It seems... Useless... [Open-ish]

A wave of relief washed over her when he complied with the one request, and while it may not have been as full of conviction or determination as she had hoped, it was almost enough. Almost. Placing the batch of flowers carefully off to the side, with a gentleness that prevented any of the petals from being damaged by force, Adeline held her hand up towards him. All of her fingers were curled up except for one - her pinky. While she made sure to keep a bit of distance between the two of them, she tilted her head to the side. "Pr-promise?" Was she forcing him too much? Was she asking for too much all at once? Was it even okay to seal these sorts of things with a promise? Didn't that toss more expectations onto him? So much doubt and anxiousness stormed through, and she did her best to hide her own uneasiness with a smile.

Magic looked up from the ground as soon as he heard her move, the gentle placement of the flowers, her adjustment to get closer to him to extend her pinky in a form of a simple promise. A promise he wasn't even sure he could keep in the end. He blinked before reaching his hand out, his own pinky extended to curl around hers to seal the promise he was sure he would end up broken maybe at some point.

He felt bad to make this promise but it would satisfy his companion for now. Maybe having the promise will allow him to actually keep it, instead of giving up if things didn't work out Who knows how this was going to go? "Promise. He said giving a small smile at the childish pinky promise, but if it made her happy it was fine. He wished things could be as simple as this all the time, but it wouldn't ever be the case for him.

Her smile widened once he accepted her gesture as she shifted herself to give him more of his own personal space. Silence fell briefly, though it was a bit short-lived. She wasn't sure whether or not it was her own delight about being able to see and talk to him again or if it was because she didn't want to keep quiet for too long with her voice back - most likely a combination of the two -, but Adeline spoke up again once more, reaching towards her bag to pull out a wrapped cloth. "You've been out here for awhile, r-right? Have you eaten?" Unfolding the fabric, a batch of sandwiches beneath.

Though they were a bit on the plain side, not much more than lettuce, cheese, and a bit of ham, but each was delicately arranged as best as her clumsy self had managed to do so. "I-It's not much, and uhm, I-I haven't cooked in a long time, a-and it's not super amazing either..." Maybe trying to sell herself short wasn't a good idea. But it was hard to think her culinary skills were decent after being so used to Warren and his wife's cooking, never mind Evie's. "Uhm, well... I hope it's alright, anyway..." It would be embarrassing to admit that almost anything tasted fine to her after having not been able to sense flavor for so long.

A small frown touched the boy's lips when she shifted away after they sealed the promise. It had been a while since he had anyone he was close to in his personal space, to have the comfort of someone he knew close by, but he remembered her gift. Even if she had more time, maybe she was still afraid of accidentally using it maybe? He didn't know for sure anymore. He opened his mouth to respond to her but she was already pulling out sandwiches and other things. It seemed she was prepared.

It not being super amazing didn't really matter to him, it was food. While he didn't feel hungry he knew it had been a while since he last ate so might as well eat one or two. "It has been a while.." He said leaning forward to take one of the sandwiches. He took a small bite of one, enjoying it more so because it was something to sustain him, whether it was good or not didn't matter to him. "It's good, thanks." He commented after he finished his bite. "You seem like you were prepared to spend a while out here yourself." Granted that while was probably not as long as his while. "Are you settling back into the dorms well?" He asked, if there was some fucker giving her a hard time, his safety be damned he would fight who ever was.

Satisfied that Magic had at least chosen to take one, Adeline took a delicate bite of her own sandwich, relishing in the tiny nuances to the flavor more than ever. From the way she was acting, anyone would've thought it was her first time having plain old bread and ham, but she couldn't help it. "Hehe, food does taste better when you eat with others, huh?" After she finished her current nibble, making sure that all of the scraps and pieces were swallowed before she answered his statement. "Uhm, I-I thought that I could take a nap out in the forest since..." Her mind flashed back to the state her current room was in. All she had done after officially coming back was toss her luggage off to the side - dust covered a number of corners, papers scattered everywhere, laundry that needed to be done, and so much more. It was a complete mess.

"I-I haven't been back long yet, so I haven't cleaned anything." Normally, it would've been the first thing she did right off the bat, but she really did want to visit the forest again. Not to mention that, outside of Heron, she wasn't familiar with her roommates. "... I wonder if the cafe manager is mad I took such a long vacation without prior notice."

