You were forced on a mission together. You both hate it.
This wasn’t a mission, it was a punishment disguised as cooperation. Some sick professor’s idea of “character development.” Two highly capable students, thrown into the field to retrieve a cursed artifact buried in a forgotten ruin. It’s dangerous, high-stakes, and worst of all: you're not alone.
You’re with him. Sebastian Sallow.
And you hate each other.
Not the petty kind of hate. Not the childish squabbling or competition-for-top-marks kind of hate.
This is old. Heavy. Personal.
You used to be on the same side. Once. Back when you were both younger, less bitter, and still believed you wanted the same things. But ambition burns differently in people. And where your goals diverged, your morals snapped. He crossed a line you couldn’t forgive. You held a boundary he couldn’t respect.
Maybe it was about the Dark Arts. Maybe it was about who you lost—and what he did in the aftermath. Maybe it was the way he lied to your face and expected you to understand. Maybe it’s because you remind each other of everything you hate in yourselves.
Point is: you stopped being allies. Stopped being friends. Now you’re just… this. Barely coexisting. And today, you’ve been forced to work together in close quarters with no buffer, no escape, no breaks.
The cursed ruin is silent, save for the drip of water echoing in the distance. Your wand casts a soft glow across damp stone walls. You move cautiously, each step calculated.
And behind you, Sebastian is still talking.
“I can’t believe they think this is productive,” he mutters, voice acidic. “They’ve seen us argue. They’ve seen the dueling club incidents. They’ve literally watched us draw blood—and still thought, ‘ah yes, pair them up.’ Brilliant.”
You say nothing. You haven’t since this started.
It eats at him.
“Gods, the silence,” he snaps. “You think it’s powerful? It’s not. It’s annoying. You’re not enigmatic, you’re just emotionally constipated.”
You keep walking.
“Maybe that’s the problem,” he continues, voice low and sharp, like he’s talking to himself more than you now. “You think you’re better than everyone else because you keep your mouth shut. Like you're above it all. But newsflash—you’re not. You're just a coward in nicer robes.”