You Might as Well Keep Quiet, Sweetie! [Aurel]

[jegernorge]

It is said one should not wander around the Asher Academy past 23h – or 11pm, if you prefer – but Nils, poor skeptical Nils had always doubted the rumours that creatures used to lurk in the night, or that the school was meticulously patrolled by invisible prefects, ready to stun you and send, whoever student you are, straight to detention. The Norwegian either didn’t believe that, or was just too decided on ignoring those for his own good. Whatever was going on inside his mind still didn’t stop the guy from, much later than 23h, sneak out of his dorm and all the way to the library. He maybe wanted to see for himself how truly patrolled the school was, or maybe he just could add his sneaking abilities somewhere into his grades, maybe P.E. This, the Norwegian thought with a smirk, would be just perfect.

Dressing up in the school uniform – so that, if he got caught, he could as well claim he had lost track of time – and making sure he looked impeccably dressed so, Nils grabbed and empty backpack and sneaked out of him dorm, making sure no one had seen him. He bit his lip, taking large and silent steps, walking as close to the walls as possible, and always on the shadowed side. The school looked dark at night, the long corridors with dim lights here and there, just probably so the inspectors would be able to see anything suspicious. Of course, Nils was aware of that and so, he kept walking, a finger pressed against his temples because, if he needed to use his power, he wouldn’t have trouble wasting time to reach for his temples as he made eye contact. He also didn’t hear any footsteps; in fact, he didn’t hear a thing, which just added to the eerie atmosphere. Once he had arrived in the library, the Norwegian was all ears, grinning like a child with a lollipop.

The door was heavy at first, but after the first push and a small creek, it was easy to sneak in and close the door again. He did, or at least tried to do, a quick job, rushing to the nearest shelf and pressing his back sharply against it. He took a deep breath, listening to anything around him, even the slightest buzzy from any possible mind nearby. Nothing so far. With quick, but soft steps, Nils rushed to the end of the library, the most southern point of it, where there were absolutely no lights at all, not even from a window, and ducked down, back still pressed against the shelves. He had done it. His heart was racing, to the point he could listen to the blood pumping on his ears, his own blood. He was gasping, a hand on his chest, as if he could ease his breathing just like that. After a few moments of panicking, he finally managed to calm down, and with a deep breath, Nils was quiet again, is if nothing had happened. Well, now he just needed to grab the books he wanted from the forbidden section, which was where he was, and be gone. Easy to say.

“Okay… okay, calm down, Nils, just three books in your backpack, then you run away, nothing so hard.” He whispered to himself, trying to keep his voice down to a minimum, even if his heart was beating still quite fast. He gulped, staring intently at the books as he began to pick a few. They were all related to the human mind, but certain subjects that weren't exactly... taught. Heavy books with mysterious symbols, one had a strange pentagram, magicians that controlled other people's mind like puppeteers, villains who had and army under them, heroes that had rewritten the whole life of a villain just based on their memories. Nothing really a symbol of ethics, but if that had been the case, he wouldn't be on the forbidden section, ta-dah.

He made a quick work of packing all the books, tossing the backpack on his bag and soon standing up. He rushed to another point of the library, but the books made him lose balance, arm brushing sharply against a pointy edge from one of the lamps, drawing a small cut. Great. The Norwegian was just read to get the hell out of there, when he heard steps, coming from a distance. "Shit." He cursed, covering his mouth after and rushing to another shelf, crouching down and trying to appear as invisible as possible, heart beating wildly again. Well, if he didn't have a heart attack tonight or a detention, at least... He waited for his fate to come, eyes closed shut as he held his backpack for his dear life. Well, and to make things even better, the cut was starting to bleed. Just perfect.

[datcurl]

Aurel had a habit of sneaking around the school grounds after curfew. Yes, a bad habit, he knows that, but being stuck in your dorm after 11pm? Sorry folks, but Aurel likes to walk around a bit at night. It’s not that hard either, sneaking out of the dorm. Just wait a while and then all he needs to do is go into his shadow form to sneak out the door and go wherever he likes. It was funny, some of the rumors they had about the school at night. Invisible guards? Oh please, there’s only one or two guards around at a time and they’re very visible indeed.

So here he was, in his normal physical form, just strolling down the hallways. He'll go to get a drink at the infirmary, but stop by at the library first. He's looked at books from pretty much all the sections remotely related to vampirism to find some way to get rid of his dependence from blood. Well all the sections except for the forbidden area. If any place has information, it has to be there.

Aurel got to the library door when he thought he smelled something. He sniffed. There was certainly someone here, probably a student who had never sneaked out before since they seemed to be rather fearful. Aurel smirked and turned into a shadow, slipping under the door and darting around the library until he saw the student- some guy still in his school uniform crouched over and holding onto a backpack.

He sneaked over and returned to his physical form, head leaning against his ear and whispered, "Boo."

Aurel pulled back a bit, chuckling softly, "Scared you, didn't I? You must be new at this," he offered his hand to the Norwegian, "I'm Aurel-...blood." he barely muttered that last word but the sight of that scarlet liquid made him stop thinking about everything for a moment. He was quite thirsty and the guy already had the cut so might as well clean it up for him- No, he can't. That's defeating the whole purpose of him coming to the library. He came here to find a way to get rid of his blood dependancy, not have a midnight snack... Nngh, dammit. God, his blood smells delicious too, he has to have some kind of rare or strong power.

