The Woodward Academy,

Chapter 8: January

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"So, right about here is where I got yelled at by Misty," David said.

Sam chuckled, and then she asked, "And she just left you here?"

"Yeah. She went back to the school, and then Giendia and I continued on to the waterfall."

"Would you like us to perform the friendship ceremony?" Sam asked as they neared the waterfall.

David thought for a second, then said, "No... I think we've already performed our own friendship ceremony. Besides, I think I'd like that to remain something unique between Giendia and me."

Sam nodded. They walked on past the waterfall, continuing down the path through the forest. They were heading for the centaur village, which was another mile down the road. Sam had asked David if he wanted to go see the village, since neither of them had anything to do today. He had readily agreed.

The two walked along, chatting, through the lightly falling snow. They were in no hurry; it was a nice winter day, and they were enjoying it. When they reached the village, they stopped, so that David could take in what he was seeing.

The road continued on straight through the village, with what looked like paths leading off it. David assumed the paths led to more houses, as he could only see perhaps two dozen houses in view. All of them were large, and taller than what he would consider normal for one-story houses. He didn't figure this was unusual, since centaurs were much taller than humans. The houses were post-and-beam construction and rustic. Like his first impression of Gorumshead, he felt the village had a "quaint" look to it.

"Now, how do we set about finding Giendia?" Sam asked. "If centaurs used magic, we could just call her up and have her meet us."

"Centaurs don't use magic?" David asked.

"No. It makes them uncomfortable to use it. They don't object to others using it, mind you, they just... I don't know. They seem not to be very good with it, and so they just kind of avoid it."

"Even magical items, like mirrors? I mean, you don't have to do any magic to use them..."

Sam shrugged. "I think that once you turn your back on the use of magic, you just naturally decide not to use any of it."

"I guess. Seems like living in Earth without a cellphone, though."

"What's a cellphone?" Sam asked curiously.

"A mirror for the magically impaired," David replied with a grin. Sam chuckled.

Seeing a lady centaur coming out of her house, David called out, "Excuse me, can you help us?"

The centauress came over to them. David admired her coat, which was brightly colored, and covered not only her upper body, but her entire horse back as well, ending at her rump. She smiled at the two of them. "Well, I will certainly try. What can I do for you?"

"Do you know Dubnin, or Giendia? We're trying to find their house."

"Everyone knows everyone here, I'm afraid," she said with a grin. "And Giendia is a friend of my daughter. To get to their home, take that lane there," she said, pointing. "Go down to the second lane on your left, and that will lead to their home."

"Thank you very much," David said.

"My pleasure. Can I ask you a question?" she said before they walked away.

"Sure."

"How can you stand having those clunky things on your feet?"

David laughed. He was wearing his hiking boots. He told the lady, "You get used to it after a while... especially if your feet are sensitive to the cold!"

The lady smiled at him, and then walked off. They turned and walked toward the path that had been pointed out. It didn't take them long to find Dubnin's house, which looked much like all the other houses, well-kept and in good repair. The only difference David saw was the wrought iron archery bow set over the door as a decoration.

"I guess we just knock?" David asked Sam. She nodded. David did so, as hard as he could, since the door was heavy, and it might be hard to hear a normal knock.

In just a few seconds, the door, which was on a rail, rather than hinges, slid open, and David was confronted with a very naked Giendia.

"David!" she said. Seeing how his mouth dropped open, she blushed. Sam, noting both of their discomfort, chuckled. Struggling through her embarrassment, Giendia said, "Come on in. Let me, uh, go throw a shirt on."

"Thanks," David said. "For letting us in, I mean."

"Oh? You don't want me to throw a shirt on?" Giendia asked coyly.

David would have been blushing crimson, if he could. He stuttered a bit, then said, "Um, I think you'd better put one on, or I'll be distracted for my entire visit."

Giendia giggled, and trotted off into her room. Dubnin, who had watched the exchange in amusement, came over to both of them. "Welcome to our home, David. And who is this?"

"Sam, meet Dubnin, Giendia's father, and a top-notch athlete. Dubnin, this is Prof. Sam Stott. She's my friend and my Potions Master."

The two shook hands and shared greetings. By the time that was finished, Giendia returned with her lady parts covered. "Is this better?" she asked. Her shirt was pale blue, loose fitting, and had ruffles on the sleeves.

"It's less distracting," David said.

"So what brings you to the village?" she asked him. They all moved over toward the fireplace. There were no chairs, as centaurs simply knelt on soft floor mats. David and Sam chose to sit on a low table.

"Nothing, really," David said. "We just came to visit, and see what the village was like."

"And what is your impression of our village?" Dubnin wondered.

"Quiet," David said with a smile. Dubnin chuckled.

"In the winter, it does seem to be. We tend to stay indoors."

"Don't your children want to play in the snow?" David asked. "Giendia was awfully good in the snowball fight for her to be new at it..."

"Oh, certainly, the children do. But they usually wander off into the meadow for such fun, rather than play in the village."

David nodded.

"What else did you notice?" Giendia wondered.

David shrugged. "It seems like a nice place. I've only been here a few minutes. The houses are larger than I expected... but I think that's just me thinking in human scale, rather than centaur scale."

Giendia nodded.

"I must say, the houses are very nice on the inside, though." He was looking around as they talked. The front door led into a central main room. The fireplace was directly opposite the front door. The post-and-beam construction made for a large open space, giving an airy feel. Off of the main room were many doors which led to the other rooms of the house.

"Would you like a tour?" Giendia asked.

"Sure," David said.

"I'll wait here with Dubnin," Sam said.

Giendia rose from her mat, and David followed her. The first door they walked through led to the kitchen. David marveled at it. It was very spacious, allowing for easy maneuvering for a centaur. For a human, of course, it looked like a huge empty space. He saw what was obviously a stove, with four flame pits. Beside that, in the wall, was an oven. The sink was large and deep, and appeared to be made of some kind of stone. It took David a second to realize what was missing.

"Don't you guys have a refrigerator?"

"A what?"

David rolled his eyes, and tried to think how to describe the device. "A... closet, that stays cold, so you can keep food in it that won't spoil for a long time."

"Oh! You mean a food cabinet. It's right here." She opened the door to what looked like a cupboard, between the stove and the sink. David did notice that it was a fair bit colder than the rest of the room, but not quite as chilly as he was used to.

"Is that cold enough to keep food fresh?" he asked.

"Well, it's not the cold that protects the food. This is one of the few pieces of magic we use. The cabinet protects the food magically. You could keep something in here for years."

She closed the cabinet, and then they moved back into the main room. She took him next into their dining room, which had a large table, but once again, no chairs.

"Do you eat standing, or lying down?" David asked.

"Usually, lying down. It's more relaxed."

The next room on this side of the house was the bathroom. This was fascinating to David. He saw what was clearly a huge shower stall, and a sink, but he saw nothing that was recognizably a toilet. He did, however, see what looked like a hole in the floor.

"Confused?" Giendia asked with a smile.

"Kind of," he admitted.

"I've seen human toilets. I know this must not make much sense. It works like this," she said, stepping over the hole. There was a lip around the hole, to prevent a hoof from slipping in. "You stand here, and... do your business," she said. "It goes down into the hole, way down, until it hits a pool of water. When you're done, you pull this chain," she said, indicating a chain on the wall, "and that sends your... uh... stuff... on its way."

