Work Text:
The Sage of Truth had been a bit overworked as of late.
Grading his students' finals, helping the townspeople, signing contracts... recently, people have been coming from all over to get his knowledge, resulting in constant banging on his academy door. He's had to hire security to ensure the safety of his students, which was another headache in itself.
He was just on his way to the grocery store, in a disguise. He rarely used illusions, but everything was too much. He didn't want to have to give a bajillion autographs just to get some food. It was a businessman disguise, one that went by Blueberry Cobbler. Normally, his magic was flawless, but he was so tired lately that he couldn't really be bothered to work out the small flaws.
"That'll be 48 gold, sir," the cashier said, holding their hand out for the money. Blueberry Cobbler was snapped out of his mind, the haze of exhaustion seemingly becoming even heavier. He dug in his pocket and handed them the coins, spacing out as they counted it. "That's all. Have a nice day!"
"You as well," he replied, giving a swift wave. He was so, so tired. This was the first time he'd gotten groceries in... what, two, three weeks? He hadn't been counting, all he knew was that he was starving. While his Soul Jam prevented him from dying by any mortal means, it didn't mean he couldn't suffer the side effects. He'd been getting nourishment from instant ramen and stale bread, which was barely anything at all, and he'd already finished it the other day. He silently scolded himself on his way back. If anyone else had done that, he'd have practically forced food down their throat—but then again, he wasn't anyone else.
Shaking away any lingering thoughts, Blueberry Cobbler approached the Blueberry Academy. While his office was indeed inside, his living quarters were not. Going around the large building to its back, he stood where the grass was just an ever so slightly different shade. With a flick of his wrist, the ground opened up, closing behind him as he descended into the dark space. Having his home be hard to find was crucial considering how well known and desired he was for his knowledge. Although his own safety was nearly guaranteed no matter where he lived, as he was extremely adept at magic and only knew of one person who was at his own level, he couldn't say the same for the attacker, and he didn't exactly want a reputation for killing.
The Sage of Truth removed his illusion, the business casual outfit blending and melting into his usual white and blue bodysuit. It was, admittedly, less taken care of than usual, like the rest of him. Wrinkled, with some minor stains from coffee spills and such. His lip twitched into a sneer when he caught the sight in the mirror, heterochromatic eyes falling upon his hair as well. Normally starry and flowy behind him , now melting and dripping everywhere he went, the fallen droplets, rejoining once he was far away enough. Some droplets fell to the ground, while most remained in the air where they had separated.
Sighing, Sage placed his groceries onto his desk. He didn't have a kitchen table, as he rarely ever had nothing to work on, and if he truly wanted a dinner experience, he'd go out. There was a small corner he reserved for his food, though, as he didn't want any bread crumbs or juice drops falling into gears or ink due to his own carelessness. He quickly assembled a sandwich, telekinetically of course, as his hands were far too busy signing papers and grading work. His coffee would be done brewing soon, and—
Clatter.
"Ah," Sage murmured. It was likely just a rabbit or squirrel that had snuck in when he had entered, nothing to worry about. He sighed, pushing himself out from his chair and taking a quick bite of his sandwich before standing up to go find the poor critter. It certainly didn't belong in here, and it was probably scared out of its nonexistent wits.
"Helloooo~?" He sang, levitating instead of walking so as not to scare the animal with the clack of his heels. "It's alright, I won't hurt you! Just come on out and I'll have you back out in your home in no time, alright little buddy?" He proposed to an empty space. His voice echoed through the domain, yet no responding sound was heard. Not a click, hiss, purr, nothing.
Then, suddenly, footsteps. They were fast, as if running, coming from somewhere behind Sage.
How.
Incredibly.
Bold.
To sneak into his private quarters?! Sage would have to congratulate them before he ripped them apart! How brave, how experimental! Unfortunately, he wouldn't be allowing anyone that knew where his abode resided to be going and yammering to anyone else.
"You have 10 seconds to show yourself," the scholar hissed, summoning his staff from where it'd been propped up on the wall. "One..." He began counting, strutting through his home with confidence. He made sure his heels clacked loudly on the ground, so much so that the sound echoed. "Two..."
