Groundskeeper

[11:46] Ethric Athelier says, "..."
[11:46] Ethric Athelier says, "Hello, Mister Gardios."
[11:46] Seifer Gardios says, "..."
[11:46] Ethric Athelier asks, "How can I assist?"
[11:46] Seifer Gardios asks, "What are you doing all the way out here standing menacingly for?"
[11:46] Ethric Athelier says, "Not particularly menacingly."
[11:46] Seifer Gardios says, "Very menacingly."
[11:46] Ethric Athelier says, "However, I had been acquiring ingredients."
[11:47] Seifer Gardios says, "Ah."
[11:47] Seifer Gardios says, "..."
[11:47] Seifer Gardios says, "You hardly get time off."
[11:47] Seifer Gardios says, "I wouldn't want to bother th-"
[11:48] Seifer turned around, shaking his head. He could only pretend for so long.

"I think I've figured out what I want to do when I graduate. And it's all because of you."
(Seifer Gardios)
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[11:49] Ethric Athelier says, "Trust me- A moment when we are in private in the wild? Ideal."
[11:49] Ethric Athelier says, "I do not blame you. Consider it fortune, and do not contest the offer given freely."
[11:49] Ethric Athelier asks, "What do you want to do, Mister Gardios?"
[11:50] Seifer Gardios says, "I want to become groundskeeper. To ensure Starfall is safe for the kids and... well."
[11:50] Seifer Gardios says, "You."
[11:53] Ethric Athelier says, "..."
[11:53] Ethric Athelier says, "I-"
[11:54] Ethric Athelier says, "I... Hm."
[11:54] Ethric Athelier says, "... I... Would appreciate this."
[11:54] Ethric Athelier says, "I worry for you, Mister Gardios."
[11:54] Ethric Athelier says, "I hope you know this."
[11:55] Ethric Athelier says, "I... Wish I was strong as I once was."
[12:02] A brief glance is shot over his shoulder towards the old man, then back off towards the ocean.

"I don't think anyone else has caught on to it, Ethric. But... I have." The young man says, pausing to rise anticipation, to rise tension.

"You said you knew him. Several centuries old."

Another pause, though this time it was for Seifer's sake.

"I don't intend on telling anyone else about your unnatural lifespan. And I'm not sure if you've set me on this path to help you, too, in a way. You were fond of one who was undead, yet spoke of Necromancy's decline several times. It's clear to me you hold many, many secrets.

.. And I'd like to hear them if I'm going to put my own life at stake to keep yours around.

I want you to be honest with me, Ethric."

The way Seifer spoke was not as common of a teenager as one may expect; those were the words of a young man who'd grown to be more mature with the years. Be it through the burden of responsability or an unending desire to reach impossible goals he had definitely changed from the boy who'd been tricked into joining the Academy all those years back.

"Because as it stands I'm not even sure if I can trust my own cousin anymore."

Three subjects.
Three things that had dwelled upon Seifer's heart, kept away until this very moment.
(Seifer Gardios)
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[12:16] A pause.

Slowly, he eases himself at the side of the shore, along the rocky rise. Rather than stand- He seats himself next to the blunette man. This word is fine, and will enter the lexicon.

"... You do not have to know someone's entirety. Everyone will keep secrets from you, Mister Gardios. They will protect themselves. I think the reason you find it so upsetting, because it is not your nature to hide from others unless you have something vile or harmful in intent to keep from them."

A soft cock of his head. "It is not that way for many. They may have petty anxieties, stupid concerns."

"I do not hide. I merely do not tell. I prefer to show, rather than explicitly state. I do not want individuals to listen to me for reasons beyond that they find my advice and company sound. I have sworn an oath to never be so direct with any not already privy to my nature of their own acuity and consideration, I am afraid."

"Iworry for you, because you will be disappointed by those around you, by the world, and beyond many times over. I do not know if you will endure it successfully without succumbing to your darker responses- Bitterness. Paranoia, in turn. A sense of futility spurring irrational response- After all, if they do so, why not you?"

His head cocks, and he looks aside.

