Aaron jumped at the sound of a voice behind him, bumping one of the crystal glasses he was arranging and narrowly avoiding knocking over the others. Sun and stars, he was more tense than he thought. And to think the evening had started out so smoothly!

He turned around to the source of the voice, finding to his surprise that it was Lilie, empty glass in hand, and having somehow gotten all the way to the sink without him noticing. Right, he was so busy having a meltdown in the kitchen he forgot to check on the mages in the living room; just the extra blemish on his performance he needed tonight. He cleared his throat, standing a little straighter in an effort to look a bit more together than he was. “Oh, sorry about that, I suppose I was a little wrapped up in what I was doing,” he offered lamely, mostly ignoring her question. “Can I get you another drink?”

Lilie frowned at him, a little concerned. He really was tense! She figured he needed just a little comforting, gently touching his arm. “No, you’ve done enough,” She assured him. “But...I’m worried about you. Is everything okay? You’re not usually so jumpy.”

Aaron glanced away, letting out a sigh. He was jumpy, wasn’t he? Stressed or not, that was no way to act around guests. If he was tense, he’d make them uncomfortable - case in point, Lilie was apparently worried enough to seek him out in the kitchen - and if Varis saw him behaving noticeably stiff there’d be hell to pay.

“That’s sweet, thank you,” he replied, closer to his usual voice than he had been all night. He’d give her that much, at least; more coverups would probably worry her more than the truth anyway, and, well… he had to admit, it felt nice to have someone concerned about him. He patted her hand on his arm, offering a small smile. “I’m fine, really. Tonight is just a big deal for me, that’s all. Gotta make sure everything is perfect.”

Giving him what she hoped was a comforting smile, Lilie nodded, reluctantly pulling her hand back. It was good to hear him be a little normal again, so maybe she had been worried for nothing. Still, there had to be something more she could do, right? Not that she could think of anything. As she watched him carefully she realized that this was the first time they were alone all night. The thought was enough to make her feel more conscious than usual, her heart beating a little faster than before.

Feeling a little more confident, she cleared her throat. "You always make things perfect," She told him. "I mean, you're always working so hard! And if people can't see that effort, then honestly they aren't worth it."

Did that sound lame? It kinda did. What could she say to salvage this? Maybe compliment him? "You're honestly amazing. I mean it," She added.

Aaron was a little sad to see Lilie pull her hand away, though in the long moment that followed, his disappointment fell to the wayside. He hadn’t realized it at first, but this was the first time tonight he’d really had the chance to look at her; he noticed her dress when she arrived, sure, but there’d been no time to notice just how delicately the beads on her dress trailed her shoulders, the gentle shimmer on her cheekbones, how the colour of the chiffon made her eyes shine. She was as elegant as any mage he’d ever seen at any royal gathering, like a flower in full bloom. Suddenly, he felt foolish that he didn’t make time to notice.

Her words brought him back to the present, and despite the fact that Aaron was sure she was exaggerating - that he always made things perfect was far-fetched to say the least - for a moment, he believed them. For the first time that evening, he relaxed, the ache in his shoulders testament to how tense he’d really been. After nights and nights running around at Varis’ behest, suffocating under the pressure of this party, that little tiny bit of gratification Lilie offered was like a long-awaited breath of fresh air.

“You’re amazing too,” he finally managed to croak out, a little quieter as he tried to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. He reached toward her, trailing his fingers down her arm to retrieve her hand. Before his courage could leave him, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, though he bashfully dropped his gaze to the floor the moment he was done. “Thank you, Lilie. I… really needed to hear that tonight.”

"Ah…" the sound escaped her, caught between a word and...actually Lilie had no idea what she was trying to say. The feeling of her hand in his was a little too nice, her heart fully racing in her chest as he held it. The thought of interlacing their fingers came to mind, but Aaron decided to surprise her by raising her hand to his lips. She honestly could have passed out--how she remained standing was a mystery--but her eyes were wide, watching him. He wasn’t looking at her, his expression painfully shy, but she had to admit she really liked it. He was never like this around anyone, making her feel like he trusted her.

Of course, between mind and what she did was a little disconnected, frozen in place as she blushed like crazy--she was pretty sure her face was red. Should she say something? But what could possibly beat what he said?! Should she tell him how much she appreciated him? Was this the right time to confess? Was it?! Lilie couldn't help but panic a little, especially as she felt Aaron’s hand starting to let go. Without thinking, she held on tighter, trying to make sure he stayed. Stayed for what, though?!

"Aaron, I…" Lilie felt her words die in her throat, looking away from the blond. As much as she wanted to say what she really wanted, however, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. "...I'll always be here for you." She quietly said.

Aaron finally looked back up at Lilie when he felt her squeeze his hand tighter, immensely relieved that his little risk hadn’t blown up in his face. Her cheeks were red, which was heart-melting in its own right, and he couldn’t blame her; he could feel his ears getting hot as well, and this time didn’t have the luxury of his hair to hide both of them. Strangely, though, he wasn’t concerned. Lilie made it clear that all this propriety meant nothing to her, so if he could ease down his attendant persona for even just a moment for her, he was happy to do it.

What she said next, though, was what really grabbed his attention. She sounded like she wanted to say something, but hesitated. Aaron’s stomach fluttered as he waited; he had an idea of what she was trying to say, and he wanted to hear it too. That moment of hesitation stretched for what felt like an age, something strong and longing pulling at Aaron’s chest as he waited with bated breath, until finally, she… came to her senses.

