The Silent Circle (boyxboy, PAFP)

Lucas had definitely felt it; Weak, thready, and uncertain, but there nonetheless. Evan’s intent had been shaky as all hell, but that was to be expected for a total novice. It took time, effort, and practice to be able to properly visualize a sorcerer’s intent for a spell. Luke had only just really started to get a firm grasp on it in the last year or so, and even so, he sometimes found his spells going awry or fizzling out when he was distracted during casting.

“Yes. Yes you did,” Luke confirmed with a radiant smile, clapping the other man on the shoulder in an encouraging gesture. “Congratulations, you just performed your first intentional feat of magic. You should be proud; The first time I tried to open a door, I blew it off its hinges. You didn’t apply enough force; I applied way too much. Your way of not doing it right is better. Tends not to leave so much of a mess,” Lucas admitted with a chuckle, shaking his head in consternation at the memory. He then made his way up the last few steps to the doors and opened them the old-fashioned way, and he shut them normally as well once they were both inside.

“I don’t want to go full-teacher mode on you just yet, I know it’s been a hell of a two days, but there is one thing you need to remember no matter what,” Lucas began quietly as they headed for the stairs. The elevator was busted again, shockingly. Note the sarcasm. He wasn’t too worried about anyone overhearing their conversation; If anyone did hear a snatch of what he was saying to Evan, they would just assume they were talking about a video game or something. Or that they were just lunatics. That was cool too, people didn’t pay attention to lunatics anyway. Made for good cover.

“The golden rule of magic is to never, ever, ever summon up your magical energy without a spell in mind to cast; Meaning that, if you want to use magic, always have a specific goal or effect in mind, don’t just unleash it without a guiding intent. When magic is unleashed without a spell to shape it, we call it a “wild casting”, and there’s absolutely no telling what will happen. The magic could just fizzle out harmlessly, or it could set everything near you on fire, or it could turn some poor schmuck inside out, or it could do something else entirely. There’s just no way to know. That’s why intent is so important,” he explained, sticking his hand into his pocket when they reached the door to their apartment, only to realize that he didn’t have his keys.

“Shit, I think I left my keys at Whiteridge Hall, we were in kind of a rush to get to the library when we realized something was happening there. I know that was scary, by the way, but for what it’s worth; I owe you. It got me out of a roasting by the Council. Blowing up buildings is a good distraction, turns out,” Lucas said, a little sheepishly, stepping aside so Evan could unlock the door.

The red-head had no intention of trivializing what had happened to Evan, but it was just easier to focus on the task of teaching Evan about magic than it was to start worrying about the Lord of Change. The ugly truth was that Lucas was borderline terrified for Evan, because Greater Demons were the kind of creatures that were responsible for bringing nations to their knees. One four-year Adjutor and a totally inexperienced Initiate were not qualified to deal with it, in any way, shape, or form. But Luke had a lot of experience hiding his fear for other’s sake; He’d done it for most of his childhood, putting on a brave face for his younger siblings, even when he was scared that they wouldn’t have enough to eat that week. Practice made perfect.

The next two and a half weeks or so were... Well, a bit of a culture shock for Lucas, and almost certainly Evan as well; The two young men were suddenly involved in each other’s worlds in a way they had never been before. For the first time since his Freshman year, Lucas was actually attending college classes on a regular basis. Worse, those classes were mostly heavy-duty science, a subject that had held the power to make Luke’s head start pounding since long before he ever knew about magic being real. More than once, Evan would have noticed Lucas slowly but surely banging his head against the desk he’d commandeered from whoever had previously been sitting in it in Evan’s earlier classes, a distinct “kill me now” gesture.

But, Lucas didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter, so he amused himself as best he could. Sometimes he was just on his phone, or reading a book he’d brought. Other times, though... He generally tried to restrain himself from doing anything too disruptive to the class, not wanting to be a total dick, but occasionally he just couldn’t resist. Like that day about a week into the new arrangement when he animated every single pencil in the class out of pure boredom, with Evan’s as the sole exception. The entire class had been utterly confused by the way their pencils kept wriggling off of their desks and onto the ground, like they were actively trying to escape. Lucas totally losing it in the back and laughing himself hoarse hadn’t helped, either.

