enthraller | ic

The letter had been put aside just for the day, at first.

The next morning, Saralegui woke to find Tzilan gone and, well...paperwork and correspondence went ignored for a few days, to say the least.

There was a pile to work through when he finally set himself to getting back to everything, and he'd completely forgotten about the cute little note until he unearthed it from where it was been buried under everything else. The shape of the paper and the whimsical little closing almost brought a hint of a smile to his face, and then he noticed the faculty list casually left underneath it and understands immediately when a familiar name catches his eye.

----

Being lord of the land the university was set on did come with a few helpful benefits. The staff was always eager to please, as if afraid any cause for offense might get them evicted or something, and he was generally left to look in on classes as much as he liked. Handy, if he was curious about a topic being taught, but just as useful now when he was poking his head in a few classrooms until he found the person he was looking for.

Saralegui slips in as quietly as possible, taking a seat at the back of the room. He could wait until the class was over, at least.

When Kaldur catches sight of Saralegui slipping into the room, he offers the barest hint of a nod in that direction before turning back to assisting the current professor with the lecture. As the lecture wraps up and the professor gathers his things to leave, Kaldur lifts up a hand forestalling the usual questions directed at him (because trying to wheedle answers out of the professor can sometimes be more trouble than it's worth).

"I am afraid my office hours for today are cancelled. They will be rescheduled to tomorrow morning, and the adjustment will be posted on the bulletin board outside the room."

Most of the students leave after that, and Kaldur takes more haste than usual to pack up his things. Once the room has nearly emptied, however, he approaches where Saralegui had been sitting in on the lecture, taking in his worn appearance with concern.

"How are you doing, my friend? You look as though you have not rested, these past days."

"I...haven't been sleeping well," Saralegui admits tersely, greeting his friend with little more than a nod. "It's been a difficult week."

Distractedly, his eyes follow the straggling students as they leave the room, and without looking back at Kaldur he asks, "Do you have an office we might go to?"

He doesn't say it directly, but the privacy would be appreciated.

Kaldur nods, and offers Sara a hand to stand up with. He waits until the rest of the class has trailed out the door before answering.

"Not an office, but I have a private room where we can go and speak."

It doesn't take long to get to the small set of private rooms that Kaldur has adopted as a living space while at the University. To be fair, he's been rather sporadic in his working so far, but in the next couple of months, Kaldur hopes to settle more at the University and get some real learning and research done.

Still there are some comforts.

"Can I get you some tea, Sara?"

Saralegui is oddly subdued during the trip over, silent and pensive-looking. At Kaldur's offer once they reach his little living space, he simply nods. "Yes, that would be nice," he answers, polite but a little stiff.

He doesn't necessarily make himself at home, but he does poke around a bit, inspecting the room and Kaldur's belongings with mild curiosity as he waits for the promised tea.

Kaldur is quick with it, using a little of his magic to try and warm the water in the kettle he has managed to somewhat jury-rig into functioning like an electric water heater once he sets his hands to a voltage on it. The water heats quickly, and as he lets the tea steep for a moment he gets down a pair of ceramic mugs (wildly mismatched) that had been picked up form the Station.

He offers Sara the mug with a simple blue glaze and takes 'World's Okayest Mom' for himself. The tea is poured and he settles down, not objecting to the poking around of the various belongings. Saralegui looks like he needs a distraction, or an unburdening, and Kaldur is here for both.

"Talk to me, Sara, please."

Kaldur returns with tea, and Saralegui abandons his inspection to come sit down. He takes the offered mug with just a brief nod of thanks, sitting back and staring deeply into the steaming liquid with a frown.

For a few moments, it doesn't seem like he's going to respond to that plea. The young lord is quiet for a while, but he does eventually answer with a heavy sigh.

"Tzilan is gone."

Kaldur could offer platitudes, or apologies or any number of things, but he knows that such words, even when genuine, mean nothing in the face of that emptiness and ache.

Instead he sets his cup aside, and gets onto his knees in front of Saralegui so that he can meet the other square in the eyes. Kaldur knows there is little in his power to give, but what there is, he will see to being done.

"What do you need."

Edited 2015-06-30 06:21 (UTC)

Gold eyes lifts from his tea as Kaldur settles in front of him. He can almost appreciate the gesture, reminiscent as it is of Belias kneeling before him to speak earnestly. But fond thoughts of home only make the ache in his chest worse right now, and he has to drop his gaze again.

"Him back." His mouth twitches into half a smile for a moment, self-deprecating and miserable, and he shakes his head. "I don't think there's anything anyone can do."

"It can't hurt looking into." Kaldur responds with perfect seriousness. He's heard what the monarchs say happens to those who disappear and leave their non-active shard behind, and for once, he even half-believes them. But, Kaldur has found himself one de-activated shard short, and perhaps that means something has changed, this month as to its state.

There is nothing to say that it cannot change for something else. Perhaps some way to reconnect those threads unravelled or cut and lost to the ever-encroaching Void.

Kaldur is still for a moment longer, before getting up from where he has knelt and sitting down next to Sara, slow and careful. He is telegraphing his movements clearly as he brings up an arm to wrap around Sara, if the other decides to let him, to lean on Kaldur for some semblance of physical comfort.

Whatever Sara needs, be it distance or closeness, Kaldur understands, and will provide.

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june 11th

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