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Professor Gilardioni teaches a sixth form anatomy lesson, with a guest.

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Daalton Gilardioni
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: Better Than You
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Mon Apr 23, 2018 10:17 pm


Professor Gilardioni's eyes scanned the crowd, their cold blue landing on each of the sixth form student's face before flicking off of them. Behind him, a diagram of the galdor body was enlarged on the board, drawn expertly and covered in blank lines. The wooden pointer, tipped with a darker wood to distinguish exactly where it was pointing, was raised to the man's throat. He stared ahead, as each sixth form student kept his or her mouth shut, and the professor's lips formed a thin crease. At the back of the classroom, a woman the professor knew well sat, silently observing.

"Half of the time, I cannot get even one of you to stop blurting out answers so that I may explain, and this is the day you all decide to play the quietest mice? Do not fear, you may answer freely," he said, and finally, a plucky young girl poked her hand up. A withering look affirmed she should have just answered, and so she did.

"The larynx, professor, used for speaking and singing," she said, and the professor merely nodded. Ironic that he should ask for the larynx as an answer, and everyone in the room fall silent. Still, he withdrew the pointer and led it slide through his palm to clatter into the marble floor. Turning his cold gaze back across the room, particularly staring at each student that was not the one who answered, Professor Gilardioni let the answer hang in the air. Clocking children, he thought.

"Very good, Sienna. The larynx, the voice box. Folds of cartilage within the throat that expand and contract to produce sounds, varying pitches and tones. With the lungs, this is your main source of communication. In the future, I would suggest you all exercise yours when I ask you a question. There is no reason for our guest to feel ostracized because the classroom is acting differently since she is here. I would highly encourage each of you to participate. I have yet to assign any course work for outside the classroom just yet," he cautioned them, his face a mask of amusement mixed with displeasure. Sienna, the girl who answered, sat straighter in her seat. She was ready to answer more questions.

"Class, some of you are taking this class for the credit alone, and others because it matters to you. But I assure you, what I have to teach is useful long beyond your years here in Brunnhold. Our guest today is Elisora Rivaen, a notable healer who also attended this school. And her knowledge of Anatomy has helped her with her proficiency in Living Magic. Professor Hulle himself has said she is one of the most gifted Living Mages to come out of the university, and her knowledge of the mortal form has helped her knit wounds and coax disease to recede. Elisora, would you care to educate the class as to how much the knowledge applies to practical uses outside of the classroom, please?" He asked, putting her on the spot. His smile was not warm, nor was it humourous. Instead, it was coaxing, begging her to stand from her spot at the back of the classroom and come to replace him. He walked the slight incline towards her, waving a hand to indicate her rising from her seat. He replaced her, the warmth of the chair a discomfort to him.

"I will continue the lesson after you have regaled the students with your affirmations, dear Elisora," he assured her, almost mocking in his tone. There was a palpable tension in the air, as if he was annoyed at Elisora for his students' lack of participation. He blamed her, after all. If she were not present, they would have answered like clockwork, as they were all trained to do.

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Elisora Rivaen
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Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:40 am

Intas 9th, 2718
Of all people, Elise would have never imagined Daalton Gilardioni had become a professor in Brunnhold. Yet here she was, sitting at the back of his class, watching him and his students. The man certainly hadn’t changed all that much from the senior she remembered, all cold blue gazes and lips pulled back into an intimidating curl. Perhaps she shouldn’t be surprised that he had become a rather terrifying teacher – at this very moment, at least.

The classroom was uncharacteristically silent as she watched the young professor begin his lesson. Having been a student a few years ago, Elise could distinctly remember that most young galdori would fight over one another to show off what they had learned even before the class truly started – including her. Yet, these students mostly just glanced back at her every once in a while, curious about their unexpected guest. Then again, perhaps she couldn’t blame them, between the sea of green, Elise’s dark blue dress stood out starkly.

