[center][abbr=#B8041A | Alt+0248 for ø][img]https://i.ibb.co/wY7GYz8/Kaspar-Header-2.png[/img][/abbr] [hr][color=#B8041A][b]LOCATION[/b][/color][b]:[/b] The Refuge [color=#B8041A][b]INTERACTIONS[/b][/color][b]:[/b] [hr][/center] The door to Kaspar’s room shut again, though the boy did not begin trembling this time as he had the last. He’d been trembling before he opened it; before they even departed the camels. Though he couldn’t recall it himself, the boy was sure Yalen could tell him he’d been trembling for some amount of the ride home. The demons that haunted him now were not the same as the previous night, nor this morning. He was not beset with visions of his past and thoughts of unwanted children, trying to find the sense of where he fit in between those images. [color=#B8041A][I]What… the [/i]fuck[i]?[/i][/color] Was this [i]normal[/i]? His life as a noble afforded him safety that others often didn’t have, sure, but… This was nothing like he’d encountered or even [i]heard of[/i] in the eight years that preceded it. In less than two full days—[color=#B8041A][i]Less than one? How long have we been here?[/i][/color], his mind offered—he and his companions had very nearly died [i]twice[/i], and been endangered several more times. Not to mention the notion that had been vaguely working in his mind, quite possibly placed there by his classmates, that the students were not meant to [i]survive[/i] this encounter. If he had less training in smoothing over his urges, he’d… Well, he’d want Warden Ortega [i]dead[/i]. He took a deep breath, centering himself. [color=#B8041A][I]What would Willa do?[/i][/color] A snort of laughter erupted from him, unbidden, as he imagined his tutor’s presence in this Refuge. If she knew the circumstances the Warden had put the tethered children in? A grand usurping, he was sure—and certainly no shame if the Warden happened to perish because of his own actions. If Kaspar (and, to a lesser extent, his classmates) had been endangered as well? Nothing short of death in a manner most cruel and unusual, he imagined. Gods, that woman [i]scared[/i] him. He’d have to keep the shared details of this mission minimal, or she’d be liable to try and track down Hugo for a beating, too. He shook the thoughts from his head. There was no use in imagining it now, when there was much work to be done. Someone had taken care to make sure he knew they would be meeting with Amanda tonight, though his mind lacked a clear picture of exactly who. Blonde hair—Yalen, or perhaps Jocasta?—seemed to prevail, but he was uncertain if it pertained to the message or simply to the ride back. He was glad to see a bath had been prepared, and wasted not a moment more peeling the bloodied clothes from his skin. The water was still hot, and he sank into it gratefully. He was tired of heat, but this was a cleansing burn—the heat of the desert only served to soil. Kaspar took care the scrub the blood where it had begun to stain his skin; his chin and throat seemed a mess, though he knew it was the nature of lip injuries to bleed and he’d not been damaged elsewhere. Other splatters of the crimson liquid lay on his shoulders and arms, his chest and stomach and thighs, and he was sure his back was tainted too. Froabase blood, or that from his camel—the latter which had suffered a painful death, and the former which likely lived, but had lost a good portion of its face to his Gift. He was glad to find a small selection of clothes available in the room; his own were likely ruined, and the boy was grateful that he hadn’t brought his precious cloak along. Though these articles were looser and flowier than his own, and lacked any sort of vest to go overtop the tunic, it would have to suffice. He wasted no time setting to the meal that had been left for him, handily cleaned of drugs by Jocasta’s quiet work, and finished it in mere minutes. As Kaspar prepared to step out the door, he schooled his face into a neutral expression. There was much to discuss tonight, and likely emotions that would run high, but he would not let himself fall victim to the disturbances the Refuge had offered thus far. Closing it softly behind him, crimson eyes sweeping the area just in time to meet with Jocasta’s gaze. Turning toward her, he nodded softly and began to approach.