Aurel leaned a bit closer to the cut. No. Stop right now Aurel, this is not good. But it smells so nice and he was going to get a drink anyway. That blood is surely going to taste better, a whole lot better than blood which had sat out for a while, "So um... I see you've been injured, da?" No don't talk about that, Aurel! Change the topic, change the topic... Oh screw it, there's no way he's going to be able to change the topic now.

[jegernorge]

“Boo.”

It was like a sudden electrical impulse shooting down his spine from head all the way to his hands and toes. He was not prepared for that, so he instantly jumped on his spot – not enough to stand up, but he was scared – and instantly looked up to see however had scared him. If it was any other student, he’d be dead soon. Nils tried to glare, but the boy kept talking, and even offered a hand. He picked the boy’s hand carefully, hostile, but stood up and was about to reply, when he sensed something more than strange about the guy’s mind. It was some sort of new instinct, a feeling triggered the Norwegian didn’t know… Felt savage, primal. He’d better be careful with this one.

“I’m Nils Ødegaard, uh... Aurel.” He shook his hand, before pulling back, only to hit his back against the shelf. Well, he was certainly cornered now, joy. He gulped, pulling the sleeves up to show the injury, fresh and red blood oozing out of it. “Yes, I’ve been. I suppose you’re a healer, then?” He raised one eyebrow, before handing his arm to the other boy. Certainly, it was just another type who wanted to show off his powers, but Nils didn’t care. As long as he got healed, or as long as the blood at least stopped, he’d be happy enough, no matter whom this Aurel was. “Go on.” He offered with a nudge.

Well, now that he was standing up, even if it was dark, he could get a much better glimpse of the boy. They were both the same height, or well, the other was slightly taller and bulkier, but then again, anyone is bulky when compared to Nils. Aurel also had bright red eyes, but he doubted the guy was an albino of some sort, his skin didn’t look that pale, just a bit… lifeless. Well, maybe it was just the light. Nils tried not to think much of it, just holding his arm out for the boy to take and be done with it. He wouldn’t even bother checking his mind, since from what he could feel, it was too much of new territory to go. Hm, an interesting match, few times he has met people with such a curious profile. Now, as long as the boy didn’t peek into his bag, there was nothing to be afraid of.

“Hm, where are you from?” Nils blinked slowly, still studying his profile. He decided not to ask about the hat, but the ‘da’ sounded curious enough. He didn’t sound Russian… Maybe Bulgarian? He couldn’t know. “I’m from Norway, Oslo.” He muttered, trying to relax a bit. The guy seemed tense, and so was he, but nothing a small conversation wouldn’t take care of. He raised his free hand to fix his cross barrette, the silver glimmering a bit from the moonlight coming from the window, before Nils raised his chin enough to expose his neck, head pressed against the wall. It was, to him, a display of arrogance and superiority; he wanted to keep the other boy off-limits despite everything, what if he turned him in? He hadn’t come all the way there just to be told off by a stupid student.

Well, but then again, the boy had said something about ‘first time’, and he was in as much trouble as he was, since they weren’t even roommates to begin with. Well, Nils wouldn’t mind if the Canadian got banned and he got a new roommate. Anything was better than Matthew Williams and his excess of morals and good manners. The only problem with Aurel was that he was staring at him in a way it sounded like the Norwegian wasn’t much more than food, which was creepy in itself – well, guess he just had a knack for trouble.

[datcurl]

The boy, Nils, that was his name, must have misinterpreted something. Him? A healer? Oh, if only. If he was a healer rather then... well, a vampire, then he wouldn't be here in the first place, "No, I'm not a healer...Nothing close to it," he gulped when Nils pulled up his sleeve to show the wound, fresh and bleeding. It looks so nice and the Norwegian is even encouraging him to do something about it- no Aurel, don't give in so easily, "You probably don't want me to do anything about it, really."

Aurel tried to look away, but the arm was still held out there in front of him with its bleeding cut. Nils' skin was pale, which only made the red stand out more despite the dark setting of the library. He tore his eyes away from the cut and tried to look up more at the face-level. The boy looked like he was studying him. Weird, but it makes sense that the Norwegian would be suspicious of him, since he had popped up out of the middle of nowhere.

"Bucharest, Romania. Guess there's lots of diversity here, isn't there?" he grinned, a bit awkwardly. He didn't notice that the other had a barrette in his hair until he moved his hand to fix it. It looked like... what was it, oh the cross thing on those Nordic flags. How does the thing not sag every five seconds the way it is? And oh great, Aurel could now see Nils' neck clearly in the moonlight too. Goddammit, was this guy trying to tempt him? He probably knows about the resident Romanian vampire, doesn't he? And now he's going on trying to tempt him as much as possible without being stupidly blunt. Still, Aurel felt that the boy just might be oblivious, in which case he can't just go sucking his blood!

Augh, this is too much for him, "I... apologize in advance," he said quickly before grabbing the Norwegian's arm and went to suck at the cut. His fangs dug into the cut- might as well give him the soothing effect the fangs give- and he licked any drops of blood which dared to stray away. He took one final lick before pulling away, the cut now clean of blood, and licked his fangs with a relaxed sigh, as if all his stress had just flown away.

