thewarningafter | IC inbox for Snowblind

[... To be fair, he probably wouldn't even if it was warm. Relic friends are best friends.]

I had a feeling!

When you said relic, I mean. That's...

I've never met anyone else who had one.

You'd never met a master of the mystic arts. It's a whole thing; members of my order infuse them with powers the human body can't handle on its own.

Can't say I have.

So that's your order? The Order of the Mystic Arts? Do you have a special title?

... Wait, did you make your relic?

What, me? No. Noo.

[His voice drops on that second no because wow, no, he is not capable of making something like this.]

Master Strange, I guess? Don't call me that. I'm also master of the -- of one of the sanctums.

[Best not share locations.]

The sanctum? Is that where you keep your artifacts?

[That sounds interesting; a special place, almost like the Library.]

Those are all pretty good names, by the way.

Yeah. Yeah, we keep some of the relics ans so on there.

[That's not really the central point of having sanctums, but it is one of their uses.]

And you, they just call you the Librarian?

Yeah. The Librarian, that's me.

It's not as elaborate as Master of the Mystic Arts but then again I'm not a magic user, so...

If you think that one's good, clearly I need to tell you that my teacher's title was Sorcerer Supreme.

[And his, in another world. Stephen still wonders about that other Strange.]

[Okay, that makes him laugh. Which is good. Some lightness after the past days is... really good.]

"Sorcerer Supreme"? Come on, now you're just showing off!

No, really. And we all called her the Ancient One because no one knew her actual name.

[Stephen.

Stephen, look.

He's from a world with very corny and clichéd names but you're kind of taking it to the next level here.]

The Ancient One. That's... a bit rude, don't you think? I mean, I could understand if you didn't know her age, but, uh.

Did you ask her for it? Her name.

[Scoff.]

Of course I asked for her name. That was the first thing I asked. It's just what she was called; she had the whole...immortal thing going on.

[A sad little pause.]

Semi-immortal.

You have one of those, too?

[He doesn't really mean to say it, it just slips out in surprise before his brain catches up.]

I mean had.

[Okay, that just made it worse. He stutters for a moment, clearing his throat.] Sorry. That was, I'm...

I'm sorry.

[Oh god, Flynn, why. Stephen has to laugh, almost, at how utterly tactless that was. He makes the executive decision to pretend it didn't happen.]

Who's yours, then?

[You're such a good person, Stephen. Flynn didn't mean it and he feels horrible. It does prompt him to talk a little more openly about Judson than he normally would, though.]

He's... he works at the Library.

His name is Judson. He pretends to be all nooormal, like he doesn't know what I'm talking about when I'm prodding him about it? But I know better.

[There's a certain... fondness creeping into Flynn's voice that isn't meant for colleagues or even mentors. They're diving straight into father figure territory with this one.]

Oh, well, mine always just played cool and mysterious. I don't think normal was in her vocabulary.

How long's that place been around?

Oh, he does mysterious. Cool... not so much. More like tossing a riddle out here and there. Smiling like he's all innocent, things like that.

The Library? Oh, forever, over 2,000 years. ... Which is not forever, yes, but, a very long time.

Huh.

And you're sure none of you are sorcerers?

[It's just an awful lot of similarities, Flynn.]

Pretty sure. I can't wield any magic, not without a magical artifact. And I never do that, we don't use the artifacts, we just guard them.

I guess Cal is a bit of an exception but I don't take him with me, he always stays at the Library on guard.

Too dangerous? Or you don't know how?

We don't use the artifacts for our benefit.

[That's right, he ventures out to find/fight magic stuff without any magic. It makes sense in his world and is suicidal folly only 75% of the time, really?]

Too dangerous, too, yeah. What if somebody saw him?

You'd be surprised what people can explain away.

Are you speaking from experience?

Did someone see your cloak and complain about the wind?

Yes, but no. I was thinking more how I tried to tell the Ancient One she was full of it when I first met her.

Oh. [He grins.] I just asked if I'm on hidden camera.

Which means you have a point I guess.

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