THE GREAT WIZARD

[ ♱ ]      Defensiveness rises at the insinuation against her work ethic, making her speak without thinking as her gaze jerks up to him, brows furrowed in displeasure.            “No, I– that is, I am, it’s just last night I–!” Halting herself (he was there for a good portion of it, after all) she feels herself go pink again, lifting her folders to duck her face behind with a sputter. It takes her a moment (and a few deep breaths) to calm herself, but once she feels ready, she levels her gaze at him, slightly narrowed, and clears her throat. “I… what I mean is, I had every intention of showin’ up. This wasn’t exactly an easy job t’ land, ya know. I was just… delayed.”            It really hadn’t been an easy job to get, and if it weren’t for the fact of how much effort she’d put into getting it, she’d have turned on her heel and walked out the instant she realized the mess she’d gotten herself into. And it was a mess, no doubt about it, because even if she knows better, it’s hard not to think about what’s already happened when the other person doesn’t seem to want to. At all.             The very opposite, in fact. 

          “That isn’t… ya can’t make jokes like that, Sir!” Though her gaze is steady, her voice is not, the last words not quite as firm as she’d like. Leaning backward a bit as if that will help with the reminders of the night before that his proximity is inducing, she presses a hand out against his chest and looks away. “It’s not professional in th’ slightest, an’ if anyone finds out about it–!” Even knowledge of the night before might be enough to get the both of them in serious trouble, even if they hadn’t been aware of their situation. 

She seemed rather worried about this whole situation. He wasn’t entirely sure why. While it could get them both in quite a bit of trouble, it wasn’t as though he was going to use it against her or anything. It wasn’t the type of person he was! All he wanted to do was spread knowledge among the youths of tomorrow and, well, have fun. She’d provided him with a great deal of fun the night before! He certainly wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to do it again, either. Though the way she was looking at him didn’t seem as fond as the way he was looking at her.

“Come now, you’re taking me far too seriously. You can be a little bit late and I won’t mind at all. I promise. I won’t even tattle on you.” While Merlin was mischievous, he wasn’t exactly a stickler for the rules, much to the chagrin of the Dean. He could recall the countless scoldings he’d received in the short time he’d been a professor here. He could also recall the countless times that his natural charisma got him out of being scolded too harshly or worse, punished for such actions!

“Jokes...?” He blinked a few times before letting out a soft laugh, shaking his head. “Ah, you thought I was joking about that? I wasn’t! Besides, it’s not as though anyone has to know about last night.” He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, settling back into his chair and brushing his fingers through snow white locks of hair.

[ ♱ ]       The night before is a blurry portrait painted in broad strokes of shimmering rows of shots, a patina of bright lights and dark corners; flashes of neon behind her eyelids and the burn of alcohol in her throat. Waking is, thankfully, less of a chore than she’d anticipated– which is lucky, given that she has a lot to prepare for. A note on her bedside (a scribbled phone number with a smiley face scribbled beside it) reminds her that she hadn’t gone to bed alone, but she really has very little time to worry about where her previous bedmate has gone when she’s on the verge of being late for her first meeting with the professor she’s been assigned to.            Shower, clothes, a quick bite to eat and she’s on her way, stumbling into the appropriate office with seven minutes to spare thanks to the ability to run in heels.           “Good mornin’…!” Greetings first, bright and chipper despite being slightly out of breath, and she turns from shutting the door behind her, one hand already extended. “Nice t’ meet yo– oh. Oh no.”            Smile dropping from her face in a combination of mortification and abject horror, she watches the young man in front of her and resists the urge to duck behind the folders she’s holding in her other hand, feeling the heat of embarrassment creeping up her neck.            Before her, looking more and more pleased by the second, is the man that had been missing from her bed this morning. She can’t help but wonder to herself, as she stares in horror, what she’s done in this life or a previous one to deserve this. A sputter of sound, soft and nervous, and she pretends she can’t feel the heat creeping into the cheeks as she drops her eyes to look anywhere but at him.  

          “Please tell me this is a real bad dream–” 

The night before had been one of many enjoyable events. One after the other...after the other. And, well, he certainly hadn’t passed up the chance to enjoy her company as much as possible. Truly, he would have loved to see her wake up in the morning or even to wake her up with something nice like breakfast, despite the fact that such a thing was typically seen as strange. However, sleep had come to him rather well in the folds of the woman’s sheets and he’d awakened, nearly late for his first class. Naturally, he left a small note on her nightstand with a smiley face next to it. At least that might be something she could look forward to!

