The Burdens We Carry [Romi]

Asteria raised a brow at Jude's forthright explanation. She had definitely not been expecting such honesty. Either he had nothing to hide or she was getting played like a damn fiddle. This kid was very good at playing coy. But the metal makeup that the young man's arm held was definitely interesting. She could say with certainty that between the odd gauntlet shape and the fact that this boy's organs might have been magically augmented with metal that he was a unique case to be studied. Although she shouldn't joke, she'd probably outlive him so once he passed she'd examine his body to see if that was true.

But, focusing back on the matter at hand, Ezra had touched the metal embedded in Jude already. Had asked permission and everything. That was quite an intimate gesture from her ward, considering that they always seemed to not know what was acceptable in social situations. With a delicate hand, she traced her fingers along the arm from the elbow down to the wrist, brow furrowed. It was metallic yet not? It had a unique feeling to it, that was certain. But the teen had opened the doorway to find out if he knew more than he should. Time to play it cool.

"Ezra actually wanted to touch it? That child is too curious for his own good sometimes." She gave a faint smile, taking a small sip of her coffee. "Did they leave the bandages on or did they undo them to initiate skin-to-skin contact? Ezra doesn't often do things like this so it's very fascinating as a researcher and a parental figure."

And there it was.

He admitted that he'd seen Ezra undo their bindings. She had a strong inkling that he had seen the markings as well, based on Ezra's testimony of the day. It was good that their ward was so honest with Asteria or things could have become significantly more complicated. Now that the truth was more or less established, it was time to mess around with the teen a little before making sure the situation didn't get any worse that it already seemed to be.

"...Have you been feeling ill at all lately, Jude? Ezra wears those bindings because their hands are host to a nightmarish disease. A magical plague of sorts. Have you seen anything odd- well, more odd- on the island as of late? Any hallucinations? Trouble sleeping? I need you to be very honest with me about this because the island could face serious consequences if you leave anything out." Asteria appeared panicked, moving around the counter and getting into Jude's personal bubble.

"Where did they touch you exactly? How long was the physical contact? Did they say anything odd when they were feeling the metal?" She began to act more frantic, seeming to step side to side to look around at Jude's face from different angles. She wasn't going to physically touch him, but that could be explained away easily if questioned.

He didn't panic. He didn't even flinch in the slightest at the news that he could be infected with some kind of magical plague. We're all people this freakin' cynical? To be fair, though, she had browsed enough of the internet to know Jude's generation and their humor. Between the jokes about dying, the concept of dabbing, and the infamous 'yeet', this generation just didn't have any fear left in them.

Or something.

Asteria stood up straight, crossing her arms and frowning at the teenager. "You're no fun. I expected at least a little panic or something. Not this blocked off ability to not be affected by some sort of fake plague." She let out a sigh, giving Jude a flat look the whole time as she moved back to her previous position. Taking one final gulp of coffee, she set the mug under the machine in order to pour another cup of coffee.

"I suppose it's time to cut through the silliness and talk serious for a moment. Of course you know why you're here and what I want to know. Ezra's already told me about your little meeting at the accommodations office. The moment they mentioned that they had undone the bandages to touch your face, I knew this was going to come up in the worst way." She let out a sigh, turning the coffee maker to pour a new cup of coffee as she looked at Jude.

"The reason why Ezra is free to roam around is because no one knows. Why do you think Salem exists in the first place?"

"The marks mean nothing to most people. Even the most of astute mages wouldn't realize what the markings were. However, I have a suspicion the god arm you're wandering around with might have an inkling of what they could be."

Asteria sighed, running a hand through her hair and leaned on the kitchen counter. This conversation was devolving quickly into something that was out of her control and she was not a fan of it at all. He was either playing really stupid or wanting her to lead the whole conversation in explanation. It didn't matter how this farce ended; either way she would be secure.

"Okay, I'm going to do something here I don't usually do. I'm going to let you ask any questions you want, anything at all. You can ask anything about myself, my history, Ezra's story, the local gossip I have, anything. However, I have a few conditions. Very serious ones at that. The information I give you, especially regarding Ezra and their origin, is related to an important Veil case that I worked on. It's something personal to me and even the idea of telling you is making me sick to my stomach but misdirection isn't the best policy in some scenarios."

Holding her hand out towards Jude, she stared him down. "Would you like to know the truth about Doctor Asteria Vrall, master artificer and immortal witch? And the truth of her child, Ezra Taliesin Vrall?"

"I will do my best to uphold that promise, although there is a small caveat about it which will likely come up during the explanations. And promises are something I'm quite familiar with, although I preferred to think of them as 'oaths' rather than promises."

Asteria seemed to be much more relaxed at this point, her body much less stiff in its movements. Even her face seemed softer, more youthful even. The coffee machine let out a small chirp to alert the two that the cup was full and ready to be enjoyed, so the artificer grabbed the mug and began walking towards the lavish living room Jude would have walked through briefly in order to reach the kitchen.

"Come join me in the parlor, Mister Jude. This is a conversation that might take a while so I'd rather sit comfortably for it. You may ask any questions you have about me first before we dive into the topic of Ezra. I'd rather set a baseline of honesty so when that topic does come up, you see how serious I am."