Eventually, Cox realized that he hadn't actually seen Stephen and Sarah since... Jordan's sorting, wasn't it? Given that he theoretically considered them friends, and that they lived in the same House (well, Stephen officially and Sarah unofficially), that was probably not really acceptable. He decided to take the opportunity to go say hi, leaving Lily and Ed to geek about charms or whatever for a bit.
On the way over, he was slightly sidetracked by one of Homsar's outbursts, and he was still a bit distracted when he approached them. "So.. I'm totally not the only one who sees Staypuft over there, right?" he asked, by way of an icebreaker.
Sarah turned to face Cox, earlier possessiveness still evident as she looked him over and then smiled in greeting - she had not quite determined if he too was a threat after the mudwrestling, but since Stephen was current angry at him and had dueled him before, he probably was not. Speaking of Stephen mad... her gaze moved from Stephen to Cox and back again betrayed her nervousness at what would be coming next between them, though she laughed at the comment.
"Nope, he's really there," she said, hand on Stephen's thigh tightening. "That's Professor Homsar and I promise that's not ectoplasm in that glass on his head and you aren't going to need a proton pack to defend against him. He's just... a bit unique, though really observant if you figure out what he's saying."
Gaze went to Stephen again, preparing for any number of scathing remarks about to be launched at Cox.
Stephen did not catch the Ghostbusters references at all, not a single one. He did, however, think it pathetic that Cox could not recognise the brilliance of the erudite Professor Homsar. Pathetic, but unsurprising.
Cox, who'd been around the block enough that he usually could recognize when there were signs, but was often too insensitive or self-centered to know what they actually meant, caught both Sarah's little glances and the curtness in Stephen's voice, but he had no idea what possible meaning either could hold towards him, so he assumed they had nothing to do with him. Sarah liked him, and Stephen was just kind of a pissy guy, so the one was probably about something else, and the other was just irrelevant.
Anyway, he was still totally weirded out by Homsar. Staring over at the... thing, he took a sip of his drink and swallowed hard. "So... that thing over there actually teaches classes here? I mean, from what I've been seeing so far, incomprehensible gibberish from a floating pillow is probably a step up from most of the teachers here--present company excluded there, Doc, don't go pulling a pit of mud or a stray pony or anything on me--but still, I... what exactly does he teach?" he asked, shaking his head, truly bewildered.
Stephen had one weakness well-known to those who had known him long, and that was to believe he understood more about certain mystifying topics than in fact he did. Generally this took the form of mangling nautical terminology. Now, Cox's remarks inspired him to defend Professor Homsar with all the command of arithmantic concepts he believed he possessed.
"Professor Homsar teaches Arithmancy, an arcane and incredibly complex form of magic," he explained, in a tone clearly meant to convey that everyone with any sense knew this already. "He has become a high master of the art. In fact, the other day I met an applicant who had come here precisely to study Arithmancy with the good professor, most specifically 'pluttification,' which I understand to involve the most complex and demanding calculations."
Stifling the urge to let face meet bar, Sarah kept on smiling. Of all the things Cox had to pick to talk about while Stephen was furious with him, he had to go after the professor Stephen was certain was some kind of genius. This was going to get ugly, she could see it now. And miming was not going to help at all.
Wait, stray ponies?
Pony thoughts were diverted momentarily, however, at Stephen speaking to Cox. Despite herself and the fact that this could still well get worse, she was adoring that tone of voice. Possibly because she was not at the receiving end of it. Once again though, she was left going 'what?' - this time at something Stephen had said.
"Wait a second, did you say 'pluttification?' The applicant didn't happen to be a little girl with bright red hair in braids that stuck out on either side?" she asked Stephen, gesturing with her hands. She had not missed sorting Pippi Longstocking!
Cox had gotten as far as 'Arithmancy' and then tuned out again, continuing to stare at the thoroughly bizarre Homsar, who had definitely topped the mudwrestling and the talking ducks and cats on his increasingly lengthy 'most fucked-up things at Hogwarts' list.
He tried to shake it off and looked back to Stephen and Sarah with a disarming grin. "Sorry, what? Doc, it's your voice, it just zones me right the hell out... Actually, I've been having some trouble sleeping, lately, could I record some of your lectures? Or maybe you could just come to my room every night and talk at me for a bit?" This was teasing, and he assumed they understood. Taking a drink, he leaned against the bar and smiled at them. "So, how've you guys been?"
"Much as the invitation appeals, I am afraid my bedside manner is best deployed elsewhere," Stephen said, dryly. "Have you lost already your succubus, then?" It was a blatant reference to what he thought to be Cox's lie, namely, that Jordan was a demon. Stephen believed Cox had deliberately misled Sarah in order to secure a squib vote for the woman, who while sharp-tongued certainly was no less human than Cox himself (admittedly, that was a low bar to set).
Of course, Cox had no idea about any of this. Hell, he had no idea about most of the stuff that went through Stephen's incredibly opaque mind. "My what now?" He looked blankly to Stephen, then to Sarah, wondering if maybe she could shed some light on what, as far as he was concerned, was yet another thing to be tucked into the Doc Maturin Is A Psycho file. Maybe he meant the ponies? Was this some kind of beastiality jibe, or... OH.
Light dawned, and he snickered. "What, you mean Jordan? I think 'losing her' would have to imply that I, y'know, wanted her to begin with, but ten points for effort, Doc."
Only by virtue of the fact she was certain Cox was kidding did Sarah refrain from verbally smacking him down at the comments about Stephen coming to his room every night. For the moment she silently watched the two for a good place to interrupt. Maybe a distraction was in order, should she get Homsar's attention for a new game? Not Twister though, that would only end in disaster.
