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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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?"

"They don't," Cassidy said, grateful for the slight change in topic. "It's something almost everyone wants to know, though." She sipped at her glass of water. "You're going to see if you can't find it yourself?"

"Well, I'm not expecting to know by the time I graduate," Alexis admitted, ripping bun number two in half. "But... hey, the more people looking, the better a chance there is of maybe... it not being so bad... someday."

"That's something worth looking into," Cassidy said quietly. "I think it's a good thing. Have you been thinking about that for a while?"

Alexis nodded a little.

"Yeah. I mean, I can take all the physical education classes I want around here. The gym teachers love me, and I can kick anyone's ass at tennis. But tennis is just... Tennis."

Which seemed kind of stupid, when they were watching kids die in droves each year.

"You should have told me," Cassidy said reproachfully. "We could've looked into it over the summer holidays. See what you'd need to pick up so you'd be better set to leap into classes now."

Dammit, Cass. You had to go and make sense.

"I should have," she agreed, nodding a little. "But it isn't like we've graduated yet. Have any suggestions for me now?"

Well, one of them had to do it.

"A few," Cassidy said, mulling that over. "I'll have to check my books though. They're more geared for--dealing with things rather than trying to find out new things but there'll be some information there and the library will have more."

Alexis' smile went a little more easygoing at that. See, she liked bouncing this sort of thing off of Cassidy.

"I'd appreciate it. I mean, I know the H.A.H. has access to a lot of books that aren't just floating around the library, and vice-versa..."

"Not that you're supposed to know that," Cassidy said, a bit wryly, "but true enough. I cannot deny it."

Not to Alexis, anyway.

Alexis laughed a little, shaking her head and tearing off another piece of bread to pop into her mouth.

"I know I'm not really in the top pick list for the H.A.H.," she noted, casually, "but if any good comes out of this, I'd say you guys are the ones who are going to be able to appreciate it the most, right away. It isn't like the firsties know any better."

"No, they don't."

Cassidy watched them for a moment.

"We'll be able to make sure that the information gets to those who need it the most."

"Even if we're both long graduated by then." Alexis sighed, though her smile didn't waver. "We'll crack it. We'll figure it out. I can't imagine the magic wants to lose that many, either... right?"

It just... wouldn't make sense. Not if it wanted to be stronger. Would it?

Cassidy thought about that and had to shrug lightly. "Who knows?" she said. "The magic works in ways that we can't understand. Perhaps it does."

And wasn't that a horribly depressing thought?

It was. And it made Alexis kind of want to start punching rocks in the mouth.

Could anyone blame her?

"Well, I guess we'll find out, one way or another."

"I hope, for everyone's sake, that it's a better answer than that."

Cassidy meant that. She really did.

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

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