Room 322, Tuesday Morning

[not_every_mage]

Anders didn't get much mail, so he was surprised to find something waiting for him in the dorm mailboxes. What was even stranger was that the envelope, seal and stamps all looked like those used in Ferelden.

He tore the letter open with shaking hands. True, Templars weren't in the habit of sending notes to runaway mages -- they were more the type to show up unannounced -- but he supposed there was a first time for everything. And the fact anyone knew where he was posed some level of risk.

It was a puzzle, then, that the letter seemed to be nothing more than a common enough piece of junk mail touting some worthless potion as a "miracle cure" for flatulence, pimples, back pain or the common cold. Anders was about to throw it out when he realized the runes bordering the parchment were not simple decoration at all. Instead, they were an obscure Elven alphabet that Circle apprentices used to smuggle messages between themselves.

Decoded, they read A - Am back in the Circle. Portal dropped me by gate as if no time had passed. Thanks for the vacation. Hope to do it again soon. - K

So that was that. The Circle might not be anyone's idea of a happy home to come back to, but Anders was simply glad Karl wasn't being tortured or worse. He didn't want to think about how his friend had bribed, begged or threatened to get the message out so quickly; he was just glad he'd done it at all.

He reread the letter a few more times as he sat on his bed, trying to work out if there was any safe way to answer it.

[OOC: Cracked door, open post!]

Comments

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I suppose they have their reasons but I don't know what they are," Nathan said, shaking his head. "I think they've tried to explain it to me and it's about purity or something or other. I don't know."

[not_every_mage]

"Maybe they think they can force the 'bad'" -- air quotes -- "out of you," Anders suggested, and sighed. His hand went up to play with the hairs at the base of Nathan's scalp. "I suppose I should be grateful. If they'd tried asking nicely, you might still be there and not here."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Maybe," Nathan said, sighing and tilting his head slightly. "I don't know, even if they asked nicely what they would have probably asked wouldn't have been anything I'd want. Asking someone nicely to not have contact with any White Witches without prior permission isn't really something I'd jump to do."

[not_every_mage]

"I can't imagine why not," Anders said dryly, a set of his jaw the only sign of his fresh anger at the Counsel. "Did your family get an exception, or did you need to get permission before you said hello every morning?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Exception," he said, twisting his lips. "Though, one of my sisters probably would have loved for it to apply to them too. She would have gotten a kick out of it."

[not_every_mage]

Anders rolled his eyes. "She sounds charming. What was her problem?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan shrugged. "She blames me for our mother's death. Thinks I caused her to kill herself because of what I am."

Seriously. His life. Run away, Anders.

[not_every_mage]

Seriously. Nathan's life made Derek Hale's look like a never-ending trip to Disneyland.

"How long ago did she die?" Anders asked, looking at him with disbelief. "Also, that's a disgusting thing to tell someone."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"A long time ago," Nathan said after a moment. "I was very young. I don't remember much about her. But, Jessica tells me no one even wanted to touch me because I was bad. I know she was exaggerating but things like that stick with you. It's probably why I get a little surprised when people do touch me."

[not_every_mage]

"Oh," Anders said, sympathetically, and went quiet for a moment.

He wondered how much of the touching in the Circle had been about proving to each other they weren't bad, or contaminated, or inherently dangerous. But he wasn't sure how to put that into words.

"I'm sorry," he continued. "I'm sorry she died and I'm sorry Jessica says that and you know I like touching you."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I know. I like touching you too," he said and smiled briefly at that. "I just try and keep in mind that Jessica lost her parents so she's probably -- it probably messed her up a little."

Sometimes, it was hard to remember that when she was slicing him with a picture frame or chasing him down as a Hunter.

"I'm sorry she died too. I would have liked to know her. To see if she really hated me or if that was just Jessica's anger talking."

[not_every_mage]

"So her dad's different?" Anders checked. Which only made sense if he thought about it, but he'd never had much reason to. "And I think it was just Jessica. Not to be horrible, but your mother wouldn't have kept you if she didn't want you."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"We don't have the same father," Nathan said, running his fingers through his hair and taking a breath. "If what I've been told is -- is true, my father killed their father. He killed many people. Arran and Deborah, my other siblings, they don't...I don't know why they don't hate me. Jessica does."

His life. He really needed a vacation.

[not_every_mage]

"I suppose 'Jessica's a bitch' isn't the answer you want," Anders mused. Not that he'd normally call someone's sister a bitch --it didn't tend to be a safe thought to express -- but anyone who could make Nathan feel this bad for this long deserved it.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Well, it made him snicker, at least! He'd entertained that thought before so it wasn't anything new.

"She can shapeshift," Nathan shared. "She'd disguise herself as my brother or sister and try and get me to admit things but I always managed to figure out who she was before I said anything bad. I was worried she was here last weekend."

[not_every_mage]

"I'd never feel safe if someone was trying to do that to me," Anders mused with a shudder. "Even if she wasn't all that good at it, there would always be that chance she'd get it right for the first time."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"She's a Hunter now," Nathan sighed, shaking his head. "So, it's pretty much her job to find me. I'm expecting it one day and really don't want to fight her."

[not_every_mage]

"I hope you never have to," Anders said, pursing his lips tightly. "Your other siblings -- do you want me to write to tell them you're safe? Or is that too dangerous?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"They're -- they're being watched, I know that, but...it might work," Nathan said, considering the possibility. "If they don't know I have any connection to you, it really might work. Maybe just to Arran. He'd understand what was happening."

[not_every_mage]

"I could keep it short enough that even if someone found it it wouldn't tell them much," Anders suggested. "Maybe just that you're at a school, and you're safe, and have people to care about you."

He wanted to make sure Nathan believed that last part.

He bit his lip. "Is there any way I could say that without using your name so he'd understand?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"That's...a good question," Nathan said, frowning in thought. "We didn't really have any secret names. And mentioning some things might tip them off that you're referring to me."

He rubbed his chin. "I think if you say you're someone from Arran's school, catching up and giving him updates, that might work. Arran's smart enough to figure it out. Especially if it comes from someone he doesn't know. He's done it before."

[not_every_mage]

"Maybe write a long boring part about the change of seasons and slip in something about 'our mutual friend,'" Anders suggested. "If he doesn't work it out, there still wouldn't be anything there that hunters could use."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"He'd figure it out," Nathan said, nodding. "He's smarter. Smarter than almost anyone I know. He's amazing."

[not_every_mage]

"Tell me about him," Anders requested -- though he did smile a bit, just to know Nathan had at least one other person he trusted.

The hand on Nathan's back was making little circles, up and down.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"He's just...always been nice to me," Nathan said after a moment. "He found me after the thing with my back. And he's honest with me. He tells me the truth about things and he tries to protect me. He's just a good person."