The female galdor only watched as the professor began chastising his students for their lack of initiative. It seemed like he had come to the conclusion that her presence was the cause of their indolence. She expected the class to go on still, but unfortunately Daalton had other ideas.

“Elisora, would you care to educate the class as to how much the knowledge applies to practical uses outside of the classroom, please?”

While she had been somewhat flattered, the last part of the man’s words made her pause. Did he just say she should educate his class? As head turned toward her, it took every bit of her to maintain a mask of calm on her face. Daalton was clearly giving her no choice as he already began ascending the steps to where she was. Reluctantly, the healer rose from her seat and walked down towards the front of the class.

As they passed each other, the younger galdor made a point of glaring at the professor. She wasn’t here to give a lecture. She was here to visit her respected senior and perhaps refresh some of her knowledge at the same time. The faculty had actually offered her a place as a professor, yet Elise firmly denied it. Standing in front of crowd and feeling their gaze on her always made her stomach churn comfortably. Just like what it’s doing right now.

She ran her fingers through her auburn hair as she took her place in front of the board and faced the sixth form students – a clear hint to her unease should one knew her well enough. She would have to improvise as she went.

“Since we’re just talking about the larynx, it seems appropriate to continue discussing of what you may find after it.” It was the best topic she could come it for now. As she spoke, the young woman tried to recall just how much a sixth form student was supposed to know regarding anatomy.

A boy with dark hair leaned forward against his desk, clearly trying to hear her better.

Elise realized that perhaps her voice was too gentle and cleared her throat. She made sure that she was louder this time. “Can anyone tell me what the respiratory tract consists of?”

Still, no one answered. They only stared and Elise needed to force herself to stop fidgeting. She had half the mind to use mona to ease her nerves.

That clocking erse. This is all his fault. She couldn’t understand how her adolescent self could ever developed a crush on the older galdor. At least her annoyance at how things played out pushed her nervousness out of the way, allowing her mind to become more still, more focused.

“Not a single answer?” Elise asked, tilting her head ever so slightly as her eyes wandered to the man sitting on her seat. While the young woman was not the sort to stir trouble, she had known Daalton well enough and came up with her own way of dealing with him. “Don’t tell me Professor Gilardioni hadn’t even taught you the basics of respiratory anatomy?”

The jab quickly hit its mark. Two hands shot up in the air, while a few gazes flickered toward their professor. Elise simply pointed at a girl with shocking red hair, a show of her Anaxas bloodline. “The respiratory tract has two sections, upper and lower. The upper respiratory tract consists of the nasal cavity, the pharynx, and the larynx. While the lower tract has the trachea, the bronchi, and the lungs.”

Elise nodded in approval. “That’s right. All these pathways serve as a delivery system so that the air can reach our lungs. But what if something disturbs it?” The longer she spoke, the more her voice gained confidence. This was something she was good at, something she took pride in doing. “As a healer, a lot of people came to me complaining of trouble breathing, a shortness of breath. Though its causes may vary, most of them are caused by something we call a wheezer. A wheezer occurs when our bronchi tightens and constricts, becoming smaller and making it more difficult for air to go through.

“The solution seems simple: all you need to do is open up the path. Yet, when using Living magic, you cannot simply will the entirety of the tract to expand. It might cause strain to the structure that had no problems to begin with. You’ll have to know exactly where the bronchi are, the cells that make them to be able to have perfect control of it.”

At the last moment, her dark eyes sought Daalton’s blue ones, unwilling to let him have full-control of the situation. She needed to get him back for putting her on the spot, after all. “As I would hate to take over his class, perhaps Professort Gilardioni would you be so kindly to assist me in a demonstration?”
Last edited by Elisora Rivaen on Sat May 05, 2018 8:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Daalton Gilardioni
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Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:25 am


Apathetic eyes surveyed Elise as she stalked towards the front of the classroom, her glare invigorating Daalton. There was a time when he would have been concerned by the emotion behind the glare, but that time had passed. Instead, the professor observed her as if he were no more the professor, and instead a seventh year paying attention to the rather attractive instructor.

