Time felt as if it was dragging on between his last breath and when Maddie spoke next. What mustve been seconds felt as if hours had passed by just waiting to see if anyone would take a bite of what he had just said. Salem began to wonder if perhaps having nothing odd would be more suspicious and weird than if something odd had happened. But finally the mage had spoken, taking what he said in stride and counting him lucky for not having had any oddities or mishaps. The muscles in his arms and shoulders subtley began to relax as he felt the tension slip away along with him leaning back into the chair. He listened as Maddie spoke on, catching the stumble she had made and noting it for later, though it hadn't fully surprised him if he was being honest. It appeared as if everyone's partner allowed for a first name basis in private with the exception of Aaron.

Salem's eyes widened a bit as her story began to interest him, the idea that there was a chance to gain more tokens or lose them all sounded risky, yet intriguing for the exam. He wasnt sure how well Victor was at gambling, though he was certain that had they encountered that particular test they surely would've lost it all and had to start from scratch. A feat Amaris almost accomplished from Maddie retelling. Salem wanted to ask more on the subject but what Max said caught him by surprise. Not only were mental mages involved in the exam, but there seems to have been many issues that were either purposely planted to ignite some rage amongst the nobles, or mistakes were made that never should have happened. What ever the case, Ryner now had Eris and Max barking up her tree. Salem couldn't help but wonder if who Max had spoken to was even Ryner, or another illusory clone of her put on by mental magic.

The night had certainly gained more interest, and Salem only wished he had a good cup of tea to sip at as he watched these two boys exchanging passing glances. He'd seen such faces before, not on them ofcourse, but on those he hosted for. Guests would watch each other in even subtler ways, tossing words like javelins and seeing which struck the hardest. It was almost as if he was back home, though this field wasn't his which made it all the more treacherous. Salem couldn't help but wonder if he should ask some questions of his own, see just what strings he could tug on from them without getting tangled in himself. Or should he simply stay silent and let them be, commentate as needed to keep them on track and willingly spilling information without so much as needing a push. As he thought on it he looked off behind Lilie, watching the space as he figured that if Aaron was involved in this he would end it if he could. Watching his mouth more than anything.

As Salem sat and thought back on what had been said, he noticed Aaron had yet to leave a single opening. No loose thread to pull and help unravel what mysteries may lay underneath. He wasnt sure how best to help keep this conversation on track, but one thing stuck out to him that he simply wanted to say. If Aaron sung praise for Maxs proactive solution and the need to go above and beyond what he would do, then how would Varis feel to know a lower mage was more useful or willing to be of use than the bred Starag that he was given. From this single sentence Aaron admitted that Max was more capable of anticipation his partners needs than he was.

“I used to hope for the same thing, Count.” Amaris stated, finally breaking her silence. She would be among the first to admit that she had attended this particular school with more than a few assumptions, only to turn around and have those expectations completely shattered. It hadn’t taken very long at all for Ryner’s own sister to be knocking down her door to drag away a mage accused of ties to a treasonous association; a mage that by the princess’ own claims had to have been approved by her own hand. That same hand had taken a blade to the countess’ face to reveal a family secret she herself had never even heard whispers of. While she understood the position in which Ryner stood, those experiences had forced an altered perception of someone she held in such high regard.

“[color=f49ac2]Or would you suggest that our sovereign leadership was aware the school was being targeted by terrorists and simply allowed an attack to happen? Information slips through the cracks, miscalculations can be made… I’d rather believe in a lack of perfection than intentional malice in regards to Her Royal Highness, wouldn’t you?” The Countess questioned Benjamin before smiling sweetly, eyes closed to hide the brief flicker of personal doubt that sparked through them. “But you’ve made it quite clear you are the expert on your own mage. I suppose we’ll have to place similar trust in you that such a silly rumor is just as you say; a misunderstanding warped by public need to gossip.”

Amaris had to fight a cringe as Varis began to address her, already dreading the interaction she was being dragged into. Fortunately for her, however, the presented topic was far simpler than she had expected from the Count; so much so that her smile never faltered.

“I’ve been informed on the matter, yes. An interesting selection to be sure, but I’ve taken the arrangement under consideration. Was there something you wished to contribute or simply following up?”

Varis should have expected it but the Countess’ pathetic attempt at expressing her scorn and vexation startled him. He hadn’t realized someone of their age and stature could fumble such a simple exchange. He’d given her too much credit; he assumed she’d at least put her energy into a productive and creative outlet while on her self imposed exile―Varis certainly didn’t buy into this grieving nonsense, after all. They weren’t mages.―but clearly she’d only wasted away. No wonder her father didn’t want her to take over the family. She’d probably run it into the ground with how she sold away her potential for melancholy.

“Only confirming the process is moving. The sooner the boy figures out his plan, the sooner he’ll be able to focus on learning to be a proper Sinnenodel mage. I don’t need him stumbling like this at Chaend.” Varis sighed, fiddling with his glass. “Though I’m interested in your lack of faith in Count Eve and his mage. It’s true that the Spellman boy is certainly trouble; he was put under investigation for possible rebel ties after he spoke against the Queen at dinner in the beginning of the year. I’m certainly surprised Count Astorio hasn’t put him on a shorter leash considering he nature of his employment for the Council.

---

“Oh, that’s definitely interesting.” It was most definitely not interesting. In fact, it had all the hallmarks of messy and Maddie was more than content to stay far, far away. She was thinking maybe a test was put in the wrong place or maybe it just didn’t complete the way it was supposed to and his vampire couldn’t leave it well alone but the Princess and her mages offering various excuses and lies that fail to line up? She couldn’t very well believe a seven or eight century old vampire would fail to make sure her various mages didn’t have the same story at the very least. She could believe it out of a pair of six year olds trying to get out of trouble but not some who survived a war and the political minefield of a modernist that challenges her own family values half the time. This is about where she’d just leave the room back at home but here she did not have that option.

