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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"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."

"It's probably safest to assume a little of both and then keep your distance. I mean, smart people keep their distance."

There weren't many of those about. Not at all.

"I can't," she said and arched one eyebrow. "None of us," the four of them, "are good at that."

Not when they were the only ones left.

"You know, we wouldn't have this problem if we could just... tie him up and leave him a closet somewhere," Alexis pointed out.

She was mostly even joking!

"Which would be a massive violation of his human rights," Cassidy observed. "Not to mention a hassle for us to keep him fed and watered and clean."

She couldn't help thinking of the logistics of it!

"Oh, he'd be okay if we missed, like, two or three feedings," Alexis decided, picking a piece of bread from the half of bun that she was still hanging on to, and stuffing it into her mouth. "And we could take him out back and hose him off now and then. Easy."

Cassidy's lips twitched with something that might've been a smile had she not suppressed it immediately.

"I'm afraid I can't sign off on such a plan," she said, a touch regretfully. "Morals, you understand."

"Sure I do," Alexis laughed, "but something tells me that he probably wouldn't, anyhow."

This probably had something to do with the fact that she'd met Raph.

"Probably not," Cassidy conceded. "But that is no reason to lower ourselves to his level."

Alexis opened her mouth a little, forming a scandalized 'o' shape as she placed her hand over her heart, fanning herself off with the bun in the other one.

"But think of the children, Cass!"

"There are better ways to think of the children," Cassidy said loftily, "than acting the way he might with one of them."

She contemplated that.

"Remind me to have Casey keep an eye on Raph's closet, for that matter."

Cassidy's faith in Raph: very little.

"He's probably the only one who could get away with it," Alexis mused, and then shoved the rest of the bun into her mouth. She'd even mostly chewed it by the time she spoke again! "Dunno what that guy sees in Raph that the rest of us don't, but hey, I guess he's qualified."

And... not completely sane. Alex still hadn't decided just how much of that could be attributed to Raph, and how much was a result of him picking up on the grief and terror and mental scarring of the firsties right around their... thing... and the handful of survivors directly after.

At least there weren't any survivors for him to cope with this year?

Really shitty silver lining, there.

"As long as they do not destroy the school, I am fine with him seeing something in Raphael that I don't," Cassidy admitted. "Leaving him alone seems like a recipe for disaster."

And pain. Which Cassidy was pretty much obligated to deal with in some capacity.

"It's good, too, that none of us are alone." Her gaze drifted to Sorrow and then away. Cassidy would always be glad that it had not been her who'd had to endure that.

Alex followed that gaze again, and she nodded. Yeah, she could see where that thought was headed, and she wasn't even a telepath.

"Hopefully it'll stay that way, huh? At the risk of sounding all mushy, I don't think there's any reason why anyone should be alone." She made a reach for another bun. "We were all people before the stupid rocks, too."

Cassidy brushed her fingers over her stone. "It's not all bad," she said, with quiet conviction. "If it was, none of us would survive at all."

Her smile didn't quite touch her eyes.

"Still..."

"Still... yeah."

Alex wasn't going to argue about it. Wasn't going to point out just how hard it had been for so many from their own class to go through with it. And how that had tuned out.

"Made a decision this year," she added, conversationally. "Going to change my focus this year, swap a bunch of my optional classes. Maybe take extra sciences. I mean, people still don't know why some years are so much worse than others, right?"

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