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"Almost a magic of its own," Sylvain joked.
He shot a glare back at Shay, but didn't say anything. He didn't feel like it was necessary when his giant wolf familiar was right there to protect him if it came to it.
"Risa Aegir," the girl answered, almost equally as cold as Kikiro, "The pleasure's all mine."
She turned away and went back to reading.
Archer’s posture changed to a more defensive one, his hand falling to his side slowly. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, covering up his bottled feelings. He wasn’t good at sharing them, and he especially didn’t want to talk about it with Jasper present. He hoped that Eric couldn’t see through his lie. It had worked with his family, so Archer hoped it’d work at school too. You’re going to have to talk to someone eventually, Bellamy sighed. Otherwise you’ll end up letting your emotions out in less healthy ways. Archer knew this but always refused to think about it.
Olive sniffed, seeing Kikiro’s reaction. “Yes, a pleasure,” she repeated, clearly not pleased in the least. Even Prince looked a bit stuffy as he seemed to regard the street rats with disdain.
Eric looked at him for a few more seconds. From what he knew, whenever someone used the word "fine", it meant the exact opposite. However, they didn't know each other that well, and he wasn't going to push it.
"Some other time, then" he said softly, redirecting his attention to his grimoire.
Archer nodded. “Mhm,” he muttered, pulling out a worn paperback book from a suitcase to read. It wasn’t magical at all, nor did it have anything to do with magic. Rather it was one of his favorite novels that he had read dozens of times. It always made him feel better. He hoped that one day he would be able to adequately express his feelings without feeling like a weirdo, but clearly today was not that day.
(archer is big mood)
"Gimme a moment," Eric said, reaching for a vial of salt. He wet his finger with some water, then dipped it in salt and briefly touched the four pillars, at one point leaning over Archer to do it. He shrank back awkwardly, then slapped the mattress shortly.
"Angustos sonor," he prompted. A transparent wall rippled through the air, separating them from the others. He leaned back. "Aight, now they can't hear us talk."
Archer raised an eyebrow. “Uh, thanks?” he said, clearly unsure how to react. “Wait, you want to talk feelings, don’t you?” He sighed. Just talk to him like a normal person, Bellamy cawed. Archer glanced at his familiar. Bellamy can you shut up for five minutes? he asked, annoyed. Bellamy shuffled, ruffling his feathers, but not talking either.
Eric blinked, wetting his lips. "I. Uh. What?" Wait, not that kind of feelings. "Wh- uh, no, no, I was gonna let you be. Uh, I just thought you'd like it more if creepy boy over there couldn't hear us."
“Oh, right, sorry,” Archer apologized quickly. “Never mind. Thanks.” He blushed again and went back to reading. Wow great advice, Bellamy, he said to his familiar sarcastically. Look how that worked out.
"I just, uh.." Eric peered over the edge of the cover. "What're you reading? It doesn't seem to be magical."
As he spoke, Navy perched on his knee and pecked curiously at the book. He gently pushed her beak away. "Don't be rude," he murmured.
“Oh, this, no it’s not,” Archer answered. “It’s just a regular book. It’s about superheroes. Yeah, I’m a nerd. Don’t spread it around.” He was only half-joking, but he it made him feel slightly more at ease.
Eric smiled delightedly. "Oh, cool! I don't really read that much, honestly, but I might know it. What's it called?" His whole life had revolved around magic. Superheroes weren't really on his radar, but he found the concept interesting.
“It’s called Renegades,” he explained, a little shy to be sharing something he liked this much. “It’s cool. You can borrow it, if you want.” Funny how he trusted one of his favorite books to his friend before any of his feelings. Whatever.
Eric's smile widened, lips parting over his teeth, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Thanks," he said, looking down at his grimoire in an attempt to seem less excited. He waited until his smile faded before speaking. "Uh, I'm mostly more interested in music and stuff."
“Really? What kind?” Archer asked, fascinated. He liked music, but couldn’t sing or play any instruments, and wasn’t obsessed or anything. He did, however, love art.
"I mean, I play a little guitar. I'm not very good. I really like current rock music, like Grandson. I don't know if you know him." His body language shifted into something boxier, more closed off, his voice firm and neutral. It flustered him to talk about things he liked, but he felt like it would make Archer more comfortable if he offered something in return.
