The Summoner's Companion Chapter 3
Tavros soon adjusted to the rhythm of his new life. Aradia woke him a little before sunrise every morning. He had breakfast in the kitchens with her, usually with a book in hand. In the mornings he studied the basics, the beginner skills his father had taught him, learning to do them the way Dualscar wanted even if, as he sometimes found, Dualscar's methods were less effective. The best advice he'd received in that matter hadn't come from Dualscar, but from Eridan. He had been overcomplicating his sigils, building in too many redundancies out of fear of failure. With study he began to streamline his work and make it neater. Aradia had picked up more than a little general knowledge of magical practices, having grown up in this house surrounded by it. She would quiz Tavros while he ate and she scrubbed last night's dishes. If he didn't perform to her satisfaction, she would demand he help her with them, which he didn't mind so much, even if the other apprentices laughed about his dish pan hands later. All the studying in the world couldn't do much for his clumsiness, so chores continued to be a difficulty, unaided by the fact that Vriska never seemed to tire of sabotaging him. Kurloz did his fair share of sabotaging as well, but Tavros could never tell if it was intentional or not. The strange older boy just seemed to like hanging around Tavros, presumably amused by his fumbling. For all Tavros knew, the way he suddenly seemed to loom out of nowhere holding sharp objects just as Tavros was trying to focus or carry something delicate might just be a coincidence. He certainly never seemed to do anything overt to harm Tavros, though that might have only been out of deference to Eridan, who, despite his continuous insistence of the opposite, seemed to have decided Tavros was his friend. While Tavros and the other apprentices did chores, the Admiral's son would often lounge nearby, describing his problems to Tavros at length. Tavros rarely had to say anything in reply, which was how Eridan liked it. Though the other boy played it off, Tavros began to suspect that Eridan didn't like himself very much. Though he covered it with mountains of self-absorption and arrogance, at the end of all his rambling about his cornucopia of troubles, his general conclusion seemed to be that they were his own fault.
In the evenings Tavros would consume his dinner at high speed and bolt as soon as he'd finished, heading directly for the library, where he'd study through the rest of dinner and a few hours past bedtime. Being perpetually a few hours short of sleep might have contributed to his nervous clumsiness, but it was worth it to feel himself catching up to the other apprentices. The Admiral hadn't asked him to take part in another demonstration since that disastrous first day, but Tavros was confidant now that, when it happened, he'd be ready.
Meanwhile, the date when Dualscar would choose which apprentices joined him on the front lines drew ever closer. Though all the more ambitious apprentices were gunning for a spot, everyone was fairly resigned to the fact that the positions had already been filled. Eridan was definitely going, and not only because of nepotism, though that was a factor. Kurloz likely had the second spot. Creepy as he could be, he was incredibly talented, and Dualscar was eager to curry favor with his father, leader of the Mirthful Church. The third spot was the only one considered not set completely in stone. It was likely to go to Vriska, as she was one of the most skilled of the bunch. But she frequently butted heads with Dualscar, who disliked her haphazard, reckless style which left too much up to chance. When things went right for her, they went right in the most dazzling way possible, but equally so when they went wrong. There were rumors that said Vriska's mother was an ex-lover of Dualscar's and that assured her a spot, and an equal amount of rumors that said the same thing made it certain she would not. Either way, anyone who wanted Vriska's place would have to get past Vriska herself, a daunting challenge even without her summoning skills to consider. Vriska was ruthless, and had her eyes set on nothing less than the top. In Vriska's not-so-humble opinion, if she couldn't be the best at something, it wasn't worth doing.
Tavros couldn't pretend he didn't quietly hope he might be chosen, just to prove that he really was good enough to be here. But he didn't really expect it to happen. He knew he wasn't anywhere near the level of the other three. But he kept studying anyway, ever hopeful.
"All right, someone get up here and give us an example of a class six summon," Dualscar said, somewhere between annoyed and too bored to care, "Though I highly doubt any of you could manage a four."
It had been a frustrating day for the Admiral. Even Eridan had received a scalding lecture after his wrote the incorrect sigil in his circle. Dualscar was in a foul mood, likely to cancel to rest of the lesson and send them all back to chores at any moment. There was no rush of volunteers. By now they all knew whoever went up there wasn't coming back without getting berated for something.
Tavros felt Kurloz's hand on his back, but he was already moving forward before the push came, hands clenched tightly at his sides as he gathered his courage.
"Um, I can do it, sir," He said, trying his best to sound confident.
Dualscar snorted derisively.
"Why not?" He said throwing up his hands, "You can hardly do worse than we've already seen today. Come on, show us how not to summon a class six. Just try not to blow anything up, will you?"
Tavros swallowed nervously, then pulled out his chalk and got to work. He'd been practicing his class six summons in the evenings. He knew exactly what he'd do. His vision narrowed to only the precise, careful sigils as he worked his way around the summoning circle, blocking out the sound of Vriska snickering and whispering something about him to his friends, blocking out the impatient muttering of the Admiral. He checked over his work quickly before he stood, looking for imperfections, then turned to grab a handful of supplies from the workbench. Above a class five, a simple donation of saliva or hair or even blood wasn't enough. Class six and higher summons needed something more solid to build their forms on. What tribute was chosen had significant impact on the summon itself as well.
Tavros snatched a handful of dried rose petals, the skeleton of a mouse, and a pinch of cinnamon. As he cast them into the center of the circle Dualscar stopped sighing impatiently, raising a curious eyebrow instead.
Tavros stepped back, and drew from his pocket the wand he'd been working on. All the great summoners had such tools. His fathers had been massive, more a lance than a wand, and still hung above the fireplace at home. Wands served many purposes, the most important of which was building the energy architecture to sculpt and augment summons. Summons had no set form. They were like liquid, taking the shape of whatever container you poured them in to. Some were more fluid than others, and there were standardized patterns that every summoner knew, but in truth there was no limit to what could be made by a competent summoner. Class was determined by complexity of the shape and the amount of power required to construct it. Positive or negative charges had more to do with the disposition of the summoner than anything else, but a good summoner could do both. Positively charged summons tended to be passive, seeking the path of least resistance towards what it wanted. Negatively charged summons were aggressive, plowing directly through whatever stood in their way.
Tavros's wand, though he hadn't yet used it in a real summoning, was made of a twisted branch of willow he'd found on the grounds of Dualscar's estate, wrapped in copper wire. A sharp quartz crystal was fixed to the tip, and it was this Tavros brought to his palm as he began to sing his summoning. Not everyone worked in music, many just chanted. Kurloz didn't speak at all. But for Tavros, singing was easiest, and the one time his stammer didn't get in the way. He closed his eyes, rocking a little on the edge of the circle as the words flowed from him in the esoteric language of summoning, declaring his intentions and his desires.