"Oh! So it works pretty much the same as our toilet, just designed different, since... well, since you're not a human."

Giendia smiled. "I guess. I didn't pay too much attention to how human toilets work."

With their exploration of the bathroom complete, they went back to the main room, and moved to the other side of the house.

"The bedrooms are on this side. That one is Father's. This one is mine," she said, motioning him inside.

The room was spacious, by human standards, but once Giendia was inside, the room became cozy. There was another soft mat on the floor, and beside it, a large, tall pillow with a curved top. In the corner was a wardrobe made of dark wood. There was no other furniture in the room.

"I guess you don't spend much time in here," David said.

"No, this is just a sleeping space. Or, if I really need to be alone for a while, I'll come in here and shut the door."

After a moment of hesitation, David asked, "How do centaurs sleep?"

"I'll show you," she said. She moved over onto the mat, and knelt down. Then she pulled the large pillow close into her body, and laid her human half down onto it. The curve of the pillow supported her completely, even curving back up to support her head.

"No tossing and turning at night for you, I guess," David said.

"Huh?" Giendia asked, sitting up.

"Nothing. Some humans have trouble getting to sleep, and they'll shift positions a lot at night."

"Oh. No, we don't do much of that."

Giendia and David stayed in her room for a little while, just chatting without having "the adults" present. Finally, she said, "I guess we should go back out and join them."

"I guess," he said.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"What do you do for fun? One of my worries when we came here was that we wouldn't find you at home."

"Well, me, personally, I practice my archery. But when you showed up, I was doing chores still. I wasn't going to the range for another hour or so."

"Oh."

"Would you like to go?" she asked. "I'm sure Father will let me put off chores until later."

"I've never fired a bow and arrow in my life," David admitted.

"I can teach you how," she said. She rose from the mat and walked over to the wall, where her bow was hanging. She handed it to him, and instructed him on how to hold it.

"Now, pull the string back."

David couldn't even make it budge.

"Oops," Giendia said, grinning. "Well... um... maybe if we can borrow a beginner's bow. We could go ask to borrow Lysilla's bow."

"Lysilla..."

"You met her last year. My cousin, remember?"

"Oh! You mean the baby? She already has a bow?"

"Well, it's a beginner's bow. We don't get real arrows until we're four or five. She has special arrows. If they hit anything, they just fall apart. But the bow is real enough. That way, we get used to using it."

"Oh."

"You wanna try?"

"Sure, if she won't mind us borrowing her bow..."

"Let's go see."

They went out and told the others their plan, and then Sam accompanied them across the village to Dubnin's sister's house. Her name was Silesia.

"Well, hello, Giendia, what can we do for you today?"

"Hi, Aunt Silesia. Do you remember David?"

"Certainly. Hello again, David. It's nice to see you."

"Nice to see you, too, ma'am. How is your little girl?"

"Lysilla is just fine. She's just gone down for a nap."

Giendia said, "Oh. We were hoping that we could borrow her bow. I wanted to teach David how to shoot, but he can't pull my bow back."

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind him borrowing it. Let me get it for you."

Silesia disappeared into the child's room, and was back out again quickly with the bow. She handed it to David, who held it awkwardly.

"Thank you. We'll bring this back in a little while."

"Have fun," Silesia said. The three then returned to Dubnin's house, to pick up Giendia's archery gear, and to allow Dubnin to join them. They all trekked out to the archery range, which wasn't too far from their house.

While David figured out how his arm guard was supposed to fit, Giendia set up their target, and she took one practice shot herself, nailing the very center of the bull's eye.

"Show off," David said with a grin. Giendia blushed. She handed him an arrow.

"Are you left-handed or right-handed?" she asked.

"Right."

"Okay. Hold the bow in your left hand, like this," she said, demonstrating with her own, "and lay the arrow across it, putting the bow string into the notch of the arrow, and resting the arrow against the rest there, with your fingers on the string like this. Once you feel your arrow is stable, bring the bow up and pull it back... somewhere around your chin or a little further."

David did so. It was tough to hold like that.

"Aim a little above the bull's eye, and let go."

"How in the hell do I let go?" he asked.

"Just relax your fingers. Let the bow string push past them."

David did so. He managed to miss the target by no less than five feet.

Giendia had only one thing to say to that. "Wow."

"I told you I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn," David told her.

"Let's try that again," she said. "I want to watch your hands more closely."

This time, David was only three feet from the target.

Giendia made a few adjustments to his hand position. By the time she was done, his arrows were at least hitting the actual target, though he was nowhere near the bull's eye.

After a half-hour of this, David's arm was very sore, and his aim was beginning to suffer again due to fatigue. He stepped aside, and let Giendia practice.

"I'm glad that archery's not a required skill for me to graduate," he told Sam, who chuckled at him.

"You'd get it with more practice," Giendia encouraged him. "We already got you ninety percent of the way to the bull's eye. I mean, you started all the way out there," she said, pointing to his first arrow, which was still stuck in a tree.

"Uh-huh," David said, unconvinced. "Something tells me that last ten percent is the hardest."

In response to that, Giendia put another arrow into the target's bull's eye, right next to the first one she'd fired. David just shook his head.

After another half-hour, they all headed back to the house. Giendia motioned David to follow her when she went to her bedroom to put away her bow, and so he did.

"You were a good sport about it," she told him. He smiled at her.

"And you were a very patient teacher," he replied. She settled down onto her mat, so they were closer to eye-level. She motioned him to come close to her, and when he was within reach, she leaned forward and kissed him, embracing him tightly. David kissed back happily, letting his hands rest against her back just above her horse shoulders. After a minute or so, they finally separated. She smiled at him softly, and he mirrored the expression.

After a second, David asked, "Does this have a meaning?" He was gesturing to the pendant on her forehead, held there by a thin gold chain that went around her head.

"It's my rank medallion."

David looked at her confusedly, and so she explained.

"Everyone above the age of fifteen is in the centaur military in some way. If you're an actual soldier, you'll have a sash, or a helmet, or a medallion of some kind to wear around your neck, it depends on what you do in the military. If you're not a soldier yet, you'll have this smaller medallion."

"And you have to wear it all the time?"

"No, but I like it. Besides, I think it shows my pride in being a centaur."

David nodded. To end the discussion, he kissed her again, and they stayed that way for a while. Finally, though, they knew they had to stop.

"I guess Sam and I had better get going," David said quietly.

"What is Sam to you?"

"She's my Potions Master," he told her.

"She's more than that..." Giendia insisted.

David grinned. "We are also close friends."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"Not as such. She... uh... doesn't believe in having a boyfriend."

"Oh. But you two date?"

"Erm," David said. "Are you trying to politely ask if we're intimate?" he said with a grin. Giendia's entire upper body blushed instantly. David chuckled.

"I see. The answer is, yes, we are. Why are you asking?" David asked.

Giendia's blush didn't fade. "I just wanted to know."

"Uh-huh," David said, teasing her. He kissed her briefly, then said, "Come on, let's go back out so I can say good-bye to your father."

"Okay."

Sam and David said their good-byes, and then made their way out of the village.

"I think Giendia has a crush on you," Sam told him.

