"So, War College," Raelle recited from her medallion in disappointment.
"You really thought you'd be put on deployment?" Bellweather asked.
They had never gotten along in any way shape or form. Fleeting moments here and there between fighting either against each other or Tally when she tried to play peacekeeper. Figuring they were not only in public but around most of the generals, High Atlantics, General Alder, and their parents, Raelle decided against causing a scene. That could happen at the party.
"Should never bet against a Bellweather," she pleasantly jibed.
"You're damn right," she proudly nodded.
Collar huffed and tucked her pendant back under her formal attire. Now released, the unit went their separate ways for the brief three weeks they had off. Raelle went to find her father, he was hovering in the back with the other civilian guests. She was more than ecstatic to see him, though. Edwin tightly embraced her on sight, kissing her head before pulling away to regard her.
"Last time you called, you sounded like you wanted to take on the world, how are you now?" he asked in that familiar accent.
Raelle could only smile, "Yeah, I still feel like that, but I'm just glad to be going home."
"I have the tickets for eight in the morning, we should be home by the afternoon."
"Thank you, actually, can I give you my stuff?"
"Yeah, of course. I'm parked pretty far away, just so you know."
They started to the dorms, passing by the other young cadets. Watching the other soldiers, Edwin asked, "Are you sure you don't want to hang out with your friends, we can get it later?"
"I'm sure. There's a party later with the male witches."
"You seem surprisingly excited?"
"Don't worry, I'm still gay, I'm just glad to see a friend. We have a lot in common," she jested.
"Oh, he's also gay."
"Yes." She peaked into her dorm, opened the currently empty room.
Raelle took down the blanket partition, the final piece she left unpacked before they graduated. She had everything shoved in her duffle. She pulled out her civilian clothes and tossed them on her bed.
"Did you miss having your own room?" Edwin asked.
"You don't even know. Tally wasn't all bad, but Abigail was hard to like."
"I hate to judge, but did you ever give them a chance to be your friend?"
Raelle only shrugged at his remark. "We don't have much in common."
"That's normal when you're just grouped up with new people, but I bet you'd feel a lot less homesick if you made friends with your roommates? Did you at least meet anyone interesting during your Spring event?"
"Beltane, no. Just the Male Witch."
"Well, I hope you make some friends in college." Edwin peered under her bed and spotted a stack of papers bound in twine. He retrieved it, noting they were his wife's letters. "I-"
"Sorry," she mumbled, tucking her letters away.
"No, I just wanted to say… I think we should go through her letters again when we get home."
Raelle nodded without looking at him and zipped up her bag. "I think I have everything I need. I'm just gonna change out of this stupid uniform." She grabbed her clothes.
"Hey, why don't you leave it here," he tried again. "Your mom was called back after she came back to the Cession, I'd hate for you to not have everything."
Collar wasn't quite sure what to make of her father's response, she just wanted to be done with all of this before the Army could rope her into something else. She quickly returned in time to meet Abigail and her mother in the hallway.
"Hey," Bellweather nodded, then directed to Petra, "You remember Raelle?"
"Yes, quite an impression you left at the Handfasting Ceremony," she reminded her.
Raelle nodded at their comments and shook her head. "You're just in time to meet my dad." Collar rolled her eyes and met her father again, the Bellweathers at her heels. Edwin stood at the sight of the other witches. "Dad, this is Petra and Abigail. My dad, Edwin."
"It's great to meet you," he pleasantly greeted.
Petra studied him for a moment and nodded. "I remember your wife, the true definition of Storm and Fury."
"Thank you, General."
"Let's go before the restaurants get too crowded," Raelle beckoned him, tucking her duffle under the bed.
"I'm sorry we couldn't talk longer, thank you for your service," he acknowledged on their way out.
"I'll see you tonight, right, Raelle?"
"Of course, seven sharp," she repeated.
Once they had a fair amount of distance between each other, Edwin asked, "She doesn't seem that bad?"
"She's a mean girl on the inside, but a good soldier like her mom. What do you want to eat?"
"I should be asking you that, they probably feed you army grub?"
"Okay," she chuckled, "How about pizza, I haven't had that in a long time."
"Sounds great, do you know any places?"
"I've heard rumors that a restaurant a mile off base has the best food? I've passed by it before, so I have an idea about where it is." Once inside, Raelle asked, "Wow, I never thought I'd see you drive an econ?"
