Bad Blood (MxM)

Summoned

Year 2023 - Brazil

Luís was walking through the campus, not in a hurry in the world to reach his office. He was so far from where he started. He could even say he was far away from home if he knew where "home" was.

He had adopted that life nine years earlier. Changed countries, identities, faces, and language - his past life came to an end with the "death" of old O'Brian, in Scotland.

It was a good life, as much as possible. He left it after eighty years. Having had five children from two marriages, he had spent most of his life in a beautiful city with a view of the mountains and the sea. Milo would have loved to continue living that life, but at that point, he had learned everything has to end.

Then, he went to Brazil under the identity of Luís, a 25-year-old man. His skin was tanned like that of someone who lived at the beach. His hair was light brown with pretty curls all over, and his eyes were green. He was a regular-looking man - it's been a long time since he cared about the physical beauty of his shells. He just wanted to look native, blend in, and enjoy the freedom to live life over and over again.

He stopped when he reached the door to the office buildings of the university. It was summer. The sun was burning mercilessly, the grass folding under his shoes. It didn't matter how many years passed, he still enjoyed feeling the warmth on his skin, and the wind playing with his hair.

Milo was deeply connected to nature, to all the wonders it gave him throughout the years. Everything around him changed and would continue to do so, but he could always count on nature to bring him those same peaceful feelings.

Those beautiful feelings still shared space with others - nastier, meaner ones. The sun shining on him was his own revenge - his heart was filled with pride and pettiness when he remembered he could appreciate all of that, while the remaining members of the clan couldn't.

He was the one running away and being chased, but he was also the free one.

After basking in those feelings for a few seconds, he sighed and strolled to his office, where he picked up the work he needed to finish: he was studying historical artifacts and his teacher had asked him to evaluate some samples.

His teacher, to the shock of no one, was Matthew. Now known as Doctor Manuel Paiva, he abandoned Scotland many years before Milo did and went straight to Brazil. He chose to teach history at the local university and quickly impressed his peers thanks to his detailed classes. He was patient with his students and was able to explain history as if he had lived through everything himself. That might be because he actually did live through most of it.

Matthew had traveled across Latin America and collected a few samples in excavation sites - he was interested in learning about the natives' lives pre-colonialism. He didn't care about what was written in history books, but he wanted to learn who those people were and what they felt and thought. He had the power to make those relics to him, but Milo was the one with the knowledge to unveil those truths.

As they grew older, the younger sorcerer also grew stronger. The sheer amount of unbelievable things he'd do with rather simple magic got him famous. The fact they escaped under Duke's nose turned them into legends. The Klavel clan was well-known for being powerful and vengeful assholes, and two young intermediates being able to vanish was unheard of.

Despite getting stronger with the years, he never really became an extraordinarily strong sorcerer. His knowledge was a way to prove himself, to take revenge on an Universe that kept him weak. But he depended on Matt to execute his ideas, or else he'd drain his life trying to do the things he mind conceived.

Milo was curious, observant, and was able to grasp things the others didn't seem to do. He could study for hours, not minding the topic. Now, he was looking for spells that would make those historic samples "talk" to him and reveal their lives and stories to him.