He was quiet for a moment, processing Lilie’s words. No, of course, he was silly to get his hopes up like that. Who admits their feelings in the kitchen, hiding from a party? To him of all people? He was probably reading too far into things. Lilie was sweet, and wonderful, and perfect, and so, so kind, but she wasn’t an idiot. If he was mistaking kindness for something more, that was on him, not her.

The quiet, optimistic part of him wondered if maybe she was just as shy as he was, but he pushed it away. Even on the off chance that was the case, it wouldn’t do to let false hope distract him from doing his job.

Returning her squeeze with his own, Aaron nodded. “I will too, don’t worry,” he promised her, patting her hand. He held her hand a moment longer, but too soon that quiet moment was over, and he had to untangle her hand from his.

“I have to go back out there soon,” he reasoned gently, fetching a new glass and a pitcher of water as he spoke. “Here,” he poured the glass and handed it to Lilie, offering a smile. It was clear his serving persona was closing back over him, reinvigorated from their talk despite that one speedbump of disappointment. “I’ll be back out in a few minutes, okay?”

Lilie tried hard not to look too disappointed, mentally berating herself. Why was she such a coward? No, this probably wasn't the time or place anyway. If she was going to confess, she would rather have something more romantic and memorable...even if her hair was perfect right now and her makeup was perfect. Ugh, why did she have to get in her own way? Still, it wasn’t good to linger, even if she would rather stay with Aaron. But soon enough he was back to his "butler" self, and she had to admit it was the perfect excuse to go sulk in the seating room.

"Yeah, sure," Lilie nodded, gratefully taking the water. "I'll see you, then." She gave him another smile before walking back to the sitting room, wallowing.

The Countess was unsure of what she was expecting from the newly presented glass, but it somehow failed to quite match up. She probably would have enjoyed the individual notes separately, however, there was something about the combination that just didn’t pique her interest. Lacking a sufficient distraction, Amaris slowly lifted her eyes to glance at Count Eve. Varis was laying down verbal trap after verbal trap on this particular topic. It wasn’t at all unusual for the Sinnenodel, however, it was just the tiniest bit more amusing when someone else was the target. Still, she did feel for the aspiring lordling, even if just a little. Varis frustrated her. The games he played were meant to serve him and only him; even if you managed a win, it was solely by his design. She found it exhausting to know such things logically and yet still find herself pulled in and tossed around by mere words, flustered by his antics. Amaris sipped at her drink again, but the clashing flavors only served to taint her mood. After judging an acceptable amount to leave behind, the Countess abandoned her glass and tuned in to the Count’s response.

It wasn’t the sort of scenario she’d ever been all that concerned with, having been born at the top and all that. For the Sinnenodels, the supposed power struggles almost seemed to be a form of tradition for them, but the Eves had been thrust into disarray through no fault of their own. They weren’t just fighting for power as many in these circles did, but rather their very existence. Amaris almost thought the sentiment admirable, had it not come from Benjamin’s mouth. He was either as naïve as he accused her of being or completely delusional if he thought he was going to be able accomplish anything by allowing the proverbial dust to settle before taking concrete stands. The rate at which things were heading, House Eve would be forever trapped under the mercy of others. Favors owed, promises made, the shadows of the other families looming over every political and business venture… It would be a millennia before they would find themselves free of such shackles, and what use would his ‘new’ be to anyone by then?

Still, Amaris took pause as the Count continued on. Here he was trying to play the favor of a Sinnenodel, Varis no less, and talking about his mother. If she had to put a word to it, Amaris would have called it sweet. But she worried about the ammunition it afforded the likes of Varis. No matter the fault she took with Count Eve, no one deserved the poison their host was capable of infecting the most precious of moments with.

This wasn’t the most entertaining night that Victor had gone through. He would rather be torn apart in the arena by the princess again. The count simply figured that if he was going to have to sit on the side lines for this political knife fight he might as well try to learn something. Victor adjusted himself in his seat so that he was not slouching or seeming to be uninterested with the conversation. Instead he took the new glass of blood and took a sip.

The taste wasn’t horrific but it definitely would not be as surprising as Salem’s blood. The mix of tastes did seem to overwhelm each other from one moment to the next but it wasn’t terrible. Now Victor had to focus back in on the conversation, figure out what he could from what was going on. This type of fighting was sometimes just as dangerous as his own fights. Varis had to of set this room up from the start to set the tone just like he would in a battlefield. From how they were seated, to the paintings on the wall, to how he dressed himself and his mage.

Their seating arrangements put ben in the center that was a given seeing as it was an introduction of sorts to the others. The paintings on the wall behind him was more than likely put there with an attempt to poke at his own feelings towards fighting perhaps or a prod at a possible disdain for his own family. A shot in the dark if anything but the picture itself was wrong, the lord wasn’t one to be so merciful. Lord Perion had told him that he made that traitor suffer like all the others, death by a thousand cuts. So what of how he was dressed then?

Varis seemed to be dressed rather plain with Arron dressed a bit flashier. Trying to pull a sympathy card wouldn’t work with Victor he could see that the boy had changed in a downward direction in his opinion. The boys figure had grown a bit leaner and he had lost a bit of muscle mass since when he first saw the boy. Perhaps he was abusing the mage in small ways to get past the rules of this place. Either way even Salem had more muscle mass then that boy now.

