Chapter Text
After decades of running and fighting, the soon-to-be-lovers were the only two left.
That is, they were the only two who hadn’t picked their mentors yet.
They sat awkwardly on the bench together, two figures dwarfed by the giant amphitheater. Onstage, their friends stood next to their chosen mentors in an elaborate ceremony. Some locals, the other new students at the Legato Conservatory, had filled in the benches on either side of the couple, but now they too had chosen their crafts. Lup and Barry were alone.
“Lup and Barry Bluejeans?” came a disembodied voice, amplified by a mix of illusion magic and some wicked acoustics. “Lup and Barry Bluejeans.” The other students began to murmur onstage, and the other members of IPRE looked puzzled. Magnus put one large hand up to his eyes to try to look out at his friends through the harsh lights.
“GUYS? This is the part where you come up and pick an art or whatever. So we can find the Light of Creation? SAVE THE WORLD? ARE Y’THERE?” The locals didn’t seem to know how to react to his “save the world” comment, heavy words Magnus said so casually into the crisp night air. They continued to murmur, and by now their mentors had joined in.
Barry and Lup looked at each other, as they had, in fact, been doing the entire time. “WHAT?” yelled Lup, not moving. “YOU’LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP, MAGGIE.” At this, Barry snorted, only moving his hand from Lup’s for a brief second to push his glasses back onto his nose.
“I SAID-“ Magnus yelled before Taako cut him off with a hand, using all his willpower not to burst out laughing as well. Whatever magical charm magnified the announcer’s voice also worked on the whole stage, and Magnus’s yelling had essentially triggered feedback, a telepathic screech that made everyone on the premises claw at their ears. Everyone, that is, except Lup and Barry, who were still laughing.
“LUP AND BARRY-” the announcer’s voice took a second to adjust to the feedback. “Ahem. Excuse me. Lup and Barry Bluejeans, if you could just join a professor onstage and- oh? What’s that?” Everyone looked around, unsure of what to do and still recovering from the magical screech. “Well, that seems highly unli—okay. Yes. I’ll deal with it.” The voice sounded faint, like the speaker had backed away from a microphone, but now it returned to its original volume.
“Uhm, Professors Kaye and Coinpike, you are excused from the rest of the ceremony. It appears there is a… situation, in the Caverns of the Light of Creation. Your guidance is required immediately.” All eyes (except for Taako’s and Merle’s, who were trying to figure out where the announcer’s voice was coming from, to no avail) turned towards the only two professors on stage who hadn’t yet acquired any students. The first was a very large elven woman, tan skinned with cheerful eyes. Professor Kaye wore her wild, curly hair in a loose, lopsided curl of a bun sitting on the top of her head, the most orderly thing about her. She wore at least three visible layers of sweaters over at least two pairs of shredded leggings, feathers and what appeared to be animal fur clinging to the whole ensemble. When Lup saw her, she absentmindedly wondered exactly why she hadn’t been chosen yet. She was clearly much cooler than her squarish colleagues.
Professor Coinpike stood almost comically in contrast to Professor Kaye, and yet still a strange sight on his own. He was a cleanshaven dwarf, the lack of beard making him seem even smaller than he should have been. Not only that, he was the best dressed of the faculty, wearing a crisp tailcoat more suited for a high-profile concert than a school ceremony. When he heard the orders from the disembodied announcer, his already-pronounced scowl deepened.
“Are we to leave without students, then?” he complained in a surprisingly gruff voice, an accent neither Barry nor Lup could place. “Are we supposed to twiddle our thumbs all year?” Professor Coinpike glared at a nearby group of students, all huddled around the willowy modern dance instructor. It seemed to Barry that the Professor didn’t appreciate being shown up. Professor Kaye, meanwhile, seemed less concerned. She was almost smiling, her eyes fixed on the couple in the audience. The voice over the speaker cleared its throat. Before it could reply, Lup was already standing up, hoisting Barry up with her with one strong arm.
“I want to learn from her.” Lup pointed at Professor Kaye, who didn’t react. Uncomfortable with being the center of attention, and painfully aware of the heavy weight of every curious pair of eyes in the venue, Barry hurried to speak up next.
“I-I think I’ll learn from Professor…. Coinpike, was it?” The professor in question had started to turn red.
“You don’t know who I am? Where have you been? I am the most decorated member of this faculty, and you have the gall to—” Barry looked like he was about to melt under the professor’s words. Lup squeezed his hand and interrupted.
“Well, if you don’t want him, I’m sure my professor would be happy to let Barry here join me in learning, uh…”
“Violin, dear.” Professor Kaye supplied, her first words the whole ceremony.
“You don’t even know what disciplines you’re entering?" shouted Professor Coinpike, insulted.
“It’s settled, then.” said the disembodied voice, hurrying to finish the ceremony. “Lup of New Elfington will study under Professor Kaye and Barold Bluejeans will study under Professor Coinpike.” Barry paled even more at the sound of his full name. “Congratulations to our newest class, and I wish you all the best. May the Light of Creation guide your hands.”