Aaron all but jumped back when a hiss sounded from behind the study door, followed a moment later by an off-the-cuff insult and a threat he didn’t care to think too hard about. Comparatively gentle to what he expected, all things considered, and he was content to hurry back into his bathroom and out of his clothes without further inquiry. Nope, he did not care for Varis’ “guidance” again. But at least his first instinct had proven true, he’d remember that for the future. “Hurry the hell up when Varis is hungry” seemed like a safe enough bet.

He showered quickly, though he did remember Varis’ tip about leaving his conditioner in longer and paid careful attention to his neck, and soon enough he was out, putting clothes in his hamper and pulling out fresh ones. This time he chose a pair of black slacks and another white shirt - luckily he had no shortage of those - but didn’t put it on just yet, opting for the long-sleeved black crew neck from earlier. An awful combination, obviously, but only a temporary one for feeding, just like he’d planned that evening.

Only about ten minutes had passed by the time Aaron returned to the study door, knocking a little more hesitantly this time. “I’m ready whenever you are, Master,” he called, before remembering what he’d been told on his first night. “Emotional state is… generally fine. Slightly nervous.”

“Enter and sit.” Varis ordered as he looked over the page he’d written, ensuring everything dried evenly. He had been concerned about the section that the boy interrupted during but his worries were unnecessary. It was perfection. As if he’d produce anything less. Varis looked up as Aaron settled, eyes immediately drawn to his neck as his hunger made itself known again. He still remembered the taste he had the other night and he strode over to Aaron.

Varis stood in front of Aaron for a moment more before using the boy’s chin to expose his neck, tilting his head back and away to give the Count easier access. The darkness in his eyes faded and they slowly brightened as he put a knee on the chair between the mage’s legs to support himself. Tightening his hold on the boy’s head, Varis pressed his fangs gently against the boy’s neck and held it there for a brief second to give the boy time to prepare himself. Then in a single movement, Varis pierced the boy’s skin and drank.

He closed his eyes and gave an involuntary groan of appreciation as the warm liquid burst over his tongue. Orange and cloves overwhelmed him with that perfect kick that bottles always missed, the pleasant zest of living. Varis let himself indulge, drinking just a bit deeper knowing he wouldn’t let himself have this again in the next few days. He lapped at the wound hesitantly, sucking out what last bit he could get as the wound shut itself, and he sat back against the boy’s desk with eyes closed to revel in the sensation of fresh blood in his body again.

Holding very still, Aaron was actually grateful for the Count’s grip on his head as he aligned his fangs; the consequences of misplaced punctures weren’t fun to think about, and he didn’t want to be accidentally moving. After the initial butterflies and burn of the bite, though, Aaron’s nerves faded away, body and mind overcome with a pleasant warmth. His head got light as his body got heavy, whatever tension was left in his muscles relaxing. His headache was all but forgotten as he allowed himself to savour possibly the only moment of serenity he’d have that night, eyes sliding closed as a grateful sigh escaped him.

To his chagrin, the feeling didn’t linger quite as long as the first time, and he mostly came to his senses shortly after Varis drew back, though a pleasant calm did still linger. As he gradually came back to his senses he noticed a red smear on the still-entranced Count’s cheek, however, accompanied by a drip down the side of his chin. Automatically his hand went up to his neck and absently prodded the spot where he’d been bitten, more curious than alarmed. The wound was healed, of course, but wet; when he brought his hand away, his fingers were stained red.

“...Ah-ha…” Aaron murmured, still a little dazed as he examined his hand. A knock on the front door made him look up, and he stood, making his way out of the study and down the hall to the door on autopilot. In the remnants of his feeding stupor he opened the door without a second thought, only to be greeted with the sight of Eris and Max.

Bloody neck forgotten, Aaron blinked at the pair for a moment, eyes a little glazed and wondering if feeding had made him more confused than he’d thought. Still, he turned back into the dorm just the same. “Master, Mr. Samael is here,” he called, glancing back at Max inquisitively, “with... Mr. Alderman.”

Varis originally ignored the knocking, reveling in the feeding and expecting the boy to send the interloper quickly but that name made him sigh. He'd brought this on himself after all. He ran a hand over his clothes, smoothing out any wrinkles that popped up during the feeding, and forced himself to move to his own desk. He wasn't about to let them see him so defenseless after a feeding. He picked up his quill, put the other page in front of him, and began working on the next letter.

