Fears and Further

"I guess it makes sense" fae muses out loud as if Martin isn't there, with nothing more than detached curiosity at the concept of him.
"I was the first person you met here. I imagine they expect me to show you the ropes. But I have a full time job already, so I'll have to let the welcoming committee take over. I hope you can have your things cleaned up before I get back tonight, though you may not see me if you fall asleep before midnight."

They get ready in an efficient flurry as they speak, shooting off a text while walking away (presumably to the people who will take the burden of Martin off their hands). Jon waves dismissively in farewell, without turning to look at him, before leaving through a familiar door. It hadn't been a ray of sun that woke him after all, but the flash of yellow so close to his bed.

Well. He should get ready before whatever introduction he's been signed up for arrives. It takes a while to find his toiletries and comfiest sweater (he'll probably need something soft to get through a day of socialization), and he's fiddling with his hair when the door that is always there shoots open.

He nearly falls from the shock, but a tall man with a charming smile grabs his hand with the one not on the door handle. The man dips him like in a tango, and then gracefully pulls him upright. He dusts off Martin's shoulders as if to smooth out the jagged spikes of his thundering heartbeat.

"I'm Tim, and this is-"

"Hello Martin. We're quite sorry for the scare." she gives Tim an admonishing stare,"I'm Sasha. He gets quite excited to initiate new students, so Sims' text", so that's fae's last name. Huh. She continues,
"Are you ready to begin the tour?"

He quickly gathers his phone and other necessities, and his trusty thermos. He hopes they have good tea here.

"Ah, yes. You probably need breakfast, let's head to the cafe first." it's quite evident that Sasha has all the braincells of the duo. Tim is endearingly flamboyant, but unaware of the more practical details. The two balance well, and their fondness for one another makes Martin feel a little safer in their hands.

"Yes, please."
Then he remembers what Dr. Robinson had said.
"I need to apply there, actually! So that's a perfect place to start." he exclaims louder than he meant to, and as they walk down the hall he gets a few stares for his outburst. He tries to call on what he had yesterday, and the stares slide off of him.

"Ah, so you're going to work there! Excellent! I might try to take advantage of your employee discount, if you let me." Tim grins, and Martin can't help but laugh at the half joke.

"It seems you draw on your anxiety for power, huh. That can be a little unreliable, but it's an okay place to start." Sasha muses, casually letting Martin know that magic draws on emotions.

"That makes sense, I guess." he replies, as the door to the shop rings cheerily.

"Welcome to Hilltop Cafe, 'where your cup is always topped off'" Sasha repeats their slogan with a grin, and Martin is filled with equal confusion and excitement at the idea of endless drinks. It sounds wonderful, but how is that profitable?

Drawn away from his thoughts, his eyes meet an expansive menu. There are teas he hasn't heard of, even some enchanted drinks (limited for safety reasons) that are served at another counter.

It seems to be the campus equivalent of a pharmacy, with magical (improved) versions of meds. There's more basic ones like focus, calming, energizing; and more specific ones, with a whole section for gender affirming care. It has an asterisk that more comprehensive treatment can be found at the school infirmary. He makes a mental note to go there later. He still has a week of t gel, but his imagination sings at the idea of magic top surgery.

Bakery goods aren't endless, so he imagines it profits much like a restaurant with an open buffet (in conjunction with the pharmacy section). People can only eat and drink so much, and the longer they stay with their drink the more food they get.

"I fucking love this place" he whispers

"It's not all sunshine and rainbows, but yeah, it's pretty great here." Tim agrees.

They order drinks and Martin finds at the counter that the application process has already been handled for him. His first training shift is tomorrow. The girl introduced as Georgie by her nametag smiles warmly at him and shakes his hand.

The rest of the tour is an overstimulating blur of information, but he tries to record the important bits on his phone to go over later. He flops into bed at 6pm, exhausted but happier than he's been in a very long time.

It's dark when he wakes up, his phone informs him that it's 10 pm. He finds compelled to appease Jon, totally not because they're cute, so he gets to work on putting his things away.

He'd been laying on his decluttered bed, in familiar sheets and soft pajamas, for only a few minutes by the time he hears the squeak of a door trying and failing to be opened quietly. Jon looks caught, guilty, as Martin turns to look at faer.

"It's alright, I wasn't asleep." Martin assures them

"Yeah, I know. Uh. Goodnight, Martin." Jon is more awkward than he's ever seen faer. Martin gets the message, and whispers a "goodnight" before turning over to give them privacy.

Jon grumbles about how loud Martin's being, presumably at the thoughts that keep him up at night, and he soon hears muffled metal being played by Jon's headphones. It's as good a white noise as any, with a lack of city traffic, and Martin soon finds rest.

The classes make sense in theory but not practice. Martin struggles in every skill but illusions, and even then he lags behind his classmates. The days pass quicker than he had expected, and before he realizes a week has passed.

Working at the cafe with Georgie is a delight. The tea is free for him, and is top quality stuff. She's kind in a blunt kind of way that makes him immediately trust her, and becomes a much needed grounding presence in Martin's upended life.

Tim and Sasha have grown from guides to new friends. It seems like they befriend almost everyone to some degree, but even so, Martin treasures their attention. They try to help tutor him, but he can't seem to find an explanation that clicks for him for other disciplines like illusions did, and they both are better at other fields. Sasha is drawn to Knowledge, she tries to figure out how things tick and experiments with altering spells. Tim is one of the rare Physical Kids, and manipulates the world around him in a viscerally instinctual way that makes Martin wonder what drives Tim under his flamboyant veneer.

