The Beginning PV Lucas Hunter | Maeve Lyndon Cl

Running into a brick pillar without receiving any sort of injury was the first step into a world both he and his father didn’t understand. Most parents would be worried when their child eagerly took the advice of a stranger to run into a hard surface that had the ability to cast major consequences. Lucas’ father hadn’t been much different, yelling out to the eager boy who rushed towards the entrance of the train.

“Here it is!” Lucas turned around in time to see the older man catch his breath, both their eyes catching one another for the last time until next summer. There was no sadness nor tears, just the light of excitement in Lucas’ eyes and a smile of proudness plastered on his father’s face. Their goodbye had been brief and short, the demanding schedule of work cutting the time they had in half. This was nothing new, so the boy thought nothing of it when his father had started to walk away before he managed to pick a compartment.

Lucas had entered a compartment at random, looking out the window that rewarded him with the view of his father leaving the same way they came in.

Awesome.

But when the train’s horn alerted everyone of its departure, Lucas was brought back to the reality of where he was. A quick glance around persuaded Lucas to move compartments, not wanting to be alone the entire trip to his new life. That just spelled boredom with a capital B. So that’s what he did, opening the sliding door and taking his chances with the one right beside the one he picked. What he saw when he pressed his face against the glass was exactly what he wanted to see — a potential friend. He was lucky enough to find another boy in a situation similar to his, the squinting eyes disappearing momentarily before the door opened.

“Oh, hi.” Lucas started off, attempting to act like he didn’t know this compartment was already occupied, the sliding door shutting behind him as he settled across the stranger who already looked miserable. “All the other ones are full, so here I am. It’s nice to meet another wizard!” Another person capable of doing magic, what joy!

He was on V for Vermeer - that was Johannes and his odd repertoire of eyebrow-less women - when the door opened and another person sauntered in without bothering to ask if he was wanted. The cards settled into stillness in his hands as he followed the newcomer with his eyes, blinking as the boy took a seat across from him. And here he thought he'd been giving off the 'don't-talk-to-me' air his dad always teased him about.

"The other ones..." He trailed off, biting back his statement since it probably wouldn't do any good. No, the other carts weren't full, not even close, but maybe talking to someone else would pass the time faster. He wasn't averse to meeting new people, at any rate, just not in a talking mood. But then, he found that most people didn't need him to be in a talking mood since the majority of the population liked to talk about themselves more.

"Nice to meet you, then. My name's Matthew Silver." He had no good reason for lying, but it was almost second nature at this point. Weaving lies just a shade off of the truth were fun in ways he couldn't quite put his finger on. He slipped his deck into his sleeve and offered his hand. "First year too?"

Seemed as if the poorly made excuse was accepted when the other boy continued on with introductions. He wondered if the want for friends was mutual, reaching out with the opposite hand to Matthew’s.

“The name’s Lucas Hunter.” The shake of their hands was brief yet firm, the movement quick enough for a couple of shakes before release. He settled back against his seat, brightening up at the question of being a first year. If they were both in the same grade, then the chances of becoming friends got exponentially higher. “It’s nice to meet you too! I am a first year and I’ve only learned about the existence of magic like three weeks ago.” Not that he was counting, but the whole experience so far was so surreal. It was like he was living a fantasy tale out of the library.

“Silver is a cool last name though, really rolls off the tongue nicely.” Lucas briefly cleared his throat for emphasis, before speaking in a different tone that attempted maturity. “Sir Silver, fancy seeing you here today. Did you enjoy brunch on the tramway? What are your thoughts on magic being real, Sir Silver?” There was a dramatic pause before the semi-serious expression broke to that of a smile. Not only did he try it out but he proved his point. To himself, anyway.

Thank god this kid wasn't part of the whole 'I've been a wizard forever' thing. Even if Matthew could've used it to pump him for info, for this one last trip he wanted a bit of normalcy and having someone in the same boat as him meant they could talk about regular things.

Though Matthew wasn't overly into making friends - he didn't like the thought of being stuck to one story for a group of people, to having to play only one personality instead of whatever struck his fancy when he met up with a stranger - it would be nice to have another kid with a similar upbringing in terms of lack of magic. Someone to sit with at tables, group up with for projects, rope into his get-out-of-class schemes. In a second he'd adjusted his view of the boy across from him from 'distraction' to 'potential ally.'

