November 16th, 2019
Stephen and June reflexively took battle stances, with magic crackling up their forearms. The noise of footsteps came from upstairs, and seemed to grow louder with each step. He passed a quick look to his apprentice, who nodded at back at him, silently communicating that she was ready for anything.
"Come on out!" Stephen yelled. There was no need for subtlety here, the intruder absolutely heard Stephen call for Cloak just a few seconds ago. A brief moment passed, before the intruder called out from upstairs.
"Strange? Is that you?" Juniper and Stephen instantly relaxed – the voice was booming and serious, and was immediately recognizable as Araav's voice. The man in question slipped out from the hallway that lead to Stephen's study, draped in his traditional and trademark purple robes. Araav's face was usually stoic, but for a second, it looked as if Araav had seen a ghost. "You're supposed to be dead." He said, his voice soft as he digested the information before him.
"You know I always have a few tricks up my sleeve." Stephen commented, crossing his arms. He knew that he was in deep trouble. Defying the natural order is a cardinal sin among the Order, and by reversing death, Stephen's existence was the biggest sin of all. "What are you doing here?"
"We… the council, that is… felt you die. The shift in the energies of the universe couldn't be ignored. I came here to watch over the Sanctum and retrieve Juniper, to take her back to Kamar-Taj." He explained, regaining his composure as he spoke. His white dreadlocks where wrapped up in a ponytail, and they swayed with each movement of his head.
"Take me to Kamar-Taj? What?" June asked, stepping forward.
"You can't be taught by a dead man, June. You'd have to go to Kamar-Taj to continue your training." Stephen explained. Araav nodded.
"He speaks the truth. You're still too dangerous to be left unsupervised." He added. Araav turned his head to Stephen. "You have much to explain, master Strange." His eyes narrowed a bit. He wasn't upset that Stephen was alive – far from it, actually, but he had to put on a show. Allowing Strange and his apprentice to continue backsliding simply because Stephen might be the One wasn't an option at this point – Deyman, Bao, and Shane were all growing tired with Stephen's lack of consequences. If they were further provoked, Araav could be potentially be kicked off of the council for playing favorites.
"I know, I know…" Stephen rubbed the back of his head. He was determined to keep June out of this for as long as he could, in order to keep her from punishment.
"I did it." June spoke up, and Stephen nearly choked. "I brought him back to life with a healing spell after I killed the Roj-Mal."
There goes that plan, he mentally commented. Damn you June, and your big mouth too. Araav raised his brows for a second, and digested the information.
"So, you're the one who broke the primary law of sorcery?" Araav's voice was low and dangerous. He was hoping to intimidate June and leave her off with a warning, but this offense was too severe for just a slap on the wrist. More extreme measures of punishment will have to be taken, he thought.
"June, stay out of this. Araav, it was my fault. I'm the one who taught her the spell-" Stephen began.
"Enough, master Strange." Araav interrupted. "You know that we have rules in this Order. What were you doing, teaching your apprentice such advanced healing magics?"
"It wasn't him." June cut in. "It was the Book. It helped me." She said. Her hands clenched into fists, and she gazed up at Araav with defiance in her eyes. "So, don't punish him for my actions."
"You mean your mistake?" Arrav asked.
"Excuse me? Saving Stephen was not a mistake!" June raised her voice as she spoke. "The fact that you're considering punishing anyone for something like this is, quite frankly, bullshit." She motioned towards Araav, waving her arm in anger.
"June!" Stephen exclaimed. "Mind the tone!" He rested a hand on June's shoulder, and she immediately brushed it off, letting her anger get the better of her.
"It's not wise to disrespect a council member, young sorceress." Arrav remained cool, a mountain against June's crashing wave of sudden emotion.
"No, damn it. I'm not going to be guilted into admitting that saving you was a mistake." June said. "What was I supposed to do, just let him die?"
"Yes. That was nature's way." Araav plainly stated. Stephen glanced up at Araav, a look of disbelief on his face, and then he glanced to June.
"I can't believe you would say something like that." She hissed at him. June's eyes blazed with a mixture of fire and pain. She was being forced to considered the alternative – a life without Stephen. She had to imagine what would have happened if she hadn't saved him, just for the sake of the council's rules. Life without you…. Is not an option, she concluded. Just the thought of being without him made pain rip through her soul. No. There would be no way. "You're so full of shit." June spat at Araav.
"June! Stand down! I am your master, listen to me!" Stephen hissed.
June whipped her head around and passed Stephen a glare. "Stay out of this, Stephen." She growled.
Stephen reached out and gripped her arm, trying to root her into his presence and words. "June! Stop this! You're going to get yourself in so much trouble!" He yelled.
"Ms. Jones, I would measure your next words carefully. I can't let you so brazenly disrespect me without retaliation." He warned.
"Why? Because they're going to hurt your feelings?" June snarled, completely disregarding Stephen and turning all her attention back to Araav. "I'm calling you out on your bullshit. It's easy for you to sit at your fancy desk all day, dealing with piddly-shit problems in Kamar-Taj, while you leave Stephen and I to deal with the real shit out here! You're a coward who won't come join the front lines, and because of your lack of desire to assign more sorcerers to this Sanctum, Stephen fucking died!" June was full on yelling at Araav at this point. "If we had some actual back-up to deal with these problems, Stephen would have probably survived!" She would wave her arms for emphasis occasionally as she yelled.