Though he smiled, there was little amusement in his face. Instead, the malevolent look that radiated from his handsome face was antagonistic, and he knew from their past that she was not a shark, not truly. She could be a spitfire, but there was little she could do to lash back at him, and from how small her voice was when she began talking, he could tell that she had changed very little. He had not intended to put her on the spot when Professor Hulle first told him he'd be hosting her for a class period, but instead intended to ignore her presence completely. However, his students had chosen otherwise, and he found that he was much happier with the turn of events than he thought he would be. Predatory eyes watched as she instructed, but the look of empty mirth fell from his lips when she insulted him. Paper-white face, pursed lips, the professor watched in intimidating silence. The few students who cautioned a glance his way caught fire in his eyes, but that was the only indication from the disciplined professor.

Of course Daalton had taught them the respiratory system. A few days prior, and they were running over each other to answer his questions, to gain his approval. He wondered how long Elisora had know she would be attending this particular class, and if she had somehow orchestrated this whole circus to make him look bad. The palest red crept into his cheeks as his blood pressure rose. He concentrated on himself, using his magical expertise to stem the flow of blood and adrenaline coursing through his veins, remaining magically calm under the circumstances. Given their history, Daalton would not put it past Elisora to attempt a grand scheme to embarrass him. He gritted his teeth and dammed the waters of rage that threatened to break through his carefully constructed appearance. Instead, he forced a smile, tight and small, but convincing enough. With the look a viper gives a mouse, Professor Gilardioni stood from the desk both of them had at one time occupied, and approached the front of the class.

"I assure you, miss, they have been well educated, if not overly so," he began, his lips barely moving as the words fell from them, "Perhaps they are just shy, or are pretending to be so. Have no fear, we will afford them an opportunity to relax."

His eyes, icy cold and blue, locked onto hers and the predatory look came back into them. Standing next to her now, she was close enough to smell him. Slightly coppery and bitter, like blood and embalming chemicals. He nodded, looking out over the classroom, whose collective breath was bated and held. They knew the professor, and they knew how quickly and easily his ire came. Instead, though, he merely bowed his head and held his arms out, thin as they were.

"Shall I use my conversation to restrict your bronchi, Miss Rivaen? Or would you, instead, consider it more gentlemanly of me to allow you to restrict mine? I find either acceptable," he all but whispered, staring into her eyes. There was a time, years ago, that the invitation would have carried sexual connotations, and Elisora couldn't help but wonder if this one did as well. His eyebrows were raised, but the hint of comedy in his eyes was only a flicker. The rest of was fire and a dare.
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Elisora Rivaen
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Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:55 pm

Intas 9th, 2718
Elise had decided to use her time off to do some research in the libraries of Brunnhold and perhaps take a trip down memory lane. She certainly hadn’t planned on seeing Daalton. Nonetheless, when Professor Hulle brought up the fact that he was teaching here now, she was the one who was curious and decided to see him. The last time she had seen him was the day of his graduation. If asked, Elise couldn’t exactly explain why she wanted to do such a thing. Most people in her shoes would be happy never seeing their former lover ever again.

Perhaps a part of her wanted to test herself, to see if the man still had the same effect on her. Or perhaps that foolish part of her still hoped that he could change.

As she watched him taking his time walking towards her, the memories of her school years came like a thunderous river. Daalton had always carried himself like he owned the entire world, not a hint of hesitation in his movements. It was only one of the things that had kept her attention on him – how he was vastly different from herself who walked through the halls invisibly. How many times had she seen that tight, controlled smile aimed at her? Yet, her betrayer of a mind could also still picture those early days where his smile was genuine and his affection addicting – even till now, she had no idea which part of him was real. Then again, perhaps none of it was.

