#apprentice x lucio

The world around them shifted - they no longer sat at Lucio's table, but stood in a blood red desert. The air was hot, bitterly dry, and Asra found himself gasping, bringing large gulps of acrid air into his lungs. The Devil's realm. The Magician stood beside him, and curled his hand around Asra's.

"Stay with me - The Devil would not dare harm me, but you?" The Magician sighed. "Well. You'll see."

Asra found himself pulled along - he wasn't sure what to expect, really, but is Saff was *here*... that didn't bode well. The stroll was long; longer, Asra suspected, than The Magician expected. They passed the same patch of dunes for a third time when the Fox growled, trapping Asra's hand in a death-grip.

"Gods damned… I'm here for a visit alone," he hissed into the empty space. "A trial for this magician."

" A trial, you say? Intriguing." The Devil's voice rang in Asra's head, different now from the one he was used to hearing during readings. This sounded more… more like…

The Devil appeared before them, draped in sheer, black silks that flared out around their legs in an ankle-length skirt. Their red eyes stared down at Asra with a spark of unbridled glee.

"S-Saff?" Asra felt his face go cold as the Devil grinned.

"Oh, this is delightful ," The Devil - Safflower - said, a grin ripping itself across their face. They hooked a finger under Asra's chin forcing him to meet their eyes. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you, little Asra? Not unlike my little magician, though he carries far more regrets." Asra swallowed; his fingers shook against the Magician's palm. Safflower released his face and stood - horns erupted from their temple adding a good half-foot to their height, with a smaller pair framing their face.

"What happened?"

The Devil barked a laugh. "Oh, if only I hadn't sent Lucio out on something important . He'd enjoy this."

Asra bristled. Lucio?

Safflower tsk ed. "This was my doing. My choice, Asra, and mine alone. It saved the realms, which I'm told was the point." They scoffed, rolling their eyes at the idea. An awkward silence fell upon the three before Safflower grinned and knelt to Asra's eye level. When he glared back at them, they laughed low and deep.

"Oh, that face. So determined ," Safflower said, tone suffused with condescension. "I was weak , too weak to protect any of you. Everyone was right to call me Fool. " They sneered and gestured to the world around them. "But look - the realms are stable and everyone lived. And yet those achievements go tragically underappreciated."

The Magician cleared his throat and Safflower turned their gaze to Asra's guide. They grinned before turning back to Asra.

"I hope you find everything to your liking," The Devil jeered before vanishing. Asra shuddered. " I hope you don't come to regret your choices, little Asra."

Visions flashed in Asra's mind - Lucio commanding armies of vicious demons, conquering nations under the flag of The Devil. Oh, they stayed in their realm but there was no question they leveraged every connection in their power to make things worse. Vesuvia was in ruins, and the token resistance was run by Julian, Asra, Muriel and the few allies they could find.

It was wretched, and yet Asra ached most for Safflower. There must have been no other choice. Still…

" Lucio? " He muttered, incredulous. The Magician shrugged.

"In this universe, Safflower tried everything to save the world, only to die in the process," he said. Asra blanched at the thought. "The only chance they had, the realms had, was to merge with the devil. Lucio was the only one who could go through with making that happen."

Asra scoffed. "Figures he'd be so short sighted," he said under his breath. Again, the Magician shrugged.

"It did save the world, in a sense," he said solemnly. "And somehow, they're still better than our Devil." Asra was sure he wasn't supposed to hear that, but he scowled anyway. The Magician raised an eyebrow. "Simply an observation. Now."

The Magician snapped and the world shifted once more, swirling around the two mages until they stood in a familiar forest. Or, sort of familiar - this was definitely the forest near Vesuvia but it was… warmer. More welcoming.

Asra let go of The Magician's hand and narrowed his eyes at him. "What," he demanded, "was that meant to tell me?"

The Magician blinked. "I told you," he said softly, "you and Saffron have walked many paths. That… is the end of one of them. If you go through with this deal, they could make choices that lead to… well. The destruction of what you know as Safflower. And Vesuvia."