"I hate it, but the gas mileage is good," he admitted. "Oh, before I forget, there is something I'm supposed to give you. You can read it on the way." Edwin retrieved a letter from his inner pocket. "Mom wanted you to read this when you graduated."
"When did she write it?" she whispered.
"I got it when I was going through her stuff."
"Have you read it?"
"No, there was a note on it, so I thought you should read it first."
Raelle nodded and picked open the envelope. She skimmed the letter, then traced the sigil.
"My dear one… I deploy to Greenville in the morning. I left my charm with Dad. So, you will need it more than me. May it keep you safe and sound. I love you more than the sky above and the earth below. More than music and cake and sleep and trees and gray things. It has pained me greatly being away from you so much, but you need to know that I have always felt your strength from afar. You have powerful work in you, girl. Trust your gift. Never doubt it. Not even for a minute. And never forget, I will always be close, watching over you."
Raelle wiped a tear from her eye and laughed, "She's gonna make me fuck up my eyeliner." Edwin gave her a supportive smile and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I miss her a lot, sometimes I still think about her at noon," she tearfully admitted.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
"Thank you for this, thank you." Raelle hugged him and placed the letter in her jacket pocket. "You ready for lunch?"
"Yeah. Yeah." Edwin wiped away his own tears and pulled out of the Fort.
"Remember when we used to play "highlight lowlight" after school?"
"Yeah, it's been a hot second since we last played. So, Highlight of the day?"
"Getting off base."
"Lowlight?"
"I thought I lost my medallion this morning, so I had to search for it right before the ceremony."
"Sounds bad."
"Your turn."
"Highlight, obviously getting to see you. Lowlight… probably walking around the base. I know it's full of history, but an old building is an old building to me."
"Yeah, the history is pretty boring once your drill sergeant explains it to you every morning."
The Collars parked in front of the small pizzeria. When they got inside, the place seemed moderately busy with soldiers and their families. They sat at the counter and glanced through the menu before discussing it.
"Classic cheese if you're still picky."
"I'm thinking of another classic," she pointed at the menu.
"Okay, small or medium?"
"Medium, we can share?"
"I was thinking about the barbeque chicken."
"Okay."
"You can always have some of mine?"
"That works."
They placed their orders and got their drinks.
"Cheers, to graduating at the top of your class," Edwin congratulated, clinking her plasticware cup.
"Thank you for coming out here."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world. I know you aren't that excited for college, but is there anything you are looking forward to?"
Raelle pondered his question for a moment and shrugged, "Free room and board."
Raelle returned from the Commissary with three twelve packs. Her unit had bought some harder liquors, still dawning their formal attire.
"Please tell me you're wearing anything but that?" Raelle asked. "It's our last day in basic, we should be wearing whatever we want."
"I'm wearing something I'm fine getting alcohol on," Abigail assured her.
"Good. Tal, are you wearing, not that I hope?"
"I don't know what to wear."
"Whatever you came here in. I mean, I have my five layers of flannel."
"Come on, let's go, the party starts in fifteen."
Tally rifled through her clothes and pulled out her training clothes. "Will this work?"
Raelle pulled out a tan t-shirt with an emblem on the chest. "Here, wear this. Hey Abs, why don't you head out to the bonfire, we'll meet you there."
"Fine, can you two bring the booze?"
"I'm glad I caught you girls," their drill sergeant cut in, "The general has requested your presence at 0800 tomorrow, so that," she directed to their drinks, "might have to be limited. I'll just take that," Anacostia slowly took the vodka then left. "Nice choice."
"She just copped my mom's vodka. I have to get another one before we go home."
"If Alder is asking for us, we might not go home. I have to call my dad."
Tally turned to the leader of their unit and admitted, "I can't tell my mom I'm staying here, she might actually come on base?"
"I- once Rae comes back, let's just have fun at the bonfire, for Libba."
"Yeah, for Libba," she agreed.
Raelle's call was put through to the hotel quickly and her father picked up. "Hey, pop."
"Rae?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that I'm being called in tomorrow morning, so I would be able to go home," she tearfully huffed.
"I'm sorry we can't spend your break together, at least right away. Hopefully nothing serious, but can you keep me in the loop?"
"Of course. I love you, dad."