To most people, Daalton’s smile was quite real. But Elise knew better. His gaze seemed to pin her in place and it was obvious to her that he was not at all pleased. Clearly the shot she took at him had flared something in him.

Their fields rippled as they met, seemingly greeting one another in their familiarity. Years ago, Daalton’s field had always been imposingly stronger than her and he was never afraid to show it. But she was not the junior anymore. Elise had spent these past years perfecting her skills in Living magic and she knew that her own field now rivaled his.

“Shall I use my conversation to restrict your bronchi, Miss Rivaen? Or would you, instead, consider it more gentlemanly of me to allow you to restrict mine? I find either acceptable.”

The challenge hung between them, their eyes locked on each other. If the decision was given to her, there was no doubt in Elise’s mind as she made her choice. She couldn’t – wouldn’t – let him have the power over her in any form.

The redhead broke away from Daalton’s gaze to turn towards the awaiting students. They were all staring at her intently, clearly aware of the palpable tension between the two adults. “So, I will use magic to constrict Professor Gilardoni’s airways and he will show you how to release it.”

Heart racing, she finally looked back at the handsome professor. “Ready?”

Whether he acknowledged her or not, the younger galdor would simply start casting her spell. Her voice was barely audible, a whispered song uttered in Monite. It was a simple spell, one that urged the muscles surrounding the bronchi to tighten and constrict. The effects would be clear soon enough and it would dawn on the students why the ailment was called a wheezer.
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Daalton Gilardioni
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Mon May 07, 2018 1:56 am


It was impossible for Daalton to keep the amusement from his face. He should have known that Elise would choose to choke him, rather than the opposite, and could have nearly bet some money on it. He knew she could read his facial expression, but attempted with very little effort to hide the emotion. Instead, he instinctively reacted to her usage of the Conversation, the classroom and Elise all feeling his field flex in direct reaction. He held it in check, allowing her mumbled monite to close the passages that allowed him to breathe. Nearly immediately, a ruddiness crept into his pale cheeks as his ice blue eyes searched the class for signs of their reactions. Some of them looked worried, some fascinated, and Daalton was sure that some were hiding elation. After a few seconds though, he realized his bronchi were closing more than he thought they should.

The vein in his forehead stood mountainous from the surface of his face, pulsating as he struggled to breath through her spell. Still, he held his own usage of magic in check, trusting very thinly in Elise's fear of legal retribution, if not any feelings she may still harbour for him. With her Monite slowly closing his ability to take in and use oxygen, though, he began to wonder if she did actually still harbour any feelings. Of course, they had shared a passionate and fiery love life before, but a lot of time had passed. He himself felt nothing emotionally, though her physical appearance aroused him more than he would likely let on. He prayed to Alioe that she did, in one fashion or another, exercise restraint. For whatever reason.

His face was now the colour of a beet. His eyes were bulging, somehow larger and bluer than they'd ever been. The students in the class assumed the blue was because of the red of his face, and he was sure it was. Still, in the second ticking by, he felt like an eternity of air wouldn't bring him back to normal. He was starting to panic. He could feel the rapidity of his own heart slamming a tattoo of fear and growing desperation in his chest, and he wasn't surprised at the look of some of his students. Ironically, many of those looking nervous or horrified were males, which would have caused Professor Gilardioni to laugh, if he had any air in his lungs at all. Instead, he focused his mona inward, but realized that in his arrogance, he wouldn't have left himself a way out should she actual wish to kill him. He couldn't speak, couldn't even whisper... He had no oxygen in his blood.

He tried to will his heart to slow down, to stop hammering against his ribcage. He tried to will one of the students to begin manually inflating his lungs, or opening his bronchi, or even slowing his heartbeat so that the bloodflow stopped wasting precious haemoglobin... Anything. But no, everyone just watched, terrified, and when Daalton finally turned to his former lover, there was a fear in his eyes she at have never seen before. In actuality, very few had ever seen that look in his eye, and it was a vulnerability he would later repay with malice and savagery.