They sit near a fountain, Sasha and Tim talking without much input from Martin. He just likes spending time around them. As his mind drifts, his gaze finds Jon. His roommate that does everything possible to avoid him since that first night. He's seen them four times since then, all of them unavoidable classes they shared. So, it's a shock of mixed feelings when he sees Jon. Did he do something wrong? He's happy to see him of course, especially since he looks so relaxed as he walks, lost in thought.

Tim follows Martin's stare and looks at Jon with scorn.
"They're an asshole for avoiding you, you know. I know that doesn't make you any less smitten" at this Martin makes a squeak of protest, which Tim sees as confirmation.

His face gets more serious,
"There's always one of them. Library staff who have access to more than any here, except maybe the professors, know. Usually born into power. In our year just to show us the power we lack." he glances at sasha with fierce protectiveness and pride.
"If Sash could trade places with fae, she'd graduate by the end of this year."
"Oh hush tim. Fae's right there, and I'm sure their prowess isn't solely due to privilege." she whispers admonishingly, though can't fully hide the spark of jealousy in her tone.

Quite obviously in response, Jon immediately stands up and walks away in a hurry. Fae doesn't try to hide that they heard, and the look of raw isolation breaking the calm on their face struck a chord in martin.
"Yeah tim, that was uncalled for. You don't need to demean others to compliment someone."
Sasha gives a nod at this, seeming to respect the often quiet man more for this moment he chose to speak out. He rushes to stand up too,
"I'm gonna follow them and apologize. It must be hard to have everyone treat them like that." at this, Tim's eyes flash with something like guilt before Martin turns away.

He speedwalks and barely catches up to Jon and fae sits down again to study in the campus library's cafe. He doesn't catch Georgie's stare in his single-minded focus.

All coherent practiced words leave Martin as Jon glances up at him, hovering between taking the seat across from them and standing. He clears his throat, needing none of Jon's telepathy to see that fae's eyes are groaning to get this interaction over with.

"I'm jealous. I-  you're just so cool, and good at magic and I just. I don't know how you do it." Martin winces as soon as the words leave his mouth.

"I study." fae visibly holds back an eye roll, gesturing to the books laid out on the table.

"Then you get it. I barely understand the basics. I need this place, and I'm terrified I'm gonna get kicked out."

"The library has barely taught me enough to not die, if that. And I had no parents to give me an edge before then. I knew of magic, but every bit of it I know, I've taught myself. If you think I have an advantage, you've been misinformed. I succeed by my own merit, Martin."
The speech feels familiar in a tired way, like a book worn from begrudging use.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed; blindly trusted gossip like that."
Martin feels thoroughly humiliated, and sits purely because he can no longer stand looking down at Jon.

The next thought comes as pure reflex.

But if you got kicked out, at least you wouldn't forget all of this.

He doesn't say it of course, but seconds later realizes from Jon's face that he'd forgotten that his mental wards were as effective as every other magic he'd attempted since his entrance exam. that is to say, not at all.

A conflicting series of unreadable expressions cross their face before reaching a precarious equilibrium.
Jon is careful, like the weight of their next words is as dangerous as it is fragile,
"If it ever came to that. If-" a sigh, resigned, "No. This offer should not be uttered, for risk of it binding you against your will. I can only say that there are ways to not forget. And should a time come when a solution is needed, I can tell you how. Not before, and if you try to find out, I will not be held responsible for your fate."

Jon makes it clear that it's the end of that line of conversation. Silence sits, neither easy nor uncomfortable, as Martin stews on this for a while. He's paralyzed in this cryptic comfort, given with such sudden determination. The immediate generosity thrown his way, as thorny as it is with red flags, makes Martin's heart bloom with warm appreciation.

He tries to school his face and thoughts and determines to change the subject.

"Since you understand the homework, could you help me out? I tend to learn better when someone can explain things to me. That is, if its not too much of a bother..." immediately he realizes how annoying he must seem.

"I uh. Nevermind. Sorry I asked. You probably just want peace and quiet, I'll leave you to your-" he begins standing up, but Jon clears faer throat.

"Fine. I suppose tutoring is as good a way to study as any. I think it's best to do practice than flash cards, and honestly the faster I can teach you mental wards the better for me anyway." they chuckle, the earlier storm in their eyes clearing at the excitement of a new challenge. Martin is reminded of Sasha, and thinks that Knowledge fits them as well as Psychic.

A few hours pass as Jon teaches him, and frustration turns to accomplishment as the sky darkens. Martin realizes how late it is as he takes yet another sip of the glorious endless and perfectly warm high caffeine blend. At this rate he probably won't be able to sleep, but he's inconvenienced Jon enough for one day.

They part abruptly after Jon's shock at Martin mentioning the time and fae barely mutters a goodbye as they rush through a yellow door opened for them alone. He presumes back to their mysterious job. Hopefully jon wouldn't get in trouble on his behalf.

A stoned Tim and Sasha entertain Martin's account of the day (though some private bits are left out) with intense curiosity and many giggles, until he runs out of caffiene-fueled steam and promptly passes out with them in a heap on the couch of the Physical kids' cottage.