The sound of conversation, mixed with the tinkling of utensils scraping their plates provided a an almost constant murmur to the cafeteria halls. It was a busy time of the day, several of the Academy’s students coming out to get lunch in the interim of their classes.

Celica sat with Alice, having taken a seat on one of the few remaining empty tables, and she stared, eyes half-lidded, past the hubbub of dining students, her fork swaying absentmindedly over her food as if she was stirring water. Most of her thoughts were occupied by the last spar, and the effectiveness of her abilities and tactics.

Part of her wondered how much of the difficulty in the fight had come from the need to avoid fatal blows. It was considerably more difficult to judge what was needed to subdue a large Titan than other kinds of Shifter, and the simplest, most effective magic she had at her disposal that would do more than inconvenience such a foe were meant to draw blood, and a lot of it at that. Her pistols could have created an opening to completely subdue a smaller opponent, but the ice pellets had been little more than shiny ornaments to the beast. That they had helped her locate Charles while he used his camouflage was nothing more than a situational advantage she was unlikely to have against any other Shifters of that type and size.

She sighed.

The sparring session had finished some time ago. She would have been done with lunch and moved on to other things by then, but she had insisted on waiting for Alice. It was something she was beginning to regret in a guilty, self-conscious way, considering how little attention she had paid her since.

Celica forced herself out of her contemplation. 

“So,” she started, propping her elbows on the table, “how did your fight go?” 

Alice gave a half-shrug, chewing rather obtrusively on a large mouthful of shrimp. Swallowing the large mouthful, she leaned against the table in kind with an elbow, “Eh, say the wrong thing, drive someone to homicidal rage, lack a decent ranged attack, the works.”

Celica hummed at the flippant answer. “Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re being sardonic or serious. What got you held back at the end?”

“Had to apologize for saying some mean things.” She shrugged again, “For the record, Kitsunes are hard to fight when they kill all the grass to the horizon and beyond.”

“That Lily girl was a Kitsune, then.” Celica groaned in sympathy. “I hate illusionists. You can never be sure of anything you do when they’re around.” Then she frowned. “Apologize, though? Sometimes I wonder if the Mythics think this is kindergarten. What did you even say?”

“Hmm, well. First it started with taunting, then it went to personal insults, then it went to deeply personal insults, and then it went to who could find the berserk button first.” Alice replied nonchalantly, nibbling on another shrimp, “Long story short, I found hers first.”

Celica leaned back, considering. Hence the ‘homicidal rage’. There was something profoundly wrong with the thought that a member of the academy had tried to kill another. It felt like a breach of trust, and left a bitter taste in her mouth. “She actually tried to kill you? I didn’t know Kitsune’s had that much firepower.”

“Well, she did kill all the grass to the horizon and beyond and suck up the power from that.” Alice reminded Celica, “This wasn’t under purely her own power. And I was just trying to get out of there, because I’m pretty sure if someone goes homicidal in a training match, reduced force generally won’t cut it.” She paused, “Shame there isn’t a better way to break illusions, though. Or to deal with them before they can get a strong one on you, all I can do is throw some fire around.”

“Hm… right. I forgot they could do that.” Absorb… something from the grass. Life, magic, the soul. One had to wonder about the specifics, as she doubted she suddenly absorbed the nutrients of everything around her. And the potential it could have, if she could manage something similar to fuel her enchantments. Perhaps she could meet this Lily...

Celica shook her head. That was not the point of the conversation. “Speaking of throwing things around, are you going to try to get your gun here today?”

“I was going to yeah, if it does go through, they should be able to flash it over here without too much trouble. What I’ll actually do with it is beyond me, because I don’t think lead is too useful against a titan, and it’s not like there are shooting competitions at the Academy. Shame there’s not much I could do with that for a real fight, thing has some nice punch.”

“I keep telling you I can get you special ammo,” she commented.

“True, but the stuff you make is ice. What’s the point of freezing something if you can just put a giant hole in it instead?” 

“Something I’m starting to ask myself, really,” she said with a chuckle. “Okay, let me think for a moment.” With that, Celica crossed her arms, looking at the din around them. “I was planning on speaking with requisitions, see if I could get some extra pistols and ammunition to test some ideas. I usually work with the bullets, so the guns are there mostly in case something happens and I need a replacement.” She snapped her fingers and looked at her. “What about your sword and armor? You make those whenever you shift. Couldn’t you do something similar for a weapon, or its bullets?”

Alice’s head snapped up from her food, “That,” she stated, “is brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that? Not to mention the runic material is lighter than lead, with some proper sealants I could get some insane velocity out of that thing,” she grinned evilly, “I think this will do very nicely. We’d have to test it out first, just to make sure, but oh, the possibilities!” 

Celica blinked. She could count the times she had seen Alice excited over something with one hand, and she was never sure if it was a good thing. Still, she smiled back. “If you end up being able to do it, it shouldn’t limit itself only to bullets. I was also going to reserve one of the testing and training areas tomorrow, so we could take care of that together. You help me, I help you.” The grin turned sly. “And if it works, maybe I could use some of that runic weaponry too, for a change.”

“I’m not sure how the runic thing works for other people, but I think I can agree to that.” Alice rasped in agreement, scheming grin plastering itself over her face.