Vera was confused by the sudden smirk that had formed on her companion's face as she spoke, assuming that he would be sharing with her what he thought was so funny. Unfortunately, that assumption was wrong, as his reply to her right after that appeared to have been cut short by whatever was in his head. He was now visibly upset, and she found this abrupt change in mood to be absolutely puzzling, almost frustrating even. [i]What even was going through his mind? Was he going to tell her any of it?[/i]

While Silas seemed to be concerned about the senior possibly lying about how he had gotten cut or whether or not the headmaster was at the fountain, Vera was suspicious about where the path they were following could possibly lead to. Sure, the older boy said that it lead to the fountain, though, if he was lying about the other things that Silas suspected he was, he could be lying about anything, including where the path they were on would actually take them. There were so many possibilities, so much that they were unsure of.

She turned her attention back to Silas, who was still pondering over... whatever it was that he was not letting her in on. She stared at him, still perplexed by his behavior, and finding the intense moment to be way longer than it actually was. He finally ended it with curse under his breath, before turning to her and simply suggesting that they continue walking, despite the obviously agitated look on his face. [i]Why was he so troubled?[/i]

[i]Oh no... you don't just say that to me after acting in such a way, boy! You're going to tell me what's wrong![/i] was what Vera wanted to say, but she knew that there was a high chance of that making the situation worse. Instead, she kept that thought to herself, gazing down at his hand that was curled up into a fist, another clear sign of his distress, and lifted her own hand to take hold of his. She hoped that her touch would relax him.

"Cheer up darling," she finally spoke in a comforting tone. "This is just a game, and we're supposed to be having fun. I know I said it'd be great to win, but it's not going to be the end of the world if we don't."

Vera had to admit to herself that as strange as it was that Silas seemed to be way too serious about the run, it was also somewhat amusing.

[@CriticalHit]