"Even I'm not that dense, Sam. I just can't figure out why she's interested in a human."

"That, I can't answer. I've never actually heard of a centaur chasing after a human."

"Hmm," David replied. He spent a lot of the walk back to school thinking about it.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

When the time came for David to move back into the dorm, Sam seemed a bit upset.

"What's the matter?" David asked her.

Sam shrugged. "I guess I just kinda got used to you being here."

David hugged her, and then, being entirely serious, asked, "You're not falling in love with me, are you?"

Sam smiled softly at him. "No, I'm past that point in my life. But I do enjoy your company a great deal." After a moment, she asked, "Why? You're not..."

David shook his head. "I was just making sure that the rules hadn't changed."

Sam shook her head. "Even if I was falling in love with you, I wouldn't burden you with that. You're at a point in your life where you need to explore and see what life...um, well, in your case, undeath... has to offer."

David smiled at her small joke. He said, "I don't think the 'burden' of your love would be terribly hard to bear."

She smiled back at him, and kissed him passionately. When they broke apart, she said, "Don't get me wrong. I do love you. I'm just not in love with you. I love you as a close friend. I would trust you with my safety, which I don't say about very many people."

David nodded in understanding. "That's about how I feel about you, I guess. I don't want to marry you, but I don't want you to go away, either."

Sam smiled at him. "I'm not going anywhere." They kissed again, and then headed for the bedroom. David's departure would be delayed for a little while.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

By the time the other students started returning to the school on the following Sunday, David was thoroughly bored out of his mind. He'd already read one of his textbooks completely, and had started on another. He'd visited Sam a few times, but now that he wasn't staying with her, going to her apartment felt a little like invading her privacy, despite her assurance that he was welcome at any time.

Nate was the first to show up, waving to David, who was staring out the window at the countryside and playing a made-up game with Jailla. David would flip a seed, and Jailla would try to catch it, but without using his wings to help him move. Jailla was winning.

Jim came in a little while after Nate, and waved to the others. He tossed his bag on his bed while Melissa went over to give David a hug in thanks for her Christmas present. He'd gotten her another fruit basket.

"So how was your Yule break?" Jim asked, once he'd settled at his own desk, since that's where David was sitting.

David shrugged. "Same shit, different day," he said. He'd been warned by both Dean Lengel and Prof. Stott not to talk too much about where he'd spent his break. They had said he could tell people that he'd been in faculty housing, but not where that was. David found it easier just not to mention it at all.

"You got my gift, I see," Jim said. Jailla was currently sitting on it, preening himself.

"Yes, and Jailla says thank you. I donated his old one to Professor Schmidt, in case he could use it in the Animal Annex. You, uh... got yours, too?"

"Yeah. And double-thanks for the warning this year! Mom would have had a cow! But... why are you sending me stuff about sex, when you know I have no one to practice it on?"

"Sooner or later, you will," David said. "And rather than what happened last time," he said in a harsh whisper, "if you feel like you know what you're doing, maybe you'll relax a bit!"

Jim blushed, and nodded.

-----

Simon was the last one to arrive. He waved, but went right into his bedroom. Shortly, he came back out with a box. He set it on the table and opened it.

"Goodies from my mom," he announced.

"From that same cookbook?" Jim asked.

"Yep."

All three descended on the box, to enjoy the magically good snacks.

"Where's Koda?" David asked.

"In time-out. The little bastard scratched me on the neck on the way here." He turned his head to show them, and the scratch was obvious, as it was red and inflamed.

"You might want to have that looked at," Nate said. "It looks pretty nasty."

Simon shrugged. "It doesn't bother me that much."

Nate likewise shrugged and said, "It's your neck, dude."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Shit, Simon. You need to go see Healer Hall," David said. "You look like shit."

"I can't miss my very first class!" he insisted. "Prof. Thropp will kill me!"

"If you don't have that scratch looked at, it's likely to kill you," Jim said.

"You've got an hour. Just go up to the damned infirmary. She can probably take care of it with a simple spell, or a potion." David said. His was the voice of experience; he'd been to the infirmary too many times in his stay at Woodward.

"Potion... hey, can't you make something?" Simon said.

"I know of one or two potions that would work on that, probably, but I am not a healer... and besides, making those potions would take longer than just going to see the damned healer!"

Simon sighed. "All right. I'll go see her."

"Stop whining," David said. "She's pretty." Nate and Jim chuckled at that remark.

"We'll see you in class," David said, and then they all headed out. Simon made for the infirmary, while the others went to breakfast.

-----

"Good morning, class," Prof. Thropp said. "This is Enchantments and Curses 202. You've been at this school long enough, I'm not going through a whole speech about what this class is about. If you don't know by now, you're in serious trouble. We will be progressing from where we left off last year. Today, however, we are going to start the class with a simple pop quiz, to review your knowledge."

There was a universal groan in the room, which Prof. Thropp completely ignored. She flicked her hand, and the stack of papers on her desk distributed themselves among the students.

"God, I hate this class," Jim muttered to David, who was sitting next to him. David did not disagree.

"You have thirty minutes to complete the exam. Begin."

-----

"What did Healer Hall say about your neck?" David asked Simon when they all got together at lunch.

"She said it was some kind of toxin. Koda's claws must have been dirty when he scratched me, and whatever was on them got shoved into the wound. I'm gonna strangle that damned bat."

"Will you be all right?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. She gave me something for it. The pain's already gone, and she said the swelling would disappear in a few hours."

"That's good. Why did Koda scratch you, anyway?" Jim asked.

"Who the hell knows? His behavior's been weird this whole school year. My parents didn't have any suggestions. Maybe I need to take him to a shrink."

The group chuckled at that.

Changing the subject, Gwen asked, "David, do you have Herbology next?"

David shook his head. "My Herbology class isn't until tomorrow afternoon. I have History next. Why?"

"Figured you could help me. I'm not that great with plants."

"Why are you taking Herbology, anyway? Since you stopped with Potions training..."

"I've got to focus on something, don't I? Herbologists can make some good money."

"I suppose. I would have thought you'd have focused on something like Technomandy or TEM, both of which you seem to be excellent at."

Gwen shrugged. "They're fun, but I don't see a real career in them."

David grinned. "Well, now that I wouldn't know anything about. I have no idea what anyone does here!" The entire group laughed at that.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Good morning, everyone. For those of you new to my class, my name is Catherine Arpilla, and we are here for Metamorphosis 202. Is anyone here mistakenly? No? Very good.

"This semester, we will continue the process of generalizing our morphs, so that intent replaces specific spellwork. Passing this class will be more about how hard you appear to be trying, because there is every chance that you will fail to perform most of the morphs in the second half of the semester. Having said that, I would advise you to give this class your best shot, and not to get discouraged. Should you 'give up' because you aren't succeeding, that will affect your grade substantially.

"Today, we are going to have... well, not a quiz, but a review worksheet. I just want to see what you remember, or what you have learned from other instructors. I want to know where we're really starting from." The professor performed a charm, and the small wooden block that had been sitting on everyone's desk suddenly morphed itself into a piece of parchment with questions on it.

"You have about half the class to finish, so take your time. Once everyone is done, we'll go over the course plan for the semester. Go ahead and start."

