Closed no pretext

[Zennon Baros]

"And he'll be starting at school soon, I'm... you know, I don't even know what to think about that," Zennon said as he dropped onto Sapphire's couch and pulled her feet up into his lap. He'd had so long with Finley, even if Finley had been, on occasion, raised by the various friends in his life or attended the daycare, he was always there, he always knew where Finley was and what he was doing, there was never a moment where he couldn't just go and grab him whenever he wanted to see him. With Finley and Dia playing over in the corner with... whatever they were playing over there. Finley had brought his Horntail toy to show Dia again. "It's gonna be weird without him, you know? I'll barely know myself when I come home to not having to make him dinner or show him some other magic, maybe a scrapped knee or two." He could already tell he'd spend more time with the triplets, and even Dia and Jett, just to get his bearings again. He'd been Finely's dad for nearly twelve years now, he wasn't sure he knew how to be anything else. Ace curled up over his shoulder to rest his head between Sapphire and Zennon, his tongue flicking the air. Zennon reached over and dragged his fingers along the snakes head. He got it. They were gonna miss Finley too.​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire always enjoyed these basically kids-along gab sessions with Zennon. She was sipping on her tea, letting Zennon move her legs into his lap. "Old?" She offered mid sentence, giving him a little smirk. She sipped on her tea, watching him have his little freak out. Dia was hanging off of Finley, and Jett was away at some sort of class, camp... thing he'd wanted to go to, and she'd be picking him up later tonight. She watched Zennon and his snake, letting him get his thoughts out. "If you're gunna be so lonely you can borrow one of mine," She teased, waving idly towards Dia. "Might I suggest Dia? Or maybe you can have one of Nyxys, baby Brio is the calmest of the lot. If you want chaos, though, take Aria- she's too much like her auntie," She offered Zennon a wink.

 

[Zennon Baros]

"You're older than me," he complained as she called him old, rolling his eyes at her. He didn't know what it was about Sapphire that seemed to bring him right back to their pillow fort in the common room days, but whenever they were together it was like they were fourteen again. It was silly and dumb, but he liked it. He'd have said it kept them young, but he was too young to be saying things like that, and if he started now, he really was old. "If they're anything like your brother, no offence, but I think I'll pass." Zennon might have been worried about what he would do with Finley out of the house, but that didn't mean he was open to letting chaos reign in his life. After all, for everything Finley was, or was not, he certainly wasn't going to be replaced. Zennon wouldn't have even know where to start with that. He sighed, dropping his head onto the back of Sapphire's couch. "I keep thinking I should send Tinsel with him," he said, wondering if sending one of the snakes with Finley would be a good idea. Ace didn't seem to think so, but Tinsel was a biter so... maybe Glimmer?​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire chuckled. "Only in spirit," She winked. "One of us is definitely aging better." She teased him. She enjoyed the warmth of her cup. She couldn't help but laugh out loud at his protest. "Honestly, I think they found Brio under one of the trees or something- that boy is day and night to my brother." She shrugged. She often wondered about how calm the boy was, especially considering his origins. She brushed the thought aside though- Zennon seemed a little too serious right now. She'd have to tease him a little more. She chuckled, sipping her tea again. "Zenny-bear, stop worrying so much. He'll be fine. He takes too much after me not to be," She winked. "Seriously, though, sending along one of your snakes won't do anything but make you feel less lonely. Has he asked to take any of them along?"

 

[Zennon Baros]

"Yeah, me, do you see this skin?" he said, lifting his head a little into the light. "Do you think it's just beauty potions? No, I have beautiful genetics, and I passed them onto Finley, so we're both going to age like fine wine and you'll be a prune." He said, laughing at her lightly. He liked their banter, he was always in a good mood for their banter. "Finley isn't really much like me either, thankfully, completely different personality." he said, nodding. Sometimes he couldn't believe the way in which that kind had developed, but what could he say, nothing was that much of a shock anymore. He frowned when she told him he needed to stop worrying, as if that was possible. "Look me in my face and tell me you wouldn't worry about the twins, go on," he knew she would, as would any parent. Finley had never been on his own anywhere and even if he had family and friends at the school and he could write Zennon any time, that didn't mean he liked it. He didn't know any of the professors at the school. Styx wasn't there anymore, so he couldn't trust his old head of house to look after the boy, and maybe he liked Matt when the man was his professor but he didn't know what he was like as the Headmaster. Didn't leave him with too many options. "I should send Glimmer just in case."​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire laughed, tempting to throw something at him but not having the energy to get up. "Careful, any more preening and I'll turn you into a peacock," She teased, knowing they both knew she wouldn't bother. "Prune I may, but you'll be the one escorting the little wrinkly old lady that'll beat anyone with a walking cane if they look at her wrong," She winked playfully.

She sipped on her drink, and looking him in the eye, she replied. "I won't worry about the twins. Miss them, sure, but Dia is too much a force of nature for me to worry. Between her and Aria they're going to raze that school to the ground, Jett will rebuild it, and Brio will look on and document it all." She declared like it was the most natural thing in the world.

She waved a hand at him. "If you really want to, go on. The charms Professor is my cousin, would you like me to ask her to keep an eye on him, as well?" She offered sincerely. "Mallory just had a son of her own so she's been extra motherly."

