alittlemirror | wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure

wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure

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."

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His power continues to slash and churn, like the sea just before a storm, but then the next memory flows into his head and he remembers just what he wants. With it comes a sense of calm.

He sees Professor Nebilim, now, returned to him after all his years of research. She smiles at him, forgiving.

Interesting, a voice says. Who? A sense of alarm twitches at the back of Jade's mind, but he doesn't pay it any heed, too busy drinking in the sight of Professor Nebilim's face. Without thinking about it, he releases his grip on reality, losing himself in his memories.

The woman is unrecognizable to him, but Heine almost flinches back all the same. Jade, as he's pulled in, pulls Heine in as well. He struggles for a moment, but then—Jade's reaction is so strong, Heine can't fight it completely.

Shit.

He can't call out to Jade. Instead he tries to push him somewhere else, to more recent memories, trying to bring him back.

He's carried along the tide of his memories, a passive spectator, unable to fight back. He wants to see his teacher again. Come back to me, she says, or is it Professor Eichel speaking?

But there's nothing he can do as the intruder in his mind forces him onwards, to less pleasant scenes. He's a puppet dancing to Professor Eichel's will now, and following his orders feels good, filling him with the same sense of warmth he gets when he sees Professor Nebilim.

And then there's Eichel on top of him, inside him... He remembers why he had been angry, now. Bad enough that Professor Eichel had bound him to his will. But he had twisted Professor Nebilim into a tool to use against him, and that's something Jade can't forgive.

The tide of memories slow, growing sharp and clear again as he and Professor Rammsteiner progress past the wall Professor Eichel had created. Jade remembers himself, now. He remembers what they've been trying to accomplish.

He looks away, breaking eye contact, carefully walling off his mind again. They've found what they needed to. There's no more need to have Professor Rammsteiner intruding where he shouldn't be.

Heine almost feels relief when they're away from Jade's memories of that woman (he'd heard something like Professor, and maybe a bit of her name), but they're not out yet. He keeps focus until they're back in the territory of what they're actually looking for.

So Professor Eichel had cursed Jade too. It doesn't make Heine feel any better, but at least they now know.

The connection breaks easily, and he looks away for a moment as well. Instinctively he wonders who that woman had been, and who she was to Jade, but he fails to ask.

Instead he tries to forget about it, like he always does.

Heine steps back, putting distance between them again. "Now you know, right?"

He puts his glasses back on, the movement a little less steady than it usually is.

"Now I know," he echoes, smoothing his expression back into impassivity. "That's one step closer to figuring out how to solve this, I suppose."

Professor Rammsteiner must have questions. Jade can't tell if he's refraining from asking them out of respect for his privacy, or because he simply doesn't care.

He doesn't ask. Instead, he says, "Do you think he did the same thing to you?"

Heine is about to turn away, discomfort obvious in the line of his shoulders; he doesn't like to be this close to someone.

"Maybe." He can't remember, of course. "Are you done?"

So much for impassivity. Jade is frowning again, feeling that old frustration rise in him once more. That's Professor Rammsteiner's reaction? Even after all they had discovered?

"No." His eyes narrow into a glare. "We're not finished here."

Should he do something about Professor Eichel? Yes. Of course. But if he purses the thought, all Heine can think of is the urge to rip and tear into him, to break bones and muscle. And he can't let those desires take him over again.

So he's trying not to think about it. When Jade pushes, Heine just looks at him.

"What?"

Jade looks back at him, his eyes cold. "You're really going to pretend nothing happened?" He demands.

It's strange to be the emotional one. But there's something about Professor Rammsteiner's behaviour that grates at him.

"I know things happened," Heine mutters. He isn't going to ignore them. It's just... he can't do anything right now without going too far and he knows it.

He's too tense, he realizes, and forces himself to relax his hands.

"And?" Most people call Jade cold, but he can't imagine being as cold as Professor Rammsteiner is, to see what is happening and simply turn away from it.