But in that moment, he was hers. She could do with him what she would, and he was absolutely clocking powerless to stop her. More veins had joined the one that was now throbbing against his skin, threatening to rip through to bathe the classroom in his life essence. Black circles started to encroach around his vision, threatening to blot out the scene before him. The last thing he would ever see was Elise's eyes, and there was something poetic about it that was wasted on Daalton. What was not lost on him in that very moment was the fragility of the situation. It was death, or Elise would release him.

He didn't have much hope.

In all actuality, it had been only seconds over a minute. But the pressure he was under, his arrogance and not taking a deep breath before she began her spell, and Daalton found himself in a predicament. With his magic, he'd be able to supplement his breathing to incredible amounts. Not here, not because he allowed himself to be proud before a woman he used to bed. The purple of his face was indication that he had made a mistake. And good thing, because he'd certainly never admit it.

"... Miss Rivaen, I think he's struggling to breathe... You aren't trying to suffocate him, are you?" A student asked, a male who looked like he'd be sick. Daalton, embarrassed that the student would even indicate she had the power to hurt him, used minimum effort to lift and throw his pen at the student. He was correct though. Spots danced in front of his eyes.

He needed Elise to counterspell.
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Elisora Rivaen
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Mon May 07, 2018 7:13 am

Intas 9th, 2718
Daalton and his pride. She still remembered how her offer of help – of any kind – was refused by him. He never liked that, the thought that he might need someone else’s assistance, especially hers. It most certainly did not occur to Elise that something might go wrong. In her head, Daalton was more than capable to do a simple spell to counteract hers.

So, Elise decided to turn her attention to the students who were all now leaning forward with their interest locked on their teacher. “Right now, Professor Gilardioni’s bronchi are slowly closing. This in turn, would increase the resistance to airflow and cause obstruction. As more carbon dioxide are retained in his body, his lungs will try to compensate by hyperventilating. It would not help much, unfortunately. What needs to be done is for his respiratory tract to open and let air come back in.”

However, his wheezing did not stop. He should be able to relieve himself by now. Elise finally turned to look at her former lover. It took her a split of a second to take note of his distress. His face was red as the blood raced to his head, struggling to make sure that his brain kept getting oxygen while the rest of him did not.

And then there was something that she thought she would never see in Daalton. Fear. Genuine, primal fear. He truly did not have control of what was happening.

“... Miss Rivaen, I think he's struggling to breathe... You aren't trying to suffocate him, are you?”

Daalton reacted first, reprimanding the student by throwing his pen even as he struggled to breathe. It seemed like the man had barely changed, still trying to be in control even now. Elise, on the other hand, ignored the young man’s concern. Instead, she stepped forward, making her sure the concern didn’t show on her face. Her time as a doctor had granted her to keep an unruffled attitude even in the most unexpected situations. To most of her patients, at least. She guessed the apprehension in her eyes would be readable by the ones who knew her well enough.

The spell came out of her mouth clearly and loudly, unlike the one she uttered just now. One of her hand rested on his chest, while the other gripped his shoulder – for some reason Elise had found that her healing worked slightly faster when she was in contact with her patients. Her pronunciation was flawless, every word carried with respect and familiarity, a request she had made a hundred times before. Elise could not afford making a mistake. As much as she wanted some sort of payback, choking him to death was definitely not the way to go.

As her magic tried to unravel the previous spell, Elise realized that perhaps she had casted too strongly. No wonder his airway had constricted so quickly, so severely. A morbid part of her wondered if she was still subconsciously abhorring him, letting the mona express her furious intent at all the wrongs he had done to her. She was quite sure she didn’t hate him. Not anymore, at least. Too much time had went by for her to hold such a grudge.

His relief would be near instantaneous, if everything went as it supposed to at least. His bronchi would dilate, allowing fresh air to rush in. Elise swiftly continued to another spell that would allow his blood to bind to more oxygen, for it to be distributed quickly to the organs that had been gasping for it just now.