It was then that guilt hit him. Hard. Aurel looked away, cheeks flushed from a mixture of shame and embarrassment. What had he just done? Just went ahead and sucked some blood out of this person he barely knew, that's what. Rumors about him were already bad enough, now there's this to add to the burden, "Par-... I couldn't help it," he said, "I was going to go grab a drink first from the infirmary and then come here... Look, I'm not some heartless, bloodsucking monster. The reason I came here in the first place is because I'm sick of this and want to find some cure."

This made him sound a bit desperate, he's well aware of that. And he is, to a point. He sunk his face into his hands, waiting for some kind of half-drugged, half-freaked out reaction that he always gets. He really should've visited the infirmary first.

[jegernorge]

Nils inhaled sharply once he felt Aurel's fangs piercing into his arm. He tried to focus, but it was weird, lips on his skin in a sort of intimate way, but at the same time, feral, because he could feel his blood slowly leaving him, even if just a bit. He was about to scream and pull his arm back, when a soothing sensation took over him. He felt like he could dance around, spin endlessly and giggle. He felt like he was in a dream, or under a high drug, so the Norwegian lolled his head back, smiling widely. It felt like ice cream on a sunny day, coffee in winter, every single happy thing altogether and something entirely new. He could keep going like that for hours.

But it ended, quick as it had begun. Nils took his time to look down at him arm, after Aurel licked his skin one last time and what he saw... Not a single hint of wound, not a bruise, no blood, just two clear bite marks, like those he used to see in those alternative, almost homemade Norwegian movies about vampires. Or even the ones in the big screen, it all seemed so fake now. Nils gasped, poking the wound gently. It didn't hurt, but the bite marks felt like a hickey. He could live with that easily, as long as no one spotted that and eventually asked. Did the other students knew about Aurel? About the... vampire? Nils didn't think so.

"Amazing..." He grinned, whispering as he stared at his arm for a while, before he looked up at Aurel with a huge smile. "Thank you. Listen, this is really great and–" The next thing he saw wasn't exactly pleasing, however. Was Aurel really... crying? Nils frowned, hands fidgeting for a moment before he grabbed the boy's wrists, pulling them gently. Once he could see the other's face clearly, he smiled a bit. "Listen, it's okay. I never said you were any of those, you... You did me a favour." He smiled after, and by now, he was pretty cupping Aurel's face. Uh, what the hell, Nils. He blushed heavily, pulling his hands back. Great, now the guy thought he was flirting with him. Joy.

Well, and wasn't the boy from an unexpected place. A vampire from Romania, that was grand. Nils chuckled to himself, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Wasn't Romania where Dracula came from? Transylvania, right? Bingo. Nils didn't know much... Okay, he didn't know a thing of Romania, but probably Aurel didn't know a thing about Norway either, so they were certainly even. Nils couldn't, and didn't want to lie, Aurel had caught his attention, part for his powers, part for the mystery. Who was this guy? But he wouldn't cheat, he wouldn't sneak into his mind to find out.

"But, anyway, so they keep a stock of blood for you in the infirmary?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking a bit. "Interesting... Care to tell me what other powers do you have there, under your sleeve?" He wanted to ask many things, even about his blood. He wanted to know if drink his blood had been as good, or if those fangs worked like a drug, and drink blood was plainly... Like drink water, tasteless. However, this would be indelicate, he shouldn't be so forward, he had done enough cupping the boy's face as if they were about to kiss, or something. Great that he stopped himself, though, before this got anymore awkward.

Well, hopefully he didn't sound like some weird Casanova, smirking with his hands on his pockets, leaning against the wall. He still had Aurel's bite marks on him, and well, those would be hard to explain tomorrow. Luckily, no one would ask him if that was his new boyfriend or something. Well, to hell with the school, but he'd have a hard time explaining it to Eirik. Oh, to hell with Eirik too, that had felt great. Uhm, back to Aurel, where were them? Oh, yes. Cure... Nils bit his lip, frowning lightly. He couldn't help there, but he also had a similar problem, didn't he? So, Aurel depended on blood, he depended on warmness. He changed people's memories, a taboo if you think about it. Nils shook his head, he wished he could help.

[datcurl]

Aurel shut his eyes, waiting for some type of freak out, probably involving questions about whether or not he'll turn into a vampire now (which he won't. Why don't people understand that you have to drink vampire or altered blood to become one?) He'll probably also be mad at the bite mark it left, since if one takes a quick glance, it looks quite like a hickey. He could just disappear right now, turn into a shadow and dash away, but he can't just run away from his problems like that. Nils would remember anyway and- wait, did he just hear the word "amazing"? It wasn't sarcastic either. Aurel opened an eye, slowly, and felt the Norwegian pull his hands away from his face. Was Nils... smiling?

"...A favor?" he asked, "Since when was sucking blood considered a favor besides for getting revenge?" What Nils said did make him feel a bit better, but now he was cupping his face and for a short moment Aurel wondered if his fangs gave a slight aphrodisiac-like effect. His cheeks flushed more as he realized the other must be flirting with him. Something in the back of his mind said that he has to be a Twilight fan or something, but Aurel shoved the thought aside.

He cleared his throat and adjusted the hat even though he didn't need to and licked the inside of his mouth discreetly. The blood was as delicious as it smelled, if not more. It would've been nice to get some more- oh wow Aurel, thinking about getting some more blood just because Nils was thankful. Greedy thing you are. He gave a curious look at the backpack, wondering what it's contents may be. Probably books, he knew that for sure, but he was more curious about what type of books they were and why it was enough for the other to sneak into the library in the dead of the night.

