Ah, so this was it for now, one final cup of tea, presented not only to his master but his own parents as well before being sent off to the University. The man with purple hair was poised as still as a statue, eyes unwavering as he solely focused on the cups filled not too low but neither to the brim; such intricacies were to be duly noted whilst traversing the road to excellency.
In truth, he was nervous, even with his smile as he awaited the confirmation of both parties. Did he make sure to boil in at the right temperature? Was experimenting with a new batch of shoots such a pleasant idea at all? He just stood there, subserviently watching as he heard the sounds of the minuscules sips fill the vacant room, gala's once transpiring in this huge space.
As cacophony and conflict rose inside him, mixed with the memories, he was suddenly brought back by dual whispers by his two parents. Their eyes were widened in shock, and from the tone of their voice, there was nothing else, save for pleasantries and compliments that his ears did not comprehend.
"Klaus, marvelous tea as per expected my boy," a hearty voice erupted out jovially from behind the rather large and gaudy couch, the man turning just slightly to acknowledge the magi. Klaus made a slow and shallow bow, his smile lengthening just a little before standing up erect again.
"Even your parents are surprised by how splendid this batch tastes, but honestly, they shouldn't be," the man gruffly chuckled before taking another sip.
"I'm glad to have met expectations Master, thank you for such kindly complements," he turned to Gerald, addressing him with a demure, but blithe voice.
"And thank you, mother and father, for such words as well; it warms me to see that my skills have not dealt a disservice you both," he spoke, turning towards his parents and smiling brightly at them as duo looked back at the boy.
"Come on kiddo', y'don't need to be so formal around us, we aren't gonna judge ya or anything," the woman chuckled, taking another gulp of her tea. Before Klaus' father had a chance to speak, the man interjected, looking back to the boy with an impish twinkle in his eyes. He recognized it and pondered on what type of joke the Master had prepared for today.
"Klaus, you did include the special... you know... component to the tea?" One brief glimpse at his parents puzzled faces told Klaus he had just sewn the seeds of curiosity into their faces... as much as he did wish to defy one of his Master's jokes, he currently (well, never, mostly) couldn't decline being roped into it... but he could always diffuse and play against it all. Giving his Master the same smile he had on his face since the start of this gala for four, he turned to Gerald and gave him a peppy assertion.
"Hm? Ah, yes, of course Master, all the components have been included for the Baihao Yinzhen tea." The man raised an eyebrow. Was this one of those times where he managed to best his Master against his joke? Apparently not as the flat line that were his lips began to smile once more.
"Even the cocaine, right?" Klaus froze as his Master seemed to savor those words before his eyes quickly jutted towards his parents, both of which were just as wide eyed as him, staring into their now empty cups.
Then, the older man began giggling. It wasn't long before he erupted into deafening laughter as his father questioned what was wrong with him. Wiping a tear from his cheek, he slowly began to calm down as Klaus held his breath.
"You all need to lighten up, that's what the problem is here," he announced, one finger up into the air before flexing two more out and pointing all three of them at the Knuez Family.
"You all are so tense and stiff! Come, come, this is Klaus' indoctrination into BUM! Be a little more relaxed, he'll do fine! This goes for you too, boyo'." While his parents were still trying to process that his whole fiasco about drugging the teat was a joke, Klaus was still somewhat stiff, despite mitigating most of the damage of shock from this short experience.
"You'll succeed Klaus, not only as a butler, but one of my many apprentices; a magi!" "I should hope so too," he said, making eye contact with the man as he spoke with a hint of doubt in the back of his neck. Gerald just rolled his eyes and muttered
"close enough." Without any more formalities, Klaus and his parents anxiously chuckled and chatted over the Grandmasters minute joke as the young butler gathered most of his items he was taking to school. Hoisting it all onto a luggage trolley, Klaus sucked in a breath of fresh air as he departed.
So this is where it would all truly begin, would it not?
As a blue light enveloped him, Klaus made sure to shield his eyes for the brief moment it took to transport him... and apparently hundreds of other students.
The young butler kept his composure as he stood as still as a door nail, placing a gloved finger onto his lip as he stared into the darkened sky. Despite how chilly it was, Klaus wasn't exactly bothered by the cold weather as he prepared with proper insulation!
Gripping tightly onto the trolley, he slowly turned his attention to the myriads of buildings which dotted the landscape. Truth be told, he was rather excited to sort of be out on his own! This should truly be an experience to remember!
As he walked around, he saw multitudes of different people of different ages, even a few stood out amongst the crowds with their height and floating suitcases! My word, what an abundance of unique individuals!... how would he compare to them all.
Clearing his throat to no one in particular, Klaus pressed his free hand against his tie, making sure it was sharp and presentable as he did his best to study it all. Eventually, he confirmed with a pleasant sigh that, yes, every piece of his clothing from his cuffs, collar, purple jacket, everything was truly prepared for the day ahead.
