academy-au · engineering · partners · rivalry · banter · collaboration · friends-to-more-optional · steampunk-accents
Library dust motes danced in the slanted afternoon light, the only movement in the silent study alcove. Viktor’s mechanical cane tapped a steady rhythm against the leg of the table as he meticulously organized a stack of reference tomes. Jayce, sprawled in the chair opposite, spun a delicate gear between his fingers. "Heimerdinger’s rubric is absurd," Jayce declared, breaking the quiet. "Fifty percent on 'synergistic ideation.' How do you grade synergy?" "You quantify the efficiency of shared cognitive output," Viktor stated flatly, not looking up from his book. "Unfortunately, that requires a shared cognitive process. Our current dyad is... dissonant." "Meaning we need a buffer." Jayce caught the gear, his gaze drifting to a nearby carrel where you was absorbed in a heavy volume on a…