"A stock of blood? For me?" Aurel couldn't help but to laugh at that. It would be nice if the infirmary cared enough to do that, but this isn't a perfect world, "No, no... I have to snatch some blood every other night or so from their blood bank. It's bad, I know, but it's better than going around biting random people whenever I feel hungry. Most people wouldn't feel thankful like you." More like angry, though the drug addicts may like the effects of being bitten, but Aurel's a bit paranoid that their drugged blood would affect him.

"Other powers include-"he smiled and turned into a shadow, dashing around the library and returning to his original place and returning to normal within a matter of seconds,"Turning into a shadow and crafting materials out of blood, though I don't want to take any more blood out of you to show an example. And you?"

He smiled, a small attempt to get rid of the awkward atmosphere. Aurel wasn't sure what to think of Nils yet, glad that he's thankful or suspicious for that same reason? He really didn't know anything about this guy, except that there must be something rare about him after that blood sample. Ah, that reminded him of the books he was supposed to get from that forbidden section, "Ah, could you wait just a moment?" but Aurel disappeared as a shadow without waiting for a reply, popping up again in the forbidden section of the library. Hmm, it didn't feel as forsaken and dangerous as he hoped. Bummer.

Aurel scanned through the shelves quickly, maybe pulling out a book here and there to take a quick look at its contents. Eventually he picked out four books- one which had to do with creating and getting rid of curses, two on vampires and other night creatures, and one book written by a villain, mainly about his philosophies. The last one Aurel was just curious about, since why would a simple philosophy book be banned? And he thought Asher Academy was better than that. He shadow-dashed back to where Nils was as fast as he came, "Hope I didn't keep you waiting. It's just that I needed to pick these up real quick before I forgot about it."

[jegernorge]

Nils just had to laugh at that. The boy was really silly, wasn't he? The Norwegian grinned lightly, shaking his head. "I wasn't talking about revenge. If, to stop the bleeding, you had to lick the blood off, then great. It's much easier to hide bite marks than a shirt stained with blood." He said, because honestly, it was simple as that. He had never been exactly a big fan of vampires, and maybe that helped a bit the fact he didn't simply pushed the other away or clung to him in some annoying manner such as 'oh, yes, bit me!'. No way, he had morals, he was much better than this.

And now he was certainly sure they didn't study in a logical school. They'd admit a student that clearly needed blood but they wouldn't keep a blood bank, or some other way for him to survive. They were just sick. Nils had heard in series about synthetic blood, and wouldn't it be great if they had some of that here too? It would save a lot of trouble. "Well... Maybe keep the blood bank is an indirect way for you to get fed? I don't know. Besides, many people fear things like you out of ignorance. Happens to me, too." He shrugged, a sad tone in his words. People didn't like memory manipulators either, so what to do? Raivis probably only had talked to him enough because he had some natural barrier to the Norwegian.

He listened carefully when the boy mentioned his blood, taking a step back when he mentioned the other power involving blood. A box of surprises, wasn't he? Nils gave a weak laugh. "Yeah, it isn't a good idea to suck my blood again..." he sighed, hoping he didn't sound too rude there. Oh, about his own powers? Here we go, let's see who'll be pushed away now. "Okay, my first power is that I can control temperatures. I can make things melt of freeze, but I'm better with freezing anyway..." He shrugged, grinning a bit as he picked up at random book, and, after showing it to the Romanian to prove there were no tricks, he began to freeze it slowly, until there was a thick layer of ice surrounding the book. Nils' skin, however, only looked more pale.

"My other power, however, isn't as great." He continued, but was soon interrupted by the other. He nodded at the boy, since he had asked for some time, and let him go. He watched the boy melt into a shadow, disappear before his own eyes. Took him a moment, but he came back, morphing into Aurel like nothing. Amazing, again, but he wouldn't say a word. He had pride. "Oh, no it's okay. Well... As I was saying, my other power is basically, that I can alter whomever's mind I wish. As long as I know your memories, or the ones I want to change, I can. I just need eye contact." Nils finished, staring intently into Aurel's eyes before he blinked and smiled warmly.

"Kidding. I suppose we could leave then...? I think there are less patrolled places in this school than the Library, Aurel." He whispered, looking a bit aside before he looked back at the other. He didn't want to say good-bye, however, not so fast.

[datcurl]

Temperatures and memories... quite an odd pair. Perhaps that's what accounted for the taste of Nils' blood. Aurel couldn't help but to avert his eyes a bit as he was being stared at, even though Nils was kidding. Still, he'd like to keep his memories intact, even if they aren't the best.

"Memory manipulation can't be all that bad. I mean, it can be useful in those 'it's not what you think' moments, if you know what I mean," Aurel smirked and gave the Norwegian a little nudge, "But I can see where you're coming from." In a way, he guessed that Nils had it worse than him. At least his issue was purely physical- the bite marks might be embarrassing, but they'll fade away and the person will find out that no, being bitten does not make you into a vampire. If that was how things went, the world would be screwed. But at least it wasn't psychological, it didn't delved into the deep, personal sides of people.

"Hm, I think I know a good place to go." Aurel smiled, motioning for Nils to follow him. It's a classroom he had in mind, one that the guards never check and isn't all that far from the library. He was used to going there in shadow form, so walking felt a bit slow. Still, he made sure to keep the door open for the Norwegian out of politeness.