Slowly, a rose colored light began to build in the circle, pulsing and flowing at first like fog, and then like lava, thick and bubbling and bright, boiling and splashing as it grew. Tavros drew out the lines of what he wanted, almost able to see the shape he was building, a cage of golden light which the rose liquid climbed like growing roses, building higher and higher as he conducted it. As it reached its peak he brought the sharp quartz of the wand down on his palm, opening up a small gash. He cast his blood into the circle to solidify the summon, and with a high and musical cry the creature unfolded.
It was massive, at least two feet higher than the Admiral. It was mostly insect, spreading thin, shimmering wings behind its glossy carapace, its many shifting iridescent limbs. Its head however was a cluster of rosy petals. On closer examination, its wings were only diaphanous leaves, its scythe like fore limbs only corded, twisted vines and barbed thorns. It shifted in the circle, turning its heavy, cabbage rose head towards Tavros with a chime like striking a crystal drinking glass.
"An Orchid Mantis," Dualscar said, and there was a tone of something impressed in his voice, "I haven't seen one of those in twenty years. What books have you been reading, lad?"
He circled the creature, looking it over critically. Tavros held his breath, feeling drained but exhilarated.
"Seems well made," The Admiral continued, "No deformities. Positively charge, so perhaps a bit too placid for the battlefield, but obedient. You took far too long drawing your circle of course, but..."
He stopped, nodded, and patted Tavros on the shoulder.
"Good workmanship lad," He said, "Take notes, you lot. You should all be leaving this charity case in the dust. Are you really going to let yourselves be outdone by a commoner who can't say his own name without stuttering?"
Tavros's delight at the compliment deflated somewhat at that, but still. Dualscar approved of his work. He'd impressed him.
Dualscar ended the lesson a few minutes later, once Tavros had broken down his summon and returned its energies to the other side. Tavros, giddy with delight, stumbled out of the summoning chamber with the other apprentices. Kurloz ruffled his hair in passing and gave him a thumbs up, making Tavros's grin all the wider. Maybe the guy really did like him.
"I guess you did pretty decent in there today," Eridan said as Tavros caught up with him. He looked a little miffed and Tavros could guess why. Eridan's work had been just as clean as his own as far as Tavros could tell, but Dualscar had torn Eridan up anyway.
"I took your advice," Tavros said, hoping to cheer up the other apprentice a bit, "About, uh, simplifying my sigils. You were, completely right, about, uh, how I was putting in too many redundancies. Thank you."
Eridan's sullen expression was gradually overwritten by flattered appreciation, though he tried to hide it.
"Yeah, well, that's only to be expected," He said, "I gotta live up to my father's excellent teaching standards and all. You're welcome."
Tavros smiled, glad he wasn't at risk of losing one of his only friends here. He started to say something, but was cut off as someone collided hard with him, knocking him off balance. He stumbled but caught himself and looked up in surprise.
Vriska, having 'accidentally' collided with him, glared down her nose at him.
"Don't think you're anything special just because you had one good summoning," She said sharply, "You're nowhere near the level of the rest of us."
"Back off, Serket," Eridan said, stepping between them, looking somewhat surprised to find himself doing so, "He's no threat to you."
"Are you kidding?" Vriska said with a laugh like a staccato bark, "I'm helping him. He's never going to get any better if he gets a swelled head now. I'm just reminding him where his place is."
"I think it's time someone reminded you where your place is," Eridan said dangerously, "Your mother may be titled, but everyone knows she's a traitorous thief."
Vriska's eyes widened, her nostrils flared, and Tavros saw her fist rising. He moved without thinking to get between her and Eridan, but she'd pulled back even before Eridan held out an arm to stop him.
"Careful, Serket," Eridan said, unflinching, "Your mother's petty nobility won't protect you from assaulting the son of an Admiral."
"Really? Threatening to tell daddy on me?" Vriska said, lip curled in disdain, "And I thought your shoddy magic was the most disgraceful thing about you."
"Shoddy enough to take you down any day," Eridan shot back, bristling visibly, "You've never summoned above a class five."
They looked ready to go for each other's throats right there in the hall before the other apprentices gathered around the argument suddenly parted hurriedly to allow Dualscar himself through.
"Quit blocking the hall you lazy, gossiping little toe rags!" Dualscar snapped, clearly back to his usual foul mood, "If my dinner is cold before I get to it I'll skin the lot of you!"
Eridan put an arm around Tavros and they hurried away, staying clear of Vriska as they headed for the dining room.
"Thank you," Tavros mumbled as they went, "For defending me."
"You mean picking a fight with Vriska?" Eridan said with a nasty grin, "Any day. That little peasant is one to talk about swelled heads... That reminds me, that wand you used in class today, where did you get it?"
"Oh, uh, I made it," Tavros replied, a little confused by the change in subject, "I've been, uh, studying ahead at night, and, it seemed pretty simple..."
"Really?" Eridan seemed impressed, "The wand makers in town must be vastly overcharging if you can do it in your spare time. Do you think you could make me one?"
"I could, try," Tavros said, a little flattered, "I'd need, uh, some information-"
"Swell, I'll meet you in the library tonight," Eridan said, patting Tavros heavily on the back, "Don't be late."
By then they'd reached the dining room and Eridan strode off towards his usual seat. Tavros took his own normal place beside Kurloz. Vriska ignored him solidly throughout dinner, to Tavros's relief, but somehow he didn't think he was safe from her. She might be acting like he wasn't worth her time now, but Tavros was certain she had plans for him. He'd just have to be careful to stay near the other apprentices when she was around for a while. She'd probably forget by the end of the month, once it was time for the best apprentices to leave with the Admiral.
He met Eridan in the library that evening, as he'd said he would. The massive, two story room was filled with a labyrinthine multitude of shelves laid out in no real recognizable pattern. Tavros had learned quickly that if you couldn't locate what you wanted magically, you weren't going to locate it at all.
The other boy was already there when Tavros arrived, waiting near the library doors and tapping his foot impatiently.
"There you are," he said, "What took you so long?"
"I, uh, I was..." Tavros fumbled, looking for an excuse other than 'helping Aradia clear the table' which was certain to launch Eridan into a lecture about how Tavros shouldn't be associating with those kind of people any more even if he was undoubtedly better suited to that kind of work. Luckily, Eridan cut him off as soon as he started stammering.
"Never mind," He sighed, "You're here now. So tell me about this wand making stuff. How did you do it?"
"Uh, well," Tavros, glad for the change of subject, began leading the way into the shelves, Eridan following him blithely, "I was, looking for books on, beginner magic. And I just kind of, uh, found this book on wandcraft, by accident? And, I read it, since wands can be, really useful, and a lot of it was, kind of, uh, kind of stupid? A lot of pretentious stuff, about 'superior materials' but, in the end, it did explain how they're made, and, I realized the materials, didn't really factor in, at all. Or at least, not very much. All, that really matters, is the shape, and that it's connected to your energy. You only need, to be min maxing your, uh, your materials, if you're planning on a career, in dueling or something."
