Strolling back to your dorm room from a stop at the restroom down the hall, you notice your door is ajar. Creeping up to it, you peer inside to see long blonde hair swaying back and forth, a short skirt and bare green legs beneath them. Oh good, it’s just Kittpey. She’s apparently straightened her hair since you last saw her… you sort of miss the curly look. Clearing your throat to get her attention, you step through the doorway as she swivels to face you, her arms crossed and mouth downturned.

“You weren’t supposed to—”

“I had to pee!”

Her eyes narrow and her mouth scrunches. “Hm. I suppose that’s reasonable.” Lips quirking up into a smirk, she gestures to the desk behind her, where there’s a tray from the cafeteria. You’re not entirely sure those are supposed to leave that building, but also why would you complain.

“Thanks!!” you say with a smile, closing the door behind you and stepping over to your desk. There’s multiple types of food piled onto the tray, all of them Idrestian cuisine that you’ve found you enjoy during your time here. There’s some white goop stuff that you sort of liken to mashed potatoes but sweeter, some cuts of savory meat that decidedly do not taste like chicken (or beef, or pork), and a square of some sort of gelatin-like substance that tastes sort of like mexican hot chocolate. It’s touching that Kittpey has picked up on your food preferences like this.

Scooting your desk chair out so you can sit down, you glance back at Kittpey. “Do you want any?”

“No, thank you. I already ate,” she says, waving a hand.

Any potential guilt assuaged, you dig into your food with reckless abandon, a bit surprised by your own fervor. You’d clearly underestimated your hunger, but on reflection, yeah, you hadn’t eaten anything since last evening, and it has to be at least the middle of the day at this point. Though your attention is very much focused on shoveling sustenance into your gullet, your brain does dimly register the sound of Kittpey shuffling around behind you, along with a light clinking sound every now and then. Eventually, your curiosity overrides your appetite, and piece of mystery meat in hand, you turn to look. Kittpey is stooping down to pick up the last piece of gold lying on the floor, a small pile of previously floor-strewn pieces sitting on the corner of your bed.

“Oh, yeah,” you say through a mouthful of food. Clamping your mouth shut, you finish chewing, swallow, and only then allow yourself to speak further. “What should we do with that?”

“Hide it,” Kittpey says without hesitation, setting the last coin on the pile and then sitting on the bed a little ways away from said pile. Her bright yellow eyes flick up to meet yours. “I’ll take it with me and find a good spot after this.”

Stuffing the last bit of meat in your mouth, you nod. Once it’s swallowed, you say, “I can go with! Maybe attend an afternoon class afterward, or—”

“Biat,” Kittpey says, tone firm. “You need to rest.”

You pout. “But I already did that!”

“You slept for four hours,” she says, scooping the gold off the bed and into a small brown bag.

Pout deepening, you cross your arms. “...I guess.”

This earns you a Kittpey giggle, which softens your exaggerated pout. After gulping down the last few remnants of your meal, you hop back in bed and snuggle back under the covers. Sleep does already feel within reach again, admittedly, though that might just be from all the food.

Kittpey grins down at you as you finish tucking in, a smirk on her face. Patting your head, she softly says, “Good girl.”

Your insides do a flip, and your heart rate spikes. Staring at her in shock, your mind races to figure out why you had such an intense reaction to such simple words. Kittpey giggles again and turns away, a knowing look on her face. You wish she’d tell you what it is that she knows.