“Daalton…” the young woman started, using his first name and forgetting that she was still in a room full of students watching in horror. She could hear the wheeze fading from his breathing, but she still needed to make sure that he was truly alright. “Can you speak?” If he could manage a full sentence without gasping for air, she would know that there should be no problem.

At least until whatever consequences her former lover might want to throw at her for ruining his class.
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Daalton Gilardioni
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Wed May 16, 2018 2:04 am


Daalton was not nostalgic, nor did he believe in altruism. In that moment, he was sure that she was going to kill him, to allow the blood to flow through him without any oxygen in which to enrich his tissue cells. He stared, eyes bugged, for just a moment until she released him. As she began her counterspell to widen the bronchi in response to her former spell, he realized that she had never intended to kill him. Not in front of all these witnesses... And perhaps not at all. When she said his name, something stirred, sending his mind into a whir.

He gasped, the air bursting into his lungs and feeling like a hot iron was thrust into him. He quickly began to mutter his own counterspell, increasing the haemoglobin in his blood to allow the oxygen to begin its flow through his body. The black rings around his vision began to fade, turning grey and eventually dissipating altogether. The class was silent, watching the interaction in awe as the two Living Sorcerers tried to resuscitate and return Daalton to his former self. Icy blue eyes, rimmed with tears quite against his own desire, landed on Elise.

"Yes, I am... Elise," came the soft response, perhaps just loud enough for her to hear. She hadn't expected the softness, certainly not after he came so close to permanent damage, but Daalton's voice certainly wasn't hard. He took a few more deep breaths, overly exaggerating the dramatic inhales so that Elise could see them.

"I trust that Miss Rivaen would know when to stop, and that she could recognize the signs of serious damage impending. Can any of you identify what was happening beneath the surface?" He asked, casting a faux shy glance back at Elise. He smiled slightly, the edges of his lips curling ever so. When he turned back to the class, though, the smile was wolfish and toothy, predatory. One of the students raised a hand, silent but determined. He nodded her way.

"She was closing the bronchi, which was restricting your ability to draw breath. Because you couldn't supplement or restore the oxygen in your lungs, you began to asphyxiate," came the reply, and Daalton nodded his approval. Rubbing his throat, he turned and scratched the word on the board in chalk, "HYPOXIA".

"Exactly. Despite my attempts to breathe without Living Conversation, I could not draw a breath. The lack of oxygen caused me to send unenriched blood to my extremities, which results in a condition called 'hypoxia'. While in small doses, the tissue can resuscitate itself, the condition can be seriously damaging and, in some cases, fatal. The tissue is easily distinguished due to the discoloration and waxiness the skin takes on," Daalton explained, taking a step back to stand level with Elise. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, running her fingers over his to show her how the skin was, even in those few moments, beginning to shrivel.

"And should the hypoxia affect the lungs... Death," he said, the word hanging heavy in the air. Looking at his watch, he nodded and dismissed the class. As they stood and filtered out, the two living sorcerers got plenty of stares, but Daalton pretended not to notice. Instead, he kept his intense gaze on Elise, his eyes saying what his lips would not... Though she'd seen the look before. Desire.
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Elisora Rivaen
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Thu May 17, 2018 5:37 am

Intas 9th, 2718
Elise… She hadn’t heard that name for quite some time. A name only those closest to her could call. Her family… and well, him.

Her relief came a bit later when she finally realized that the anatomy professor was entirely fine. Daalton was quick to jump back into his lesson as Elise stood awkwardly there, shifting her weight from side to side. She was considering returning to her seat at the back of the class when she felt his fingers wrapping around her wrist. Her head whipped towards him, her eyes wide and wondering what in Alioe’s name he was doing. His
touch was as she remembered it, purposeful and gentle, capable of setting her skin alight.