He let his face ease into a smile, a flash of teeth as he leaned forward and assumed a conspiratorial tone. After all, the personality for someone he'd hang out with had to be interesting.

"You never know, Lucas," he said, the mischief glinting in eyes real. He was warming up to the narrative. "A last name like that, maybe I'm the long distant descendant of a lord." He flicked his wrist and slid the king of diamonds from his sleeve into his palm then held it up, rolling it across his knuckles. "Maybe I'm set for an inheritance that'll blow the socks off of even wizards. A title that'll make people kiss the ground at my feet. If we became allies here today, you might end up on the side of a future king."

Holding the card up between two fingers, he passed his free hand across it and when he pulled his hand away it was no longer the king of diamonds. It was the joker of the deck boasting a lurid grin. "Or not. Who knows? I just learned about magic a couple weeks ago too. What're your thoughts on it?"

The response wasn’t one he expected, the atmosphere shifting Lucas’ train of thought. He watched as the cards swiftly moved between pale fingertips, the playful demeanor reducing itself to a curious twinkle in his eye as the cards switched themselves out. Cards were never appealing to him, considering the type of person he was, but he had to admit the tricks Matthew was doing were cool.

“A king, huh?” A soft hum in thought buzzed in his throat as a foot slid back to the base of his seat. In stories, a king was something every man wanted to be. It meant guaranteed power and respect, all desires and wishes fulfilled. But the position of ‘King’ never really appealed to Lucas, not as much as a knight who had free reign over exploring new terrain in the world did, anyway. “The king of moving cards in a cool way with your hands?” Lucas smiled back, still playful as the light from the window disappeared when the train started going through a tunnel.

Magic. What were his thoughts on magic? “About magic, though, I think it’s fascinating and cool. It brings a whole new layer to life, a fun one webbed with a lot of complexities that can be bent any way a person pleases. There’s no limit to what it can do or bring, which makes it what it is — magical. You can be a king if you want, King Silver is a great title, but I’d be more than happy to be your friend since you asked so nicely~” Sure, his new friend may have said it weirdly, but Matthew seemed like a unique character and the cards were really selling it. The weird ones were the best people to befriend, he remembered reading that on a cereal box.

When the light from the outside returned, Lucas’ smile got a little wider as he moved a foot to lightly kick Matthew’s. It barely brushed against the other’s shoe, but it did the job it was supposed to. “What about you? What do you think?”

The joker disappeared again, whisked away up his sleeve as he gave his full attention to the boy in front of him. A king of cards... that was too restrictive - he wanted to be something else but he didn't have the life experience to say what. Not a ruler, not someone with power who gloated over the heads of helpless subjects, but more someone who played on the same field as everyone else. Screw a throne, he'd rather be in independent motion over taking a gold seat everyone looked up to.

Magic... Lucas's words did make sense. It added a complexity to life as surely as any entire new world tucked away into hidden corners would, but that's why Matthew resented it. As much as he enjoyed spontaneity, he craved the simple. 'This is the world and this is how it is.' The whole business of upending that made him want to cross his arms and huff aloud like a small, grumpy old man. He shrugged instead, mentally reminding himself that living on emotion got you nowhere.

It was a bit of a shock that the other boy agreed to a request he hadn't put forth, though. Allies and friends were a different sort of breed, the degree of separation between them a measure in emotional attachment or not. He didn't think you could just be friends by saying it, but he didn't speak that out loud. He simply nodded dumbly, deciding he'd let Lucas call it what he wanted while in his own mind he'd deem them allies.

A burst of light startled him out of internal processing and his eyes flicked from the window and back as he listened to the questions poised. "I suppose I've got a different view," he said, opting for the truth in this. "I don't really want to be a king, or anything else I couldn't achieve as someone without magic. You're right about it bringing new layers, but I think I could do without those. The world's pretty complicated as is, more stuff is..."

He trailed off with a shrug, but Lucas's demeanor was all light and smiles so he knew he couldn't end it on a dour note and risk sounding too negative. "Who knows, though? It's a whole new experience, can't judge before we get into it. What do you know about Hogwarts already?"