Eridan had never let Tavros talk so long before, and Tavros was quietly pleased. The other boy wasn't even flinching when Tavros got hung up. As he talked, Tavros led Eridan through the shelves to the center of the maze of books, where there was a comfortable reading area tucked away near a high yellow window. Two comfortable leather armchairs and a small loveseat were arranged artfully near a round table, on which Tavros had stacked up the books he was currently working with. He dug out the one about wandlore, Eridan catching the stack of books as Tavros nearly tipped it over in the process.
Tavros flipped through the tome quickly, scanning for what he needed.
"So, uh, your birthday is in, early February right?" Tavros asked.
"Yes, how did you know?" Eridan replied, puzzled.
"You, uh, you mentioned it, a little while after we met," Tavros replied, "You were talking about, uh, the last time you visited the Princess. You said, it was for your birthday."
"How surprisingly astute of you," Eridan said, looking a little flattered, "My own father barely remembers- Anyway, yes, it's February 4th."
Tavros grinned, glad he'd got it right, and flipped a few pages further into his book.
"That would make, uh, rowan, the best wand wood for you," Tavros said, "Is there, a rowan tree anywhere on the grounds, do you think?"
"I have no idea," Eridan replied, "What does a rowan tree even look like?"
"Uh, we'll figure it out," Tavros said with a shrug, "I also need, uh, your height, your eye color, a few other things..."
Tavros settled down in one of the chairs and Eridan leaned on the back so that he could peer over Tavros's shoulder into the book. Before long an expedition was planned to go wander around the manor grounds in search of a rowan tree. All the other materials they would need could easily be stolen from Dualscar's stores in the course of their daily chores. Eridan conceded to get up before noon so they could perform their search after breakfast, during the morning chores Eridan usually skipped anyway. They planned to do it the next day. Tavros could feel his excitement growing the more they talked about it, and to his surprise he could tell Eridan was excited too, and not just by the prospect of a new wand. They were going to have an adventure together, however small and mundane.
Tavros got up early the next day, and hurried downstairs towards the kitchens. He was digging through the pantry for snacks to bring with them on their expedition when Aradia arrived, yawning, for her morning chores.
"Hey! What are you doing in there?" Aradia said, pulling him out of the cabinet by the back of his shirt, "That's for breakfast!"
Tavros removed an apple from his mouth to reply, grinning.
"Me and Eridan, are going on an adventure!" He said excitedly, "He wants my help, to make his own wand, so we're going to go out, and find a rowan tree, to make it with!"
"Oh," Aradia said, letting him go, "Well that makes sense then!"
She grinned and took the bag he'd been pushing snacks in to and started helping him, adding in a few more rolls of bread and some cheese.
"I've been needing a day off," She said, "Running around in the woods sounds like just the thing."
"You're coming too?" Tavros said, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Do you even know what a rowan tree looks like?" Aradia asked, pausing in loading apples into the bag to give him a serious look.
Tavros blushed and shrugged a little.
"Yeah, I'm coming," Aradia said with a decisive nod, tying off the bag of snacks.
"Awesome!" Tavros enthused and threw his arms around her in a quick hug, "This is going, to be the best!"
Aradia laughed and squeezed him back.
"Okay, but I have to get breakfast going first!" She said, "I'll meet you by the front doors when you've eaten."
"Okay! See you soon!" Tavros said, hurrying away. He still had to gather some books and supplies from the library before breakfast. Aradia waved back, clearly as excited as he was.
Tavros could barely sit still through breakfast, unable to help casting excited glances up at the head table, where Eridan was trying very hard to ignore him, but occasionally grinned back when he thought his father wasn't looking. Kurloz leaned in-between them as they were smiling at each other once, eyeing Tavros with a look that was uncharacteristically puzzled and concerned. Tavros blushed, then laughed, looking down at his food.
"Sorry," He said to the older boy, still giggling, "Uh, we just have plans, later today."
Kurloz's expression went from 'ah I see' to 'none of my business' in the space of a second and he returned to his food, which only made Tavros laugh harder. At least he didn't have to worry about Kurloz spreading rumors due to a misunderstanding.
After breakfast, Tavros slung his satchel of supplies over his shoulder and met Eridan outside the dining room.
"You got everything?" Eridan asked, eyeing the bag.
"Yeah!" Tavros agreed, bouncing on his heels, "We're, all set!"
"Then let's go already!" Eridan said, unable to hide his eagerness despite how hard he was trying to maintain his aloof facade, "I don't want to be late to lessons this afternoon."
They headed for the front doors, and Tavros waved as he saw Aradia, who waved back brightly.
"What is she doing here?" Eridan asked, all but sneering, "You didn't invite her, did you?"
"She knows, what a rowan tree looks like," Tavros said defensively, hurrying to Aradia's side and bumping against her shoulder, "Besides, Aradia, is really great! You'll like her, a lot, if you give her a chance."
"Yeah Eridan," Aradia said with a sharp toothed grin, "Give me a chance."
"That's Master Ampora to you," Eridan said with a sniff, straightening the collar of his cloak, "I am still your employer."
Tavros had never seen someone curtsy sarcastically before, but Aradia managed it. Eridan made a face like he'd just stepped in something nasty, but sighed.
"Fine, she can come," He agreed with a huff, "She can carry the bags or something."
Aradia snorted loudly. Tavros quietly shook his head, very certain that was not going to happen.
"Can we just please get going?" Eridan grumbled, "Before we get caught?"
"Now that I can agree too," Aradia said with a laugh, leading the way as they slipped out of the house, "Damara is already going to kick me around the kitchen for skipping out."
The grounds around Admiral Dualscar's manor were carefully maintained by both the house servants and a small retinue of gardeners. The wider property fell under the jurisdiction of the rarely seen but reportedly ferocious groundskeeper. Even Aradia had never encountered them, but the woods and wild game remained healthy, the outer buildings stayed in good repair, and no poachers or squatters ever made an issue of themselves, so it could only be assumed the groundskeeper was doing an excellent, if very discreet job.
Sure enough, as the small group reached the tree line they found nothing too overgrown or difficult to walk through. They strolled into the wood as easily as though it were a public park. It was late summer, the first chill of fall beginning to make itself known. Though the trees were still flush with greenery, the air was comfortably cool. Tavros and Aradia had both left their cloaks behind, but Eridan had insisted on keeping his. He claimed it was because he chilled easily, but Tavros suspected it had more to do with imitating his father, who was known for the intimidating figure he cut in his dramatic trademark cape. Eridan had turned the collar of his cloak up high to imitate that cape, but the effect really only served to make him look smaller and somewhat silly. That it kept getting hung up on branches, forcing them to stop while he tugged it loose, did not help. He seemed out of place in the wild, uncomfortable and quickly irritable. Aradia on the other hand looked like she could live here forever. Her sleeves were pushed up high, her arms muscular and the skin a glowing copper in the sun. She'd tied her skirt up between her knees to reveal sturdy stockings and heavy boots on her thick calves. She was built as solidly as any oak in the forest. Tavros had spent his whole childhood running around the farm he'd grown up on, running through the woods and getting in trouble, and he still felt wimpy and ill-equipped next to Aradia, with her wild hair and her bright eyes and her callused hands.