"Here it is," Aurel opened the door to the classroom. It had been abandoned a while ago- electricity hasn't been working here since forever and not even the most cunning of pranksters have come here to store their supplies. It was all Aurel's. He lit some candles from the box of matches on the table right next to the door, "It's like a second dorm for me, really. Whenever I sneak out at night or want to just take a nap, I just come here. There's even a hammock to sleep in." He said, pointing to a crimson red hammock on the opposite corner of the room. It had been made of the blood of this dragon in the training maze. The blanket on the hammock was also made from that dragon, but Aurel won't speak of that.

Aurel put down his books on a table and pulled out a chair for Nils before he sat down himself. Hm, it felt a bit dark. Maybe he should've lit more candles, but then it would start to look more like those romantic, candle-lit dinners so Aurel decided against it, "So, what would bring someone who never sneaked out of their dorm at night to come to the library, of all places? Most elect to use the cover of darkness as a way to prepare pranks or to meet their boyfriend or girlfriend." He looked at Nils' backpack again. Maybe he also took some books from the forbidden section. Or he could be like one of those pranksters and possibly graffiti'd some part of the library which Aurel didn't skim through. He rested his head on his hand, elbow on the wood of the table, waiting for an answer.

[jegernorge]

After making sure twice that he had his bag with him, Nils left, following Aurel as close as he could get to the boy without sounding like a horrible pervert. He was holding his backpack like a lost son, a kicked puppy, his stomach twisting and his heart racing, as they walked down the hallways to wherever Aurel had in mind. The corridors when empty an quiet, not even ghosts seemed to be there. Now, Nils didn't honestly believe in ghosts, but if they existed, they certainly wouldn't be there. Asher Academy at night, with a vampire close to you, was certainly not something Nils wanted at all.

They arrived soon enough, and after a little introduction and a show of holding doors opens, both were inside Aurel's personal classroom, or so that's what the boy claimed so. The room was quite nicely decorated, despite the strange hammock made of blood. He wouldn't even ask where so much blood came from anyway. The candles did create a nice atmosphere, even if, in Nils mind, it looked both creepy and awkwardly romantic. Oh, my, how stupid of his. The Norwegian coughed and sat down, watching Aurel talk with a half smile. "It's a great place to be... I'm almost jealous of what you have here, believe me." Then, he chuckled, a light and warm sound, that was gone just as quick as it came.

He was impressed, he felt drawn into Aurel, almost begging for his attention, which he supposed he could blame the whole vampirish aura around the boy, but even then, it didn't sound honestly real. He was about to ask, but Aurel got the best of him first. He frowned at the question, gasping slightly and flushing at the mention of a possible lover. Complete bullshit. "I... Well, I can guarantee it's not a lover... Girls aren't my thing and... My ex found himself another guy." He shrug, looking away and sulking a bit. "I'm not a guy to prank either. It isn't my thing." Another shrug, and Nils sulked a bit more. Oops, Aurel, not a nice subject there.

He stood up, picked up his backpack from the floor and pulled a book out. Then, he let the bag fall with a loud thud, walking silently back to the table, tossing the book in front of Aurel. Black cover, bold, silvery letters and two names on it. The pages inside were yellow, the font was minimal and erased on some parts. On the back cover, the seal from the books that belonged to the forbidden section of the library. "Haakon Sverre Magnusen." He quoted the author, pointing to the book lazily. "One of the best there were with powers similar to mine, but a villain. Controlled the people around him like puppets, rewrote entire lives just fucking with people's minds. But a villain." He hissed.

Finally, Nils sat down again, looking up at Aurel. "The only thing this school tells me is that use my powers is against Ethics, but I don't think so. I just... I hope those books will help me, then, if not a single teacher will." The Norwegian sighed, narrowing his eyes a bit and tapping the wooden table with his fingers. Well, if Aurel could put it past that, then they could be friends. If not, he just hoped the boy would leave him to walk back to his dorm in peace. Simple as that.

[datcurl]

Aurel frowned. Okay, maybe he shouldn't have asked Nils that way, now that the boy appeared to be sulking. Yup, smooth move right there. Aurel might as well have asked how his grandfather's funeral was. He chuckled awkwardly, "Hey, not like you're the only single guy here. Doesn't mean anything terribly bad either," Then he remembered seeing the Norwegian before being pranked and practically attacked by some others. Aurel didn't step in then, but he didn't stand around and laugh either. In fact, he barely noticed it since he was so sleepy that day, but that didn't make him feel any better, "And well, if someone ever did a prank on you, you could always try to beat them at their own game so they don't mess with you again." This would be practically impossible for some people who are like the inventors/pioneers of pranking. But still, one could at least try.

He looked at the book thrown in front of him and opened to a random page, "Hm, mind-based powers do get a bit of a bad rep because of villains like these," He hummed as he skimmed through some lines, "But I honestly think that if someone who has mind control or memory manipulation or whatever uses the power with his goal being for the greater good, then it's fine. Even if they do break a couple ethics rules." Oh ethics. Always making things more complicated. No matter how necessary it may be, sometimes it just feels like a little nagging child who keeps you from getting the peace and quiet you want, "Then again, I'm a bit biased. Making objects out of blood isn't the most hero-like power there is." he said with a good-natured smile.

