Chapter 172: 172
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Friday morning, Glenn was back to collect Rio for training at another facility.
Unable to help himself, he asked, "Do you actually cook breakfast and supper everyday?"
The young mage shook his head. "It's part of Garret's regimen until his muscles and bones settle into their new normal. It's going to get a lot more 'fend for yourself' around here after that."
Seeing Rio get a touch more bitter and sullen, he added, "But since our schedules are getting a bit out of sync, I've decided to double Rio's allowance to 2,000 a week so he can eat out once in awhile without dipping into his date budget."
Rio's mood improved slightly and he thanked Orison but he still looked like something was eating him. The young mage looked to Glenn with a question in his eyes.
The brownie blooded man said, "The training facility he went to on Monday has some children of elites that use it as well. It's common to have to borrow or even share gear at the Education Center's gym but in the crucible, certain pieces of gear need to be fitted. Blue Rose pulled some strings to get him in but he has to find a way to provide his own personalized gear."
Orison asked, "What's the facility's benefit and how much is the gear?"
Glenn said, "Well, it's two actually. The first half of the Crucible is a set of rooms that helps safely raise resistances for a human body. To be able to use the facility fully, he'd need around 40,000 in personalized gear. We've been focusing on the part of the second half that doesn't but he's already soaked all he can from the healing factor suite. The condenser suite that raises bone and cellular density requires a gear set that runs about 20,000."
After looking over a few things on The Weird, Orison laughed in scorn. "So, let me get this straight. It's a facility that's capable just a little over half the time of turning a mundane human body into the equivalent of the so called 'broad spectrum E-class'. In reality, it's a well rounded human that's just slightly better in comparison to an average of the top ten percent of the human population.
"He'll have to be there for nearly a month to get the most out of it and there's a good chance that some of this gear is going to need replacing two or three times. What cost the Blue Rose nothing more than a 'pretty please' is going to cost Rio somewhere around 120,000 merits before it's all said and done... It's pampered kiddie bullsh*t to put Rio in his place.
"During Summit training, the Chaos Chambers do the same thing with no special gear. It hurts. It requires healing but it's also more effective. Most importantly, it's not a waste of time for people who've done other resistance trainings or taken supernatural supplements to do. If there was an overall performance increase of ten percent from this watered down second generation elite garbage, I'd be shocked to death."
The young mage sneered. "Glenn, you tell Esme that she can see Rio at Rowdies Accelerator this afternoon. When he shows up, he'll no longer be needing the favor of access to that jellyfish clubhouse because he'll already be improved past what it can help with... I guess the strings I can pull are just a little bit better and don't waste other people's time and resources."
Popping out in a cold sweat, Glenn said, "Do you mind if I break that news a little more diplomatically?"
Orison said, "Yeah. I'm just a little heated over implied insults and Rio's unnecessary embarrassment... Garret, you stay too. Now that you're in the family, so to speak, I'm not going to start playing favorites."
Empty handed, Glenn left looking puzzled but not daring to ask how Orison planned on accomplishing the feat he just suggested. After the young mage closed the door, he turned around and saw that Garret looked confused and Rio was mortified and slightly angry for some reason."
"Garret, I'll explain in just a second... Rio, take two deep breaths. As soon as you have your emotions under control, tell me what has you so worked up," Orison said while trying to check his own mildly flared temper.
It ended up being a handful of hormone fueled half understandings of situations and motivations. He thought that Orison WAS playing favorites. He thought that the young mage was trying to control his actions and future options among other minor gripes that had been accumulating over the last week.
He addressed the teen. "Here in a couple of hours, our new roommate is going to arrive and tomorrow another. After that, my circle closes unless it's a damn good reason. Let's forget the 300,000 merit debt I soaked up for you and the additional 300,000 that you spent unsupervised. I gave you seven spells and a low tier artifact. Let's forget that I cover your basic needs and more besides...
"When Gan gets here and after I introduce you two, we're going to break the no alcohol rule. Why? Well, Gan likes to drink. He's been through hell and I'm not a hypocrite. More importantly, the alcohol we'll be toasting with is special. To call it medicine is far from an exaggeration and more of an understatement. By the time we do our toasts and the two of you are legally sober, The Crucible will do nothing for you because a morning special occasion 'tipsy' will have improved you beyond its 'one month long and costly gear' ability to add to.
"But I'm not a tyrant. If you'd rather do a month of The Crucible instead of a few shots of super liquor, be my guest... I will admit to one thing. I have meddled with your future options, Rio. Why? Because I know things that you don't and if you don't want to get stuck here, giving me no choice but to leave you behind, some paths aren't yours to take.
