Classes were a whole lot more boring, but whatever— at least she managed to keep up with everything going on around her. Instructor Bao tried his very best to impress on the students that he was very cultivator, very superior, and definitely better than Mingtian— and failed, of course— and all the other classes were much the same as they always were…
It felt like no time at all until they were free, released once more onto an unsuspecting East Saffron— a whole flood of students spilling out of the academy and heading off in their own various directions. She spied Xinshi get picked up by a fancy looking car, and some of the others meandered down to wait for the bus… it was all very normal.
Of course, that was also pretty normal, more or less. She whistled a jaunty tune to herself, continuing along the way over to the library. She finished up the day’s assignments— not the stupid school ones, but the actually important ones she’d gotten from Master Mingtian— and she needed to turn those in and maybe get a bit of advice on where she’d gone wrong…
She felt it before she saw him, and not once did she hear him, as Avyr snuck up on her. “Library today?” Unlike Mimi, she didn’t jump in surprised— far too used to this sort of thing, by now. It was just… the sort of thing he liked to do. She wondered sometimes if it was an entirely conscious behavior at all.
“Yeah. I’m going to be pestering Mingtian, so unless you’ve got something you need…” Avyr just nodded slowly, and she didn’t press any further— he was probably just going to curl up around some book and read for the rest of the day. He was just like that, sometimes…
Still, it was nice. Not that she’d say it out loud, but it was nice, walking beside him through the cold and— pushing through the cracks hint of greenery, first fronds of glass grasses, delicate flowers adrift alone on roadside beds hints of spring.
They pushed through the back entrance together— Lily wiping her boots down on the entrance mat and Avyr fastidiously scrubbing his own paws clean. Knowing him, he’d probably wash them down in the bathroom before he dared to touch any of the books… she fought down the urge to snicker. Springtime was going to be a nightmare for him…
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On that matter, though. More seriously, the heavy weight of it coiled in her gut with an almost persistent, almost sickening force… in the way that only projects deferred managed to pull at her. “I… think,” she started, hesitantly, pausing just off to the side of the entranceway— “that I should have enough to get to Old Saffron soon. The metro doesn’t really run through this precinct, but it’s only an hour's walk to the nearest station, and from the docks I should be able to get to at least the first island. The ferries to the others are… significantly more expensive, but I should have enough to cover at least one trip.”
Avyr was silent for a long moment, she worried— irrational though she knew it to be— that he disapproved… before he just sighed. “You don’t have to spend your money for my benefit. I’ve been saving up too, you know?” Then, before she could protest, he reached into one of his little pouches and pulled out a small stack of bills. “Here, take this. It’s not much—” it was very much, way more than it could possibly take just to get to Old Saffron… and maybe, just maybe, enough to catch the eye of an alchemist.
“I… it’s your money though.”
“You’re buying me a pill. I don’t need all of this to get a new bag… but you might, if the Councilor’s approach towards me is anything to go off.”
“Fine.” She scowled, though the gesture lacked heat. “It’s your money.” Before anyone saw and… dunno, accused them of buying drugs— even though that was totally what they were doing, ironically— she stuffed the wad of cash in her wallet and tried her very best not to think about it as she walked away. It… well, the results were conflicting at best. Which was to say, she was totally not at all able to keep her mind off the money burning a hole in her pocket.
Avyr just stared at her as she left, which… really. She knew that he didn’t quite get social ques all the time but could he not make her feel any less bad about the whole thing? Sighing, she picked her way up the stairs until she arrived on the all but deserted top floor, standing in front of Mingtian’s office. It didn’t even have his name on it— it was the exact same from the outside that it’d been from the very first time she’d seen it, no matter how much it’d changed on the inside. She wondered if that was because Mingtian didn’t care to change it, or if it was symptomatic of some greater problem… and nor did she care, really. She knocked on the door, then after a second of no response, pushed her way into the room.
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