As David began to work on his paper, Prof. Arpilla showed up at his side with another student in tow. He looked up in curiosity.

"Sorry to interrupt you, David, but I'm going to ask you to change seats." David got up from his chair, and the other student sat down. As the professor led him to the front of the room, she explained. "Almost all of this semester's work will be about morphing people. Since you cannot be morphed, it's kind of unfair to your partner. As such, I will be your partner. You can practice your morphs on me. Do you have a class immediately after this one?"

"No, ma'am. I don't have another class until one o'clock."

"Okay. It may often be the case, then, if the others are having difficulty, that I may ask you to stay a little late, so that I can allow you to practice the morphs. That way, I will be able to instruct the other students. I'm sorry to inconvenience you in this way, but it is the best I can do in fairness to everyone."

"That's all right, Professor. The only thing I would do after this class is go to lunch, and I don't actually need to eat, anyway. I just do it out of habit, and to talk with my friends."

Prof. Arpilla nodded. "Okay. I will try to keep the after-class time to a minimum, but we'll just have to see how it goes. Go ahead and work on your paper."

"Yes, ma'am."

-----

"So, what's Prof. Arpilla like?" Gwen asked.

"Hot," Jim replied, before David could say anything.

"So why aren't you in her class, then?" Nate asked Jim.

"Well, I was trying to stick with everyone else," Jim said, to needle David.

"Hey, I tried to stay in Prof. Fibblebitz's class. I like her. But my classes just wouldn't work out."

"So, you still haven't said. What's she like?" Gwen asked again.

David shrugged. "Nice enough, I guess. I'm probably going to end up spending time after class with her."

"How come?" Olissa asked.

David explained about the seat change.

"Well, that kinda sucks," Gwen opined.

"Not really," David said. "My class ends fifteen minutes before you guys' class does, so even if I have to spend a few minutes after to work on the morph, I'll probably still make it here for lunch. If not... well... it's not like I have to eat, anyway, is it?"

"When is your next class?" Simon asked.

"At one. Divination."

Devyn looked up. "Crystallomancy?" she asked.

"Yeah, with Prof. Zoroaster. Why?"

"I also have that class."

"Oh. Cool."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

The next evening, during dinner, Devyn sat down between David and Gwen, which was unusual. She usually sat on the very edge of the group, on the other side of Gwen. During the meal, she leaned over to David and quietly spoke in his ear.

"I need to speak with you after dinner, if you do not mind."

David just looked over at her and nodded. Whatever it was, she obviously didn't want to talk about it at the dinner table, and so he would wait. When she turned her head back to speak to Gwen, he rejoined the conversation going on around him.

David finished his dinner, but then he sat, chatting with the others until Devyn was ready to leave. After a brief comment to Gwen, she turned to David, a questioning look in her eyes. He nodded, indicating that he was ready. The two rose from the table and headed out of Byron Hall. Jailla, sensing that a private discussion was about to happen, flew off to a nearby tree.

"What's on your mind?" David asked as they walked along the path to the floating rock.

Devyn was quiet for several steps. Finally, she said, "I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime." Her voice was quiet, and clearly a bit unsure. David was rather surprised at her question. They hadn't really spoken since their sex-date. He had assumed she wanted to put the experience behind her.

"I'm surprised you want to, but sure, I'd love to go out with you."

"Why are you surprised?" she asked.

"Well," he said hesitantly, "you seemed even quieter towards me since we had sex. I figured you hadn't really enjoyed it, and were trying to prevent me from asking for a repeat."

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Devyn said. "I very much enjoyed that evening. I am sorry I gave the impression that I did not. As I told you that night, I have not had a boyfriend in a couple of years. I am a bit nervous about it, and I also was not sure how you would react, and so I was hesitant to bring it up."

David shook his head sadly. "They need to teach us magic for communicating with each other," David said with a grin. "We all seem to be so bad at it."

"Indeed," Devyn said. "When would you like to go out?"

"Friday night?" he asked. "Um... is Gwen going to be okay with this?"

"We have an agreement concerning boys," Devyn reminded him.

David smiled. "Yeah, but do you have an agreement concerning boys you both regularly hang out with?"

Devyn's face took on a confused expression. "I do not see how that would make any difference."

David chuckled, and shook his head. "Maybe it doesn't. Would you be offended if I made sure this was okay with Gwen? I really don't want a relationship between you and I to mess up both of our relationships with her."

"I would not be offended. If you do not wish to date me..."

David stopped her with a raised hand. "I do want to date you. I just don't want anything to ruin it. I like to have... well, I like to know what I'm doing before I start doing it."

Devyn nodded. They were riding down on the floating rock now, and they stood quietly together until it reached their dorm, at which point Jailla rejoined them. David escorted Devyn back to her dorm room.

"I do wish to say," Devyn said, while they were standing in front of her door, "that you do not need to pretend that we have not already been intimate. I have seen a few couples on campus, who have come together as we are now doing, after having their sex-date, and they attempt to act like that date never happened, and start as if they have just met. Please do not do that to me. We have seen each other naked already. Let us act accordingly."

"Okay," David said. "In that case..." he stepped close to her, gently pulled her to him, and then leaned down and kissed her. She kissed back happily, enjoying the moment. After a long while, they parted.

Devyn smiled at him. "Thank you."

David ran his hand gently through her hair. "See you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Of course."

He gave her another quick kiss, and then he left her. He was not, however, going to waste any time getting his question answered. He walked down a floor, and found Gwen's room. He waited for her to show up, as he knew that she could not be back yet, since she had not passed them on the way to the dorm.

"Hey, David," Gwen said when she came down the hallway. "What's up?"

"Do you know what Devyn wanted to talk to me about?" he asked.

"No. I know she was uncomfortable about it, whatever it was. Didn't you talk with her?"

"I did. Our conversation concerns you, which is why I'm here."

"David, if it's something she's not willing to tell me, then I shouldn't hear it from you, either."

He shook his head. "It's not that kind of thing. She asked me out."

"Asked you... you mean, on a date?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Well, great! Not sure how that's my business..."

"Gwen, you're her girlfriend. Of course it's your business."

"We made an agreement where boys were concerned," Gwen said. "We are exclusive, when it comes to girls, but we may each date any boy we like."

"Okay, but when you made that agreement, did you consider the idea that one of you might date someone you both hang around regularly?"

"Well... no. I didn't, anyway. Why should that matter, though?"

"Hopefully, it doesn't. I just don't want to cause a problem between the three of us. I had this same kind of discussion with her about the sex-date, but this is a step beyond that, so I had to ask you. Is this going to be a problem?"

Gwen pursed her lips. For a long moment, she was quiet. Finally, she said, "I don't think so. I don't know, I kind of like the notion that I already know you. I can trust you. It makes me feel a bit better about her dating a guy that the guy she's dating, I know won't hurt her."

"You worry about that?"

"Devyn's kind of vulnerable. The wrong guy could really mess with her. I know you won't."

"So, you're okay with this?"

She nodded.

"Thank you. Now... what are my rules?"

"Huh?" she asked, confused.

"What can I not do to her in front of you?"

"Oh," Gwen said, then blushed. After she got her embarrassment under control, she said, "Well, since I figure I'll only see you two together in public, if it's safe for you to do in front of everyone else, I'll be okay with it."