Is it really coldness, though? Or simply cowardice? Not that either option makes Professor Rammsteiner's actions any more acceptable.

"You're not going to do anything?"

Of course he isn't. Jade can see the way he's forcing himself to relax, actively trying to continue being passive.

The dog starts, Enough, and Heine feels the immediate rush when he listens even slightly to that voice.

He's right. You can take care of it. And it would be easy. Breaking a human body is easy, regardless of size, when he lets the dog free.

Already Heine's body is shifting forward, eyes half-alight with power. It takes more effort to shake it off, this time, but he manages with a small shudder and mutters, "Later."

"No." The word comes out firmly, even if there's something guarded in the way he's watching Professor Rammsteiner, now. He can't pinpoint what it is exactly, but it feels as if a switch had been flipped. Almost, he can hear that strange echo he had heard before...

The curse? Is it manifesting? Jade watches him carefully, torn between curiosity and caution.

Curiosity wins out.

"We should do something now. We should make some sort of plan, at least."

Do something. Bite him. Eat him. It'll be easy...

"No." Heine shuts that line of thought down, and tries to take a deep breath, but it comes in shallow. Maybe if he goes about it bit by bit, it won't be too much. After a moment he amends, "What kind of plan?"

He feels like he might have an idea of what's driving Professor Rammsteiner's erratic behaviour, but he feigns ignorance.

"Didn't you just say no?" He asks. "That's a quick change of heart, even from you."

"We're not doing anything right now." Find him. I can smell him, you know. "But if you have an idea, tell me."

It would be just a bit of what the dog wants to consume, and maybe it will only whet its appetite. Heine remembers to unclench his hands and stand up slightly straighter, but only after a moment.

Jade watches him closely, cataloguing his every move.

"We could bind him," he suggests. He doesn't want Eichel dead, he's too valuable a resource for that. "We could put him under our control."

Immediately, the idea rankles. Heine doesn't want control of anyone or anything but himself. Even if it's of someone like Professor Eichel, who's certainly better off under some kind of restraint, Heine... doesn't think it's a good idea. (And the dog agrees, which is concerning.)

"Isn't that what he did to you?" Heine keeps looking at Jade, then away. He's fidgety as usual—but perhaps less, as he holds himself purposefully still when he remembers to.

"Yes." There's a hint of impatience creeping into his voice again, an unspoken so what? Where Professor Rammsteiner's eyes keep darting away from his, Jade continues looking at him, steady.

"It's the only way. Unless you have other ideas?"

Right now? No, he doesn't have any ideas. His mind is too full with teeth.

"Are you going now?" He just needs some time. Heine inhales, too aware of the breath coming down his throat. The dog growls as he presses fingertips into his own thigh hard enough to bruise. He fucked you, fucked you up. You can take them both. But Jade—

His mouth is dry. Heine breathes in again and tells himself, Eichel. I'll take care of him.

It's enough to appease the curse, and Heine is able to focus on Jade again with less effort than before.

"Give it a day." That's all I need.

He studies Professor Rammsteiner for a long moment, until it seems as if he's about to drop the issue.

He doesn't, though, because he can never leave well enough alone even when he ought to. "Why?"

Just what is it that weighs down so heavily on Professor Rammsteiner?

We need to get to him before you do. No, he can't say that. Heine shrugs, an attempt at dismissal that's about halfway successful, since the movement is still too tight.

"He'll be expecting you today." Probably.

He lets out an irritated little noise. Does Professor Rammsteiner really think he's so gullible?

"There's more to it than that," he says, sounding all too sure of his claim.

Heine grunts, unamused, and walks towards the door to open it. He's not about to explain it to Jade, at least partially because he still isn't sure what he's going to do.

"Wait," he repeats. This time he lets the strength of the curse filter through into his voice, and he looks at Jade, steady and sure.

That's enough to give even Jade pause. Again, he feels the ghost of hands against his neck, tightening as he swallows.

"Fine," he says curtly. "I'll be back tomorrow morning."

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