Every Little Bit
This whole transition deal was a lot harder than Fabian had first imagined. His routes and haunts changed as ever more desk work called him into his office. Meetings upon meetings. Some more comments to various media agencies. Less than a month in and he didn't know if he could stand it any longer.16 November, 2024
3:30 p.m. / 15:30
cool, sunny
@Koko Riddle as Cyrus Darsel
------
Of course he could. Sometimes it was nice to indulge in the dramatic, though.
Fabian found himself wandering back to his old classroom more often than not. His assessment of the new instructor wasn't till next Friday, but the man was hard pressed to keep away. He still found himself in the duelling club, though some of the younger casters seemed almost fearful in their performance with their headmaster present, and so gradually his presence faded in an effort to put them at ease.
His new office, still feeling stiff and foreign, had begun to trap him. Slowly, but surely. It was uncanny to be this resistent to change for a man whose life was once consumed by it. Fabian had never been the type to be still until he became a teacher, at one time entering a new country every month. Even then, his life was filled with travel and couldn't really be considered still considering the details of dealing with magical teenagers.
Though Fabian had been a man of change, he had also been a man of routine. The routine took many forms. At one point, the routine had been to pack up on Saturdays and start the next job on Sundays. The routine for the past seven, almost eight years had been his Defense Against the Dark Arts class during the school year and being with Sarai, Alphonse, and Briar back in Haiti on breaks. @Sarai Toussaint-Fleischer, Remedy Norden, @Ulysses Drake Now he had no class, and he didn't know what breaks were going to look like or if he would even have them. Just a constantly shifting pile of things to manage, a never ending pile.
But. He had a job to do. And bit by little bit, today's pile was starting to lessen. Just a little at a time. Currently, he was taking a break, reading through one of his old books. Something Briar would probably like. He penned a quick note to take this one home for the boy.Kleinvieh macht auch Mist
Every little bit helps.
memento mori, memento vivere
owls : open | threads : upon request
lore • ilvermorny wants you • registration
owls : open | threads : upon request
lore • ilvermorny wants you • registration
Every Little Bit
RPing as Cyrus Alexander Darsel (Ilvermorny iNPC)
The 'fit: This sweatshirt and khakis. A relatively 'normal' outfit for Cyrus.
America felt empty after coming back from Scotland. Ilvermorny's halls, which had never been truly welcoming to the likes of Cyrus. Instead of the other students bringing him discomfort, though, it was the lack of them. Once-familiar faces, however unfriendly, were now cold or gone or otherwise changed for good.
Cyrus, too, felt emptier. The wide, bright smiles that used to define him no longer came to his lips without immense effort on his part, and the sickly-sweet stench of meat on a pyre permeated his senses when he thought too hard. The sight of birds soaring through the air, which used to amaze him, made him grimace and turn his head away lest he begin to remember the bird that had distracted him in Hogsmeade.
He didn't know anything that would fix this feeling of emptiness, of wrongness. He didn't know anyone who would understand what it was like to go from bubbly positivity to uncertainty. He couldn't even look to Headmaster Plott for guidance because Headmaster Plott was probably... not around.
Instead, he tended to wander aimlessly through Ilvermorny's corridors. His clothes were more subdued and far more rumpled than usual, as if he just threw on whatever was low maintenance enough to make him look like he was fine. He had done just that this morning, throwing on a sweatshirt with a duck that said 'Fluent in Fowl Language', which had made him smile despite it all. His smile remained on his face, except instead of exuberant joy, it instead made him look pensively serene.
His walk brought him by the office that was now Professor Fleischer's — should he call him Headmaster Fleischer now? He gazed at the door almost forlornly before impulse overtook him and found his way into yet another corridor.
Cyrus walked through the corridor, gaze catching on the old portraits lining the walls. Whoever had painted them had been extremely talented. He glanced right to see a closed door, but on the left, he could see Professor Fleischer's desk... and Professor Fleischer himself.
He entered the room and offered a slightly-sheepish wave. 'Uh, hi, Professor. How's it going?' He slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned against the threshold of the entrance. 'I like what you've done with the room.'
He would be quiet for a moment, completely still, both of which were a rarity for the eighteen-year-old, before he attempted to meet Professor Fleischer's gaze. 'So. Is it weird, being headmaster now? And, uh, do I need to call you Headmaster Fleischer, or is Professor still okay?'
Cyrus, too, felt emptier. The wide, bright smiles that used to define him no longer came to his lips without immense effort on his part, and the sickly-sweet stench of meat on a pyre permeated his senses when he thought too hard. The sight of birds soaring through the air, which used to amaze him, made him grimace and turn his head away lest he begin to remember the bird that had distracted him in Hogsmeade.