"So, be clear with me. Do you want full control of your life and choices or do you want to not be left behind because sometimes, I won't have the luxury of walking you through things before I have to make a decision. I make mistakes and I have a temper too but despite my flaws, I'm asking you to trust me anyway.
"There are things I can't tell you right now and not because of Garret. If you can't accept that, you don't have to but don't expect me to wear myself out trying to keep you from falling into pits while you fight me. I don't owe you anything. I help you because I want to.
"Feel free to keep being you. Hell, half the things that make you endearing one moment are the things that drive me nuts the next. You're an annoying but likable boy on the verge of becoming an irritating but admirable man. I'm not trying to change you and I'm not trying to 'steal' your freedom.
"I AM asking you to trust me to make decisions without consulting you if it's necessary. The moment the answer to that question becomes no, start preparing to part ways. That's not a threat or an ultimatum. It's just simple the way it is because things are going to be hard enough."
Orison could see the disgust that Garret was shooting Rio and warned him to silence. To the guy who had grown up on the impoverished side of the system, Rio's complaints sounded like the whining of the privileged. But to Rio, looking through the window at the life of children of true elites, it wasn't much different than Garret probably looked at what Orison and Rio had. It was all about starting point and expectations.
Rio's constipated face smoothed out and he said, "You could have just said that we're ditching school to get buzzed. I'm down."
Orison chuckled, "You're ditching half a day to take some medicine. There's a huge difference."
Garret asked, "If you were planning on it anyway, why haven't we done it yet?"
The young mage said wryly. "Because I was planning on doing it all on Saturday. You're not quite seventeen and Rio isn't quite sixteen. Medicine or not, it's underage drinking and I'd prefer to limit it to once rather than breaking it up. If it wasn't a supplement, it wouldn't happen at all.
"To be honest though, the two I'm going to give you guys today aren't a part of the Saturday party anyway. So, I guess it doesn't matter that much but I was just going to use them to keep you from trying to pace the adults. When you run out of the amount that would be useful to you during the party, that's it. You don't have to pretend that you don't enjoy it or anything but not a single drop more than what's beneficial to you will pass your lips."
Getting a little worked up, Garret said, "I've heard about this. About seven or eight years back, a plane produced a huge batch of two new supplements that had to be suspended in alcohols to help the body digest them. For a couple of years, elite's kids were throwing Triple Seven and Spade Flower parties all the time."
Getting grim, Orison warned, "Not a word. Not to anyone. I'm neither confirming or denying anything.
Rio, who was in the process of getting ready to text Daphne, stopped and looked at Orison. "I can't tell my girlfriend? She was already coming over for the welcome party with her grandma."
The young mage rubbed his forehead. "With her grandma? Okay... Thanks for that slip you didn't tell me about. It is what it is. No one else and no heads up pre-party talks or bragging. I mean it Rio. If you break MY trust, you're going to be cut from the loop here on out. We have too many secrets to keep.
Looking sad, Rio said, "I can keep secrets, Sonny. I just thought it was a welcome party. Even if it was a supplement party, it's not like they don't happen but I can get why you'd not want to broadcast it. Can you at least trust me enough to say how important something is in private? We were here a whole week on lock down."
Orison sighed. "We were thrown together fast and I figured that less shared is less worries. It's my bad on this one but moving forward remember to default privacy settings and clear things with me first... With your family background, I know you can keep a secret. It's just that there's a lot we still don't know about each other. Let's compromise, cut each other some slack and work on that. Sound like a deal?"
He reached his hand out and when Rio grabbed it for a handshake, Orison pulled the teen in for a hug.
While Rio froze, the young mage looked at Garret and said, "You want in on this uncomfortable bonding moment or are you good?"
Whatever war took place in Garret's mind over a split second, he bulldozed through and went in for a double one-armed bear hug that had both Orison and Rio tapping out after a couple of seconds. The seemingly unimportant moment registered as being a great deal more so to the young mage's intuition. It was the moment that Rio and Garret stopped being strangers that were polite with each other and Orison for the sake of benefits. They set up a new wall labeled 'us' on one side and 'them' on the other.
As they waited for transport to drop off their new roommate, Orison noted that they were more excited than he was on the surface. They were still young enough that something as simple as playing a little hooky and getting a legitimate reason to 'get a buzz' early on a weekday was thrilling. No matter how they had been exposed to some of the more visceral experiences of being an adult before their time, they were still young and relatively unjaded.
It made his heart hurt a little that in less than a year or so from the moment they were sitting in that room, chances were good that one of them would have killed another intelligent being. Just as good that they will have lost someone they knew, possibly even liked. In another two years, that possibility became almost a guarantee. He was reminded of what Justice said to him the first day they met.
Avalon was built on the bodies of its citizens. And no matter how ugly it was that these youths were pushed and pressured to join that seemingly endless fight, what other choice was there? In the meantime, Avalon grew richer from the spoils of planar conflict at the cost of an ever increasing body count.
