Interacting with: N/A

Varis watched with mild interest as the neanderthals began, divided between Dracion and Lucan. He ignore the insignificant ones―after noting Eris seeming to enjoy himself in his typical over enthusiastic way―and focused on the training the boy was involved in. Varis scoffed as he squared off against the Astorio brute. It was clear the boy was barely ahead of the head hunter, the pair sweeping around their portion of the arena with little reserve, until a hit landed and the boy needed a moment. And then the Count was done playing. He had the boy in a few seconds as Varis watched and then it seemed like nothing was happening. He sharpened his vision, a little intrigued, and he saw a very familiar expression. Varis scowled, annoyed someone else put panic on his face and he had half a mind to march down there and give the brute an absolute tongue lashing. Instead he would save the annoyance for later. It was the boy’s fault for not composing himself better after all.

The white haired runt was up next once the brute gave Aaron his leave. An odd thing that. Varis was fully expecting the Starag to need an infirmary after but the Count must have been feeling merciful. No matter. The white haired floozy seemed to square off against Victor but lasted even less than the Starag. She was in the “experienced” group after that performance? Dracion must be a tad touched. And Victor only confirmed his opinion by launching her across the arena. A harsh lesson in the realities of her failures was always appreciated.

Varis’s eyebrows shot up as Dracion sent the vampire plummeting. How blatantly disrespectful. Had the Astorio been anyone of import than Varis would have been all too pleased to throw it in the Noila’s face how disrespectful and rude their mages were but victor wasn't even worth a little fun. He pulled out his phone as Dracion boomed the class’s early dismissal. Probably so he can chasitize the Astorio with some degree of privacy. He shot off a text to Aaron; the early dismissal meant they could complete their task earlier, not gawk around at worthless girls, and Varis fully intended to capitalize on it. After a moment, he sent a reminder to Eris and swept out of the Arena and back to the dorm.

Lilie’s reassurance did little to quell his concern, but just as Aaron drew a breath to respond, his reply was cut off by a deafening CRACK booming through the Arena. On instinct he ducked, shrinking down over Lilie with his arms over his head, but when the Arena itself didn’t come crashing down on him he cautiously looked up, just in time to see the it come crashing down on someone else. He didn’t see who it was, but simple elimination told him it was the Astorio vampire; the Arena Master was apparently just as displeased with that little stunt as he was.

Aaron watched with wide-eyed fascination as the stone beneath the Arena swallowed its prisoner whole, the whole floor rumbling and shaking like some kind of angry beast as he was driven deeper underground. He stared, blinking, at the spot as Dracion made his orders, largely deaf to the man until he turned to him and Lilie. Aaron simply nodded to him before turning back to Lilie as Aine did her work.

When it was his turn, he accepted Aine’s help happily, closing his eyes and drawing a long breath as the familiar warmth of life magic flooded through his veins. Almost immediately the pain in his head and ribs faded away to little more than inconveniences, the swelling in his abdomen going down and his headache reduced to a dull throb in the back of his head and the base of his neck.

He smirked at Aine’s comment. “A bit,” he replied, thanking her once she cleared them both. He watched her go and tossed a cautious glance to Dracion before standing, offering Lilie his hand. “Feeling better now?”

Lilie nodded, taking Aaron's hand gratefully as she let him help her to her feet. She waved her fingers together, eyes wide with excitement. “Life magic is so cool!” She could hardly contain her excitement, dropping her hands as she rolled her shoulder. “Are you feeling better? She said you’re used to this?” She asked as she eyed him warily.

Aaron smiled, a little more bashfully this time, and shrugged. “Yeah, training back home can get a little brutal, so I’m pretty familiar with life magic,” he replied. He actually had a mild dependency on it, like Aine had mentioned, but there was no need to bring that up.

He tugged on one of the straps of his padded gear. “We don’t use any of this, so cracked ribs and broken fingers happen pretty frequently.” As he spoke, he turned his attention to said gear, struggling a little with the buckles as the pair made their way over to the edge of the sands where they’d left their belongings.