David nodded.

"I must say, David, you're the weirdest guy when it comes to this kind of thing."

"I'm not sure if that was a compliment or not," David said.

Gwen smiled. "It was, if a sort of back-handed one. You're so concerned about everyone else's reaction to things. You never just seem to 'go with it'."

"I'm not concerned about everyone's reaction," he corrected her. "Just those people who are important to me."

Gwen blushed at that. "Thanks, David. That means a lot."

David gave her a hug, and she hugged back. When he let go, she looked at him.

"Does Devyn know you're talking to me about this?"

"Yes. I asked her if she would be offended if I got your permission. She said she wouldn't be."

"Okay. I just didn't want to goof and accidentally mention it to her or something."

"See, that is exactly what I'm trying to avoid," David said with a grin.

Gwen nodded, smiling at him.

"So when are you guys going out?" she asked.

"Friday night. I'm not sure yet where I'm taking her. Someplace better than a dakaball game!" he said. Both of them chuckled. Getting serious, he asked, "You have any suggestions?"

After only a second, she said, "Devyn likes music."

David nodded. "Thanks."

"See you tomorrow. I've got to get to my homework. Damn Prof. Thropp!"

David chuckled, and left her to her E&C misery.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David wore his dress uniform for his date with Devyn, and she commented on how nice he looked. She was also wearing her uniform, but with a frilly shirt beneath, which was much fancier than she normally would have worn.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Down to Gorumshead. There's a concert at the small amphitheater there."

Devyn gave him a slight smile, then asked, "What about your escort?"

"Misty's around here somewhere," David assured her. The two headed off for the rock lift, to enjoy their evening.

-----

After the concert, David and Devyn were returning to their dorm. They had just gotten off the rock lift when they were accosted.

"David, hi!" Cherise said sweetly.

David sighed. "What do you want, Cherise?"

Ignoring the tone of his voice, she replied, "Well, I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out tomorrow night, that's all." She smiled at him, seemingly oblivious to the incongruity of the situation.

David turned to Devyn. "You want to deal with her, or should I?"

Devyn grinned at him. "Let us both deal with her," she said. She leaned up and kissed David passionately. He was a bit surprised when her tongue got into the action, but he was more than happy to cooperate. For a long moment, they stood there and kissed. Cherise stood and watched in fascination mixed with horror.

When Devyn broke the kiss, she said, "Ignore her. Take me back to my room and ravish my body!"

"Well, I never!" Cherise said. She turned and stomped off in a huff. David chuckled, but then turned back to Devyn.

"Were you acting for her benefit, or do you really want me to do that?" he asked.

"I want nothing else right now," she told him seriously.

"Let's go, then."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Though it went unspoken, the group immediately noticed the change between David and Devyn. Devyn now sat between David and Gwen, and she also spoke to him more readily than she used to. She was still as distant from everyone else as she always had been, so they knew what was going on. They chose not to make a big deal out of it, for everyone's sake.

Jim, being Jim, did not hold with this behavior.

"So... you and Devyn, huh?" Jim asked when they were in their room getting ready for bed.

David shrugged.

"How'd that happen?"

"What do you mean, how did it happen? She asked me out, I said yes. That's kind of how dating occurs, Jim. You should try it sometime."

Jim blushed. In response, he said, "But, isn't she going with Gwen?"

"Yeah."

"So... are you dating Gwen, too?"

David chuckled. "If I said yes right now, you'd have a heart attack, wouldn't you?"

Jim's blush deepened. "No," he replied, lying.

David shook his head. "No, I'm not dating Gwen. Gwen and Devyn have an agreement about boys. I'm just dating Devyn... for however long that lasts."

"What do you mean by that?" Jim asked.

David shrugged again. "Well, it's not like any of my other girlfriends have stuck around."

"Except Prof. Stott," Jim replied.

"She's not a girlfriend," David reminded him.

"I wouldn't mind having that kind of non-girlfriend," Jim told him.

David smirked, and chuckled. "Yeah, I guess. My point is, I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet. Devyn seems nice... but you know what happened with Amanda."

"Yeah, but Marcus hasn't bothered you all year, except for a couple times he's called you names in passing."

"True. I guess I'm just a little leery of relationships right now. I mean, Sarah, Amanda, Rose..."

"Hey, at least you're having relationships!" Jim said. "All I've had is my sex-date with Flo. And you see how well that went!"

"Have you settled things with her yet?" David asked.

"I guess. She still makes me uncomfortable, even though she says that all is okay between us."

David shook his head. "Go to sleep," he said, and then lay his head down. This semester, he was trying to go to bed at the same time as the others in the suite. He knew he'd be up way before them, but at least some part of his routine would be normal this way. He lay back thinking about Devyn, wondering if their relationship would go anywhere.

He didn't notice as he faded off to sleep.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David got off the rock lift with Devyn and Gwen, re-entering their dorm. They'd just finished their lunch. Gwen excused herself, to go to her room. She had some serious studying to do for a Technomandy exam she had in a couple days. David walked with Devyn toward her room.

"I am beginning to have some difficulty with Potions class," Devyn told him as they walked. "Could you help me with it sometime?"

"Sure. Right now, if you want. I'm caught up on my work. I need to study for E&C, but I can do that in the morning."

"In the morning? You study before class?"

"Don't you remember? I only get four hours of sleep a night. I go to bed when my roommate does... but that means I get up at like four in the morning. Gives me plenty of time to shower in peace, and then study for a few hours."

Devyn nodded. "That would be quite helpful. Anyway, yes, now would be good." They were just entering her hallway. David thought he saw a head peek out of a doorway, but he couldn't identify a face, and it probably wasn't important...

Suddenly, Devyn cried out. Kohareth, her turtle familiar, was ripped from her hands by an unseen force, and hurtled down the hallway. As he flew, Kohareth screamed in terror, his eyes bugging out and his legs flailing.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

David was stunned for a second. He didn't even know that turtles could make noise. Once his brief moment of shock had passed, though, he realized that Kohareth was heading toward a solid stone wall. Devyn seemed to be frozen in utter disbelief. David had to think quickly, which was difficult with Kohareth continuing to scream. He pulled out his wand, and then dug rapidly through his memory. Finally, something surfaced.

He moved the tip of his wand in a vertical triangle and chanted over and over, "zapre tivko." Kohareth's speed dropped off, slowly decelerating him until he finally came to a stop. He gently settled to the floor, as the spell was counteracted. David pointed with his wand at Kohareth, and said, "Sem!" Kohareth lifted off one more time, and flew quickly back toward them, but not nearly so rapidly as before.

As Kohareth neared them, David heard a door down the hallway slam. He had a good idea whose doorway it was. He grabbed Kohareth out of the air, and then put his wand away. He handed the turtle back to its owner, who still looked befuddled about what had just happened.

"Come on," he told her, and they began walking again. When they got to a certain door, David stopped and banged on it, hard. It wasn't long before it opened.

"David, hi!" Cherise said brightly, greeting him with a huge smile.

"That wasn't funny. Kohareth could have been hurt."

"What wasn't funny?" Cherise asked innocently.

"Don't give me your fucking act, Cherise. I've had enough of you. Knock it the hell off."