While he did procure a map a while ago, he just decided to roll with the crowd; wherever it took him would be a good place to start! Plus, most of the people seemed to understand where they were going for the whole ceremony (from what he presumed), so why not follow suit?
After a few minutes of brushing against the wandering crowd and getting a few peculiar looks... he honestly felt like taking a gander at his map and figuring out his current location. Shaking his head, he excused himself through the crowd, nodding, bowing, and apologizing as he pushed the trolley along.
Eventually he let it rest against one of the buildings walls and began shuffling through the bags immediately for the place he thought he left it. Once he sought it, he let out a small, triumphant
"aha." Relegating himself to the wall, the butler did not lean, but rather kept his crisp posture as he went about, looking over the locales and trying to discover where he was.
Placing a gloved hand up to his chin, he began massaging his lips with his index finger before properly noting where was. With a brief nod, he delicately returned the parchment to the assigned place, giving the luggage a bit of a pat before returning to the wall.
There wasn't much to do than wait for further signs of where he might go, so he continued observing the world around him, including one lady he was standing by! Ah, he truly didn't notice the woman was there... Klaus mentally cursed himself for his lack of observation this time around, finding it unbefitting of a butler.
... hm? The first thing he noticed was the way the way the young lady was acting... nervous? Anxious? Mayhaps, but could it be a part of the cold weather? Eyes drifted away from the shorter girl and over... a woman in a kimono? No that term wasn't right... oh!
That was when he noticed someone downing a rather warm looking drink; he could tell based on the way the steam swirled with the atmosphere... hm. Maybe he could make this young woman some tea or offer one of his jackets to her? After all, he should do his best to serve others... as peculiar as that sounds with not knowing anyone around here.
... but it wouldn't hurt, as he could gain a new friend.
"Pardon me, Miss," he meekly spoke up to the woman in a thick coat, a smile shining brightly on his face as he brushed away some of his purple hair.
"But would you like to borrow one of my coats? You look quite a bit chilly; wouldn't want to get frostbite now, would you, hm," he chuckled a bit nervously at the joke, attempting to match his Master's charisma.
Of course, before he even got the chance to possibly garner a response from the lady, there was an announcement from a few men outside of his range that he saw thanks to his height. It wasn't that difficult to peer over and see someone land from the sky, though to did mystify him a bit... hm.
He should try that out some time with his magic when if he ever reached that pinnacle of mastery.
But how curious, a train? While there was naught a single piece of metal that was apparent in his field of sight as he paused to look around before waiting patiently instead. Maybe this was one of those times where the school wanted to awe their students? Just like Master Gerald with them early on.
While he was busy waiting some form of confirmation from the train, he didn't bother addressing one of the fae that buzzed around his ears. He would respect the Headmasters wishes and explanation as to why as he turned his head to face the lady once more.
"La-" He wasn't even able to properly begin his sentence before a train abruptly appeared out of no where, interrupting that one little inquiry of his. The butler blinked a few times, trying to comprehend where the train came from. It was... a lot to take in at the moment. After spending a few seconds musing over the locomotive, he concluded it with a simple hm and a tilt of his head. He seemed a bit eager to board as a small smile formed on his lips.
"I hope you can pardon me for the abrupt rudeness over the, erm... one-sided conversation... and the ending to it all," Klaus poke in a friendly, meek demeanor, turning to fully face the girl. Striping his hand away from the luggage trolley, he gave the woman in the thick coat a short bow before latching back onto it.
"Regardless, mayhaps I might see you again, I suppose? My offer still stands, after all" Klaus asked himself, tilting his head back a bit to eye the lady and gave her one last quaint smile. Hm, maybe, maybe not... he guessed that was that for now as he let out a breathless sigh and merged with the crowds and hopped onto the train...
... of course, the fleetingness of the ceremony ended up matching the trains speed. It was somewhat difficult to adjust to the vehicle, his eyes bulged a bit in surprise at the speed this traveled... he had to even use his magic to keep himself station so the trolley wouldn't roll around!
Upon their arrival, the boy eased himself out of the set he gave himself, feeling motion come back to his now rigid and tense body. It was a difficult feeling shaking it off, so he stayed attached to the trolley, letting other people leave first... it was only polite to do so and the wait would help his muscles relax just a tinge.
Sucking in a breath, Klaus was one of the last few people out of the train, walking behind a few of the new students who spoke about how exhilarating this was while the latter placed a hand over their mouth. Klaus couldn't help but be in-between for both of their statements as he broke away from the group and went to the buildings that he recalled were labelled "dorms" on the map.
While breakfast with a spot of tea was a delectable thought, it would of been better to drop off his clothes at his room and arrange them properly first. Dragging the trolley along, he slowly traversed towards one of the buildings before pausing for a moment and procuring another set of papers from his luggage that detailed some of this information.
Giving it a quick look over, Klaus bobbed his head down a bit after affirming it all, ending this all with a punctuated
"hm" as he set it back into the case. With that knowledge, he set his sights on the dorm was assigned and quickly went in that direction.