Even as he was analyzing the situation the conversation continued, Varis was going on the offensive. With house Eve in their current state even a simple rumor could spread doom and gloom about the young count. Their where a few traps in his words that Victor could see but there where definitely more than just that. Ben’s reaction was again defensive but held a bit of honor to his words. Even if they were not true using a parent as a driving force was still admirable. A quick glance at Amaris was all he needed to see that she had composed herself again and was now reading into the situation just as he was trying to. More than likely she was able to read the situation better than himself.

The comment about Ben’s mother made him think about it a bit more. Victor had never known his mother. In fact, every time he tried to remember back past the age of ten he was all ways met with a sharp pain to the back of his head. Almost like getting hit with a cattle prod. The sensation making him wince slightly while he continued to listen to what was being discussed.

Salem's hand moved stealthily over his lips as Lilie began to spoke. Trying hard not to show his expression when she called out Max as not being a friend before everyone in the room. Knowing her there was no malice behind the words, and she quickly realised what had escaped her lips as Lilie began to backpeddle in an attempt to fix what wrong she had wrought. It wasn't often Salem was able to enjoy a train wreck as it was happening, most tended to stay poised and rattle gossip of others at these form of events rather than dig their own grave. It was, however, a major upset that the one to be doing so was Lilie of all people. Max he could see, or even yet count on, but it pained him to see someone he cared about dearly being put into such a situation. His eyes perked up as Madalyne spoke, breaking away from what had just transpired and moving the night along another path, he hoped.

He gave her a polite smile as always before speaking. "Well I did have years of medical training and it always helps to have some family in the field to some extent. Though financing sounds like an interesting choice. Don't sell yourself short, every job is important even waiting tables and knitting." Salem's eyes trailed the conversation over to Max, awaiting to see his response to Maddie and hoping he would ignore Lilie. Or would that be worse? Salem was unsure about which outcome would be worse for Lilie and then finally he spoke, a single word, one that carried weight and Salem sat and hoped it didn't do much damage to her. He wanted to excuse the pair and go out for air, see if she was alright and make sure that it was all in his head. As much as she worried for him he worried for her and settings like these were clearly not her forte. But Max continued, with what Salem hoped was a joke. Max? A therapist? He barely wants to listen to people speak let alone their issue. Unless he wanted to hear them so that he may laugh at it behind their backs.

Honestly Salem didn't know. Max was a bit of a mystery that he wished to figure out. One he felt he might have gotten closer to seeing tonight than in previous nights. The conversation was flowing as Lilie excused herself quietly and Salem watched her leave for the kitchen. "So a therapist? That would be interesting for you. Though have you ever considered the idea of being a professor at this school? I'm sure you'd do great in an academic scene. Learning, experimenting, and teaching magic to students all while holding some obscure metal object to keep the students guessing. Will he throw it? Shape it? Or is it simply a weight for core training?"

Out with the old and in with the new. How fascinating. Varis approved of the Count’s departure from typical Eve indecisiveness, despite his overwhelming lack of confidence in his own ability to direct the family he would have taken over in the direction he wanted. If he hadn’t the allies to support his position, or the foresight to protect himself, his tenure as Lord would be short indeed, revolutionary ideals aside. Varis couldn’t resist a chuckle at the absurdity of the Eve’s concerns, however. Varis boasted a target of his own as he sat swapping pleasantries and this child balked at the thought of assassination in the future. He wouldn’t get far with that attitude.

Some odd 70 years later and Count Benjamin’s story still struck an irritably familiar chord in Varis. Many of his most pleasant memories revolved around the mage who birthed him despite how infrequently he recalled them. Of course he had a few tokens from her time in this world but he considered that out of appreciation for his overall existence rather than any sentimental desire to cherish those moments. Still, it was all he could do not to grind his fangs together as he realized he could… relate. Disgusting.

“I hadn’t known you held modernist leanings; I doubt a traditionalist considers mages an appropriate motivator. But I suppose you aren’t wrong entirely. Change has been long overdue.” Varis agreed, sipping at the blood in the glass. The fact he didn’t immediately vomit at the taste brought out a hum of approval. “So if you haven't used these long nights to educate yourself nor have you established a considerable presence among your family and peers, what have you spent your life doing so far Count? I can’t imagine you brood quietly at your windows and compose pretty words on paper in an ivory tower. You don’t seem the sheltered kind.”

---

Maddie chuckled at Max’s sarcastic reply. She supposed thinking about what could have been was an exercise in futility but it didn’t mean the occasional daydream wouldn’t insist on it. She nodded at Lilie as she excused herself, sending her a reassuring smile before returning her attention to Salem. She chuckled again. “Are you saying you think our Professors are just here for show? Most of the ones I’ve had are good. Weird but good. Though, I’m starting to think mages as a group are just a little strange. Maybe we’ll all be like that after getting a better grip on our abilities. My affinity mastery professor for my Life Magic training has me sing like a two minute song while I stretch just so I can sit at a chair and direct my magic around a dummy and I have no idea why. I asked and she said it's for safety purposes and that’s about it. Still don’t know why I do it.”