He didn't know anything that would fix this feeling of emptiness, of wrongness. He didn't know anyone who would understand what it was like to go from bubbly positivity to uncertainty. He couldn't even look to Headmaster Plott for guidance because Headmaster Plott was probably... not around.
Instead, he tended to wander aimlessly through Ilvermorny's corridors. His clothes were more subdued and far more rumpled than usual, as if he just threw on whatever was low maintenance enough to make him look like he was fine. He had done just that this morning, throwing on a sweatshirt with a duck that said 'Fluent in Fowl Language', which had made him smile despite it all. His smile remained on his face, except instead of exuberant joy, it instead made him look pensively serene.
His walk brought him by the office that was now Professor Fleischer's — should he call him Headmaster Fleischer now? He gazed at the door almost forlornly before impulse overtook him and found his way into yet another corridor.
Cyrus walked through the corridor, gaze catching on the old portraits lining the walls. Whoever had painted them had been extremely talented. He glanced right to see a closed door, but on the left, he could see Professor Fleischer's desk... and Professor Fleischer himself.
He entered the room and offered a slightly-sheepish wave. 'Uh, hi, Professor. How's it going?' He slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned against the threshold of the entrance. 'I like what you've done with the room.'
He would be quiet for a moment, completely still, both of which were a rarity for the eighteen-year-old, before he attempted to meet Professor Fleischer's gaze. 'So. Is it weird, being headmaster now? And, uh, do I need to call you Headmaster Fleischer, or is Professor still okay?'
Date: 16 November 2024
Time: 15:30
Location: Professor Toussaint-Fleischer's office, Ilvermorny
Private to: @Fabian Toussaint-Fleischer
[pc] koko riddle · 'i was raised up to be admired.'
'hey! bom bom bom. got any grapes?' · cyrus darsel [inpc]
Every Little Bit
Hazel eyes flicked up from the old pages and lighted upon a familiar face. "Good afternoon, Cyrus," he said, slipping a mark in his book and closing it. Though his interaction with the student body had been diminished greatly, he still received news of them from the other professors. Cyrus' name had been mentioned more than once, often with a tone and expression of concern, no, worry attached. The student had always been joyful as long as any of them had known. Yet, since the horrible event in Hogsmeade, he seemed fundamentally different. No longer an exuberant youth but a man haunted.
3:30 p.m. / 15:30
cool, sunny
@Koko Riddle as Cyrus Darsel
------
The eyes cast about the room after Cyrus commented on it. A thoughtful hum accompanied the action, fingers steepling. "Ja? Not too stuffy?" He set the book down and stood, meeting the melancholy eyes of his student once more. The questions brought a chuckle from the man, short and soft, though he could not help but notice the unusual stillness of him. "Professor is just fine. Would you like a drink? I think I have a little bit of coffee left, but I can always send for something." He made his way to the coffee table in front of his desk, pouring a glass of the perpetually cold water for himself. "Being headmaster? Sure, it's weird. I'm just up here by myself most of the day." Another short laugh in the pause between sentences. "You'd think I turned evil when I became headmaster with the lengths some students take to avoid me. But, all in all, it's fine. One day at a time, ja?"
The corners of Fabian's mouth turned up in a grin as he truly read Cyrus' sweatshirt. The whole ensemble was quiet compared to the boy's usual attire, but at least something still spoke to his good humor and carefree attitude. "I like the shirt." He would not ask Cyrus about the emptiness that surrounded him like a cloud. Not yet, anyway.Kleinvieh macht auch Mist
Every little bit helps.
memento mori, memento vivere
owls : open | threads : upon request
lore • ilvermorny wants you • registration
owls : open | threads : upon request
lore • ilvermorny wants you • registration
Every Little Bit
RPing as Cyrus Alexander Darsel (Ilvermorny iNPC)
The 'fit: This sweatshirt and khakis. A relatively 'normal' outfit for Cyrus.
Cyrus found himself almost immediately distracted — his gaze caught on the various bookshelves in the room even as Professor Fleischer spoke, the words going in one ear and out the other. This was not too uncharacteristic of him; in fact, perhaps this head-in-the-cloudsness was preferred to his post-Hogsmeade behaviour. He finally snapped back to reality when he heard Professor Fleischer say something about the room being stuffy.
'Oh, no, I think it's just lovely! Especially 'cause it's kinda cold outside. It's nice and warm. Cosy.'
