No, actually I was going to message you with the same. It hadn't honestly occurred to me that the situation might upset you, and it was stupid to be so careless. So I'm the one owing an apology, and I'm sorry.
[As promised, August arrives with...a lot of food, actually, because the man has no chill when it comes to the Villareal Cure-All. So hopefully Waver's okay with Swedish meatballs, three kinds of soup, chili, some kind of herb and cheese bread, tamales Cat insisted on sending, and Gatorade.
The last one is mostly in case of dehydration, he'll admit. But knock knock, Waver.]
[In the midst of disappearances occurring again, as well as Takame not having the means to run in and help, he needed to see who was accounted for. On the 5th, Waver will receive a message.]
Have you taken notice of the disappearances?
[When the response didn't come within a reasonable amount of time, he sent another one.]
Waver?
[And another, less delayed.]
Waver, please answer if you can. Are you alright?
[Takame was never a man to interrupt more than needed. That he messaged not just twice but thrice spoke volumes to his concern. Then on the 6th the message about the Constant from Zodiac came. And with it frustration that Takame could do nothing more than wait.]
[Waver was better at questioning than Takame. He'd allow the questions to come from others. But even for a man like him who held back everything, there was a breaking point. One he didn't want to show in front of Yusuke or his fellow Warriors of Light.
But given what Waver knew about him, that's who he went to. The fact he said anything at all signaled how livid Takame was.]
[Jusis has picked out all of the volunteers at this point, and he's looked up when Waver's office hours are. So, he drops by Kaisou U when the man isn't teaching his class. He strolls up to Waver's office and knocks on the door to announce himself.]
Professor Velvet? I'm here to talk to you about an assignment.
[Anyone that tries to call Waver after Jun's post or happens to own a Midnight Channel TV on a rainy night...gets only static.]
[At first.]
[If viewed on Libra, the username silverrose flickered in a strange graphical glitch--looking for just a moment like macanluin before changing back to normal.]
[While the image that followed was dark and difficult to make out clearly, it looked like Waver himself was sitting behind a desk wearing white gloves and something high-collared in dark blue. Black hair was left loose around his shoulders and there was no sign of his sunglasses, the latter only serving to highlight the glowing yellow color to his eyes. If one were to squint, the room resembled an academic office in disrepair; the wall behind him cracked by invasive thorny brambles growing through it as something flowed from the broken structure in thin rivulets.]
My sincerest apologies--I'm afraid Waver Velvet is no longer reachable, and Lord El-Melloi's office hours have ended for the day. [In a voice like poisoned honey, he left out 'the second' without even blinking.] If you would like some extracurricular instruction, I believe we can make some arrangements. Or...perhaps you're yet another seeking the prestige of killing an archmage unsuited to his seat? Another assassin looking to claim the price on a Lord born worthless?
[He smiled with absolutely no emotion behind it; the expression of something no longer human, and in the barely lit room it was just barely possible to make out the edge of a shadowy and indistinct figure standing at his side.]
Hold nothing back. Come show me your true potential, and I will teach you how mages kill one another.
[Folded neatly in front of him, from beneath white gloves was the faintest hint of a crimson glow on his right hand.]
The Knights of Fianna meet all challenges without exception.
[Wherever Waver might be staying, he'll get a knock on the door. Outside stands a man in dark clothing and a hat. With him, he's carrying a small suitcase.
He fully intends to stand out there as long as it takes to get someone to answer the door]
[Waver answered the door with an aura of being on his Very Last Nerve For Real This Time...and then almost immediately defused the ticking time bomb on seeing who it was.]
[Fortunately, Waver was an advocate for mundane uses of magecraft; the click of a lock was followed by a flick of glowing wire that retreated once it pulled the door open. It was pretty useful to be able to reach that far rather than walk across the room.]
Come on in, it's fine. [Wire coiling back around his arm, Waver himself was sitting on the couch looking thoroughly worn out and pulling his hair back up into a ponytail in an attempt to look halfway presentable.]
[Save for a very brief correspondence the same day they got out, Takame had largely given Waver some space to recover from the incident. The Professor didn't seem like the type of man to like loads of unexpected messages or company within a short period and Takame would respect that.
Still, he was on edge the entire time he didn't hear much back. He could only pray whatever Waver experienced wasn't what he did. He hoped a week's time was long enough to reach out again, but considering text was difficult one handed he opted to speak.]
[Waver himself was sitting on the couch--on which were several molted phoenix feathers--with his head in his hands and the slightest traces of sparks flickering around him. He had probably transformed at least twice by now from stress alone, judging by the feathers.]
I got this message from Jusis last night about a suspicious person. Since I'm pretty sure one of the people mentioned is a student of yours, I thought it'd be right to let you know:
[Diarmuid had entered Kaisou right in the midst of a delicate situation, but the air around the city was becoming much calmer. This was what it was like as normal, when the dangers to its supernaturally aware residents weren't as prominent or severe. The feeling of being able to breathe.
A sense of security that a Knight like him fought for, though recalling his moral code made something tug at his heart that hadn't left him since rescuing Rose.
While the very thought of questioning that code made him feel ill.
Every so often he'd still run a few patrols for suspicious figures, stragglers and the like, usually at night. He'd been back from one such patrol for a while, well into the late night hours to see a certain someone still up and about.]
[Waver glanced up from where he was sitting at the table, in comfortably loose clothing with his hair tied into a messy and loose braid to keep it under control. The familiar organized chaos of textbooks and papers around him, and Moralltach snoring slightly on the couch a short distance away as company. Rebalancing chemical equations for his preferred method of fighting, working out his next several classes at Cygnus, any number of studies of any number of things that Waver felt demanded his attention--working late into the night was not uncommon. Neither was waking up during the night and deciding to focus his mind elsewhere.]
Sure I am. Is everything okay out there? [He looked back to what he was doing, currently some arcane chemistry with notes written in a neat and even script.]
[Which he of course did, shortly after class carrying a case of god only knew what as usual. Vials, reagents, copious amount of notes--nerd shit, in other words.]
Afternoon. Everything going well, or are we already bankrupt?
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