The girl fumbled with her own gear, raising her eyebrows at the mention of broken fingers. Once she managed to unbuckle one or two spots, she managed to free her arms out of the clunky sleeves. “No wonder you lasted way longer than I did,” Lilie frowned, letting out a sigh. “Aside from the end, you looked like you were having fun, too. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you liked getting hurt.” She joked, pausing as she began to shimmy her way out of her gear.

Aaron grinned, but continued to struggle with his gear; it seemed no matter how many buckles he loosened he was still trapped by one or two more, somehow. “Well that’s a bit of an exaggeration,” he chuckled back, freeing his arms but remaining stuck in his chest piece. After another moment of just trying to pull the thing off, he dropped his arms and sighed, defeated. “Do you think you could help me with this?” he asked Lilie, just slightly more exasperated than he was embarrassed.

Taking pity on the struggling blond, Lilie suppressed her giggles as she stopped pulling her own gear. After a quick look, she quirked an eyebrow at him, noticing two untouched straps. “Next time I’ll just trap you in your gear, then I’ll secure my victory,” She teased him as she worked on the missed straps.

Aaron grinned, ears flushing, but the smile faded after a second or two. “Well, there’s no need to feel bad about your performance,” he offered sincerely, “Remember, we’re both physically hopeless against vampires no matter what we do, and I’ve been training against one for years and just barely lasted as long as I did. And what he did to you…” he trailed off for a second, his former indignation coming back, only slightly soothed by the fact that the Astorio Count was something like fifteen feet underground, probably waiting for a tongue-lashing. Thoroughly deserved, in Aaron’s opinion; Lilie was not that Count’s mage, he had no right whatsoever to make her ‘pay’ for anything, and he broke Arena rules besides. She could have been seriously hurt! Damn Astorios. He supposed he shouldn’t have expected anything less.

He let his irritation out in the form of a sigh, expression softening again. “Well, it was entirely uncalled for. I’m sorry that happened.”

Lilie listened quietly, more focused on freeing Aaron, though she did briefly look back at the arena. She frowned for just a second, turning her attention back to Aaron as she shook her head. “No harm, no foul, right?” She waved away his concern, absentmindedly pulling his gear off. “And it looks like it’s something I need to get used to sooner or later. Today has been very...enlightening.” The last sentence seemed to be more for herself than him, the girl patting his shoulder to signal she was finished.

As she continued on her her gear, she flashed him a grin. “But thank you. It’s nice to see someone cares,” She stole another glance at the students leaving. After getting off her gear, she put it back where she found it and gave Aaron her full attention once again. “So, what are you doing after this? I was thinking you could come over, there’s a few things I’d like to pick your brain on...like your braiding skills.” She motioned to his head.

Aaron smiled gratefully when he felt his chest piece loosen around him, and finally pulled it off with the rest of his gear, hanging it back on the rack where he’d found it as Lilie continued talking. He was fastening Dawn’s scabbard back onto his hip as Lilie made her invitation, and he almost blushed. He would have loved to take Lilie up on her offer - what was this, the third invitation he’d rejected tonight? - but unfortunately, he had his orders.

“Thank you,” he replied, though his brow furrowed. “And I’m sorry, I’d like to, but I can’t,” he apologized, tugging on his ear. “I have to do something with my master after this.”

The word still made his ears burn, this time with no hair to hide them, but he grimaced as he fastened his watch back on his wrist from his bag, noticing an unread text from Varis. From five minutes ago. Speak of the Devil.

Urgently, he fished his phone out of his bag, throwing the strap over his shoulder as he read it. Right, the Count hadn’t fed that evening, he was probably hungry. Aaron squinted at ‘gawking’, but otherwise hurried to gather his things, rolling his sleeves back down and throwing his jacket over his arm.

“Speaking of which, I have to run,” he added apologetically, circling around  Lilie toward the exit. “I’ll talk to you later though, alright?”