It made the young mage wonder. If they found a way to end the planar breaches for good, would they do it? Was there a possibility that that they had already but chose not to or maybe even were responsible for them in some way?
For the first time since he set his plans on the route he now walked, there was a slight wavering of his determination. Not so much for himself but for those he was dragging into it. The more he dwelt on it, the less unsure he felt.
Garret had chosen that path for himself long before Orison came into the picture, he only stood more to gain. Gan was Gan. Stag wasn't coerced in any way but Rio, he had been. The young mage needed to know if climbing is what the kid actually wanted, needed to know that Rio actually understood the dangers and the costs of that choice.
When Garret went to use the bathroom, Orison gave Rio the 'Lily speedy special' breakdown and tried to explain as simply and concisely as he could what the teen would be giving up to embrace such a thing. The young mage didn't ask for an answer, didn't feel like he needed to know Rio's reasons for doing or not doing. He just asked for a heads-up if Rio wanted off the ride and let the teen take all the time he needed to find the answer.
He pretended not to notice that Garret had accidentally eavesdropped the conversation. In the best of situations, it was hard to bring up. The older teen had family he wanted to provide for and no talent for magic. Even if Garret wanted to be a climber, an opportunity needed to present itself for Orison to manipulate. In letting the guy overhear, the teen would have ample time to consider it and either approach Orison himself or at least be ready to choose if there was an opportunity to present him with.
Garret and Rio grew quiet and contemplative. The young mage didn't need much imagination to figure out what was spinning their gears but it was something they'd need to work thorough on their own. It was the loudest and most entertaining silence Orison had ever sat in.
Rio was nearly bursting with questions he couldn't ask because he didn't know if Garret was 'cool' enough for Orison to be okay with it. Garret was no less dying of curiosity but afraid to say anything because he was under the impression that he heard something he shouldn't have. The young mage fully intended on letting them stew in that until Sunday.
A little after eight, the sound of car wheels on gravel grabbed their attention. The person escorted to the door wasn't the one who Orison was expecting, however. A completely sedated Stag was carted in along with a large gym bag and a foot locker. The man who brought him in explained that minimum concentration 'aqua vitae' had been approved a few days prior. There was next to no response of increased cellular activity but it had been a good thing for Stag in the long run because his body showed signs of allergic rejection to something in the compound used.
"The sedative will wear off in a couple of hours. It was administered to keep him from scratching himself raw while he was treated. When he wakes up, he should be perfectly fine but don't hesitate to call if he's still complaining of burning or itching sensations," the man said before asking where to transfer Stag.
Under the sound of a few muttered protests, Garret and Orison helped the man transfer Stag to the add-on room to the rear of the house on the wooded side. As soon as the green haired man was settled in, the driver left the house like he was going to a fire. The action tickled Orison's intuition but it wasn't a major draw so he let it go.
He was starting to get aggravated. When Stag arrived, it was already a quarter past when Gan was supposed to get there. The young mage strode to the door, ready to call for transport and find out what was going on when his world was washed out by a sea of shadowy echoes of himself. One of which was so clear and distinct that it didn't appear much different to his real self, even to Garret and Rio.
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Friday morning, Glenn was back to collect Rio for training at another facility.
Unable to help himself, he asked, "Do you actually cook breakfast and supper everyday?"
The young mage shook his head. "It's part of Garret's regimen until his muscles and bones settle into their new normal. It's going to get a lot more 'fend for yourself' around here after that."
Seeing Rio get a touch more bitter and sullen, he added, "But since our schedules are getting a bit out of sync, I've decided to double Rio's allowance to 2,000 a week so he can eat out once in awhile without dipping into his date budget."
Rio's mood improved slightly and he thanked Orison but he still looked like something was eating him. The young mage looked to Glenn with a question in his eyes.
The brownie blooded man said, "The training facility he went to on Monday has some children of elites that use it as well. It's common to have to borrow or even share gear at the Education Center's gym but in the crucible, certain pieces of gear need to be fitted. Blue Rose pulled some strings to get him in but he has to find a way to provide his own personalized gear."
Orison asked, "What's the facility's benefit and how much is the gear?"
Glenn said, "Well, it's two actually. The first half of the Crucible is a set of rooms that helps safely raise resistances for a human body. To be able to use the facility fully, he'd need around 40,000 in personalized gear. We've been focusing on the part of the second half that doesn't but he's already soaked all he can from the healing factor suite. The condenser suite that raises bone and cellular density requires a gear set that runs about 20,000."
After looking over a few things on The Weird, Orison laughed in scorn. "So, let me get this straight. It's a facility that's capable just a little over half the time of turning a mundane human body into the equivalent of the so called 'broad spectrum E-class'. In reality, it's a well rounded human that's just slightly better in comparison to an average of the top ten percent of the human population.