"Tell me of your cousin, then."
(Ethric Athelier)
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[12:37] "Disappointed in others?" He asked aloud, thinking over it. Despite how much he loved the world, saw beauty in it, and believed that everyone held some degree of good he couldn't help but hold disdain towards those classes. Towards the people who attented them, too. They... hardly seemed to work on greater projects - at least not as hard as he was. Maturity had bloomed, yet it had a long way to go. Green eyes fell upon the water's surface as Seifer spoke again.

".. Maybe. I wish that my classmates were smarter at times. More caring other times. I had hoped they wouldn't turn against people who want to do nothing but help them. And after seeing more than one person picking a fight with you when you've been nothing but supportive?

I fear it'll happen to me, too."

His admittance came with a look over to the mysterious, secretive old man.

"And it upsets me that you're keeping things away from me. Not.. because of what you said — though I've definitely tricked Achyon into believing I've paid the toll like nine times — but because of who you are.

You may not realize it, Ethric Athelier, but you're amazing in your own right. And I feel robbed to be unable to see each and every which way that makes you who you are."

Seifer finally turned to his mentor, offering him locked eyes that could not be denied.

"I mean, come on. I could tell that you were hurt the very day we've met. You say you don't tell but your face does. You're not as strong and definitely not as sharp as you used to be; else you wouldn't have let me see your heartbreak. I was fifteen. I didn't even know you. And I don't know what made you slip up, but I think it changed our relationship right away."

Mere teacher-student exchanges were far from what they held - or so the young man felt. Wasthis friendship? An odd, most peculiar kind of friendship.

"Zhrani keeps telling me that the less she knows, the more she worries. And... yeah- I know I've still got a lot left to learn, but I think you can learn, too. Even at this point in your life."

He shook his head a bit, finally breaking his long stare towards Ethric and allowing for the older one to properly take in Seifer's thoughts and words. A smile is soon cast upon his lips after that, demonstrating a certain force of will.

"You've got me pegged wrong if you think I'd submit to jealousy and fear. I know there's a lot of people who do things I wouldn't dare to do. A lot of them who care about themselves more than others. And some even going mad over it. But that'll never be me.

I've seen how desperate she was to find something— someone who could provide the answers she sought in her heart. The thrill she wanted. The fear of being hunted, of being attacked. Beyond all?

It's obvious she needs help.

If being disappointed by how little I can get from others was a way to stop me I wouldn't even have enrolled."

A smirk. A tease, one targetting Ethric of all people.

".. Anyway. My cousin. Yes. She... was dealing with one of the suspected vampires. She was asked if she was... hungry. I didn't say or do anything as they left, but I feel like it has to do with how insistent you were that I don't drink anything they give me."
(Seifer Gardios)
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[12:46] "I think in your darkest moments, you might. I, too, have experienced this- Many people think my patience infinite. It was merely honed from such sobering experiences, and people lost."

A somber note. "I want you to learn it secondhand, rather than first."

"Don't underestimate it. I tell you of that; We all have things to learn, Mister Gardios. Including me as well, naturally. We are correct. If I didn't, I would have solved all the world's problems already." A dry, slow note. "I trust in you- But, please accept my worries as genuine. When you reach a moment when you experience them, I hope my words remind you that there is always another path- And a better one. No matter how grim it may be."

"Do that, and consider my worried assuaged."

A slow stare out over the water, as Seifer looks away himself. "You are not robbed. You must merely have patience. Ask other questions- The right ones. I will always try to aid you. Ask those around you. I do not want any to rely upon me, as much as I aid them- The answers lie for you to find. Merely not to be given to you."

"As frustrating as you might find it."

"Don't push Miss Zhrani away- Though, I do not think you two make good lovers." Spoken as state-of-mind as any other- There is no sarcasm, no cold to it. "Excellent friends and boon companions, however." A slow bob of his head. "I think you will both find more apt romantic partners someday. Cultivate your friendship deeply, no matter how it ends on matters of romance."

"Who is your cousin?"
(Ethric Athelier)
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[13:02] While the trust and belief that was set in him alongside a slew of worry was something to take note of, Ethric's words concerning Zhrani had Seifer lock up a bit. Frozen in time and struck directly in his greatest insecurity. With the way he had treated the Felinae it was natural for Ethric to hint at such a thing.