Magic blinked, he never really noticed if it did or not. Well maybe it was because he lived meal to meal for the longest time. His eyes shifted down to his sandwich for a moment. "Yeah I guess it does taste better." He looked back up at her as he continued to eat his sandwich. She was planning on taking a nap out here? Yeah that was fair he did it all the time when he attended the school. It was a place you would rarely be disturbed.

She hadn't cleaned yet? Maybe she had a lot to do, the last time he saw her room it was clean compared to his which had random piles of paper and books in random places, but that was the only thing that was disorganized. "I think the cafe manager would be more glad you are safe, seeing how you disappeared without telling many people." He bet that the manager would be very happy to see Adeline again, but he wasn't too sure about her getting her job back. "I wouldn't worry about it too much honestly. You're back now and that is all that matters."

Adeline softly nodded. "I really did leave without telling anyone, d-didn't I?" It might've been better to say something instead of getting up and taking a step off campus without another word. At the same time, Warren had been impatiently rushing her and urging her to get a move on, so she ended up hurrying. Placing a note on the counter wouldn't have been so difficult now, would it? It was embarrassing to think that she hadn't done so in the first place. "Haha, but I'm happy to be back." Her gaze rested on the ground in front of her; as much as she would like to look at him now, she couldn't without her face turning red or the welling up of nervousness inside her chest.

"C-can I ask what you've been up to?" She realized she had been doing very poorly with being careful with her words, so hastily, she added on, "Oh, uhm, only if you want to say... I-It's not very pleasant, is it?" There wasn't anything to really talk about on her end, especially when she figured Magic wanted to avoid any discussion regarding Warren. Unfortunately, the entire past year or so, she had lived with him, so it was near-impossible to say much without bringing up the mind controller's name.

What was he up to? Did he really want to say? It was pretty in the slightest, but maybe he could keep it general.. So that way she would have an idea without knowing the extant of it. His sandwich was finished a while ago. Magic let out a small sight before laying back in the grass, stretching out a bit. "What I have been up too? I think the better question is what haven't I been up to.." He remarked, his eyes starring up at the leaves that blocked his vision for the full view of the sky..

"I just have been mostly keeping tabs on the AF members.. Taking a few out when I can.. Doing their dirty work because I don't have much of a choice." It was his plan when he first joined, and it was still his plan now, but he wanted to get out of it. "Barry is still probably hella pissed at me for what I did to him.. but its better this way for now.." He said softly. Eventually he would fix things with his friend, but now wasn't the time.

"Ah..." His description was rather vague, avoiding the details while giving her enough to have a food for thought. Grabbing information on the people within the organization, killing a few of them, and then doing what he was told to do so since, in the end, he was a lackey for Agrona and couldn't disobey orders that he was given by higher-ups. When Barry's name was brought up, Adeline took a few moments to contemplate. From what the Autumn had told her, there was a lot of things that Magic had done on the second trip to Chicago that would cause him to be angry and frustrated. What looked like a betrayal and might as well be one, both as a best friend and to the academy.

She couldn't speak for Barry, but she could give her own opinion on the matter, at least. "I'm sure he's probably mad, but... I-I think he was more hurt about what happened, especially so soon." Cassandra came to mind momentarily, though she shook that thought away. "H-he'll forgive you after awhile... You're friends, after all." Childhood best friends. In a way, she was almost envious that the two of them were able to reunite at Beata and cherish that bond once more; it was strong enough to bring them together again, so she was sure that they would be able to make amends with one another.

"I hope so." Magic replied. "If he doesn't then I understand why. If I was him, I wouldn't but he has always been the nicer one out of the two of us." He wasn't so sure if that was the case now, but it was the best for both of them in the end. Magic needed Barry to hate him, he didn't need a friend contacting him or going after him once he joined Argona's force. It's just what was best for everyone, at least in his mind it was. "It had to be done.." He said soft that it almost couldn't be heard.

The peaceful moment didn't even seem real to him. He knew any time soon that he would receive some orders and then have to leave, but he would rather stay here, enjoying the soft sounds of the forest, the gentle breeze that kept him cool in the summer weather. Why couldn't it be this way all the time? Oh right.. his life was meant to be a mess from the start, so it was a bit useless to try to get it any other way. Mason let out a hu,m, it was a wish. A small and seemingly impossible wish, but maybe one day it would be real. "Do you have a wish Adeline?" He asked keeping his tone quiet.