He heard the footsteps continuing throughout the hidden dwelling, and he could've sworn he heard them pick something up. Now, that simply wouldn't do! To follow him into his home, refuse to show themself, and then STEAL?! The Sage considered himself someone rather merciful, but mercy fell short in the face of a bruised ego. "Thr—"
Something hit Sage in the back of his head, hard. He fell to the ground, staff clattering to the floor a foot or so beside him. Now, the injury didn't faze him at all—at least not physically—but the sheer disrespect did. He immediately got back up on his feet, slit pupils narrowing further, like an animal hunting prey. The figure's details were indistinguishable—an illusion, and a rather strong one at that—kept them from being distinct.
The Sage waved a hand to dismiss the spell, the enchantment familiar on his tongue. Yet, nothing happened. The facade stayed strong, not faltering or breaking in the slightest.
"Remarkable," he muttered, looking up at the silhouette. Never had he ever had someone's power even hold up to his, especially not when he was actively trying to dispell it. He thought he heard a scoff, but he didn't have time to pay attention to it before a staff's head came crashing into his own.
Who did this person think they were?! He was the Sage of Truth, the former FOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE, how DARE they do this to him?! He cohld shut down the Blueberry Academy whenever he saw fit, he could spread deceit and lie to these people on a whim, and yet he chose to be graceful, MERCIFUL, and THIS is what he recieved?!
He was so caught up in his own anger that he failed to notice or sense the spell that the other was conjuring—a sleeping spell, one that would put its victim in deep slumber, that of which's length would depend on the strength of the enchantment.
"Wait—" the scholar stuttered, attempting to dispell or reverse it, but the casting here was just as effective as before, and with his consciousness slipping away, his own magic was sloppy at best. Before it all faded to black, he saw a 4 pointed, light blue star on the attacker's forehead. A cult symbol? A demon? Perhaps...
His eyes fell shut.
⋮°˖✧𓆩✧𓆪✧˖°⋮
The Sage awoke in a large room on a canopy bed. There were at least five comforters on top of him and one below him. All black, much like everything else in the room. The many, many pillows, the very makeup of the bed itself, the walls, flooring, carpet, etc. Getting up, he saw there was a sliding on the far side of the wall to his left; a closet filled with heavy looking robes, shades of dark blue accompanied by gold accents. A few baggy T-shirts and sweatpants, in a container, along with what he assumed were undergarments. There was something yellow in the very, very back. He was just about to move aside the others to look more closely at the outlier, when he heard a familiar voice.
"Sage," it said, in that lovely, grumpy tone that the mage loved oh-so-much. A grin formed on his face immediately as he turned to face the source.
Standing in the doorframe was Truthless Recluse, his dearest other half. His dirty blonde hair had grown a bit since he had last seen him, now almost brushing against his shoulders. His curtain bangs framed his beautiful face, a stray lock that always seemed to be there hanging in the middle, just on his nose. His eyes, heterochromatic yellow and blue, held bags and exhaustion, ashy colored sitting just above them. His brown skin was dull and somewhat sickly looking from rarely going outside. Instead of his usual robes draped over him to hide every possible inch, he was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top, both an dark gray that was probably black once.
In his hands, a plate and a cup.
"Oh, Recluse!" Sage cried, draping the back of his hand over his forehead and tilting his head up. "You'd never believe what happened! Someone, somehow, got into my home, fooled me, fought me, and-!"
"That was me."
"...Wha?
"You heard me," the hermit said, walking over to the bed, resting the plate on his lap and patting the space next to him with his newly freed hand. "That was me."
The Sage blinked for a moment in shock, pausing for a moment before walking over to sit by him. Truthless Recluse passed the plate and cup to the other silently. The plate contained two small blueberry fritters, some apple slices, and a turkey sandwich. The cup smelt of his favorite tea, he didn't even have to look at it to know. "My Recluse," he began, clutching the cup a little tighter, "Why would you do that?"
"You've been overworking yourself, you fool," he responded. He flicked Sage on the forehead, right where the strange mark on his forehead was. "And don't you even start to tell me I could've been less crude about it, because you know that if I'd let you been aware it was me, you would've been much more prepared, and if I'd simply told you to quite with the... whatever it is you think you're doing, you would've either said no or said yes and then not actually ceased."