 

[Zennon Baros]

He couldn't deny Sapphire anything when she was serious about something and honestly, having someone look out for Finley sounded like exactly what he needed if he couldn't go there himself. He'd considered it, taking a position in the school, but he'd decide against it just as fast, he didn't think Finley would ever forgive him for going there just because of him. If he'd been there before Finley started school, maybe, but at this point he knew Finley would just assume he was being a worrywart and probably go out of his way to make trouble, which definitely wasn't what he wanted. She was right, he needed to let Finley live his own life. She hadn't said that specifically, but he knew what she meant. Though, perhaps having Mallory watch out for him a little wasn't going to cause problems, she was his professor after all, it was already her job, so what if Zennon asked for a little special extra eye? "That... would make me feel better actually, yes," He would have to remember to give her her own advice when the twins started at school, and Onyx's kids too, but that was some of the problem, he loved Ten and Felix as much as anyone did, but between them and Ned, he wasn't sure how really keeping out of trouble Finley would be, he didn't have any siblings at the school and no real cousins either. He was on his own there. "I'm being paranoid, aren't I?"​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire made a mental note to send a note to Mallory later, and just patted Zennon's legs on her lap. "You are, but it's your job." She teased gently. "And besides, you've always been a worrier. If you suddenly stopped now, I'd have to check your head to see how hard you'd knocked it." She finished her drink and set it aside. "This just means we'll have drinks more often in attempts to settle you down while Finley is away, you'll write back too quickly to any letters he sends, and we'll find a way to have you settled and content with brightstone visits." She rubbed her thumb against his leg. "My uncle just gifted me some really nice wine, what do you say we meet up after you drop off Finley at the train station and have wine chats?"

 

[Zennon Baros]

He shook his head, sighing but it turned sort of into a light laugh. "Merlin, you know this is not how I imagined my future to be back then. Remember when I said I'd never have a badge?" Things had really changed after OWLs, he'd sort of figured out what he wanted to do and somehow that meant Styx had seen maturity in him or something and decided in his sixth year he seemed the perfect person to give a badge too, which was... honestly kind of insane if he was honest. "Pillow forts in the common room, me hiding away in the forest whenever I saw a snake in case anyone saw me," he shook his head. "I think I'd like that drink, I might need it after Finley unceremoniously leaves me behind to pursue friendships with the castles pets. I dread to think what he's going to bring back with him, if I'm honest. I just know he's going to find something." He knew Finley too well by now.​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire snorted, smiling softly at him. "I know, remember when they made me co-captain with Blake Irons?" She shook her head, thinking back to their school days before grimacing and shaking her head. "No offense, Zennyboo, but I'd rather not think too much of our school days. It's all a tangled mess and I'd just rather leave it be." She admitted. Thinking of her time at the castle still hurt her sometimes, and she just hoped the twins had a better time with it.

She brushed her hair back. "We'll just drink wine and eat a lot of snacks and pass out in the living room, have a proper sleepover." She gave him an easy grin. "Perhaps a bit of relaxing might help you to stop worrying about the new additions you're expecting." She winked.

 

[Zennon Baros]

He vaguely remembered Blake Irons, didn't he play professionally now? With the Macaws or maybe it was the Kea? He couldn't remember because he didn't follow it terribly closely. He watched games when they were local enough, and he sometimes followed it in the news or when the games were on live radio, but it was more Leda and Sapphire's thing than his. "Fair enough, we don't have to talk about it," he had intended to talk to her about Kas, see if she knew anything about the whole expelled from school thing, but really, that could wait. "Ha, as much as I would love a sleep over, I actually do need to get back. I'm helping Arvel with some things recently and I like to pop over every couple of days to see how he's doing." Since his birthday dinner a while back, he'd been determined to smooth things over, make things better between them, and with Finley now out of the picture it was going to hopefully be a little easier to do that.​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire was a little relieved when he just let it slide. She raised a brow as he declined her invite. "Ooh, Mr. Ayers, hm?" She winked playfully. "Go on, don't mind me, go on your secret dates," She gave him a knowing little smirk- even if she had no idea. She refilled her drink, settling in. She sighed dramatically. "Well, you silly thing, I'm just going to be left all on my lonesome." She pretended to pout, before giggling a bit and patting his legs. "I suppose I'll forgive you. Just answer me this, though." She studied him a moment. "Is this all access pass back down memory lane about Finley going back to school, this budding new friendship with angsty Arvel, or something else?" She had an actual knowing look this time- Zennon had something else on his mind.

 

[Zennon Baros]

Zennon shook his head. He had no idea what she was trying to imply and he wasn't sure he wanted to ask either, so he just let Sapphire be Sapphire. He'd found that was always the easiest way to get things done, just to let her do her thing, say her piece or what have you. "It's not a secret date," he laughed lightly shaking his head at her. "But if you must have your gossip, go ahead." he hadn't been celebrating his birthday in years, after all, so it had been nice for Arvel to offer to spend some time with him and Finley in May. Finley had enjoyed it because he liked getting to know his dad's friends and Zennon enjoyed it because he had needed some adult conversation after having only Finley for company for a while. He'd had a good day. But it had also meant he'd wanted to start checking in on Arvel more, brining him food when he was sick. It wasn't as though they lived far from each other or anything. He sighed when she asked him about what he'd been thinking though and shrugged. "No, nothing like that. I ran into an old schoolmate of ours... or mine I suppose. Do you remember Kas? Kas Safir? He was a Hufflepuff a couple of years below us."​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire chuckled. "As my main source of gossip time is you, or Diana, it seems a bit of a waste without verified sources," She sighed dramatically. "Not telling me is such a crime." She summoned some snacks, getting a curious look from Dia (though she looked away again seeing it wasn't a snack she didn't like) she popped open her chips and offered some to Zennon. Her brow furrowed at the question. "Oh, yeah, that was- ah, the basilisk... adjacent kid wasn't it?" She asked. "I don't think I knew him, I think Jordie told me more about it when it happened. One of his roommates was freaked out about it," She sipped her drink. "What about him?"