Jezz had been at dinner in the Great Hall with a pile of library books that had worked free of its initial neat column, wearing a baggy sweater that served to conceal the
gender bend he’d undergone at the holiday party. He’d kept what remained of the offending cider, though it had proved resistant to magical dissection, and a small sample of it sat in the original mug next to his plate as he alternated between eating, paging through text after text, and eying the Great Hall. He hadn’t seen Vhaeraun for some time and Jezz couldn’t say he was looking forward to their next meeting if he hadn’t found a cure yet.
There was a pitcher of apple juice on the table. He noticed it at the same time he saw Selvetarm enter from the corner of his eye, carrying another stack of books, and thought (if it could be called thought. Whimmed?) quickly. He picked up the pitcher and poured juice into both the cider mug and an empty one meant for coffee before turning toward the god (was he still?), who was quite close by now, and gesturing to the two mugs with an entirely genuine smile. “Ah, a fellow scholar.” He still wasn’t so great at the smooth facsimile of goodwill, that had always been Tzirik’s forte, but he thought he pulled it off well enough.
Later he wasn’t sure if he’d expected anything to come of it. Selvetarm would certainly be loath to accept a drink even given pick between two, and he might not even choose the one with cider in it – especially if he retained some power to read minds or the like (and Jezz would rather not contemplate that). But Selvetarm gave him a grin in return, put down his books, picked up the cider mug, and knocked it back.
Selvetarm, on his part, had been feeling recklessly cocky, perhaps with good reason. So his father’s follower was making an ill-concealed attempt to poison him? Poison couldn’t kill him here, and he remained immune to it anyway. But then, as Jezz had discovered to his grief, the enchanted cider didn’t seem to quite count as poison.
When Selvetarm lowered the mug, he was still grinning. That grin had become radiant, along with the rest of him, and silvery-blue motes of light had started to form in the vicinity. “Well met.”
( Repay rudeness with kindness… )((Backdated to shortly after the Little Green Apple party. Catch them anywhere between Slytherin and the Great Hall))