"Well, David, I don't know what you're talking about. Did something happen? I wasn't with you, so I didn't see it. Perhaps if I'd been there, it could have been prevented. Since I wasn't, we'll never know, now will we?" she asked, her voice still sickly-sweet in tone.

David glared at her. Then, deciding there was little point in standing there, arguing with her, he just sighed, shook his head, and walked off. Devyn had walked on a ways, but then had stopped to wait for him.

"You think it was her that hexed Kohareth?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why do I think that?"

"Why would she do it?"

"To get back at you for Friday night. Or to get back at me for Friday night, through you. However you want to look at it."

"I see. Thank you, by the way, for rescuing Kohareth. I cannot believe that I was unable to think of a way to counter her spell."

"You haven't had to think on your feet quite as much as I have," he said.

"Perhaps."

"By the way, doesn't it get kind of annoying, having to carry your familiar with you everywhere? I mean, what if you need your hands for something?"

"If I truly need my hands, I will put him in an inside pocket of my coat. However, I like him to be able to see what is going on, and so I carry him. It does not bother me."

David shrugged. "To each his own. I'm just glad Jailla can keep himself attached."

Devyn grinned. They arrived at her door, and went in to start their studying.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Did you hear something?" Jailla asked suddenly.

David looked up from his TEM homework. It was the middle of the night, so he kept his voice down. "No, I was concentrating. What did you hear?"

"It sounded like some kind of noise coming from the other bedroom."

"Maybe Simon and Nate are talking."

"Before sunrise? Besides, it did not sound like talking. It sounded more like choking."

"Maybe someone coughed."

"Perhaps."

Just as David was about to go back to his studies, the door to Simon and Nate's room flew open. "David! Jim! Simon can't breathe!" Nate screamed out.

David jumped up from his chair. He was about to open the door to his own bedroom, to get Jim, but the door opened as he approached.

"What did he say?" Jim asked groggily.

"He said Simon can't breathe!" David replied. They ran into Simon's room, to find him lying on his bed, grasping at his throat. He was working mightily to take in a breath, but less was making it in with each inhalation.

"Are you choking on something?" David asked. Simon shook his head frantically, motioning to his throat.

"I think his throat is swelling," Jim said, after he asked Simon to open his mouth. "If we don't do something, he's not going to be able to breathe at all!"

David grabbed the nearest mirror, and dialed. "Infirmary!" He waited for the longest time before anything happened. He saw a half-asleep Healer Hall in the mirror, finally.

"Yes?" she said. "How can I help you?"

"My roommate can't breathe! It looks like his throat has swollen shut. He's only getting in just the barest wisps of air!"

"Not any more!" Jim called out. "Nothing's getting in now! Tell her to hurry!"

"I heard that," Healer Hall said, fully awake now. "I will be there in less than ten minutes."

"He hasn't got ten minutes!" David objected.

"And you yelling about it isn't getting me there faster!" she snapped, signing off.

David threw the mirror down angrily. He looked at Simon, feeling helpless.

"What do we do?" Nate asked, looking back and forth between Jim and David. "What do we do?"

Jim turned to David. "Did you ever see that episode of MASH? What about a tracheotomy?"

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" David exclaimed. "Even if we wanted to attempt it, neither of us knows dick about anatomy!"

"Well, we've got to do something!" Jim shouted.

David stood for a few seconds, then he rushed out of the room. First, he went to the door and opened it. He motioned several fireflies into the room, bringing it to daytime brightness. After that, he went to his desk and pulled out two scrolls.

As David ran his finger down the list on one, Jim came out and said, "What the hell are you doing?"

David ignored him for the moment. Not finding anything on the first scroll, he tossed it aside, and looked at the second one. About halfway down, he found what he needed.

"Shit, I hope I have enough," he muttered to himself. He reached up to his shelf and pulled down his potions kit. He tore it open, pulling out a large flask. After that, he looked through the other vials in the kit until he found a specific one. He grabbed it, yanking the stopper out. He opened the large flask, and dumped the vial into it. He put the stopper back in the flask and shook it vigorously.

Jim, who had gotten the idea once he saw what David was doing, asked, "What is that? More of what you used on the guard?"

David shook his head as he hurried to Simon's side. "I can't use Dendal Thyme like I did with the guard. That has to be swallowed, and Simon can't swallow anything."

"So what is it?" Nate asked as David opened the flask again.

"Sevat Wintergreen."

"What's it do?" Jim asked.

"This," David said, starting to dump it all over Simon's body. Everywhere that the potion hit, Simon's body turned to ice. He moved back and forth with the flask, making sure to cover the entire body. In just a minute, Simon looked like a frost sculpture. Once that was finished, he slumped back against Simon's nightstand.

"Again, all I can do is try to keep him alive until help comes."

"This is what you call alive?" Nate objected.

"Frozen like this, he doesn't need to breathe," David told him. "He is kept alive magically. I'm no healer, Nate. I can only do what I can do. I need to get access to more potions, and have them ready."

"Or make more base potions," Jim said. They were all still fidgety, but now they had nothing to actually do, which only made it worse. In a few more minutes, the door to the hallway flew open, and Healer Hall and one of her helpers rushed in. Jim motioned them into the room.

Once Healer Hall saw the body, she said, "You didn't say he was frozen."

"He wasn't," David explained. "I did that, so that he would live long enough for you to get here."

Healer Hall looked at him in surprise, then smiled with a nod. "Good thinking. What did you use?"

"Sevat Wintergreen."

Healer Hall actually grinned now. "He's going to hate you when he wakes up," she said.

"Why?"

"He's gonna have the shivers for three weeks now," she said with a chuckle.

"Oh. Oops."

Growing more serious, she said, "When you called, you said he couldn't breathe..."

"His throat is swollen closed," Jim told her. Healer Hall leaned over the frozen body, but couldn't really tell much, since she couldn't manipulate anything.

"Okay. Let's get him back to the infirmary, where I can have all the possible fixes handy before we defrost him." She turned to David. "Good, quick thinking. You probably just saved his life. Certainly you made it easier for me to treat him without having to operate in panic mode."

"Will he be okay?" David asked.

"Probably, but I won't know for sure until I know what caused his throat to swell. You boys should get back to bed, and try to get some sleep."

"Can I come along?" David asked. "I was already up, anyway."

After a moment's hesitation, Healer Hall said, "Okay. Come on."

-----

"How is Simon?" Gwen asked when David sat down to lunch. They were all interested.

"Cold and grumpy," David replied with a chuckle. "Ungrateful bastard."

"I do not understand," Devyn said, next to him.

"I had to use a freezing potion on him. Healer Hall says he's going to be shivering for weeks." The others laughed.

"Better shivering than dead," Nate opined.

"That's what I said. Simon wasn't so sure he agreed," David replied.

"Do they know what happened?" Jim asked.

"He was hexed, somehow. Healer Hall is not clear about what hex was used, but it caused his throat to swell up."

"Now, wait a minute," Nate said, immediately jumping to conclusions. "I didn't hex anybody!"

"No one said you did," Jim told him.

"But I was the only one in the room!" Nate said. "If he's getting hexed with that kind of thing, and I'm the only one around to hex him, they're gonna blame me! And I didn't do it!"

"Take it from me," David said, "even if you had done it, which I don't believe, without any proof, there's nothing they can do to you, anyway."