"I love you, too, Rae."
Raelle hung up the phone and picked at her nails. She returned to her room and joined the girls in the forest.
Abigail nudged her with her elbow, "I'm sorry you aren't going home."
"Something my dad said earlier. My mom was on active duty after she graduated, I think the army wanted to keep her away from my dad," she admitted. "I... really want to get drunk." She took the bottle of rum-chata and handed it back to Tally.
"Wow, this is going to be an interesting night." She earned a harsh look from Collar as she tried to fight off the burning after taste. "Okay."
They went their separate ways, Raelle searching for Byron, who was helping feed the fire. "Good job."
"Thank you," he graciously bowed. "How was graduation?"
"It went well," she confirmed, "but I'm getting called in to meet the General tomorrow morning."
"Oh, may I?" he pointed to her pendant. When she nodded, he pulled on the chain and read it. "It still says War College."
"That might be wrong now, can I have a drink?"
"Yeah."
Byron took an ale from his bag, cracking off the cap and handing it to her. He continued to feed the fire until the festivities began. Abigail stepped forward and gave a brief speech in honor of the graduation and Libba, tossing a paper in, then poured a drink out for her.
"Let's get this party started!"
A soldier began blasting some music and Raelle continued to watch the fire, her male witch by her side.
"I know that because of the MASIA, you guys are allowed into the military, but are there any women in your line of work?"
"I haven't seen one, but I think the act goes both ways, but I haven't seen a woman."
"Damn, I was hoping to find a housewife from your flock."
"No, only men in my area. West Coast is more liberal-"
"Fuck no, I'm not going anywhere over there. If Tally's mom is a sign of the community out there, I don't want any part in it. I guess I'll just be the end of my line. Why did you stay in this position if you aren't interested in handfasting?"
"I'm hoping to become a fosterling parent in the end but for now I'm stuck here for another year."
"How are you going to avoid Beltane?"
"I'm not sure?" he shrugged. "I hope to take some parenting classes this semester and volunteer enough with the kids to be hired."
Raelle caught sight of an unfamiliar witch talking with a few of her peers. "Who's that, a Civ?"
Byron followed her gaze and shrugged. "I've never seen her before? Want to go interrogate her?" he joked, only for his friend to take him up on the offer. "No, I was kidding, Raelle!"
Collar shakily stood up and approached the group, chickening out when one of them noticed her. She quickly continued on and grabbed Tally from her conversation.
"Do you know who that woman is with the blue ascot?"
"Um, I think Glory said she was a professor. I don't know why she's here."
"Do you want to find out?"
"No, I kind of just want to forget about getting summoned by 'The General'. You can investigate on your own."
Raelle rolled her eyes and continued to study the witch, she returned to Byron's side and prodded him directly on his lower spine. He twitched and looked down at her. "What'd you find out?"
"She's a professor. I just feel like I've seen her before," she recalled. "I can't remember when, though."
"I don't know how to help you. Maybe she just has a familiar-looking face?"
"No, I mean look at her, her eyes are just too blue to forget."
"Mhm," he skeptically agreed. "Are you just trying to convince yourself into meeting her, I wouldn't blame you, she is good-looking. A nice counter to your platinum blonde."
"Not the reason, I feel like she and Porter were connected?" Byron's face suddenly fell. "I'm sorry, but I feel like I saw her when he died."
"You're right, she was there, she called EMS."
"I guess that sounds about right."
"If you're so interested though-"
"Shut up."
"What, maybe she's the housewife you're looking for?"
"I think I'll just do what my mom did and marry a civilian," she gave in.
"I guess you ladies have a type."
"Damn, right. Dark hair, bright eyes, Cession-born."
"Two out of three," he jibed, looking at the professor but soon earned a punch from Raelle.
Raelle tossed her duffle on her cot now in the barracks on the college side of Fort Salem. She finally had a room to herself and only shared the common area with her Coven, Sekhmet, which she learned was more of a combination of three other units, theirs being the youngest in the dorm and led by a skinhead looking soldier as it seemed, but they didn't bother to introduce themself. Raelle just wanted to sleep after the ten-hour train ride back to Salem. Had she not been monitored by the army, she would have felt the urge to jump off earlier.
Collar heard a rapid knock on her door before it opened, good for her to take note of how little the privacy policy changed.