She allowed herself to nervously giggle, a breathy soft laughter. "That's a bit pessimistic, i-isn't it? Both of you are nice." Her eyes fluttered to a close, her senses focused on hearing the heralding symphonies of the birds, the fresh crisp air nipping away at her skin, the warmth of the sunshine bathing down on the forest. It wasn't like the aromatic atmosphere of beautiful flowers at Warren's place, and objectively, his garden was more pleasant. Even so, there was just something special about the forest by the school - the picturesque scenery embedded in her memories.

His question made her blink. "A wish...?" Adeline repeated, almost as though she hadn't heard him correctly. "Uhm... N-not really." After everything that happened, she was mostly happy, outside of a few other issues that she could overcome with time. "But I would like it if everyone could get along and have fun together... You included." Adeline shook her head. "B-but I don't think I need a wish for that to happen."

She wanted everyone to get along? It was such a childish wish in his mind, but that was just like her wasn't it? Always worrying about others, and wanting them to get along. She even tried it with Warren way back when. His formed into a small smile. It was a bit of relief to hear she hadn't changed too much while she spent time with Warren. Maybe he wasn't as bad as he showed the last day of the vacation, even so Magic still was going to have some words with him.

But the one thing that told him was that she wasn't really plagued with any issues at the moment. At least that is what he assumed. "That's good." He said. His gray green eyes turned to her before the boy sat up again. The forest floor wasn't exactly the best feeling on his back but he had dealt with worse. Quickly he moved over to the tree, and leaned back on it, sitting closer to Adeline.

"Heh, you might actually need a wish. I'm pretty tough to get along with." He said with a small grin on his face, trying to poke a little fun. "I think you of all people would know how stubborn I am."

Close... he was getting a bit close, wasn't he? Instinctively, Adeline hunched up her form a little closer to herself, ducking her head by her knees. When he teased her, her eyes only showed confusion, not quite understanding where he was coming from. Was he that difficult to get along with? "Uhm... I-I don't remember having trouble with that, though. You're always really nice." With ease, she could speak with him a bit better about subjects that she wouldn't normally bring up with anyone else. After they first met with a bit of a startle, it wasn't that hard to converse with him on occasion before they ended up in the same dorm together. The experience was short-lived since they both left the academy pretty soon after, but none of it was exactly unpleasant.

"I don't really need a wish for that, d-do I?" With his statements, she found herself doubting what she had confidence in only a few seconds earlier. Was this one of those things that would be hard to accomplish? Saying it was impossible would be wrong since it most definitely wasn't, but maybe it was harder than she may have anticipated. "W-well, no matter how difficult it is, it can happen if we try!" Adeline sighed. "Though that sounds kind of silly, r-right?"

"Relax, I was only joking." Even though some of it was true. Well most of it was true. He was tough to get along with to most people, and yeah he was stubborn he knew that. He didn't understand where she got the really nice part from. Mason shook his head. "If you think it doesn't need a wish, then I will go with it." He had noticed the way she seemed to shrink when he got closer. Still the same as always..

"Its only silly in the end if minimal effort is put into it." He guess, he didn't really know when it came to stuff like that. He wasn't ever good at the reassuring thing in his mind. He turned his attention to the way she was sitting. "Doesn't it hurt to sit like that? At least without some back support?" He asked, changing the topic from his failed teasing.

A joke. Right. Was that something she was supposed to catch on to or be able to tell? Magic was so serious sometimes and then there were other times where he would deadpan things that are meant to be a joke, so it was hard to tell when he was or wasn't. Her ability to discern tone could never match up to his; it was on two completely different levels thanks to his gift, though she had a feeling that she was just really bad at it overall. With his next statement, Adeline feverishly nodded before she found herself a bit baffled again.

Her... position? "I-It is a little bit uncomfortable," Adeline admitted, taking another small bit out of the sandwich. "But... uhm... well..." She couldn't exactly tell him that it was because of her gift or anything that made her feel the need to keep so close to herself. That was only a minor part of the reason. Her fear over her powers weren't terrible, at least. Just a little. But this was absolutely one of the things that she really couldn't tell him. Over dramatic much?

In an almost-desperate attempt to search for a different topic, a light bulb went off in her head. "Ah, uhm...! M-maybe you don't want to talk about it much, but... uhm..." The more she said, the more she regretted not just telling him why she didn't want to be so close, but going this far into her words, she couldn't simply back out. "Callum's part of that group too, r-right? Is he okay?" She hadn't actually seen him at the party, only caught a glimpse, though Kearn said he was there for sure. "I-I-I mean, if he's not, then I understand."