They usually weren’t quite so realistic-looking, often more semi-corporeal and elemental in nature, but Kieran was clearly a man with an eye for detail. That sort of thing took a great deal of power and finesse, though… I could practically taste the aether in the air when the raven returned.
There’s a chance that I looked up your aetheric signature in the Archives. Wanna go on an adventure?
Gods, the audacity of this man. At least that saved me the trouble of seeking him out for lunch, though. It would seem that the interest was mutual… though that hardly excused the literal crime of pulling up private information from my files in the Archives. Rolling my eyes, I tore off another scrap of parchment to send my reply.
That seems like a gross misuse of administrative power, Captain. And as exciting as that sounds, I have class soon.
Poof.The mail sprite was back within moments, as if he was waiting on my replies with bated breath.
Skip. I’ll make it worth your while.
I bit my lip, praying to the Source that I wasn’t blushing at his phrasing. That damned man had a way of making even the most perfectly mundane sentence sound intimate.
Aren’t you supposed to be some sort of authority figure around here? Should you really be the one to suggest that I start breaking the rules and blowing off my education?
Five or ten minutes must have passed before I received a response. I couldn’t help but fidget in anticipation, paying very little attention to the notes I was skimming. He had spoiled me with such quick responses earlier, and I hated how eager I already was to hear back.
Breaking the rules can be fun every now & again.
Seriously? He made me wait that long for yet another vague one-liner? I swore under my breath and attempted to shake off his idle distractions. I had work to do, and sure, maybe I was already ahead in this course, but that was no reason to skip my lectures on the whims of a handsome stranger.
“Shoo,” I murmured to the mail sprite, flicking my hand through its tiny, false raven effigy with a flicker of Light, causing it to dissipate back into Shadow.
“Now that was just rude,” a low, velvety voice murmured from the stacks beside me. Lo and behold, the aforementioned handsome stranger was slinking towards me with a feline sort of grace and a cocksure grin.
“Besides,” he continued. “Something tells me that you don’t always follow the rules, now do you, Little Conduit?”
I gave him a withering look as I glanced up from my notes. Regardless of our prior encounter in the jail cell, he had no idea how accurate that statement was.
“Yeah, didn’t think so,” Kieran said, reading my expression for what it actually was. Interest. “So… How about a field trip?”
“You’re a menace,” I groaned, silently cursing the Fates. I didn’t have the willpower to resist this manin person.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You take everything as a compliment, you cocky bastard.”
His answering grin was admittedly infectious.
“Fine,” I conceded. One missed lecture wasn’t going to kill me. “Where are we going?”
“A museum,” Kieran replied simply.
You’ve gotta be kidding me.
“Seriously, Vistarii? Your idea of rebellion is to have me skip class… to go to amuseum?”
Truth be told, I was delighted. I loved museums. I loved the study of history and arts and all the stories one could unravel from within the archives. But the fact that this was his idea of an adventure as well?Thiswas how he wanted to spend his time off? That’s what caught me off guard.
“It’s a quiet sort of rebellion, I will admit,” he mused, tapping his chin.
I just stared at him incredulously for a moment.
“Just trust me on this one, Little Conduit. Allow me to be your tour guide for the day—I have a feeling you’ll like what I have to show you.”
I had a feeling I’d like damn near anything this man had to show me.
Fucking Fates, Arken. Get it together.