Her eyes flickered from his face to his ears for a split second, but his words distracted her. She briefly mouthed a word to herself, looking like she had figured something out. “Uh...okay. Yeah, sorry, should’ve known you probably had something to do,” Lilie apologized as she picked up her backpack.

There was something on the tip of her tongue, and despite her better judgement, she asked, “When you say ‘master’, you mean your...vampire?” Her voice was much quieter as she spoke.

Aaron nodded, sad that he’d disappointed Lilie but still markedly uneasy hanging around. “Yeah, I can tell you more later if you want but I really do have to go, I’m sorry.” He offered her a strained smile and a wave, turning to leave and calling over his shoulder, “have a good night!”

He took off to his dorm - or Varis’ dorm, apparently - at a jog, hoping (and yet somehow doubting) that his tardiness would pass as travel time and not gawking. He made decent time, allowing himself a second to let his heartbeat slow before stepping into the dorm, closing the door gently behind him. He looked around cautiously for the Count as he continued inside, but there was no sign of him in the living room, the doors to his bedroom and the study both closed. Aaron’s room was, of course, wide open, but blissfully empty when he went inside to put his things away. Looking around, it seemed like his belongings had been left alone, although nothing had been blatantly out of place the last time Varis went digging, so it was hard to be sure. Pushing the thought from of his mind, Aaron simply hung his bag over one of the posts of his bed and removed his scabbard before…

Wait, what did Varis want him to do?

Aaron almost groaned, fishing his phone from his pocket again. Stop gawking. You have a duty to perform at my dorm. Simple enough, right? Apparently not. Aaron had assumed the Count wanted to feed, in which case he would have gone straight to the shower to prepare; but experience had already shown him that assuming was to be avoided, so that didn’t seem like the best course of action. Should he just ask? He’d been told he could ask questions if his orders were unclear - or rather, if he was unsure as how to execute them, but he hoped that meant more or less the same thing - but he’d also been roundly punished for not anticipating Varis’ needs. His third night with a new master and he already felt like there simply was no right answer. But surely that wasn’t true, right?

Good grief, how hopeless was he? Maybe Varis was right, surely he shouldn’t be having this much trouble with simple orders, as unclear as they may seem. He felt like his course of action should be obvious, like there was this clear signal he just wasn’t getting. Maybe he really was struggling with the change more than he realized. After a moment of deliberation (and a moment more of berating himself for needing a moment in the first place) he resolved to just bite the broadhead and ask. Maybe he could spin it in such a way that he’d seem a little less thick.

Peeking out into the hall, Aaron noticed some light underneath the study door; Varis must have been in there. Steeling himself, he crossed the hall and rapped lightly on the door, calling, “Master, is there anything you’d like from me before I shower?”

---

Max entered the arena just long enough to hear the vampire in the middle - Max assumed he was the one in charge - telling everyone to get out. He really needed to stop making a habit of showing up there right when the action ended. The mage promptly turned around and exitted the arena with minimal gawking. Wasn't like he could get a quick make-up lesson from the instructor when the only purpose was to knock each other around. Besides, he had better things to do.

The unexpected fondling he felt across his upper back seemed to beg to differ, unfortunately, and before he knew it some leech was hanging off him like a bad date and trying to drag him off on some asinine fancy. Max half expected Decagon or Decimal or whatever that idiot in the trenchcoat from yesterday's name was to be back for a second round of flirting, and definitely not that actor from earlier.

"Maxwell Alderman, I presume? I'm sorry to inform you that there's been a change to both your current situation and standard of living. Your former partner agreed to a buyout, placing you in my capable hands."

Max gave him a sideways glance, barely deigning to turn his head in acknowledgement. A buyout? Was he just a commodity to be bought and sold whenever it struck a vampiric whim now? Not that he could blame Morrigan, Max was hardly pleasant company, though he didn't think the Embraced had the balls to actually do anything about it. This theatrical hack must've given him quite the bargain. Or Eris was just lying. Vampires spun deceptions as surely as fish swam, and one who made an entire career out of adopting false personas and putting on a spectacle with them was doubly untrustworthy.

