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The line at the supply tables moved quicker than Aaron expected, though admittedly he was a little distracted with watching Varis cut a trench through the crowd on his way to Ryner. Aaron couldn’t hear what was being said, but the Count’s posture and his attitude back at the dorm combined with the Princess’ disinterested stare told him just about all he needed to know.

He sighed. He wished Varis could just accept his fate this once, but he knew better than to think that was a possibility. Varis cherished control and even after only a few months, Aaron knew it would be a battle to convince him to surrender it. [i]Especially[/i] under these circumstances. Aaron had to admit he was a little hurt that Varis trusted him so little, but he supposed it was to be expected; even after he thought they’d finally made some progress, Varis still barely trusted him enough to put him in charge of letter-writing, much less his safety. A bitter thought that he could have done this job better with Dawn still in his possession crossed his mind, but Aaron wouldn’t dwell on it. Varis seemed intent on digging his own grave and he was in no position to refuse him.

He watched Eris trudge by in what he could only describe as workout spandex with veiled amusement (and almost had to stifle a laugh at Max's cheery comment) before finally approaching the supply tables, the crowd having thinned as mages found their spots along the woods or collected near the assembly of vampires to watch as one of the Counts got in the Princess’ face. Aaron did his best to ignore it—a noble tantrum was a lot less exciting when you were the one who had to go home with it at the end of the night—and focused on the mages handing out food.

Taking food, water and a pair of hand warmers, Aaron leaned over the table a bit, lowering his voice. [color=f0d705]“You guys don’t happen to have any painkillers to hand out, do you?”[/color]

The girl behind the table shook her head apologetically. [color=deepskyblue]“I’m afraid not, just the food and warmers. Sorry!”[/color]

Aaron shook his head, thanking the girl before making his way over to the line at the edge of the woods. There, though, a familiar grey hat caught his attention, sitting on top of a brown-haired girl in plain, neutral clothing who also seemed to be looking for her name. She was about the same size and build as Lilie, though maybe not quite as thin, not that anyone could really tell under all those layers. It took him a moment to figure out why someone so otherwise nondescript caught his attention, until he saw the person she’d been speaking to veer away and remembered; she’d been sitting a row or so ahead of him and Varis on the bus, chatting to that other person across the aisle about a recent TCL match. He hadn’t been able to catch the conversation in full, but he perked up considerably at his fortune, falling into step next to her and gently tapping her on the shoulder.

[color=f0d705]“Excuse me?”[/color] he asked politely, stuffing his hands in his pockets. [color=f0d705]“Sorry to bother you, but I overheard you talking about a TCL fight on the bus and I was wondering, did you happen to see last night’s match? I follow it pretty closely but I...”[/color] He chuckled a little uncomfortably and massaged the sore part of his neck, recalling how Varis had him running hither and yon all night in his irritation over the upcoming exam. [color=f0d705]“I didn’t get the chance to watch.”[/color]
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