Regardless, Tavros was having a good time. The sun was warm, the breeze cool, and the forest pleasant and inviting. Aradia pointed out and named the more interesting plants they passed. She seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge especially of the more poisonous varieties of flora. Tavros in turn knew the names and calls of most of the birds they encountered. As Aradia and Tavros bantered about nature trivia, Eridan grew quieter and fell further behind. Tavros almost didn't notice until he turned to comment on something to the other apprentice and saw Eridan had stopped, hung on a stubborn branch again. As they'd moved deeper into the woods the underbrush had grown thicker and these stops had become more frequent. Tavros felt a squirm of guilt. This was meant to have been his and Eridan's adventure. He knew the other boy had been just as excited about it as he was. But he'd brought in Aradia without asking, and then ignored Eridan in favor of her. Ashamed of himself, Tavros hurried back, and knelt to untangle Eridan's cloak. The wool edge had frayed from many snaggings and now the individual threads had snared and wrapped around a thorn bush quite intractably.
"I can get it myself," Eridan started to protest, more than a little cranky, but Tavros waved him down.
"Let me, help," Tavros insisted, "What are friends, for?"
That shut Eridan up, and Tavros frowned, focusing on the tangled threads. He looked up as a cardinal flashed past in a flicker of red. Inspired, he smiled.
"Uh, I noticed, last time we were in town," Tavros said, picking at the edge of the cloak steadily, "That, a lot of the shops, are carrying feathered hats. Is that, uh, in fashion or something?"
"Oh of course," Eridan said dismissively, "Feathers always make a comeback in autumn."
"What kind?" Tavros pushed a little, hopeful, "Is there, a specific kind of feather?"
"It changes every season," Eridan replied, beginning to be interested despite himself, "Pheasant and partridge are common, but there's always something different. I'm told the feathers of parrots from the far edge of the empire are going to be the big thing this year."
Tavros smiled as Eridan began to ramble in depth about fowl fashion, which was of no interest to him as a military man of course, but merely something he was expected to know as a gentleman and a socialite. Tavros nodded along, not needing to say much to keep him going, quietly accepting a pocketknife from Aradia to cut the loose threads free. Eridan didn't notice or he likely would have objected. Instead he merely sighed in relief as he was freed.
"Finally," He said, "Thanks Tav. I don't know why you didn't warn me this thing was going to be so much trouble, I would never have brought it."
He took off the cloak, to the silent cheers of Tavros and Aradia, and it was tucked into one of the bags for the rest of the adventure.
"Do they ever use little birds like that?" Tavros asked as they began to walk again, pointing out a blue jay.
"Songbirds are too small," Eridan said shaking his head, "You'd have to kill a score to have enough for one hat. Easier to just dye the big ones. Though I have seen some people use whole birds. A bit garish in my opinion-"
"Did you guys hear that?" Aradia interrupted her expression serious as she looked back over her shoulder at the brush behind them.
"Hear what?" Eridan asked, oblivious.
"I thought I heard something behind us," Aradia said.
"Maybe a deer?" Tavros asked, hopeful. He'd love to see a deer.
"Sounded bigger," Aradia said ominously, still watching, "And deer don't hide."
"It was probably a branch falling or something," Eridan said with a shrug, turning away, "Let's just keep going."
Aradia didn't look convinced, but she shrugged it off and they kept going. The conversation resumed, though Aradia was still quiet, glancing back often.
"Isn't there, uh, a way they could make feathers, without needing to kill so many birds?" Tavros was asking, "Out of, uh, silk or something."
"Well, the good milliners don't kill their birds," Eridan said, "Pheasants drop their feathers naturally when they mate. It would be ludicrously bad business to kill them every time you wanted to make a hat when the same bird could otherwise go on supplying you for years. And furthermore-"
"Did you hear it that time?" Aradia said sharply, looking behind them, "There is definitely something following us."
"I didn't hear anything," Eridan said, rolling his eyes, "All the dish soap must have damaged your brain."
Aradia gave Eridan a disgusted look, and then returned her intent, wary gaze on the trees behind them.
"I'm sure it was just, uh, a squirrel or something," Tavros said, trying to be reassuring, "There's nothing, that dangerous in these woods. The groundskeeper, would have said something, if there were, uh, bears, or wolves or anything, out here."
"Would they?" Aradia asked seriously, "The apprentices aren't supposed to be wandering around out here on our own. The groundskeeper might not have thought it was important to warn us."
Tavros and Eridan both fell quiet, suddenly very concerned with the possibility that they might be being followed by a bear. They stood there for a moment in tense silence, listening.
When nothing happened after a minute or two, Eridan huffed, dismissing their fears as silly. Tavros followed him, glancing back anxiously at Aradia until, at last, she started to turn away as well. A branch snapped behind her almost immediately, and this time they all heard it. Aradia caught Tavros's eye, who looked to Eridan. Another branch snapped, the crack loud as a gunshot, and all three of them took off at once, sprinting deeper into the woods.
The first time they dared look back over their shoulders, they could see something dark and angular crashing through the trees after them at a terrible speed. All three of them were screaming by this point, Aradia's a lower animal kind of wail, Tavros's a broken yell like he was being startled repeatedly, and Eridan's a continuous whistle-like shriek.
They plunged headlong into the depths of the forest, howling as they tripped over roots and crashed into thorn bushes. In their wild stampede they barely paid enough attention to where they were going to keep them all from sprinting off in opposite directions. Precisely none of them were thinking about where they were heading, which was deeper into the heart of the forest, the underbrush growing more dense and tangled around them by the moment. In their blind panic, they charged forward until, quite suddenly, the ground vanished beneath them and they fell, screaming, into darkness.
Tavros woke, his head aching and his mouth full of dirt, at the bottom of a hole. He sat up, dazed and spitting, and heard Eridan groan near him. Aradia was already sitting up, rubbing her head and picking leaves out of her hair.
"What, happened?" He groaned, confused.
There were, he realized belatedly, stone walls around them. They appeared to be in some kind of sunken room, the walls heavily overgrown with moss and vines. The room had obviously once been covered by a wooden ceiling, perhaps the floor of a room above. But it had rotted away in most places. Tavros and the others had fallen through one of the remaining sections, which was now a mess of soft debris around them. A small tree was growing in the center of the room, about fifteen feet tall, spreading pale branches through the rotten floor.
