skymuffins | [Sept. 1/11] The Dining Hall, Early Evening

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[Sept. 1/11] The Dining Hall, Early Evening

Supper at Thrones Academy was always quieter at the end of the year.

At the very beginning of the year, it was different. Older students found their tables—some claimed in years past, others rearranging themselves to suit how friendships had changed over the course of the two month long holiday all returning students had endured—while the newest class, the ninth graders, congregated at the tables set up for them. In the weeks that followed they would realize that they were allowed to move to other tables. And they would realize that no one wished them to do so.

For now, they were thoroughly engrossed in talking to those of their year and the rest of the grades were varying degrees of relieved about it. The new kids did not notice the way that the Headmistress, Lenore Aubrey, did not at them even once for all that their tables were closest to her.

The older students knew why.

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"Malicious or a defence mechanism?" Cassidy mused, resolutely not shifting to look at the elevenths. "We," meaning the H.A.H., "have been warned about potential tensions this year. Everyone's upset about... what happened last term."

Which twenty-seven students had died by their own hands and not a single one of them had come back.

"It's... hard not to be. I mean, between our class and that Sarah girl, it's been pretty bad, but something like that... that's kind of unheard of."

Alexis sighed, sticking her thumb through her bun and then pulling it apart.

"I mean, I haven't heard of anything like it before. Some of them are taking it as an omen."

The face she was making showed just what she thought about that sort of talk. Let the grown-ups talk about omens, elevenths. You don't know nothin' yet.

Cassidy didn't disagree.

"Who knows," she said thoughtfully. "Perhaps it is. An omen of what, however, remains unknown." Cassidy lowered her voice. "Besides, the twelves and the elevenths were good size groups. The twelves only lost three and the elevenths just over half. Comparatively..."

She lifted her shoulders slightly, rustling her gown. "It's going to be a bad year," Cassidy predicted. "And I'm not talking about the end of it."

"With them spooked like that? And how long do you think it'll be before the firsties figure out why their class is so much bigger than the rest? Especially with the way the eleventh's keep talking."

Seriously, if she could get away with it, Alexis would probably be stalking over to their tables and threatening to thump them already.

"You can corner them later," Cassidy said. "After we're dismissed for the night." In an attempt to get Alexis' attention of the eleventh's, she tilted her head over to Sarah's table. "Look," she murmured, "not all the talk is for the firsties. Can't imagine the eleventh's are happy about him being over there either."

"Well, if you ask them, it's better he be over there than sitting at their table," Alexis noted, not even trying to be subtle about looking that way. "He's that kid who got Jasper, huh? Shitty deal."

"You're one to talk," Cassidy commented. "Between you and Case--if there were more of us, what do you think would've happened to one of you?"

A smile touched Cassidy's lips. "Not that we would have stood for that."

As if.

"Yeah, like I would have let anyone get away with that," Alexis replied. "If anyone tried to take it out on Case, I would've taken 'em out back, you know. And me?"

She actually threw her head back and laughed a little.

"Oh, I'd love to see anyone try to ignore me."

Confident? Hell yes.

"Funny," Cassidy mused, "I seem to remember managing quite handily for a week or so last year. Ignoring you, that is."

Because that wasn't different at all.

"Though it's hard to avoid the aches you bring about occasionally."

Being a healer had downsides. Namely, if Alexis was going to be taking her... frustrations... out on anyone, then Cassidy wanted to be far away so that she didn't feel it.

And that's why Alex always made sure they probably had it coming to them, first. Sometimes.

"Well, they're all for a good cause," she replied, looking almost, faintly, sort of apologetic. "And you came around eventually. I don't hold it against you."

Yes. Yes she was throwing half of her bun across the table at Cassie with a grin on her face.

Cassidy stifled a laugh as she barely caught the roll. Crumbs flaked off to land on her skirt and she grimaced at them as she set the roll down and dusted her hands off.

"I suppose I can put up with a good cause," Cassidy said, "so long as it starts with a warning, please."

She couldn't just advocate Alexis beating up other students, whether they deserved it or not.

And, hey, Alexis understood that. At least her powers helped her play campus police to some degree. She might not have been a healer, at least in the strictest sense, but she knew when people were afraid, and she knew when people were lying about why they were afraid.