“Send them in. Tell Eris I'm in the study.” He responded calmly as he worked. He felt the euphoria fading far faster now that he had a task to do.

Aaron turned back to the pair in the doorway, stepping aside and beckoning them in. “Master’s in the study, sir,” he parrotted, offering a dip of the head to Eris before closing the door behind them. Once they’d gone through he went straight to his room to clean up, loath to present himself so poorly in company any longer. On his way through the doorway he reached to close his own door behind him, only to come up empty once again.

---

Max stared at Eris in his usual apathy as the vampire started manhandling his face. He was tempted to roll his eyes at the bizarre flirtation, but he figured a reaction was exactly what the leech wanted. He waited patiently to be released, then watched in similar silence as Eris typed out something inane on his phone. Max supposed the vampire probably felt slighted at his lack of attentiveness and decided to flaunt himself on social media so his rabid fangirls would shower him with adoration. Oooh, and he got to have his choice of focus as a treat, did he? The mage was tempted to just pick out the most expensive thing he could find out of spite.

Nevertheless, he shrugged and followed along as Eris continued toward their destination. He was placated; he'd have a focus and Eris would leave him alone if he had a friend to play with during their little town excursion, though he had no doubt whoever they were meeting was likely to be just as annoying as him. As they kept walking closer to the noble dorms, Max occasionally shot a curious glance toward Eris. The mage didn't expect him to be meeting with a Sinnenodel, of all people, especially for a simple package pickup. He was definitely playing at something here, though Max couldn't fathom what.

"How this relationship works is entirely in your hands, you can be smart and sarcastic and get punished...or you can be quiet and obedient and get spoiled. Up to you, I'll have fun either way." Excellent plan, try to buy his loyalty with trivial bread and circuses. Typical vampire.

"I was being honest, Eric. I figured not having to constantly guess at what I'm really thinking would be a welcome change from all the two-faced sycophants you no-doubt talk to all day." Max offered in an uncharacteristically helpful tone. He wasn't necessarily lying - being blunt was easier to him than playing with his phrasing to say what he wanted to without actually saying it. Plus, he wasn't entirely sure vampires could even comprehend the concept of 'honesty'. Eris might've thought it was a weird cake flavor or something.

He turned back to the door just in time for... oh, lovely, the Retriever. Count Cinnamon must be Eris' partner in crime for the moment. He vaguely remembered seeing them converse at the end of Treaty Law from around Victor's gigantic physique, but he didn't think anything of it at the time. Eris was in luck, it seemed; as amusing as making the leech look incompetent in front of Cinnamon would be, he'd be setting Eris - and unfortunately, himself by proxy - up to play nicely into whatever machination this smarmy Sinnenodel no doubt had for the night. Besides, Max was perfectly content to spend all night in complete silence if the Retriever was going to follow them around like a lost puppy. He could do enough sucking up for the both of them.

Max offered Aaron little more than an acknowledging glance as he entered the dorm. He wasn't entirely sure on the protocol here. Was he supposed to follow Eris into the study, or was he supposed to just stand out here and let them have their privacy? Aaron didn't give him any clues to go off of either, having run off to... somewhere. Was Max supposed to follow him? He decided to take his chances and stand in the entryway until told otherwise. Being alone in a room with two leeches sounded like torture.

---

@Hero@Obscene Symphony@Achronum

Amaris did not miss the sudden tension that accompanied her arrival, the smaller girl dropping her gaze as her posture shifted away. The countess had to force her expression to remain stagnant, attempting to hide her disappointment from the group. In her haste to check in, she had spooked the human and robbed Cassandra of a response to the conversation they had been having. It wasn’t at all a surprising turn of events, after all the young mage had just been introduced to what it felt like to be the china when the bull entered shop. Still, she hated the feeling of being feared, as if she were some kind of monster…

The young vampiress shuffled back a few steps as a young male rushed in to the girl’s side, the recognition in her face a clear sign of their growing bond as classmates. She was a tad curious as to what sort of business the pair might have had with administration that they would have to speak so cryptically about it, but she had learned from her own trip to the building that it was likely to be far from simple. Her mind drifted off as she tuned out the interactions going on before her, having already been clearly rejected once by those it involved, but the sound of Cassandra’s voice dragged her back to reality.

“Were you ready to return to the dorm? Is there anything you needed?”