Intending to answer honestly about how they had been and then ask him how he had been, she paused when Stephen spoke and then winced. When Cox's attention turned to her, she returned his look with an apologetic one of her own over the conversation that had spawned Stephen's current anger with Cox. Distract, maybe try to give Cox a head's up without just talking about the demon misunderstanding? She was certain the word demon would just set off more tension. Granted, she truly had believed him, but because it had seemed plausible
( ... )
Stephen regarded his glass, still more than half full, and wondered why on earth Sarah proposed refills. He arched one eyebrow at her. "I take it you wish us to drink even more than we otherwise might be inclined to do."
Clearly Stephen was not being a good influence on Sarah. The times that Cox had been with her before, she'd seemed totally normal, or at least as normal as this place ever got, and now she was mugging at him and giving him all these weird looks... He returned her pointed stare with a completely confused one of his own, then glanced down at his glass which, though being his fourth or fifth, was definitely not yet in need of a refill.
"I'm... good for the moment, actually," he told her, blinking, and looked back over to Stephen, who seemed just as confused as he was. "Anyway, I haven't seen Jordan in days, bless her horrible little heart."
Stephen looked back and forth between Sarah and Cox, not liking the feel of this exchange at all. If Sarah had been gullible enough to buy Cox's lie about Jordan's ... species? ... why was she behaving now as though she were somehow in collusion with the man?
"Tell me, Cox, what sort of heart has a demon got? What is its structure? I ask since you are the only man I know who claims a familiarity with demonic anatomy."
Well, that had failed miserably. Shaking her head, she looked between them, sighed and then looked at Stephen at his question. "Just being polite," she said to him, and then reached over the bar for the glass jar of orange juice for her own glass. They were on their own now if they wanted to keep talking about Jordan. At least the most they could do was trade venomous comments while she winced. Right?
The only problem was that there was no venom coming from Cox, for once in his life, and that made the whole fight kind of one-sided. Still, with Stephen's rather cool questioning and Sarah's strange wincing, he was starting to get the idea that something was off. Unfortunately, four or five glasses of scotch weren't really helping his clarity, and he squinted at Stephen, muddled.
"Are we... still talking about Jordan, here? I'm pretty sure that she doesn't have a heart, to be honest. Or, wait, that's right, I think she actually tore it out ten years ago and encased it in ice in the hopes that it would help her stay forever young."
On the way over, he was slightly sidetracked by one of Homsar's outbursts, and he was still a bit distracted when he approached them. "So.. I'm totally not the only one who sees Staypuft over there, right?" he asked, by way of an icebreaker.
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"Nope, he's really there," she said, hand on Stephen's thigh tightening. "That's Professor Homsar and I promise that's not ectoplasm in that glass on his head and you aren't going to need a proton pack to defend against him. He's just... a bit unique, though really observant if you figure out what he's saying."
Gaze went to Stephen again, preparing for any number of scathing remarks about to be launched at Cox.
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"Cox," he said, curtly, with a nod.
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Anyway, he was still totally weirded out by Homsar. Staring over at the... thing, he took a sip of his drink and swallowed hard. "So... that thing over there actually teaches classes here? I mean, from what I've been seeing so far, incomprehensible gibberish from a floating pillow is probably a step up from most of the teachers here--present company excluded there, Doc, don't go pulling a pit of mud or a stray pony or anything on me--but still, I... what exactly does he teach?" he asked, shaking his head, truly bewildered.
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"Professor Homsar teaches Arithmancy, an arcane and incredibly complex form of magic," he explained, in a tone clearly meant to convey that everyone with any sense knew this already. "He has become a high master of the art. In fact, the other day I met an applicant who had come here precisely to study Arithmancy with the good professor, most specifically 'pluttification,' which I understand to involve the most complex and demanding calculations."
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Wait, stray ponies?
Pony thoughts were diverted momentarily, however, at Stephen speaking to Cox. Despite herself and the fact that this could still well get worse, she was adoring that tone of voice. Possibly because she was not at the receiving end of it. Once again though, she was left going 'what?' - this time at something Stephen had said.
"Wait a second, did you say 'pluttification?' The applicant didn't happen to be a little girl with bright red hair in braids that stuck out on either side?" she asked Stephen, gesturing with her hands. She had not missed sorting Pippi Longstocking!
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He tried to shake it off and looked back to Stephen and Sarah with a disarming grin. "Sorry, what? Doc, it's your voice, it just zones me right the hell out... Actually, I've been having some trouble sleeping, lately, could I record some of your lectures? Or maybe you could just come to my room every night and talk at me for a bit?" This was teasing, and he assumed they understood. Taking a drink, he leaned against the bar and smiled at them. "So, how've you guys been?"
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Light dawned, and he snickered. "What, you mean Jordan? I think 'losing her' would have to imply that I, y'know, wanted her to begin with, but ten points for effort, Doc."
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Intending to answer honestly about how they had been and then ask him how he had been, she paused when Stephen spoke and then winced. When Cox's attention turned to her, she returned his look with an apologetic one of her own over the conversation that had spawned Stephen's current anger with Cox. Distract, maybe try to give Cox a head's up without just talking about the demon misunderstanding? She was certain the word demon would just set off more tension. Granted, she truly had believed him, but because it had seemed plausible ( ... )
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"I'm... good for the moment, actually," he told her, blinking, and looked back over to Stephen, who seemed just as confused as he was. "Anyway, I haven't seen Jordan in days, bless her horrible little heart."
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"Tell me, Cox, what sort of heart has a demon got? What is its structure? I ask since you are the only man I know who claims a familiarity with demonic anatomy."
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"Are we... still talking about Jordan, here? I'm pretty sure that she doesn't have a heart, to be honest. Or, wait, that's right, I think she actually tore it out ten years ago and encased it in ice in the hopes that it would help her stay forever young."
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