And stars only know Amaris would probably care for this information. Hopefully, she’d just find it interesting, they could leave it alone, and move on but a little voice in the back of her head laughed at her. If only she had magic to turn abc time and never ask the stupid question. This was all clearly well above her paygrade and she was certainly content with staying the fuck away from this. “If you take out the constant fear of death, the challenges were fun ways to learn more about each other and how we think and act under stress. It definitely made the Countess much more understandable than she was before.” And speaking of teamwork, Maddie forgot she was supposed to ask Lilie and Aaron something while she had them all.

“That reminds me! Kanalie and I were talking before I started getting ready and she told me to tell you guys that she’s planning some sort of party for Moon’s Mirror before we head into break and she wanted to know if you guys were interested. Apparently, one of Alexander’s friends specifically told her to make sure Firefly shows up because, and I quote, “That guy needs a fucking break before the shit hits the fan.” Maddie chose, very gracefully she thought, not to laugh at all of that. “I asked if I could extend the invitation to everyone here and Kanalie only said the more the merrier so just let me know and I can give her a number. Apparently next semester is a monster for the seniors and they won’t have a ton of time to hang out."

---

The Retriever had gotten a little better at clapping back, for what little that was worth. If wanted to shut Max up, accusing him of being too heavily invested in a leech's well-being was certainly one viable method. Too little, too late, though. He'd already said enough to get everyone else curious; even the most decisive method of ending the discussion there would only veil Varis' involvement at best. Too bad he'd already committed to not playing word games tonight, that was almost tempting enough to bite on.

Oh well, that didn't mean he couldn't put his foot in his mouth just to say something.

He gave Aaron a subdued grin, as if he were politely flattered by the compliment - that was a compliment by talkative footstool standards, right? The other mages were wisely choosing to not get involved and try to divert the conversation from the verbal timebomb waiting to go off, but Max certainly wasn't going to just let that stand. He had a reputation, damn it. Besides, he could confidently say that he learned absolutely nothing about Eris there that he didn't know already, and the only mended fences between them were the ones that made a fucking vampire of all people more desirable as an ally than Sellout Starag.

"Yep, you know us," Max muttered humorlessly as he raised a hand and interwound two fingers, "Wells and Eric against the world." He punctuated his statement with a sarcastic chortle. "Hardly. Mister Samael tells me what to do and who to talk to and I do it to shut him up. If there was any proactivity involved I'd probably have tangible information right now instead of a nebulous idea that Her Royal Highness is a lying bitch. By the way, you can unclench your buttcheeks, I haven't been sent on any sketchy errands in a while so I think Eric got over whatever weird tantrum he was having with Count Sinnenodel." Not technically untrue. He had no idea what Eris' plans were going forward, and the leech certainly hadn't given any indictation recently that he was still mad at the count, but it was a bit of a stretch to think he'd dropped the issue entirely. Probably just focused on the Marivaldis for the time being, or wary of dancing to Ryner's tune too well. She clearly had an angle here in order to fuck up this royally - pun not intended - even if the test was a blatant mistake. Then again, her coverup of the murderer was pretty lazy too, maybe she was just getting complacent in her old age.

"Consider that little morsel your payment for the clock," The mage finished with a dismissive wave of his hand. Naturally, Aaron's paranoia and desire to please wouldn't let him accept that Eris dropped the issue, but Varis had no way of knowing about the mark. He could sweep every misdeed, every faux pas, every time he accidentally tripped and thought no one was around to see under the rug; they'd still have a lead and the Retriever would look like an idiot for barking up the wrong trees.

As for the life mage's invitation, he wanted to give it a hard pass. Parties around here were always a fucking disaster - case in point - even without hordes of other idiots he didn't know crowding around him and asking prodding questions. At best he'd run into a senior with his affinity whose brain he could pick for ideas, but given the bullshit nature of his magic, he doubted even that would be fruitful. Hell, he'd rather ask Feliks at that point anyway.

---

The conversation was grating for all the wrong reasons; once again Ben was fully prepared to defend his own actions and decisions but it seemed Lilie was more of a hot topic button. To be honest he expected comments on her appearance, on the unlikelihood of shaping her into a proper servant, but he hadn't thought she was so interesting that things would loop around to her again. In actuality it was a touch worrying as no vampire would want their mage to outshine them. This bode ill: Ben was not nearly as interesting as an albino mage. How terrible to have made so little an impression, could that have been why the count was smirking? The business with Mr. Spellman was also an unexpected and admittedly unpleasant surprise to hear. He hadn't been as informed as he would have hoped.

There was little time to deliberate as Countess Marivaldi decided to give him words that utterly confused him. He had heard that a situation had unraveled but he had been with Her Highness when it occurred. Ben somehow had lost the handle on this evening and to think it was because of the Marivaldi. He expected to make an attempt to weave himself out of a snake's clutches, not get bowled over by a feline who decided to take offense to his words. Of course he knew Lilie better than she, stars above, Lilie was his mage! The girl never so much as uttered the Marivaldi name!

The only true constant of the night was Eris and it was a sad day when the egotistic troublemaker of all people seemed more genuine. He couldn't very well expect a leopard to change its spots and was more surprised the countess deemed it appropriate to throw any chance at conciliation into the bin. Perhaps this was a sign to lean towards tradition. Modernism did attract the odd vampire and was more unpredictable. And to think Eris was being more reasonable than Countess Marivaldi. Eris! The man could barely tear himself away from his own reflection to speak! What a sad day for the nobility. And at this point he had had enough. If he was going to win one heir's favor he may as well go all in. Even if it meant needing a long shower afterwards.