---

Wow, Flower Boy sounded like he almost bought it for a second. It was partly true, Max would be a good therapist; there was just the issue of no one else agreeing with him. Apparently telling someone that they're whining like a teenage girl and need to get over themselves is 'unprofessional' and 'bad psychology', even if it was an entirely correct assessment. Still, an amused snort sprung up from the back of Max's throat at Salem's suggestion. Quite frankly, it wasn't bad. Not at the Noila Academy, that would entail far too much contact with the nobility, but lecturing at some mediocre school out in bumfuck nowhere while keeping everyone guessing with flying objects seemed an entertaining way to kill time and fly totally under the radar. Of course, that offered no answer to the Eris question and Max certainly wasn't going to teach acting.

"Not a bad idea, I'll be sure to give Ryner a call if Eric ever gets staked by a crazy fan and I'm looking for new employment," he responded with a shrug. Decent backup plan; the only thing worse than dealing with that clown for the rest of his life was getting transferred to an even worse part of the circus, but maybe applying for a teaching position came with an assignment to some distant vampire with too many mages to begin with.

New girl's experience seemed pretty par for the course. Saying the professors had idiosyncrasies and not derangements was putting it lightly. He was pretty sure half of them had students doing stupid crap as part of an elaborate joke. Max certainly wasn't going to sing like a caged canary no matter how unsafe it made the magic. Wasn't life magic supposed to be the opposite of dangerous anyway? What, was he going to be too healthy afterward? Surprisingly, that mental magic professor seemed halfway normal on the surface. The others might follow the same pattern before one noticed they were detestible puppets of a tyrannical regime - probably because they wanted payback for years of getting ignored at lunch - but that was between him, Ismene, and anyone else who heard his tantrum through the walls.

"I think half of them are hacks and all the ones that aren't are insane. I can only imagine the higher level courses are taught by My spell theory professor tried to impale me on some invisible death bolt at one point." He glanced to Salem briefly, "Yeah, don't ever ask Professor Hot Wheels for help outside of class, he's a fucking psychopath."

---

Aaron stayed in the kitchen a little while longer after Lilie left, though even with no one to call him out on it, he could hardly pretend to be doing much more than biding his time. There was only so much adjusting one could do to a tray full of crystal glasses, and it simply didn’t take very long to get the next bottle ready for serving. Thankfully, his exchange with Lilie had helped calm him down, and he was feeling a lot less anxious, if not a little disappointed. Although, he supposed he had no right to be disappointed over something he had no right to expect, did he?

Coming to terms with the fact that his quick pause to get rid of his jitters was turning into procrastination - and the fact that dwelling on his conversation with Lilie would only serve to dampen his already fragile mood - he forcibly turned his mind back to the party, addressing a wide, shallow box on one of the counters. Inside were an array of small pastries from the bakery in town, ordered in for the occasion. Aaron himself was well and truly tired of the things, any inkling of hunger disappearing as soon as the sweet smell of them hit his nose, but no one could deny their quality; the mages should be pleased.

Quickly arranging them on a serving tray, he finally made his return to the living room, catching the end of a conversation about Academy professors and their respective ‘quirks’. “It sounds like I’ve been a little bit cheated,” he commented airily, offering pastries to each guest before depositing the tray on the table, “Compared to that, my affinity professor sounds remarkably tame.” He looked inquisitively around the room. “You don’t all have eccentric professors, do you?”

That was as good a reaction as Ben could get, or at the very least it was his leading assumption. Laughter had been his initial guess at a reaction but this time it looked like honesty paid off. How curious. He could use his father as a plug here as even he wouldn't deny his fondness for Ben's mother. No, he would remain steady and continue. For now, Ben would count his good fortune that he hadn't been immediately dismissed. Varis had yet to give an actual opinion on him and was probing for answers to questions he hadn't asked; a vampire who had questions hadn't closed the door.

Were he honest he wouldn't necessarily label his beliefs but he was acutely aware how each side seemed to reject him. Modernist leaning was as accurate as it could get, he supposed. Fortunately they did agree change was long overdue. Unfortunately his next line of questioning painted Ben in a poor light. He could not admit his ways were discreet nor could he not give a response. He would need to tread carefully; a thought that continuously plagued his mind even if he thought that the conversation was going relatively well. The only part he hadn't expected was essentially having an audience; neither Countess Marivaldi nor Count Astorio had any contribution, and Eris did not count. The latter probably had some snark reserved for this very moment. Very well.

"Most of my life has been enscripted to my father's tutelage and thus I was for a time wrapped up in rebellion—and there is nothing more rebellious to a traditionalist than finding their children wrapping themselves in modernism," Ben said. "I will admit a large part of it was spite as for a time I believed that striking out on my own was the proper thing to do. While it was doomed for failure I did find it shaped my beliefs as your comment earlier has nailed my general profile: a traditionalist with modern leanings. I find merit in some modern policies but feel that they have a tendency to go too far; it isn't necessarily compromise that is needed, but instead a refocus on the issues."

"And of course there is also the years spent on breeding the family weimaraners and decades of crossbow and archery, but I won't bore you with those," Ben concluded.

“The frivolity of youth indeed. Perhaps your aspirations would have found traction a millenia ago when the world was still wild and chaotic and utterly untamed. It is fascinating to contemplate what could have been if our predecessors hadn’t stagnated our society so. I’ve always wondered what we could have done with such limitless potential at our fingertips. What we could change, what we could improve, but it’s all an exercise in futility. We can only work with what we’re given I suppose.” Varis sipped again at the blood, setting it down and leaving it. It wasn’t his favorite but at least it wasn’t awful enough to compel him to toss it on Eris.