“That’s really cool,” Archer replied, his eyes lighting up. He looked slightly more relaxed, though his posture was still a bit formal and nervous. “Maybe sometime I could listen to you play? If you want, I mean.” He paused for a moment. “I like art too,” he offered. This was the most talking he had done at one time in at least a week.
Play? He laughed nervously. He was sure he was red, although he couldn't feel it. "Art? Like sigils, or stuff that's more like, um, portraits?"
(they're both so awkward but they're both trying so hard this is hilarious)
(and so relatable lol)
“Well, I like painting scenery, but I draw portraits too,” he said. “I can draw some sigils, but they’re not my main thing. It was a good—thing to do…” He laughed awkwardly, realizing he almost spilled about his whole situation with his parents and him only knowing bits of magic from having to hide it for years. “Anyway, I brought like five sketchbooks if you wanna see…”
(ikr)
Eric raised his eyebrows. "You'd wanna show me? Yeah, alright." He was still thinking about what Archer had almost said, about sigils being good for…something. Had Archer gone through a time when sigils brought him comfort, perhaps?
Archer reached excitedly into the nearest suitcase of his and brought out a sketchbook that looked almost ready to fall apart. He flipped through it slowly, showing Eric the sketches and charcoal drawings and paintings inside it. Those sketchbooks were his whole world almost. It was strange to let this boy, who Archer didn’t know especially well, see them. But he was bursting with the desire to show someone.
Eric took his time with each of them, studying them for any hidden meaning. He didn't know much about art, but he could tell the care put into them.
"This is….really good," he said eventually, looking up at Archer. "You've really- you're really talented."
He leaned back, and Navy flapped her wings briefly at the book.
Archer blushed. “No, I’m not,” he brushed off the compliment. “But thanks anyway. These are some of the most important things to me. Sharing them with someone else is weird for me, to be honest. But there’s a lot to get used to here, isn’t there?” He chuckled softly.
(gtg for the night)
(me too sometime soon, gnight!)
Eric smiled. "Yeah, you're right. We're sure gonna have some stuff to deal with this year. It's not gonna be fun." He wet his lips. "Thanks for showing me."
Aster tried not to let the other girls dissent get her down. She had been warned that this school would be tough. She sat down on her bed and patted it, motioning for Kikiro to sit down. Cagney slithered around the room, checking out the space. "Well, I'm really good at summonings and portals. Anything that requires you to read stuff from an old book." She shrugged. "I tend to put my own spin on those types of things. Also." Her eyes lit up. "I've been dabbling in shapeshifting. I've already basically mastered changing my eye color." She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a mirror. "Watch." She stared at herself in the mirror, muttering to herself. Her one blue eye shifted, changing ever so slightly until it was brown. "Ta-da!"
Lander slashed a spell in the air and flicked his wrist. It glowed in the air and flew toward the window, opening them up. "There." He looked at his roommates and wrinkled his nose. "That should clear out the smell."
(lander's a dick isnt he)
Jasper tilted his chin up and stared at the two rats as they talked soundlessly. Maybe they were plotting to break his legs while he slept or something. He grinned inwardly.
He had plans of his own.
He copied a sigil from his grimoire on parchment paper, careful not to mess up the lines, then crumpled it up and bit his lip sharply, channeling the pain to charge the sigil. He put it in a sachet, then put cayenne pepper on top, along with a few other herbs and a drop of his own blood. He put the sachet on the ground, then closed his eyes and pushed it with his energy. It levitated about an inch above the ground and settled between the wood boards that held Eric's mattress.
He let his energy dissipate and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The sachet would curse Eric to have night terrors, negative energy, and terrible luck.
This was old magic. No measly jar spell would protect him against that.
Kikiro moved over from her bed to the other girl's after only a moments hesitation. She watched Aster with rapt attention, nodding along as the other girl explained her specialties. "Perhaps you can exchange ideas regarding summoning?" Calcifer asked, blinking open a single yellow eye at them. "Good idea. She did express interest in the dragons." But Kikiro's thoughts derailed instantly as she saw Aster's eye change. "Wow!" For once she didn't have to struggle with the emotion of surprise. "That will come in handy once you master it completely." Even Calcifer was impressed.
Shay snickered, casting a few of his own spells to change the look of his section of the room to his liking. The only thing he was sure to do was light a single large green candle on the self above his bed. He drew a quick sigil over it before flopping down onto the plush covered mattress.
(okay i have to go for the night too)
(okay so they're gna go to sleep now?)