"I'm interested to hear this reasoning as well as it would seem I have made a poor impression on you; a stark contrast from what I had initially thought was a pleasant encounter at the bookstore not too long ago," Ben said. "For one, I wouldn't dream of accusing Her Highness of such a thing, your imagination has truly taken your reasoning somewhere I can't seem to follow. For another, you seem to be under the impression that you have some sort of moral high ground over my mage coming for some reason. So please, enlighten me to your thought process so that I may understand when and where I went wrong."

Aaron allowed himself an amused hum at Max’s distaste, crossing his arms as he listened. Honestly, he couldn’t tell if Max was trying to help him or hurt him. From that shit-eating grin earlier (not to mention Aaron had assumed the latter, but if Max started the whole conversation with a lie just to throw him off some scent, then he must have been mistaken about how much Varis cared about the whole debacle; if he was trying to help, then why not just wait until they could speak privately? Aaron wanted to believe Max meant it when he said he wanted to be genuine once in a while, but things like these could blow up in both of their faces if they got picked up by the wrong people.

Ugh, but Aaron wasn’t sure why he even tried to understand. While the very idea tempted his mind to start chasing its tail again, the only way he’d stop the looping until he could get a second opinion was to remind himself that he was probably overthinking things again. He was adding layers where there were none; Max was probably just as new and clueless at all this chicanery garbage as he was, and if he was trying for some slick move, he was kinda sucking at it. Either way, nothing to worry about for the moment.

“Thanks,” he replied simply, effectively disengaging from that conversation. Fortunately, Maddie was still trying to steer the room away from sketchy topics, and landed on one to which Aaron could actually contribute.

“I didn’t realize you knew Kanalie,” he commented absently, leaning on the back of the couch. He didn’t know her either, only that she was Lilie’s senior friend, but apparently she was a friend of Alexander’s. That whole morning after the practical was still a bizarre haze in his head, truth be told; sometimes he forgot it actually happened. If he had to guess, he’d say it was probably the blue-haired water mage—Diego?—passing on that eloquent message, and he couldn’t resist a grin. As weird and foreign and weird as it had been to hang out with that bunch, he couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy it—he even peeked into their group chat from time to time. The message sounded a little ominous, but given what he knew about the Mental program so far, it was probably true. His next semester was supposed to be brutal, and his schedule was set to be packed even tighter than it already was; maybe a “break” before the break was warranted.

Still, he had to shake his head at “Firefly”; it was one of his better nicknames, to be sure, but it was still a nickname, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Sunny, Starag, Firefly, boy—who would believe that of all the people he saw on a nightly basis, Max was the one who most often used his real name? Aaron chose to find it funny, if only to stop himself from finding it sad, though when Lilie spoke up, he was reminded that there was one nickname he’d be happy to hear more often.

"Firefly? I think I prefer Maestro, they'd definitely agree with me if they ever saw him play."

If the name alone wasn’t enough to turn his ears red, the look he caught from Lilie after would definitely do the trick. Honestly, what a mess he was; one word and one shy little look and he was melting for her all over again. Her words in the kitchen were all but forgotten, replaced by memories of a beautiful calm night on the property wall, listening to her sing along with his cello, practically glowing under the moonlight… It was a memory he kept close at hand on his toughest nights, and he was a little shocked to learn that she remembered it as well as he did.

“I’d… be happy to go, if I can get leave,” Aaron finally tore his eyes back to Madalyn, pausing mid-sentence only to stop himself from stammering. Like hell he’d miss a chance to spend another morning with Lilie; sneaking off to the beach during Revel would have been up there with the top ten nights of his life if not for the fact that the whole affair was rudely overshadowed by a murder, and reciprocated feelings or not, he wouldn’t miss an opportunity to try and repeat it.

A gentle buzz on his wrist tore him out of his reverie, and a quick glance at his watch had Aaron jumping to his feet. It was time to serve the next bottle! But, wait, how was it already so late? There were two bottles left, but definitely not enough time to serve them both. Shit! He shouldn't have gotten carried away, his watch would have alerted him, so did Varis calculate wrong? No, no, he must have spent too much time serving over the course of the evening - and Eris' little interlude certainly didn't help!

“Please, excuse me,” he told the room before heading back into the kitchen, racking his brain over what to do. He couldn't very well close off Varis' party with someone else's mage's blood, and certainly not Count Victor's; Varis thought low enough of the "headhunting brute" not to even bother with messing with him at his own party. Skipping Salem's bottle would mean going off-script, but Aaron was pretty sure that his own blood being served last was more important than Salem's being served precisely second-last.

It was nerve-racking to go against Varis' predetermined menu, but for once Aaron forced himself to make an executive decision, switching Salem's bottle for his own on the next outgoing tray. He'd hear about it when the guests were gone, he knew, but he'd hear about it no matter which choice he made; at least this way, Varis couldn't accuse him of blindly following direction.

Victor remained silent through this whole thing, again he found this annoying but still continued to try and learn from it. He had begun to rub his fingers over his hands while he listened and thought about what was being said. Not once did he realize he was manipulating small amounts of blood in his skin. He was after all trying his best to accelerate the blood control ability he was showed some time ago. The count did this so often he sometimes forgot he was doing it in the first place.