"Please, enter," she joked to her guest.
"Ah! You're back!" Tally excitedly shrieked. They embraced, the redhead narrowly tackling her friend. "Oh, my goddess you're back! Abigail's been here for a few days so I'm glad to see you found your way back, too!"
"You're un-Biddied?!"
"Yeah, it was weird but I am glad to be young again, everything's where it should be. Um, well anyway, so, I asked M about our classes and it seems like we have basically the same schedule for the first semester then we're divided into our specialties later."
"M?"
"Our Coven leader."
"We were never formally introduced."
"They're a little intense, I think Abigail might have some competition this year."
"No, the last thing I want is to get into some kind of stand-off between her and the old guard. Where is she?"
"I think I saw her… either in the kitchen or the rec center, she was talking with the male witch. George, Greg, no. Something with a G."
"G and M okay, I'll take note of them. I have nothing to do, so do you want to walk around a bit, maybe check out this side of the base?"
"I'm game, I have nothing else to do. What happened after you guys came back?"
"Um… they studied us for a while then we were released."
"And you guys are healthy?"
"Yeah, but I think Izadora isn't done with us yet."
"Yeah it didn't seem like Alder was either when we were still connected," she informed her.
"Perfect, just when I thought everything was easy, of course, we have drama."
"At least it's your drama and not ours."
"Well, Abi still has Camarilla trauma she's denying, you just got young, and we still have school. I think not much has changed."
Tally shrugged in agreement as they entered the main academic building. She looked down at their schedule and the signs. "Okay, Mothertongue."
"No, not a fucking language class, I barely passed English in high school, I can't learn another language."
"You don't know, I think it'll be fun!"
"Did you have Mothertongue at that matrifocal base?"
"We had some lessons, but I can't really speak it well," she tried the unlocked door. "Let's check it out?"
"Okay."
They browsed the classroom, picking through the books in various languages. It wasn't a very spacious classroom, in fact, it looked like a high school classroom with the design of a personal office. Tally approached the professor's desk and glanced at the random knick-knacks and books that lay strewn across the surface.
"May I ask what you two are doing here?"
They whipped around to face the young professor. Tally looked at her sister for help, seeing that the soldier was completely shell-shocked. "I'm sorry," she quickly apologized.
"You're not in trouble, that is if you return my speks," she joked.
Tally looked at the ball of magnetic balls Raelle was holding onto and took it out of her hands, quickly replacing it on the desk. "Sorry, she's not usually like this."
"You're Craven, right?"
"Yeah!"
"I'll guess you're… Collar?"
"Raelle."
"How'd you guess?" Tally asked.
"Your tags," she pointed at their uniforms. "Easy when your name's right there. So are you two just going to stand there or do you have other things to do?"
"We were just checking out our classrooms. Are you Dr. Ramshorn?"
"Yes, I am."
"You're really young, not that that's-"
"No, I am. This is my second year here. Grafton left after his daughter was born, so they replaced him with me, but don't worry, I did research in Méníshè as my thesis. I also taught at a Matrifocal base for my credentials."
"So, we're in good hands," Craven nodded, glancing back at her friend. "Okay, I think she might be broken."
"Oh, I can brew up some tea, do you know what could have caused this?"
"I have no idea. She's been… going through some stuff recently, so I'm not extremely surprised, but-" Scylla handed her a mug and tried putting it in Raelle's hands. Collar took it then slowly took and sipped. "Dude, what is up?"
"You called EMS?"
"Porter," she emotionlessly realized. "You're the one who tried to save him?"
"Yeah, I didn't do a great job at that."
"You were a first-year student with no training, you did as well as you could."
"Is this tea?" she asked, smacking her lips. "I don't like tea. But thank you. Do you think we could talk a little?"
"I guess, I'm a little busy," Scylla checked her watch, "but I can spare a few minutes."
"I'm guessing you're good with me leaving you here, then?" Tally asked.
"Yeah," her peer assured her.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
Once Craven left, Scylla pulled her desk chair over to sit across from her. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"
"I know it sounds weird, but did you know Porter Tippet?"
"We graduated the same year. We knew each other, but I didn't know he was depressed."
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Well, I was hoping I could learn something more about him. Everyone's convinced he did that but I just don't know. He-it didn't seem like that was his intention."
"Maybe an accident, then?"
