Jester's bell has a little teensy side effect. Barely even worth mentioning. You get a few hours of chill and mellow and talking floating hexagons whispering sweet infinitesimals into your brain cubes, but then you fill up with energy that wants you to get up and go do something. Works better than a suncheater alarm, if you weighed your dose out correctly.
I was actually the last one out in the courtyard. Chry was pacing a circular path around the tree. Fess was doing exercise squats. Janis was kicking a discarded shop rag around without allowing it to touch the ground.
"Hey, people! I got the zoomies, and I'm thinking breakfast."
"We were waiting on you. Let's go, already!"
We tore up the tunnels, practically at a competitive race pace, on the way to the Residency's main dining hall. I picked out some pressed patties of some tuber that had been shredded, dried, and fried. Plus forest peeper eggs, made up into an omelette, with mushrooms and bean curd. Close enough to home-made.
Fess took a big bowl of some multi-grain gruel, topped with dried fruit slices. Janis grabbed a plate of sausages, and a big glass of what looked like milk, but I couldn't tell from what animal, as the buffet had a selection of several--including attendant-rationed portions of donated boviform therian milk, if you had a club membership. Chry had a plate of pancakes with a cup of berries.
Conversation was non-existent as we devoured our food. I thought about whether it would feel weird to me to drink milk from a person, without being a baby. And without getting it straight from the tit. As far as I knew, cowkin and goblins both had something called demand lactation, where girls could make milk without ever getting pregnant, just by being around nursing moms, or by eating certain meds or herbs, or even a few days of manual stimulation. I bet I could get in to the club by becoming a donor. And then maybe get kicked out for getting drugs in the milk. That's probably the main reason there's no goblin milk club. Probably better to just keep it amongst family and friends.
And then I looked down, and my plate was empty. Everyone was finishing up.
"Janis, what kind of milk was that?"
"Goat. Why?"
"Ever try the milk club?"
"No. Never got the chance. Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering why goblins don't have one."
"Because you eat poisonous mushrooms. That's why."
"Oh! Right. That, too. I was thinking I'd get booted for drugs. So what's everyone doing today?"
Chry started, "I'm meeting with Doctor Corund. We're going to generalize some of the math I used for my proof. It's very unusual to get one's senior thesis done as a freshface, but they'll probably let me do another one if I ask nicely."
Janis said, "I have to head out to the satellite ag campus, and set up my seeds. It's my year for garden labs."
Fess said, "I have to finish finding some references in the library that I, uh, didn't quite manage to locate two days ago."
"So if anyone wants to hang out later, just come by the Roundhouse, or...."
"The dining hall is usually a good spot, or the grand concourse of the student union, near the mini bookshop and the vending machines. There's always the message board next to the kissing gates. We still have a few days until burrow assignments are finalized, but I'm in the Cat Tree, and Fess is in Rockpool."
"It's not a sewer. It's wet and underground, but it's basically a swimming pool. Chlorinated and etherscrubbed. We don't even pee in it."
"I should probably check in at the cop shop, to see if they caught those tankhumper spies. Chry, I'll see you back at the burrow, and I'll catch you two around."
"Remember your promise, country girl."
"Yes, Mom." I raised my fingers in the Youth Patrol sign with my left hand, and touched my pinky to my nose with the other. Janis rolled her eyes, but smiled.
So, there I was, alone again, with the campus slowly filling up with young bodies for the coming term. Today was Trejer of travel week, with probably the majority of students coming in today and Tetjer, with the stragglers on Penjer. Then everyone had the week-end to unpack and settle in, which I have heard means the inaugural parties, so that everyone can get romantically entangled before classes start, if they are so inclined.
Would say I'm already involved, but not yet entangled. So that's a good start. I can't imagine living a life of all academic study and no microsociological experimentation. Which is to say snogging different people until one of them is ready to move in to Mom's treeburrow. Eventually. Home is home, but Panalex is a big place. So, after we decide we've seen enough of it, and tasted the parts that need tasting, and kicked the parts that need kicking, and so forth. Then we move back and crank out a few spawn.
Or maybe we don't even meet here. Mom and Dad didn't meet at college. What is it they always say? "We met in the heat of battle, where the marker stone in the garden stands." Sometimes, when I stood there and looked at it, I feel like I could remember it, just how it happened. Like an adventure magen. Him with his black knife, and her with a length of conduit rod, battling like rival seawolf captains. But that was before I was born, by a good 30 weeks. No way that's a real memory. Gotta be kid imagination.
I wasn't zoning out! I was totally keeping my eyes out for the fash and campus creepers the whole way!
I got to the security post, and sauntered in.
A dogkin was staffing the desk, almost wolfish in aspect.
"Hi. I'm Ravenna Asterian. I was in here a couple days ago, and I was curious as to whether anyone had any information for me, or wanted to ask me any more questions, or anything like that. I was with Ilsa Spearpike."
A wince crossed over the dogkin's face before vanishing. "Oh, right. Miss Asterian. Unfortunately, we don't get a lot of information from the city officers over here. I know they were really busy today, but I don't think they busted anybody. We're still trying to get campus security up to full staffing before the welcome parties."
"What if--and this is just an idea, here--what if the campus had an ethercarriage go around to all the known party spots and take the insensate back to the Residency, instead of leaving everyone to patrol people walking around all spread out on foot?"
"There's the satellite campus shuttle, but we couldn't spare anybody to drive it, and Plenn, the regular guy, doesn't work nights or weekends."
"Oh, but I already have you covered, there. Head over to the transit terminal and ask where you can find a draconic named Niva Brightscale. I bet she can drive the party car. Then you can have some security on the carriage, right where you know the students will be, and they can keep eyes on the tunnels faster than on foot."
"That's not a bad idea, actually. I can ask the College Reeve about it when I get relieved. Writing this down: Ravenna Asterian suggests carriage to transport students from parties back to Residency; Niva Brightscale suggested to drive the satellite shuttle on nights and weekends."
"So they didn't catch anyone?"
"Not that I heard. I can let you through to the city police station, if you want. Miss Spearpike might be around, or the detective on the case. They probably won't tell you anything, but you might at least get your nothing honestly, directly from someone who knows something."
"Yeah, thanks."
I walked through the short corridor to the cop shop, and was nearly immediately challenged as to my business there.
"I'm looking for Chief Spearpike or Detective Axelad?"
"Detective is in office A." The uniformed cop pointed at the correct door.
I knocked. It opened. Fok Axelad recognized me and motioned me inside. Once through, he closed the door, and the noise and hubbub faded enough to have a conversation.
"Miss Asterian. We didn't call you back in, did we?"
"No, I was just curious. If you got them. And maybe I might remember something else that could help."
"Unfortunately, the place was deserted by the time the officers from Lower Precinct got there. They recovered your clothes and chits, but they're still in evidence. The department etherist couldn't trace anybody besides you. I'm sorry."
"I don't know if it means anything now, but when the cruel voice told the others to dump R at the college, it said go to 'Site Yellow'. I don't recall saying that the other night, and didn't want to leave anything out in case any of it turned out to be important or useful."
"Site Yellow. Thank you. If we need you for anything else, we'll have campus security get in touch, okay? And I'm really sorry that I can't tell you anything at all about all the definitely fascist spy stuff from Hegem Unus we found with your stuff today." Wink wink. Okay, yes, I get it, Mister Sneaky.
"I understand. I wouldn't want to interfere with an official police investigation."
I hustled back onto campus. It's confirmed. The enemy is in the Cairns!
TFTC
Aww