"But if Nate didn't do it," Gwen asked, and then quickly said, "And I don't think you did it either, Nate, but if you didn't... who did?"

That, they all agreed, was a very good question.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Is he okay?" Sam asked.

"Shivery, but okay. What I was wondering... is there a potion that could have done this to him?"

"Done what, exactly?"

"Made his throat swell up... but it would have to have waited hours after he took it to do so. I mean, it was like four in the morning. He'd been in bed for a long time."

Sam nodded, and then she cocked her head, thinking. "I can't think of one, honestly. There might be one, but it's beyond my knowledge."

"I don't mean to be rude, but how extensive is your knowledge of potions?"

Sam smirked. "No one knows them all. Especially since new ones are getting created all the time. But I do know all of the popular ones, and quite a few obscure ones."

David nodded. "Can I ask how close we are to being through with the ingredient review we've been doing this year?"

"Several weeks, why?"

"I'd like to make up some base potions. How many base potions are there?"

"Dozens. Hundreds, really, but most of them aren't all that useful. Why are you suddenly interested in base potions?"

"Because so far this year, I've had to use one to save someone twice. I almost couldn't, in Simon's case, because the two potions I've got only had the one thing that would help. I want to have more options in case of trouble."

"You expecting trouble?"

"I'm undead," David said. "Isn't that answer enough?"

Sam smiled. "Okay. We'll split our time, half and half. It will slow down your ingredient study, but getting in some base potion experience will be good for you, too. Where do you want to start?"

"I need to make more Sevat's. I used up my entire supply on Simon."

"Good grief, no wonder he's cold! You didn't even need half of that flask!"

"I didn't know that, and I wasn't taking any chances."

"Fair enough," she said. "Well, get to work. You know how to make Sevat's already."

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a grin.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"All right, David. You did well on this morph," Prof. Arpilla said.

"The fifth time," David grumped.

"Come now. Almost no one got it right the first time, and some in here didn't manage it at all. You are not expected to get every spell right on the first try. That is what learning is for."

"Yes, ma'am," David said. "I'd just like to be good at something magical."

"From what I hear, you are quite excellent at potions."

David nodded. "Sure, but those don't really feel magical. I mean, what I have to do isn't magical. I just have to get the ingredients right, and mix them properly. It's not really magic."

Prof. Arpilla bit her lip, and then nodded. "I think I see your point. Still, you're doing quite well in here. Certainly, you could be doing better... but you could also be doing far, far worse. Try not to be so hard on yourself, and I think you might find life a little easier to swallow."

"Yes, ma'am."

"We're done for the day. I'll see you next class."

"Have a good day, Professor."

"You, too."

David walked out of Hyneman Hall and made his way down to the terrace. It was lunch time, and he was running so late that everyone would be there by the time he arrived. He couldn't dawdle too much; he had another class at 1:00, and It was on the opposite side of campus.

When he entered Byron Hall, the others were already eating. He sat down and said hi, and ordered his lunch. When the pixie popped out, David looked around and said, "Where's Olissa and Rick?"

There were indefinite grunts, and Gwen said, "I saw them in TEM, but they went in a different direction when they left class."

"Hmm," David said. "Must be having a picnic or something." With that, he let the matter drop, and focused on his lunch, which was good, as usual.

-----

"David?" Prof. Zoroaster asked quietly. David had just come out of a divinatory trance.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Firstly, how did your seeing go?"

"Not so good. Does having a familiarity with your subject help in divination?"

"Most assuredly. The better you know someone, the more easily you can divine the thread of the future that belongs to them. However, it's a problem that gets easier with practice."

"Hmm. Well, perhaps I just don't know Tommy well enough to divine his future, then."

"Entirely possible," Prof. Zoroaster said. "I would task you with trying to get to know him better in the next few days, and see if it makes a substantive difference to your ability to see for him."

"Yes, sir."

"There is another issue, as well. Prof. Dartson has informed me that your friend Olissa is not in her first Divination class today. Do you know why this would be?"

David frowned. "No, sir, I don't."

"She has a class with me at 4:00. I do hope she doesn't miss it."

"If you'd like, sir, I can come back here after my Herbology class, and see if she is here. If she's not, I can see if I can find out what's going on."

"Thank you, David. That would be a good idea. Students missing class without a reason is call for disciplinary action."

"Trust me, Professor, if Olissa's missing class, there's a reason."

-----

David hustled back to Harris Hall after his Herbology class. He stepped into the classroom and waited for Prof. Zoroaster to see him. Looking around, however, he didn't see Olissa present.

Finally, Prof. Zoroaster spotted him, and came over. "She isn't here, I'm afraid," the professor said.

David nodded, concerned. "Professor, why don't you just... well, divine why she's not here?"

Prof. Zoroaster looked at David, perplexed. "Now, David, you know that it is highly impolite to pry into someone else's life in that fashion. If I thought she was in danger, I might do so. Just missing class is not cause to violate her privacy in that fashion."

"Yes, sir. I'm done with my classes for the day, so I'll see if I can't find her, and find out what's going on."

"Thank you, David."

David left Harris Hall, deeply concerned. He pulled out his mirror, to try the easiest thing he could think of. He dialed and said, "Olissa Volaire." There was no response to this call, however; the mirror remained blank. This actually worried him.

"Now what?" David asked himself. After a minute of thought, he decided to head down to the lunch room, to see if she might show up there. When he walked in, none of his friends were there. Most of them were still in class. He considered whether he should wait for her here, and see if she showed up, but decided that was not the right course of action. He would go to her dorm room, instead, and see if she was there.

After walking to the right part of the terrace, he waited impatiently for the rock lift to arrive, and then rode it down, tapping his foot in anxiety. He hopped off the lift as soon as it reached the dorm, and he hustled up to her room. He knocked on the door, and waited. When he got no response, he stepped back, trying to think of where else to look.

"She's in there," a voice said, coming up on his left. He turned to see a girl. He recognized her as one of Olissa's roommates.

"What?" he asked her, not sure he'd heard her correctly.

"You're looking for Olissa, right? She's in there, but she's in her room. You probably didn't knock loud enough for her to hear you."

"Is she sick?" he asked.

"Not exactly," the girl said. "Come on in."

David followed the girl into the room, and he waited by their table as she knocked on one of the bedroom doors, and stuck her head in. After a second, she stood back and waved David inside. She closed the door behind him.

He saw Olissa on her bed, lying curled up on her side. It was clear that she had been crying. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her, and he rested his hand on her hip. She looked up at him, and the look of sadness in her eyes was almost palpable.

"What happened?" David asked softly.

"Rick dumped me," she said, sniffling.

"What? I thought you two were doing okay. Why?"

"He decided he'd rather date Tina, the girl he had his sex-date with," she said bitterly.

"Aw, hell," David said in annoyance at Rick.

Olissa sat up slowly, and David moved to give her room. They sat side-by-side on the bed, silent for the longest time.

"I guess I'm just not pretty enough," she said. "Or maybe I'm not good enough in bed."

"Trust me, it's not that," David told her. She smiled at him, very slightly. "This isn't about you, Olissa. This is about Rick being an asshole."