Then there was the flip side; The beginning of Evan’s education in magic. Time spent on that was generally split between the apartment and Whiteridge Hall. The latter was much quieter and less intimidating normally than it had been the first time Evan had been there, and it was much easier, and safer, to practice spellcasting there than it was in the apartment, where even a slight mistake could result in one of Evan’s plants catching fire. Or one of the cats going suddenly and mysteriously bald. That was something they wanted to avoid, generally speaking.

One of the first things Lucas told Evan was that he was going to very quickly get tired of hearing the word “intent”, but that was the nature of the magical beast. Every single spell, ritual, enchantment, and conjuring was tied up in what the sorcerer casting them wanted to have happen. Specific incantations, ingredients, and rituals were used to help focus that intent; To make it easier to visualize and properly focus on the goal.

“You remember when I made everyone in your class go to sleep, the day that demon was messing with you? I used an incantation; Somnus perpetua, which roughly means “Sleep everlasting”. I didn’t technically have to say the words, I could have just cast the spell and hoped for the best. But the words helped me focus; I was distracted by the fact that a bunch of people were doing their best zombie impressions and trying to get to you. If I’d just unleashed the magic without a focus, a lot of things could have happened. It might have worked as intended and put everyone to sleep, or it could have put me to sleep instead,” Lucas explained, his eyes intent on the sculpture he was creating.

He and Evan were in Whiteridge Hall, in classroom of sorts, though it had been long-ago converted into a workshop, filled with all sorts of strange and wondrous objects; From crystals the size of Evan’s head, to men made of golden metal that actually walked around, to half-finished magical items strewn about the place like a child would leave their toys. There were a few other Circle members in there doing their own projects, but no one was paying much attention to the two as they talked. According to Lucas, this was where he spent most of his time with the Circle nowadays, focusing on perfecting his talents as an Artificer. Seeing as Luke was still learning himself, he often combined Evan’s lessons with his own continuing studies, a strategy that seemed to be working quite well thus far. Just then, Lucas was sculpting another dog, this one a little bigger and a lot more artistically sophisticated than the clay canine he’d created weeks earlier. He wasn’t done with the legs just yet, but the rest of the dog’s body looked quite lifelike. It was Lucas’ natural talent with art that had first drawn him to artifice in the first place.

“The really powerful sorcerers, like the Supremus or the Consules, don’t have to bother with all the busy-work like words and ingredients, because they’re just that good at focusing on what they want to accomplish with any given spell. But for us lowly young practitioners, it’s always smart to have an incantation or a potion available, so you don’t get distracted and mess up the casting,” he added, tongue sticking out just slightly as he molded the stone on one of the dog’s legs, his fingers shaping the rock as easily as they would wet clay. Magic, baby.

“Check in the Liber Speculum for the incantation to transmute stone into wood for me, would you? I want you to try it. I know I’ve had you doing a lot of moving things around for the last few weeks, but a good transmutation is tougher, and I think you’re about ready to try it,” Lucas directed, turning his head to nod at the book open in front of Evan.

The thing about Lucas’ time with the Circle so far was that it had been strangely lonely. On one side of the equation, he’d had his mundane friends; Evan himself, Scott Bower, Trystan Jones, and a few others, but he’d been consistently lying to them for four years, easily longer than he’d even known any of them. That made it a little difficult to really bond or enjoy someone's company, at least for Lucas, who was by no means inherently deceitful. Then, on the other hand, you had the Circle, where Luke was far from the only younger member, but which was an institution that thrived on personal ambition. Young sorcerers rarely, if ever, collaborated unless ordered to, and the atmosphere was that of a near-constant competition to see who could master the Art the most quickly and safely.

Evan was like a breath of fresh air for him; He knew, and Luke could share the Gift with him, but he also wasn’t secretly trying to surpass him with every given moment. There was no competition, no animosity, no veiled threats disguised as pleasantries. It was an incredible relief to be able to just talk to someone he actually liked about all of this, without having to wonder whether the person he was talking had some hidden motive at play.

“Close enough. Technically it should be “lapis est lignum”, but proper grammar isn’t required so long as it helps you do what you want it to. Poor old Latin gets pretty butchered around here,” Lucas confirmed, though he was distracted a moment later by a puppet-sized man-like automaton of golden, whirring gears clanking across the table toward him on two unsteady legs. “Hey there, Mr. Widget. One of your gears out of alignment again?” he asked, temporarily leaving the unfinished dog to reach over and gently pick up the automaton, which whirred in a distinctly pleased way as the red-head put it down in front of him. The small, golden man let out a breath of visible steam as it was set down, its glowing ruby eyes focusing for a moment on Evan. Though it could sometimes feel as if the automaton was seeing right through you, Lucas had assured Evan the first time he saw Mr. Widget that it was both harmless and useless.

