RP:It is Time

Part of the Lies Within Us Arc

Summary: Magik and Meri are sound asleep when one of his students awakens them, notifying them that forces are mobilizing to the Mage’s Guild tower and the battle to reclaim it will begin soon...

Treehouse D’Chath

The treehouse was eerily quiet this particular night. For now, at least. Magik is sound asleep on his stomach in his bed in nothing but a comfortable pair of lounge pants. He's probably snoring a little bit. With a slow turn of a door knob and a bit of a soft push of the door, the youngest of Magik's students peaks her head into the bedroom. "V--Veneficus D'Chath..?" Vhid lifts his head from his comfy spot on the chest at the foot of the bed just long enough to see who is disturbing his slumber then he's back to sleep. The young teenager waits for a second before calling out just a little bit louder after clearing her throat, "..Veneficus D'Chath?" Still nothing. She finally slips into the dark room holding a small fireball in the palm of her hand to guide the way. First, a small pat for Vhid. Next, she makes her way to Magik's side of the bed. She hesitates for a second then quietly speaks his name once more, "Veneficus D'Chath?" As a response, the unconscious elf rolls to his opposite side. With her patience starting to wear thin, the student deeply sighs. She didn't want it to come to this but there seems to be no other way. She takes a deep breath then bellows out a loud and commanding, "Magik!!"

Sleeping on the other half of the bed was this blonde number that Magik has been seeing quite a bit of lately. Meri tends to prefer sleeping in a pair of cotton shorts and..whatever shirt is laying around. Magik’s shirts are not safe from her nightly pajama selection, for the record. The blonde is a light sleeper, so when she hears that first ‘V--Veneficus D'Chath..?’, Meri stirs a bit and then grumbles incoherently. When the lycan hears that second ‘Veneficus D'Chath’, she opens her eyes and glances toward the door to try and figure out who, what, and why. If they were at her place in Cenril, Meri would be considerably more alarmed by someone entering the bedroom...but there is some awareness that Magik’s home is almost never empty. He has guests aplenty, a detail that she’s secretly fond of. After the teen’s second attempt to get Magik’s attention, Meri attempts to help wake him up...if only so that he can get rid of this kid and she can go back to sleep. The blonde rolls onto her side and closer to the elf, placing a hand on his bare shoulder and giving it a gentle shake. “Babe,” she grumbles at him in her half-awake state. The attempt to wake Magik up ends there, as Meri’s eyes fall shut once again. The woman would have honestly been more than happy to be claimed by sleep once again, except this teen is not about to give up on her mission so easily. When that teen bellows out Magik’s name, the blonde shoots up and into a seated position, looking right at the student. While it was never pleasant to be woken up in such a way, the tone of Meri’s voice was concerned. This was probably the first time that she can recall anyone barging into the bedroom like this, which meant it had to be important. “What’s wrong?” Meri asks the student.

Magik's eyes shoot open and immediately notices a certain blonde sitting up in bed. Confused, the elf remains still as he tries to get a grasp of what's going on. "We just received word that.." The sudden realization that the words filling his ears were not Meri's causes Magik to sit up as well and look to his student during her explanation, "..we are to mobilize towards Xalious relatively soon." The Lyastri sighs then drops his head back to the pillow. He grumbles a quiet, "I'll be down in a few," to his student. The youngling quietly nods before slipping out of the door where she would roam the hallway to wake the others. The elf then gently kicks the blankets off of himself. He stares at the ceiling for a short moment with his hands folded across his stomach. The intensity of the fire in his eyes grows the longer he stares. After a short quiet moment he finally blinks then rolls his head to the side to look at his love, "It's finally time.." There was a soft smile as he looked at Meri even though his mind was racing.

Meri's blue eyes keep the youngster in her focus until she is out of the room and then her gaze remains locked on the door for several seconds. Even if the blonde was not the best at showing her emotions, that did not mean that her heart did not drop into her stomach upon hearing this news. Once her mind stops reeling, Meri lays back down next to Magik. She is positioned on her side so that she can look the elf straight into his eyes. While she may not be able to muster up a smile, she does reach for one of his hands. If he'll let her, she'll claim it within her own so that she can lace her fingers with his and give his hand a soft squeeze. "Mmm, I know we've talked about this and you want me to stay...but are you sure I can't convince you to let me come with you? A psion might be some pretty useful backup…." Meri has a strong hunch that Magik won't be changing his mind and so she does not wait for his answer before going on to say. "I think we both know I am going to be horrible at this whole sitting around at home and waiting while my fellow runs off to fight." The lycan did not feel the need to explain why, she does not want to jinx the man by putting it to words. There would be some immense guilt if something happened to Magik and she was not there to help him. It's a good thing they both know the same necromancer though, yes? Quintessa could totally bring Magik back from the dead if need be, right?

