Leon with Carmilla
Between notable landmarks or even at places he didn’t care about, Leon seemed puzzled by the course selection sheets everyone was given. Even more baffling, it was the required courses registry he was studying so in-depth. What could have gotten the stylish prodigy so confused about the standard course registry?
“Say Carmilla.” Leon turned to his pale teammate with his best set of eyes.
“You are proficient in Chemical magics, correct? I hope you will be able to make sense of this.”Leon flipped his required course registry around to reveal that there is some ingredients handwritten on it. Lemon, vinegar, alum, quill. This was almost certainly the source of Leon’s confusion.
I am, but not by conventional standards, she thought. Carmillia edged in closer to Leon to take a better look.
“The lemon, vinegar and alum are most likely the ingredients for invisible ink. The quill to use said ink,” she answered.
You don’t really need to be a chemical mage to understand this, she thought. She pondered over it briefly. It was odd to give Leon that list given he clearly did not understand basic chemistry. A random prank? A course registry that someone had used as scrap paper and forgot about? Or perhaps it could simply be part of the school tour. A clue for an event of some sort. Nevertheless, it was unlikely to be anything important.
“Do you know what it’s for?” she asked, innocently.
"Invisible ink, huh?" Leon scratched his chin a bit in thought.
"Sounds like a pretty advanced chemical technique. Do we need a Zeno or something to tell us how to reveal it?" Leon's face shone with sincerity as he asked this. He had never heard of invisible ink before and he had a poor concept of what constituted chemical magics.
"I wouldn't have a clue what its for though." Leon brought the page closer to his eyes to see if he could see the ink. He then looked back to Carmilla with a more devious smile.
"Hey, you think someone wrote me a love letter on this same page? It wouldn't be the first time someone has put this much effort in. But I always appreciate it when they do."“We won’t be needing a Zeno for this,” she responded, making sure to keep any mocking out of her tone.
“There are multiple ways to reveal invisible ink but the most convenient method for us mages would be to use heat energy.”As Leon continued his theatrics, Carmillia felt unsure whether or not to write him off. He appeared genuinely foolish but no mere fool would have success mirroring his.
Fool or not, it was a matter of fact that Leon Solaire was whimsical. They were having a conversation now but if their first encounter was any indicator, Leon could get bored at any moment and wander off. Opportunities to have his attention were scarce so she played along with him.
“As for whether or not it’s a love letter, we could solve that mystery by checking right now?” she said cheekily.
Leon listened intently to Carmilla's short explination. It didn't sound particularly difficult to reveal invisible ink. He wondered if it was really an advanced chemical technique or if she was just being nice.
Despite these inner thoughts, Leon's smile didn't falter once. As if the processes in his mind had no effect on his expression.
"Well luckily I am somewhat of an expert in Arcane magic. This shouldn't be too much of a challenge." With a flamboyant flick of the wrist, the tip of Leon's right hand index finger lit up. The heat and light emitting from it fluxuating in intensity as Leon scanned for hidden messages."
"I hope it is some sort of love letter. Frankly, it would be really sweet. I already have a few guesses as who it could be from. That girl with the brunett..." Leon started listing a wide range of people as guesses. None really stood out, either because everyone on that list was generic looking or because Leon just couldn't describe them very well.
Enough with the love letter already, she thought. Carmillia waited patiently as Leon went on and on about the potential senders. It eventually reached a point where they were basically nondescript.
"If there is a hidden message, it should appear by now," she said.
As Leon applied heat to the page, nothing seemed to appear immediately, hence the rather long 'discussion.' However, as he moved his hand very carefully all of the way to the top and all of the way to the bottom, a hidden message appeared close to the latter: "Foundations in Drawing, Converting, and Casting in the Blood School of Magic (MF107) - registration will not count towards a student's course limit."
Blood Magic, Leon saw the oppurtunity to study Blood Magic. The veil of the showman gave way to the briefest uncharacteristic look of disgust. Although he had only heard rumours of such a school, the very foundation of it was antithetical to everything Leon believed. A school of magic almost entirely designed to harm others. He would spit on the paper if he wasn't in the company of others. And just like that, as soon as it had arrived, that look gave away back to regular Leon.
"Don't see anything I'm afraid. Frankly I'm a little disappointed after someone put in this much effort." While Carmilla's attention was drawn to his own course registry, Leon put his hand out politely toward her.
"While we are here, I could check your registry as well. Who knows, yours might be more interesting than mine.""I doubt there'll be anything, given that mine looks like a normal form. But it couldn't hurt to try?" she said as she handed him her own form. It had been brief, but Carmillia had caught a glimpse of his look of disgust. So the showmanship was a front, she thought.
Or at least, partly.Carmillia's understanding of Leon was not anywhere close enough to accurately guess what could trigger such an reaction. Her interest was piqued. It was doubtful that Leon would reveal it's contents which meant she would have to resort to
other means.
Leon gracefully accepted Carmilla's course registry and lit up his hand to scan it once again. A short time after looking, Leon's eyes widened a bit as he brought the page closer to his face and angled away from Carmilla's sight.