"What's your game here, Eric?" He questioned in a flat tone, deliberately messing up the name, "This is the first I'm hearing of this little development, so you'll forgive me if I don't take you on your word." Actors loved attention, it was the entire point of the stage. Blowing Eris off seemed like the easiest way to be rid of him, honest or not. Besides, Max didn't have time for this right now, he needed a focus first, then he could deal with whatever petty nonsense this leech was playing at.

---

@Hero

Interacting with: @Obscene Symphony

The trip from the Arena to the dorm took the vampire no time at all, not wasting a moment as he rushed back. Their little outing may last a bit longer than he originally anticipated, considering the last minute invitation he issued, and he wanted to get the ink dry on at least a few requests for his Chaend event before he fed. He glanced at his phone when it buzzed and he clicked it away just as quickly. The girl’s vampire would likely be thanking the Astorio for treating her that way rather than kick up any fuss. If Varis was a lesser vampire, he wouldn’t want to cross the brutes but he wasn’t a lesser one now was he.

He purposely left the dorm unlocked, not wanting to be bothered before feeding, and shut the study door. He laid out two pages―completely blank because lined pages looked horrendous for formal invitations―and pulled out several ink bottles. He considered each one in turn before putting back most of them, only leaving out a deep green, a bright silver, and Love Red. Varis rolled his eyes at the name before peeling it carefully off. It was the shade of red, perfect for writing scathing criticisms and elegant invitations all in one. If only it hadn’t such an awful name. Love Red. Just thinking the name made him scoff. Maybe he would purchase the rights to the ink and change it. Varis Red had a nice ring to it.

His first invitation was to Eris’s recommendation. Despite his own personal reservations, the pair’s name brought along with it a number of accolades and those accolades brought the type of vampires he wanted to attract. He sighed as he pulled out calligraphy pens and set to work, gently gliding over the paper as he explained what he’d need and when he’d need it by and expressed an interest in a personal meeting to discuss further details. He lost himself in the work, tongue poking out as he concentrated on the silver designs on the edge of the page. Varis may be many things but lazy was not one of them and he’d dance in the noontime sun before he used printed stationery designs.

“Master, is there anything you’d like from me before I shower?”

Varis jolted at the knocking, hissing irritably as he barely managed to avoid knocking over the now nameless red ink. His eyes darkened but he refrained from stomping over and throwing open the door just to slam it in the dunce’s face. Obviously he didn't want anything. He wanted blood and he wanted it sooner rather than later. One would think that if Varis’s feeding plans were interrupted earlier and he hadn’t had an opportunity to drink since, the boy would connect the dots and hurry up. Instead Varis sighed loudly and then returned to his work, taking a few moments to finish a sentence before responding.

“Only for you to find something other than hot air between your ears.” Varis snapped through the door, continuing to work with a roll of his eyes. “Actually just shower. Eris and whatever poor, pathetic mage assigned to him will be joining us and I don’t want to keep them waiting for the next decade. Unless you'd care for my guidance again.”

Cassandra

@Hero @Trainerblue192

Cassandra and Salem exchanged a few more blows, the former instructing the latter on form, but he was getting the basics quickly enough.

The class ended with a surprising bang, as a mage was thrown across the arena. Not a just a mage, it was Lilie! Cassandra took a step to move around Salem, who she had momentarily forgotten about. She had no idea what she was doing, she saw who had done the throwing, it was an Astorio Count who looked vaguely familiar. Her hands were in fists, and she could smell burning fabric before she was aware that her fire was coming to the surface.

And then she saw stars. Salem, who's back was to the scene, didn't realize anything other than training was happening, and had punched Cassandra in the jaw. She staggered sideways, and fell down hard on her bottom.