"He'll have to be there for nearly a month to get the most out of it and there's a good chance that some of this gear is going to need replacing two or three times. What cost the Blue Rose nothing more than a 'pretty please' is going to cost Rio somewhere around 120,000 merits before it's all said and done... It's pampered kiddie bullsh*t to put Rio in his place.
"During Summit training, the Chaos Chambers do the same thing with no special gear. It hurts. It requires healing but it's also more effective. Most importantly, it's not a waste of time for people who've done other resistance trainings or taken supernatural supplements to do. If there was an overall performance increase of ten percent from this watered down second generation elite garbage, I'd be shocked to death."
The young mage sneered. "Glenn, you tell Esme that she can see Rio at Rowdies Accelerator this afternoon. When he shows up, he'll no longer be needing the favor of access to that jellyfish clubhouse because he'll already be improved past what it can help with... I guess the strings I can pull are just a little bit better and don't waste other people's time and resources."
Popping out in a cold sweat, Glenn said, "Do you mind if I break that news a little more diplomatically?"
Orison said, "Yeah. I'm just a little heated over implied insults and Rio's unnecessary embarrassment... Garret, you stay too. Now that you're in the family, so to speak, I'm not going to start playing favorites."
Empty handed, Glenn left looking puzzled but not daring to ask how Orison planned on accomplishing the feat he just suggested. After the young mage closed the door, he turned around and saw that Garret looked confused and Rio was mortified and slightly angry for some reason."
"Garret, I'll explain in just a second... Rio, take two deep breaths. As soon as you have your emotions under control, tell me what has you so worked up," Orison said while trying to check his own mildly flared temper.
It ended up being a handful of hormone fueled half understandings of situations and motivations. He thought that Orison WAS playing favorites. He thought that the young mage was trying to control his actions and future options among other minor gripes that had been accumulating over the last week.
He addressed the teen. "Here in a couple of hours, our new roommate is going to arrive and tomorrow another. After that, my circle closes unless it's a damn good reason. Let's forget the 300,000 merit debt I soaked up for you and the additional 300,000 that you spent unsupervised. I gave you seven spells and a low tier artifact. Let's forget that I cover your basic needs and more besides...
"When Gan gets here and after I introduce you two, we're going to break the no alcohol rule. Why? Well, Gan likes to drink. He's been through hell and I'm not a hypocrite. More importantly, the alcohol we'll be toasting with is special. To call it medicine is far from an exaggeration and more of an understatement. By the time we do our toasts and the two of you are legally sober, The Crucible will do nothing for you because a morning special occasion 'tipsy' will have improved you beyond its 'one month long and costly gear' ability to add to.
"But I'm not a tyrant. If you'd rather do a month of The Crucible instead of a few shots of super liquor, be my guest... I will admit to one thing. I have meddled with your future options, Rio. Why? Because I know things that you don't and if you don't want to get stuck here, giving me no choice but to leave you behind, some paths aren't yours to take.
"So, be clear with me. Do you want full control of your life and choices or do you want to not be left behind because sometimes, I won't have the luxury of walking you through things before I have to make a decision. I make mistakes and I have a temper too but despite my flaws, I'm asking you to trust me anyway.
"There are things I can't tell you right now and not because of Garret. If you can't accept that, you don't have to but don't expect me to wear myself out trying to keep you from falling into pits while you fight me. I don't owe you anything. I help you because I want to.
"Feel free to keep being you. Hell, half the things that make you endearing one moment are the things that drive me nuts the next. You're an annoying but likable boy on the verge of becoming an irritating but admirable man. I'm not trying to change you and I'm not trying to 'steal' your freedom.
"I AM asking you to trust me to make decisions without consulting you if it's necessary. The moment the answer to that question becomes no, start preparing to part ways. That's not a threat or an ultimatum. It's just simple the way it is because things are going to be hard enough."
Orison could see the disgust that Garret was shooting Rio and warned him to silence. To the guy who had grown up on the impoverished side of the system, Rio's complaints sounded like the whining of the privileged. But to Rio, looking through the window at the life of children of true elites, it wasn't much different than Garret probably looked at what Orison and Rio had. It was all about starting point and expectations.
Rio's constipated face smoothed out and he said, "You could have just said that we're ditching school to get buzzed. I'm down."
Orison chuckled, "You're ditching half a day to take some medicine. There's a huge difference."
Garret asked, "If you were planning on it anyway, why haven't we done it yet?"
The young mage said wryly. "Because I was planning on doing it all on Saturday. You're not quite seventeen and Rio isn't quite sixteen. Medicine or not, it's underage drinking and I'd prefer to limit it to once rather than breaking it up. If it wasn't a supplement, it wouldn't happen at all.