“Evan, try turning these two stones into wood. I want to use them for the dog’s eyes, but wood is easier to enchant with spells that deal with the senses, and I don’t want the poor guy to be blind or anything. I gotta realign one of Mr. Widget’s gears, he’s always bumping into things and knocking his gears out of alignment,” Lucas directed, reaching over to a box full of various sized rocks and stones, taking two small, green stones, and placing them in front of Evan. “Birch or cedar are ideal, so hold either of those in your mind as you cast the spell. And remember what I told you about focusing the energy; The others would not appreciate it if you accidentally turn all of their projects to wood,” he said with a swift smile shot at Evan, even as he grabbed a pair of delicate pliers and set to work on the automaton. Lucas had explained to Evan the first time that they came here together that Mr. Widget was something of a mascot for the Artificers of the Circle, having been built by Dianna Crawley herself when she was just a Tertius.

Lucas knew that Evan had a huge amount on his plate, but he wasn’t entirely sure what to do about it. His own method of getting through mundane classes, perception spells mixed with a little bit of memory magic, though effective, was likely not something Evan would want to start doing. Lucas was fairly certain that the man was too honest, and too fair-minded, to consider taking the easy way out of his mundane classes. It didn’t seem to be too much of a problem so far, but he would keep an eye on it. He didn’t want Evan getting overwhelmed by the new additions to his workload.

Lucas’ own increased absences from mundane college had not been lost on his mundane friends, many of whom had started to speculate that he had a new boyfriend, and had begun to tease him about it. He took it in stride, jokingly going along with it in a “I don’t kiss and tell” sort of manner, as that story was a convenient one to hide behind. Though he did have to dodge their inquiries about meeting the “new man in Lucas’ life”. As if he even had time for romance; Between his own studies, teaching Evan, and attending Evan’s classes with him (along with everything else), the idea of devoting time to a boyfriend was laughable. Far better to focus on getting Evan through the initial hump that was the Initiate stage of Circle membership. Once Evan was good enough to be raised to Tertius, then Luke could afford to be a little more hands-off in his training.

“Oh, uh...” Lucas suddenly stopped tinkering with Mr. Widget and turned to look at Evan, remembering something. “Are you doing anything Saturday night? Because there’s a... Well, an event, I guess, going on here then, and I kind of want you to come. But it’s totally optional, so if you have plans or anything, it’s totally fine,” he assured Evan, not wanting to pressure him. He’d meant to ask this days ago, but he’d kept putting it off, for reasons that would become clear once Evan inevitably asked what this “event” was, exactly.

It took Lucas a few moments to carefully realign the offending gear in Mr. Widget’s metallic body, and once he had, he picked the automaton back up and set it on its feet. It took a few experimental steps, much more gracefully than it had been capable of a moment ago, and let out another small hiss of steam before clanking away. Lucas grinned at it as it went. He knew Evan wasn’t particularly fond of the mascot, but Luke hadn’t either, the first time he’d seen it. It was a weird little contraption, and a little disturbing given its clear resemblance of a small, puppet-like human man. Still, he’d grown fond of it over the last four years, and the feelings seemed to be reciprocated; Mr. Widget always chose Lucas to come to when it needed repairs, if he was present in the workshop at the time.

That done, Lucas turned to retrieve the two small wooden balls Evan had just transmuted, inspecting them for a moment, turning the smooth wooden orbs over in his hands. Nodding and shooting Evan another smile, he placed in a small box to his left. “Nice job, they’ll do perfectly. One successful transmutation down! It’ll take me an hour or two for me to enchant them, vision spells are complicated to say the least, so I’ll do that the next time I’m back here between my classes,” he decided, giving the not-quite-finished wooden dog a once-over. It would only take a few more hours of work on its body to finish that, as well, and then he could animate it properly. The intention was to make this dog a much more complex, life-life creation, and he was planning on imbuing it with certain properties that would make it a good watch dog for the apartment. He was keeping the cats in mind, of course; Once he was done with it, they would never even know it was there.