"God damnit, June!" Stephen yelled.
Araav let a moment of silence pass, and allowed June to finish her rant. "Juniper Jones." He started, his arms crossed and his stance firm. "I can't let this disrespect go unpunished."
"Araav, please reconsider." Stephen begged.
"Master Strange, you know the rules as well as I." Araav turned back to June. "I challenge you to Jadu Nirnaya. Tomorrow at dawn." His voice was final and commanding, and Stephen gulped.
"Jadu… what?" June whispered.
"You haven't explained Jadu Nirnaya to her, Strange?" Araav asked, a brow raised. "I'll leave you to that, then. Seeing as how everything is in order here, I must take my leave and report this to the council." Araav pulled out his sling ring and quickly made a portal back to Kamar-Taj. "By the way, you'll find the Cloak of Levitation back in its case." He said curtly before stepping through the portal and closing it behind him.
Silence stretched out and filled the air, and Stephen and June simply looked at each other for a moment.
"I can't believe this…" Stephen huffed, turning away from June. "You just had to open your big mouth!"
"What was I supposed to do, just let him go? He insulted us, Stephen! I couldn't just sit there and do nothing! How dare he imply that saving you was a mistake!" She yelled. Stephen whipped around and pointed at June.
"Don't yell at me, Juniper!" He snarled. June paused, it was unlike Stephen to refer to her by her real name, especially in anger. "I appreciate what you did for me, but don't ruin it by getting yourself killed in Jadu Nirnaya!" A moment of stunned silence passed between them, leaving June unable to speak and leaving Stephen to turn his back on her once more. He let out a sigh, then turned back around to face her, mouth open to speak, but then he closed it once more.
He stepped forward and grabbed her forearms, pinning them to her body. "June, you're being an idiot! Jadu Nirnaya is going to damn near kill you! You don't understand the danger you're in right now!"
"What even is Jadu Nirnaya?" June asked as Stephen let her go. "You haven't explained that to me, and now you're telling me it could kill me?" She snapped, fear filling her voice.
"Jadu Nirnaya is a sorcerer's honor duel, June." Stephen began, resting his hands on his hips. "You and Araav will face off in a one-on-one sorcerer's duel."
"Oh. So, I have to kick Araav's ass, then? That'll be easy enough with the Book." June threw up some impromptu bravado to hide her fear. She knew Araav was going to smite her into next week, but she wasn't about to admit that she was afraid of him.
"You don't understand! Araav is going to beat you until you lose consciousness, June. Do you understand what that means? I don't know if I can heal that kind of brain trauma, if he hurts your head!" He ran his hands through his hair, panicked.
"What do you mean?" June asked, stepping forward and lightly gripping Stephen's arm, trying to gently reassure him that she'll be okay.
"If you're knocked unconscious, that's baseline neurological damage. You'll have a concussion at best, and permanent brain damage at worst. I don't know if I can heal that kind of damage, Juniper." He looked at her, finding his fear mirrored in her violet eyes. June released his arm and looked down at her feet for a second, processing her options.
"I guess I could always pretend to pass out, so he doesn't really knock me out." She said softly, looking up at him. "Look, I'm sorry I got myself into this mess, but there's nothing I can do about it now. We just have to deal with it."
Stephen sighed. "I don't want to just 'deal with it.' June, you're going to get hurt. Badly. And there's nothing I can do to intervene and stop it." He spoke softly, his voice laced with fear and worry.
June smiled weakly at him. "Hey, we're assuming that I'm going to lose. The Book will give me enough power to at least give Araav some scars to remember me by." She said. Stephen gave her back a small smile, and stepped forward, quickly embracing her in a hug.
June wrapped her arms around him, and rested her head on his chest, absorbing the moment. She could feel her heart hammering in her ears, and she found herself lost in the sensation of his powerful arms, the faint scent of his woody cologne that he had applied the day before, and the soft feeling of heartbeat beneath his chest. The hug lasted for only a few second, but it felt like a blissful eternity to June. When Stephen finally released her, June felt a little light-headed.
"June, it's going to kill me to see you get hurt tomorrow." He admitted softly. Juniper looked up at him, and nodded.
"If it's worth anything, it's not like I'm looking forward to it either. But what's done is done." She paused for a moment, and tugged on her hoodie sleeves for a second. "How can you prepare me for tomorrow morning?" She asked him, fire in her eyes. She might be in for an ass whooping tomorrow, but she was determined to give Araav a run for his money. Stephen looked down at her, his eyes hard.
"Follow me out to the courtyard. We're doing drills." He said, his voice commanding, and quite frankly, incredibly attractive to June. It seemed to overflow with protectiveness of her, and the thought left June internally squealing in delight, although she would never admit it. Stephen walked towards the court yard, motioning for June to follow him, and she fell in line behind him with a strange anticipation filling her stomach.
Hey everybody! Thanks for reading! Did you know that Hands Dealt has a tumblr, where you can see behind-the-scenes drafts, character art, and get update notices? Check out Hands-Dealt on tumblr!