By now their instructor had responded to the situation, and everything looked like it was under control. The class was called to an end while Cassandra sat on the cold stone ground.

She got to her feet, feeling strange. She wasn't sure why that scene had upset her so much. It recalled the arrest from the night before. And the perpetrator only reminded her again of her blessedly short time with Dominique.

Cassandra clapped Salem on the arm, and started toward the gear rack.

"I'ma go see if she's alright."

Cassandra approached at a jog as Aaron rushed away with some kind of urgency.

"Hey! You alright? That looked pretty bad."

“Return it at your leisure.”

Amaris neatly folded the cloth and tucked it into her pocket as Eris waved away any concern over the sullied item. The pair turned their attentions to the third member of their group, Amaris admittedly having forgotten about him during her interactions with Eris. She offered a warm smile in welcome as the kid introduced himself, the countess stepping aside to allow Eris to take the lead. While she might never understand what others saw in the slimeball, she couldn’t bring herself to crush the dreams of a fan by trying to sabotage their opportunity to interact with an idol.

Eris seemed particularly interested in the family name Joryldin provided, having been cared for and protected by the house of Nailo, though Amaris couldn’t help but be amused at how close the name was in spelling to the royal’s own. All one had to do was mistakenly swap a couple of vowels… Shaking her head Amaris returned her attention to the present, curious as to why Eris would be so interested in the boy’s family.

He’s probably just in a good mood from all the stroking of his damned ego. The countess thought to herself with a fair amount of disdain. She had to fight making a face at him as he addressed her once again with the suggestion of switching up partners. Nodding her head, Amaris excused herself to the side so as not to be in their way.

If she was to be honest, Amaris hadn’t been expecting much from this particular match up, but surprised she would be… and pleasantly so. Amaris had to hide a bubble of laughter behind her hand as Jorlydin sent Eris stumbling about, the pompous show-off ending up face first on the arena floor. The banter continued between the pair for a little while longer before Eris put an end to Joryldin’s lucky streak with a swift kick to the back of the knees.

Stepping closer to the group once more, Amaris clapped her hands together softly a couple of times. While it was mostly for Joryldin’s encouragement, she begrudgingly accepted that there were a few things she could learn from watching Eris move. She thought to say something to them, but a commotion across the arena seemed to dominate everyone’s attention.

The countess turned with just enough time to see the small, snowy-haired girl from Cassandra’s class slam against the ground and roll to a stop. Following her bath back, it was no surprise who stood at ground zero for the horrible display. Astorio’s representative, Victor as she recalled, stood looking far from repentant for his actions. In retrospect, though, Amaris might have considered there wasn’t a whole lot of time for him to think too hard about it as the fury of the arena director slammed down as promised at the beginning of class.

With a degree of amazement, the countess gazed on as the ground came to life and swallowed the vampire and his newfound prison whole. With Victor contained for the time being, Dracion called for a medic and saw that the students from the group were cared for before redirecting his anger toward the rest of the class. Their time in the arena was cut short as class was dismissed and Amaris noted that even the onlookers were being ushered from the stands.

“The next time you want to grapple just let me know.” The emphasis of his words mixed with the sultry wink sent a shiver of disgust down the countess’ spine. Rather than dwell on her own unpleasant dealings, however, Amaris turned her attention back to the Arena. Her eyes were quick to find Cassandra among the other students as she jogged toward her fallen friend. Amaris thought it a shame that her only introduction to the injured mage was the confrontation with Princess Nox; a confrontation she fled against her vampire’s instructions.

She hung up her gear and made her way across the arena, approaching the pair of mages with a cautious smile. After seeing what Dracion was willing to throw at an Astorio, she was less than keen to stick around in case he wasn’t satisfied with just the one take down.

“I would like to know the same as well, did you at least have fun Cassandra?” Amaris chimed in, eyes glancing around the pair quickly before she returned with a sheepish gaze.

