Sweeten My Coffee

Surrounded by paper planes

Partially cold, partially warm. The balance soothes one's soul when it settles in, much like how it does in life. A cloudy sky hides the sun, bringing in the question of whether the sun even exists. If it does, why? Why does it make us warm? Why does it hurt when we look at it? Is it a god? The Divine? No answer has settled yet. There is so much knowledge on Light magic, yet nobody understands the main source of light itself.

Fascinating.

Madeleine thinks as he stares at the slated sunlight in the room. Such verity should be studied more, but the time has not yet arrived for he is much too busy waiting for his "date".

Or so he likes to call him in his hopeless little head. Funnily enough, he hasn't even made it past the acquaintance zone that Espresso has put him in. One-sided friendships can't exist, even if they are common in the high society that he was raised in. Therefore, he can only create imaginary situations in his head to cope with the lack of attention and, ultimately, the lack of affection from the magician.

The sound of a turning page echoes in the room. It is very quiet, but that is to be expected in a library. It is not just any library either. Madeleine went all out this time and rented the entire place for the two of them. Just him and Espresso. The thought rings in his ear like music.

There will not be anyone around for Espresso to worry about the rumours worsening, nor will the noise from outside annoy them. As loud as Madeleine enjoys being, silence still remains as something that he will always crave in his week. How else is he going to pray to the Celestials? Such a sacred act requires his full attention. However, someone of Madeleine's level of belief does not necessarily need silence to pray. He can fully focus even if someone is screaming in his heart. That, of course, took a lot of years and effort to achieve.

I hope the weather clears up when I meet Red Velvet later.

He leans on his propped elbow and stares at the table. The book he was reading just a second ago is called "Mythical canines."" It is written for the sole purpose of explaining the myths behind werehounds, mutated dogs, and other cases that include severe magic anomalies inside the bodies of feral wolves and dogs. The Knight may not be a big fan of theoretical lessons, but he sure does enjoy the pictures this book contains.

Once done staring at empty space, Madeleine returns to looking at the last picture in the book. A three-headed werehound, product of loose Dark magic in a forest far away from Kingdom X. The information about how the magic spread out in that particular area is close to none. However, one thing is for sure; that place is rich in Dark magic and creatures that have yet to be properly categorised. Cakeberus' origins begin there.

The more I can figure out about Red Velvet's beasts, the more likely I am to win against them. There is nothing here about defeating them though...

Still determined to continue his picture based research, Madeleine stands up to find more books.

In another room, the fragrance of coffee remains strong, following one particular figure as he paces around.

'Seven... seventeen, no, twenty-two hundred coffee beans.' He mumbles and quickly writes it down on his board. 'That does look right. At last...the numbers make sense.' Where a smile would have once been, now there is nothing but a sullen face. Espresso used to get so visibly excited when he figured something out. Times have truly changed. 'Ah, I need to leave.' He taps the chalk on the board and sighs.

My calculations proved that I am indeed ahead of schedule, yet my feelings say the exact opposite.

He ruffles his hair, then suddenly jumps up and puts his hand away. Espresso groans, having realised that he probably looks deranged. Not a single person must see him in such an imperfect state. He continues pacing. This time, it looks determined as he heads over to the bathroom located next to his lab. The change of attire happens in seconds. However, his hair requires more attention to get back to how it used to be; smoothly tucked against his head instead of this wild state.