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Cassie folded her arms over her chest and snorted as the kid sputtered into infinity, debating internally for a moment if she should interrupt his speech and tell him that the vase was a replica and practically worthless. About halfway through his rapid-fire uestionaire, she decided that an alternative solution would be more fun. Things had been far more entertaining with Kon and Tim around, but the desire to make trouble was far too engrained in Cassieâs soul to disappear after a few weeks of company. âDude, Dianaâs gonna be so pissed. Do you know how old that is? Itâs an original Sophilos. Youâre just lucky it wasnât one filled with Patroclus and Achillesâ ashes. Imagine the cleanup.âÂ
She managed to keep her face blank for a few seconds of slow-motion panic before the grin won out and seeped across her lips. âKidding. Youâre not the first person to break something here, and you definitely wonât be the last.â Tilting her head to side, Cassie hummed and tapped her finger to her lips, âBut you might be the only one to do it on your first day. Color me impressed.â She sat down in one of the stupidly expensive, ergonomic swivel chair and leaned back so that she could prop her feet on top of the table because there werenât any adults around to glare at her. âYou canât find any of that on your little doohicky, Inspector Gadget? If thatâs from the tech wizards here, thereâs more on it than YouTube.âÂ
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Oh my god Achilles and Patroclus? Those dudes were old as hell. Were the ashes mixed together? That was weird, but at least it was romantic. Was that a conversation theyâd had? Like, hey, when we die, lets eternally mix ashes? He almost wanted to ask but he was too busy having a full brain meltdown over having destroyed an original Sophilos. That sounded important. Anything that had a name that included the phrase âoriginalâ was definitely important. âOh shit, alright, look, hereâs what I can do I can...like, color in the crack, or 3-D print a mold that will meld the crackâwhich is kind of funny phrasing if you think abouânope, no! Now is not the time for jokes now is the time for strategic problem solving andââÂ
Tch. Wow. âYou know what? You could have given me an honest-to-God heart attack Cassie and what then? Are you CPR certified?â He was sure she was, but the point needed to be made. His adrenaline had gone from a solid 20 to an 80 and was now slowly dropping back down as he casually set the vase back on the table. He didnât even remember picking it up again, but he must have in his swirl of Sophilos-panic. He took a breath and pretended to wipe his brow before he leaned against the doorframe. âWell, you know what I always say, when you get Spider-Man you get the very best. Iâm just trying to keep up with my expectations and hit a home run on the firsts. Iâm planning to be the first to accidentally set off the fire alarm on day one too, so be prepared for that.âÂ
His doohicky? Ah, yes! His doohicky. He hadnât even had the chance to look at it before heâd nearly dropped the vase and his sandwich. âRight, no, itâs just that I worry how you young people spend too much time absorbed in your technology and you never have enough face-to-face contact. Itâs unhealthy for a growing mind, you know.â He grinned, clearly teasing because if there was anyone who spent way too much time buried in tech it was him.Â











