Markus turned his eyes away, and the moment broke. Max disengaged, glancing to Ellie who was passing by as he lifted his beer for a sip. Mentally, he shook off the moment. For plain humans, it might've looked like some dumbass male posturing, but staring down a werewolf came dangerously close to an act of aggression. Max wasn't an animal, though, so he controlled his impulses. If he'd been able, he would've shaken it off bodily, but he settled for enjoying the mouthful of cool beer and a crack of his neck.
Markus has taken Max's comments in stride, though, by his dumb smile. But again, Max didn't answer the question when Markus repeated it; he didn't see the point. Grief changed a person? The answer was a resounding well, duh from him, and his expression matched that. He wasn't interested in debating it with someone who did not know what Max had experienced, and he wasn't going to share, was he?
“You think going to the library will solve the fucking death cult?” Max chuckled darkly, shaking his head a little, but he was smiling, darkly amused. Still, he held up a hand to forestall any more defensive reasonings.
“I get it. You're reading up on magic 'cause that's what killed Vicky. My point is, you going to libraries, weird secretive meetings?” Max allowed himself a smirk as he mentioned the strange meeting, picking up on Markus' frustration with it. “It's gonna get you nowhere fast. Mastery of magic takes years, man. Fucking decades, if you listen to Cessair go on about his treatises. If you want answers. Genuine fucking answers, rather than this intellectualist jerking off, ride the Exchange's ass. They’ve already done the footwork. Ride their coattails, don't go looking for your own glory.”
Max had been next to Em learning it since 2021, starting from nothing and building herself up. She was leaps and bounds ahead of this guy, and still had a long way to go. Max didn't think this guy could speed-run becoming a magician, unless he wanted to be as dead as Vicky was.
Markus has taken Max's comments in stride, though, by his dumb smile. But again, Max didn't answer the question when Markus repeated it; he didn't see the point. Grief changed a person? The answer was a resounding well, duh from him, and his expression matched that. He wasn't interested in debating it with someone who did not know what Max had experienced, and he wasn't going to share, was he?
“You think going to the library will solve the fucking death cult?” Max chuckled darkly, shaking his head a little, but he was smiling, darkly amused. Still, he held up a hand to forestall any more defensive reasonings.
“I get it. You're reading up on magic 'cause that's what killed Vicky. My point is, you going to libraries, weird secretive meetings?” Max allowed himself a smirk as he mentioned the strange meeting, picking up on Markus' frustration with it. “It's gonna get you nowhere fast. Mastery of magic takes years, man. Fucking decades, if you listen to Cessair go on about his treatises. If you want answers. Genuine fucking answers, rather than this intellectualist jerking off, ride the Exchange's ass. They’ve already done the footwork. Ride their coattails, don't go looking for your own glory.”
Max had been next to Em learning it since 2021, starting from nothing and building herself up. She was leaps and bounds ahead of this guy, and still had a long way to go. Max didn't think this guy could speed-run becoming a magician, unless he wanted to be as dead as Vicky was.