"To be honest though, the two I'm going to give you guys today aren't a part of the Saturday party anyway. So, I guess it doesn't matter that much but I was just going to use them to keep you from trying to pace the adults. When you run out of the amount that would be useful to you during the party, that's it. You don't have to pretend that you don't enjoy it or anything but not a single drop more than what's beneficial to you will pass your lips."
Getting a little worked up, Garret said, "I've heard about this. About seven or eight years back, a plane produced a huge batch of two new supplements that had to be suspended in alcohols to help the body digest them. For a couple of years, elite's kids were throwing Triple Seven and Spade Flower parties all the time."
Getting grim, Orison warned, "Not a word. Not to anyone. I'm neither confirming or denying anything.
Rio, who was in the process of getting ready to text Daphne, stopped and looked at Orison. "I can't tell my girlfriend? She was already coming over for the welcome party with her grandma."
The young mage rubbed his forehead. "With her grandma? Okay... Thanks for that slip you didn't tell me about. It is what it is. No one else and no heads up pre-party talks or bragging. I mean it Rio. If you break MY trust, you're going to be cut from the loop here on out. We have too many secrets to keep.
Looking sad, Rio said, "I can keep secrets, Sonny. I just thought it was a welcome party. Even if it was a supplement party, it's not like they don't happen but I can get why you'd not want to broadcast it. Can you at least trust me enough to say how important something is in private? We were here a whole week on lock down."
Orison sighed. "We were thrown together fast and I figured that less shared is less worries. It's my bad on this one but moving forward remember to default privacy settings and clear things with me first... With your family background, I know you can keep a secret. It's just that there's a lot we still don't know about each other. Let's compromise, cut each other some slack and work on that. Sound like a deal?"
He reached his hand out and when Rio grabbed it for a handshake, Orison pulled the teen in for a hug.
While Rio froze, the young mage looked at Garret and said, "You want in on this uncomfortable bonding moment or are you good?"
Whatever war took place in Garret's mind over a split second, he bulldozed through and went in for a double one-armed bear hug that had both Orison and Rio tapping out after a couple of seconds. The seemingly unimportant moment registered as being a great deal more so to the young mage's intuition. It was the moment that Rio and Garret stopped being strangers that were polite with each other and Orison for the sake of benefits. They set up a new wall labeled 'us' on one side and 'them' on the other.
As they waited for transport to drop off their new roommate, Orison noted that they were more excited than he was on the surface. They were still young enough that something as simple as playing a little hooky and getting a legitimate reason to 'get a buzz' early on a weekday was thrilling. No matter how they had been exposed to some of the more visceral experiences of being an adult before their time, they were still young and relatively unjaded.
It made his heart hurt a little that in less than a year or so from the moment they were sitting in that room, chances were good that one of them would have killed another intelligent being. Just as good that they will have lost someone they knew, possibly even liked. In another two years, that possibility became almost a guarantee. He was reminded of what Justice said to him the first day they met.
Avalon was built on the bodies of its citizens. And no matter how ugly it was that these youths were pushed and pressured to join that seemingly endless fight, what other choice was there? In the meantime, Avalon grew richer from the spoils of planar conflict at the cost of an ever increasing body count.
It made the young mage wonder. If they found a way to end the planar breaches for good, would they do it? Was there a possibility that that they had already but chose not to or maybe even were responsible for them in some way?
For the first time since he set his plans on the route he now walked, there was a slight wavering of his determination. Not so much for himself but for those he was dragging into it. The more he dwelt on it, the less unsure he felt.
Garret had chosen that path for himself long before Orison came into the picture, he only stood more to gain. Gan was Gan. Stag wasn't coerced in any way but Rio, he had been. The young mage needed to know if climbing is what the kid actually wanted, needed to know that Rio actually understood the dangers and the costs of that choice.
When Garret went to use the bathroom, Orison gave Rio the 'Lily speedy special' breakdown and tried to explain as simply and concisely as he could what the teen would be giving up to embrace such a thing. The young mage didn't ask for an answer, didn't feel like he needed to know Rio's reasons for doing or not doing. He just asked for a heads-up if Rio wanted off the ride and let the teen take all the time he needed to find the answer.
He pretended not to notice that Garret had accidentally eavesdropped the conversation. In the best of situations, it was hard to bring up. The older teen had family he wanted to provide for and no talent for magic. Even if Garret wanted to be a climber, an opportunity needed to present itself for Orison to manipulate. In letting the guy overhear, the teen would have ample time to consider it and either approach Orison himself or at least be ready to choose if there was an opportunity to present him with.