Eventually Evan would have to start attending actual classes in the Hall, but that would only be once he’d mastered the basics of magic and had advanced to Tertius. At that point, the disciplines of magic began to branch out, and Lucas would really only be able to continue teaching Evan when it came to enchanting, animating, and construction spells. Lucas had already guessed that life magic would draw Evan when that time came. It just fit with the man’s personality, and he suspected that Evan would enjoy that side of magic even more than what he was already learning.

“Well... It’s sort of like a gala. Or a reception, maybe, though not quite so formal as that. The Circle is hosting representatives from the other supernatural powers in New York; The Sidhe will be there, for instance. Faeries, if you haven’t come across them yet in your reading; But not like fucking Tinker Bell or whatever. A few vampires and werewolves might show too, among other races,” Lucas told him, a look of faint disgust appearing on his face for a moment, but it was swiftly replaced by a puppy-dog look that ranked with the best of them.

“It’s boring as all hell, I mean, like, catatonically boring, and I have to go to make a good impression on the Council. Initiates aren’t required to attend, but they can, and if you’re there at least I’ll have someone to talk to who isn’t a high-and-mighty asshole, a blood-sucker, or a furry. Well, I mean the werewolves aren’t that bad, they’re kind of like a frat really, but they’re usually too busy picking fights with the vampires to be good company... Anyway; Can you? I totally get it if you don’t want to, I would skip it myself in a heartbeat if I could, but I figured I’d give it a shot, at least?” Luke went on, his eyes wide and a small, hopeful smile on his face. There was another distinct reason that Lucas wanted Evan there, but he chose not to mention just yet, as it was... Well, embarrassing, to say the least. He’d figure out how to say it later, if Evan even accepted.

Evan agreeing to come to the gala made Lucas’ small small grow much larger, and he leaned over to wrap an arm around Evan’s shoulder in a one-sided hug. “Awesome, thank you! I was alone the last two times I had to go, and it was honestly the worst. We can be each other’s buffer, it’ll totally work out,” he stated confidently, his optimistic nature clearly shining through. Whether or not it would really be that easy would remain to be seen. The other man’s bright side did make Lucas’ smile grow a little more, even, and he couldn’t help but chuckle a bit in response.

“We’ll talk about what not to do or say in front of them before we go. The Sidhe, especially, take offense to pretty much everything that comes out of anyone’s mouth, ever. It’s better to just not talk to them unless you plan on spending a few hours in a circular conversation that leaves you with nothing but questions and a sense that you were just insulted, but you can’t figure out how, exactly... But time enough for that shit later. Right now, I’m starving. Want to go get something for dinner, or would you rather just head back to the apartment and whip something up?” Lucas asked, withdrawing his arm from around Evan’s shoulder and stretching in his seat for a long, luxurious moment.

There was a minor explosion somewhere behind the two young men at that point, and a flash of violet light, but no one started screaming in pain or anything, and Evan would have heard a few dozen of those by now during his time spent in the workshop. Lucas had even seared his own eyebrows off a few days ago while tinkering with an orb of some kind, covered in symbols and glowing with heat. He’d been able to regrow them in just a few minutes, but he’d told Evan that such accidents were common when one was working with magical objects. Screw up the alignments or the amount of energy required, and “boom”!

If he was being entirely honest with himself, Lucas had assumed that he would be chafing a little by now, given the situation. But, to his faint surprise, he wasn’t. In fact, he was quite enjoying himself, and Evan’s company had not begun to grate on him in the slightest. Though Lucas was a naturally friendly person, he’d always assumed that spending practically every moment of every day with a single person would get tiring. And perhaps, if it had been someone else, he might be feeling a little stir-crazy by this point. But not with Evan. It was easy with him, and comfortable. Teaching him magic was proving both enjoyable and extremely beneficial to Luke’s own studies; By teaching the material, he was gaining a better grasp of it himself. As far as he could tell, thus far, there were no downsides. Maybe that would change given more time, but, for the moment, Lucas had no complaints.

Well, besides those science classes. Ugh.

OOC: Yeah, Luke is out and proud, though he hasn’t been in a relationship since high school. He’ll definitely initiate things when it comes to that. As you could probably tell, Lucas is not particularly reserved, he’s a much more speak-your-mind kind of guy. Hence why he was so epically bad at hiding his secret life from Evan. xD

Lucas shook his head in a good-natured manner at Evan’s decision to head back to the apartment, not at all perturbed. “It’s totally fine with me, I could eat your cooking for the rest of time and be perfectly happy,” he declared, starting toward the exit once Evan had gotten up and stretched a bit.