The countess surprised him and garnered his attention for a moment at the mention of the queen and the terrorist that attacked. If she was trying to get a reaction he was sure that the Eve would respond but he wasn’t entirely sure how, as Victor did not remember seeing the count at the dance. So many masks even in here. Eris’s recount of the current events seemed to answer his question before he asked. Then there was another remark about Salem. He didn’t want to say much about the underground fighting rumors in front of Eris he already knew that was a bad idea but perhaps he could sway the conversation on a different route.

“If I may interject for a moment. In regards to your comment about Spellman, I have found that he has grown and adapted quite well to both his new training regimen and the etiquette classes he has been taking.” He paused for a moment, Victor did like to pause occasionally while he was talking. This time it was a bit more deliberate but only just, mostly to take away the focus off the countess even for a moment. “If it were not for the leadership skills he has been showing during his training sessions with his fellow mages and his overall actions during that last test of ours. I can assure you he would be on a shorter leash.”

Again he paused for a moment and looked toward Ben, “Benjamin, If you don’t mind my personal thoughts on Miss Dionne, I have been watching her grow from the moment I met her. From my observations I can say that Count Eve here has done a very good job in her physical training as well as her magical practice.” Again he glanced at the Marivaldi countess for a moment then looked to Varis with a bit of a smile. “Again these are just my observations purely on combat and physical ability not politically obviously. I would bet on Miss Dionne in a test of swordsmanship that she could beat even the Starag now.” Another pause before continuing, he was sure this might be a bad idea but he was curious how Varis would act.

“You have done a marvelous job retraining the boy to how a Sinnenodel house would be run but I’m curious. Do you intend on letting the boys talents falter in some areas and only use him as a political tool? I have noticed from the first time I saw him that his muscle mass has dropped. I would suggest this could be malnourishment but judging by the condition of his skin and hair I would say this is not the case more so the lack of physical exercise.” He only paused for a moment this time before continuing again. “With his light magic and swordsmanship he would be a great protector. It’s a shame really light and metal mages are truly spectacular when trained to be a protector but I’m sure he will adapt to mental magic.”

Victor wasn’t entirely sure if his insult was too subtle or too blunt, or if Varis would simply scoff at the comment and carry on. This political game was entirely too bothersome and had too many variables. Perhaps he would learn more here than when he is in class. He was well aware that he wasn’t here to make friends but he didn’t mind being the wild card in these situations. He only hoped that Arron was listening to what was said about him, subterfuge could be fun sometimes as well.

Now it seemed that it was time for the next round of blood, a small smirk appeared on his lips for a moment as he could hear the blonde boy prepare the next batch of blood. He got this blood specifically for this gathering, fear and adrenaline brought forth a particular flavor from Spellman. A specific taste for a distasteful gathering one that he hoped would get the two of them kicked out early but now he wasn’t so sure. Thats unless he was so lost in his thoughts that he completely missed salems blood serving. First he had to wait for how the others responded since he did just insult Varis and slightly Eris. Or at least he hoped he did.

The Countess nodded her head in understanding as Varis gave his response. Although she would have preferred not having to answer the question at all, Amaris knew she couldn’t just leave the Count without some sort of response. “You shall have your response by end of night tomorrow.” She responded, falling back into silence as Varis began to change the topic once again. Before she had much of a chance to speak, the two Counts as well as Eris had chimed up with their own inputs on the matter. Communication was such a bothersome thing, why couldn’t she have just stayed home?

Heaving a quiet sigh, Amaris maintained her focus on Varis as he had been the first of the bunch to bring up the topic. “You can be interested all you like, but certainly you aren’t surprised. I have only met the Count here once, so I’m not entirely sure what exactly I am meant to have faith in. It’s not as if that faith has been lost, it was simply never there in the first place.” Amaris noted before shifting her eyes in Victor’s direction. While there was always the possibility of information leaking out, after all Varis was so very good at sticking his nose where it was unwanted, she was still reluctant to let slip the deal she had struck with the Astorio. Instead she refocused her attention toward Eris and Benjamin.

“Quite the opposite actually, Mister Samael. It was rather difficult not to notice the game of musical chairs taking place among the noble candidates so early on in the semester. That aside, his lack of attendance would not excuse the ignorance of an incident of this caliber. As a potential heir to his house and hopeful participant of Council business, it would not bode well for him to have no knowledge of an attack that prompted a televised statement from Her Royal Majesty. My sentiment was not one of suspicion. It was a stark reminder of the consequences of blind acceptance. Which is why,” She continued, shifting her address from Eris to Benjamin.

“I don’t particularly believe in first impressions like that. There is an expectation for that first encounter to be a positive experience, so much so that people often throw their true selves by the wayside. They twist the truth and pander to their audience in the hopes of striking just the right chords. I suppose the fault there lies with me, though, for allowing your first impression to have any impact at all. For that, I apologize. But really, would it kill you to use her name at the very least? Lilie is a very kind and considerate girl and she doesn’t deserve to have every unique piece of her nipped and tucked away for your political convenience. Cassandra would be rolling in her grave if she knew that I let you speak this way about her friend without having something to say about it myself.” The Countess' gaze had grown cold and rather sharp despite how much control she kept over her overall composure. It had taken more than she cared to admit to prevent herself from slamming her palms down on the table before her but it would not be enough to hide the sorrow-filled disappointment she felt from the Count.

The Countess was in… Varis would say rare form but putting her foot in her mouth seemed the norm for her. Honestly, her skill rivalled the Spellman’s and he’d thought that was a feat in and of itself. Aggressive and sharp and bumbling, it was like watching a little vampire learn how to feed from a vein rather than a bottle. An utterly disgusting and humiliating display truly. He’d started out with a little pity for her and now he just felt nothing but contempt. But it would be fun to egg Count Benjamin and the Marivaldi on in the future. Maybe when he got bored with this institution, he’d pit them against each other for the fun of it.

