Welcome Back Aelius (Hadrian & Isikais)

[Isikais]

11th Night of Spring AV 510 "Welcome home, Hadrian." He repeated for the seventy-sixth time, finally happy with the inflection. He had carefully worked the phrase into a balance of friendliness and anticipation. Too much excitement might betray the emotion as false, too little easily misinterpreted as dissatisfaction, or worse disinterest. Content with his mastery of the subtleties of the greeting Isikais stood in waiting for Hadrian, perfectly still and immediately lost in thought. A student of the University of Zeltiva. Isikais mused silently. What an absurdity to sit among students and have lived for millennia before even the oldest of them were born. The occasional passerby peered curiously at the new lifelike statue that stood in front of Hadrian's house. Unmoving, unblinking, and breathless, it was a mistake easily made. When hours later they saw the same static figure on their way back out into the city, it must have only made them further sure of their misbegotten assumptions. And so Isikais waited patiently, for hours, until Hadrian returned, lost in meditative recollection of lessons and experiments past. So deep were his thoughts that he did not even see the young man as he approached.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian had looked all over the College of Magic for Isikais, but following the trail had taken time. The registrar said he went looking for Stonemiller, his mentor was in a meeting with the regents, and then the trail just fizzled out until a man he had taken some classes with stopped him to ask him if he knew why there was a strange man lurking around his cottage. "Shyke," he muttered, then thanked the other student. He considered coming up with some lie to cover his bases as to Isikais' identity, but decided against it. Wizards were, after all, mysterious by nature. The walk wasn't too strenuous or long from the College of Magic to his modest home, and he immediately caught sight of Isikais, who was not doing a very good job at fitting in. Or perhaps he just seemed obviously statuesque due to Hadrian's inside information as to his nature. Hadrian approached quietly, without calling out. It occurred to him that Isikais might have come up with some alternate identity, name included, and he didn't want to pooch the deal. The way Isikais was standing there, though, Hadrian realized that he probably wasn't going to be rid of him anytime soon. That didn't bother him overmuch. And that in itself should probably have worried him.

[Isikais]

It wasn't the steps of Hadrian's approach, not the rustle of clothes and books as he traveled, or the clumsiness of what passed for stealth among humans. It was the one thing Isikais always heard when surrounded by the living: the sound of breathing. It was enough to rouse him from the depths of his meditative state. A deep inhale after such stillness shocked lungs and vocal chords alike. "Welcome home, Hadrian!" Isikais barked the greeting as he turned to face him. Brows furrowed and the corner of his lip lifted into a smirk of confused disappointment. "That was not at all how that was supposed to go." He smiled whimsically at his emotive failure and shrugged playfully. "How was your day?" He asked, having overheard the question as he stood in thought. "Did you successfully assimilate the lessons of the day?"

[Hadrian]

The opportunity to observe a Nuit at rest had lasted long enough to assuage his curiosity a bit. He could only imagine what Isikais had been up to while Hadrian slept fitfully. Several times when he had woken up, he felt eyes on him, but when he looked, Isikais was decidedly not looking. Now he blinked at the forceful welcome, the sudden tension of surprise fading rather quickly. His answering smile was along the same lines as Isikais'. Fishing out his key, he unlocked the door to let them in. He held the door for his guest. "It was a day," he said noncommittally. "I need to figure out what I'm going to do for my project, but classes are fine." His fairly uninformative answer was fairly rote, but still true. Lessons were generally assimilated quickly, but the ripples from each new datum didn't always bear fruit until some new problem confronted him.

[Isikais]

Isikais passed through he door without even a motion to hold it for himself. It was these sporadic gestures of superiority that were among the few things that remained from his days as an Eypharian. Directly to the place where he had placed it before Isikais put his bag on the floor. He went straight to the same chair he had occupied when Hadrian fell asleep the night before, the book on Ahnatep still open to the page where he left off. "I convinced a young woman in the school of art to allow me to bathe and clean my clothes in her room in exchange for allowing her to sketch me. According to her Zeltivan modesty prevents her from finding a suitable supply of nude models." Isikais rattled off his experiences excitedly as he watched Hadrian settle in. "She even offered to pay me, but I turned down the offer, thinking instead it might be better to barter for the same arrangement in the future if you decide against our arrangement." The commentary rolled out and he prattled on rarely pausing for a breath. "Speaking of which, have you made a decision?" It was the first time Hadrian would have had a moment to chime in since they entered.

