Drinking on a Monday

His sneaky little grin reached his eyes with a glint of mischief, having thought he had been clever enough to call the taller man out on trespassing. He even tipped the book more towards him as he claimed his name to exist beneath that of Lady Svea’s, for Atreus knew that was entirely impossible. Could this man even read?

But when he dropped his gaze to where his finger had landed, there was a name there. His brow furrowed as he pulled the book away, his grin fading away to a confused scowl. He looked to the man once, then the book, then back again, before closing the book and tucking it under his arm.

Aleister.

This man was either a mage who was playing some dirty trick on him or Atreus had already been drinking too much. Could he really have missed a name? Was he already slipping?

“Apologies, it seems as though they put your name in the wrong spot. My mistake.” Just admitting that he had made a mistake gave him a sour taste in his mouth, his nose twitching as he raised a hand to a passing server to bring him a glass of wine. This may have been a mistake made from early drinking, but clearing drinking more would fix that right up.

Oh, but then this Aleister called him an administrator.

A hand fluttered to his chest with a soft gasp and a shake of his head, trying to keep the disgust from his tone as he laughed. “Administrator?” He echoed, “Oh dear, did I truly dress that terribly? Or perhaps you have never met crafty guests such as myself, my dear Aleister.” His hand moved from his chest to offer it to the other man as if he was a lady showing off her rings (which he could have been, truly, as each finger held at least one piece of sparkling gold beneath the warm light of the room.)

“My name is Lord Atreus Ophir and I merely have the privilege of borrowing the guest list tonight.” A smile found his lips as he beamed up at the other man, the mischievous twinkle still present in his dark almond eyes. “I was simply making sure that everyone in this room deserved my company, is all~”

A subtle wink followed, and he leaned closer to the taller man, rocking on his toes in order to get even closer. He moved his finger to point to the mask, tapping its edge softly as all semblance of personal space simply dissolved. There was no stopping his curiosity now. He simply must know.

“Last I checked, this wasn’t a masquerade, though. What has you donning such an interesting piece, hm?” Was the man self-conscious? Ugly? Simply up to something no good and he didn’t want to be recognized? Though, anyone could recognize him from his height alone, so perhaps he wasn’t a very skilled trouble maker, Atreus mused, dropping back to his heels and tucking his arm back to his side, his finger crooking in thought.