"Teachers don't even know that I'm trying to find some cure for my dependence on blood. They didn't really like that I could only make stuff with blood. Probably thought that I'd use some random person's blood if I couldn't get any from my opponent," he shrugged, "Besides, you need a lot of blood to make any good weapons, except for maybe a gun. That's why they kicked me down to sidekick, but I couldn't care less. I get less homework this way." Aurel smiled. Yes, he's aware that he may have told a bit too much about himself, but like that matters. Nils doesn't seem the type who would suddenly discriminate or make fun of him for being a sidekick. Then again, you never do quite know until you find out. Eh, maybe it's best to change topic.

Aurel leaned back on his chair and sighed, looking up at the ceiling, "You know what power I've always wanted when I was little? Spellcasting. I would've loved any mind-based powers too. In fact, I probably would've gone a bit crazy over it and abuse it far too often if I had, silly me." He laughed. It would still be true to this day, really. If he woke up with telepathy or illusions, he would be playing around with it all day. Especially illusions, god that would be so much fun, "I have to admit I'm a bit jealous, even if the teachers nag about ethics to you all day. You could always try to fool them into thinking otherwise anyway." He smirked, leaning back a bit more on his chair before it went too far and he fell off. Ow. That was stupid of him.

[jegernorge]

Nils remained quiet as Aurel spoke, his words rolling into his ears like honey, a strange mixture of whatever bittersweet thing. The Romanian's voice had a nice tone to it, not exactly manly, but strong enough to sound pleasant to the ears. He didn't ramble, just... Well, maybe he did ramble, but it wasn't annoying or boring, it was actually interesting to hear, surprisingly. Nils felt his hear twitch a bit, and he mostly laughed at the comment about getting those guys on their own game. Well, he couldn't prank, but he could just make up horrible memories instead, which were just all the more better. Yet, it wasn't a booming laugh, more like a chuckle, suave, delicate sound. Almost effeminate, as one would expect from Nils.

"I honestly find your powers very interesting, Aurel." He clicked his tongue, blinking softly and leaning closer, adjusting his hair a bit. "If not a bit disgusting, but you can... make something, create weapons and defend yourself." Then, he pulled back again, shrugging. It would be at least, more useful the his own. But then again, the grass on the other side is always greener, and a small ache on his wrist pulled him back to reality again. Aurel's powers could be even more useful, but he had to drink blood to survive, it wasn't this compensating. Nils looked down at his wrist, poking the marks gently. "How do the other students even act around you, anyway?" He hummed softly, looking into the other's eyes. Most certainly didn't feel at ease, but had he bitten them? Have they sent him into detention for losing control? Nils just wanted to know more and more.

"Don't they?" He growled, still following Aurel's long speech, but trying to reply bit by bit. It was weird that the Academy would allow such a student around just to bash him down to sidekick and then ignore his pleas. Weird, almost stupid, but just as expected, after all, they had asked him, Nils, to study with them but right next after, told him he couldn't use his powers. "Well, that may be truth, but if you were going for the kill anyway... Besides, can't you use the blood from previous things, such as the hammock over there?" He pointed, looking back for a moment at the end of the room. There was more than enough blood there. "I suppose they at least assigned you classes to help you do that, then? Or was that because you were in the library too?" Because if they didn't, it would be just stupid of them.

Spellcasting? Nice enough. "Would be indeed a great power, but I'd prefer, if I could, to use runes for my spells. It would have been much easier, even if you can have quite the fun with mind-based powers too." He chuckled lightly, a smile as tiny as the Mona Lisa's. "I got a student to burn the whole rooftop once for that... Interesting day." He grinned, bragging a bit because when doesn't Nils subtly tries to brag anyway? He was about to comment more, when a loud thud brought him back to reality, making the Norwegian quickly snap his eyes back at the Romanian.

Aurel was on the floor, still sitting down, in a really strange position. His chair had fallen, and Nils should have warned him, given how much he was swinging his chair that he would eventually fall but... He was obviously too late. Standing up, the Norwegian coughed and tried to help the other, offering a hand. "Put your legs to the side, and try to get up then." He instructed, feeling a bit dumb. "And don't even do that again, you're making noise, and someone could show up here, and see us!" He flushed, hissing a bit but still holding his hand out. That 'us' sounded really off in his tongue, but he didn't even know why.

[datcurl]

Other students. Lovely subject right there, just lovely, "...Some people are intimidated, some not so much. Almost all of them are freaked out to some level," Aurel looked down at the table and sighed, "But things are usually alright until someone starts bleeding. Then well... you know how I am. It scares people more, and some turn that fear into violence," he shrugged and then lied, "But you get used to it. At least I did." Oh such a lie.

"The blood for the hammocks been used two or three times. Gets weaker after each use, though," Just another annoying thing about his power. It's like recycling plastic- the most the plastic of a recycled milk jug can make is a grocery bag, "Yeah, biology classes along with engineering and prototyping classes. They're such a bore, though. I'm much more of a humanities person."

There was something about the way that Nils just smiled in that Mona Lisa-like way that just grabbed Aurel's attention and made him smile back. It felt warm, like a pillow after snuggling against it for a while. Not that... Aurel does that. Not often... Alright maybe he does do that, but it feels so comfy and warm! "Well that would've made a nice campfire, wouldn't it?" he laughed. Aurel doesn't live under a rock, he heard about the rooftop fire. Didn't surprise him that much considering that it came from the self-proclaimed Queen of Pranks, but he'd thought that it was a prank of hers. Certainly not something which had to do with Nils. Damn, that was impressive.