“Count Astorio, I didn’t know you were a vampire of hidden talents. I never would have assumed you a comedian!.” Varis laughed at the question. How perfect! He’d practically given up on playing this angle but he couldn’t say no if the brute was going to open the door to opportunity. “He’d have to have any talents for me to squander them. He’s come to me even worse that your average house trained mage. He actively seeks out opportunities to prove himself to me that are barely a challenge.” He turned to Count Benjamin and waved his hand in disbelief. “That’s how our mages came to cross blades, actually. I directed him to find himself a sparring partner so his skills stay sharp―a simple task surely, I thought, for someone with ten years of experience under his belt―so he found your mage and he expected me to praise him as if he found some sort of decent challenge.” Varis’ heard the tell tale clinking of the boy coming with the next round and continued with a smirk at the corner of his mouth. How wonderfully fun!

“And at the dinner that got your mage caught up in this Red Hand business, Count Astorio, the boy made an utter fool of himself in front of both the Queen and my Lady! The Princess and I gave him very simple instructions on how to avoid drawing my Lady’s attention and that of her mind mages and at the very first chance, he threw it all into the wind because another mage got a little woozy. While it’s grand that chivalry isn’t dead, that left him defenseless against her and she wiggled her way into his obstinate, dull head. Varis clicked his tongue in disappointment, taking the glass as the boy poured it but otherwise ignoring him. He took a break in his ranting to take a sip, savoring that touch of brightness beneath the citrusy flavor, and resisted throwing it back like a shot. “Not that there seems to be much in there―he couldn’t figure out how to affix cufflinks without me, after all―but he certainly knew plenty about the Eve mage and his family. As much as a pride myself as a skilled strategist, her mind is still an enigma. Who knows who or what caught her mages’ eyes.” He closed his eyes as he took another sip, letting himself relish the taste. This was a dangerous thing;he’d have to start going back to bottles to keep himself from draining the boy empty.

“And the most infuriating part is that no corrective action so far has proven effective. I took away all his doors because he hasn’t earned privacy yet, he’s written plenty of lines and his handwriting is barley improving, he drafted and presented public apologies for those he put under my Lady’s attention and now they’re hanging in his room as a reminder, and just recently I’ve had to take away his Noila toy sword for a whole month because he went behind my back on the matter of his schedule. At least it makes an excellent foot rest at the arena. Too bad I’ll probably have to have it melted down if he keeps misbehaving.” Varis sighed. “I’ve tried being relatively tame with my punishments, he’s adjusting and all that, but I expected more from even a throw away Starag. It just means I’ll have to introduce him to proper Sinnenodel punishments sooner than I’d like to.”

He glanced at his pocket watch, clicking his tongue again. It was a little late in the morning so they’d have to wrap this up soon. That would explain why they skipped the Spellman boy’s blood. Varis couldn’t say he was upset by the decision but he’d make the boy sweat to explain it nonetheless. And if anyone brought it up, what an excellent opportunity to damage the boy’s reputation here.

---

She’d thought Firefly was adorably amusing but it definitely did not have the same impact as Maestro. Firefly got a shake of the head, amusement or irritation she wasn’t sure, but Maestro had Aaron red. Maddie watched Aaron as he hurried back to the kitchen, little wheels turning in her head. She turned her attention back to the group and smiled at Max and Salem, neither speaking up at the mention of the invitation. “Don’t feel pressured to come, of course. It’s just meant to be laid back and fun.” She offered them, letting them step out without an awkward no slamming into Lilie’s excitement. “If you do make something Lilie, let me know. I’d love to bring something too!”

All in all, the evening had been… interesting. Max was someone to avoid, especially as he called the Princess a lying bitch. That was a mess waiting to explode and she didn’t want to be in splash radius. Salem was odd but he seemed harmless. Lilie was nice and sweet but there was a landmine to avoid around her labeled “Vampires” and she didn’t want to navigate that. She made a note to avoid gatherings with her if vampires were likely to be in attendance. Aaron was the only one she didn’t have any rela misgivings about because she knew where he stood and he knew where she stood and they didn’t have to play games about what not to talk about and what to lie about. She’d have got advice from Amaris about this whole mess. Maybe she’d have a good idea how to navigate this mess.

“So when did you have the opportunity to see Aaron play? I knew he danced but I wasn’t aware he was an accomplished musician.” Maddie asked.

A few butterflies fluttered in Aaron’s stomach as he emerged to serve his own bottle, a little nervous anticipation sneaking in, not just about his little executive decision, but also about what the guests would think of his blood. His family were in part bred for their blood quality, and Varis seemed to like it, so it should be fine, but of course he was antsy all the same.

Much like his other rounds of serving that night, Aaron was largely deaf to the conversation in the room; or deaf, that was, until he caught Lilie’s name among the chatter, and coming from Countess Marivaldi no less. He couldn’t help but indulge, surprised to hear the Countess speak so familiarly of Lilie; he had no idea the two had ever even spoken, let alone gotten to know each other in the slightest. In fact, everything Aaron had seen had led him to believe Lilie was nervous around vampires, especially nobles. But the way Countess Amaris spoke, especially this odd business about wanting Count Benjamin to refer to her so informally—was that how she talked about her own mage at parties? It seemed a little overly familiar for the setting, but Marivaldis were known for their eccentricity—made it sound like they were on a first-name basis. He made a mental note to ask Lilie about it later, curious despite himself.

But that thought was wiped clean from his head as he moved to the next guest, and Varis started talking.

“He’d have to have any talents for me to squander them. He’s come to me even worse than your average house trained mage…"

Oh no. Varis was talking about him.