Amaris stared blankly for a moment before the words fully registered. She was fairly certain that Cassandra was attempting to offer her something, though the hesitant nature of the question suggested she was uncertain. It reminded Amaris that between all the crazy interruptions, she had yet to actually speak to Cassandra about their new relationship. A warm smile replaced her prior expression as she nodded slowly.

“Yes, actually there is. Let’s walk and talk though, there’s not much we can get accomplished if we’re buried underground.” The countess shot a look in the instructor’s direction before turning and leading the way, snagging her belongings on their way out.

“I do apologize for disappearing on you earlier. There were some details from the incident that needed to be addressed, but I believe it’s all been taken care of.” Amaris’ fingers twitched as she fought the urge to toy with the bandage on her face. Instead she wrapped them tightly around the straps of her bag and glanced over at her partner.

“I would prefer to be in for the remainder of the morning, so if there’s anything you need for your classes before we head back let’s get that done first. Otherwise, you and I have a couple of things to discuss in private.”



Arms linked together, the energetic pair set off to leave the arena before the director started threatening people, the tension it caused making the youth laugh a bit. There was little Dakota could take seriously, and somehow, having just watched someone get buried hadn’t been one of them. As the pair marched onward, Damien mentioned something about getting his hands on sugar which made Dakota think of a milkshake. In all honesty, there was little idea of where to go to find such a treat, but there was now a sudden craving for one, and no curfew to stop them.

“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!” Only a few hours? That means he hadn’t been present for any of the orientation materials. A rough way to start any academic career, but there was little doubt he would figure it out as needed.

“This place is absolutely enormous. I don’t know how anyone can find anything around here. I’m sure if we wander around long enough, though, we’ll find something tasty… you should have seen the welcome party they threw for us. There’s no way we can’t find more of that good stuff on campus.” In their wake was not a single care, just laughter and the sense that shenanigans were inevitable if they were to linger any longer than they had.

As they walked, Dakota continued to think on Damien’s comment about how much time he had been able to spend on the grounds… or rather lack of time to be more precise. There was a bunch of things that had happened over the last couple of nights that he may or may not have had a chance to be a part of, and that made the youth curious. One of the first things that came to mind was whether or not he had been given a chance to meet his vampire… of whether or not he was even assigned to one just yet. But seeing as even Dakota didn’t feel like talking about their own partner just now, there was little will to bring it up in conversation.

“Wait, so you just got here today? Did they lose your invitation or something?”

”My way it is.” With a frown bordering on a grimace, a few moments past and massive slabs of the Arena floor flew up behind the remaining students, acting like moving platforms that forced them out of the Arena and then sealed off the entryways behind them. ”Damn brats.” Dracion muttered irritably.

Inside the staging rooms, the only light was from the fluorescent bulbs above.

---

---

Many of the morning’s last periods were still in session, although a few may have released early considering the traffic on the walkways. Dame Patel must have been one of them since she was making her way briskly towards the Arena as she chatted glowingly with Nasir who continued to toss his pineapple up and down. Nasir seemed to make his farewells and he took a hard left off the grounds, wrapping his arm around a student’s shoulder as he went. The girl stumbled as he launched into some discussion and resignation flashed over her face as she waved to the group she was with.

---

---

Varis finished off his sentence before acknowledging the other vampire, careful to put the pen in its stand. He arched an eyebrow at Eris, rolling his eyes at the comment. Had he over indulged? Probably. Was he going to admit that? Absolutely not.

“We’ll see if the boy noticed as well.” Varis replied instead of dealing with it. He capped his inks, carefully settling them back into his desk so nothing happened. Knowing the by, he’d likely spill it all over Varis’s work and he wasn’t willing to risk that. “For a Starag, he’s incredibly unperceptive. It’s quite exhausting.” Varis sighed.

“I’d offer you a seat but we should be on our way soon. I saw you enjoyed your tussle with the Countess and the Turned boy earlier. I also noticed you hid your aptitude from the Academy.” Varis mentioned. “I found it amusing. Especially with that star stuck thing hovering around you. And then the Astorio demonstrated the boy’s choice of sparring partner as pathetic as I expected. Not my preferred method but effective nonetheless.” Varis finished making sure everything was put away neatly and finished folding the letter to Eris’s acquaintance.