“But forgive me, you must feel as if I’m interrogating you. I’ve barely given you a moment’s rest.” Varis laughed as he relaxed into his chair. The Eve was an interesting specimen. The “modernist leanings” were an absolute gem; Count Benjamin practically handed him everything he needed to a silver platter. Varis didn’t bother hiding the sly little smirk on his face. They all expected him to be plotting and everything was falling into place so perfectly that he felt justified letting everyone know he’s gotten exactly what he wanted. “You have an entire noble’s court interested in you right now; certainly you must have some pressing questions on the tip of your tongue. Or anyone really. While I could easily talk the rest of the morning away, what host would I be to steal away your opportunities to mingle?”

---

A professor attacked a student? That alarmed Maddie more than a little but clearly he was fine so it must have been for educational purposes. She hoped. Hopefully, she wouldn’t ever be in that position. She’d run as fast as she could. At least Lilie’s seemed normal―anyone could be forgetful after all even if it was shocking―and Aaron clearly hadn’t had any issues. That was reassuring for the future. Hopefully, she wouldn’t get anything crazier than singing a song for safety.

“Well, that certainly must have been shocking but at least that’s the extent of it!” Maddie said cheerfully. “Not really interested in having our professors try and impale us so I’ll try to steer clear of that. Maybe they’ll calm down as we get into our majors, maybe. Hopefully.” Maddie was at a bit of a loss as to where to move the conversation next. They’d kinda touched most of the surface level stuff at this point and sitting around in silence didn’t much appeal to her honestly.

“So I have to ask but did anyone else have a… strange time during the practical?” Maddie asked, perhaps a little hesitantly. Honestly, she made the decision to move past it but people liked to talk about weird things so maybe this would push things along a little. “I wasn’t sure how much was an illusion and how much was real but when I was stuck in a box at the bottom of the ocean or a lake with a crack in the ceiling and water rushing in, I didn’t care much about the difference.” Nor did she appreciate Ari's enthusiasm for the whole thing but she wasn't about to admit to that little detail.

---

Max always forgot he was talking to a bunch of fucking weirdos. If Lilie thought the most eccentric part of her professor was going by her first name and not that she was evidently talking to her students with her coochie hanging out, her small hometown must've been more akin to a smelly hippie commune. That's not an eccentricity, that's a felony. Then again, he could say the same about Manuel trying to spear him, but at least the apparent danger was probably fabricated considering what the old man did to the furniture after he finished with their little exercise.

He gave Aaron a flat look after Lilie's comment. "That answer your question? They probably gave you the three professors that behave because you're high grade meat." His face quickly progressed from unamused to outright tired when the practical was brought up. Glad to hear he wasn't the only one that had a weird fucking experience, but he had the strangest feeling that he still got the shit end of the stick there. At least Maddie's illusions sounded consistent and didn't involve vampiric conspiracy, even if they were fucking terrifying.

"I got stuck on an illusionary stage with an evil clone of Eric as my director. And no, he can't fucking direct," Max grumbled, "And now I'm half-convinced I'm wrapped up in Ryner's political bullshit as a consequence. That test was such a shitshow that I'm surprised it was sponsored by the school at all, from what I gleaned from the mental magic professors' half-truths and nonanswers. Definitely hiding something, in any case. Somebody fucked up." He would've loved to elaborate and see if they knew anything, but with Aaron in the room he'd probably be losing more than he gained. Plus, this new girl and Aaron had clearly been acquainted beforehand, and probably had the same ugly views on leeches, which meant she was probably a snitch. Pale Girl had the right ideas but her baser instincts toward the local lapdog made her a poor confidant, and calling Flower Boy a trusted ally pained his soul. It didn't help that Max had no clue what Count Astronomy's game was yet, either. Managing Eris' weird thing for Varis wasn't worth shit if he let a different vampire fuck him over beneath his notice.

Still, talking shit on the school's competence was too good of a discussion to pass up. Especially those mental mage fucks. Fuck them.

---

Lilie’s professor did what?! Aaron’s brow shot up at the very mention, shock written all over his face. How did one forget their clothes, exactly? Max’s professor attacked him, Lilie’s was a nudist, Maddie’s had her singing like a toddler—where on earth did Ryner find these people? Was this another one of her ways of having fun at her students’ expense? Good lord, maybe there was some credence to Max’s little jab; Ryner of all people would know that his upbringing didn’t lend itself well to dealing with… whatever flavour of unprofessionalism every other professor seemed to practice.

Oh, and speaking of Ryner having fun at her students’ expense, Aaron supposed he should have known it was only a matter of time until the matter of the practical came up. He nearly groaned; the whole thing was an exhausting web of nonsense he’d been chasing his tail over far longer than he’d like to admit, and while it was some comfort to hear he and Max weren’t the only groups to have a harrowing time with it, it was a topic he would very much have preferred to avoid.

Fate would not be so kind, however, and any semblance of comfort was dashed when Max opened his mouth. He’d been to see one of the Mental professors about the practical, then? Well, either Eris’ little fact-finding mission hadn’t ended with him or Max had been just as dishonest as he was at their little meeting. The thought was almost comforting, if only to ease his conscience a touch about lying to Max’s face about keeping his own mouth shut, but the timeline didn’t favour it; even with his connections, Aaron himself could scarcely expect to organize and conclude a meeting with a participating member of the Mental faculty within less than a night of the practical.