Before anyone could reply, a fourth figure sat up near them and the trio shrieked in surprise. It was Tavros who recovered first, recognizing the mess of dark curly hair.
"Kurloz?" He said, baffled, "What are you, doing here?"
The older boy shrugged, obviously unable to give a detailed answer. He eyed Eridan mistrustfully however, and made a suggestive gesture with his hands, scooting closer to Tavros protectively. Tavros blushed. He really had got the wrong idea.
"Was it you, chasing us?" Tavros asked, eager to move past that misunderstanding.
Kurloz shrugged again, but his permanent, stitched in grin, curled up in mischief. Eridan huffed in disgust.
"Great," He muttered, "Your weird fried chased us down a hole and now we're trapped."
"We're not trapped you baby," Aradia said scathingly, "We'll just climb out. Now shut up for a minute, I'm trying to figure out where we are."
She was standing near one of the walls, running her hands over a faded mosaic.
"I think these are the old castle ruins," She said, excitement in her voice as she kicked overgrown roots and vines out of the way of a half collapsed door in order to peer into the next room, "I'd heard they were out here in the woods somewhere! I've always wanted to see them."
"This is a castle?" Tavros asked curiously, standing up and dusting himself off.
"It was, centuries ago," Aradia replied, "There was a whole civilization here, before the Empress conquered it."
"The Empress unified the empire," Eridan corrected Aradia stiffly, "Before her, the land was divided into a thousand kingdoms, most of them infested with and even run by the lowest sort of scum. The empress brought the lower races under control, and even allowed some of them to become part of the empire, though they would never be allowed to hold titles or own land, of course. You and the kitchen wench are probably related to them, Tav."
He said this offhandedly, as though it were just an interesting aside Tavros might like to know. Aradia looked close to punching Eridan, but instead she beckoned Tavros over to check out the next room with him.
"He's right though," She said proudly as he stepped, awed, through the doorway into the courtyard beyond, "Our ancestors built this. And however much the Empress has tried to bury it and all record of who we were before her, it's still standing."
Even literally half buried, the courtyard was beautiful, with high arches and a grand fountain, now dry and dusty. Some statue had once presided over it proudly, but had been reduced to rubble, either by time or the Empress's order. Tavros ran his hands over the weathered marble and wondered what face it used to carry. He'd never thought about his ancestors, about why his skin was darker than the other apprentices, about why he'd never seen a highborn or noble in his shade. It was just the way things were. Suddenly, as though it had always been there, unacknowledged and waiting, he felt a terrible yearning to know who had lived here, to know their stories, to know he had come from somewhere. His heart ached in his chest with longing and with bitterness that it would never happen. The empress had erased these people so thoroughly he'd barely known they existed, except for a vague reference to splintered kingdoms, acknowledged only through their unification by the Empress. She was the beginning of history as he knew it, and what had come before her was a fog bound void that could never be filled.
Aradia put a hand on his shoulder and he knew she was feeling the same painful emptiness he was at that moment. They stood in silence together for a few solemn moments, and Eridan and Kurloz were, for once, respectful enough to let them be.
They stepped back through the archway into the room they'd fallen into to find Eridan testing the strength of the vines hanging over one of the walls. He planted a foot on the wall to put his weight on the plant, then stumbled back quickly as its roots tore loose and it slid down on top of him. He disentangled himself from it impatiently as Aradia laughed. Tavros couldn't help a chuckle as well, still scrubbing at his eyes in hopes of avoiding the tears that had threatened to overwhelm him in the courtyard. Kurloz's large, spiderlike hand landed on his head, ruffling his hair playfully, and Tavros smiled at him, unsure as always of the older boy's motivations, but assuming it was intended to cheer him up.
"Hey Eridan," Aradia said with a grin, "I have some good news for you."
"What, maid?" Eridan replied, cross and scowling as he shook off the vines.
"That's a rowan tree," She said, gesturing to the small tree growing in the center of the room, "We practically landed on it."
"That dinky thing?" Eridan said, sounding disappointed, "I was hoping it would be taller, more impressive."
The tree was not very large, with pale gray bark and tangled, web like branches hung with bundles of scarlet berries.
"It doesn't need to be big to be impressive," Aradia said, "The rowan tree wards off evil, and its berries are poisonous when eaten raw, but have healing properties if cooked. And I don't need to tell you two about its magical properties."
Eridan gave up on climbing, joining Tavros and Aradia by the tree, interested now.
"Wards off evil, huh?" He repeated, running his hands over the bark, "So, what do we do Tav? Just cut off a branch?"
Tavros shook his head.
"No, absolutely not," Tavros replied, "Living wood, won't work. Its energies, are still connected to the tree. You need, dead wood, the tree has discarded. Its, uh, vacant basically, in a magical sense, and so you can tie your own will to it."
Tavros knelt by the trees roots where they had worked their way through the cracked cobble stone of the floor and began shifting leaves looking for fallen branches.
"Look for one, that's fairly straight, and dry," He said, "It needs to be, uh, at least the length of your forearm."
Aradia joined them as Tavros and Eridan dug in the leaves for an appropriate stick. Kurloz meanwhile, was still patting at the wall Eridan had pulled the vines off of.
"Ah, here's a good one!" Eridan said triumphantly, holding up good, solid branch.
Tavros took it, turning it over in his hands and thinking.
"I'll, need to carve it down a little, but it should be, perfect," He said with a smile.
"Good," Eridan said with a nod, "Now stick it in the bag and let's get out of here."
"How are we, getting out of here?" Tavros asked, looking to Aradia, "I don't think, climbing the vines, is going to work."
She nodded, looking around the walls.
"Well, maybe if Kurloz gave one of us a boost-" She was interrupted by the sound of scattering rubble and they all turned quickly to see Kurloz scaling the wall Eridan had torn the vines off of, thin fingers worming into the cracks in the stone to pull himself up and scramble over the top. As the other three watched, he quickly disappeared over the edge just before another section of rotted floor collapsed under his weight. There was a moment of silence, before he stuck his head back over the edge of the pit, waved at them all cheerfully, and then vanished again.
"Did he just abandon us in this pit," Eridan asked flabbergasted.
"Maybe," Tavros said, brows furrowed in concern, "Maybe he'll come back?"
Aradia swore, loudly and colorfully.
They spent the next fifteen minutes or so trying to find another way out. Even on each other's shoulders they weren't tall enough to reach the top. Nor were any of them skilled enough climbers to use the cracks in the stone as Kurloz had. They investigated the courtyard again, hoping one of the doorways might lead to a room with a collapsed wall they could climb, but most of the passages were blocked by rubble. Those that weren't led nowhere useful.