Magik stared into Meri's eyes as he takes her reaching hand into his. His grip was firm yet gentle. With his other free hand, he props his head off of the pillow as he adjusts his position to better face his love. The elf softly smiles as he silently admits his appreciation of Meri's offer. That smile slowly turns to a slow shake of his head. If she had only known of how quickly the OO brought down the Guild both physically and politically in literal minutes. Having her fighting next to his side would bring him a great amount of joy, but this was his fight. "I can't take you away from Fleur. What if something happened to -you- and me both? Mirshann would be pretty pissed." There was a soft chuckle before he continued on, "I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you. I just.." Magik wants to be blunt about it and say 'This isn't your fight,' but he can't seem to bring the words forth. "Plus, who would take over the gallery?" That's right, Magik. Deflect it. Nice.

Meri was a messy mix of emotions that she was trying to keep in check as not all of them were positive. This was the first time in their relationship that the lycan was feeling frustrated with Magik. Some of his reasoning was perfectly valid. What would Fleur do if something happened to both of them? Others, like his deflection about the gallery did not sit quite right with the blonde. Did he really think her business was more important to her than his own life? Despite her frustration, picking a fight with him over this issue when she is more than aware she is not likely to change his mind is pretty low on her priority list. It was the worry and concern that she might not see the elf laying next to her again that wins out. And so the blonde heaves a frustrated sigh as she untangles her hand from him, but she does not pull away. Instead she wraps her now freed arm around his torso and scoots even closer to him. Talking usually comes easily to Meri, but for a change she has no words. All the blonde can think to do is snuggle right up to Magik, holding him close for as long as he'd let her. There was a painful awareness that at some point he was going to have to get up to dress himself for this fight. When that time comes, Meri is going to give a brief and nonverbal protest by holding Magik just a bit tighter. The blonde was not usually the sort to be the clingy girlfriend but it seems they have stumbled upon the exception to this.

Magik remained quiet as Meri snuggled up closer. He was hesitant for a brief moment but ends up loosening his tense body. He wraps his arm about his love and presses his head against hers. Did he really have to go though? He could just stay here with Meri and let everyone else deal with the OO. Given the roster of MG members, they'll be fine without him, right? Magik slowly and gently rubs Meri's back as he weighs his options. The elf finally takes a deep breath and sighs. He's being selfish. Being Auxilia Veneficus was probably one of the better things to happen to the Lyastri. He's made great friends, formed allies, and even has two fellow teachers in the underground clan. His students look up to him. Did he really spend months and months training his pyromantic students for him to not help retake their classroom? Was the mediation center going to be lost forever? Magik makes the slightest move and Meri's grip tightens. He pauses and returns the gesture along with a gentle kiss to her cheek. He then whispers a few words into her ear, "I love you, Meri." His cheek remains on hers for a couple more seconds before he makes an attempt to sit up should Meri allow it.

There was a lot of selfishness going on in this room, on both of their parts, but none of it was for the wrong reasons. They were both feeling awfully protective of one another. Meri wanted to go, even if it was not her fight, just to help keep him safe. Magik wanted her to stay because it was not her fight, just to keep her safe. Despite this desire, Meri knew how much the meditation center meant to the elf laying next to her...and while she did enjoy having his students around, it would be awfully nice to have them back in their own space again. Maybe she wouldn’t have to be on her best behavior around the treehouse anymore, what with all those teenage eyes. All of this logic and reasoning is pushed to the very back of her mind when Magik drops those three words on her. While Meri has been aware of his sentiments for a bit now, hearing it was him say it left her dumbfounded. Hopefully Magik has figured out by now that while Meri can be quite the talker, when it came to expressing how she actually felt...well she was kind of a doofus. ‘I love you too’ was right there on the tip of her tongue, but they’re not said. Instead, Meri is going to prolong Magik’s inevitable departure just a bit longer. A kiss on the cheek was not satisfactory at this moment and the blonde presses her lips right to Magik’s, giving him a sweet and lingering kiss. The temptation to try and keep him in the bedroom was still strong, but after that kiss she releases him from her hold on him and mutters, “You better get to it, before I change my mind and try my damndest to distract you and keep you here in this bed.” You know, for adult things. Meri rolls onto her back, keeping her eyes on Magik, “And you better come home to me.” It’s not the worst reaction the blonde could have had. This moment in combination with that letter and some prodding from Rumiko will serve as inspiration to get her tush out to Xalious anyway, despite Magik’s want for her to stay put.