Besides, comforting himself with the hope that everyone else was as scummy as he was was tangential to the task at hand: Eris was digging again, and Varis would definitely want to hear about it. As far from amused as he was about Max just casually throwing that out there—he sure seemed to have loosened his lips a bit since they last spoke on the issue—Aaron snapped up every word, filing it all away to report later. He wasn’t sure why Max even offered that much, but until Varis told him they could write the whole thing off and move past it, every little scrap of information was important.

“Yes, Her Highness certainly has an eclectic idea of teamwork,” Aaron added pointedly, shooting Max a subtle look from behind his pleasant facade. As much as the metal mage seemed to neglect the fact that blabbing things like that all over the place was a risk to more than just himself, Aaron knew better to think that he could get much more out of him with an audience. Frankly, the practical was a garbled mess he was tired of thinking about, but his better judgement told him it would be smart to get some information on the other groups’ experiences, and unfortunately that meant offering something of his own.

“My version had me fighting Max. The illusions they implemented were incredible, weren’t they?” he offered more cheerfully, mostly to Maddie. He definitely also had a “strange” time in the practical, but unlike Max he wasn’t keen on drawing attention to it. “I don’t know how they did it, but my Master and I did another one that turned me completely intangible as we searched for a token. I fell right through a tree.” He punctuated the remark with a well-placed chuckle, artfully omitting the amusing details of Varis shrieking in terror as he tried to dig a medallion out of a hole as it tried to buck him off into the abyss.

Salem hadn't really had much to offer to the conversation when it had come to their affinity teachers. His professor seemed straight forward and for the most part Salem concentrated on his work more so than whatever it was that his professor was doing. Being in the greenhouse, the scent of freshly wet soil in the air intertwining with the aroma of the flowers grown by students and professors alike, brought a sort of peace and focus to him. It was a familiarity he knew and one that would help him drowned out the world around him. When he was in there, he was the only one. No others existed and all his problems seemed to melt away, that is until the session was over and reality came flooding back. And so he sat there quietly, content with listening to the others speak as he kept a pleasent smile about him.

Sadly it appeared that not much more could be said on the matter. Even Max could only complain for so long about thr institution especially when a new topic to rip it apart presented itself. As soon as Maddie had asked about the practical exam, Salem’s smile faltered for just a moment. His eyes trailing over towards Lilie's face as he imagined the mage that Victor had killed. Watching her sit there, silently, knowing then that at that very moment Victor was viewing his mother the day they were poisoned. Salem dropped his gaze towards the glass of water that Lilie held, almost as if it were a sheild to keep her nerves at bay. Hisbmind wandered back to the thoughts of if Aaron, or even Varis, was capable enough to poison him within their own home on school grounds. His guards went up once more and any fun he may have been having was sapped away.

He listened to everyone's chatter. The noise slightly muffled by the sound of his heart beating loudly in his ears. Then just for a moment, it all went silent. A slight ringing took hold of his hearing only to dissipate as Lilie finished her last sentence, giving him little time to garner a smile and trudge through the rest of the night. "Can't say my experiences were anywhere near as dramatic. Honeslty it felt fairly straight forward with Count Astorio's help, working together as a team. We didn't come by some odd form of magic but if anything it allowed me to open up my mind to newer possibilities on how best to implement my own magic and showed me that there are levels to Plant magic even I hadn't conceived yet. Luckily we didn't have to kiss, and I'm not sure how I would've reacted to being trapped beneath water awaiting for Count Astorio to rescue me, though he'd no doubt just carry the whole box out with me in it."

Amaris’ expression flashed briefly with annoyance as she cast her gaze to Varis. The cocky menace just couldn’t be satisfied with his personal victories, whatever his convoluted plan might have been. Instead, he had to drag on an increasingly pointless situation and by offering up others to ‘entertain’ his own guests. What sort of a skewed perspective considered this mingling? It felt closer to an open forum or round table than it did any kind of party, even by socialite standards. There was little use wasting energy in resisting, she would simply have to continue enduring for as long as she could. Still, it was difficult to keep from shifting her weight restlessly in her seat.

I wonder what sorts of things intrigue an Eve. Which way would you have us go, assuming Varis decides to behave himself for a little while. She mused to herself, returning her gaze to the Count expectantly. More so, who would his focus be? Eris was the odd one out in the way of titles, Victor had done the smart thing and kept as much to himself as possible, and... well, she had all but painted a target on herself for having a go at him over his mage. Maybe she would find herself off the hook from the conversation for being so disagreeable.

I realize I am likely the youngest of the room, but must he continue to speak as if he is that much older? Ben thought as he tasted the blood in his cup. Senility wasn't a trait vampires had but he was starting to believe that this was one of the oddest quirks that Count Sinnenodel had. This wasn't the first time he had made such a comparison either. A decade or two in years was hardly even a fuss for some, but Varis spoke as if they had centuries or more between them. For all intents and purposes age-wise they were on the same length. It shouldn't even come under his radar but Ben found it so bizarre he could not help but think on it for a moment.

The only thing that matched was the barely concealed smirk but it was comforting to see the Sinnenodel act more in line to what Ben expected. There was nothing he spoke of that would come back to him in a way he wasn't able to justify; speaking in half truths was second nature but he had long since passed the days where loose lips would haunt him. There was the one-in-a-million chance he could have been speaking of archery, however the mere mention of physical activity often had Sinnenodels clutching at their pearls. He sincerely doubted the count took any offense, if there was any thought given to it at all, to that.