Frustrated, Eridan threw himself down beneath the rowan tree in a fit of pique. Tavros joined him, still hoping Kurloz might return. Aradia washed her hands of them both and continued exploring on her own.
Tavros, sensing they'd be here a while no matter what happened, pulled his bag closer and took out the tools he'd brought for making Eridan's wand. He hadn't expected to be working on in while trapped in the bottom of a sunken castle, but he had thought they might start working on it out here if they stopped for lunch. He broke the extraneous twigs off of the rowan branch and began carefully whittling it down, cutting it to the length of Eridan's forearm. Eridan watched, bored but also curious.
"You're not bad with that thing," Eridan said, watching Tavros's knife work, "Does farm work require a lot of wood carving?"
"No, I just, kind of like doing it," Tavros answered with a small, bashful shrug, "My dad, taught me. He learned to do it, carving sigils for the resistance, so that members could identify each other. I, just liked carving, animals and stuff. I had, a really great bird, back home. I wish, I could show you."
"You know, if the whole summoner thing falls through," Eridan said idly, "You could do this for a living. Making wands, I mean. Of course, no one's going to take a wandmaker of your background seriously, but you could probably make a good living, selling to poor amateurs. The field magicians on the front lines of the Imperial Armada don't exactly require quality work."
"Thanks, Eridan," Tavros said, trying not to look exasperated. He knew the other boy meant well, even if he was really frustratingly oblivious to other people's feelings sometimes.
Once he'd carved out the rough shape, he pulled some sandpaper from his bag to smooth it out.
"Do you, know anything else, about the people that used to live here?" Tavros asked thoughtfully as he sanded the rough edges off the wand.
"There's nothing else to know," Eridan replied with a shrug, "They were here, they were awful, the empress crushed em in the name of unification."
"How do you know they were awful?" Tavros asked with a frown, "Weren't most of them, probably just normal people, living their lives, like everybody?"
Eridan scoffed.
"I know because that's what everyone says," Eridan said archly, "They were dirty and uncivilized. They didn't even have an empress, and without a leader like the empress they couldn't have had any kind of rule of law. Anybody just trying to live their life was probably grateful when the empress showed up and squashed those savages."
Tavros flinched. He had no way of knowing what those ancient people had been like, or weather he really had any connection to them, but Eridan's words stung anyway. He looked around them at the castle and shook his head.
"Eridan," He said quietly, "Do you really think, they could have made all this, made it, strong enough to last this long, if they were lawless savages? Do you think, maybe the empress just said they were like that, so that nobody would object, when she got rid of them?"
Eridan looked horrified by the suggestion at first and Tavros saw him gearing up to deliver a scathing reply. Then he hesitated. Tavros saw his eyes sweep the building around them, glancing in the direction of the still beautiful courtyard. His mouth twisted and worked strangely as he tried to sort out his feelings.
"So maybe these guys weren't so bad," He finally conceded, "So maybe they just got caught up in the bull of the other guys. Who cares? It doesn't make them any less gone."
Tavros sighed but let it go. It was progress.
"So, I'm thinking copper for the conductive," He said, pulling a spool of copper wire out of his bag, "What do you want for the focus? Quartz works pretty well for general work."
"Got anything fancier?" Eridan asked, dragging the bag closer to dig through it himself, "Quartz is so plain."
"I think there's some amethyst in there," Tavros suggested with a shrug, "That might work well for you."
Eridan made an approving noise as he pulled the small shard of amethyst out, holding it up to the light admiringly.
"Oh, that reminds me," He said, digging in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a pendant, "I think this is made of gold electrum. Wouldn't that be better for the conductive?"
"Sure, if you want," Tavros said, taking the pendant from him, a single dark purple stone wrapped in gold wire, "It's, really pretty though. Are you sure, you want me to take it apart?"
Eridan shrugged.
"I have a dozen just like it," He said nonchalantly, "I was really into that wire work look for a while."
Assuming that meant it was fine, Tavros put aside the wand for a moment to grab a pair of pliers and break down the necklace.
"It was a gift actually," Eridan said as Tavros began unwrapping the wire. When Tavros hesitated Eridan waved a hand to tell him to keep going.
"People used to send stuff like that to my brother all the time," He said, "But after he turned out to be such a monumental failure, the gifts started coming my way instead. I loved it at first. All these people showering me with well-deserved attention, just dying to be friends with me in case I turned out to be as amazing as my father. But after a while..."
He shrugged a little, his expression something strange and disgruntled.
"It just got annoying," He finished after a moment, shrugging, "None of them actually wanted to know anything about me. You're lucky you've got nothing to offer, Tav. People will only ever want to friends with you because they like you."
Tavros frowned for a moment, trying to see past Eridan's habit of being unintentionally derogatory.
"Does that mean, you like me?" He suggested, eyeing the other apprentice, who turned scarlet at the suggestion.
"Don't be absurd," He fairly squawked, "You're just- It's only that- Sweet messiahs I sound like you. You're all right. And you listen to me. That's more than I can say for a lot of people. So, yes, I suppose I like you. A little. A tiny, otherwise irrelevant fraction."
Tavros grinned.
"You, like me," He repeated.
"I'm not going to like you long if you keep that up!" Eridan replied crossly, throwing a handful of leaves at Tavros, "Just finish the dang wand!"
Tavros laughed, but he went back to work, handing over the chain and the stone from the pendant as he finished removing the wire.
"Also, you're going to have to start carrying my stuff," Eridan said, "People have noticed you hanging around me so I told them I hired you to carry things for me."
"That's awful, Eridan," Tavros said, giving the other boy a disappointed look.
"Not as awful as the nosedive my social life would take if people found out I was friends with the commoner son of a failed revolutionary," Eridan replied coolly, "So keep it quiet would you?"
Tavros sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Fine," He said, "I'll do it, because I'm your friend, and friends look out for each other, and want each other to be happy and successful, no matter what anyone else thinks."
"Are you implying I'm a bad friend," Eridan asked, scandalized.
"No, I'm implying, you've never had one before, so you don't know how it works," Tavros replied, "Lucky, for you, I am a good friend, who is willing, to be patient and teach you, how to be considerate of other people's feelings."
"I see how it is," Eridan said, turning away stiffly and feigning hurt, "I say I like you one time and all the respect goes out the window. Next thing I know you'll be expecting ME to carry YOUR things won't you?"
"Yes," Tavros replied, "Yes. That is a thing, that will definitely happen."
"Unbelievable."
They continued to talk as Tavros worked and the sun climbed higher in the sky. Around noon Aradia, dirty and ecstatic, wandered back in and collapsed between them, intentionally spreading as much dirt onto Eridan's clothes as possible. They stopped his shrieking by breaking for lunch, pulling out the rolls, cheese, and apples Aradia had packed.
"Any sign of Kurloz?" Aradia asked through a mouthful of cheese.