“Ah, my apologies. I’m interrupting again. It’s good to see you’re feeling alright, at least for the most part. This Aine must really be something.” She added as she addressed the white-haired mage, genuinely impressed with how well she was faring after all that had occurred.

A sudden CRACK sounded throughout the arena, startling the young mage into an upright position from where they once lay recovering from their own sparring match. It took a couple of moments for Dakota to catch up, but from what it looked like… Sergent Tombstone had, for whatever reason, had to make good on his promise. Had he not been directing medics around, Dakota might never have seen the girl laying on the ground some plenty of feet away.

“Yo.” The mage breathed, eyes widening some at how far the girl had been tossed. While it was far too late to know what had happened to cause such a scene, Dakota couldn’t help but wonder at what transpired. There were so many possibilites, after all, that group was supposed to be the experienced ones… were they not? Maybe she had egged on her partner too hard and paid the price for it.

Either way, care was being administered and the class was being dismissed by a very pissed looking director. It was a shame the class had to end so soon, Dakota had been having a blast. Turning to Damien, the youth offered a helping hand up and the same bright smile they had been wearing since the beginning.

“Well, you can’t say this place is boring. Hey! Do you wanna go track down some snacks, all this action has given me the munchies.”

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As Salem and Cassandra began to spar once more, he started to get more and more into it. Getting the hang of throwing punches and attempting to read his opponents movements in order to dodge. Ofcourse chances were that Cassandra was holding back and purposefully telegraphing her movements in order to allow him to learn. As the blood began to pump Salem scarcely heard the mage that was flung across the area, throwing another punch towards the fire mage and celebrating mentally when the hit landed; but the celebration was breif as he realized what had just happened. ”Oh my- I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize we were stopping!.” It was at that moment when he turned to face the same direction as her that he saw Lilie colliding against the floor and rolling to a stop.

His eyes widened in shock at what had just transpired and he quickly clasped his partners hand to help her up, scarcely saying a word as he mindlessly walked towards his friends body. ”Yeah, sure...” he said faintly as he responded to what she had said, not actually listening. Salem began to pick up on a job and made his way towards Lilie, making sure to grab his backpack on the way there before approaching her. ”Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?” Salem began to ask somewhat frantically, only keeping a modicum of composure as he rifled through his bag. He pulled out a small rod with a light attached to the end, clicking it on as he held it to her eyes to see if she had a concussion. It appeared that Lilie had garnered a small crowd around her now, between Aaron, Cassandra, the life mage and himself.

He quickly clicked off the light and placed it in a small pouch inside of his bag. ”Sorry, I’m more than sure that the life mage has helped taken care of you. But if you wouldn’t mind...can you see me after class at my dorm? I may not have much at the moment but i do carry a few supplies on me just in case, and it would ease my mind knowing that i was capable of conducting an exam on you to ensure you don’t have a concussion or anything else. I may also be able to whip up some ointments for pain if need be. If that’s ok ofcourse...” His voice was sincere yet more proffesional than he had ever sounded. Sure the words may not have been the best, but the tone was not dissimilar to when you pay a visit to your local doctor. He turned to Cassandra and apologized once more for accidentally sucker punching her just before running to Lilies aid.

---

"You are just adorable. You think I'm lying? What reason do I have to lie to you?"

Aside from the fact that Eris was a vampire, Max really couldn't think of one. At least not until he knew more about what Eris was even doing at this academy. The vampire knowing what Morrigan looked like wasn't exactly solid evidence, but without anything to the contrary to go on Max had to assume he wasn't lying. The administration could've at least informed him or something. Pretentious leeches probably thought he wasn't even worth the bother when they could just have his new master come up and tug on his leash.

"You all have a game, lying just isn't your ideal move this turn." Max muttered back, blatantly brushing off his shoulder where Eris had touched him. He'd go along with it for now, it wasn't like he could be punished for being deceived. This was a bother but a vampire was a vampire at the end of the day, it didn't really matter who was lording over him.