When she came into his classroom it was a pleasant surprise to find that she wasn’t exactly a student but...his new assistant. His eyebrows rose in surprise after a moment before he let his lips curve into a pleased smile. Naturally, he found the whole thing rather endearing and funny in its own way. Oh, fate worked in such mysterious ways.

“So nice of you to join me, Miss Nehra. I was beginning to think you held no interest in being my assistant. I’m glad to see that’s not the case!” He said. Were it possible to conjure sparkles from speech, he just might have been able to do so. But, being an ordinary professor, albeit a rather devilishly handsome one, he couldn’t do such.

The day had been a long, arduous one for the wizard. Things weren’t quite going as he’d liked, as much as he’d hated to admit it. When that happened, he had a tendency to become a bit of a child when it came to not getting what he wanted. Which was quite often, despite popular opinion. Naturally, what he wanted was the woman who’d become his Master but he couldn’t necessarily have her.

It was his own fault, he supposed. He could be a bit needy when it came to her. After all, he’d never quite met a woman like her so it was only natural that he want her. A small part of him, deep down, hadn’t even cared about that craving deep within himself. That craving that was just a part of his species. He’d grown attached to her rather quickly in a way that he didn’t want to admit. He only wished that he hadn’t begun to feel those feelings that he felt deep within himself. That his flirting didn’t feel like some desperate attempt to get her attention and affection.

It was why he had been going through a book. No particular book itself but one that might be able to thoroughly distract him. That heavy sighing being such an action failing miserably, as it wasn’t detracting from his thoughts at all. However, when the box collides with his lap, he blinked softly, glancing down at it then up at her. Examining the box for a moment, he snaps the book shut, allowing a rather smile to cross over his features.

“Master...” His voice was soft as he set the book to one side. Slowly, threads of magic swirled around his fingertips before he tapped the curve of his staff. A light slithered down through the old wooden staff and into the floor. For a moment, the entirety of the room was bathed in light...and then there were flowers everywhere. Bright purple and red flowers seeming to sprout from every surface in the room. Naturally, they would be dispersed after some time but they could certainly be plucked if she so wanted them.

For a moment, it almost looked like Avalon within her living room. The image of bright blue skies taking place of her ceilings. She’d asked about Avalon and he’d given her some information about it. Described it to her but he couldn’t take her there. The air was far too full of mana...and it would certainly overload her. But this illusion was crafted from his own memories so it was about as close as he could bring her to it. A massive tower stood in the distance but the space felt as pleasant as could be. A cool breeze drifted past, ruffling their hair for a moment and blowing a few flower heads through the air and with it, seemingly carrying him toward her.

[ ♱ ]      It wasn’t right to pretend, upon having received her Servant’s name, that she hadn’t been excited about the prospect of having someone as powerful as this particular magus on her side. It quickly gave way to a sense of trepidation, however, as she spent more and more time with her Servant. It wasn’t as if Merlin was a fool (though he had a grand time, always, pretending to be one) but rather that despite knowing better, the choices he made were hardly the ones she would have expected– in other words, the reasonable ones.            Instead, down to the minutiae, he was unpredictable and irresponsible– and, it seemed, bent on trying to seduce her.           ‘Bent’ was perhaps not the right word– he seemed to take it as a foregone conclusion that she would, eventually, submit for his charms. Whether it was something he’d foreseen or something he was merely using to toy with her remained to be seen, but either way, she didn’t take kindly to his certainty over it. It didn’t help at all, of course, that the nature of his being there was highly irregular, and so his constant incarnation was something she’d agreed to help with the upkeep of, when it was necessary– and as much as she loved reading, and could appreciate the Caster wanting to get around to it now that he could, he was hardly doing them any favors.           “Whatever kinda gals you’ve had an easy time gettin’ in your bed before, trust me they ain’t got nothin’ on me, starshine,” comes the detached rebuttal, though there’s no denying the air of superiority that accompanies it. “I’ve prob’ly got more willpower in one hand hand than all’a them combined, in any case.” 