Garret and Rio grew quiet and contemplative. The young mage didn't need much imagination to figure out what was spinning their gears but it was something they'd need to work thorough on their own. It was the loudest and most entertaining silence Orison had ever sat in.
Rio was nearly bursting with questions he couldn't ask because he didn't know if Garret was 'cool' enough for Orison to be okay with it. Garret was no less dying of curiosity but afraid to say anything because he was under the impression that he heard something he shouldn't have. The young mage fully intended on letting them stew in that until Sunday.
A little after eight, the sound of car wheels on gravel grabbed their attention. The person escorted to the door wasn't the one who Orison was expecting, however. A completely sedated Stag was carted in along with a large gym bag and a foot locker. The man who brought him in explained that minimum concentration 'aqua vitae' had been approved a few days prior. There was next to no response of increased cellular activity but it had been a good thing for Stag in the long run because his body showed signs of allergic rejection to something in the compound used.
"The sedative will wear off in a couple of hours. It was administered to keep him from scratching himself raw while he was treated. When he wakes up, he should be perfectly fine but don't hesitate to call if he's still complaining of burning or itching sensations," the man said before asking where to transfer Stag.
Under the sound of a few muttered protests, Garret and Orison helped the man transfer Stag to the add-on room to the rear of the house on the wooded side. As soon as the green haired man was settled in, the driver left the house like he was going to a fire. The action tickled Orison's intuition but it wasn't a major draw so he let it go.
He was starting to get aggravated. When Stag arrived, it was already a quarter past when Gan was supposed to get there. The young mage strode to the door, ready to call for transport and find out what was going on when his world was washed out by a sea of shadowy echoes of himself. One of which was so clear and distinct that it didn't appear much different to his real self, even to Garret and Rio.
Friday morning, Glenn was back to collect Rio for training at another facility. Unable to help himself, he asked, "Do you actually cook breakfast and supper everyday?" The young mage shook his head. "It's part of Garret's regimen until his muscles and bones settle into their new normal. It's going to get a lot more 'fend for yourself' around here after that." Seeing Rio get a touch more bitter and sullen, he added, "But since our schedules are getting a bit out of sync, I've decided to double Rio's allowance to 2,000 a week so he can eat out once in awhile without dipping into his date budget." Rio's mood improved slightly and he thanked Orison but he still looked like something was eating him. The young mage looked to Glenn with a question in his eyes. The brownie blooded man said, "The training facility he went to on Monday has some children of elites that use it as well. It's common to have to borrow or even share gear at the Education Center's gym but in the crucible, certain pieces of gear need to be fitted. Blue Rose pulled some strings to get him in but he has to find a way to provide his own personalized gear." Orison asked, "What's the facility's benefit and how much is the gear?" Glenn said, "Well, it's two actually. The first half of the Crucible is a set of rooms that helps safely raise resistances for a human body. To be able to use the facility fully, he'd need around 40,000 in personalized gear. We've been focusing on the part of the second half that doesn't but he's already soaked all he can from the healing factor suite. The condenser suite that raises bone and cellular density requires a gear set that runs about 20,000." After looking over a few things on The Weird, Orison laughed in scorn. "So, let me get this straight. It's a facility that's capable just a little over half the time of turning a mundane human body into the equivalent of the so called 'broad spectrum E-class'. In reality, it's a well rounded human that's just slightly better in comparison to an average of the top ten percent of the human population. "He'll have to be there for nearly a month to get the most out of it and there's a good chance that some of this gear is going to need replacing two or three times. What cost the Blue Rose nothing more than a 'pretty please' is going to cost Rio somewhere around 120,000 merits before it's all said and done... It's pampered kiddie bullsh*t to put Rio in his place. "During Summit training, the Chaos Chambers do the same thing with no special gear. It hurts. It requires healing but it's also more effective. Most importantly, it's not a waste of time for people who've done other resistance trainings or taken supernatural supplements to do. If there was an overall performance increase of ten percent from this watered down second generation elite garbage, I'd be shocked to death." The young mage sneered. "Glenn, you tell Esme that she can see Rio at Rowdies Accelerator this afternoon. When he shows up, he'll no longer be needing the favor of access to that jellyfish clubhouse because he'll already be improved past what it can help with... I guess the strings I can pull are just a little bit better and don't waste other people's time and resources." Popping out in a cold sweat, Glenn said, "Do you mind if I break that news a little more diplomatically?" Orison said, "Yeah. I'm just a little heated over implied insults and Rio's unnecessary embarrassment... Garret, you stay too. Now that you're in the family, so to speak, I'm not going to start playing favorites." Empty handed, Glenn left looking puzzled but not daring to ask how Orison planned on accomplishing the feat he just suggested. After the young mage closed the door, he turned around and saw that Garret looked confused and Rio was