Unfortunately the nuisance of the evening would remind Ben that he was there. How in the world Varis Sinnenodel had any patience for the attention-seeker was beyond him. Fortunately, Eris' words weren't foreign to him; finding out from a fellow colleague had been much more shocking than hearing it from the star. He was not surprised that the man would take the chance to take yet another dig at him. He would not, however, simply take this one standing.

"Amusing, isn't it? As if such a thing could happen under Her Highness' vigilance," Ben said. "I believe it's sourced from Miss Dionne accompanying Mr. Spellman when the sun is still hanging from the sky. Your concern is appreciated but unneeded. If you'd like to see a demonstration, I'd be more than happy to oblige."

Varis only shook his head in disappointment at the lack of initiative from the Marivaldi and the Astorio. Squandering away an opportunity he practically handed them on a silver platter. Even if they weren’t politically motivated, certainly they had to be somewhat curious about their newest addition. Why wouldn’t a relatively unknown noble Ryner snatched out of the woodwork and elevated to the public scene not spark some interest? The only reason Varis could come up with was there wasn’t enough there to spark. A couple of simpletons with little more than air between their ears and instinctive thirst for blood. Perhaps Varis would pity them if he didn’t find them utterly repulsive for it.

Eris took the reins of the conversation with Count Benjamin once Varis released them for the others and Varis chuckled at his commentary. Shocked into silence indeed. Eris kept rolling after that, not bothering for splash value anymore, and his little pot stirrer was interesting, if not entirely ludicrous. The Eve mage looked like a strong wind would push her over, much less an adequate dueling partner. She was the sparring partner the boy tried to claim as a suitable candidate despite the fact that he dismissed her skills entirely. “It’s probably a good thing. The boy had the opportunity to cross blades with her the second night here and he found her lacking. Ten years of study and apparently she proved too aggressive for her style, leaving her easily dealt with as he put it.” Varis ignored the posturing the Eve threw out, not particularly interested in a measuring contest, but it did remind him he unfortunately had business with the Marivaldi.

“While we’re here, there was something I needed to discuss with you Countess since their platedate seemed to go well the other night. The boy has discovered a compelling interest in mental magic and as part of his required entrance preparations, he needs to develop some sort of a routine to help relax him or some nonsense. He requested that he have permission to attend regular dancing sessions with your mage. Has yours reached out to you about this yet?” Varis still wasn’t sold on the boy mingling with a Marivaldi, a fire wielding gremlin of a Marvaldi nonetheless, but at the very least he could have some fun watching the Marivaldi struggle her way around the issue. Mage loving freaks they were, the Countess probably wouldn’t want to disappoint her little pet but probably hates the idea of letting her mingle anymore than she has to.

---

“Oh, that’s definitely awkward. I couldn’t imagine having to kiss a vampire, much less one that I have to live with. But your others sound like fun!” The second one sounded vaguely terrifying but probably just some sort of grudge the vampire families still held against each other and they took the opportunity to poke at the Sinnenodels over it. “We almost lost all of our tokens in our last game. We were at a casino and all these cards had our faces, our vampires’ faces, and the faces of the Lords and Lady of each family and we had to figure out which one the little riddles were talking about but we had to put our tokens up against theirs to play. We won our way to a 95 and then Ari―I mean, the Countess―took on the double or nothing round. I thought we were going to lose everything.” Maddie felt her face heat up at the mistake. She wasn’t supposed to use her name at these things but she was just so used to saying it, it just slipped out. Oh dear, hopefully Ari wouldn’t be too upset with her later.

“It sounds like Salem lucked out on the practical then. The rest of us had a… weird time and he found a new way to use his magic. Lucky!” Maddie steamrolled over her mistake, not giving herself a second to continue considering it. “But what made you think there was a mistake, Max? I mean, there are some pretty awful things circulating about the mental classes and the students who take them, it must have been pretty bad if you wanted to get messed up with all of that.” Especially since he made it very clear he didn’t really want anything to do with basically most things, it struck her as odd that he’d willingly trudge off into the crazies. ANd they certainly were crazy if even half the rumors about them were true.

---

Most of the illusions sounded like the same inane teambuilding bullshit as the stupid constellation drawing exercise that he and Eris had been stuck into, but Lilie's description managed to catch Max's attention. Normally famous personages appearing wouldn't have been much of an interest to him - it was at the Crown's academy, after all - but that was precisely why the recollection stood out to him. What kind of state-sponsored illusion portrays Sybil Sinnenodel making old man Geoffrey her bitch? For an Eve, no less; it would've been a different matter entirely if it had happened in Varis' test to butter him up. If her leech sounded peeved about it though, it could've been a jab that Max was missing rather than some grand conspiracy that linked back to the Greta angle. Still, food for thought. Maybe he'd ask her about it when there weren't canine ears present.

He was surprised Maybelline or whatever her name was seemed like the only one interested in the conspiracy angle, though that wasn't too outlandish upon further consideration. Sure, she was probably a good little pawn, but she was on a first name basis with her leech. Flower Boy probably knew better than to stick his fingers into pies he didn't know the flavor of by now, and Lilie was airheaded enough she might not've even noticed Max said anything abnormal. The metal mage gave Aaron a delightful little grin, the type some shitheaded little brat gives another kid when he's about to tattle on them to the teacher.