The Sage of Truth rolled his eyes, but did not try to make a defense argument. After all, what could he say? He knew Truthless Recluse was right. "So you're not my knight in shining armor that found me knocked out, being dragged away by someone, and came to save me?" He asked, pouting. The pout didn't last long though, as he was soon too distracted by devouring the turkey sandwich, swaying side to side in contentment.
"I saved you from yourself."
"Not the same."
They sat in silence for a bit, Sage examining the room further. There was a dark brown vanity on the other side of the room, with a couple of framed pictures he couldn't quite make out the contents of from where he was, especially without his monocle, contacts, glasses, or anything of the sort. The scholar made a joke about how little saturation there was, taking note of the very, very little color present in the room. He was given a huff and told to shut up, making a sly smirk appear on his face.
"...Quite the minimalist lifestyle, no?" Sage said off handedly, biting into the first blueberry fritter. "All you really have is clothes, that vanity, and a holder for your staff. Speaking of which, how does your staff work, anyways? What's with the eyes? Is it sentient or alive?"
Truthless Recluse stayed silent for a moment, as if processing the questions, before answering. "I suppose it is minimalist. Certainly not as grand as yours, at least," he responded, "and as for my staff, I see through its eyes. It's not alive in a typical sense, but more so like a plant. Just a very useful plant that I could enchant to do things. Sentience, I'm not entirely sure. I believe it may be linked to my own, but I can't be fucked to figure it out."
"Interesting... You wouldn't mind if I took a quick look—"
"Over my dead body," Truthless Recluse interrupted. "You didn't really think I was gonna let you dissect my staff for your strange experiments, did you?"
"I wasn't going to disect it, the most I would've done was take a sample or two!" Sage said, putting a hand to his chest. "You wound me so, Recluse!"
With a roll of his eyes, the other stood, beckoning for the Sage of Truth to follow. They traveled through the Spire of Deceit, which the scholar soon came to realize was much, much larger than he had anticipated. Perhaps even the exterior was a mere facade. Staircases moved and disappeared, walls would slide in and out of place, making new passageways and closing old ones, and there were windows in the middle of the air that showed random places in Crispia—The Desert of Abundance, The Pagoda of Resolution, the Garden of Passion, the Land of Freedom, and even the Sage's own place of origination before traveling here to establish the Blueberry Academy; the Spire of Truth, now completely broken down and nothing more than ruins. Not that he cared, he'd hated that place.
"So, where are we going?" The Sage asked after a little bit of walking.
"Your room."
"My room..?"
"You'll be staying here for the next... at the very least a week considering your current state. Did you think I would have you sleep in the middle of my spire?" The hermit asked, voice almost offended. "The only reason I had left you in my room was because the spire hadn't yet finished forming one for you." A hum of acknowledgment was the response given—nothing more, nothing less.
Once they'd been walking for quite a bit, Truthless Recluse stopped in front of a door. He gestured for the other to enter.
"Gentlemen first~!" Sage sang, receiving a prompt, light bonk to the head with the healer's corrupted orchid staff. "Geez, alright, alright! So pushy..."
He stepped inside, looking around. Another canopy bed, this time in the corner of the room with the closet right next to it, along with a nightstand. A dresser was found on the opposite wall, as well as a small table with Sage's hat on top and his staff leaning against it.
Hadn't finished forming a room yet his ass.
"How luxurious!" The mage chirped, spinning around. "Although, I can't help but notice the lack of a... working space? Y'know, it's grading season, and my students—"
"I am aware, you fool. Why do you think you're here?"
"Okay, yes, but overworking and merely working aren't the same!"
"For you, they are," Truthless Recluse huffed, crossing his arms. "There will be nothing in here for you to work with. No essays, no paperwork, or anything of the sort. Do you even know the state you were in when I took you? Your magic was so weak."
Sage pouted but didn't protest. Truthless Recluse was making too many good points and he had no leg to stand on. He hadn't even been able to discard a glamour! "Fine, fine..." He mumbled, plopping down on the bed and crossing his legs. "Will my darling other half at least lay with me for a bit?"
"...Spoiled."