Chapter Text
Auric sighed in satisfaction as his assistant closed the double doors behind her. Another problem solved and taken care of. With any luck, Ms. Altrue wouldn’t be coming back with more grievances anytime soon. He had enough on his plate as it was.
The magician looked down at the text on his phone. He should probably get ready for his next appointment--Necromancers did so resent tardiness and he couldn’t afford to lose this deal.
But then, he supposed a few minutes lost wouldn’t make him terribly late...
He leant back in his leather seat a bit, clearing his mind. “I think we should talk,” he spoke lowly into the air. If anyone had been in the empty room with Auric, it would have been obvious his Estuary accent had been replaced with a more loose Cockney as it resonated across the metal panels and glass cases along the walls. Alas, no one was in the room to notice such a thing.
After a moment, the arms dealer felt a questioning pulse in his conscious, one that didn’t feel his own.
Auric shrugged. “When did we last have a real talk? Won’t do any harm, would it?”
After waiting for a few moments and feeling nothing in his mind, he sat back up to see a figure in one of the reflective platinum panels along the walls. The figure looked exactly like him, from the top of his gelled, slick hair to the tips of his shined, black shoes. It had his posture, his clothes, his face, right down to his signature grin. A perfect reflection.
Then the reflection stepped out of the mirror.
Auric gave the mirror figure a slight smile in greeting, standing to lean on his own desk and offer the other his seat.
If anyone else had been there, they might have taken the image as a mere reflection, a construct made of magic with no conscious or free will of any kind. Of course, Auric knew better. After all, how could he not know his own twin brother?
Argent Duplicit, Speclomancer and the biggest secret that they both worked so hard to conceal, smirked and took the proffered seat. The silver twin spun a bit in the swivel chair to face his brother once more. “So, what did you think of her?”
Auric gave him a look. “You know what I think. Self-righteous, overbearing and stuck-up.”
Argent raised a brow in response. “You also thought she was very pretty.”
“That was before she started talking,” he muttered, crossing his arms and glaring a bit at the floor, “Now she’s just pretty annoying.”
The elder twin laughed slightly at this, leaning back in the leather chair. “Fair enough. Honestly, she hated the carpeting outside. She’d just sat there, glaring at it.” They both sniggered at this for a moment before Argent came down with a sage look. “But...”
Auric looked back to his twin, giving him a curious expression. “But what?”
“I think we should be careful,” the Speclomancer said, “She may become more than just a thorn in our side in the future.”
“Oh, please.” The younger twin rolled his eyes, standing from his place against the desk to walk around it and waving a hand in dismissal. “She’s hardly a blip on the radar.”
“We have every reason to be cautious,” he said, leaning forward, ”If there’s anyone who can find out about us, it’s a Telepath.”
Auric scoffed, shaking his head and gesturing toward the doors behind him. “Didn’t you hear her? She’s a huge emotional softie. I’ll bet she has some policy to not read anyone’s mind without ‘asking’ first.”
“Doesn’t mean we should provoke her,” Argent countered.
“Hey, she’s the one who came and decided to talk, not me,” Auric sank into one of the chairs in front of the desk. At his twin’s dry look, the younger leaned forward. “Alright, look. As long as we don’t treat her as a threat, she won’t be one. Problem free, secret safe. Happy?”
The duo maintained eye contact for a long moment, before Argent nodded and leant back in the chair. “Fine. We’ll do this your way.”
“Glad to see things worked out.” Auric smiled, savouring the small triumph.
“But that means neither of us try to bang her.”
The smile dropped instantly. “Now you’re just taking the fun out of it.”
If the assistant sitting at her desk outside the office hadn’t been so oblivious, she might have just thought that she heard her boss’ laughter overlapping itself. Almost as though there were two of him. But of course, that would be ridiculous.
Right?