The Libra (Eric Derekson + S̀e̡̛͠p͡ţ͠į͜͡c̸̢ Egos G/T) (One-Shots)

Legerdemain

Eric could admit it, even without stuttering so much now: at first, he had been scared of the cat-loving magician. Of course, Marvin was nothing compared to the demonic giant that liked to prowl the forest at night, but he'd still been almost as scary as Henrik. The magician had kept to himself, watching from afar if not off doing his own thing or out making sure no other humans were trespassing... Or whatever he did, disappearing. He wasn't so much snobbish about Eric's status as a permanent guest as he was... Aloof.

But then, one night Chase had taken Eric out to the meadow, as they habitually did. The moon was the shape of Cheshire Cat's grin, and there was just enough light for even weak human eyes to pick out their surroundings. The fatherly giant had taken up his spot at the base of the hill, with his back slightly supported by the earth, and his cap tugged down over his eyes; Eric found sleeping between his arm and chest pacifying, so he had been curled up in his favorite spot when he'd first heard the low hum buzz in the air. He opened his eyes and looked around, at first not seeing anything out of sorts. His eye was then caught by a soft green glow in the distance, and he rubbed his eyes to check that it wasn't a dream; nope, it was definitely real, illuminating the surrounding leaves with a haunting look.

He glanced hesitantly at Chase before slowly climbing over the giant's arm. He slid onto the ground with a small wobble, and then he tiptoed through the grass and sidled through the bushes. His investigation took him to a small spot of space in the throng of surrounding trees. There was a huge tree stump at the center, but what was more noteworthy was that a giant figure's back faced him; they were a wall of black, but that black pooled around their folded legs, resembling a cape. Their hands glowed green as they gestured and flourished, with cards of the same luminescence hovering just above the stump. Eric felt his mouth go dry as he realized that this was a magician at work... Probably not to be disturbed. But before he could turn and go back, Marvin's insouciant voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Shouldn't you be resting with Chase?" Swallowing, Eric slowly turned back, wringing his handkerchief as the magician lowered his hands and turned his upper half to face the human. His eyes were glowing a bright green, and the four symbols on his mask also glimmered with magic. Eric felt his heart pick up speed as he realized how much trouble he must be in, breaking into a sweat as he started rambling.

"I-I'm-I'm sorry, I-I was-I-I was, I-but I-I, I s-saw the-the glow, and I-I should have just m-m-minded my own b-business--" Marvin put his hand up, and Eric immediately shut his trap with a wince. But to his relief, he wasn't punished.

"It's fine," the magician instead said calmly, "I'm just... Well, I'm not used to seeing other people out here at this time. I mean, yeah, Chase likes to come out here a lot, but he doesn't know that I too allot my time here." Marvin tilted his head. "I figured it was only a matter of time before you too indulged in the habit. It is rather meditative." Eric figured that was an okay sign that he wouldn't be pushed away. He was curious, but he didn't want to be rude, so he simply took a step and tried to peer up at the floating cards. They were... Strange. Not like normal cards. They had big numbers on them, and he could see different colors like blue or yellow.

"You want to know what I do out here." Eric looked up at Marvin. The magician had not phrased his words as a question, but a concise statement. He shyly nodded. Marvin sighed softly and swished his wrist. The human felt an odd weightlessness overcome him, and the next thing he knew he was glowing green and flying through the air at a controlled velocity. He yelped, startled by the sudden circumstance as he was lifted up to the opposite end of Marvin, and his feet gently rested down on the ancient wood. He blinked and looked down at himself as the magic faded, and then he looked over at the cards and frowned.

"... U-u—?... Oo...no...?" He read off the back of them.

"Childish, I know, but sometimes it's good to appreciate the simpler times in life." The magician neatly folded his arms on the edge of the stump. "Plus, they were the only cards I had on me when... Well, you see what we are."