Brunnhold Campus
He had no idea what hour of the night it was and he wasn't entirely sure that he cared but he'd had a chance to look out at the moon which was well risen so it was definitely late. The time of his curfew had no doubt come and perhaps even now, the Patron of his wing had begun a hue and cry. The man was a greater stickler for the rules than Fred and Ayden had ever been, stricter than many Patrons he'd had actually and he seemed to have some anxiety about having things proper. Then again, given the night that was in it, it was possible that things were generally pear-shaped in the wing and the ward as a whole. Either way, he couldn't do anything about it now, it wasn't as if he could ask Alioe to turn the clocks back on his account.
As he crept out of the professor's office into the quiet halls beyond, he discovered that he was wide awake now and that he probably wouldn't be able to sleep if he returned to his dorm. However, he wasn't certain if he should return despite the fact that he'd likely be climbing the walls or if he'd extend his freedom now that he had it. Fionn was probably missed already as he'd broken curfew so there was no harm in just staying out. Well, there was plenty of harm actually because if he had been missed, he'd get in trouble the longer he was away but the youth didn't feel much like caring right now. He was sure that he could provide some sort of excuse for his tardiness and another hour, say, wouldn't make much difference.
The real question was what did he intend to do with his borrowed time?
The teenager had a cloak with him, one of the ones dotted about for the passives in wintertime because their galdori masters weren't cruel obviously but were kind and considerate and they definitely had their best interests at heart. If they were cruel then they'd let them freeze in this wintry weather, right? No, he wasn’t bitter about the bare minimum that the galdori did for his kind, not at all. The things they had to be seen to do. After all, if they saw some scrap roaming around Brunnhold in just their uniform in the midst of Ophus or Intas with snow whirling around them then all the galdori would have to feel guilty. They couldn’t have those sorts of things on their consciences! Thanks to that potential attack of conscience, he could roam around a little bit without freezing his bits off because it was really clocking bitter cold outside.
He slipped it on, moving swiftly downstairs, tucking it closely around him and pulling up the hood to protect his head from the harshness of the weather before he slipped outside. Heavy snow drifts clung to the grounds, the paths clear and salted, snaking safe routes through the university grounds. The paths were gritty beneath his feet, a degree of slickness to them where as yet unmelted snow had gathered, blown across by the gusting wind. It wasn't a good night to be out, the icy weather nipping at his limbs even through the protective layer that he wore. He walked swiftly, no direction in mind but simply needing to move, to stay warm.
Fionn wanted to stop and peer up at the moon, the very symbol of the deity that this night celebrated but it was too cold. It was hardly worth it anyway, the sliver of silvery white rock nowhere near as beautiful as when Benea was at its fullest. The young man still wanted to look though, head tilted up, gazing up at it from beneath the cloak's hood, his vision somewhat obscured. The teenager paid little attention to where he was going, finding himself noting the paths so that he wouldn't stray from them but inadvertently looping around, beginning to shiver violently in his indecision until he ended up in the vicinity of a nexus, remembering then that he was meant to be sneaking around instead of wandering aimlessly. It was a nexus that was familiar to him, one that snapped him out of his worship of the heavens.
"Lars. Hello," he greeted his former roommate, hushed as he grew close to him.
His sun. He couldn't seem to escape his draw, caught in orbit around him even when it was ill-advised. The middle Madden couldn't seem to keep away, even if he might end up burned, especially after how their last interaction had gone. His beautiful golden boy. Even now, he wanted to reach out to touch his face, trace the sharp angles and let his fingers glide through the golden locks of hair. The servant had avoided him recently and that hadn't been easy. So close to him, the familiarity of his nexus touching his own, Fionn questioned how he could have stayed away for so long.
"Happy new year. I... I missed you," the teenager admitted, smiling self-consciously, shyly. The youth couldn't stand there staring at him though as much as he might have wanted to do so. Too cold.
"Look I... I'm not going back to the ward yet but... can we go somewhere? To... to talk?" Fionn suggested, shifting weight from foot to foot.
Talk, he said but he wasn't thinking about talking, not exactly. Something involving lips, yes but...
"A classroom? No gollies there and... we'd actually have privacy..."