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Post by Veronique Poulain on Sept 17, 2009 21:11:22 GMT -5
(Cont'd from The Accident.) Veronique stepped onto the dais and crossed behind her desk, the slow clacking of her heels the only sound in the room. She rested her hands flat on the desk, her eyes searching the two boys in front of her.
"So," she drawled, towering over them. "So. What, do you believe, should be done about the two of you?"
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Post by ianharris on Sept 17, 2009 21:31:20 GMT -5
Ian was fixating his gaze on the corner of the desk when Vero spoke. He wasn't normally one to speak up, but in this case, he felt it was best that he talked a bit more than the boy.
"Don't be mad at me!" He squeaked. "It wasn't my fault, honest! I don't even know what happened!"
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Post by jonathanharris on Sept 17, 2009 21:41:19 GMT -5
The boy snorted. "Right. I doubt that." He jabbed a finger accusingly at Ian. "I think you know exactly what happened and don't want to admit it. You're scared to take responsibility for me! You created me. I'm YOUR problem!"
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Post by Veronique Poulain on Sept 20, 2009 16:23:23 GMT -5
Veronique took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose and pacing violently behind her desk.
Magic. Always with the bloody magic. Why in god's name had she ever agreed to found a school for these pains-in-the-ass? Vampires were bad enough, but... How the hell was she supposed to deal with this?
Veronique mashed down the button on the intercom and hissed into the mouthpiece, "Smoke, report to the Headmaster's office immediately!"
To hell with all this magic.
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Post by Smoke on Sept 20, 2009 16:34:30 GMT -5
The door opened somewhere between "ice" and "ediate", and the blue-haired professor strode in, looking concerned.
"This isn't about-" he noticed Ian and the other boy- "oh, hello there-" then looked back at Veronique. "Sorry. What's going on?"
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Post by Veronique Poulain on Sept 20, 2009 18:05:15 GMT -5
"About?" Veronique asked, eyebrows furrowing. "Is this about--" She glanced at the students and paused. "After they leave, we'll discuss the other matters at hand."
She turned back to the students and gestured at them. "This one fell out of thin air because this one," she spat, waving her hand at Ian, "did something irresponsible and reckless. Now, figure out what happened and send him back to wherever the hell he belongs, and get all these people out of my home! I'm through with this school! We're going back to France!"
Veronique swept out of her office through the back door, slamming things as she went.
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Post by Smoke on Sept 20, 2009 18:11:22 GMT -5
Smoke watched Veronique leave with an expression of bland acceptance. He stood there for a minute after the door slammed, then rolled his shoulders and turned back to the two boys.
"Well. Good afternoon, Ian, ah." He looked at the other boy. "And I don't think I've met you. What's going on?"
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Post by ianharris on Sept 20, 2009 19:51:10 GMT -5
Ian did not, for any reason, want the other boy explaining the situation. He had a feeling it would make him feel bad. So Ian quickly, and without looking at Smoke, explained the entire story, finishing up with "...and then we came here, and... uh... we're here."
He desperately hoped that the professor wouldn't do anything bad. The headmistress had made it sound too much like his fault, he thought, and it really wasn't his fault. It was an accident, and nobody seemed to understand that. The boy thought he did it intentionally, and the other students thought he actually had the ability to do that kind of stuff, which he didn't. For the first time, he wondered if it had something to do with the brush with Conall's mind, and he mentally cursed the vampire.
I hope you're rotting in hell, you sick bastard.
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Post by Smoke on Sept 20, 2009 20:16:42 GMT -5
Smoke crossed his arms and listened. Somewhere in the middle of Ian's story, he sat down. Lady Godiva could deal with them being in her office if they were still there when she came back.
"Mmmmhmm. Could you come over here for a moment?" He squinted briefly, then waved to the other boy to come stand beside him, away from Ian. They had so many threads alike... it would be easier to see which ones when they weren't sitting next to each other.
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Post by ianharris on Sept 20, 2009 20:24:37 GMT -5
Ian stood quickly, anxious to get away from the boy. He walked over and stood in front of Smoke, watching the assistant principal closely. Smoke hadn't expelled Ian yet, so that was a step in the right direction. But there were still plenty of ways this could go very badly for him.
"Where do you... uh... want me to stand?" He asked.
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Post by jonathanharris on Sept 20, 2009 20:28:15 GMT -5
As Ian moved to obey the assistant principle, the boy sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. He was a bit tired of these adults running around, trying to make him to do things. And frankly, he saw no point in doing anything this Smoke or whatever his name was asked. And he was more than happy to say so.
"Why?" He asked as soon as Ian had finished his question. "I can sit here all I want. I'm not your student. I don't even go to your school."
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Post by Smoke on Sept 20, 2009 20:43:34 GMT -5
Smoke nodded to Ian, then gave the strange boy an unfocused stare for a long moment. He made a small noise, then sighed deeply; the boy had no fate before very recently, and he looked at least as complex as a normal mortal. This was not going to be fun to untangle.
"I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. If you have anything you'd like to add I'd be more than happy to hear it- or if you need anything we're skipping over. Are you okay? Do you have a name?"
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Post by jonathanharris on Sept 20, 2009 20:58:48 GMT -5
The boy shrugged. "I don't know. He never gave me one." A thought suddenly crossed his mind, a rather nasty thought, but he acted on it anyway. Turning to Ian, he asked "What's your middle name?"
