[center][h2]Food, Music and Revelations[/h2][/center]
[hr][center]Collab with Leon [@Jumbus], Jomurr and Fades-in-Moonlight [@Force and Fury]

[i]Fades-in-Moonlight's Townhome. Evening after the Tour.[/i][/center][hr]
The spit was turning. Rabbits were roasting. The soup was bubbling. Luna had reached into the other place and pulled from its easy power. She continued to pull. She could not explain it. It simply was, to her, and always had been, since perhaps a couple of years before she had gotten her first blood as a girl.

She quirked an eyebrow—"Hah! Silence, impudent whelp!"—but then let out a sigh and prodded at some of the coals with a stick. "In all seriousness, what I have in store for youse guys?" She furrowed her brow for a moment, thinking of the coals, of back home, sitting around the fire in the longhouse with Sunny and her parents, or those nights on the great wagon train, under the pure bright stars, away from the great stepped pyramids of the city and its torches that burned into the night, drowning the darkness. Luna was drowning the darkness now, literally and figuratively. Perhaps that was her purpose. Perhaps that should've been her name: Drowns-the-Darkness. She'd always struggled for a purpose.

She'd sat staring pensively for a moment and the kids were looking at her like she was some sort of senile old codger, lost in thought.

"Sorry," the Zeno joked, "Senior moment." She was only nine years Leon's senior. That was crazy. His face... he reminded her of a few boys from her hometown. "The Academy's real purpose is not to teach magic. I think you're smart kids—most of you, anyways." She needed some levity. She watched their reactions with an expectant smirk. "You've figured that out. Anyways, it's really here to study magic, to regulate it, and to control it—make sure it stays within the right hands. Some of that is well-intended and some is...not."

"I get a foreigner pass." She continued, shrugging. "There are perhaps a dozen Nashibansek in all of Constantia and I'm certainly the only..." She tried not to scowl as she said the hateful word. "Greyborn." 

[i]No family for you, Luna, no future, no happy ending. Gone by forty.[/i] Of late, she had already begun to feel that tug—the tug toward the other place. "So I get away with saying things." She took the soup from the fire and set it down on some stone tiles nearby. From the other place, she sculpted bowls and spoons and brought them to her apprentices' hands. "Truth one: there was an assassination attempt yesterday. The arch-zenos and a member of the Dieci Volti stopped it, but it was a diversion." The Zeno swept some hair from her face, a nervous anticipation twisting her insides.

[i]Why are you doing this!?[/i] She could not say. It was stupid, but the untruths had built up upon her like a weight and she needed to drop some. The arches were unfathomably powerful. She had never encountered anything else like them, except for... him. Strong as she was—and she was strong—Luna doubted that she'd be able to stand up to even the weakest of that cabal... nevermind a monster like Hugo. "The Traveler or his agents broke into the Forked Tower," she continued. "Something was stolen, but they couldn't have done it without inside help. The arches spent hours last night searching, but at least one of them is on the other side, secretly." Soup poured itself. She tried a spoonful and was satisfied with it. Momentarily, she hesitated, not sure whether to continue with this insanity and say more. 

[color=ab0000][i]So much for getting Bernhard to do more snooping[/i],[/color] thought Carmillia. Zeno Fades-in-Moonlight was basically spilling the beans on nearly everything. She now knew for sure why her and likely the entire student body had their memories tampered with.

Even though she had her suspicions, having it confirmed in such a matter of fact way left even her perturbed. The Traveler's involvement was one thing but that at least one of the Arch Zenos was a double agent? All this and more that was yet to be said given that this was merely regarding truth number one. Not to mention the cherry on top that was the dark magic bomb she had dropped just prior. Carmillia had certainly expected many things to occur in Ersand'Ernise but not this many and in just two days.

She turned to face Leon, who was sitting in the middle of the three Biros. 

[color=ab0000]"And to think, Leon, we were just worrying about love letters a few hours ago,"[/color] she said. [color=ab0000]"I don't suppose you know how to lighten the mood up for this?"[/color]

Leon found himself agreeing with the true purpose of the Academy as Luna had described. Magic is supposed beautiful, it need not be dangerous. But so often can be used to empower those who would use it for their own ends at the cost of others. Nothing better confirmed Leon's belief than the attempt on someone's life just to cover up a heist. Control is nessecary.

