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Max arched a brow at Salem as he made his proposal. Honestly? Not a bad deal. Sure, he'd have to deal with that hippie more regularly than he'd like to, and he'd probably have to deal with Count Tall, Dark, and Terrifying breathing down his neck at least a few times, but mutual information trade was far easier to navigate than getting Salem to share without anything to offer in return. That got into the territory of favors and Eris had taught him to hate those pretty quick.

[color=8585AD]"Deal. [i]Master Astorio[/i] seems like the type to value blowing things up anyway, I doubt he'll ask many questions."[/color] 

His semblance of a good mood faded as quickly as it came when some jackass decided to rend a fucking hole in the fabric of reality right in the middle of the living room. Max raised his arm defensively as he saw something emerging, only to huff when he remembered there was nothing there he could use anyway. People always ask why the fuck he walked around like he was expecting a war to break out at any minute, and yet here he was, caught up in potential danger [i]again[/i]. Great security, Ryner. Real nice.

[Color=82ca9d]"Theres no magical writing on it, and I don't think its another illusion but at this point I wouldn't put it past it if it was. Maybe Max can pull it apart and destroy it, or we can wait for Aaron to come and hopefully explain what is going on here, but I am rather tired of having my mind messed with on these grounds."[/color] 

Huh, since when was Flower Boy so completely on the same page as him? Max lazily swiped a finger through the air to tug the clock out of Lilie's grasp and leave it suspended where it had originally emerged. [color=8585AD]"I couldn't agree more."[/color] Whatever had happened was obviously magical in nature, and unless somebody here was a secret summoning prodigy, Max had no idea at whose behest the magic was performed. Getting the vampires was the most reasonable course of action, but on the off-chance this magic clock was somehow related to one of the skeletons in Cinnamon's closet, Max wasn't going to risk informing the count before he'd gotten a chance to inspect it. Waiting for Aaron was a gamble, given they were apparently on a timer, but he'd likely be the only other person that would know if this was planned theatrics on Varis' part or just some weird magical attack on the nobles.

Worst case scenario, Max would ruin the party trick. What a shame. Serves Eris right for dragging him here.

[color=8585AD]"It's real, whatever it is. Somebody mark the time left on it and back up, I'm gonna rip this thing apart,"[/color] Max said decisively. He left little room for argument as he immediately clawed his hands together in front of him and then slowly began pulling them apart. His eyes flicked to the room where the vampires were being entertained as the clock wobbled under some unseen pressure. No, too noisy. Max instead made a twisting motion, causing the clock to somersault in various directions while he looked for screws and other connective pieces. After everything was unscrewed and the internal mechanisms of the clock had been separated from the outer casing, Max returned to his earlier plan of violently ripping the components apart, ever mindful to not let the bells collide with anything or make too much noise during his cathartic episode. When he was done, the metallic components formerly known as a clock were hovering above the table, where the remaining parts Max's magic couldn't interact with had fallen.

[color=8585AD]"Well, it [i]looks[/i] pretty normal. Nothing exploded yet, anyway. Think that was some kind of warning?"[/color] And if so, what was the fucking point?

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