“And at the dinner that got your mage caught up in this Red Hand business, Count Astorio, the boy made an utter fool of himself in front of both the Queen and my Lady!”

No.

“I’ve had to take away his Noila toy sword for a whole month because he went behind my back on the matter of his schedule. At least it makes an excellent foot rest at the arena. Too bad I’ll probably have to have it melted down if he keeps misbehaving...”

No! Please!

Of course, inward pleading would do no good—nor would outward pleading, even if he tried. The stories just kept coming, Varis talking like he wasn’t even there, and it took everything Aaron had not to falter before he could step back from Varis and steady himself. He should have been used to it by now—good lord, how many times had Varis thrown these exact insults in his face over the past months?—but even still, every new point in Varis’ list was like a hammer blow to Aaron’s head, driving him down and down like a crooked nail until he was flush with the ground where he belonged. It was bad enough to hear it during bi-weekly lectures on the floor of the study, but now, dressed to the nines and serving representatives of every major noble power in the realm… it was worse than those awful public apologies Varis so kindly brought up, and that was a feat Aaron had previously thought impossible.

Not only that, but for every misdeed Varis listed, Aaron was reminded of a host of regrets. After all, for every harsh word he got from Varis for his stumbles, he’d given himself ten more; he’d beaten himself up over bringing Lilie to Varis’ attention, for just about every single word and action the night of that awful dinner with the Queen, for exposing himself to Lady Sinnenodel’s mind-peeping thugs—sun and stars, that whole debacle was the sole reason he “went behind Varis’ back” to learn mental magic in the first place! Good lord, he was painfully reminded of his every mistake every evening when he walked past those forsaken letters on his wall, which were now common knowledge to every single one of the most important people on this campus, and now those very people knew the reason he no longer carried Dawn, why there was no door on his bedroom when they passed it in the hallway, and probably, if they gave it any thought, why Princess Ryner cast him aside in the first place.

Sun and stars, when it was all laid out in a row like that, it was a wonder he was ever allowed to call himself a Starag in the first place.

A stone dropped in Aaron’s stomach, and he clutched the tray for a silent moment, feeling like he was going to be sick. It was all too much, too fast… everything had been going so well, what happened?! What did Count Victor say that sent Varis on this brutal tangent? Was it because he noticed the change in the bottle order? Was this his punishment for going off-script? Or was this just how Varis talked about him when he wasn’t in the room, if he was ever important enough to be brought up at all?

Aaron had to force his legs to move, force his knees not to give out under him, force himself to continue serving his own blood just so he’d have something to do other than crumple. His face was a pallid, emotionless mask; he served the rest of the room in a daze, hands working on autopilot as what passed for his life flashed before his eyes. It was bad enough when Varis did this in front of Ryner and the Queen; at least they knew he wasn’t that stupid, that he was better than that, they’d seen him succeed before and wouldn’t fall for Varis’ trick. But these people, the Counts and Countess, they didn’t know him, they didn’t know he’d ever gone a night without making a career-ending blunder like the ones Varis rattled off. His reputation would never recover. If these nobles were anything like the rest of aristocracy, news of the discarded Starag’s ineptitude would spread like wildfire, Aaron’s every hope for the future reduced to vapid small talk preceding any real conversation. Vampires of the highest social strata would raise their eyebrows, nod, comment their surprise that the line had declined to such an extent, and move on, all while Landar Starag’s perfect legacy was torn to pieces. And worst of all was that, after all this time with Varis, Aaron wasn’t so sure he didn’t deserve it.

Dipping his head to the last vampire he served, Aaron withdrew to the wall; there were no more bottles to prepare on this timeline, so he hadn’t even the reprieve of being able to go back to the kitchen. Instead, he had to wait for any final requests from guests, collect empty glasses, and see the guests out when they were finished, and in the meantime remain on full display, basking in his own shame. His ears and cheeks might usually burn when he was this embarrassed, but this time they were cold, like every drop of blood had drained out of his face and into the bottle on his tray. It was all he could do to keep his eyes forward, focused to a laser point on the opposite wall. The only thought in his mind was that he just had to make it until the guests left; he could finish having a crisis over his humiliation and dread whatever “proper Sinnenodel punishments” were after they were all gone, but he had to make it to that point first. He could only pray things wouldn’t get any worse in the meantime.

Goodness gracious. Ben thought he had already met his fair share of mad men and unbalanced women, but Countess Marivaldi took the entire bottle and not only ran with it but she high tailed it to the moon. Were it any other setting he would have thought this entire dinner was just the setup for a joke. Geoffrey did love the occasional prank but even he would have questioned the extent of the countess' imagination. She gave him too much credit; he wasn't aware it was possible to fabricate a meeting such as theirs. The only comfort giving to him is at the very least she gave him reasons aplenty to steer clear, even if he needed to have a stern word with his mage if there's any possibility of an inappropriate relationship between the two.

It had been some time since Ben had a look of pure exasperation and confusion, aimed properly at the Countess'...'look'. It was amusing to hear her try to reprimand him but the problem with that was that she held nothing over him. Fortunately, Count Sinnenodel gave him reasons aplenty to ignore the countess' rambling and focus his attention to the unfortunate target of the count's derision. It would strike a cord of pity if it hadn't been so glaringly obvious that the Sinnenodel had timed his speech precisely so the poor mage would get to hear every one of his faults exposed. The villains of bedtime stories are less subtle than this, Ben thought. No wonder he struggles training Aaron so.

