wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure

[alittlemirror]

To say Jade is displeased would be an understatement. It's not that he cares about this detention tarnishing his record, no. He doesn't really care about his record. What he does care about is how it cuts into his studying time. He had just come across a particularly fascinating snippet on the nature of death and the soul...

(And besides, those Hufflepuffs had started it with their incessant chattering. They're like a less annoying version of Saphir, and nobody had ever really objected when he hexed Saphir. And it's not like he used a serious hex; he just sealed and removed their mouths. Easily reversible, if they knew what they were doing - and knew how to use nonverbal spells.

After all, what kind of first-year doesn't know how to use nonverbal spells?)

But someone had taken offense to his hex, and now he finds himself trudging to Professor Rammsteiner's office, growing increasingly irritated at the loss of his study time. From what he's heard of detentions, they usually entail doing useless, mundane tasks easily accomplished with a little creative wandwork. He's thought about ignoring Professor Rammsteiner's orders more than once, but he's also been told that it would just lead to more detentions and thus a bigger waste of time.

Oh well. He's here now. With one last irritated sigh, he raises his hand to the door and knocks.

"Professor Rammsteiner? This is Jade Curtiss."

Comments

[canicide]

Heine grunts in response, then lets his shirt fall back into place. When the hell could he have gotten this mark? The last time he'd been intimate with anyone had been... with Jade. In the week or so afterward, he hadn't really looked at his own body. But the mark is fresh, certainly not old enough to be from earlier than the last day or two.

He looks up. "Did you bite me?" he asks.

[aseptic]

Jade simply looks away, allowing that action to do the talking for him. Yes, he bit him. No, he doesn't want to talk about it. He can feel the ghostly sensation of pain at his neck again, a memory of that crushing force against his windpipe.

There's something not quite right about Professor Rammsteiner. Dark Magic, Professor Eichel had said, and Jade is beginning to see precisely what he means.

[canicide]

If Jade bit him, then why doesn't he remember? Heine rubs a hand over the marks again, frowning. But sleep's done wonders for his mood (if not his memory), and Heine doesn't snap instinctively.

"When?"

[aseptic]

"Isn't it obvious?" He asks, a hint of his usual scathing impatience returning, even if it's more subdued than usual. Glancing at Professor Rammsteiner out of the corner of his eye, Jade continues to keep one hand on his wand.

[canicide]

"...when you were drunk?" Heine can't think of any other reasons for why he'd fall asleep in his room and be so grouchy. He can't remember how much he'd had, either, but he's starting to recall that he'd been on his way to the kitchens after the ball.

So mistakes were probably made. He crosses his arms and ignores the dull ache in his back. For a moment he looks at Jade—and shivers, looking away. What the hell—for a second there he thought of Jade's face, twisted in pain. But he can't remember Jade ever making that expression before.

[aseptic]

He gives a slight shrug of his shoulders, refusing to confirm or deny what Professor Rammsteiner had said. He's not a good liar; he's too blunt to bother with that. So he simply tries to avoid the topic entirely.

Good thing Professor Rammsteiner provides him with something else to talk about. "What's with that look?" Jade demands.

[canicide]

Heine takes Jade's lack of response for embarrassment, over what seems to have been an awkward night. He doesn't think on it any further after the question, caught slightly off guard.

"Nothing." Which is at best, a lie. He rubs his forehead before sighing and peeling off his robe entirely. "I just thought—" —shit, he shouldn't bother talking about it. Heine glances at Jade only for a second this time.

"...I'm taking a shower. Don't you have anything to do?"

[aseptic]

Professor Rammsteiner is keeping something from him. Jade hates not knowing. He opens his mouth, ready to protest - but then caution wins out. It's probably best not to push things, or Professor Rammsteiner might start questioning the situation.

Mouth closing, Jade shakes his head. He gets off the bed, wincing again as he does. It feels like his legs are about to give out on him.

"Can I use your shower?" He asks, thinking about the tell-tale marks that litter his body. He doesn't really want to use the communal showers designated to students when he's in this state.

[canicide]

"Yeah." Heine doesn't mind. He stops in his tracks, mind going to possibilities of Jade being in the shower with him—and rejecting them. Instead he jerks his head at the door to his bathroom. "You can go first."

He also doesn't particularly want Jade to be left alone in his room without supervision. Since that time he'd broken in, Heine has taken to leaving at least a few locks in place on his more personal items.

[aseptic]

And, just like that, it seems like things are back to normal (or as normal as they come). Discreetly, Jade tucks his wand away again, taking a stiff step forwards, then another. The muscles of his thighs ache - he remembers, distantly, the feeling of Professor Rammsteiner's hands on him, forcing him to splay his legs open.

Jade, averts his gaze, swallowing. He can hear Professor Eichel's voice again: I could leave you with Heine, if you'd like..?

This is getting ridiculous. He hates that he's thinking like a hormone-addled teenager, and it's with that thought in mind that he shuffles off to the bathroom, resolutely refusing to look at Professor Rammsteiner.

[canicide]

Jade doesn't seem happy about it, but he's going, so Heine says nothing. While he's gone, Heine lies down on the bed and closes his eyes again. He dozes, and in that half-awake state he starts to remember... feeling good, weight lifted off his chest and warmth in his stomach. He'd felt that last night.

But then he'd also felt the risk of letting go, too late: the old, primal fear, the rage swallowing him up.

Heine wakes up with a slight start at the noise of Jade returning from the bathroom. Brushing the thoughts off, he gets up from the bed.

"You done?" He's not going to let Jade stay in his room while he's in the bathroom.

[aseptic]

"I'm done," he confirms. Professor Rammsteiner is eager to kick him out, isn't he? Jade can't blame him, for once - he'd like to put some distance between himself and the situation as well. He needs some time to cool off and catch up on his research. He's no less committed to his goals than before, but he has to admit, Professor Rammsteiner is surprisingly good at being distracting.

Adjusting his robes one last time, he leaves without another word. Social niceties had never really been a thing for either of them.