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Maverly controlled her knight, forcing it to make unrelenting attacks against Ivan. Her anger had clouded some of her better judgement, making the attacks strong but not precise. Without realising, Ivan let out another trick with his blue smoke that dispersed across the ground, warping it. The environment around him no longer made sense as it wobbled and distorted. Maverly picked herself up to try and get a better view but as she did so she saw one of Ivan's toxic bullets strike the pillar behind her. She looked up, noting how it began to crumble and decay above her. She had to break her concentration on her knight to get out of the way. As the pillar crashed she heard nothing, realising then that it was another illusion. She looked back at her summon and saw that Ivan was about to destroy it with a blow to the helmet. "Hm" she took a step forwards and shooting out a glowing sunset missile. It struck Ivan in the back and caused him to fall. Maverly then made some gestures with her crop, before bringing it up high, ready to cast her judgement. The knight mimicked her motions and brought up its colossal golden blade, ready to make the final blow. She gave the order, lowering her crop.

"Pum-pumpkin aura" a low feminine voice called out from being Maverly. She watched as her summon's sword came down to strike but was rebound backwards. The knight's blow was deflected and caused it to loose footing. "Luna messis" the same voice bellowed out calm and low. An orange glow flashed around Ivan before it caused Maverly's knight to shatter and dissolve in a few moments. Maverly was forced back into her senses as she remembered she was teaching a lesson. She lowered her riding crop as she turned to face the students her were all equally as surprised to find Lumina La Estrella and Solomon Hope standing in the back archway. Solomon stood there as he often did, hot mug of coco in hand. Lumina was beside her, arm extended with a nonchalant expression on her face. "You have intervened an organised duel, Professor Estrella" Maverly looked irritated but slightly more composed than earlier. Lumina began to descend the steps, leaving Solomon behind as she calmly said "no battle is truly organised, Miss Asche. Expect the unexpected." She ended with a sweet smile that Maverly couldn't quite tell was genuine. Maverly looked back over her shoulder to glance back at Ivan. She sensed his soul's energy was low. Her blow may have caused more damage that she intended. "You're correct" Maverly agreed, nodding towards Lumina, "one must not presume safety - or fall to clouded vision in the heat of battle..."
"Quite the show" Solomon added, now descending some of the steps also to join the students. He stood out among them, quite tall and proper. They all looked up to him from there seats as he swirled the liquid in his mug. "I do hope that you all learn from this demonstration. We heard the explosions from my tower." His tone was quite chipper, as if this was quite exciting. Maverly meanwhile had moved over to Ivan and offered him a hand up. She then nodded to him. "I will accept this as a stalemate. I may have been able to deliver the final blow - but my mind appears to be not as well defended as I hoped." She allowed Ivan to gather himself before she shot him a glare and added "you'd do well not to mess with my thoughts again." And before he could respond she turned on her heel to continue the class.

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Once the students had all finished sparring and learning some new techniques, Maverly was quick to leave and eventually find Lumina and Ivan in Lumina's empty classroom. There was a heated debate. "How dare you meddle with the image of my brother" Maverly had began, pointing her finger at him from across a table. Lumina meanwhile was rolling her eyes and leaning back against a wall behind her desk as the two exchanged words. "You have quite the nerve, hiding in the darkness and plucking up memories like that"
"Wait - you used that Lumina added softly, slightly surprised, but still not taking a side. This was an argument that Maverly started, but Lumina knew Ivan could defend himself quite easily - and she also knew this argument wouldn't lead to anything permanent. It was almost like watching students argue. She also didn't have the energy to add fuel to the fire - the fire being Maverly in this situation. Of course, Maverly had no idea that Ivan didn't control what she saw, nor could he see it either. "Oh, so that's a trick he uses often?! How uncouth!"

"Better?" Maverly scoffed, but Ivan pushed out his hand in an attempt to stop her from responding. He then went on to explain himself in some detail, an excuse Maverly wasn't quite sure she could believe. Once he finished, Maverly was silent, mouth slightly open as she stared him down incredulously. He then moved over to her and pat her on the shoulder, giving her a compliment like some animal who did a trick for its master. "You insolent man!" Maverly rebuked. She felt the anger within her rush up to her skull as she tightened her fists and with one hand firmly pushed his aside as she took a step back. But as she attempted to think of words to say, they did not come to her. Instead there was a a barely noticeable glimmer of water in her eyes. She was breathing heavily at this point, still containing her rage before she attempted to swallow it down. She could still remember the sounds of the statues around her, calling out all of her worries and fears. She felt the unbearable weight of her family name on her shoulders. Each word pushing her down lower and lower into the ground that attempted to swallow her up. A distant memory of her brother in his sick bed was now brought to the surface and she couldn't shake it. "I hate that I cannot blame you entirely for what I saw" she finally said through gritted teeth. She blinked, getting rid of the building water in her eyes as she took another breath and stiffened herself into perfectly straight posture. "If you ever use that trick against me again, someone else will not be able to save you" Maverly warned.
"Right here" Lumina added, giving a smile and a tilt of her head, letting her raven black hair fall over one shoulder to reveal a sleeping Lil P' on the other. "I'm still undecided on how your intervention weighs up in an organised duel. How could you want to save this man?!"
"There's some love for that man, can't let some bad outweigh all of the good" Lumina softly replied, glancing at Ivan over Maverly's shoulder. Maverly's eye twitched for a moment before she let out a sigh and put a hand to her forehead. "How did I end up in this situation, honestly. "Perhaps we could make up over a little duel in the future, Maverly" Lumina smiled, "I'm certain Lil P' would love to show you what he's got... and at least the match will be fair" she gave a wink to Ivan. "I came here to research and teach students as part of the agreement - not waste time having pretend matches with other adults who should have boundaries" she glared back at Ivan again. "I need a walk" Maverly shook her head and decided she had no more time to waste on this man, nor the mysterious Lumina who she just couldn't read. With that, she left the room and strutted off down one of the corridors.