Aurel rolled backwards, getting up on his knees and out of the chair. He tilted his neck which made some unpleasant cracking sounds, but that was because he rolled off a bit weirdly. He did grab Nils' hand and stood up, moving the chair aside so that he wouldn't trip over it, "Don't worry," he said, "The guards wouldn't be around here at this time anyway-"

He stopped and listened for a second. Those were definitely the sound of footsteps, and they were coming right towards them, at a rather brisk pace too. Aurel blew at the candles and pushed Nils down under the table. The dimmest light shown from the door's window, steadily growing with intensity, and he could now smell the guard through the door and the hallway. Aurel ducked down a bit too close to the Norwegian and placed a finger on his lips.

The footsteps stopped for a moment. The guard then stepped back and peeked in the small window, eyes peering inside the classroom. Fortunately the flashlight the person was using wasn't of the best quality and she must've been tired since she yawned then kept going with her patrol. Aurel kept waiting, he could practically hear both of their heartbeats, one beating right after the other. The whole "being hunched together under a table" thing felt odd, awkward yet not awkward at the same time. Kind of like the time when- no, he can't possibly compare the two. He had to remind himself that it was still the first time they're meeting, no matter how close he felt. Besides, that close feeling may not be mutual.

"...I think it's safe now," Aurel whispered and it was only then that he realized exactly how close he was to Nils. The sides of their backs practically rubbing against each other, not to mention the fact that his finger was still on the other's lips and their faces were pretty darn close too. He blushed slightly and crawled out of the table and looked out the small window, "Yeah, she's gone for sure. You can come out now."

He adjusted his hat, "That doesn't happen often- the guard and the... falling of the chair thing." he blushed, "I'm not nearly as clumsy most of the time." Great, now he sounded like he was making excuses. It was the truth though, he usually has a good sense of balance. Anyone would if they had as much gymnastics practice as himself. Aurel fumbled a bit for a match to relight the candles, but it didn't take long and there was light in the room once more. He looked over at Nils and blushed a bit more, but smiled, "So... where were we?"

[jegernorge]

Nothing felt strange when Aurel grabbed Nils' hand and stop up. Everything was quiet and normal as it usually was, but when Aurel stopped talking and blew at the candles, Nils suddenly felt alarmed. When he was thrown under the table, the Norwegian honestly just wanted to scream in surprise and horror. See? That's what happens when you're alone in a room with a vampire, now he was probably bleeding again and this time Aurel would suck his blood and be done with him for good. "Aurel-!" But something cut him off, a finger pressed firmly against his lips, Aurel's finger. Nils gulped, staring hopelessly into the other's eyes, mouth shut now, and cornered in that tight space.

A flick of light from a lantern could be seen from the outside, which, for Nils pointed out only two things: There were indeed guards patrolling the school, and one of them was outside, and could come at any moment, and the other was just how actually close the Romanian was. He could almost see himself in the Romanian's eyes, as if it wasn't enough that he could feel the side of the other's back, a strange proximity between them that Nils wasn't even sure whether he liked it or not. Felt personal, maybe too close, despite the fact it was, no doubt, warm. Nils closed his eyes, purring lightly like a lazy cat as he slouched a bit forward, decided to wrap his arms around Aurel and steal some of that warmness for himself.

Yet, Aurel was quicker, almost instantly declaring that everything was fine and sneak out from under the desk. Nils watched intently as Aurel walked around, checking if there was no one coming before he announced everything was safe. The Norwegian hissed and cursed under his breath, but finally sneaked out the hiding place, standing up and patting his knees before he turned to face the other again. He was blushing, which made Nils smile a bit to himself. At least he wasn't the only one now. His question, however, that had been the tricky part. Nils was so overwhelmed by the closeness and warmness, he completely forgot. But again, he just couldn't...

"I..." He started, covering his face with both hands in embarrassment and taking a deep breath before he faced Aurel again. He was still blushing a bit, but at least he could keep the serious face. "I think I forgot." He said, voice a bit strange, lower than usual. It was quite comforting that both were blushing, smiling like idiots and staring at each other with only this dim light from a candle. It was quite strange, and it felt good, despite the fact Nils never quite considered be alone at night in a room with a pretense vampire a personal dream. Well, guess the unexpected can be also good, right? Silly old Nils.

He shook his head, and quietly walked forward, closer to the other. "Hm, a clumsy vampire wouldn't do, right?" Nils smirked a bit, tilting his chin upwards to stare at Aurel again, leaving his arms hanging dully. "And the guard... Maybe she saw the lights?" He raised an eyebrow, but blinked after as he realized what he had just suggested. The Norwegian went bright red, coughing slightly and looking away for a moment or two before he looked back at Aurel. "Or maybe we shouldn't be so close to the door..." It was becoming so easy to lose himself there, it scared him to the bones. And from the looks of it, things would only grow worse, but Nils would be a liar if he said he didn't like it.

He sighed, rubbing his temples as he reached out and grabbed Aurel by the hands, smiling a bit. "Come, if we move to the back, the less changes we'll be heard from the outside." He commented, because things were just that simple, weren't they? Nils tugged on Aurel's sleeve a bit more, seemingly dragging him to the back of the room where the hammock was, trying to keep his best serious face. Odin, he felt like a creep.

[datcurl]

"Oh sure, that should help." Aurel felt like he was missing something, with the way that Nils flushed after mentioning the lights. Then again, he wasn't the only one with red cheeks at the moment. Aurel made sure to grab a candle as he was dragged to that corner of the room with the hammock. He didn't need the candle's light, his eyes were well adjusted to the dark but he couldn't just leave it where someone outside could see and Nils probably couldn't see as well as him.

