The man that shuffled into the room just walked over and grabbed both my hand and Raven’s as with…far too much strength for a man with the age and statue of how he looked, pulled the two of us off down a hall. He was probably quite tall, but was hunched over extremely, rotund and walked with more of a shuffle than an actual walk, long gray thinning hair in a messy bun on the base of his skull, down-turned nose, weirdly piercing eyes that were that same brownish tone that nearly looks gold and looked like he had just woken up, dressed in dark silk pajamas maybe, a night cap atop his head matching with bat shaped slippers and a large shawl wrapped around his shoulders, a book was in the pocket of his robe under the shawl as he pulled the two of us down the hall. Raven just looked at me a little apologetically which I was just so stunned by her grandfather pulling the two of us off like that so easily as he led us into what looked like a parlor as he pushed the two of us making us both sit on a very, very old looking couch: it had that weird filigree like edges, the back shaped like a bow and had the curly arms, cushioned in black velvet with gold edges and gold making the frame, scalloped curved feet and a few throw pillows. All of the furniture seemed to be in that realm of Victorian and gothic, all in lots of dark, rich jewel tones and black and grays. There were lots of fixtures in the parlor that were still wrapped or adorned with various covering from the move as her grandfather vanished for all, but a few seconds before returning with a large bronze tray covered in a very lavish tea set of the same bronze. He set the tray down before sitting on an armchair, facing me fairly fully as he just reached over and grabbed my wrist softly which made me flinch and retract pulling my hand and arm out of his grasp, he looked at me with a slightly lifted brow before rising both his hands as he shifted back a little as he started pouring the tea, a rich, deep toned tea filled the white/black porcelain cups, passing one over towards Raven who took the cup as he slid the other towards me, motioning to the small bowl of sugar and the small thing of cream as he picked up a cup himself which he put a few heavy, heavy spoons of sugar into before sitting back.
“Grandpa loves fortune telling, he was probably just trying to read your palms, but…he can have the tendency to…be a little overstepping of boundaries” Raven said
“It’s fine, I…just don’t like people touching my hands and arms.” I said, “I’m sorry” I added looking towards him.
“Oh, don’t be bothered by that, it’s my fault for not asking” Hyde said, having far…younger of a voice than I was expecting, also the thickest accent I had ever heard, I couldn’t exactly place where it was, but it was enough that it nearly took me a few moments to decipher what exactly he had said. “I’m just glad someone actually came over to see us, we could see all of those nasty, nasty ladies outside with their prams as they said all sorts of things about us.” He said
“I could hear them too” Raven said, “They were making all sorts of disgusting comments about the cars when they were brought in, making comments about Dad’s plants and how the house looks and all. I should have walked down to the street and started talking to them and just make them feel absolutely uncomfortable about how they were talking, how they were thinking of us and all.”
“Oh, I would have rushed over to listen, I love to listen to you so…positively break someone down to their very essence.” He said with a laugh, “While, you have the absolute worst temper out of all of your siblings, but when someone is doing that, you are the only one I know who can make them feel absolutely terrible about whatever they were saying with only the sweetest comments.”
“It’s a talent” she said with a laugh, I did feel a little awkward about literally being between the two of them, “Oh, Sulk, did you want to join us?” she asked as this…monolith of a dude walked into the room, carrying another tray which he sat beside the one with the tea, covered in a few plates of various cookies and things, all obviously homemade. He had to be near pushing seven feet or so, I’ve never seen a guy that tall, but extremely narrow and lithe, like if a pipe cleaner was a person, very upright posture from the neck down, head lowered a touch and dressed in a dark suit, pale and cool toned skin, dark eyes that were entirely black and matching hair swept cleanly black, fingers stained with ink and paint along with the cuffs of his shirt and just nodded towards Raven before motioning behind him as he walked out of the room.
“Your Aunt was just asking for him to assist her.” Hyde added
“She was calling for me.”
