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[center][sub]December 7th, 5:45am - The Sinnenodel Dorm[/sub][/center]

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Varis had to admit, he’d never seen someone burn their bridges quite as effectively as the Marivaldi did. It was a bold move, isolating herself from her only potential ally in a room with three opponents of her house, and if he had any faith in her statesmanship, perhaps he’d have respected it. However he didn’t. It was an act of passion, one of the most degrading for their kind, and with it removed herself from the political stage once more. Perhaps that’s how she liked it, free from responsibility and care. Perhaps she wanted to enjoy a whimsical life, riding on the coattails of her deceased father for however long it took her to walk into the sunlight. Well, one could only hope.

That being said, the bickering was amusing but ultimately taking away from Varis’ plans for the morning. He’d admit that the Marivaldi’s tactlessness gave him some insight into the Count Eve he hadn’t expected but it hadn’t been what she’d been supposed to do. He was going to have to do some maneuvering to get the Eve where he needed him before the dinner was over; otherwise, Varis was going to have a long day of reworking to do and he honestly needed the sleep. He took one last sip of the girls’ blood―what cruel twist of fate gave the abomination such delicious flavor?―and left it alone, knowing the boy would be in soon to move the tasting along. [color=f7976a]“While I’m sure deliberating the challenging situation the Princess put Count Eve in could dominate the rest of the evening, perhaps it’s best laid to rest while level heads still prevail. It would be unfortunate to upset each other while we’re stuck somewhere we don’t have the luxury of distance.”[/color] Varis suggested calmly. [color=f7976a] “A taste of someone familiar for the Countess ought to do the trick. I’m looking forward to it; after all, someone willing to put on an audacious display must have a flavor to match.”[/color]

When the time came to serve the next bottle, Aaron smoothly disengaged from any conversation in the living room and made for the kitchen, arranging five more pristine crystal glasses on his tray alongside Maddie’s blood and the neutral bottle. 

Stepping subtly into the parlor, tray in hand, Aaron made his way around the room, delicately balancing being polite with being invisible as he replaced used glasses with clean ones and topped off each guest’s glass of palate cleanser. As far as any spectator could know, he was deaf to any conversation not directed at him; when every dirty glass had been collected, he moved on to Maddie’s blood, displaying the bottle to each guest before uncorking it and serving.

Varis left his glass unacknowledged for the moment and instead moved the conversation on. [color=f7976a] “I was quite surprised to hear from one of my vassal’s Countess that your family entertains celebrity mages at your educational events. Evidently, they were quite curious about Morgan le Fey. I was always under the impression we knew so little about her, it was basically impossible to properly adapt her to modern entertainment without a slew of conjecture.”[/color]

[hider=Maddie’s Blood] Pomegranate and Apples[/hider]

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Max’s answer had her bringing her hand up to laugh silently behind her hand. For all his abrasiveness, it was funny when you weren’t the target. She didn’t know him all that well but she did wonder how much of it was honest and how much of it was played up. She could understand how this would make anyone uneasy and if he was the aggressive type, then maybe it was his way of keeping everyone at arm’s length. It made her think of a porcupine or a puffer fish. The thought had her laughing again.

[color=FC8686]“Transmutation? My old school was going to make me go into it but I have no interest in it.”[/color] Maddie grimaced at the thought. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been interested but being forced to go into it without a say in the matter made it seem as awful a major as she could get. [color=FC8686]“You already have a job lined up after this? What are you―”[/color] Maddie cut herself off as something rippled in the air above the coffee table. The television and entertainment system beyond seemed to twist into themselves, warping further and further the longer it went on until a faint black orb appeared. It was just larger than a fist and while she was initially curious, she found herself scooting back into the couch as something started coming through. Maddie started panicking, on the verge of calling Ari over because this was clearly outside her abilities to handle…

An alarm clock. A gloved hand came out smoothly, deposited a silver alarm clock on the table, and then disappeared back into the hole and then everything returned to normal. The twin bell clock ticked softly and Maddie looked around just in case something else happened. When nothing else did, she looked back at the clock confused. [color=FC8686]“What… who would…”[/color] Maddie began but found herself struggling with the words. She wasn’t even really sure what she wanted to ask so she just asked the first thing that popped into her head. [color=FC8686]“Why is that alarm set for ten minutes from now?”[/color]