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Post by ianharris on Sept 20, 2009 20:59:22 GMT -5
Ian stared down at the boy, confused. "Um... it's... uh... Jonathan..."
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Post by jonathanharris on Sept 20, 2009 21:02:33 GMT -5
"Then I'll just go by Jonathan. Jonathan Harris." He added darkly. Getting no objection from Ian (who was probably too shocked to speak), the boy - Jonathan - turned back to face Smoke. "It's not that I need something. I just see no point in getting out of this chair. You do whatever weird, mystical shit you have to do, but I'm going to sit here and be comfortable."
Which was a lie, Jonathan mused to himself. The chair wasn't actually that comfortable. He was just in a very defiant mood.
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Post by Smoke on Sept 20, 2009 21:29:46 GMT -5
Smoke looked at Ian. "You can sit down if you want. Thanks."
"Well." He smiled a bit, turning back to Jonathan, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "This seems to be a very awkward situation for everyone, and I anticipate we're all going to be doing a lot of sitting down until- if- it's resolved. So if you'd like a drink of water in that time, please say so."
"I admit I can't really do much until you figure out what exactly you want done. I'd like to figure out how in the- blazes- this happened, but that perhaps should be shelved for the moment."
He leaned back in the chair and looked between the two boys. They were probably going to have to work this out in part themselves, whatever he did.
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Post by ianharris on Sept 20, 2009 22:37:09 GMT -5
Ian slowly returned to his seat, not looking at the boy. Or Jonathan, as he was called now. Ian hated the name, personally, but he realized it was fair. The boy had come from him, and his name should as well.
"I don't... um... know what else there is to do. I mean... uh... you can't really kick him out... well, you can... but... um... he can stay in my dorm room if he needs a place to sleep... and I... um... I mean, there's room for a cot, and he's got nowhere else to go..."
Ian felt Jonathan's eyes burning holes in his skull. Clearly the idea of living with Ian was not appealing to him. But what other choice did he have? And besides, Ian had been cursed with this burden... he might as well try to help his creation as best he could...
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Post by Smoke on Sept 20, 2009 22:41:26 GMT -5
"We've got plenty of rooms, plenty of food, and plenty of just about anything else here. That much won't be any trouble."
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Post by jonathanharris on Sept 20, 2009 22:59:06 GMT -5
Jonathan let out a little growl. Too little, too late, you bastard. He thought bitterly. Your fake compassion isn't fooling anyone. He leaned forward in his chair and looked straight at Smoke.
"So does this mean I'm staying here? Like, I'll have to be a student?"
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Post by Smoke on Sept 20, 2009 23:03:53 GMT -5
Smoke met Jonathan's gaze.
"I honestly don't care what you do. You're a complete unknown, and outside of basic human kindness, not my responsibility." He glanced at Ian. "Though given your complete lack of attachments and obvious grudge I would guess you're staying with Ian. If you'd like to do otherwise, we can let you leave the castle as early as first thing tomorrow."
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Post by jonathanharris on Sept 20, 2009 23:17:47 GMT -5
Jonathan lowered his gaze from Smoke. His cheeks flushed. Damn it... He hadn't been expecting the teacher to be so... forward. For a moment, he considered actually leaving the castle, and striking out on his own.
But then a better, much nastier idea popped into his head.
"No," He said matter-of-factly. "I think I'll stay. I can sleep in his room on a cot on the floor, and go to classes or something to pass the time. It's not like I have anywhere else to go."
Oh, I'm going to love this. Get ready, Ian. I'm going to make your life a living hell.
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Post by Smoke on Sept 20, 2009 23:27:01 GMT -5
"You're welcome to stay as long as you like. I'll be notifying the rest of the staff they might have a visitor at some point, and we can find you another bed and whatever else. If you want to actually take something for credit- I have no idea what you do and don't know- I'm sure we can work something out with regards to the part of the semester that's passed."
He nodded and was silent for a moment. "Well, outside of wanting to poke at Ian's head to see just what it was he did, is there anything else?"
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Post by jonathanharris on Sept 20, 2009 23:37:51 GMT -5
Jonathan shrugged. "Not really. Ian just needs to tell me where his room is, and I can go there later. Right now I feel like walking around outside. Unless, of course, you would like to lock me in a lab somewhere and study me?" He stood, brushing himself off. "I am a freak of magic, you know."
What he really wanted to do was get out of this castle and find out what fresh air felt like. And get away from Ian. Jonathan looked at Smoke, expecting to be told to sit back down and shut up.
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Post by Smoke on Sept 20, 2009 23:45:22 GMT -5
"A walk might be good for you," he said drily. Release aggression and get your mind on other things, for two. "For your own safety, don't pass the outer walls."
There was plenty he wanted to look at, granted, but very little of it necessitated Jonathan being anywhere nearby, even if he was that kind of person.
The thought of Mortale popped into his head and he made a note to lessen the probability of that... issue.
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Post by jonathanharris on Sept 20, 2009 23:54:06 GMT -5
Jonathan nodded. "Fine. Whatever. I won't run away. I'll stay here and behave myself, like a good boy." He crossed the room to the door, but stopped and turned. "I'll find out Ian's room number on my own, actually." He turned his attention. "See you later, then." He made a very rude hand gesture at Ian and headed out the door.
Yes, a walk would do him some good...
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