“I finished the invitation to your tailor. I’ll have it expedited with this morning’s mail. It should arrive in a few days.” Varis informed the movie star. He turned his full attention to the vampire leaning against his door frame, eyes crystal clear. “Did you manage to hint down your mage? Or did it manage to wiggle away from you already?”

With the last haze of feeding clearing away and the realization that he’d answered the door looking like a stabbing victim setting in, Aaron hastily returned to his bathroom, peering into the vanity mirror to assess the damage. Sure enough, blood was dripped and smeared from his puncture site down his neck to his shirt, the collar soaked through to his collarbone. It was indeed a grisly display, but what interested Aaron more was that strict and proper Varis had been the one to make this mess. He couldn’t help a bit of a smirk; go figure, the heir to House Sinnenodel was a messy eater. Black had been a wise choice, then, though this shirt would be allocated to feeding duty only from now on, he decided. Maybe he could work up the courage to do it shirtless if Varis would allow, to cut down on some laundry damage.

He pulled the shirt off, careful not to smear his face and hair with blood in the process, and dropped it into the sink, turning the faucet on cold. He let the water run as he cleaned himself up, luckily a quick job, and he was back into his room in no time, pulling on his shirt and tie. He paused before returning to the study, though, and went back to his bathroom for a clean washcloth, wetting it in hot water and carefully wringing it out before bringing it back to the study with him.

As he crossed the hall, he noticed Max still standing in the foyer and mentally slapped himself. Damn, he’d been so preoccupied with getting out of sight he’d forgotten to give him any kind of direction. Either that or the feeding had thrown him out of whack; he’d have to get a handle on that.

More out of habit than anything, Aaron painted on a polite smile. “Sorry about that. I think we’re leaving soon, but in the meantime please feel free to take a seat in the living room.” His voice took on a practiced cordial tone and he gestured down the hall with his free hand, falling back into old habits. He had more than one question for Max, but now was hardly the time.

Max made some noncommittal sound in response, but followed where Aaron indicated; Aaron assumed that was just about the best he’d get out of the other mage. But that was fine by him, and once Max had seen himself settled, Aaron continued into the study, doing his best to take up as little space as possible as he handed Varis the washcloth with a bow and waited to see if anything else was asked of him.

Interacting with: @Hero@Obscene Symphony

“Don’t dote on him.” Varis snapped as he took the cloth, wiping away the remaining blood. He used his phone to check and handed the cloth back. “Competent mages deserve praise and the child is anything but. Flinching during feeding and leaving our guest’s mage loitering in the entryway. Yes, I heard your half hearted apology. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume wolves raised you. Dispose of that and we’ll be on our way. And be thankful I don’t add more lines.” Varis dismissed the mage with a flick of his wrist.

“A pity about your mage. Here I hoped one of us would get something more refined.” Varis sighed irritably. “No matter, I suppose. Every mortal can be useful in someway, even if it is only when they die.” Varis strode past Eris and into the living room, conversation not stopping as he moved with the expectation that Eris would follow. “I was taken aback at how eagerly my Lady procured the boy’s adornments though. If I didn’t know better, I’d expect my Lady and the Queen had some sort of arraignment. These are hand made to order. I’d barely sent out the letter the night before.” He blinked briefly for a moment at the sight of Max in the living room.

“I had hoped another Mr. Alderman existed and you hadn’t be stuck with an Astorio chew toy. My condolences.” Varis continued past Max and into his room, leaving the door open behind him for Eris as he opened up the top dresser and moved a few items around to pull out the box. He unclipped the front, popped it open, examined the pieces critically for a few moments, and closed it again. “Absolutely perfect. Next will be replacing half his closet. The boy only has photocopies Of the same three outfits. Dressing him for dinner was a nightmare."

“Don’t dote on him.”

Yes please don’t, thank you V—

“Competent mages deserve praise and the child is anything but.”

Nevermind.

Aaron weathered the Count’s barrage of insults with a dipped head; partly for humility, but partly to avoid Eris’ gaze. His “doting” felt distinctly more like patronizing, and Aaron still couldn’t shake that invasive feeling when the vampire looked at him. But luckily - or perhaps not - Varis’ reprimands had his attention. Ditching Max in the entryway, sure, he would wear that, but flinching during feeding? He’d been practically catatonic — as had Varis, he might add. He was sure he hadn’t moved a muscle. Was that the Count’s excuse for such a sloppy feeding?