mortified and slightly angry for some reason." "Garret, I'll explain in just a second... Rio, take two deep breaths. As soon as you have your emotions under control, tell me what has you so worked up," Orison said while trying to check his own mildly flared temper. It ended up being a handful of hormone fueled half understandings of situations and motivations. He thought that Orison WAS playing favorites. He thought that the young mage was trying to control his actions and future options among other minor gripes that had been accumulating over the last week. He addressed the teen. "Here in a couple of hours, our new roommate is going to arrive and tomorrow another. After that, my circle closes unless it's a damn good reason. Let's forget the 300,000 merit debt I soaked up for you and the additional 300,000 that you spent unsupervised. I gave you seven spells and a low tier artifact. Let's forget that I cover your basic needs and more besides... "When Gan gets here and after I introduce you two, we're going to break the no alcohol rule. Why? Well, Gan likes to drink. He's been through hell and I'm not a hypocrite. More importantly, the alcohol we'll be toasting with is special. To call it medicine is far from an exaggeration and more of an understatement. By the time we do our toasts and the two of you are legally sober, The Crucible will do nothing for you because a morning special occasion 'tipsy' will have improved you beyond its 'one month long and costly gear' ability to add to. "But I'm not a tyrant. If you'd rather do a month of The Crucible instead of a few shots of super liquor, be my guest... I will admit to one thing. I have meddled with your future options, Rio. Why? Because I know things that you don't and if you don't want to get stuck here, giving me no choice but to leave you behind, some paths aren't yours to take. "So, be clear with me. Do you want full control of your life and choices or do you want to not be left behind because sometimes, I won't have the luxury of walking you through things before I have to make a decision. I make mistakes and I have a temper too but despite my flaws, I'm asking you to trust me anyway. "There are things I can't tell you right now and not because of Garret. If you can't accept that, you don't have to but don't expect me to wear myself out trying to keep you from falling into pits while you fight me. I don't owe you anything. I help you because I want to. "Feel free to keep being you. Hell, half the things that make you endearing one moment are the things that drive me nuts the next. You're an annoying but likable boy on the verge of becoming an irritating but admirable man. I'm not trying to change you and I'm not trying to 'steal' your freedom. "I AM asking you to trust me to make decisions without consulting you if it's necessary. The moment the answer to that question becomes no, start preparing to part ways. That's not a threat or an ultimatum. It's just simple the way it is because things are going to be hard enough." Orison could see the disgust that Garret was shooting Rio and warned him to silence. To the guy who had grown up on the impoverished side of the system, Rio's complaints sounded like the whining of the privileged. But to Rio, looking through the window at the life of children of true elites, it wasn't much different than Garret probably looked at what Orison and Rio had. It was all about starting point and expectations. Rio's constipated face smoothed out and he said, "You could have just said that we're ditching school to get buzzed. I'm down." Orison chuckled, "You're ditching half a day to take some medicine. There's a huge difference." Garret asked, "If you were planning on it anyway, why haven't we done it yet?" The young mage said wryly. "Because I was planning on doing it all on Saturday. You're not quite seventeen and Rio isn't quite sixteen. Medicine or not, it's underage drinking and I'd prefer to limit it to once rather than breaking it up. If it wasn't a supplement, it wouldn't happen at all. "To be honest though, the two I'm going to give you guys today aren't a part of the Saturday party anyway. So, I guess it doesn't matter that much but I was just going to use them to keep you from trying to pace the adults. When you run out of the amount that would be useful to you during the party, that's it. You don't have to pretend that you don't enjoy it or anything but not a single drop more than what's beneficial to you will pass your lips." Getting a little worked up, Garret said, "I've heard about this. About seven or eight years back, a plane produced a huge batch of two new supplements that had to be suspended in alcohols to help the body digest them. For a couple of years, elite's kids were throwing Triple Seven and Spade Flower parties all the time." Getting grim, Orison warned, "Not a word. Not to anyone. I'm neither confirming or denying anything. Rio, who was in the process of getting ready to text Daphne, stopped and looked at Orison. "I can't tell my girlfriend? She was already coming over for the welcome party with her grandma." The young mage rubbed his forehead. "With her grandma? Okay... Thanks for that slip you didn't tell me about. It is what it is. No one else and no heads up pre-party talks or bragging. I mean it Rio. If you break MY trust, you're going to be cut from the loop here on out. We have too many secrets to keep. Looking sad, Rio said, "I can keep secrets, Sonny. I just thought it was a welcome party. Even if it was a supplement party, it's not like they don't happen but I can get why you'd not want to broadcast it. Can you at least trust me enough to say how important something is in private? We were here a whole week on lock down." Orison sighed. "We were thrown together fast and I figured that less shared is less worries. It's my bad on this one but moving forward remember to default privacy settings and clear things with me first... With your family background, I know you can keep a secret. It's just