Daalton didn’t say anything else. Not a word as he dismissed his class. He just looked at her. Looked at her with the burn of desire that was familiar to her. A look they had shared countless times before.

She followed Daalton’s lead and disregarded how his students were ogling at them, at their linked hands. Her old self, the one he was used to, would blush and shy away from the heat of his stare, but Elise held it now. In her dark eyes was a challenge, questioning the desire glowing in his blue orbs. Despite the complicated nature of their relationship, Elise knew one thing to be a fact… Their physical attraction to each other was very real. Perhaps even till now. For his gaze did stir something deep inside her. She only hoped that he wouldn’t be able to see it in her eyes – a futile hope most likely.

The tension between them soon became unbearable for her.

“I didn’t know you’ve returned,” Elise finally started, ignoring how her heart was unfortunately pounding inside her chest. It felt like she lost an unspoken fight. A part of her regretted the fact that she had decided to come here. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious about how her former lover was doing, but… She didn’t know what she was expecting, really. “Much less that you’ve been teaching here for the past two years.”

Then again, she was the one who cut all her ties to him. She convinced herself that it was for the best, to know as little as possible about him. It was easier that way. Especially since she still loved him, even after all that happened. Fortunately, the distance, the fact that she couldn’t see him, made the feelings fade quicker. During that time, she wondered if he ever even thought of her, or perhaps he had found a replacement for her.

Suddenly, Elise realized that Daalton was still holding her hand. And how easy it would have been for him to feel the rapid pulse pounding against her skin. That they were standing so close together. Slowly, the young woman tried to pull away her hand.

Elise let herself to truly study the professor for the first time since she entered the class. His icy blue eyes. That sharp-edged smile. The way he regarded most people with a predatory look in his eyes. He was as handsome and impeccably dressed as always. Charming as a snake mesmerizing its prey before it sunk its teeth. She gave him a rueful smile. “You haven’t changed at all, have you?”
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Daalton Gilardioni
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Thu May 24, 2018 1:49 am


It was interesting, Daalton noted, that she would regard him much as she did. He could see the inner workings of her mind as she studied him, hoping to find his center, unable to as she'd always been. Daalton's enigmatic persona was not one of purpose, but came mostly from apathy he never feigned. There was something about the fanatical look she'd had in her eye the day they'd met, the shyness she struggled to overcome in his presence that drew him to her. A smile bent half-moon's in his cheeks, his eyes as warm now as they ever were; that is to say, not warm.

"You had not given me reason to tell you I returned. From what I remember, you were the one who asked me not to contact you, Elise," he said, his voice rigid where his features were not. He hadn't liked her choice, not one bit, and by the looks of it, he still harboured that resentment. How dare anyone deny him?

"Let me be the first to apologise, though," he began, the serpentine charisma returning quickly after the hood had flared, "Had I known you had a desire to know I had returned, I would have told you first. You always knew when I was lying," he said, smiling in the glint of his eye.

It wasn't true, of course, but she had caught him a few times. Daalton had become quite adept at lying, especially to women, by the time he'd met Elise. Still, though, there was a magnetism there, and she could often tell when the poles wouldn't align. Still holding her hand, he turned and waved his other across the room.

"Not at all what I had thought I would be doing after graduation. Some went off to become doctors, or inventors, or corpses. No, I stayed here, with that godsawful Siordanti. Acadaemia, Hulle had always said, was the true calling of the genius. Why push progress, right? Why discover something new when you can teach to others what those better had discovered? Not me, no. I went, and I discovered, and I brought it back. I had thought to be lauded, but instead was offered a rather prestigious position here," his eyes shone as he spoke, glittering like cold sapphires at dusk. He pulled her, gently, over to his desk.

He'd done that once before, when the desk didn't belong to him. He'd swiped the materials from it, and lifted her onto it. Here, though, he did no such thing. Instead, he added to the haphazard conglomeration of items, opening a bound journal in his flowing, feminine handwriting.