Ben had chosen to take his drink from Aaron wordlessly; drawing attention would only embarrass the mage more than needed. The scent of the blood was stronger than most, an unusual scent accompanied by an unusual taste. He had heard stories on how different Starag blood compared to most but even those tales fell short of the real thing. He frowned to himself as he set the glass down. Perhaps his patience had already been run ragged by the frivolous countess but it had reached a curious point by the time the count finished speaking. At this point he was convinced this entire dinner was a joke indeed; aside from an interesting collection of blood flavors, his time would have been better spent elsewhere.

The night is nearly done, may as well finish with a quip or two.

"Now, now, Count Sinnenodel, you mustn't blame yourself so. It has only been three months since Her Highness has given you Mr. Starag, Ben said. "If this is your way of asking for help, however, I'm sure Count Astorio would be more than pleased to offer a suggestion or two."

There was a tightness within Salems chest as the invitations went out. Hia first thought was finding it rude to simply invite two people present as opposed to waiting for the dinner to be over and then speaking to them then. His second thought was once the invitations were actually extended towards all present in the room. Wanting to be invited to an event and wanting to go to one were two very different things. The tightness grew as he looked over towards an excited Lilie, raving about making something for the event, just before Aaron spoke up to see if his leash would be long enough to attend. Silence clung to the room it seemed as neither Max nor him responded to the invite. The pressure almost goading the other into a game of chicken in who would decline first, but Maxs answer never came. It was then that Salem realised the tightness building up within him was a held breath.

When Maddie finally spoke up saying it was OK to decline, Salems shoulders dropped ever so slightly as he used his held breath to speak his next sentence. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but to be frank parties such as this aren't really my thing. I prefer to host them rather than be a guest. Otherwise I feel I need to stay guarded more so than usual. Please extend my appreciation for the invitation to Kanalie and my regrets that I couldn't make it. Though if Lilie would have it, perhaps I could help with what she's making, maybe send off a bundle of tea to pair with it or if given the time I could help grow some of thr ingredients so that they're as fresh as can be."

---

It was a good thing Aaron left the room when he did, if Max had to watch him and Lilie make fuck-me eyes at each other any longer he might've had to leave himself. As if he needed another reason to avoid that stupid fucking party, they'd probably be all over each other the moment they got drunk and thrown in a room with no vampires together. Then who was he supposed to talk to? He was already not a fan of this Madison girl and he doubted her friend Cannoli was any better, especially if they were all mutual buddies with the Retriever. He had to admit, though, he was surprised anyone could pull women by playing the cello of all things; what a fruity instrument.

Maddie turning the conversation on him and Salem barely registered until the plant mage started his anxious word vomit. The invitation seemed more aimed at the lovebird and her loyal pooch, and Max had never felt pressured to attend something in his life that didn't involve someone explicitly forcing him to go. He rolled his eyes rather blatantly; the fact that he was even expected to dignify that with a response was almost insulting. Maybe new girl wasn't familiar with his mannerisms well enough yet, but Salem should know better.

"Yeah, I'll pass. Don't know anyone there and definitely don't wanna end up roped into some obligatory gift basket crap," Max vocalized plainly. Why Salem was so eager to throw tea leaves at a party he wasn't even attending was beyond him; maybe he thought he had to bribe her to leave him out of it. Who the hell even drinks tea at a party, anyway? Max fully intended to spend Moon's Mirror the same way he spent every night, unless Eris had the gall to drag him off to some asinine event to show off. He was certain the actor had plans, though if everyone else's mage was off for the night, Max might get away with dodging a role as show puppy altogether.

Speaking of Eris, the level of irritating in this parlor was starting to exceed Max's patience, which meant sunrise must surely be soon. Cinnamon wasn't stupid enough to plan his event so poorly that his guests would have to be escorted out in wheeled boxes to keep the light away, so hopefully Aaron lingering like a tool meant the leeches were about to be dismissed. It was a good sign that he was taking longer than he did with the last few tastings, unless the good count decided he needed a spontaneous shoe shine. Quite frankly, he wanted to rip this tie off and not have to deal with one again for a solid few months.

---

Victor couldn’t help but smile and shake his head when Varis mentioned that even Aaron had trouble at that dinner. He didn’t blame them after all, even the lords and ladies of their houses could be caught off guard by the queen or at times the princesses. Varis did seem rather interested in what he said instead changing the flow of the conversation to double down on Aaron’s shortcomings. Such a strange thought process, making the mage look as if he is dressed better than Varis and put in better care then also going off about everything that is wrong. This word play was tiresome and hard to read or control, at least he knew that Varis was the one in control here manipulating the conversation to how he wanted it to go.

The count continued to go on about the different punishments he has used to try and correct whatever it was that wasn’t right about the boy, “sounds like his ego and pride might be holding him back?” A simple assumption, victor could only guess as to the boy’s upbringing. Victor swirled the blood he was given in his glass and tasted it. The Starag did taste rather good with a bit of a kick to it. It wasn’t the ‘down to earth’ flavors that Salem had. Speaking of he could have sworn that he was missing something. It was rather late in the morning and they were surely going to end soon. The presence of the Starag in the corner cemented this.

Looking back to his glass Victor realized that Salem’s bottle had not been brought out, was this on purpose or did they just forget? The count was sure that they were not going to be enjoying it this evening but how to bring it up? He was sure that if he did Varis would use it in some way probably against Aaron because he has been serving them all night. He knew that there could be repercussions but to what end.

Glancing at the boy for a moment then back to Varis, if he did out the boy without having some tact the others may think that he was too harsh or perhaps not harsh enough. The predicament he found himself in during this little party was strange. He did not know what his actions would do or how it would affect himself or the others. Victor decided that he could probably learn a lot more of this game if he did say something.

