Zaniyah sat up with a start. She glanced around the room, taking a moment to realize where she was. What time was it? Did she ruin her afternoon studies? A second knock at the door made her realize what had woken her up in the first place. How badly was she in trouble this time.

Beat sat up and placed a hand against her shoulder. “I’ll send them away,” he whispered softly.

He slipped out of bed and pulled on his pants. Zaniyah buried herself underneath the blankets, making herself as small as possible. No one who was looking for her would know to find her here, right?

The door was cracked open, so that only Beat’s eyes were visible. “Byers. Fletch,” he said calmly. He opened the door a little wider. “Is there a need to make a report?”

Mila gave a half-wave. “Sorry to wake you up, sir. We’ve received orders to join Macestar Squad on a mission to Mareth, pending on your permission first.”

Mareth was close enough to travel back quickly if there was an emergency at the barracks. “Granted.” He glanced behind him. Zaniyah had visibly relaxed, but she was still hidden under the sheets. “Was there anything else to report?”

“Nope, that was it, sir.” Mila turned her head. There was the sound of metal boots clanging down the hallway. “... Uhh.”

The door swung open, nearly falling off its hinges as Shaw kicked it open with his food. “Where is my sister?” He “calmly” asked Beat. His tone was steady, but there was a fire in his eyes.

Beat looked around the room. Zaniyah had already rolled off the far side of the bed and was now hiding underneath it. A faint grin appeared on Beat’s lips as he stood a step back and gestured to the room around him, clearly showing that it was only him present.

“I assume she is out training,” he remarked. “She is dedicated to her craft.”

Shaw whipped out his sword and held the top of it against Beat’s throat. “Upon my honor, I will end you if you dare defile her.”

“Your demand comes nearly half a year too late,” calmly replied a bored Beat.

Shaw glared at him for a moment before he put away his sword. His once domineering stance had shriveled up into a confused lump of jelly. “You know what I mean.” His hands tumbled in the air as he struggled to find the right words. “Stringing her along as you do.”

“Stringing her along..?” Beat raised an eyebrow.

“You know what I mean,” spat back Shaw.

“I clearly don’t.”

Shaw fidgeted for a moment. He wasn’t good at these sorts of things. Emotions and the like. “I expect you to have ended your relationship with her by the time she and I leave for Fogbloom.”

“...” Beat and Zaniyah had already had this discussion and were planning on doing such. He put a hand on Shaw’s shoulder, as a symbol of the brotherhood between them. “I will do as you ask, out of respect for you, my fellow paladin.”

Though it had been said with a straight face, Shaw could sense that Beat was being sarcastic. “... I absolutely loathe you.”

“The feeling is sometimes mutual.” Beat nodded towards the door. “Now get out before I begin to believe that you’re here for other reasons.” He gestured to his chest as he flexed his pecs.

Shaw quickly averted his gaze. “... If you see Zaniyah first, inform her that I have family business to discuss with her.”

Mila held up her letter. “I could message her, sir.”

Shaw turned around. “I would appreciate it. Thank you.”

As she adjusted her letter so she could type into it, Mila felt a chill up her spine. It wasn’t so much as a glare, but a discerning glance from Beat. He walked over to the bed, lifted up Zaniyah’s belt with his foot, and retrieved her letter. All the while, Mila was slowly typing into her letter.

“Sorry, it takes me awhile to type.” She smiled up apologetically.

“Take your time,” replied Shaw patiently. His eyes flitted to Irving, who was smiling mysteriously, then back to Mila.

Beat calmly walked to the back of the room, opened the window, and hurled Zaniyah’s letter out of it. The device was solid metal, it wouldn’t be harmed by a fall. However, it was heavy enough to do some damage to anyone walking about in the courtyard. A fact that was overlooked by Beat during his panic to get rid of it.

He shut the window quietly and made his way to the door, where Mila was still typing. “Was there anything else you needed me for, or may I return to my nap?”

Shaw glanced over his shoulder, glaring as he did so. “That will be all,” he growled. He then addressed Mila in a much calmer manner. “Thank you for your assistance, Miss Fletch.”

