Mages of Rubia ✔️

24

I knew I wouldn't want to be a mage here, and I was right. It's even more awful than I thought. Everything seems so plain and sterile, nothing like my tower. Even the room is just a shoddy forgery of a comfortable home.

Right now I sit in the provided room reading a book. I've done everything I had to for today--it's mostly Agatha showing me things and menial tasks. They have an expansive array of books, so I've been reading through them as fast as I can. I've also befriended their keeper, so maybe they'll let me in to read after I go.

It's just one more day. It's been... a relaxing experience. It's definitely different from the colony, but still familiar enough that I get a feeling of comfortable nostalgia.

-

I realize I've fallen asleep when I feel Arden's soft touch on my arm. They feel blurry in here, like they're fizzling into their surroundings.

"Good evening," I greet.

They sit on my desk. "How goes the mage internship?"

I lean my head over, against their thigh. Soft, blurry. Warm. I realize my thoughts are probably seeping out into our mind, very audible to them. They run their fingers through my hair.

"Good. It's comfortable. Not gonna take the job, though."

"I know. Sounds exhausting."

"It was exhausting when it was just the colony. I can't imagine being the head mage of this whole continent."

"That would be awful."

Their hands are soothingly warm against my scalp. I could almost fall asleep, if I wasn't technically already. I decide I'm just gonna stay laying against them until I wake up.

"Do you want to go to a better room for that?"

I hum. I have a bedroom the next room over. We go towards it and lay down. I rest my head against their chest and close my eyes, trying not to think about anything other than how warm, soft, and blurry Arden is.

"What have you and Ravana been up to?"

"Not too much. Lessons, kissing, he carries a copper mirror around to scry you when he gets worried," they murmur, their lips against the top of my head.

Arden makes a good pillow. I snake one of my hands down to their thigh, getting a gentle hum as a reaction. Their skin feels bumpy, like they shaved a day ago. I didn't learn that people shave anywhere other than their faces until Arden told me. They have wide, round legs with a supple plumpness to them.

I like the way they sometimes use them to pull me closer. Ravana hates it, because he doesn't like being controlled. I like it far too much. I also like the texture of the stretch marks on the backs of their legs. It's an interesting texture I didn't know well before.

"You're thinking an awful lot about how attractive you find me," Arden murmurs, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry. You're just so gorgeous."

They only hum. I'm sure they're tired. I peek up at them to see their eyes closed softly. I don't think it's possible to sleep in here. I decide to just let them be, leaning comfortably against them. It's nice.

-

I wake up in the morning still feeling warm. I believe it's the last day I'm supposed to be here, which means that Mage Agatha will be expecting my decision.

I worry about how she's going to react. I run through what I'm going to say in my head a few times. The gentlest way to say it, the best way to make her feel she hasn't been inconvenienced too much.