“Sweet dreams!” she practically sings as she skips to the door. A moment later she’s gone, and you’re alone with your thoughts. Eventually, you fall asleep.

~~~

When you next awake, you hear rustling to your side, like someone’s clothes shifting as they adjust their stance. Glancing that direction, your heart leaps into your throat as you see not Kittpey, or Umeso, or even that mousy kid, but instead the Headmistress, sitting in your chair not even two meters away. You gasp, drawing her gaze. She does not look happy.

“Afternoon, Biat.”

Trying to blink the grogginess from your mind, you sit up, scooting your back up against the wall. “H—Headmistress…? I, um, good afternoon?”

With a heavy sigh, the Headmistress gets to her feet, towering over you. “No… It is decidedly not a good afternoon.”

Casting about for reasons this could be happening to you — aside from the obvious which is that you really need to learn how to lock your door — you finally land on something reasonable. “O—oh, sorry, am I late to training?”

“No, that’s not for another hour or two,” the Headmistress says, tossing your suggestion away with a wave of her hand. Then she crosses her arms, fixing you with a stare that pierces right through your skull. “No, no… the reason I am here, Biat, is last night’s robbery.”

Your breath hitches, the blood in your veins running cold. With all your might, you will yourself to keep breathing, to keep your face blank, to not show her how shocked you are right now. Instead, you rub at your eyes and yawn, blinking in feigned confusion at the furious woman before you. “S—sorry, I’m a little confused. A robbery? Of what? And why are you telling me?”

The red of Headmistress Onpertet’s hands pales as their grip on her arms tightens. She smiles, but it’s clearly strained, barely maintained. “Ah yes, sleeping the day away instead of going to class, are we? So you have yet to hear about the break-in at the local bank?” Her head cocks to the side, the angle unnatural. “It’s interesting… One villager found a piece of gold outside their house.” Your heart rate skyrockets. “And before that, they claim to have seen some sort of ‘monster’ with swirling black and white skin fleeing the scene.” Your arms begin to shiver, so you cross them, hoping that hides it. “That description… it seems a little familiar, don’t you think?”

Straining to keep your breathing steady, you nod, fixing a look of concerned confusion to your face. “Very strange. Do you think someone else has learned how—”

The Headmistress stomps toward you, her boot smashing into the ground loud enough to reverberate in your ears. “Don’t feed me that tripe, girl.” She leans in close, all trace of a smile gone from her face. “Stealing from that bank is stealing from me. Do you have any idea how much of this school’s funds are housed there? Or should I say were?”

“A lot?” She doesn’t respond. After waiting a good few seconds, you add, “Well, I’m sorry that happened to you, and I wish I could help—”

“Intent on playing dumb, I see.” She literally growls, her eyes flicking about the room before boring back into your own. “If I’d managed to find even a single coin in here, Biat, I’d shove it down your stupid lying throat.” Ah, of course she searched the room while you were sleeping. Thank whatever gods this society believes in for Kittpey.

Swiveling away from you, the Headmistress takes a few heavy steps, snarling and muttering to herself, too quiet for you to hear. As you watch her head flick back and forth, eyes scanning your room again, you finally realize: she doesn’t know what to do. She’d clearly expected you to fold under her fury, to admit your crimes. But without that, and without any explicit evidence…

Clearing your throat to gain her attention, you speak with as much confidence as you can muster. “Well, if that’s all, would you mind giving me some privacy?”

Nostrils flaring, Headmistress Onpertet rounds on you, stomping up to the edge of the bed. Kicking her foot out, she slams the bed frame against the wall, rattling you. Her foot remains on the edge that frame, which nearly seems to buckle beneath her. “Feeling brave, are we, little wandering spirit? Feeling confident that I need you enough to keep you around? Perhaps that’s true, but the same can’t be said for you friends, can it? Consider what could happen to Umeso.” Swallowing the lump in your throat, you feel a bead of sweat drip down the side of your face. The Headmistress catches it too, her eyes glinting in malice. “That’s right, you little shit. I’ve done some research on your friends, and I found all the dirt I need. Now toe the damn line with me if you don’t want Umeso’s secret to get out.” The gears in your mind grind to a halt. Secret? Wait, what is she talking about? Reading the apparently open book that is your face, the thin line of the Headmistress’ mouth shifts into a smirk. “Oh no, has your friend not let you in on the secret? Well I assure you, if they don’t even want you to know, they certainly wouldn’t want me to tell anyone else.” Leaning toward you, dwarfing you in her shadow, the Headmistress says, “Now, is there anything you’d like to tell me, dear?”