Tavros shook his head.
"Find any way to get us out?" Tavros replied, to the same response.
"No, but I found some really amazing mosaics and old statuary," Aradia said, "Most of its pretty roughed up, but some of it is still recognizable. There was this one of a man in robes and a crown. I don't know if he was a king or a god but-"
"So we're stuck here then," Eridan interjected, waving an apple at her to shut her up, "We're going to starve to death in this hole?"
"Don't be so dramatic," Aradia said, rolling her eyes, "They'll notice we're missing before the day is over and come looking for us. We're not even that deep into the woods. A couple of hours walk tops."
"And how long is it going to take them to even think of looking out here?" Eridan pointed out, "And even once they do, this forest is huge! It could take them days! We'll freeze before we even starve!"
"You're ridiculous," Aradia said, "We're fine. If you're really that freaked out about it, then come up with a plan to get us out."
"Tavros, how long till you finish that wand?" Eridan snapped, and Tavros shrugged.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Aradia asked.
"I'll summon something to fly us out," He said sitting up straighter, "Something small and discrete. We'll be home before they even notice we're missing."
"That is a phenomenally bad idea," Aradia said, "You're an apprentice. Have you ever summoned anything outside of your father's lessons? You'll get us all killed."
"I'm not, going to be done with the wand for a while, anyway," Tavros said, agreeing with Aradia that it was a bad idea, "What if we, uh, tried piling up some of the rubble from around here into a stack we could climb?"
"Now there's an idea I can get behind," Aradia agreed, "Good job Tavros."
"And get my clothes even more filthy than they already are?" Eridan said with a sneer, "No thank you. I'll be in enough trouble for this escapade without needing an all new wardrobe on top of it."
Aradia made a disgusted sound, finished her food in another two rapid gulps, then stood and held out a hand for Tavros.
"Come on Tav, let's get started," She said, "We'll have to work fast since the prissy prince here won't be helping us."
Tavros put his food back in the bag and stood up to help, shrugging bashfully when Eridan gave him a disparaging look.
Tavros and Aradia got to work, hefting fallen stones and chunks of ancient statuary over to the lowest section of wall. They worked for a few hours, Aradia talking excitedly about the possible implications of the figures in the statues they were handling, while Eridan took a nap under the rowan tree, head pillowed on his cloak. Tavros took a break after a while, exhausted by the heavy lifting, and sat down under the tree next to Eridan. Aradia kept going, tireless, and he watched her until he dozed off with an apple still in his hand.
After a while even Aradia wore out, and slumped down beside him, waking him briefly before she dozed off as well.
When they woke it was dark, and they realized together they'd slept through the afternoon. A cold night wind was blowing through the ruins, making them huddle together against the chill.
"Kurloz?" Tavros called out hopefully, but only the howling wind replied. Eridan pulled his cloak back on and without prompting wrapped it around Tavros and Aradia as well, the three of them sharing it like a blanket. Tavros was glad Eridan's vanity had demanded something so oversized and voluminous.
"Can we start a fire?" Eridan asked, already shivering, "I can't see anything."
"I don't know how," Aradia confessed, "I've only ever done it in the kitchen fireplace with a flint."
Tavros didn't know how to do it either, so they just huddled closer together.
"I really thought they would have found us by now," Aradia said, sounding unsure.
"I'm sure Kurloz told someone," Tavros said, "He wouldn't just leave us out here."
"Yes he would," Eridan replied grimly, "I wouldn't put it past that creepy clown for a minute."
"He's not that bad," Tavros tried to argue, but he was too tired and cold to fight. That Kurloz wasn't here was all the evidence in Eridan's favor they needed right now.
They fell quiet, all of them too cold and too worried to talk. They held each other's hands unselfconsciously beneath the cloak, all of them needing the scant comfort that provided.
"I'm sorry," Eridan said after a long while, shivering.
"Sorry, for what?" Tavros asked, cold making his thoughts sluggish.
"You were right earlier," Eridan replied, quiet and miserable, "I'm not a very good friend. I'm always saying stupid things without thinking about it. It's not like I don't notice how awful I am. I see how people react. I just don't know..."
He trailed off with a frustrated shrug. Tavros squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"You do, say a lot of dumb stuff," Tavros admitted, "But, I still think, you're a good person. And, you were one of the first people here, to be nice to me. You can learn, to say less dumb stuff."
"You have terrible taste in friends," Eridan muttered, not meeting Tavros's eye as he pressed closer, "Between me, the kitchen wench and the clown, it's no wonder you're at the bottom of a hole."
"Tell prince pissypants that if he calls me kitchen wench one more time," Aradia said with surprising poise, though she didn't move her head from Tavros's shoulder, "I'm going to serve him to the rest of the apprentices for dinner."
"Sorry," Eridan muttered before Tavros could say anything, "To be honest I can't remember your name."
"It's Aradia," Aradia replied, "Forget it again and suffer the consequences."
"A touching sentiment," Came a strange voice from above them, "Are you all done bonding now or should I come back later?"
A magical light flared to life, illuminating the face of a woman leaning over the edge of the pit. She had the palest skin Tavros had ever seen, framed by a sheet of pitch black hair. Her eyes were witchlight green, glittering in the light of the orb she'd summoned.
"See, I told you they'd come for us!" Aradia said in relief, standing up.
Tavros followed, his joints stiff from the cold, and offered Eridan a hand up. The strange woman was already lowering a rope over the edge of one of the more solid walls. She pulled Eridan up first, then Aradia. As Tavros waited for her to lower to rope again he looked back towards the courtyard, wondering if he'd ever be able to come back here.
When she pulled Tavros over the top, the first thing he saw was Kurloz standing nearby, his permanent smile placid.
"I knew you wouldn't abandon us," Tavros said with a grin and, without thinking, hugged the other boy tightly. Kurloz didn't seem to know how to react to this, after a moment just patting the top of Tavros's head awkwardly.
"Your friend showed up at my door hours ago," The strange woman said. She was incredibly tall, her arms corded with muscle and ringed with elaborate tattoos. She'd set the orb of light drifting beside her as she coiled her rope back up.
"But I don't get out of bed before sunset for anyone but the empress," She continued, "And I figured there were worse punishments for stupidity than making you idiots sit in a hole for a few hours."
Tavros flushed with embarrassment, the strange woman's scorn a tangible searing sensation.
"Who are you again?" Eridan asked, lip curling, "I think my father would be interested to know who would rather sleep than rescue his son from life threatening danger. I could have been injured for all you knew! There could have been animals!"
The look the woman gave Eridan was so chilly Tavros half expected Eridan to develop frost bite right there. Eridan all but cowered. Aradia looked up at her with a sigh of admiration.
"I'm Groundskeeper Maryam," She replied, "I've been taking care of this estate since before you were born. If your sainted father has a problem with me he can kiss my tattooed behind. Now come on. Let's get you idiots home so I can get back to work."