"I went to Fen Kierdan and beyond. Mimsbury-in-the-Marsh has a team of ecologists studying the effects of the Mugrobi plague on the ecosystem there, and I went to study in Mugroba to learn of its effects on sapients. This will earn me my permanent place here," he said, the colour in his cheeks darkening for a moment. He sighed, satiated with his vainglory, and leaned back on the wood of the desk.

"I suppose I have not changed much, no. I'll hope you have not either, with the exception of your feelings toward me?" The question was poised, as always, with a half-smile and a pique of his eyebrow. He studied her features, a trained eye looking for any perceptible sign that he may have broken through her shroud of bitterness. She was beautiful, he realized, truly. Perhaps it was the look of relief he saw on her face when he gasped his first breath before passing out, or the soft shudder as she realized their flesh was together. Perhaps, under the veil he'd nailed over her, she did still admire him.

Adore him. That was what it was, what it used to be. Adoration. She thought he turned everything he touched to gold, which he could, technically. Still, though, the brief contact had shown him her pulse, and it was thundering. He knew she felt the electricity. All he had to do was charm her.
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Elisora Rivaen
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Thu May 24, 2018 9:52 am

Intas 9th, 2718
“I suppose I did,” the young woman agreed. The hardness in his tone changed the slightest bit, letting the hint of irritation slip through. Daalton hadn’t been pleased when she told him she had enough all those years, that she wasn’t dealing with this anymore. She had expected it, but she hadn’t foreseen how much. Needless to say, their breakup wasn’t at all calm and cordial. “At that time, I figured it was for the best. Less… complicated, you know. Besides, it seems like we both did well after that.”

Elise shrugged at his claims. “Well, in that case, we both know that your last statement is untrue.” Daalton always knew precisely what to say to her at all times, whether it was a truth or a lie. It was completely unfair how he knew how to play her while she had very little control over him. She could read him better than nearly everyone else, but that was it. After all, she was the one who believed what they had was real – not him.

Before she managed to escape his grip, Daalton was already pulling her along to what must be his desk. And she let him lead her. It had always been this way between them: Daalton leading and her following. Elise had been eager to follow his whims, especially early in their relationship. It was when she slowly started to steer her attention away from him, letting her childish infatuation fade away, that things started to go foul.

While she took note of the clutter of items across his desk, an unbidden memory surfaced. A searing kiss in an empty classroom. The mild flash of pain as the small of her back hit the edge of the desk. Elise wanted to laugh out loud. Was that a warning from her subconscious? A reminder that Daalton could make her do the most reckless, impulsive things?

She could never not notice the gleam in his eyes when he talked about his work. There was little that could please him like the mention of his achievements. He could be infuriatingly cocksure of himself, but at some point in their relationship, Elise had become immune to it. Besides, usually he had reason to boast.

Daalton and his fascination with diseases definitely hadn’t changed. While the young woman had her attention snagged by how the body worked and how it could be used to heal, her former lover had always been driven to figure out precisely how a sickness worked. It had made them a good team. “And did you find anything noteworthy?” Elise asked, gravitating toward him and his notebook as her curiosity was peaked.

Sure, Daalton was handsome and unabashedly charming. Those two traits were the ones that had drawn her attention to him, made her want his attentions. Even now, her body still hummed at their proximity. But it was his intelligence that had sunk its hooks on her. She had loved their tutoring session, where he would talk about the incantations he had mastered and taught her how to do it. How his brain could deconstruct theories and knowledge with less effort than what he needed to breathe.

“I suppose I have not changed much, no. I'll hope you have not either, with the exception of your feelings toward me?”

The healer looked up at the professor and laughed mirthlessly. “That’s one way to put it.” She wasn’t entirely surprised at his probing question. It was perhaps an effort to test the waters – to test her. In that case, she should be allowed to do the same. “I suppose your feelings towards me haven’t changed either. Considering there wasn’t much there to even begin with.”
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