Neatly shelving away his indignation, Aaron departed wordlessly when he was dismissed, bowing to Varis and stepping quickly out of the room and into his own. He caught the end of an ominous insult towards Max as he made his way into his bathroom, setting the washcloth to soak with the rest, but it was Varis’ words in the hallway that caught his attention. Adornments? What was that supposed to mean? Of course he immediately feared the worst, mind going back to that poor mutilated girl; she and the rest of Lady Sinnenodel’s mages had all been poked full of grotesque piercings. Was that going to happen to him?!

He paused in what he was doing to take a breath, gripping the edge of the counter. There was more talk in the living room; another jab at Max. Right, he couldn’t very well start working himself up into a panic now, with company around to see him squirm. He couldn’t exactly tell himself everything would be alright, but he could at least push his worries into the back of his mind to be fretted over in semi-privacy later.

It only took a moment for Aaron to collect himself, mustering up a lifetime of court manners behind a polite expression, and soon he was straightening his tie and returning to the living room. He heard Varis still talking through the open bedroom door - apparently his clothes were being replaced, lovely - but disregarded it for now, taking a seat across from Max.

“I didn’t see you in Self Defence tonight,” he offered after a long pause. He would have preferred to ask why on earth Max was here with Eris, but that could wait until said vampire wasn’t in the next room. “What held you up? I thought we all had that class at the same time.”

---

Max didn't even bother looking in Varis' direction as the vampire offhandedly berated him. Astorio chewtoy, right. As if that uppity goliath was doing anything but posturing to mess with Flower Boy. Though, Cinnamon clearly had pull around here if they were letting him teach a class, and getting into an altercation with him would hardly do anything to Max's benefit. He doubted the arrogant leech would even get properly offended; he'd probably write off any retort Max had as quaint. Better to keep his poker face and not reveal his cards yet.

His gaze lazily followed the undead duo as Varis moved to start rifling through the Retriever's wardrobe or something equally inane - vampires really were like prepubescent schoolgirls, weren't they? All they did was gossip and play dress up with their dolls. He shifted his eyes toward Aaron scrutinizingly as the light mage sat across from him. He hadn't spoken yet, but he clearly wanted to talk. Lovely.

The silence was awkward enough that Max was almost grateful when the Retriever finally talked. Innocent question, felt like small talk. All that suspense and buildup only for the Retriever to reduce them to bored wives forcing conversation in the kitchen while the husbands were off watching sports in the other room. What was he supposed to say? He was getting shot at? Some vampire was dangling him around like a chew toy? He discovered he had a talent for ripping chairs apart? None of that would do in a room where he didn't trust anyone.

"I had a... prior engagement. Took longer than I expected. Did I miss anything important?" Max offered the question at the end only as an afterthought. He highly doubted they covered anything of importance on the first day, if his other classes were anything to go on. At best they covered arena etiquette and procedures, all of which were no doubt mind-numbingly simple and were only covered for such a long period for the benefit of some scatterbrained moron that would disobey the rules regardless. Really he just wanted to keep Aaron talking so he wouldn't be asking prying questions.

---

@Hero@Obscene Symphony@Achronum

Interacting with: @WeepingLiberty

“I got pretty sick almost immediately after getting the invitation so I had to wait.” Damien shrugged. “And unlike these fancy pants rolling in the dough, we can’t just snap our fingers and get a life mage to us so I came in late. Never doin’ that again. Showin’ up next time if it kills me. Hey, do you think that town has something good or is there a place to chill with some snacks on campus?”

“Is that… a pineapple?” Damien asked, confused as he looked around excitedly. His tour with Lucan had been rushed and now he had the opportunity to explore the campus and everything! If Lucan wanted him for something, he had little doubt the vampire would be able to find him. At the thought of him, Damien looked around and let out a sigh of relief when he didn’t find nightmare fuel stalking him.

“So, uh, since you’re actually the first other mage I get to talk to here, is your vampire absolutely terrifying? Cause Ser Lucan insert-massive-title-here is scary as fuck.” Damien paused for a moment, thinking about how he showed him around and how Lucan took care and stayed―a slice of ham and a soda, pfft―and reconsidered. “Sometimes. Like, 65% of the time. Is that a normal thing?”