Scarcely able to breathe, you manage to force out only two words. “N—no. Nothing.”

The Headmistress pulls away and stomps over to the dorm door. Grabbing the handle, she turns to look at you again without opening it. “You had better be there for training in two hours. We have only three weeks until I need to report on this facility’s defensive capabilities. If I have nothing good to report…” Her eyes narrow. “Then you are no longer of use to me.” Her voice pitches low, fury evident in every line of her face. “And being of use to me is the only thing that’s sparing you.”

With that, she tosses the door open, striding through and slamming it behind her. You can hear the sound of her boots as she stamps down the hall. It’s imperative you wait at least a few moments, so you don’t run into her again, but after that, you need to book it. Your friends need to know what’s going on now, especially Umeso. There’s no telling what the Headmistress knows, or perhaps thinks she knows, but the sooner Umeso is aware, the sooner they can prepare against it.

After changing out of your pajamas, you dash out the door and out of the dorm, intent on finding your friends. You’re so intent, in fact, that you collide with Kittpey just a meter or two outside the dorm building. The two of you nearly tumble to the ground, but she manages to stay on her feet, and grabs hold of you to ensure you do the same.

Pulling away a moment later, both of you breathing hard, you say, “Sorry!! I just—!” You take a deep breath.

“Are you alright!?” Kittpey practically shouts, eyes scanning over you as though she expects you to be injured. “I saw the Headmistress walking away from here!”

You nod. “She was in my dorm a moment ago.” Kittpey stares at you, worry etched in every line of her face. “But I’m fine! I just need to talk to everyone. Ruem and Umeso, too. Can you come with?”

“Of course.”

The two of you set out. After checking the usual hang-out spots, you head toward one of the buildings that you know houses at least one of Umeso’s classes. You’re admittedly not all that familiar with your friend’s class schedule, but you’re sure you’ve seen them exiting this building a few times. Unfortunately, inside you can find no sign of them at all. Starting to worry a little, but also rationalizing to yourself that there is a lot of the campus left to cover, you decide to check out the Setzel center. Fortunately, you finally find them on the path to that building, heading in the opposite direction.

“There you are, Umeso!” Staring up at you with bleary eyes, they blink slowly. “Are you… alright?”

“Yes… I did not get enough sleep,” they say, yawning partway through the sentence. “There was a sound that woke me in the middle of the night, and then someone else woke me up early this morning.” Their eyes drift toward their shoulder as their statement ends, which is where you imagine an invisible friend is currently sitting.

“There was a sound?” Kittpey says.

Umeso nods. “Yes. A sort of dull thud. I thought it was within my room at first, but nothing was there. I imagine it was an animal outside.”

“But you’re alright?” you say. Umeso nods again. “Okay, well, can we all talk? Maybe somewhere a little more private?”

Everyone agrees, and thus the (presumed) four of you head all the way back to your dorm. Once you’re safely inside, Kittpey casts a spell and you hear a locking sound.

“One of you has got to teach me that spell soon,” you say, taking a seat in the chair near your desk. Kittpey and Umeso both nod, each taking a seat on the only clear bed, though with a large amount of space between them. The only issue is that you’re all going to need to be much closer if you want to include the fourth person in the room in the conversation.

Scooting your chair close to Umeso, you reach out to touch their arm, and sure enough, there’s Ruem. “Wipe that smirk off your damn face! I could’ve been anywhere! Don’t presume you know m—”

“Is she there?” says Kittpey. 

Oh, right. “Yeah, but you’ve gotta touch Umeso to see, remember?”

Kittpey frowns. “I… sure, but I mean, I touched you last time…”