Oh, how tempting it was to simply air out Varis' dirty laundry in front of everyone. The obvious reward was that Fido would probably faint on the spot, but beyond that, Varis would have a much harder time managing four different vampires that could be prying into his business than simply appeasing an overrated actor and dodging the detective work of his unenthusiastic lackey. The downside was, of course, that such a hamfisted approach would definitely bring extra trouble upon Max in retribution, and it wasn't like he'd discovered anything concrete enough to seriously hurt the leech yet. He'd have to settle for giving blondie a minor heart attack while he considered how to answer.

"I got one of the mental magic professors to outright admit it, if that wasn't a lie too. There were some... oddities, even considering the already odd nature of the test. Apparently Eric thought it was important enough to go to Ryner about it, and her cover story had more holes in it than the wall of an Astorio's training room," He explained grumpily, more for Aaron's benefit than anyone else in the room. If he looked too invested, it'd be suspicious. He needed to play the part of the unwilling slave that halfassed his job and glossed over crucial details, not an actual investigative threat that demanded attention. "For some reason, he thought I would be his best bet at uncovering... whatever she's hiding. I think he's just lazy. Anyway, I talked to the mage in charge, she fed me a load of crap that didn't even line up with Ryner's load of crap, and I couldn't even press her on it because she was under some spell that prevented her from talking further. Understandable, since I doubt vampires like having their minds read without some guarantee of privacy, but I just hate bad liars treating me like an idiot."

There, if he pinned all his anger on Ryner, he might get lucky enough to convince Aaron that he'd dropped Varis as the main source of investigation. That might at least stop the count from employing any active countermeasures against his digging, though he doubted it would do much to convince the man to drop his guard around whatever skeletons were lounging in the Sinnenodel closets.

---

Still a little on edge from Max’s little gem, Aaron did his best to listen to the others, though now that Max had awakened that stupid analytical part of his brain, it was hard to turn off. Lilie’s story in particular was irritating it, the symbolism of the statues she mentioned a little too pertinent for his liking. There was no way it was an accident—not with all the other pieces of history woven into the practical—but if not, why target an Eve? Unless… well, Lilie did say she and Count Benjamin failed a few challenges, so perhaps they’d stumbled onto a puzzle that wasn’t meant for them? But still, the only student something like that should have had any effect on was Varis, and even then it seemed unlikely given his and Ryner’s particular dynamic. So what then?

Maybe Max was right. Maybe someone on the Mental magic side of things did fuck up—or had motives of their own.

Aaron only came out of his pondering in time to hear something from Lilie about a kiss between a vampire and mage, and was so shocked he almost interrupted Salem. He managed to keep his comments to himself, but for the millionth time he had to wonder what on earth Ryner was thinking! Having a vampire and mage kiss to complete a course objective—that should have gone against everything she stood for! And how utterly unnatural and strange—it’d be like forcing him to kiss one of the horses in a riding lesson, so wide was the gap between them. And what if some poor mage with a cruel master stumbled on that challenge? What sort of precedent was she trying to set? He had half a mind to march to her office and demand some reasoning, if only to reconcile it with every contradictory Council motion she’d put forward in living memory.

Perhaps fortunately, his inner reeling skimmed over most of what Salem said; maybe he should have paid more attention, but it had been a while since Varis inquired about him and he’d be lying if he said he cared. Besides, by Maddie’s brief summary it didn’t sound like he missed much; Salem saw some examples of plant magic, big whoop. It almost brought a smirk to his face to think of how gigantic of a learning opportunity had been right under Salem’s nose for two weeks at Noila Castle, only to go completely unnoticed. He almost wanted to tell him just to see how he’d react when he found out.

But when Max’s weird little grin caught his eye, Aaron pushed the thought away, inwardly priming for whatever fire he’d have to put out next. This prick was doing this on purpose, and Aaron couldn’t even rise above it; Max’s information was more valuable than he’d prefer, and even on the chance that it was fabricated, he still had to bite. Max knew it, too. Bastard.

He shot Max a piercing look as he listened, but listen he did; it seemed Eris and Varis each had the same idea, speaking to Ryner and having their mages poke around behind the scenes. Although, it surprised Aaron that Eris went to such greater lengths than Varis did; he’d have expected the shrewd and merciless heir of House Sinnenodel to go after any possible conspiracy like a dog on a bone, but it was cavalier playboy Eris who seemed the most concerned about it. What did it mean to him, then? Lovers or not—or whatever that relationship was now, he tried not to think too hard on it—Aaron sincerely doubted an illusion of a confused Varis could shake Eris so deeply. Clearly something happened in that trial he didn’t know about.

Hm, maybe Max’s little flex was more valuable than the metal mage bargained on; his story about Mental professors would be far less interesting to Varis than the implication that Eris was so deeply interested in the matter. Surprisingly satisfied, he shot Max another look, equal to his in smugness but a bit less overt.

“Mr. Samael must be pleased that you’ve been so proactive,” he commented smoothly, every bit the perfect gentleman who’d gotten what he wanted. “Even I wouldn’t be too keen on seeing the Mental faculty, and I’m supposed to be joining them. And there you are diving right into the hornet’s nest.” He offered Max a knowing smile. “If the practical was meant to mend some fences between the two of you, I’d say it must have done its job.”