Aaron nearly smirked at Max’s answer. Prior engagement? The man had probably just been yanked away from everything he ever knew and thrown into an unfamiliar world, it wasn’t as if he was meeting with a business partner or something. Had he just skipped? Seemed unenthusiastic enough for it to be a possibility. Aaron briefly wondered if there were consequences for doing so, beyond getting raked across the coals by his vampire, assuming he cared. In any case, even Aaron knew that dodging subjects was pretty much Mage 101. Rough edges aside, Max might fit into his new life better than Aaron expected.

Making a mental note to explore that later, Aaron would oblige, following Max’s lead. “Not so much important as… eventful,” he replied airily, though he did sneak a glance toward Varis’ room. He had no idea what Varis’ opinion of that Astorio Count was — beyond apparent indifference and his disapproval of violence, anyway — so he wouldn’t risk the harsh language he was tempted to use for the Count’s treatment of Lilie, nor the satisfied tone he felt bubbling up at the mental image of the vampire getting buried.

“Apparently the Arena Master doesn’t take kindly to rule breakers. I think the one who got on his bad side tonight is still underground.” He kept his tone decidedly neutral, but offered a grin. “I can tell you more later if you want. Otherwise it was pretty standard, mostly a skill evaluation. Do you have any combat experience?”

“Aw dude, that sucks. Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better now. And this place seems to have everything! Except for maybe a McDonalds… These blood-suckers apparently have a thing for keeping their snacks fresh and healthy. How boring is that?” Dakota vibed with the excited buzz emanating from Damien.

Mood boosted, Dakota began looking around with their newfound friend. Their attention was drawn by some old bat tossing about a pineapple whilst latching onto any passerby unlucky enough to encounter him. The sight was a rather odd one but hilarious all the same.

“Y’know… I think it is. Wonder what the story is there.” Laughter followed the observation while Dakota kept their eyes peeled for something that stood out as being delicious. At the rate they were going, it wouldn’t take them long to reach the parts of town Dakota had yet to explore. The curfew put in place the morning before made it rather difficult to see anything outside of the immediate surroundings.

“So, uh, since you’re actually the first other mage I get to talk to here, is your vampire absolutely terrifying? Cause Ser Lucan insert-massive-title-here is scary as fuck. Damien started, pausing to think about something before following up.

“Sometimes. Like, 65% of the time. Is that a normal thing?” For whatever reason Dakota was surprised, though by what was a mystery. In truth, Joryldin wasn’t scary at all but it seemed everywhere one turned there was some fanged bully to be found.

“Honestly, it might be. I’m starting to wonder if I got a strange one… but considering your vamp is a, what did you call him? Ser? That might have something to do with it. It’s funny, mine kind of reminds me of an old version of myself. All emo angst and not enough rebellion.” Dakota mused with a smirk. It was sort of uncanny the similarities the two had despite their severely different circumstances. Either it would help to bring the pair closer together… or end up with them at each other’s throats; a very likely outcome all things considered.

“I think we can count ourselves lucky. There’s this one kid whose vampire makes him kneel in front of everyone, and I think I actually heard him say ‘Master’. Rumors are flying already, I kinda feel bad for him.” The youth shrugged knowing there wasn’t much that could be done about the situation. It was sort of the expectation, albeit a tad extreme. If the teachers didn’t see a problem with it, clearly it wasn’t against the rules.

Lucan made to finally address Salem now that the dust had settled but a quiet chime caught his attention. He glanced at his phone and returned it to his pocket.

“Another time.” Lucan promised and he vanished as he ran from the room.

---

---

“Come along boy. We have an appointment for you and you know my feelings on tardiness.” Varis quickly patted down each of his pockets, frowning until when he realized he forgot something and quickly turned tail to grab in. He shut the door to his room once he did, shooing Eris towards the front door He tried opening the pocket watch he retrieved, only to roll his eyes when it didn’t and slipped it into his pocket.

Varis barely waited for them to leave, nearly clipping the last person out as he locked the door and then set off towards the bus. He regretted not demanding a private car for the excursion. Why Ryner thought it was even passingly acceptable for the Nobles to ride with the commoners was beyond him.

“We’re going to have to deal with your fans.” Varis sighed as they approached the bus stop, a small group already waiting. As luck would have it. The bus pulled up only moments after they arrived and Varis had little issue cutting through the peons, glaring at the few who thought to try and cut him off. He lead the group onto the bus and grimaced at the lack of privacy the seating arrangement afforded. Now he had to choose where to sit the boy. Did he want air headed fans next to them or behind them?