They continued to talk, but Beat didn’t care to listen in. He sat on the edge of the bed and let out a long sigh. Zaniyah crawled out from underneath the bed. She pulled on her clothes and sat down next to Beat. Neither said anything for what seemed like the longest time.

“... I’m sorry for throwing your letter outside the window,” said Beat.

“I would’ve done the same thing,” muttered Zaniyah. She then let out her own sigh and buried her face into her hands. “I really need to talk to Shaw about staying out of my business.”

“He doesn’t know what to do with himself when the prince isn’t around,” grumbled Beat. He then glanced over to Zaniyah, put his arm about her shoulder, and kissed her temple. “You should head off.”

“Right out the window,” replied Zaniyah with disdain. She eased herself away from Beat and straightened her belt. “I’ll see you later.”

As Zaniyah made her way down the side of the wall, she realized that she had a lot weighing down on her mind. Most of that was shoved down as she started to search the courtyard for her letter. She kept looking between the window and ground, trying to work out what possible trajectory it could’ve taken.

She walked past Veximarl without even noticing him. He was leaning against the fence that circled around the dueling area. Tish had left to prepare for her mission and he was attempting to use this moment of peace to speak with Gwyn, but she was still being bitter.

He continued to type into his letter as he spoke. “Your letter landed over there.” He pointed to behind a fence post without looking up from his device.

“Thanks, Vex.” Zaniyah hopped over the fence and grabbed it. She dusted it off before putting it back in its pouch. “Any missions for us?”

Veximarl cursed under his breath and put his letter away. Gwyn was being passive-aggressive about Tish’s behavior, and it was beginning to infuriate him. “... Hmm? What was that?”

“Any missions for us?” Zaniyah asked again as she put a hand to her hip.

“Ah, just, uhm…” He snapped his fingers a couple of times. “Alton said something about ghost hunting.”

“Seriously?!” Zaniyah quickly began to type into her letter.

Veximarl looked up at the sky. Not too far into the afternoon, but he was already exhausted. “He said he was going to deal with some business with Vincent, so he may not reply.”

The letter in Zaniyah’s hand buzzed. “Yeah, he just said that.” She frowned to herself. “It better be ghost hunting, otherwise I’m gonna run off to fight those super bandits that are supposed to be wandering about.”

It was the usual Zaniyah language, but something about her tone caught Veximarl off guard. She didn’t seem to be particularly excited about finding someone strong to fight, which was highly unusual for her. “Was something troubling you?”

“Eh?” Zaniyah scratched at her head, getting her fingers tangled up in her curls… Great, she’d have to spend an hour brushing it out again. “... Well, I guess there are some things, but I’ll just wait to talk to Alton about it? It’s personal stuff.”

Finally, a proper distraction. “I may be the captain of our squad, Zaniyah, but I do consider us to be friends.”

That wasn’t what Zaniyah believed. They were more like… Close acquaintances? She never learned how to relax and talk to Veximarl like he was one of her regular friends. “Alright. I mean, I guess we can try it.”

The two of them headed upstairs and took their usual seats around the squad table. Zaniyah looked around the room while Veximarl poured her a glass of water. It was like he was preparing for a therapy season or something, which was making her feel uncomfortable.

“Go ahead,” said Veximarl encouragingly.

Zaniyah hesitated. “You know, it just feels like you’re better at the whole reassuring people about death and whatever else is all spooky wooky. You’re not really a ‘living person’ sort of person, Vex.”

The remark, those innocent, bit deeply into Veximarl’s pride. “I may be a necromancer, but I am also a student of the church. Our role as acolytes is to guide the rest of humanity. There is nothing you can say that will make me uncomfortable. Now, what is the issue at hand?”

“Well, it’s about sex and intimacy and stuff?” Zaniyah said with a tilt of her head.

Veximarl immediately stood up. “Perhaps it is better to address such matters with Lady Blu.” He immediately second-guessed himself. “No, no… I can do this.” He sat back down. “... Go ahead.”

Well, now Zaniyah didn’t really want to. “I guess,” she grumbled. “... Look, uhm. I guess what it is, is that I don’t know how to feel about me and Beat breaking up. We both act like it’s just a matter of shaking hands and thanking the other for their time, but…” Her voice drifted off.