It wasn't rocket science to notice how Matthew was hiding the way he felt by brushing off his thoughts with a shrug. Lucas had been waiting for the explanation as to why the world didn't need magic, expression shifting to that of obvious confusion when the subject changed back to him. He wasn't sure why he was doing that, they had just met, usually, people had no problem telling others how they felt. So why did he? Was it because they were friends?

Unless.. this was one of those times where a brief moment was shared before they both parted ways. Lucas had gone through that scenario a handful of times, and as much as he didn't mind it, it would be great if he could start his new life with a reoccurring person. They were both on the same boat, which made it all the more perfect. No friends, new to magic, a first-year, and both of them were boys.

It was fate, to put it simply.

"Umm, I just know there's like.." The boy's eyes squinted in thought, his pointer finger pressing against his lips. He looked up briefly as if the answer was written on the top of the ceiling before focusing back on Matthew. "..four teams to choose from. I know they're not called that but you get what I mean." Then he straightened up. "And there's a lot of secrets. A ton. Aren't you curious about them? Don't you want to see what kinds of creatures are lurking around? All the spells you can learn? And being able to fly with a broom!" Lucas' voice rose to a crescendo near the end with his excitement, but he still wondered what it was Matthew didn't tell him. "Why do you think the world is better off without this type of stuff?"

Four teams? Matthew wondered what that was all about - he didn't particularly like sports so the thought of having to join a magical sports team made him grimace inside. The secrets, though... those were interesting. He loved new discoveries and knowledge so long as it wasn't boring - dangerous creatures and secret spells sped up his pulse, trilled his blood with adrenaline. If that's all there was to magic, he'd love it.

It was clear where Lucas's priorities lay as well. From his lack of research on the actual school structure and his excitement about the hidden things they probably shouldn't know, he wasn't a boring academic at the very least. Matthew doubted it would take little, if any, convincing to get him to skip out on class so they could investigate the secrets. The familiarity of the thought of getting into trouble and blowing off classes to do fun stuff was comforting.

The final question erased his comfort though, sent him shifting restlessly. He could lie but the kid in front of him wasn't letting this go the way most people would.

"Well... well, well," he said, the repeated words quick and natural, giving him time to think without offering a huge pause in the conversation. Screw it, he decided on the last 'well.' He may as well tell the truth. Not to mention he was curious about someone else's opinion on it.

"Look, magic makes us better than regular people. I'm not saying that to be arrogant or anything, it's just a fact - people who know magic don't have to depend on technology and stuff, right?" How to phrase it? The uneasiness that made his scalp tingle and his gut clench.

"People who have magic have power. A huge advantage. If they ever wanted to take out regular people, it wouldn't be that hard. And on the other hand, if regular people found out about wizards they'd be scared. Scared people do crazy things all the time. Basically, there'd probably be a war. I wouldn't mind magic if it was just fun and secrets, but don't you think it's a dangerous sort of thing to exist? It's like a bomb waiting to go off, and I'd rather be on the side that doesn't know about the bomb than the side holding the bomb. I don't like being part of the..." He gestured vaguely. "Bigger picture. Maybe a lot of kids like being part of a powerful secret world, but that's for heroes and the like, and I'm no bloody hero."

Well..?

When Matthew first started speaking, Lucas hadn't disagreed with anything. It was true, people who had the ability to influence magic were definitely stronger and had all the advantages. But the more he listened, the more he was learning about the boy sitting across from him. Matthew didn't want to be a king, a hero, or become part of a bigger picture. To him, a life like that sounded boring. If not a hero, then what about other roles? A subject like that was tricky to bring up, hence why Lucas always focused on other things. But for now, with just the two of them, asking such questions wouldn't be so bad. It was simply curiosity after all and Matthew seemed to be comfortable speaking his mind.

"Okay, let's say you saw someone using magic for.. murder. Would you do anything or turn the other way?" The question was genuine with no expectation of an answer. Just curiosity. "And before you answer, would it change if it involved someone you cared about?" If the stakes were high, with the endgame consequence being the same, what would Matthew's answer be? If he was forced into a situation like that without much choice, what sort of morals would he prioritize? Lucas' gaze remained neutral, tilting his head a bit to the side as he waited.