraising him, the way one might a statue, or perhaps a particularly expensive piece of meat. The following comment might have been flattering, but there was something about Eris’ look that left Aaron feeling a little too exposed to appreciate it.

Still, he smiled, dipping his head humbly. “Likewise.”

His smile disappeared, however, when he heard something of a commotion up in the seats of the auditorium, head snapping up to the source of the noise. Up above them was a strange sight, with Max and a tall, familiar-looking scarred vampire in some kind of verbal altercation and Lilie off to the side looking distinctly uncomfortable. When Salem joined the group, he was met with a condescending speil from the scarred vampire in reply, something about Salem speaking to the queen and putting his family in danger. But all of that had transpired just last night, in private; how could this vampire know anything about it? And where on earth had Aaron seen him before?

Confusion turned to anger, however, when Aaron saw the vampire lean to say something in Lilie’s ear, much to the girl’s apparent dismay. Immediately Aaron’s heart rate spiked, though the only outward display of any emotion was the tense set of his jaw and a twitch of his hand toward his sword as he watched.

Salem intervened, much to Aaron’s simultaneous horror and delight, by grabbing the vampire and turning him around, giving him some long-winded threat and turning to leave. The whole situation made Aaron uneasy; something in him didn’t expect that vampire to let Salem and Lilie go so easily, especially not after Salem's bravado. He wanted to intervene, diffuse the situation, but he’d learned well from last night not to go running off without Varis’ say-so; still, he’d been taught to stay alert and his right hand found its way to Dawn’s handle, Aaron almost subconsciously preparing for a fight.

“...Master, do you know who that is?” he asked cautiously, eyes flicking only briefly to Varis before settling back on the scarred vampire causing all the trouble.