That made her one hell of a sleuth, when she felt like it.

"When haven't I warned you before, huh?" She nodded her head back toward the table where just the two were sitting. "I think I'm going to keep an eye on those two, this year. Since the other elevens seem to be dealing."

And since there weren't any tens.

Cassidy grimaced. She could hear what wasn't said--thought that, at least, wasn't telepathy. That power wasn't hers.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves," she observed. "Which is interesting in and of itself."

Picking up her fork, Cassidy twirled it around in her fingers. "I'll be dealing with--him," she predicted, pointing the fork at one of the elevenths. "He's in the H.A.H. Newbie, you know, and look at how he's in the thick of them."

Poor Leith. Poor, poor Leith.

Alex just wrinkled her nose as she looked his way.

"He's trying to hard," she reported, dutifully. "He wants to be buddies with them all, I'm pretty sure, but he's going all-out to impress. Might be trouble. Might not. I guess we'll see how stupid he turns out to be."

Thank you, Alexis.

"Alexis," Cassidy complained, "you're going to make me laugh at him."

Which she really shouldn't when she was kinda-sorta one of his bosses.

"And even if he is trying too hard, he was still accepted into the H.A.H. That counts for something."

"I guess. Kid's probably got potential or something," Alexis decided, because she was trying to be nice, see? "And if he is going to do something stupid, you'll get him to behave in no time, I'm sure."

There was that kind of overprotective best buddy vibe under all of that. Because if he misbehaved for Cassidy and Alexis found out, she was going to totally shake him by the scruff of his shirt.

Or, uh, give him a talking to.

"Your faith in me is astounding," Cassidy said a touch dryly. "I'll keep him in line. I've managed with every one else the President has placed in my way, haven't I?"

Cassidy was, after all, formidable in her own right.

Alexis settled back in her seat, a smirk on her lips.

"Well, yeah." And while Alexis wanted to tease Cassidy and say that was because they saw her hanging around with that scary tattooed chick all the time, she really couldn't take away her friend's thunder over something like that. Her work with the H.A.H. was nothing to laugh at. "Keeps surprising me that they throw all the trouble ones at you. But then..."

She shrugged. She'd met Cassidy, after all.

Cassidy picked at the bun Alexis had lobbed at her and swallowed a small piece. She wasn't really hungry. She never was on the first night back when there were too many things to think about after a summer that had been mostly peaceful and mostly just the four of them.

"I'm good with them," she said with a straight face. "Have you seen Raphael and Casey? Last I saw Raph was when we got off the bus earlier."

There was a moment's pause, and then Alex shrugged, shaking her head.

"Raph took off to do his own thing. Something about how he'd rather say hello to people he knows than stare down firsties all afternoon, I guess. And Case... You know. Excited kids hurt his head. It scares him a little."

Knowing what they'd have to go through, and hearing their confusion, and how they had no clue. He was a bit neurotic at the best of times. The first day back was... not the best of times.

"I'll talk to Case later," Cassidy decided. "Probably while you're talking to those elevenths." Plausible deniability of any sort of threat being levelled was for the best for all of them.

"There's nothing I can do about Raph and he wouldn't want me to try--you know how he gets."

To tell the truth, he crept her out quite a bit, which was a feat in and of itself.

Yeah, Alex wasn't scared of Raph so much. Just boundlessly irritated by him. There was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. Too many untruths all wrapped up in there behind that serious look of his.

"Oh, I know," she agreed. "Probably for the best we give him his space today anyhow. For him and for the firsties."

"They're not going to know what to make of him," Cassidy murmured. "And it's futile to try to keep him away from them when he wants to be near."

This many years in, she knew that for certain.

She nibbled on another bit of her half roll. "I'm not sure what to make of him, honestly."

"Nothing good." At least that much, Alexis could say with some sense of certainty. "I wouldn't be all that surprised if he started scoping out new stones for their usefulness. Provided they don't bomb ninth grade, he could have himself a whole pack of minions for his..."

She waved a hand around. Fill in the blank. She had no clue. Yet.

"You must admit," Cassidy said, "he looks the part. He'll be able to charm them easily if he wants."

Which was troubling. It always was troubling. And he'd been out of sorts since all of them had died at the end of last term.

"I can't tell if he enjoys the pain or if he just--doesn't care."

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