It was almost like old times.
An occasional dip into the past couldn't hurt him, either: his present life - his new profession - was altogether relentless, and the future was too distant to often dream about. Tybalt was dreaming about it now, being here, at the Coming Out Ball. Thank Merlin Elsie had stumbled on the stairs that night, the year they'd graduated. Thank Merlin he'd gone after her.
She must be here tonight - he hoped she would be; the twins were graduating, she wouldn't miss it - but, that said, the most that would happen here was getting a furtive glimpse of her across the room or a dance if he was lucky, if she wasn't being prodded towards other partners in a room full of men with better prospects. His mouth twisting a little at the thought, he excused himself from his current conversation, and wandered out of the Great Hall. (Not because he hoped he might bump into Elsie hiding out somewhere. That was not part of the plan.)
There was no sign of her, anyway, and soon enough Tyb found himself summarily distracted by the castle. God, he missed it. Or missed being a student; missed not having worries, not having to think so much, missed not having to know where he was going all the time. He didn't know precisely where he was going now, tracing his footsteps of a few years ago through the hall, liking the quiet of it: it was like he was out of bed past curfew, up to some kind of mischief.
He hadn't gotten far before he spotted a figure alone in the hall: his first thought, because of their slight figure, was that they were a student out of bed. But no, if the boy was a student - he looked youngish, though Tyb didn't recognise him, and he'd always been fairly good with faces - he'd been invited to the party, he could tell that by his clothes. Still, maybe he was up to mischief.
A grin slipped onto his face as he wandered over, supposing he'd find out. "Have you ever seen him sneeze?" Tybalt asked in a cheerful murmur, cocking his head towards the portrait, not sure if the portrait would be able to hear him. "He sounds like an elephant."
An occasional dip into the past couldn't hurt him, either: his present life - his new profession - was altogether relentless, and the future was too distant to often dream about. Tybalt was dreaming about it now, being here, at the Coming Out Ball. Thank Merlin Elsie had stumbled on the stairs that night, the year they'd graduated. Thank Merlin he'd gone after her.
She must be here tonight - he hoped she would be; the twins were graduating, she wouldn't miss it - but, that said, the most that would happen here was getting a furtive glimpse of her across the room or a dance if he was lucky, if she wasn't being prodded towards other partners in a room full of men with better prospects. His mouth twisting a little at the thought, he excused himself from his current conversation, and wandered out of the Great Hall. (Not because he hoped he might bump into Elsie hiding out somewhere. That was not part of the plan.)
There was no sign of her, anyway, and soon enough Tyb found himself summarily distracted by the castle. God, he missed it. Or missed being a student; missed not having worries, not having to think so much, missed not having to know where he was going all the time. He didn't know precisely where he was going now, tracing his footsteps of a few years ago through the hall, liking the quiet of it: it was like he was out of bed past curfew, up to some kind of mischief.
He hadn't gotten far before he spotted a figure alone in the hall: his first thought, because of their slight figure, was that they were a student out of bed. But no, if the boy was a student - he looked youngish, though Tyb didn't recognise him, and he'd always been fairly good with faces - he'd been invited to the party, he could tell that by his clothes. Still, maybe he was up to mischief.
A grin slipped onto his face as he wandered over, supposing he'd find out. "Have you ever seen him sneeze?" Tybalt asked in a cheerful murmur, cocking his head towards the portrait, not sure if the portrait would be able to hear him. "He sounds like an elephant."
