…
'You don't seem very surprised by all this,' Siel observed, looking searchingly at his senior brother's face.
Arin snapped out of his thoughts, looking up at the younger boy.
'I'm not,' he shrugged.
And truly, he wasn't.
He'd had the feeling that something was wrong all morning, ever since he'd first awoken and discovered that the things he'd heard about his own feats weren't quite adding up.
Perhaps it had helped that he wasn't actually Rin, and could know without a trace of a doubt that the real him had neither the abilities nor the knowhow when it came to destroying so-called curses.
As a result, the beautifully wrapped tale of a 'tower magician saving the day' wouldn't ever stick as the truth in his mind, no matter what else he was made to forget.
To tell the truth, Arin had already had a bit of a suspicion all day, which had all but been confirmed by his earlier talks with Lana, about madam Seren and the head caretaker.
That old lady had most definitely been aware of something. She'd been hiding it from them. But what, exactly? And why…?
He wanted to discuss this with Siel. However, a small voice in his head seemed to be warning him to keep quiet. It seemed to tell him he shouldn't say too much. Was that his subconsciousness? Some intuition? Arin didn't know.
Even so, he held his tongue for the moment.
'But of course you knew already!' Siel groaned. 'It seems I'm the only one to have been blundering around like a fool all day. I'm afraid my performance has been abysmal on this assignment. You keep silently offering me opportunities to prove myself, and I keep making a fool of myself time and again. Curse it all!'
Arin had to hide a small smirk. It looked like the younger boy was becoming more and more comfortable speaking his mind in the presence of his 'idol'. Well, he wasn't actually Rin, but still.
Anyway, he didn't bother with correcting the boy's misunderstandings.
As Siel leaned backwards, something in his oversized clothes crinkled softly.
The boy's wide eyes became rounder, and he suddenly twisted to rummage in some pocket somewhere to his side. After a moment, he pulled out a small piece of paper, folded even smaller until it was the size of a finger.
The two of them exchanged glances. Then, with deft fingers, Siel unfolded it, to reveal a small number of elegantly written words. Leaning in close, they silently scanned the message.
*
'Here are some good manners that one must mind well.
It is of utmost importance that you practice subtlety; even if one believes they know the truth, it is impolite to say too much in polite company.
Remember to listen to me well, lest you fail to be your best self.
This is not the first time I've told you.'
*
Not the first time…
Arin pursed his lips silently.
Beneath the flowery veneer of Elara's words, her message, essentially, was rather simple. As Arin understood it,
'Listen up;
Don't mindlessly yap about whatever you've understood about whatever's going on; the dream-world we're trapped in will notice.
If you don't listen to me, you'll forget all about everything.
It's already happened before.'
…
'Lady Elara… has kindly offered us some pertinent advice, senior brother,' said Siel, folding the paper back up and tucking it somewhere within his oversized clothes. 'We must make sure to heed what she says...'
'Hm.' Arin nodded.
It wouldn't make sense for them to investigate madam Seren's husband, the head caretaker, right now. Whatever the man had known would've long been smoothed over by the dream, until he himself knew nothing of it.
And as for what Elara had told Siel about 'interesting talents', that had probably been another hint. Possibly one that pointed towards how the dream they were in had come to be…
Was it Elara's talent? Had it gone rogue, somehow? – slipping out of her control? Could that even happen?
…Siel probably knew already. He'd leave that part to the kid.
So, for now…
'I'm not too keen on wasting much time blathering in polite company,' Arin said suddenly. 'I wonder if someone more knowledgeable than myself might know of a way, for us to excuse ourselves without seeming rude?'
From what he remembered the white-haired tower master saying, knowledge magic wasn't limited to just tracking.
There was also an element of answer-seeking, amongst others, that a particularly strong magician might gain access to...
And since Siel's talent was apparently an exceptionally powerful one –
'Oh. I might,' confirmed Siel. 'But I'm afraid it'll only come to me after I've had a lengthy period of silent self-reflection. Perhaps even a good night's rest.' The boy looked at him somewhat apologetically. 'I'm not… I'm still not very well-versed with these… things.'
Arin gave him what he hoped was an encouraging nod.
Whatever the case may be, the boy was doing far more than he was at the moment.
'Then it seems we must look for Sir Grif once again,' he said at last, 'in order to let him know we shall begrudgingly accept his invitation for the moment.'
'We should also keep lady Elara informed of our decisions,' added Siel. 'Especially since she's been ever so kind in… counseling us about… proper behavior. She might have more to tell us yet.'
'Much as we are keen to leave such… polite company, it seems we'll be remaining in Silvershade until at least tomorrow.'