One or two other Circle members looked up from their projects and muttered farewells as they went, though it wasn’t clear to either Evan or Lucas that they even knew who they were saying goodbye to, so focused on their work were they.

“I’m extremely tempted to just ask for pancakes, but I guess we should probably eat something a little more substantial. Didn’t you make a jambalaya kind of thing that one time? With the shrimp? That would be freaking awesome. I’ll even help by staying as far away from the kitchen as possible, so as to not burn something by my very presence,” Lucas suggested, the self-deprecating joke that came a moment later sad, but, true. Lucas could cook very basic things, but anything more complex than a grilled cheese or an ordinary sandwich, and he was liable to find some way to screw it up. Perhaps it came from an over reliance on magic, given that no spell could create a good cooked meal. It also didn’t help that he’d been living with a stellar cook for over a year; He was majorly out of practice.

As they walked down the hall, they ran into someone Evan actually recognized; The green-haired girl from the night he’d discovered the Circle. There was another, identical green-haired girl beside her as well, and they were both comparing notes of some kind, muttering to each other.

“Kassandra. Lacy,” Lucas greeted them as they passed. The two girls glanced up in unison, and the one of the right, Kassandra apparently, gave Evan a sharp little smile.

“I heard that you were sticking around. Good on you. We don’t get a lot of walk-ins in the Circle,” she said, something about her tone and her sharp little smile making it difficult to ascertain whether or not she was genuinely praising him, or mocking him.

“We’ll see you at the gala on Saturday, won’t we, Luke?” the other twin, Lacy, asked Lucas, though not before throwing her sister a quick, disapproving look, as if telling her off for interacting with Evan at all.

“You’ll see both of us there, actually. You still planning on bringing that vampire you’ve been seeing? The one with the dreamy eyes?” Lucas asked, his tone teasing.

Lacy gave him a slow smile. “Jealous, much?”

The red-head snorted in derision at that idea. “I prefer my men alive rather than dead, thanks. I wish you and the bloodsucker all the happiness in the world, though.”

“Mhh, I’m sure. Besides, these days you have your eye on someone a little closer to home, don’t you, Luke?” Lacy suggested, her smile even more dangerous now than her sister’s had been a moment ago.

“I have literally no idea what you’re talking about,” Lucas replied airily, only half-lying. He knew she was referring to Evan, but she wasn’t right about this one. He hadn’t thought about Evan in that way at all until now, he’d been far too busy with everything else. Besides, as far as knew, his roommate was straight.

“Sure you don’t. We’ll see you at the gala, Lucas. Evan,” Kassandra interjected, nodding sharply at her sister, who nodded back. A moment later, and they were gone, striding back down the corridor the way the two men had come.

Once again, the two Circle members had given the distinct impression that Evan wasn’t even part of the conversation, beyond that one comment of Kassandra’s directed toward him. It was a familiar feeling by now to the man, as most of the other members tended to act the same way; As if he wasn’t even there, even when being discussed. According to Lucas, that was common for Initiates, who were often hazed, but the truth was that most Circle members still didn’t believe Evan even belonged in the organization, and most weren’t afraid to show it. The exceptions were Lucas himself, of course, Emily, the girl who had greeted Evan at the front door that night, and Kevin. The latter two treated Evan just fine, and Emily had even helped Evan with one of his more difficult hurdles a week or so back.

Lucas sighed once the twins were out of earshot. “Sorry about them, E. They’ll get over it once you make Tertius, I promise. Fortunately, there aren’t any other Circle members at home, so let’s go there, before we get ambushed by another group of arrogant assholes,” he suggested, picking the pace back up so they would reach the exit faster.

OOC: I know! I’ve always loved opposites attract stories, though, because in my mind, it’s all about how they complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Caution tempers recklessness, and vice versa, that sort of thing.

The trip back to the apartment was quick and quiet, thankfully, but then that’s how it had been for the last two and a half weeks. There was no way that a Greater Demon would just mess with Evan like it had, even Awakening him, and then just decide to fuck off for parts unknown. It was definitely still somewhere, watching, but, for whatever reason, it wasn’t making a move just yet, which was a mixed blessing, of course. It meant that they had nothing too horrible to deal with in the meantime, but it also meant that whatever was coming, they wouldn’t know when, where, or how it would happen. Lucas had never been super fond of surprises.