that there's a lot we still don't know about each other. Let's compromise, cut each other some slack and work on that. Sound like a deal?" He reached his hand out and when Rio grabbed it for a handshake, Orison pulled the teen in for a hug. While Rio froze, the young mage looked at Garret and said, "You want in on this uncomfortable bonding moment or are you good?" Whatever war took place in Garret's mind over a split second, he bulldozed through and went in for a double one-armed bear hug that had both Orison and Rio tapping out after a couple of seconds. The seemingly unimportant moment registered as being a great deal more so to the young mage's intuition. It was the moment that Rio and Garret stopped being strangers that were polite with each other and Orison for the sake of benefits. They set up a new wall labeled 'us' on one side and 'them' on the other. As they waited for transport to drop off their new roommate, Orison noted that they were more excited than he was on the surface. They were still young enough that something as simple as playing a little hooky and getting a legitimate reason to 'get a buzz' early on a weekday was thrilling. No matter how they had been exposed to some of the more visceral experiences of being an adult before their time, they were still young and relatively unjaded. It made his heart hurt a little that in less than a year or so from the moment they were sitting in that room, chances were good that one of them would have killed another intelligent being. Just as good that they will have lost someone they knew, possibly even liked. In another two years, that possibility became almost a guarantee. He was reminded of what Justice said to him the first day they met. Avalon was built on the bodies of its citizens. And no matter how ugly it was that these youths were pushed and pressured to join that seemingly endless fight, what other choice was there? In the meantime, Avalon grew richer from the spoils of planar conflict at the cost of an ever increasing body count. It made the young mage wonder. If they found a way to end the planar breaches for good, would they do it? Was there a possibility that that they had already but chose not to or maybe even were responsible for them in some way? For the first time since he set his plans on the route he now walked, there was a slight wavering of his determination. Not so much for himself but for those he was dragging into it. The more he dwelt on it, the less unsure he felt. Garret had chosen that path for himself long before Orison came into the picture, he only stood more to gain. Gan was Gan. Stag wasn't coerced in any way but Rio, he had been. The young mage needed to know if climbing is what the kid actually wanted, needed to know that Rio actually understood the dangers and the costs of that choice. When Garret went to use the bathroom, Orison gave Rio the 'Lily speedy special' breakdown and tried to explain as simply and concisely as he could what the teen would be giving up to embrace such a thing. The young mage didn't ask for an answer, didn't feel like he needed to know Rio's reasons for doing or not doing. He just asked for a heads-up if Rio wanted off the ride and let the teen take all the time he needed to find the answer. He pretended not to notice that Garret had accidentally eavesdropped the conversation. In the best of situations, it was hard to bring up. The older teen had family he wanted to provide for and no talent for magic. Even if Garret wanted to be a climber, an opportunity needed to present itself for Orison to manipulate. In letting the guy overhear, the teen would have ample time to consider it and either approach Orison himself or at least be ready to choose if there was an opportunity to present him with. Garret and Rio grew quiet and contemplative. The young mage didn't need much imagination to figure out what was spinning their gears but it was something they'd need to work thorough on their own. It was the loudest and most entertaining silence Orison had ever sat in. Rio was nearly bursting with questions he couldn't ask because he didn't know if Garret was 'cool' enough for Orison to be okay with it. Garret was no less dying of curiosity but afraid to say anything because he was under the impression that he heard something he shouldn't have. The young mage fully intended on letting them stew in that until Sunday. A little after eight, the sound of car wheels on gravel grabbed their attention. The person escorted to the door wasn't the one who Orison was expecting, however. A completely sedated Stag was carted in along with a large gym bag and a foot locker. The man who brought him in explained that minimum concentration 'aqua vitae' had been approved a few days prior. There was next to no response of increased cellular activity but it had been a good thing for Stag in the long run because his body showed signs of allergic rejection to something in the compound used. "The sedative will wear off in a couple of hours. It was administered to keep him from scratching himself raw while he was treated. When he wakes up, he should be perfectly fine but don't hesitate to call if he's still complaining of burning or itching sensations," the man said before asking where to transfer Stag. Under the sound of a few muttered protests, Garret and Orison helped the man transfer Stag to the add-on room to the rear of the house on the wooded side. As soon as the green haired man was settled in, the driver left the house like he was going to a fire. The action tickled Orison's intuition but it wasn't a major draw so he let it go. He was starting to get aggravated. When Stag arrived, it was already a quarter past when Gan was supposed to get there. The young mage strode to the door, ready to call for transport and find out what was going on when his world was washed out by a sea of shadowy echoes of himself. One of which was so clear and distinct that it didn't appear much different to his real self, even to Garret and Rio.