“So, James…you’re from Boughburg?” Hyde asked, I nodded
“Born and raised.”
“Do you like the town?” he asked, I glanced down as I sighed and shrugged softly.
“I mean, I grew up here, so of course, but it’s not really my style any more. I prefer being in kind of bigger areas, I like being in cities, so this place can be…a little slow for my taste.” I said, he laughed.
“Ray is just the same, though the work she does always has her traveling.” Hyde added, “You know she’s a model?”
“Grandfather” Raven said with a dry and slightly sharp tone, making him laugh.
“What, you are? Am I not allowed to be proud that my granddaughter is famous in our circles for what she does?” he asked
“Oh, god” Raven muttered as she rested her head in her hand.
“She just graduated from the academy a few months ago, almost top of her class” he said as he shuffled back up to his feet.
“We just met” Raven muttered quietly before looking towards me, “He…always does this” she added
“Ah, here we are.” He said walking over with a large picture frame, “Here she is, over here is Ichabod, he is finishing up his final year at the academy along with your friend, the one in Silver Serpent” he added showing it to me, Raven central in the photo with a black graduation gown, the lines on the sleeves and edges of someone who graduated with a master’s degree and this large…blue dragon emblazed on both sides of the neckline, black hair back in a clean braid and a shawl of a dark, rich burgundy around her neck. To her left was Ichabod, looking pretty much the exact same as when I saw him in the hall, but to her right was a person who was unlike anyone I had ever seen: same height as Raven, maybe even a little taller, stark white hair down their chest, these pure silvery eyes that nearly looked gold around the pupil, vibrant and heavy gothic makeup and matching clothing with lots of latex, leather and masses of metal. “How are they anyways?”
“Zavier? Oh, they’re fine, they’re starting their fourth year soon, only one left, so it’s good for them.”
“Fourth year?” I asked
“Oh, the academy, Paradise Academy is a…rather exclusive and very experimental college. You start at eighteen like any other college, however the school allows you to get any possible degree you want…in five years, everyone stays for that five years, so most graduate in the 23-24 age range depending on where your birthday is and with how other countries do their school years, no matter the degree.” Hyde explained as he walked back to return the frame, “Raven was of course a dual major with a humanitarian major, but she minored in stats, you should see her do math, it’s baffling how quickly she can do it.” he added, I looked over towards Raven who was trying to hide in her hair. “She was a Cobalt Dragon after all.”
“A what?” I asked
“The school does houses…like Hogwarts, but there’s far, far more than just four. There’s kind of stereotypes for each of the houses, Cobalt Dragon is for lack of better term, the “nerd” house” she explained with air quotes, “There was someone I knew in my house too, you know the one I’m talking about, right, Grandpa, Zavier’s cousin, Vladislav?” she said
“Oh, yes, he was always such a quiet boy according to what you told us.” He said, “Always in the books.”
“If anyone deserved to be valedictorian, its him.” she said sitting back a little with a soft shrug, “I mean, the guy got an Md with a neurosurgery specialty in five years.” She said with a shrug
“He got an Md in five years?” I asked, she nodded, “And that’s…like legal and all?”
“Its how the school functions, people who go through schoolwork faster and easier can do much more…extensive degrees in a much more rapid pace whereas others can take their time, it’s a real, “move at your own pace” kind of school.” She explained, “That whole family is notable, I mean, my cousin, Scarlett works for one of Zavier and Vlad’s cousins, she didn’t go to the academy, she didn’t feel the need for it.”
“Which one does she work for again?”
“Juliana Vesta, the restaurateur” Raven said
“You have a cousin that works for the Juliana Vesta?” I asked
“You follow restaurants?” Hyde asked
“Well, who hasn’t heard of her…or any others of that whole family, I mean, the oldest of that whole group is the C.E.O of 6Vs, who hasn’t heard of him?” I asked
“Very true” Raven said before setting her empty tea cup down on the table.
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