Once they’d reached home, Lucas unlocked the front door and stepped in, letting Evan through past him and shutting it again once he had. The apartment still smelled faintly of incense from Evan’s introduction to basic conjuring last week, but it wasn’t an unpleasant smell by any means.

“I’m going to take a quick shower while you start cooking, didn’t have time this morning. Plus, it keeps me far away from any delicate cooking that might be ruined by my aura,” Luke said to Evan with an exhale of relief at being home after such a long day. This morning he’d been needed in Whiteridge for an alchemy test, which he barely passed, considering he couldn’t brew potions to save his own life, and then he’d had two of Evan’s classes to go to. After that, the two had barely had time for lunch before they’d had to head straight back to the Hall so Evan could sit on a Primus’ lecture about the fundamentals of magic. And after that, of course, they’d been in the workshop for a few hours. Neither of the two had been able to take a break all day.

As Evan went into the kitchen, Lucas headed through into the small hallway and then into the master bathroom, pulling off his shirt as he went. A few minutes later, he was standing under the hot spray of the shower, his mind a million miles away. Even though he knew that the gala was going to be entirely safe, with hundreds of sorcerers from multiple organizations and a number of powerful supernatural entities there, there was still a part of him that was worried. Something was going to happen, and soon, that much he could be sure of. The next time the Lord of Change made a move, there was no telling what could happen. It didn’t want Evan dead, it wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of Awakening him if it did, but death wasn’t always the worst fate one could suffer at the hands of a demon of that power.

There was nothing for it; He would have to perform the Alderati Abjuration on Evan.

He’d been considering it on and off ever since Evan had been forcibly Awakened and they’d learned that it was a Greater Demon that was responsible. But the Abjuration was both extremely complex and draining to cast, but also devilishly (pun intended) difficult, and even the slightest mistake would render it totally useless and any effort expended on it wasted. However, it was also one of the most powerful and reliable (once properly in place) protective spells in the Circle’s library. Casting it would be the most difficult working of Lucas’ magical career thus far, but he believed he could do it given the proper preparation. It would have to wait until after the Gala, he wouldn’t have time to prepare before this Saturday, but afterwards he would have to focus on it as best he could given his workload these days.

Once Lucas was done with the shower, a new resolution made, he wrapped a towel around his waist and headed into his room to change, throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a tank-top. Finally, he made his way back into the kitchen, lowering himself into one of the chairs around the table to watch Evan cook for a bit, a surprisingly enjoyable pastime for Lucas in the last few months or so. Evan only rarely seemed so relaxed as he did when he was cooking, especially these days.

“Would you tell your family about all of this? If it wasn’t forbidden, I mean. Or, well, I guess even though it is. Do you think they would understand?” Lucas found himself asking, not even sure where the question had been coming from. He’d always regretted that he couldn’t come clean to his parents and siblings about where he was getting the money he was sending them, and why he couldn’t send more. While he knew that Evan and his family weren’t on the best of terms, he still wondered if this was something he was planning on trusting them with. It wasn’t unheard of, for Circle members to let their families in on the secret, even though it was heavily discouraged.

Evan in that apron was an utterly adorable sight. And that is all that needed to be said about that.

Lucas nodded, more to himself than to Evan, at the other man’s answer to his question. He’d suspected that answer, knowing that the Hoffman’s weren’t a closely-knit bunch, but he’d still felt the need to ask. The question being turned back on him was also not unexpected, though he didn’t have an easy answer like Evan had, as unfortunate as said answer was. Being estranged from your family was by means a blessing, it was kind of tragic, really; Though it did provide a sort of simplicity. Your life was your own, and you didn’t have to explain it to a family that didn’t care. But, then, simple didn’t always equal good, did it?

“I’m honestly not sure. Well, for the most part. The twins, Eva and Justin, they’d understand. I’d tell them in a heartbeat if it wasn’t something that could put them in danger. Sarah and Wyatt, I love them, but they’re selfish, they’d never stop asking me to fix their problems for them. My parents are... That’s more complicated. I think that they’d see the Gift as a means to an end for them, it would only be about the financial gain. They’ve been worrying about money for so many years, it’s basically ingrained into them now. It’s hard for them to see anything else, which is a big part of why I chose Hudson instead of the University of Chicago. I think at this point, they’re so used to being poor, that they don’t know how to be anything else. If that makes sense,” Lucas replied, thinking his answer through as he went along. The McAllister family dynamic was a rather complex one; But at least he knew that they all loved each other, as difficult as it could all be sometimes. Evan didn’t even have that.