Turning their head toward Kittpey, Umeso says, “Do you… have a problem with me?” Their tone is far from accusatory. It’s mostly curious, though there’s a definite note of hurt in there, too. Kittpey clearly notices it, with how her body slumps, regret on her face.

“No! I… sorry. You’re good. It’s fine. Let me just…” She scoots over, legs crossed, until her knee presses against Umeso’s thigh. As she starts to reach a hand out she stops, eyes on Umeso’s shoulder. Or, more specifically, the little ball that’s perched on that shoulder. “Hello, Ruem,” Kittpey says softly.

“…Hey,” Ruem says, unable to look her in the eye.

Not sure how to handle all the awkward energy that’s amassed in the room, you decide to just get this show on the road. “So the Headmistress was here, in my room, and she knows we’re the ones that robbed the bank,” you say, eyes on Ruem. “Or, well, strongly suspects. She doesn’t have proof it’s us, but she does have an eyewitness that saw our combined form.”

“Oh, so it is true? You two combined just like with the dream girl?” Umeso says, a touch of awe in their voice.

“What, did you not believe me!?” Ruem shouts.

“I can also confirm. They very much did combine,” Kittpey says.

Umeso’s raised brows clearly indicate they’d love to hear more about that, but you have more pressing matters to discuss. “Look, we can tell you all about that later. The Headmistress made it clear she still expects me at our daily training session, so I don’t have long before I’ve got to go.” Your friends nod in understanding, though it’s clear Umeso is a bit disappointed to be the only one out of the loop. “Kittpey, did you get all the gold safely hidden?”

“She’ll never find it,” Kittpey says with confidence.

“…Do you mean me, or the Headmistress?” Ruem grouses. The sly smile Kittpey offers as an answer does not seem to make Ruem any less grumpy.

“Good. So that’s one thing we hopefully don’t need to worry about,” you say, feeling a bit of weight off your shoulders. “There’s another thing, though…” Your eyes shift to Umeso. “She tried to threaten me by saying she knows your… secret?” There is not a shred of recognition in Umeso’s face following that statement, only confusion. If they’re just acting, they’re doing an amazing job, but you can’t help but think their reaction is genuine.

“Secret? What… Did she say anything else about it?” Umeso says.

You shake your head from side to side. “Not really. And you don’t have to tell us or anything! I just wanted to warn you.”

Umeso frowns. “I would not know what to tell. I have no idea what she is talking about.” They scrunch their face, clearly racking their brain for ideas. “Does she mean that I am a bad test taker…?”

“That hardly seems like something worth holding over someone’s head,” Kittpey says, crossing her arms and putting her chin in her hand. “Also, for what it’s worth, I don’t think any less of you for it, nor should anyone else.” A soft smile appears on Umeso’s face.

“I do not know, then. There is nothing in my life that I wish to hide,” Umeso says. “The details of my life are not a secret. I am from Port Ghernibahn, which is where my parents still live. They agreed to let me attend Postremon Onpertet, and so now I live in town with my grandmother. I am not sure what else there is to say.”

“Oh, you live off-campus?” you say. Given they never return with you to the dorm at evening’s end, this should hardly be surprising. But you’d never really given it much thought until now.

“You didn’t know that?” Ruem says.

Umeso nods. “Yes, I do. And I do not believe I ever brought it up, so ignore Ruem’s tone, you should not feel bad for this lack of knowledge.”

But then, if Umeso doesn’t know… what could it even be? “I guess we’ll just have to help you figure out what she could be talking about,” you say, more to yourself than to Umeso. Wait, how long have you all been talking? Glancing about the room, you find yourself resenting the lack of clocks in this world. “Does anyone have the time?”

Kittpey flicks her wrist, and a moment later numbers appear in front of her face. “5:47.”

With a sigh, you hop to your feet. “Ugh, I’ve gotta go, then.”

“Must you?” Kittpey says, frowning.

You shrug. “She’s already really mad at me. And, I mean, I want to learn more magic, so I can save Ellemenie.”

Crossing her arms, Kittpey mutters, “We can teach you magic.”

“Oh!” Ruem shouts, a moment before disappearing. She reappears on your shoulder, and despite her lack of mouth, you know she’s grinning. “Girl, I’ve got a great idea! If you’ve still gotta train with that witch… Why don’t I go with you, and you and I can show her what we’re really capable of?”

That brings a huge smile to your face. “Ruem, you’re a genius.”

“Finally someone says it!”

Exceedingly

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