“Are you in love with him?”

In love with Beat? “I put a lot of thought into it, but I don’t know if I know what love is supposed to feel like.”

Another innocent statement that bit into Veximarl’s core. “It’s often difficult to assess emotions during the heat of the moment. Time can be the best teacher for how we could have treated ourselves and our loved ones better.”

“I knew it,” replied Zaniyah. “I’m going to go see if Alton needs help with…” Alton had told her that he was with Vincent. “...” She sat back down. “I’m gonna wait around her until Alton is available.”

It wasn’t that Alton was necessarily busy, but he was trapped within a small meeting room hidden within the corner of the library. Vincent sat next to him. Neither said anything. Alton spent his time glaring at the door while Vincent read a book.

The door finally opened and Gwyn walked inside. She straightened out her skirt before she took a seat at the table, across from both Alton and Vincent. Not a word was said as she waited for one of them to speak up first.

“You’re late,” grumbled Alton.

“This was an impromptu meeting, and I was in the middle of a conversation,” she replied.

Alton inhaled slowly. “I don’t know if it’s you riding the red tide or if you got a knitting needle stuck up your ass, but you better tell me exactly what has been your problem with everyone!”

There was plenty wrong. Everyone around her was so blind to what was happening, but Veximarl had binded her teeth to keep her from chattering. Gwyn was becoming tired of it. She didn’t want to risk having people hate her or lose this place as her home.

“Toval,” said Vincent as a mild warning.

“I’m tired of this, Highland,” spat back Alton. “She doesn’t have a right to shit on everyone because she’s feeling jealous!”

“I’m jealous now, is that it?” Asked Gwyn calmly.

Vincent quickly interjected. “We are here to give you the opportunity to air out your worries within a safe environment.

“Safe environment,” repeated Gwyn. Because she absolutely felt safe after being cornered in a room with two idiots.

Alton rolled his eyes. “We know you have a problem with Tish and Vex’s relationship. That’s fine, I almost get it, but we can’t have two captains fighting. It weakens the barracks.”

“Your concern is legitimate,” replied Gwyn.

“That’s why I am going to suggest that you step down and allow Highland to reassume his position as captain,” said Alton as he leaned back in his chair.

Gwyn shook her head. “Mister Highland has already explained that he will be returning to Carapace next winter so he can prepare himself to fight within the war. He is unable to ”

“My family wished for me to make preparations in the event of my death,” added Vincent. “I plan to enlist on my twentieth birthday.”

That was the first that Alton was hearing about this. He stared at Vincent for a moment, concerned that this hadn’t been brought up before. Then his eyes drifted to the table. It wasn’t as though Vincent and him were close friends, and all of them were going to be drafted if the war were to continue.

He had, for the slightest of moments, thought that him and Vincent were close enough that it would’ve been brought up at some point or another. “... I see,” he muttered quietly.

“Miss Maplehammer and I may have our disagreements,” stated Gwyn, “but I will handle those with her myself.” She retrieved her letter and began to type into it. “The only problem you should be concerned with is the fact that you two thought it best to corner me like a pest rather than speak to me as an equal.”

“That wasn’t our intention,” stated Vincent.

“Perhaps, but it doesn’t make you any less rude.”

Alton was still feeling unsettled. It took him a second to gather his thoughts. “Listen, I just need you to not have these outbursts in front of everyone. You can’t be taking out your anger on us just because you’re mad at someone else.”

Gwyn’s letter buzzed. She checked it as she stood up. “Then I will simply have to follow your strategy and deal with it myself.” She nodded at the pair. “Good day, gentlemen. Worry not. The problem will soon be dealt with.”

Alton tapped his finger against the table as Gwyn walked out of the room. He mentally counted to ten before he stood up. “I think she just declared that she was going to murder Tish.”

Vincent stood up, much more quickly than Alton had. “Why didn’t you say something sooner, when we could have stopped her?”

“Because she has scarier magic than we do,” spat back Alton. “I’m not pissing off a crazy plant lady in a room as small as this one. Now get moving, we need to get to Tish before she does.”