The jambalaya already smelled freaking delicious, of course, but that was no surprise. Evan’s cooking had been what had really sold Luke on him as a roommate, after they first met and had just moved into the apartment. Having a mundane roommate was generally considered unwise, to the Circle; You had to actually work at hiding things from them. But Lucas had never wanted another member as a roommate; They were mostly arrogant assholes, and the ones that weren’t were already living in their own apartments or had roommates already. And Luke couldn’t afford his own place, Gift or no Gift. Almost all of the money he could make using alchemical transmutation went back to Chicago, and conjuring money out of thin air was a big no-no that the Circle expressly forbade. College students suddenly having huge amounts of money to spend on whatever they wanted tended to draw significant attention, both mundane and otherwise. Lucas’ selling of gold paperweights was on the very knife’s edge of what was acceptable to the Circle, and that was only because he put memory hexes on the pawn brokers he sold to, to make sure they didn’t get suspicious.

“Anyway, I’m sorry that your family wouldn’t get it. For what it’s worth, I’m not entirely sure why anybody who knew you wouldn’t like you, because you’re awesome, and you can quote me on that. I’m pretty sure mine would love you to pieces, especially my mother. She’d want to share cooking tips and recipes with you for literally hours, if you let her,” Lucas went on, regaining his usual calm confidence after falling into a brief, somewhat melancholy silence, having realized that he’d never really thought this stuff through quite so clearly before. He’d always preferred to just sort of ignore the possibility of telling his family the truth, finding it easier to hide behind the Circle’s rules than actually consider it.

OOC: I’m pretty sure I’ve accidentally switched Lucas’ hometown from Chicago, to Detroit, and then back again by this point. For reference’s sake, Chicago is where he actually grew up and where his family still is, I’m just silly and forget things. xD

Lucas couldn't say that Evan's little slip concerning his family's biases, whichever aspect of Luke that they may have objected to, didn't piss him off a little. But it wasn't Evan's fault. The man had never been anything but accepting, rational, and very much non-biased. Lucas was pretty sure that in the entire time he'd known Evan, the man hadn't once said or done anything that indicated that he thought he was better than anyone else. In fact, if anything, he sort of did the opposite; He was kind of a wallflower, and he let himself get pushed around sometimes. Lucas knew Evan, however, and the guy would definitely be a little worried about his roommate taking his words the wrong way, and he just couldn't resist making a joke that had just come to mind, though it would also serve to reassure the other man that it was fine.

"My kind of character?" Lucas asked, his eyes narrowing, injecting just enough annoyance into his tone to make Evan squirm a little for a moment or two. "That's actually offensive, E. I didn't choose to be born with this hair color, it just happened. You and your ginger racist family will just have to find a way to accept me for who I am," he sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

Once the food was in front of him, Lucas dug in straight away, though not without blowing on the first several forkfuls a few times each. It was stellar, and it wasn't terribly difficult to push aside the melancholy of a few moments ago and focus in on the meal. Things looked up even more halfway through, when Lucas managed to sneak Felix a piece of chicken. The cat apparently decided that this constituted a sufficient apology for the whole color changing thing and forgave him, because he leapt up into Lucas' lap after he'd scarfed down the meat and curled up there for the rest of dinner, perfectly happy. And, actually, finding himself thinking about Felix and Holly in general, Lucas remembered a subject he'd meant to broach with Evan sometime after he'd gotten some of the basics down. Well, now was that time, as he'd just today moved on to basic transmutation, an important milestone.

"So, I actually wanted to talk to you about the kids. I want to suggest something, but this particular thing is optional. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to. Keeping that in mind; You've probably heard of familiars, right? I mean, it's in pretty much any show or movie involving witches and such. Well, like a lot of legends and fantasy stories, the idea of familiars has its roots in truth. Sorcerers are capable of forging a sort of connection with a specific animal, or more than one, in a few cases. Cats are among the most popular familiars, because they're naturally attuned to the flow of magic in a way that few other animals are. Having a familiar presents a few benefits; Just having one, no matter where it is, can help strengthen your spell-casting. Plus, the animal in question gains a much longer life, they'll live as long as you do, and they'll never get sick or anything. Familiars can also warn you of danger even before normal wards would, and they can help you focus on more complex spells and incantations. If it's something you'd be willing to do, we could bond both Felix and Holly to you at once. It's unusual, but it's been done a number of times. There's no risk of anything bad happening to them, if the spell fails, it will just have no effect at all," Lucas explained, suspecting that Evan would go for it. The bonding would shield the cats from both time and disease, and it would enhance his own strength as well. There were literally no downsides, which was why so many sorcerers had familiars. Lucas himself didn't, but that was more due to personal choice. He hadn't really wanted pets, and had assumed he wouldn't enjoy having them, until Felix and Holly proved him wrong. Still, he'd felt no pressing need to add a third animal to the apartment solely so he could bond with it as his familiar.