Magik knew the feeling was mutual and Meri's kiss proved it. The decision to stay overcomes him once more but once Meri pulls away from him, he is quick to continue as planned. The elf manages a soft smile at Meri's threat just before she lays down. Magik turns to his side of the bed to place his feet on the floor. Instead of standing, he lays back to place his head on Meri's chest. "Just one more minute.." He takes a deep breath in and a long sigh out before turning his head just a bit to look into the tattooed blonde's eyes, "I will come back to you. One way or another.." He turns his head to stare at the ceiling for a short moment before finally standing up. He makes his way to the trunk at the foot of the bed, relocates Vhid onto Meri's feet, then starts rummaging through as he gets dressed for the grand finale. He's in his normal dark and hooded garb with black combat boots to match. His bow is pulled out of the trunk along with two elven crafted daggers to attach to the sides of his belt. As he pulls up his hood, his face is immediately surrounded in a thick shadow, except for a hint of those fiery eyes in the darkness. Magik eventually closes the trunk and props one booted foot up to tighten the laces then the other. As the second boot is dealt with, a folded letter falls out of his back pocket unbeknownst to him. Bow. Daggers. Boots. Clothes. All set. The elf stands at the foot of the bed and turns in a circle so Meri can have a quick once over, "Am I missing anything?" Before she can answer, the elf brings himself to Meri's side to lean over for one more passionate kiss. Before pulling away completely, he quietly says, "Can't leave without that.."

Meri was about to fall into a silent and brooding pout as Magik almost gets up and out of the bed...and then the elf flops back down and rests his head on her chest. Despite the seriousness of their situation, Meri can’t help the smile that crosses her lips, though it does not linger for long. For that minute that Magik does have his head on her chest, the blonde runs her fingers through his hair. All this moment does is further the urge to try and convince Magik to stay, she keeps silent though, and trains her gaze on Magik while he readies himself. Under different circumstances, she’d probably commence with some flirty comments and maybe a bit of whistling. She behaves herself, this was too serious of a moment and she was too full of worry. When Magik spins in a circle and asks if he was missing anything, Meri appraises him in a very serious manner and is actually considering...Was he missing anything? He answers that question for her as she leans back in for one more kiss, which Meri is not going to deny him. How could she? She was definitely head over heels for this man, even if she had not managed to say it yet. When Magik pulls away for a second time, that nervousness settles back in. There was the temptation to stare at the ceiling and pout again, she didn't. Instead she scopes up the ferret that was at her feet and proceeds to cuddle with Vhid. If Vhid would let her, he would end up being her cuddle buddy for...awhile. This offered Meri a little bit of comfort, not enough to completely stop her from sulking over the fact that Magik was running off to one very dangerous fight...but it was better than nothing. At some point soon, she’ll find that letter, but it won’t be until Magik is well on his way to Xalious.

Magik softly smiles as Meri scoops up the fat black ferret. Vhid would never deny anyone cuddles. Magik gives the ferret a few scratches behind his ears. The elf then looks back to Meri, "Time to end this, eh? Time for my students to have a safe place to study and for me to teach them. It's time for the treehouse to be a bit more quiet again." That soft smile fades as the elf's eyes begin to blaze furiously. He stares into Meri's. There was a certain seriousness to his look but also mischievous at the same time. Magik knew he was about to go to war and wasn't going to hold anything back. If the whole tower had to be burnt to the ground to defeat the Ossian Order then so be it. Magikrios would be a huge part of the effort to rebuild. He finally wiggles his eyebrows then taps his bow against the floor. "I'll be back, my love." With that, the elf turns and makes his way down the stairs. Throughout the common area Meri could probably hear him barking a few orders to his students. Slowly but surely those meant for war would make their way out of the treehouse and onto the road towards Xalious. Magik would be the last to leave. With the sudden quiet, his heavy footsteps would resonate through the whole treehouse. With one more walk up and down the hallway and a lap around the common area, he was finally off as well.