          Distractedly, she watches the books settle themselves into place, thinking about how much easier it would make her life to be able to do that, only to snap back to the present at his cheery ‘offer’.           “I ain’t ten, I don’t need t’ be tucked in, Caster,” is the easy reprimand, arms stretching overhead. “But if y’ wanna help me sleep, I ain’t averse t’ stories.” Or rather, she wouldn’t be, so long as she could use them  glean some manner of understanding of magic from it. Even if she wasn’t exactly a magus, it couldn’t hurt to understand the things she sought to stop, now could it? 

“Ah, there’s no doubt in my mind. You’re a very strong-willed and independent woman. Perhaps that’s why I’m so taken with you!” He beamed at her.

It wasn’t the fact that he wanted what he couldn’t have. Perhaps that was part of it but it wasn’t the entirety of it. Maybe a small portion at most. He wanted nothing more than to ensure that his Master was happy, that was all! He figured that he could allow her to enjoy his company as much as possible...even if it meant venting those little frustrations of hers. Granted, she seemed keen on making sure nothing ever happened between them. She didn’t even appear to like him! But if it bothered the magus, it didn’t show.

Then again, he was good at hiding those kinds of feelings behind a honey sweet smile.

      “Sorry, what was that y’ sassy lil’ shit?”

      “Caster, I’m bout t’ have a boot with your name on it.”

      “Boy you jus’ hush–!”

avalonprisoner replied to your post:

oh. OH.

      Thank you, thank you, i’m here all evening–

     “Let them fight, then, if they’re going to be that childish. It’s      amusing to watch, anyway.”

     “Such a backhanded compliment… If it sounded genuine, I would      be blushing right about now.”

Wolves. Vicious ones, at that. He wasn’t sure why they were so vicious! It was rather unsettling, really, as regular wolves weren’t quite like this. But it was obvious that these were no ordinary wolves! Merlin gave a great wave of his staff, muttering something from his breath. For a moment, light rose from the end of his staff as though threatening to allow a stream of magical orbs to shoot out and subdue the wolves. The canines seemed hesitant when they saw the faint trail of light...only to realize that nothing would come of it. The snapping and gnashing of teeth, angry growls rolling from their throats like thunder.

“Ah...of course. I suppose this is where my tale ends...! Oh, oh! You there, miss! Would you be willing to take care of these beasts for me? I’ll reward you handsomely if you do!” Not that he had anything in particular to reward her with...but he would think of that when the time came.

“That was scary! I thank you kindly for your assistance in the matter. I have no idea why those men wanted to rob me, I’ve nothing of value!”

“Excuse me, miss. Might I ask you a simple question? Are you good with animals? As I seem to find myself in quite the predicament.”

He’d taken to Sector Six quite easily, finding it to be a great deal more serene and, at the very least, less polluted than the rest of the city because of the forest. The trees and the like were a nice touch to everything though his predicament was something else entirely! Gathered about his feet, plucking gently at the edges of his white robes, were a group of small ducklings, yellow feathers fluffed up and beaks parting occasionally to emit soft little chirps.

“Ah. You must not know who I am...”

His lips curved into a gentle smile, despite the harsh words uttered in his direction. The fact of the matter was that he certainly wasn’t weak. Perhaps that was the reason the words had come flowing from his lips. He was well-known throughout history as the one who helped King Arthur rise to the crown and helped meet so many challenges. Yes, perhaps he wasn’t the best at fighting. Yes, perhaps he even disliked fighting. But he hardly saw how that was weak.

Weakness stemmed from being unable to do something because you lack the strength. Though he supposed this could be said about both mental, spiritual, and emotional issues as well. While not terribly strong physically, he excelled a great deal at everything else. Except for...well... he typically did have trouble conveying emotions. Though he supposed he could chalk that up to not being entirely human, either. Not to mention being locked away in a tower for a millennia and a half.

“Or perhaps it’s just the opposite and you know me quite well.”

He certainly had to admit that he wasn’t good at expressing his emotions. He hadn’t the strength to tell Arturia about her impending death. He hadn’t the strength to tell her that Mordred would be waiting to ambush her. He had seen it all with his own eyes. He could have warned her. But just what would that have changed? What future would it hold for the rest of the world if he had done so? How would it have changed Arturia’s life and how would it have changed Britain?

As much as he would have liked for her to live... he simply couldn’t risk the rest of the world. And she had suffered through so much pain and sorrow because of it. She’d allowed herself to get summoned by the Grail, placed within that terrible war until she could find peace. A peace which she had, indeed, achieved...but at great cost.