OOC: The familiar spell will take time to prepare if Evan wants to do it, so let's just say that they wait until after the gala, which we'll time-skip to. You can do it in your post if you like, just move us up to the day of the gala as Evan and Lucas are getting ready, or I can do it in my next one. Your choice!

The only thing Lucas really felt at first, when looking at himself in the mirror, was self-conscious. This was an unusual feeling for him, as generally the man was entirely unconcerned with how people saw him; But this was an exception. Having never even worn a suit before the first time he’d attended one of these galas, about three years ago now, Luke always felt silly and overdressed while wearing them. His inexperience showed; No matter how much he tugged on the collar, he could never get it quite right. He felt like an imposter, dressed up to the nines like this, but then that was a feeling he could never quite shake while attending any sort of fancy party or event like this, no matter what he happened to be wearing.

He did look good in a suit, that much he had to admit, though it would have been better if he was able to get the damn collar right. He’d gone with black, largely because the girl at the place he’d bought the suit from had recommended it. She’d said it would contrast beautifully with his vibrantly red hair, which had proven true. Still, despite multiple attempts to get the suit just right with a bit of magic here and there, it still felt like he was wearing an ill-fitting second skin. It was fortunate that most other Circle events required the ceremonial robes; While far from fashionable or modern, they were at least comfortable to wear. One night out of the year was more than enough for Lucas, when it came to suits.

At length, Lucas realized he needed to just get over it and declare himself as ready as he’d ever be, so he gave himself a semi-confident nod in the mirror, and then he made his way out into the hall, shutting his bedroom door behind him. He heard Evan call his name, and the red-head headed for the kitchen, spotting his roommate a moment later.

“Goddamn,” Lucas whistled, taking in the sight of Evan dressed up, which he’d never seen before. Though he generally didn’t spend much time thinking about how Evan looked, there were times when Lucas was struck by just how damn attractive the man was, and this was one of those times. He looked model-worthy in that suit, though he chose not to voice that particular thought either, suspecting it would embarrass Evan more than it would flatter him.

“You look incredible, Evan, seriously. You’re going to turn every head in the room, mine included,” Lucas predicted honestly. He found that thought a little sobering, oddly, a twinge of possessiveness flashing through him, faster than he could shut it down. Vanity was a trap that many young sorcerers fell into; And Evan, looking like that, was going to attract attention.

The last few weeks had been good. Maybe great, even; Far better than he’d ever thought, when all this with his roommate had started. Lucas was just getting used to having his best friend in both worlds, and he had absolutely no desire to watch some beautiful sorceress swoop in and distract Evan from his training. Once the man had completed his initiate studies and had advanced to Tertius, then Lucas wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore, and Evan could date whoever he wanted to date. The red-head would have no problem with it at that point. None at all. But for now, it was just smarter for the initiate to keep distractions to a minimum. Practical, even.

Lacy’s snide little comments from a few days ago about Lucas’ attentions being closer to home surfaced in his thoughts, but he chose to ignore that little subconscious voice. He was only thinking of Evan’s well-being and continued training, and that was all there was to it.

“We should get going before the sun goes down. I don’t want to run into any vampires on the way there,” Lucas eventually suggested, glancing up at the clock in the kitchen. Then, realizing what Evan would likely assume he meant, the man glanced back at his roommate and gave a sheepish smile. “Not because they’d hurt us or anything like that, these vampires are all in full control of themselves, and they'll behave while they’re here. Most of them love the sounds of their own voices, though, and they tend to talk your ear off. If one of them catches us before we get there, we’ll be standing there for fifteen minutes listening to some story about he met Benito Mussolini that one time. Better to avoid that headache,” he clarified, heading for the front door and glancing back at Evan once he’d reached it, a more easy-going grin appearing on his face.

”Shall we?”