.. Despite that, the blunette had to rise to the occasion and confront this old man and his beliefs.

"I'm going to marry her one day."

Missing pieces of information. Missing bits of conversation. Missing moments left unseen. It's full of assumptions that his mentor had cast such a judgement, leaving the boy to learn from such a mistake, from this inconsiderate comment brought by nothing more than an outsider.

It wasn't that Ethric was an asshole, no, but the fact a man so supportive could cast away love he knew not of? It showed that even the brightest minds could get ahead of themselves. Vanessa had assumed the worst of him, too. And that... did not make her any more of a villain; she merely was paranoid. Hurt, perhaps.

Without inquiry on the matter the blue-haired one wouldn't dare expose Ethric to the fact the both of them had gotten back together and been far, far more in love than ever before. That they spoke of the future. Of family. Of their job and their goals. That they'd decided to move in together already and... had been on the search for a proper place.

The Headmaster would have to slowly, bit by bit discover how wrong he could be.

A humbling lesson to be taken from the man. One that further expose why he kept the truth for himself, too. The satisfaction of watching another unveil it, unmask it piece by piece and complete the puzzle was exhilarating to say the least.

Still, Seifer could hardly mask his smile.

"Her name's Ema. And she's pretty great in her own regards."
(Seifer Gardios)
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[13:44] A soft click of his tongue.

A slow bob of his head. He accepts the statement- But, he says nothing. he speaks nothing. The expressions of Ethric Athelier were few and far between, as much as the monotone was often shifted- It was both never for long, and rare.

Inference was always necessary.

"Have you tried speaking with her personally? I would say your gut is probably at hand. But..."

A soft tilt of his head.
(Ethric Athelier)
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[13:50] "I will. I.. want to know what she is doing. And why she is doing it, too." He answered, looking off into the distance with this dreadful silence that filled the air. "As the years pass there seems to be more and more trouble ahead of us."
(Seifer Gardios)
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[13:50] Ethric Athelier asks, "Do you find it so strange, why people would choose vampirism?"
[13:51] Seifer Gardios asks, "Strange?"
[13:51] Seifer Gardios says, "... Hm.."
[13:51] Seifer Gardios says, "Well, I don't know what it all entails."
[13:51] Seifer Gardios says, "I don't find it strange. I don't think I can."
[13:51] Seifer Gardios says, "But-"
[13:51] Seifer Gardios says, "I want to know why."
[13:51] Seifer Gardios says, "Not-"
[13:51] Seifer Gardios says, "Only with Ema."
[13:51] Seifer Gardios says, "With the woman I fought, too."
[13:51] Ethric Athelier asks, "Why do you think?"
[13:52] Seifer Gardios says, ".."
[13:52] Seifer Gardios says, "I don't know. That's what I'm going to find out."
[13:52] Seifer Gardios says, "I wouldn't just assume."
[13:52] Ethric Athelier says, "Pleasure. Absolution from the consequences of their actions."
[13:52] Ethric Athelier says, "Benefit."
[13:52] Seifer shakes his head lightly.

"Maybe for some. But it can't be that for each and every single one of them. You can't just... assume it's the same for each and every single one of them."
(Seifer Gardios)
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[13:53] Ethric Athelier says, "Fair. But, when you know the generalized reasons of what would be a positive motive."
[13:53] Ethric Athelier says, "Then, you need only know the individual to know why."
[13:53] Ethric Athelier says, "You need not ask."
[13:55] Ethric Athelier says, "... I suppose it is important to, of course."
[13:55] Ethric Athelier says, "I do engage in it."
[13:55] Ethric rises, stretching!
(Ethric Athelier)
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[13:56] Ethric Athelier asks, "Would you care to head unto the academy?"
[13:57] Seifer Gardios says, ".. Sure."
[13:57] Ethric Athelier says, "Tsk. Do not worry."
[13:57] Seifer Gardios says, "You're due for being swarmed, anyway."
[13:57] Ethric Athelier says, "I am old and jaded. Please, I enjoy being proved wrong."
[13:57] Ethric Athelier says, "For the record."
[13:57] Ethric beeps his nose, before reaching for the logbook.
(Ethric Athelier)