"I assume you want something, since you're not-so-subtly trying to drag me off in another direction." The mage stopped walking outright and finally turned to face Eris. He kept his face impassive and dismissive, like this scenario was a minor annoyance rather than an actual problem. In some ways, it was. Like hell he was going to squirm for another leech today, and besides, he was still on the lingering tails of a good mood after getting his affinity to work so splendidly. "If you're hungry or something, make it quick. I need to head to town and buy something I can use for a focus."

A focus was the primary thing on his mind right now, he had no room to bother with anything else. The progression of his magic was paramount to everything, and he didn't want to interact with leeches a second longer than he had to without knowing in the back of his mind he could skewer them on the nearest metal object with little more than an angry thought and a flick of his wrist.

---

@Hero

Interacting with: @WeepingLiberty

Damien eagerly accepted Dakota’s hand and pulled himself to his feet with a little hop at the end. He gave a concerned frown at the small gathering around a white haired girl but when she smiled, he shrugged and turned his attention back. He glanced over at Lucan for a moment and, not seeing any visual cues, shrugged, beaming at Kota.

“Hell yeah! I could go for as much sugar as I can get my hands on. He said excitedly, grinning. He felt all bubbly inside, making a friend at a class he thought would be a disaster, and was eager to take advantage of the mood to forget earlier in the evening. He wove his arm into Dakota's and pointed in front of them dramatically.

“Lead the way, oh great one! Mostly because I have no fucking idea where we are since I’ve only been here for a few hours! Damien tried and failed to drop his voice into a gravelly baritone and failed miserably as his voice cracked almost immediately. He cackled at it, entirely unconcerned, but started leading them out anyways.

Dracion watched with disbelief that turned into outright frustration as almost all of them stayed in his Arena. What was wrong with these brats? Dracion let out an irritated sigh and cleared his throat loudly.

“Take all this…” Dracion gestured at everyone before him. “And leave! Ye all gots one minute ‘fore I stop askin’ and start doin’!” As if to emphasize the point,he tapped the ground and a body sized hole opened next to him. A giggle escaped under Aine’s breath as she waved to Lilie and Aaron before rushing away to get the medications sent out.

The rest of the Arena was empty and silent, no one left in the stands. Even the mages who had protected the students while Dracion cleared the Arena departed moments after his command.

---

---

As Max and Eris left the Arena, whispers and startled gasps erupted around the pair. Various students watched the vampire as he sauntered across the campus, more than one shooting Max an envious look. More than one student worked up the courage to approach, asking for photos or an autograph and almost all of them mages. Most vampires had the common sense not to do that and actively stopped their mages from doing the same since it could be easily misconstrued as an insult.

---

---

In Aaron’s stately dash across campus, he’d notice is was still quiet since many of the last periods were still in session. A few people, either lucky to avoid classes this late or skipping, were headed towards the bus. He passed a pair of vampires gossiping along the way.

“Did you hear? The Noila minions are fucking up left and right apparently. The woman chortled. “Apparently the Knight of the Evening had to clean up the Starag mage’s mess and is being punished for it. Can’t fight or anything.”

“No kidding? Poor dude. They should just double punish the mage but I guess he’s too privileged for that huh?” The man shook his head. “Hope the Starag knows how lucky he is. Any other mage would have been ripped to pieces."

Cassandra

@Hero@Trainerblue192@WeepingLiberty

"It was good," Cassandra found herself answering her friend and also her vampire partner. She took a step sideways so that she was facing Amaris as well. "Yes, I suppose I had fun..." she trailed off, feeling a flush creep into her face. She found it awkward for Amaris to speak to her as if she were a child. Moreover, as if she were her child. But Amaris's expression was strange too. Cassandra realized they didn't know how to interact with each other.

She noticed that Lilie's demeaner chainged almost instantly when Amaris entered the conversation. Cassandra thought back to the arrest the night before, and thought that Lilie seemed now more like she had been then. Was she afraid of vampires?