Tavros, Eridan, and Kurloz formed a loose, awestruck gaggle behind the groundskeeper, while Aradia walked beside her, hurrying to keep up with the other woman's long stride.
"I've heard about you!" She said excitedly, "Is it true you only ever work at night? Nobody else in the kitchen has ever even seen you!"
"I don't care for the sun," The groundskeeper replied, "I burn easily. You work in the kitchens? And you're running around with Admiral Dualscar's son and the spawn of the Grand Holy Bastille?"
Aradia made a face.
"No, Tavros is responsible for those two," She said, "I only intended to run around with the son of a failed revolutionary today."
The woman missed a step and looked back at Tavros sharply. Tavros had a feeling she'd been assuming Tavros worked in the kitchen with Aradia.
"What an odd group," She said, a high arched eyebrow raised imperiously, "I approve."
There was something deliriously pleasing about being approved of by a person like that. Tavros couldn't help but grin.
"Do you know anything about those ruins?" Aradia asked her, "They were amazing."
"A thing or two," The groundskeeper replied guardedly, "But somehow I don't think I should be encouraging your interest. I don't want to be pulling this lot out of holes on a regular basis."
"Don't worry," Aradia said reassuringly, "Next time I'll be prepared."
The groundskeeper gave a sharp laugh at that and patted Aradia's shoulder approvingly.
The two talked the rest of the way back through the forest, discussing the ruins and general preparedness when running about in the wilderness. Tavros just listened, still too intimidated by Maryam's presence to interrupt.
As they reached the edge of the trees, the groundskeeper pulled up short.
"You'd better split now," She said to Aradia, "Run around the side of the house to the kitchens. The Admiral already knows about these three, but I doubt he's heard about you yet, and I'd hate to see what he'd do if he does."
Aradia nodded and started to hurry away, nodding goodbye to the rest of them.
"Try to set a better example for these miscreants in the future!" Maryam called after her, and Aradia grinned. Meanwhile, the amount of trouble they were in was slowly settling on the other boys, who'd grown pale and quiet. Even Kurloz looked worried.
She started walking again, heading towards the front doors. By the time they reached them, the Admiral was already standing on the steps, a column of barely contained rage wrapped in a violet cloak. His eyes flashed like the glint of a headman's axe coming down as he looked at the three boys.
"You two," He hissed to Tavros and Kurloz, not acknowledging the groundskeeper at all, "To your rooms. I'll deal with you later."
Kurloz nodded and started to slink off, catching Tavros's arm to pull him along when Tavros hesitated. Dualscar was glaring down at Eridan with a look that was lethal.
"Um, sir," Tavros forced himself to speak past the squirming knot of worry in his chest, "This was, my fault, I was the one who suggested-"
"Silence," Dualscar said sharply, never taking his eyes off of Eridan.
Eridan stood stiffly, his eyes on the ground, his expression a strange mix of defiance and fear. He glanced at Tavros as Kurloz yanked harder to pull Tavros away. Tavros tried to smile at him encouragingly, but he wasn't sure it helped much. He let Kurloz drag him away into the house.
They split the remaining food they'd brought with them, as they obviously wouldn't be going to dinner tonight. Tavros gave Kurloz all the apples, which were his favorite and easily sliced to fit between his stitches. Then, giving each other a last worried look, they parted, Kurloz to the dorms and Tavros to the attic.
Dualscar never came to 'deal with them' in the night as Tavros had half expected him too, and he went to breakfast the next morning without incident. Aradia had received a lecture from her sister and the leader of the kitchen staff and would be pulling double chores for a while, but was otherwise fine. Meanwhile, Eridan was not at breakfast at all.
Eridan didn't show up until halfway through chores, looking tired and wary. He didn't so much as look at Tavros, but merely got to work with far more focus and dedication than Tavros had ever seen him show. There was no lesson from Dualscar that afternoon. Tavros tried to catch Eridan in the hall, worried, but Eridan, still not looking at him, only shook his head.
"Later," He said quietly, "In the library."
All through dinner, Eridan was silent, meeting no one's eye as he ate at the high table beside his father. Kurloz gave Tavros and inquiring look, obviously expecting Tavros to know what had happened to the other boy, but Tavros could only shrug.
After dinner, Tavros hurried to the library, making his way to the sheltered corner beneath the window where they'd met before. He'd waited nearly an hour before Eridan crept in.
"Are you, okay?" Tavros asked at once, standing and hurrying over to the other boy, "What did- what did he do?"
"I'm fine, Tav," Eridan assured Tavros stiffly, "Everything's fine. Stop panicking and sit down."
Tavros didn't believe him, but he sat down anyway, a worried frown on his face.
"He's not going to do anything to you and Kurloz," Eridan said, "At least not for now. He said as the highest ranking I was responsible for leading you two into trouble."
"But that's, stupid," Tavros said, frustrated, "I was- I was the one who-"
"Stop it, your stammer's getting worse," Eridan grumbled, "I told you everything's fine."
"But, then, what's he going to do, to you?" Tavros asked, fighting to control his voice.
"He wanted to send me away," Eridan said, "There's this military school he sent Cronus, my brother, too when he started acting up. I'm supposed to go in a few years anyway, but he thinks he can get me in earlier."
Tavros looked stricken and Eridan waved his concern away quickly.
"I'm not going anywhere you sap," He muttered, "I talked him out of it. I'm just not allowed to associate with you anymore. He says I should be focusing on my studies, on account of how miserably far behind I am, rather than on fraternizing with commoners."
Tavros felt a guilty twist in his gut. It seemed like Eridan was in more trouble for spending time with him than for sneaking out into the woods.
"So, then, are you saying, goodbye?" He asked quietly, steeling himself for the inevitable. He understood after all, it had always been doomed, two people like them trying to be friends.
"What? No, don't be stupid," Eridan said immediately, "We just can't hang out during the day anymore. We can still meet here as long as the Admiral doesn't find out."
Tavros smiled, relief loosening the tension that had been building in his chest.
"I, have something for you," He said, turning back to dig something out of the bag he'd left by his chair, "I hope, it's all right."
He held out the rowan wand to Eridan, laid out across the flat of his hands. Unable to sleep last night, he'd finished it, and spent extra time to carve the handle with a pattern of winding vines. The electrum wire spiraled up between the vines to hold the amethyst in place at the tip. Eridan's eyes widened at the sight of it, and he took it with a kind of reverence Tavros had never seen him show anything else.
"Thanks, Tav," He said, and coughed to cover the choked up break in his voice, "It's perfect."
He threw his arms around Tavros suddenly, catching the other boy off guard. After a surprised second of hesitation, Tavros hugged Eridan back, and quietly vowed never to say anything about how the other apprentice was sniffling into his shoulder.