“Sit.” Varis pointed at the seat behind them, ordering the Starag in his place. “Eris, you’ll set there.” Varis stood in the walkway, waiting for eris to sit in the first row next to the window. If Varis let the actor near these idiots without a buffer, he’d have a headache by the time they arrived. Maybe he could force the driver to leave the others behind…

That would only cause trouble with Ryner probably.

---

“Apparently the Arena Master doesn’t take kindly to rule breakers. I think the one who got on his bad side tonight is still underground. I can tell you more later if you want. Otherwise it was pretty standard, mostly a skill evaluation. Do you have any combat experience?”

Max doubted schoolyard fights that were broken up before anyone even landed a solid punch counted, and dodging energy blasts in a classroom sounded more like 'running away' than 'combat'. He never thought quitting karate when he was like eight would come back to bite him in the ass.

"No. This might come as a shock to you, but most people don't consider magical combat as a possible career path for themselves." He muttered flatly, looking over to Varis as the leech began impatiently trying to get them to leave. Seemed like a bit of a tight schedule to be on just to pick up a package, unless it was being personally delivered. Whatever, he didn't care, he just wanted this excursion dealt with so he could pick up his focus like he wanted.

The mage stood and followed behind the two vampires wordlessly, rolling his eyes at the crowd of fans started to get restless. He almost told them off until he noticed Eris too seemed to be intent on ignoring them as well. Either Cinnamon had him on a leash or he was eager to pick up this delivery as well. He hoped it was the latter; he didn't want to be under the purview of some loser that was at the beck and call of a Sinnenodel.

Max sat down beside Aaron with an unamused grunt. He really didn't want to talk to the Retriever and his prying questions any longer, but he figured sitting anywhere else would open him up to interrogation from some rabid fangirl wondering why he's hanging out with her favorite professional liar. At least he didn't have to look at any of them from all the way up front; though the view of the back of two vampires' heads wasn't much less rage-inducing.

---

@Hero@Obscene Symphony@Achronum

Aaron chuckled. He’d never exactly seen magical combat in his future either - even if he had spent a good chunk of his free time in his teen years watching TCL fights online - and was about to say as much when they were interrupted by a suddenly urgent Varis sweeping them out the door. Said door almost caught him on the way out - again - but he was more preoccupied with the stone that dropped into his stomach at the mention of an “appointment.” He didn’t know this little excursion was for him! He wanted to tell himself the Count was having him examined by one of his own doctors or something, but all that talk of “adornments” before made him less than hopeful. Sun and stars, he was going to come home looking like one of his new Lady’s mages wasn’t he?!

Luckily there wasn’t much time to start spiraling into dread, as for some reason the mailbox indicator was up. A quick look on the way past revealed a small envelope, apparently the painkillers that life mage had promised earlier. Aaron was content to follow the group quietly; he hadn’t been with Varis for long, but he was already starting to value any chance he got to fade into the background. Odd that Varis hadn’t called for a car, though; then again, they also had to walk to the Princess’ manor the night before. Aaron didn’t exactly see Varis as the “mingling with the common crowd” type, so he must have forgotten. If he wasn’t already sure it would further foul Varis’ mood, Aaron would have smirked at the oversight.

The arrival at the bus stop perked him up a bit, first from surprise, and then from intrigue. He’d never actually seen a bus before - not in person, anyway - and had certainly never ridden one. An almost childlike curiosity struck him when it pulled up, the thing holding his gaze a little longer than it probably should have; he caught a few people looking in his direction, but Aaron was pretty sure they were looking at Eris. At least, that was what he told himself as they moved toward the bus, brushing off their gazes. He got a chance to scope out the interior when Varis carved their way on board, and it reminded him of a much larger and more spacious limousine. The lack of privacy was a little unnerving, but he didn’t find it as objectionable as Varis seemed to.

He almost laughed; he had almost forgotten that privacy apparently wasn’t a luxury he was afforded anyway.