As for the matter of double agents, Leon could assume this was the same thing the Doge had talked about. He needed a way to sneak in that tray to the Arch-Zeno's tower. Maybe then they could pull back the veil of how far the Traveller's claws had sunk into the Academy. He needed help for that but he wasn't sure who to trust just yet.

It took a while for Leon to register that someone had addressed him. Snapping out of his thoughts, he shook his head a bit. [color=fff200]"Ah, yes from love letters to regicide, quite a shift in the day's events"[/color] he let out a small laugh. [color=fff200]"The Traveller is certainly an intimidating fellow, I've seen that first hand. But I'm just a student who is looking to learn some magic. I don't exactly have plans to beat the guy in a magic duel or anything."[/color] Leon laughed to mask the half truth.

[color=fff200]"Plus, we have such a feast in front of us. How about we enjoy the meal and worry about the impending threats later."[/color] Leon said in a very reassuring way. [color=fff200]"And to answer your question Carmilla, I do have a way to lift the mood."[/color] Leon left the table and took a jog into back into the house. After a while, he reemerged with lute in hand, giving it a strum has he peacefully walked back to the table with a smile. It didn't take long before he had a good tune going.

Luna had been in a mood. That girl was gone, people were lying, and she felt like nothing so much as a fraud. She'd been about to spill it all out, damn the consequences, like a child pulling a tantrum. Leon was a blessing. She'd chosen him for his relaxed nature. It usually matched hers, but he was sunny like Solstice, where Luna was usually melancholic (and even more so now). She breathed a long sigh and took another spoonful of her soup. "Thanks, Leon I needed that. Maybe we all did." 

Almost sheepishly, Jomurr raised his hand and she smiled in his direction. They sat there for a bit, listening to the lute. Luna hummed. The tune was oddly familiar, like one from back home, and she wondered where he'd learnend it. Jomurr drummed on his knees and snapped his fingers, and things quieted down. 

"I'm sorry if I freaked youse guys out," she said after a bit. She took some corn and bit into it, using a touch of kinetic to pick the husks from her teeth. "I don't want you to worry. This kind of intrigue seems... normal, believe it or not. You're kids going to school. I was in your shoes ten years ago. Enjoy your first classes tomorrow and know that I've got your backs. If you ever wanna know anything, I'm an open book. That includes spooky ol' Dark Magic." She took another bite and swallowed. "Now feed your faces and we'll worry about the scary stuff when it's relevant."

Carmillia silently cursed at how effective Leon had been. She had wanted a lighter mood to ease their Zeno into spilling more information. Instead, Leon had calmed their Zeno a tad bit too much and despite her words. It looked like she wanted to save the conversation for another day.

Jomurr was also oddly quiet. Carmillia wagered his elitist worldview had crumbled upon learning that the Arch Zenos were not all united. Even high nobles and mages were not immune to the folly of men.

[color=ab0000]"Thank you Leon,"[/color] she said with a smile. Carmillia silently took spoonful of her food. As delicious as it was, her foul mood meant the taste was lost upon her. She would have to seek out Zeno Fades-in-Moonlight another time in order to learn more.

As Leon played, he didn't seem inclined to say much at all. He seemed happy just letting his new friends enjoy the song over their meal. He only took breaks in order to enjoy the meal himself. His mind wondered to what the future had in store.

Jomurr was quiet, deep in thought. That there was a traitor among the Arch-Zenos, that the corruption of the Traveler and his titillating, corrupting message for the lower classes had spread so far had the potential to be a sobering realization and yet... Zeno Moonlight was, herself, common. She was clearly no fan of the school or the establishment. People often paid much attention to what was being said and precious unquestioning little to who was saying it. He ate his food, he went with the flow of things, and he kept his opinions to himself. Much as the people around him acted friendly, it was profoundly clear to the young duke that he was among enemies of the most insidious sort. [color=800080][i]And to think that I almost trusted you.[/i][/color] He tore deep into the rabbit with his next bite, thoughts and intent hidden under the guise of eating.