“Yeah… It seems to consider itself a damn comedian.” He muttered in annoyance, though he would argue that sometimes it felt like it listened to them for ideas, at least when it came to the timing of whatever it threw at him. Glancing at the blood underfoot, he huffed. “Exactly. There’s got to be something that caused all that. Even if we haven’t seen it yet…” The professor would be happier if they could avoid running into it, of course. But he doubted they would escape a glimpse of whatever dangerous entities prowled this place.
“Fair point…” Waver muttered, still not liking the idea of talking about it or even acknowledging his reflection. With any luck, this change in the mirrors meant they wouldn’t be seeing it again. Not that he had that kind of luck. Sighing, he raised his shoulder’s in a shrug. “It looks like my younger self. You probably would find him annoying. I had a hell of an attitude and was pretty whiny and prone to making stupid decisions.” He could stand there all day listing off the bad traits he possessed back then. Sure, he still possessed some of them now, but he was far better at conducting himself and not letting some things rise to the surface. Instead, he grimaced and added. “Problem is, it seems like a version of myself that has more skill with magic than it should.” Sometimes, before he covered the mirror, he’d caught glimpses of himself doing things that Waver knew he damn well never could. Not back then, and certainly not now.
Hearing the rest of Illyana’s story, though? That made the wrinkles between his brow deepened rather severely. Not only was that damn complicated as magic went, but it also was a hell of a thing to go through… Mages pushing too far while thinking they were greater than they were, though? Tale as old as time, as they said. “So mages are about the same in your world as they are in mind. Damned overconfident and pushing into territory they can’t possibly fathom because they think that much of themselves.” He muttered, shaking his head. That said, the magus glanced at Illyana with some curiosity. “That said, you have your soul back now. Or at least I presume so, based on the way you describe the Darkchilde. So while she still exists in other realities and through the mirror, you overcame that problem yourself?”
Which definitely meant she was more powerful than he might have first considered. Good thing they weren’t enemies, he supposed. Not that it didn’t leave him feeling a slight prickle of thought that keeping on her good side would be smarter. Not that he could avoid grumping at her based on how she very clearly was the kind of person skilled at pushing his buttons.
The compliment gets a dry tone and a small shrug. “I’ve just made peace with my own inadequacies and have other goals than focusing on gaining more power.” He’d worked hard to make up for what he lacked, even if he did feel the inferiority based on his skills as strongly now as he did back then. It didn’t control him, it only drove him to try to learn as much as he could to make up for what he lacked, all so he could do better next time he had the chance to stand by a certain King’s side. That wasn’t to say, though, that he couldn’t be pushed to some desperation, especially if it involved that goal. He was only human, after all. Just a slightly more cautious human that would take the risks into consideration first.
And there she went again, pushing his buttons. It was hard to not frown so deeply that it seemed a risk for his face to freeze that way as she laughed at his happless state and over the top reaction. “We back to using me as a one-man show again, huh?” He bit out in annoyance, calling back to their meeting with a frustrated huff as he tried to regain his composure. Pushing some of his hair back, he tried to focus on her next words. “If this place works at least somewhat like the other place that people going through the mirrors ended up in, there should be mirrors to exit… If not, then breaking whatever ward is in place would be the next best thing to get out.” Both were time-consuming, both required a search… But at least the mirrors seemed like a slightly more sure thing. “Looking for a mirror out might be a good place to start, while keeping an eye out for anything that might be related to the ward in case we’re unsuccessful.”
no subject
“Fair point…” Waver muttered, still not liking the idea of talking about it or even acknowledging his reflection. With any luck, this change in the mirrors meant they wouldn’t be seeing it again. Not that he had that kind of luck. Sighing, he raised his shoulder’s in a shrug. “It looks like my younger self. You probably would find him annoying. I had a hell of an attitude and was pretty whiny and prone to making stupid decisions.” He could stand there all day listing off the bad traits he possessed back then. Sure, he still possessed some of them now, but he was far better at conducting himself and not letting some things rise to the surface. Instead, he grimaced and added. “Problem is, it seems like a version of myself that has more skill with magic than it should.” Sometimes, before he covered the mirror, he’d caught glimpses of himself doing things that Waver knew he damn well never could. Not back then, and certainly not now.
Hearing the rest of Illyana’s story, though? That made the wrinkles between his brow deepened rather severely. Not only was that damn complicated as magic went, but it also was a hell of a thing to go through… Mages pushing too far while thinking they were greater than they were, though? Tale as old as time, as they said. “So mages are about the same in your world as they are in mind. Damned overconfident and pushing into territory they can’t possibly fathom because they think that much of themselves.” He muttered, shaking his head. That said, the magus glanced at Illyana with some curiosity. “That said, you have your soul back now. Or at least I presume so, based on the way you describe the Darkchilde. So while she still exists in other realities and through the mirror, you overcame that problem yourself?”
Which definitely meant she was more powerful than he might have first considered. Good thing they weren’t enemies, he supposed. Not that it didn’t leave him feeling a slight prickle of thought that keeping on her good side would be smarter. Not that he could avoid grumping at her based on how she very clearly was the kind of person skilled at pushing his buttons.
The compliment gets a dry tone and a small shrug. “I’ve just made peace with my own inadequacies and have other goals than focusing on gaining more power.” He’d worked hard to make up for what he lacked, even if he did feel the inferiority based on his skills as strongly now as he did back then. It didn’t control him, it only drove him to try to learn as much as he could to make up for what he lacked, all so he could do better next time he had the chance to stand by a certain King’s side. That wasn’t to say, though, that he couldn’t be pushed to some desperation, especially if it involved that goal. He was only human, after all. Just a slightly more cautious human that would take the risks into consideration first.
And there she went again, pushing his buttons. It was hard to not frown so deeply that it seemed a risk for his face to freeze that way as she laughed at his happless state and over the top reaction. “We back to using me as a one-man show again, huh?” He bit out in annoyance, calling back to their meeting with a frustrated huff as he tried to regain his composure. Pushing some of his hair back, he tried to focus on her next words. “If this place works at least somewhat like the other place that people going through the mirrors ended up in, there should be mirrors to exit… If not, then breaking whatever ward is in place would be the next best thing to get out.” Both were time-consuming, both required a search… But at least the mirrors seemed like a slightly more sure thing. “Looking for a mirror out might be a good place to start, while keeping an eye out for anything that might be related to the ward in case we’re unsuccessful.”