"My Dearest Carmilla,"
"I knew when I first gazed upon your oddly pale charms under the moonlight that you had me. We had a great time at that merchant's ball in Perrence, didn't we? It is not an easy thing to say, so I had sought to write my true feelings in invisible ink. But... I love you and I hope one day I can gather the courage to tell you in person."
"Yours truly, you already know."Leon left a long pause after reading that, looking at Carmilla with a shocked expression.
"Carmilla... My lips are sealed.""Oh my."While such a person could definitely exist—smitten horny males were beneficial for business—none were currently present at the academy. Leon was clearly fooling around and his mischief would be revealed the moment he returned the form to her. Before that happened, it would be useful to poke more into his psyche.
“It must feel terrible for this person to bottle all this up,” she said.
“I feel awful for being unable to reciprocate his feelings.”Carmillia was staring at the ground in dismay. As if struck by an epiphany, she looked back up at Leon with hopeful eyes.
“As my fellow apprentice and someone who is experienced at this, maybe you could spare some advice. How do you handle confessions from all your fans?”She bought it hook line and sinker, I'm such a villain Leon thought. While his ruse was ultimately a lie, it was clear she thought it was correct. So she was aware of some secret admirer. Leon felt a bit bad for tugging on heart strings like that. It had clearly affected his team mate deeply. But it was his duty as her teammate to let love shine.
"I think things like this just have a way of coming together. I can't offer much in terms of advice." Leon cheerfully smiled as he handed back Carmilla's course registry.
"But I wish you good luck."If you can do something about it, why worry? And if you can't, why worry?—that kind of mindset, eh?she thought. As expected, the form itself had no hidden message. Continueing the act, Carmillia feigned indignation and pouted.
Course Selection
Leon had a quick look over the selections for courses. He had little trouble choosing subjects he wanted to pursue:
Foundations in Drawing, Converting, and Casting in the Arcane School of Magic (MF102)
Foundations in Drawing, Converting, and Casting in the Binding School of Magic (MF103)
Dramatic Performance in Tragedy, Satire, Epic & Comedy (AR102)
Instrumental and Vocal Musics, Songwriting & Ensemble (AR103)
Etiquette, Decorum & Forms of Address in Polite Society (SK101)
Fundaments of Astrology & Divination in Magical Practice (AC105)
Leon with Vyrik
After his discussion with Carmilla, Leon surveyed the group of students around him. The Castle was going to be his accomodations, hanging out with all the commonfolk. It would be nice to find someone who would be there. As much as he liked his team, they all seemed a bit bourgeois for the type of party Leon had planned.
The boy in front of Leon wore a rather nice looking white jacket. From a distance Leon could see it was made by a rather nice fabric. This wasn't to mention the jewellery that adorned him. From attire alone someone would assume this person was a merchant. But his posture and walking demeanor betrayed any illusion of that. This boy was a commoner, or maybe a performer like him.
Leon slowly picked up pace to be next to the guy.
"I don't mean to be rude, but you seem common, are you not?" He asked in a rather oblivious manner.
Vyrik was just on his way out of the building when someone spoke to him. The puzzled look on Vyrik’s face stuck for a moment and then slowly faded, morphing into a frown as he made sense of it. Then he replied.
”Oh Yes, I am quite common. You will find me everywhere. In fact you will probably bump into about ten of me just in this very hall.” he said as seriously and flatly as he could, mimicking the tone and mannerism that had drilled its way into his head over the course of Zeno Mozaru’s tour this morning. He leant in to add a whisper.
"Also, I don't mean to be rude, but you seem a pompous mooncalf, are you not?" He stood back and gave a wide friendly smile, one that betray the barbs in his last words.
”Now, if you don’t mind, I have to go try teach a child who is likely giftless how to use a gift that I barely know how to use myself less he tell a lie and label me a wanted criminal.” there was serious concern amongst those words despite how he tried to play it off for its seemingly ridiculousness.
With that Vyrik spun on the spot and flicked out his cloak, whipping it up in a flourish with the little bit of the kinetic magic he had drawn. No he wasn’t a performer but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little bit of that theatrical flair.
Leon was left a bit speechless by the exchange. He certainly wasn't expecting such a confrontational reply to the conversation.
"Ah, well, good luck with that." Leon replied in a cheery tone. A smile hiding his dumbfounded and insulted mental state.
Jomurr Ikon the Third, busy walking by, heard a bit of the conversation, scowled, and pulled up alongside Leon, leaning in.
"If I do say so myself, that fellow is profoundly unqualified to be a teacher of any sort." He pursed his lips, nodded just-so, and started to move on.
Leon slipped back to his group where he responded to Jomurr.
"Well I don't know about that. He certainly has the... I can't describe it really. But I think he could be a good teacher. Not as if I've ever been to a school outside of this though."Jomurr quirked an eyebrow.
"Clearly..." he responded, letting a smirk slip through his imperious facade.
"You are far too generous a soul, Solaire." He let out a sigh.
"Now, shall we see what 'grand hall' or 'timeless' wonder awaits us next?""Yes, of course. I look forward to the Timeless Grand Library Hall" Leon joked. His expression turned back to his more chipper self as he enjoyed the tour.