Asra huffed, folding his arms in front of his chest and clawing at his forearms. His guide looked at him expectantly.

"If that… if that is what they chose, I…" Asra paused. The destruction of Vesuvia for one life? Still… that Saff was far from guaranteed. And if it truly was their decision, who was Asra to stand in their way. "I would still go through with it, even if we end up… there."

"Right, well, I want to show you another path before we shake on it," the Major Arcana said. "Come." He walked confidently through the forest, the trees bending away from the Magician as he moved. Asra hesitantly followed, taking note of the differences around him - no protective charms hung from the branches around them, despite being so near…

"Muriel!"

The Magician stopped at the edge of the clearing near Muriel's hut, holding up a hand in front of Asra. They weren't to interact with this universe, clearly. Asra's eyes settled on Safflower, standing in the doorway of Muriel's hut. They looked… well, alive. Their freckled, fawn-brown skin flushed a warm coral in the warm sun, their unnatural orange eyes bright with laughter. Saff was draped in a luxurious red shawl (definitely Nadia's doing) over his usual embroidered blue tunic.

Muriel broke through the trees opposite Asra and the Arcana. He looked… good . He was dressed - dressed! - in a clean linen shirt and brilliant, embroidered green jacket with colorful belts cinched at his waist. He carried a few rolled tapestries on his shoulder and a basket of baked goods from… from the market. In Vesuvia. Safflower smiled brightly, a heartening sight compared to the twisted glee of The Devil. Muriel smiled back. A warmth wormed its way into Asra's chest - his best friend and his apprentice were happy. Why was this part of the trial?

Muriel set the tapestries and basket of food down on a bench outside of the hut. (It looked… larger, now that Asra focused on it.) Saff held out their arms and Muriel gathered them up against his chest and squeezed.

"Missed you," Muriel murmured into Safflower's soft brown hair. Saff chuckled.

"Missed you, too," they said, smiling up at Muriel before leaning up and…

Oh.

The kiss is chaste and sweet and, for a moment, Asra felt light. He'd never imagined he'd see Muriel this happy. But when the Magician's curious eye landed on Asra, the witch felt something truly dark stirring in him.

Mine, it shrieked, and clutched at Asra's chest.

Safflower's expression shifted, and they looked toward the edge of the forest.

"What is it?" Muriel asked, his brow furrowed as he followed Safflower's sight line. He hand hovered over a quarterstaff strapped to his back. Saff sighed.

"It's nothing. I felt… I thought I felt Asra out there," they said. "But it's passed."

"I just saw Asra in town," Muriel grumbled, reluctantly leaving his quarterstaff at his back. "He's fine."

Safflower smiled. "Good. We should go see him later," they said with a firm nod. "Now, tell me about your visit south." They snagged the basket of baked goods and ushered Muriel inside, tapestries, quarterstaff, fine clothes and all, leaving their audience in the subtle silence of the forest.

Asra warred with himself. He was overjoyed; he felt like he was going to be violently ill. The person he loved most in this world and his only close friend were very much in love - he could feel it radiating through the forest around them. Muriel shared his home with them. And still there beat a darkness in his chest, it's rhythm of mine, mine, mine hissed between his ribs.

The Magician looked at Asra expectantly; they were sat once again at Lucio's table. Asra coughed and swallowed around his gross jealousy.

"What are the terms?" He asked, voice unwavering. The Magician smiled.

"To bring them back, I require half of your heart," he said plainly before glancing upwards for a moment, lost in thought. Asra could be patient, at least, he told himself he could. His bouncing leg said otherwise. "And your word they will be free to choose their own path."

Asra hummed, thinking of the black tendrils of jealousy that ripped into him. It was ugly, that envy, those possessive claws - was that what drove him to this? His desire to possess Saff?

No . Asra thought back to his conversation with Eyre, his convictions. He loved Safflower with his whole being - and he would accept how Safflower felt. About him and the others. They wouldn't be his Safflower if he forced them into a particular shape, just to suit his fancy. He would wrestle with his demons on his own, and he would win. Eventually.

Asra sighed and held out his hand. "You have a deal, Magician."