“I do have one question. As some of you may know I am not the next in line for the head of my family. In fact, the last time I checked im somewhere between the 15th and the 10th runner up. For that reason, I don’t get many invitations to things like this so if I come off as rude, I apologize. However, I am curious, is it some form of hazing or is it just rude to forget to bring out the bottle of blood that Salem and I brought here tonight?” and now all he had to do was look mildly annoyed and listen to the fallout. This would be a good learning point for both himself and Aaron or at least that’s what Victor was thinking.

Varis certainly wanted to snap back at the Eve for even suggesting that he, the youngest heir to the Sinnenodel family to date, needed help. The comment was well called for; Queen knows if he caught someone tirading over such a simple task, he’d well suggest they’d be relieved of their mage entirely. Encouraged or not, the comment rankled but Varis kept a considerate smile on his face as he sipped at the boy’s blood. He couldn’t very well let the disrespect go unanswered but how to respond? Varis sat forward, a considerate glance thrown at the Astorio. “Perhaps our guest of honor has a point. The boy mentioned he trained with one of the Noilan guard dogs regularly so perhaps I switched methods too quickly. Maybe breaking bones and restricting access to life magic would be a better starting point.” Varis mused, fingers tapping on the arm of the chair. “It certainly imposes on the values of the Sinnenodels but sometimes excellence demands sacrifice. I’ll take your recommendation under consideration, Count Eve. I’ll be certain to have the boy write you a letter of gratitude as well.”

Victor chose an excellent moment to chime in with such an astute observation. Of course the boy’s ego and pride was in the way. He oozed smug satisfaction whenever he thought his performance perfect. It motivated Varis to knock him down all the more harshly. The fact that the Starags are still permitted to think so high of themselves even though they themselves do nothing but bow and kneel is a joke. Perhaps Landar had that spark of life in him but modern day Starags were little more than mindless livestock. “Yes, it certainly is in the way. The boy thinks highly of himself and his family. I did too until I met him. The Starags are considered the highest quality servant but reality quickly corrected me.” Varis admitted hands spread out as he shrugged. “And the fact that he skipped your mages’ blood is yet another shining example of his incompetence. All of the mages’ blood should have been served but it seems someone socialized far too long.” Varis sent Eris a warning look when he spoke up in the boy’s favor. That damned actor was far too soft on the boy. Varis would have to ensure Eris made the boy regret the little offer instead of letting him off easily later that morning. If Eris messed up his planning, Varis would stake the actor himself.

He glanced back at his pocket watch and stood. “While I would like nothing more than to continue our conversation, it seems the sun will find the sky soon. Boy, I expect an apology to Count Astorio for the disrespect you’ve shown him and then fetch the other mages.” Varis commanded Aaron. “In the meantime lady and gentlemen, I should certainly hope our next gathering will find you adequately prepared for an evening of conversation. I'll make sure that Chaend presents us an opportunity for everyone to speak together again."

---

Maddie would have to be blind not to see what was happening. Lilie must have stumbled head over heels into a crush on the worst possible person she could have. All Maddie felt for her was pity because anyone with any knowledge of the Sinnenodels knew she didn’t stand a chance. Lilie was a sweet girl but Aaron was so far out of her league, it wasn’t even funny. Aaron would set the record straight if it ever came to that but she hoped for Lilie’s sake that it would disappear before they got to that. They really didn’t need anymore tension in this group as it was.

“I’ll let the group know not to expect you two. It is a little nerve wrecking meeting new people so I can’t blame you.” She told Salem and Max, honestly relieved they didn’t accept. They spelled trouble and she was fully committed to avoiding them as much as possible now. “It’s wonderful that you two are having fun together. Queen only knows how much Aaron probably needs the support these nights.”

It was a mercy that no one in the room seemed to pay any attention to him, but only a small one; Count Benjamin’s quip and Count Victor’s little offering only primed Varis for another round, and it was all Aaron could do to keep his eyes off the floor as he continued to drag his reputation through the mud. He’d chastised him for his supposed pride before - Aaron could concede that he thought too highly of himself at the start of this perilous journey, but evidently the Sinnenodel definition of pride was to dare not to resent the accident of one’s birth as a mage rather than a vampire - but what really rankled him was that Varis applied the same judgement to his family. He wasn’t sure whether to be angry or ashamed; the Starags deserved their pride, they served as an example to all the mages of the realm and they carried forth Landar’s legacy. If his shortcomings really were a stain on their name, then…

Ugh, he couldn’t think about that right now.

Compared to all that, Varis’ offhand mention of breaking bones was hardly a threat; if anything, it would be a relief for Aaron to go back to the methods he was accustomed to. But he doubted there was any truth to it, and besides, he wouldn’t be surprised if his time with Varis had ruined him for his old ways. He’d probably be far too jumpy now, or too weak - Count Victor had a point, he’d lost some muscle since arriving at the Academy, and his new workout regimen had yet to recover all of it. So if the old ways wouldn’t work, and the new ways obviously weren’t, maybe he really was an impossible project. At this point, it wouldn’t be a shocking revelation.

Aaron straightened further when he was addressed, dipping his head in acknowledgement before turning to offer a deeper, more formal bow to Count Victor. “Please accept my humblest apologies, Count Victor,” he said evenly, “my transgression was merely a lapse in judgement, not intended to offend. It won’t happen again.”

He paused as long as was expected before straightening, gathering his tray of empty glasses and dropping them in the kitchen before making for the mages. He stepped into the living room quite a bit paler than he was when he left, and looking fairly worse for wear, formally cleared his throat. “If I may have your attention,” he announced to the room, “the sun will be up soon, and it’s time for tonight’s events to come to a close. Thank you all for coming; please follow me to the door and I will see you out.”