He sat on the right side of the hammock, head leaning back against the wall and putting the candle on what would've been the teacher's desk if the classroom hasn't been used in forever, "You can come sit if you want," he invited, patting the other side of the hammock with the pillow,"Don't worry, you won't get any stains from sitting on it. Otherwise it would've driven me crazy." Blood stains were about one of the most annoying things to deal with ever since he had to start drinking blood. It was a constant reminder which kept nagging his thirst and it would be stuck in the fabric of his clothes so he can't just drink it off. The smell would still linger, ever so slightly, but just enough to seem like it was calling him for a drink... And now Aurel was thinking a bit too much about blood now. Again.

Anyway, back to Nils, savory yet- okay mind. Stop it. Now. You already got a drink and people would already be suspicious enough if they see those bite marks on Nils' arm. Aurel, why don't you ask a question that will start up a conversation and serve as a distraction? Good idea, "So... You sleepy yet? Tired?" Aurel was only a little sleepy himself, but that was because school made him so busy in the day. If it was the weekend, he would've stayed up all night and snoozed in the middle of the day.

Aurel sighed and blew at his bangs. Just a couple moments ago he had been practically rambling, but now his mind's just went blank. Only thing really on his mind now was when the two were waiting under the table. How Nils was staring into his eyes like some hopeless little creature, those blue-violet orbs wide open. And if Aurel was remembering correctly, Nils had felt almost cold. He hadn't noticed it before; he hadn't been paying attention when drinking his blood but now that he thought about it, it was at a lower temperature than usual.

"Are you always a bit cold?" he asked. Okay, that wasn't the best way to put it, "I mean.. um, I've kinda noticed that you aren't as, well your body temperature seemed lower than usual." He blushed slightly, looking away, "You're not... sick or anything, right?"

If Nils was sick... well, that would just make things more awkward. Aurel wouldn't be all that sure what to do, if he should try to take care of the Norwegian himself or just send him right to the infirmary. And then there was the question about what would happen to himself. The blood didn't taste like there would be any illness in it, but then again he never had drank from a sick person. Would it get to his bloodstream and make him ill too? Would it be less or more potent? Maybe Aurel shouldn't have asked that, to keep those thoughts from coming in the first place. It would've been better if he just woke up ill one day rather than keep worrying about the possible consequences the whole night.

[jegernorge]

Nils watched Aurel with a curious glance as the other set the candles on the teacher’s desk and then sat on the hammock, tapping lightly his side, inviting Nils to sit over. The Norwegian raised an eyebrow, looking around them and glancing at the outside again, mostly to check if no one was coming. Not a single hint of life was outside, but the blond still narrowed his eyes and blew on the candles, room going dark right before his eyes. Took him a second or two to adjust to the darkness, but since the candlelight wasn’t exactly bright, Nils didn’t have much trouble. He blinked once or twice, sighing before he finally managed to get a good look of everything around the room, taking soft steps towards the hammock.

“Forgive me, but I do then to grow quite paranoid of those things… One inspector already showed up, you never know when the next could come.” He hummed, shrugging lightly as he sat down next to Aurel. The hammock waved and swaggered as the Norwegian sat down, and both his and Aurel’s weight forced him down to the middle of it, and Nils was once again pressed against the Romanian. He frowned, blushing heavily again and letting out a growl as he tried to push himself away, using even his legs but without success, always sliding down like a kid. He muttered a curse under his breath, but resigned to his fate and just crossed his arms, shoulders and side pressed against Aurel.

He even wanted to sulk for a bit, but the other was talking to him back and honestly, he couldn’t just ignore him. “Ah, no… Not really.” He smiled, rubbing his eyes and covering his mouth to hide a yawn. “Okay, maybe I am a bit sleepy.” He shrugged, looking up at Aurel again, with a mix of frustration and… love? Oh, please. He watched the boy blow at his bangs and pout slightly, as if thinking about something, which only made Nils frown and lean in, eyes just screaming that classical question. Well, again, Aurel spoke to him, so he blinked quickly and pulled back a bit. “No, I’m not sick!” Nils laughed, shaking his head. “It’s just natural, from my own powers. I freeze things by absorbing their warmth to myself, so my body is just naturally colder. It’s like you and blood…” He winked quickly, tapping the hammock. The blood just felt like a tissue, smooth to the touch even if that sounded grim. It was amazing.

And talking about warmth… The Norwegian smiled to himself and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Aurel was right next to him, and what a lovely heat came from him. He grinned to himself – because yes, he was a bit cold – and inched closer just enough to rest his left hand on the boy’s right arm, absorbing a bit of the heat right away. Nils nuzzled Aurel’s shoulder, purring lightly under his breath until he was warmer again, then slowly pushed back from the other. “So warm…” He muttered, cheeks now a bit redder from the heat, and Aurel wasn’t even close to frozen, maybe just a bit cold. It was a great progress, until Nils actually realized what he had just done. He blinked, coughing under his breath, eyes widening a bit. “Oh, I’m… I’m sorry, Aurel.” He hissed, embarrassed. Him, purring and cuddling? Was he even on his right mind?!

Well, at least they were even now, unless Aurel bit him again, which probably wouldn’t even happen… yet. Great, Nils, now you’re only making yourself blush harder.