Aaron sat where he was indicated - more easily than he expected with his scabbard - and Max slid in next to him, looking decidedly done with talking. Aaron would have liked a little conversation to get his mind off of their little trip, but he wouldn’t pry. As if on cue, his phone and watch buzzed in tandem, showing a notification that one of the races he had his eye on just completed. Glancing down, he found the tablet in his armrest and pulled it up, navigating to the race website and scrolling through the results as he opened the calculator app on his phone. A few calculations and double-checks later and a grin tugged at his lip; he’d chosen the right horse and tripled his bet, bringing his total winnings to a record high at this point in the season. The odds had been a bit long for his taste, but he’d taken the gamble knowing his usual favourite had been going through a rough patch outside of races, and he was pleased to see his educated guess pay off.

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After everything was said and done with classes for they day, Joryldin decided that he needed some time to de-stress. He had stocked up on all of the necessary books for catching up with what the rest of the vampires would consider common knowledge. In total it wound up filling five canvas bags from the bookstore, and weight almost twice as much as he did. It caused a great deal of cognitive dissonance, then, when lifting them was as easy as grabbing groceries from the car. The cheap bags were already fit to burst, despite costing him sixty bucks in total ( fucking scam if you were to ask him) but to Joryldin it was like a breeze.

His mind wandered around that sensation of ease, and before he knew it, Joryldin found himself at the front step of his dorm. The odd feeling was immediately replaced by disappointment. The fledgling quite liked running, so getting to his destination and missing the journey was a let-down. He pushed the door open with his shoulder and dumped his books on the ground in his bedroom. The impact of 200+ lbs of paper hitting the floor shook the whole room, and even jostled a painting off of the wall. Reflexes kicked in, and within half of a second Joryldin was holding the frame in his hands a mere half-foot from the ground. One leg was kicked back high into the air as his torso pivoted down and both hands gently pinched a corner. It was a rather immasculine pose, like a ballerina. Though nobody was around, he couldn't help but be embarrassed that he struck a pose from one of his mother's ice-skating performances while catching a falling decoration.

"Wait... when did..." The Embraced freshman hung the painting up, questioning its existence, only to turn and see that his whole room was decorated with a pleasant ocean theme. "What the fruit-bat fuck...?" It took him a good full minute of sheer confusion to put it together that either: A- the people from the shop broke into his dorm to put up the decorations he ordered; or B- Teleportation magic. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, he assumed option B, but it didn't make the occurrence any less jarring. "I swear, Theresa never pulled this sort of crap." Continuing to mumble to himself like a weirdo, Joryldin allowed himself to enjoy the comforting atmosphere of his room.

When he was done admiring the nostalgic new scenery of the dorm, the vampire made haste to change his clothing. The formal regalia was certainly nice, and the anti-anxiety earring was useful, but they both left a bad feeling in his stomach. Just like it had for the past two months, though, his tongue began acting up. Joryldin couldn't stop prodding at his fangs like one does with new braces. The alien invaders in his mouth were driving him crazy as he pulled his old hoodie up over his head. It struck his mind that he ought to go back and thank Amanda for the speedy delivery, so he threw his important possessions in his backpack and slung that aging bag over his shoulder. Phone? Check. Wallet? Check. Keys? Check. Blood? Wait- blood? Fuck. That was why his fangs were bothering him so much, he was hungry. In the past few days his body had become accustomed to the joys of not being malnourished. The vampire groaned, and popped open the fridge to grab a vial. Reluctantly, he tipped it back and slammed the life-giving nectar down his throat like a shot of whiskey. Joryldin immediately set to cleaning it, not willing to let dirty dishes pile up right off the bat.

When that unpleasant- or really pleasant, he couldn't tell- experience was over and done with, Joryldin walked out of his dorm and pulled his phone out. He shot a quick text to his designated partner.
>"Hey Kota, I'm headed out to town to run some errands. When I get back I'm probably gonna crash right away, so if we don't see each other before tomorrow; Enjoy the sunrise, ok?"
It only took a moment to get to the bus stop- again, much to his disappointment- and the fledgling gave the driver a curt nod of acknowledgement before dropping himself into the seat closest to the door and letting his right arm hang over the metal bar between the door and the first seat.

Joryldin's face was rather dolorous as usual. The young vampire's lips were pulled to the side so he could let one fang hang out while he pestered the other with his tongue. His eyes were, as he preferred them, hidden behind his bangs and hood, and he kept his head low looking at his phone. The brightness was turned down all the way out of habit to keep people from seeing what he's looking at, and Joryldin opened up his browser to Google some of the common info he didn't grab in the library. He didn't like what he saw.