"This is exactly what happened to me before," she said. "Every time I get a boyfriend, he ends up dumping me for someone skinnier, prettier... richer... white... What's wrong with me?" she asked plaintively.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Olissa. You are pretty, smart, funny, and a wonderful person."

"All those guys can't be wrong, David," she objected.

"Yes, they can. Guys are idiots. Glad I'm not one," he said.

She smiled a little more readily this time.

"Sooner or later, the right guy will come along, and he'll make you happy, and you'll make him happy. I'm not mushy enough to talk about happily ever after, but there is somebody out there who will accept you for being you, Olissa."

"Too bad I'll never meet him," she said sorrowfully.

David wrapped his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

-----

David and Olissa talked for a long time, interspersed with long moments of silence. Finally, David noted the time.

"Come on," he said to her, standing up.

"Where are we going?" she asked, getting up, anyway.

"Byron Hall. You haven't eaten all day, and if you don't eat now, you'll have to go until tomorrow."

"Maybe then I'd lose some weight," she said.

David turned to her. "Olissa, if you want to lose weight for yourself, fine. If you want to do it because you think guys will like you better... the only guys you're going to get that way are going to be even worse than Rick. You're very pretty just the way you are."

"Thanks, David. I needed to hear that right now."

"Let's go. I'm hungry."

"Liar," she said with a smile.

"Okay, fine. You're hungry, and I'm the only one noticing."

Olissa giggled, and then followed him out of the room.

-----

"By the way... not that it's any of my business, so tell me to fuck off if you want... but who did you choose for your sex-date?" David asked.

Olissa shook her head. "I'd never tell you to fuck off, David. You're my best friend. But I never had a sex-date."

"Because of Rick?"

"No, not really. He'd have let me. I just didn't feel comfortable with the whole thing."

"Sex and magic don't mix, huh?"

"Oh, no, it's not that! Rick did actually practice on me. I just don't feel comfortable doing it to others." After a second, she blushed and said, "I'm sorry. You probably didn't want to hear about my sex life."

"I asked the question," David reminded her.

"I'm sorry you missed eating with the group," she told him.

David shrugged. "I'm sure they barely missed me."

"Even Devyn?"

"Devyn has Gwen to keep her company."

"Well, I really appreciate you showing up when you did. How did you know there was a problem?"

"Prof. Dartson said something to Prof. Zoroaster when you didn't show up in class. Prof. Zoroaster knows you're my friend, so he asked me about it. When I checked back after Herbology class, and you weren't in Prof. Zoroaster's class, either, I knew there was an issue. Especially after you missed lunch."

"That's when Rick told me about him and Tina."

"Did he cheat on you?" David asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, has he slept with Tina, other than their sex-date, already?"

"He wouldn't admit it, but I think so."

David frowned in anger. "Bastard."

"What difference does it make?" she asked.

"A lot. It's bad enough that he dumped you to go out with another girl. But at least that's honest. It's rotten, but it's honest. If he was sleeping with her while still dating you, that's betrayal, and that makes him slime, fit only to be scraped off the boot of humanity and flicked away into the bog of oblivion."

Olissa chuckled. "Very poetic. I guess the difference is lost on me. Either way, I'm alone."

David rested his hand on her arm, and squeezed, trying to show support. The two sat quietly for a while, finishing up their meal.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David stood on the bridge over the Academy Moat that led to the stairs up to the castle. He had just come from his History class, and he was waiting to meet Devyn, who would be on the way to her History class. They had agreed to this little meeting, since they couldn't eat lunch together. They would say hi, and kiss, and then they would each go their separate way.

Devyn was running a little late today, but David didn't mind. Finally, he saw her hustling toward the bridge. Just then, a blur whizzed by him on a Sky Rider.

A pink Sky Rider. The blur whipped around and said something, and the moat bubbled up, drenching Devyn.

David was pissed now. He yanked out his wand, aiming at the Sky Rider, and screamed, "PICHAC!" The board went flying out from under its rider, who, having swooped over the moat after drenching Devyn, now fell, flailing, into the water. Others who witnessed the incident laughed.

David went over to Devyn, and didn't even say anything to her before casting the drying spell.

"That bitch," Devyn spat. She turned to David. "Nice reply, though."

David chuckled. They could see Cherise still struggling to make it to shore. She'd been in the middle of the moat when she fell. Her Sky Rider was floating on the surface of the moat, and she would have to retrieve that, as well.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I am fine... oh, shit! My report!" She opened her coat and pulled out a scroll. She unrolled it, and cursed again. The paper was virtually unreadable.

"Prof. Gardner is going to fail me!" she said.

"Come on, let's go talk to him. Maybe he'll let you recopy. I mean, clearly you did the work, it's just that the paper was sabotaged by an idiot."

As they got to the middle of the bridge, Devyn stopped him.

"What?" he asked.

She pulled on the lapel of his coat, and kissed him strongly. He held on to her for the long moment, until she finally pulled back.

"I did not want to forget to do that," she said.

"Hmm," David said with a grin. He put his arm around her briefly, and then they walked to the castle together.

"Mr. Stroud, forget something?" Prof. Gardner asked.

"No, sir. I'm just here as a backup witness."

"I don't understand," he said.

"It is about my report, sir," Devyn said. "I had it finished, but a... hooligan splashed me with water on the way here, and caused the ink to run. It is illegible."

"May I assume, then, Mr. Stroud, that you are here to confirm the incident?"

"Yes, sir. I saw the girl who did it. I even know who she is."

"I see. Do you have the report with you?"

Devyn pulled out the scroll and handed it to him. He unrolled it, tutting as he saw the smudged ink. He weighted down the scroll to keep it open, and then pulled out his wand. He pointed it at the scroll and said, "Clarify," and tapped the paper twice. Suddenly, the smudged ink evaporated from the page, leaving only the ink that was in the place of the original letters. The words were somewhat fainter now, but still easily legible.

"Well, there you have it," Prof. Gardner said. "Obviously you did write the report, and now you will not need to recopy. I'm afraid you didn't need a 'backup witness' at all."

Devyn said, "Perhaps not, but having someone to back me up was helpful, nonetheless."

Prof. Gardner nodded, and motioned them off. Devyn kissed David again before she went to her seat, and he left to go to lunch.

Goddamned Cherise. At least this time she got what was coming to her.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Hey, David," Olissa said, coming out of her last Divination class. "What're you doing here? I don't usually see you until I get to dinner."

"I need to talk to you. C'mon, let's have a seat."

Prof. Zoroaster nodded to the two of them as he passed them, leaving the room empty, except for the two students.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"It's about that vision I've been having. The one that concerns you."

"Tell me," she said, now sounding a bit nervous.

"Up until now, I've seen the same image, over and over again. It's made some minor changes, but always more or less the same. Today, it was different."

"Different how?"

"I saw you being carried into the infirmary. You had a nasty cut on your forehead. You were unconscious, and it looked like you had maybe broken your arm. And it looked like you were wet."

"Wet?"

"Drenched."

"What was I wearing?"

"Your school uniform."

"So either it was raining like crazy, or I fell into some water."

"Nobody else was wet," David said.

"Which means it wasn't raining," she said, nodding. "But still no clue as to how I got hurt?"

"No," David said, aggravated. "But there's one more thing."

"What?"

"This image was crystal clear. Whatever's going to happen, it's going to happen soon."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~