This seemed to be confirmed as Lilie quickly made plans with Salem, which Cassandra took as her trying to escape the situation. Cassandra wished fervantly that she could join her new friends, but after a quick internal debate she decided that she couldn't force her way into two invitations from Lilie tonight, and it seemed like it was meant to be the two of them.

Suddenly the instructor was ushering them out with threats of violence. Cassandra almost ignored him, but did turn to Amaris.

"Were you ready to return to the dorm? Is there anything you needed?" It was crass to ask if a vampire needed blood(or, for a human to ask, anyway), so Cassandra skirted the subject, but thought her meaning should be clear.

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Salem nodded in approval to Lilie’s suggestion. Sure he could go alone to the administration office and speak to them, but there was some form of comfort in having someone else come with you, just knowing there was someone there having your back. ”That would be nice thank you. Speaking of which...” Salem shot a sideways glance to his partner, Lucan, who was standing not too far off from the group, getting reprimanded it seemed, by professor Dracion. I suppose even a knight as high as him is still capable of being treated in such a way in a school setting. Surely it was an odd site to see. As Salem began to straighten out his shirt a bit, his glance moved over to Dracion who was now yelling at the lot of them to leave. [color-82ca9d]”Right, I suppose we shouldn’t actually be here huh? Cassandra was it? Don’t wander off too far, that sucker punch was more than you bargained for since you weren’t preparing to take it. I’ll have to check you out too to make sure there isn’t too much damage.”[/color] He gave the fire mage a wink and a smile, offering her an out in case she didn’t feel like sticking around her partner all day, after all who would? They lead separate lives and need not have to mingle.

With that Salem made his way over to Lucan. Nervousness began to well up inside of him with every step that he took. What if Lucan was the one responsible for taking all of his belongings? Some harsh punishment for getting into trouble on the night he missed, or perhaps its some sort of training Schtick, like with what Varis mentioned doing to Aaron at dinner. Or maybe it had nothing to do with the man, simply the school not allowing any foliage besides their own? That one made no sense as there was no mention of it before. Salem halted in his steps for a moment, thinking to himself in dread, What if this was all part of the investigation? Would they go so far as to take ALL of his supplies? It makes no sense His scents began to swirl up again, nerves kicking in and taking over as his steps were now more hurried, each one booming in his ears. ”Pardon me Dracion...mind if i speak to my partner in private? I’ll try to do so as we are leaving.” With that he went up to Lucan, gaze down as he softly said ”Do you have any idea why our dorm has been cleared out? All of my possessions have been lifted and there is nothing in my room...” His voice was soft, yet loud enough for a vampire to pick up and hear.

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"It looks like there is a lot you need to be informed of when it comes to our relationship, but I'll have to set down the rules for you later. Fortunately for you, to town is where we are going tonight."

Max rolled his eyes. Yeah, yeah, no peeing on the carpet, no tearing up the furniture, be a good little doggy. As if he was going to listen to anything this D-list wannabe said. Other than that, he was content with the plan Eris presented. As long as he got his focus, he didn't really care where the vampire dragged him off to that night, bar whatever kind of pants-less, sordid affair this horny parasite would turn feeding into. The mage's schedule had been mostly cleared after his affinity had presented itself, given that he no longer had a reason to vigorously research magic anymore, and he'd yet to formulate a clear plan as to what he needed to do next.

There's one stop I need to make before we go. Come along, I'm not one to be late."

"Now that, I know is a lie. Or are you honestly gonna tell me with a straight face that your little entrance earlier was a pure blunder on your part?" Max questioned, keeping his eyes lidded and unenthused but arching a brow challengingly. He then shrugged nonchalantly, waiting for Eris to keep walking. "Don't leave me in suspense. You need to go shopping or something?" Max couldn't think of any other reason to head into town, especially after Eris had just arrived, but he supposed the actor's vanity could be pushing him to go buy a whole new wardrobe. That, or he just wanted to be seen in as many places as possible to get his fans talking. What a hack.

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@Hero