Deja Vu

Chapter 28: Communal Interest

You wake up before Grim does once again. Ever since moving back into the House of Lamentation, you've found that Grim sleeps much more deeply. Something about the comfort of just the two of you sharing a room once again brings you both back to a certain kind of internal peace. As much as you enjoy snuggling with Solomon, the leg room is nice.

The small monster lays with his paws curled close to his body, and you slowly get out of bed, making sure to tuck him in just a little more in the warmth of the blankets you're leaving behind. You can see his warm grin as he snuggles into the warmth, nuzzling into where your body once laid.

You stretch as you get up, yawning from the sleep still clutching at your consciousness. You've been sleeping more full again too. Having Grim around has been good. You glance at your pile of letters. You have to finish them today if you're going to be getting them out on time. And getting them out on time is important to making sure that your friends back at NRC aren't going to kick up another round of trouble on your behalf.

Picking up the letters, you head back to your table in the room, staring at your biggest hurdle; The unopened letter from Crowley. You decide to rip the bandaid off and open the letter.

[Dearest ___,

I hope you are doing well. As your headmage, it's my responsibility to check in on you. I want to ensure that all of your needs are being met. Crewel ensures me that you're being clothed well, and Sam ensures that you're being well-fed, but if there are any needs you have which aren't being met, please do let me know.

I've been hearing much about your work with the leader of the Ignihyde dorm, Idia Shroud, creating new technology that's bound to change these realms as we know it! What an amazing project! I am certain that you'll make this school proud.

There has been talk that you've been learning from the Wise Sorcerer, Solomon. I am incredibly interested in hearing how this has been going for you. Perhaps he might be interested in continuing your tutelage here at the school! This exchange program is quite an opportunity for all of us.]

It's here that you find that the letter's text becomes a little more rough. Like the handwriting of a man struggling to grapple with what to say next.

[I've been.. Reflecting, as of late. Reflecting on my time as your headmage. As your caretaker.] His sentences grow more fragmented in this section of the letter. As though he had to stop and start repeatedly. [I have been given ample time to reflect on my treatment of you, as I work hand-in-hand with Lord Diavolo and his royal representative, the demon known as Barbatos. I want to apologize for my treatment of you as my ward. I could give a myriad of excuses to try to make sense of my behavior, but I think we both know that wouldn't make it right.

I failed you.

If there is anything I can do to make this right, please let me know. I want to work with you to improve.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your ever-devoted headmage,
Dire Crowley]

You look at the letter, having finished it. Though the paper is practically dripping with Crowley's usual self-applauding grandiloquence, there's a certain desperation to his words. The latter half of the letter doesn't even make excuses, which is his bread and butter. It's much shorter than the usual letters you get from the others at Night Raven College.

Still, even though you feel that he wrote this letter with his whole ass, it pales in comparison to the apologies you've gotten from the demons in your time here. Lucifer, the Avatar of Pride himself, was better at apologizing.