He nodded enthusiastically when the professor said that 'professor' was just fine. Although Cyrus would have made a mental note to remember any change in preference, he was glad to not have a chance at forgetting such a thing.
He startled a bit at the mention of a drink, and he shrugged gently. 'Either is fine. Maybe a little coffee, if it's not black, and a bit of water? Thanks.' He wasn't usually picky, but if he was going to drink coffee, it had to have a lot of sugar and milk in it. At that point, it tasted more like coffee ice cream. But if caffeine did not cause him to bounce off the walls, he needed something that would mimic its purposed effect while not tasting like ash in a cup.
Cyrus listened with his whole heart when Professor Fleischer noted that being headmaster was weird. He could imagine — going from interfacing with people every day, from having to teach and grade assignments and issue detentions, all to being... here. It might have been cathartic, if it were him, but he could also imagine that it might be lonely in comparison to Professor Fleischer's old job.
'I mean, I guess "headmaster" is a weighty title. But you're still you! And you said "professor" is fine, anyway, and either way, potentially misnaming you was really my biggest reservation. Maybe I could spread the word.' Cyrus laughed gently. 'But... yeah.' His tone became sombre if only for a moment as he added, 'One day at a time.'
He was quickly back to all smiles and sparkles and rainbows when Professor Fleischer complimented his shirt. 'Oh, thanks!' His grin mirrored his headmaster's without a second thought from the easily-excitable boy. 'A friend recommended it to me, and I couldn't not. It is made even better because I only speak fowl language, not foul language... get it?' Even if Professor Fleischer did not 'get it', he would snicker warmheartedly at his own attempt at a joke. It was funny to him.
Cyrus's gaze once again caught on the myriad books that had a home in the bookshelves. He pointed vaguely at one of the shelves. 'Have you really read all of those books?' It was perhaps random, but he was truly curious. He knew Professor Flesicher was intelligent, and that there was so much knowledge to be found in books, but he also couldn't fathom himself reading so many. Maybe if he were to read even half of these books, he would have the knowledge and wisdom required to be even more reliable in both stressful situations and in their aftermaths.
'Oh, no, I think it's just lovely! Especially 'cause it's kinda cold outside. It's nice and warm. Cosy.'
He nodded enthusiastically when the professor said that 'professor' was just fine. Although Cyrus would have made a mental note to remember any change in preference, he was glad to not have a chance at forgetting such a thing.
He startled a bit at the mention of a drink, and he shrugged gently. 'Either is fine. Maybe a little coffee, if it's not black, and a bit of water? Thanks.' He wasn't usually picky, but if he was going to drink coffee, it had to have a lot of sugar and milk in it. At that point, it tasted more like coffee ice cream. But if caffeine did not cause him to bounce off the walls, he needed something that would mimic its purposed effect while not tasting like ash in a cup.
Cyrus listened with his whole heart when Professor Fleischer noted that being headmaster was weird. He could imagine — going from interfacing with people every day, from having to teach and grade assignments and issue detentions, all to being... here. It might have been cathartic, if it were him, but he could also imagine that it might be lonely in comparison to Professor Fleischer's old job.
'I mean, I guess "headmaster" is a weighty title. But you're still you! And you said "professor" is fine, anyway, and either way, potentially misnaming you was really my biggest reservation. Maybe I could spread the word.' Cyrus laughed gently. 'But... yeah.' His tone became sombre if only for a moment as he added, 'One day at a time.'
He was quickly back to all smiles and sparkles and rainbows when Professor Fleischer complimented his shirt. 'Oh, thanks!' His grin mirrored his headmaster's without a second thought from the easily-excitable boy. 'A friend recommended it to me, and I couldn't not. It is made even better because I only speak fowl language, not foul language... get it?' Even if Professor Fleischer did not 'get it', he would snicker warmheartedly at his own attempt at a joke. It was funny to him.
Cyrus's gaze once again caught on the myriad books that had a home in the bookshelves. He pointed vaguely at one of the shelves. 'Have you really read all of those books?' It was perhaps random, but he was truly curious. He knew Professor Flesicher was intelligent, and that there was so much knowledge to be found in books, but he also couldn't fathom himself reading so many. Maybe if he were to read even half of these books, he would have the knowledge and wisdom required to be even more reliable in both stressful situations and in their aftermaths.
Date: 16 November 2024
Time: 15:30
Location: Professor Toussaint-Fleischer's office, Ilvermorny
Private to: @Fabian Toussaint-Fleischer
[pc] koko riddle · 'i was raised up to be admired.'
'hey! bom bom bom. got any grapes?' · cyrus darsel [inpc]