[Hadrian]

For his part, Hadrian didn't seem to mind holding the door or listening to Isikais' summary of his day and thoughts regarding the items offered to share. The skill of processing information that he had acquired at the university stood him in good stead at this strangely formalized acquaintance. When Isikais asked a direct question, he was ready with his answer. It didn't bother him that Isikais was making bathing and laundering arrangements elsewhere. He didn't relish the idea of drawing the dead man's baths for him after the first night. Though he did rather wonder whether this art student was attractive... "I suppose I have," he said. "You're welcome to stay for the term per your initial offer, and we can renegotiate the summer if we both decide to stay here in Zeltiva."

[Isikais]

Isikais smiled, glad to know he had secured yet another victory in his campaign to acquire suitable access to models for morphing. Without pausing, he wandered over to his bag and produced his coin purse, counting out one hundred and fifty of the multi-colored Mizas. Both hands full of the clinking gems he presented them to Hadrian, dropping them unceremoniously into the mans hands. "That is the one hundred and fifty we agreed upon." He nodded reassuringly. Isikais had not considered what he would do once the arrangements were made. He did not require food or drink, so the two would not be sharing any meals. It would eventually unsettle Hadrian, though, if he simply stared at the man as he went about his business. "I will continue reading here unless you require use of the table or wish to ask any further questions." Isikais finally decided, thinking it the best way to pass the time until he could watch Hadrian without the socially imposed prohibition on staring.

[Hadrian]

"Thanks," he said, sliding the money into a pouch and stowing it in his satchel. He normally didn't keep much money on him, preferring to let his father's factor in the city manage what finances he had. It wasn't that he was worried Isikais would steal from him, though. Money obviously wasn't what drove the Nuit. "What classes did you sign up for?" he asked carefully. It was strange talking to Isikais. Hadrian wasn't the best with emotions, but Isikais seemed unfeeling in some way, as if the series of lives not quite lived had made him cold-blooded like a snake. The conversation and possibilities for the future excited him; it was only the strangeness of him in Hadrian's own home that occasionally threw him. But he supposed that if he could cohabit with a Nuit, he was more likely to survive a trip to Sahova in the future.

[Isikais]

"I require only additional training in the art of Glyphs." Isikais lied, hedging his response to protect the true focus of his work. It was not so much that he feared Hadrian's response, but rather that he did not wish to tip his hand all at once. "It is a very useful skill on the Island of Sahova, and elsewhere. For example, in time, it would allow me to help you focus and store your own workings with Djed." The word, finding its roots in the ancient tongue, was coated in the accent of a foreigner. Most of the time Isikais spoke without so much as a hint of an accent, rather an indecipherable jumble of subtle accents, but for just a moment his age showed as he spoke. "I can provide you with rudimentary lessons in the form and functions of glyphs, barriers, and triggers, but I fear I am only a novice at the art myself." He displayed the runes on his hands. Hadrian would be an astute mage indeed if he were able to translate the modified form of the runes Isikais used to draw his glyphs. "I was, however, disappointed to find that the art of Legacy is not among those regularly offered in Zeltiva. I had hoped to dabble a bit."

[Hadrian]

"Legacy is one of the things I'm going to have to travel to learn," he said, nodding glumly. "There have been visiting teachers, but none of the regular faculty are masters of the art. But I wouldn't mind a little help with glyphs." He took Isikais' hands to peer at them more closely. They had already gotten over a few of the rules of personal space. He frowned. "These look familiar, but... no. I don't know them. I figure even if you aren't a master, your knowledge of glyphs will be different from any of the professors here. What I know mostly relates to precautions for magecrafting, and magical notation. But actually inscribing the djed into paper and ink...? I'm no good at it. Once I tried to augment my puny reimancy with runes drawn onto my skin, but... that didn't go over so well with Ivak."