"Well" Lumina began, walking around her desk to lean back on the other side, facing Ivan. "That went quite well I thought. The Queen of Thorns is warming up to you" Lumina smiled and almost chuckled at the nickname. "That was some bravery, however. You had no idea what she would see... and it sounds like you brought up some family issues she's still facing."

At Ivan's comment Lumina let out a small smirk, she then reciprocated a small kiss with Ivan before saying "your endeavours are highly appreciated" with a chuckle. She watched as he made his way from her classroom and out into the corridors in an attempt to find Maverly before she was lost forever.

The half-elf was storming down the corridor, the wedge heels on the base of her boots giving her away no doubt. The low thuds could be heard echoing a few rooms down. She was thinking about the mission she had to endure with that man tonight when she heard steps approach... and Ivan's voice. She was forced to come to a stop as he reminded her they have to work together later. She let out a sigh and before she could chastise him he went on to try and say she could speak to him. A chill went up her spine, one that made her eyes widen and shoulders stiffen. "No, you're not a professional councillor" she said, tightening her jaw. "And that is exactly why I won't be letting you listen to my problems. They are mine. And Just because you've caused some trauma to resurface, it does not mean I'm about to pour out my life story to you. This is my life, my trauma, and I've already dealt with it. I do not need to dig it back up just to make you feel better about upsetting me. Mention my life even once whilst we're on Solomon's mission, then consider yourself blacklisted from any Asche produce." She then leaned in closer and said "I promise, our products are everywhere. You'll starve. Now if you'll excuse me. I have to find the library"

Maverly let out an exasperated sigh as Ivan annoyingly caught on that she couldn't find the way to the academy's library. She was intent on finding it as quickly as possible so she could set up her own cosy hub. Defeated, Maverly quietly thanked him and began to strut in the directions he gave her. She couldn't help but notice that Ivan was behind her the whole time, causing her to grit her teeth and tense her shoulders as she pushed forward on this arduous journey. She was so focused on getting to the library that for a few minutes she had actually forgotten Ivan was following her. By the time she got to it, she was suddenly at ease as she looked around at rows and rows of bookshelves and tables. Each table was decorated with an emerald lamp emitting clean white light. There was another level above, and it's balcony looked down over them with even more bookshelves and a few areas that stretched out. The ground level also had a couple of walls that seemed to extend outwards and had a few steps leading down to reading areas complete with cushioned sofas and tall windows. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, emitting a clean light when the sun didn't shine down through the glass roof. The furnishings were quite modern, bringing a breath of fresh air into the academy's castle which was otherwise centuries old. It appeared Solomon was keen on keeping the academy on par with modern society. The walls were painted black and green, with golden accents, in-keeping with Solomon's aesthetic apparently. The roof, where there wasn't glass, was painting off-white, a nice detail to enhance the height of the room. Hanging from the tallest section of the roof was a bespoke clock. Large, round like a ball, and made from ornate metal. It silently ticked... or not - in its own unique way.

Maverly spun round and crossed eyes with Ivan once more, reminded that he was still here. She then noticed how the librarian gave him a bad look, to which his explanation didn't go sit well with Maverly either. "With good reason" she rolled her eyes and ran a finger across a table, her eyes locking on a few students reading nearby. I shouldn't enchant this entire library... unfortunately" she thought. Ivan then insisted on interrupting her thoughts again with yet another question. "Solitude" Maverly muttered, giving him a look out of the corner of her eye, "and preparation for tonight". She gracefully made her way like a ghost across the room, eyes looking up to the signage as she did so. She may never have been here before, but she acted with such confidence you would believe she's been here a hundred times. She knew how libraries work... she spent most of her time in them. She first moved to geography, running her finger across several booked before pulling one out named "History of Veridium", then another a few shelves down called "The Ruins of Duobus". She sighed at the second book, noting recent events in Otherearth. "Perhaps a little out of date now" she said to herself, looking at Ivan as she passed him to move to another corner of the library. "Your persistence is respectable, most would shrivel under the unimaginable weight of my silence by now. Now... I must apologise". Maverly moved with her books towards a door she had seen earlier, it was a private reading room complete with fireplace, window, desk and rug. Even a large plumb sofa in another corner should one want to lay down with their reading material. As she moved in she placed her books down on the desk and looked over the room. "How many doors do you think are in this academy?" she asked Ivan through the doorway, genuinely interested. She allowed him to give her some kind of guess as she nodded and looked over the room curiously. "Thank you" she then said, waving her fingers across the door as it's edges began to glow a shade of sunset, "that was a great help. Can I ask one favour of you? When I close this door, it's going to glow and after a moment look completely normal. Could you give it a try and make sure it opens again?" She let Ivan agree as she gave him a humble smile, closing the door with one hand. It clicked shut, and as she promised it glowed orange for a moment. Trails of magic could be seen licking the walls around it, vanishing as they crawled farther away towards unknown locations.

Maverly watched from her side of the door, letting out a sigh and rolling her eyes as she turned around, confident in her magic. She placed a concealment spell on the door, it was her unique talent, one she had worked on for years as a kid to allow herself private time in her father's estate. The moment Ivan, or anyone for that matter, would try to open the door it would lead to another random door in the academy. Probably a janitor's closet or something. She would have to learn the academy better to plan better, but for now she trusted something random would suffice and stop him from finding her for the time being. He would have to check every other door in the academy if he really wanted to find the one that led to her.

With that in mind... she began her research in solitude.