"No, something else."
"Do you want to talk to someone higher than me?" Raelle shook her head, so Scylla tried, "Maybe you could talk with your unit or Coven?"
"You knew Porter, could you tell me a little about him?"
"Tippet was a weird kid, but he was nice enough. There's not much else I can say though."
"I didn't mean to freak you out, again."
"Well, you sure know how to make an impression."
"I've been told that before."
"I'm sure you have," she chuckled.
"Do you want to join up with your friend?"
"No, not really," she admitted. "But I probably should?"
"Now you're back to normal. Well, I do need help sorting some stuff out if you'd like to stay?"
"Sure." Raelle handed the mug back and followed her to her desk.
Ramshorn pulled out a stack of papers and a stapler from her desk, "Can you staple these, the order is in the top right corner. I'm going to get my lesson plan in order." Raelle went through the monotonous task while Scylla fiddled with the radio on her desk. "So, you've been deployed already?"
"Yeah."
"And you survived?"
"Technically, yes. How did you get out of fighting?"
"I didn't really get out of it."
"But you're a professor with a Ph.D.?"
"That doesn't mean that we aren't used by General Alder."
"But you teach Mothertongue, how useful can that be except in translations?"
Scylla shook her head in amusement and pulled out a decrepit book. "Do you know what this says?"
"Obviously not."
"This is one of the oldest scriptures about the Camarilla and their technology. Yes it is outdated, but so are their ideologies, this book has helped us stave them off for centuries, in it includes a guide for speaking with civilians and safe places for us to hide. This also includes dangerous off-canon work."
"So, I can do dope things if I learn Mothertongue?"
"Yes, you can learn so much off-canon from this room alone. The knowledge in General Alder's office is something else. That's also a job of mine."
"Really? You might make an Alder goon of me, yet," she sarcastically noted.
Scylla only chuckled in response and put on her glasses to go through her planner.
"Do they make mothertongue kid's books?"
"No, but there are plenty of fairy tales. The second shelf by the door is for collections and stories. Part of class includes you reading a book throughout the semester and writing a comprehensive summary in both English and Méníshè."
"And I was beginning to like you," she jibed.
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but if you want to be as powerful as Alder thinks you are, you'd better learn a thing or two before you move on from my class."
"Does everyone know about my mission?"
"The faculty does, yes. I mean, you can't leave a new patch of mushrooms twelve miles wide without people finding out. And Izadora has been bragging about her stupid mycelium wall all month. Every meeting with Alder, it's all they talk about. What do you have to do about it?"
"I poked it," she admitted.
"So you are involved?"
"I don't know?" Raelle finished stapling the papers together after a few minutes and handed them over. "Just making sure, this is just an introductory class, right?"
"Yes. We start with the alphabet then we go through their sounds. After that, we go over the rules and by the end of the course, hopefully you have a basic grasp of the language."
"Obviously linguistics majors take your class, but who else does?"
"Well, this is a prerequisite for most majors, I believe the only students who don't continue with the second course are fixers and blasters. Knowers use works in Méníshè and anyone who works closely with the General must also be fluent."
"So, this is an important class."
"Very," Scylla impressed upon her. "I can see you're panicking, I assume you've had poor experiences with language classes?"
"Back at home, I struggled in any class that wasn't science."
"Really, science? Did you grow up off base?"
"Yeah, I really only knew a few witches growing up, my other mom's. How could you guess based on my favourite class?"
"Military and matrifocal schools tend to have science classes that encompass thaumaturgy and normally has the name of the sciences from the natural world with thaumaturgy, for instance, Chemistry & Alchemy, Physics & Astronomy, Earth Science & Mineralogy, et cetera."
"Hm, pseudo sciences to appease the General."
"Kind of, they do have some footing in reality, just nothing that civilians would understand or apply."
"What other subjects were changed to be army approved?"
"Um, I know the curriculum for history is slightly different and they have classes dedicated to controlling works, so that's different. Other than that, there isn't much of a difference. Matrifocal academies work more with the natural world and apply their work to it. High Atlantic academies prepare their students for the army."
"So, they aren't special, just trained young."
"Yeah. Again, thank you for stapling all of that. I know you'll be busy with school soon but I would appreciate having an aid?"
"I know nothing about Mothertongue."
"I know, I mostly just need someone to sort and staple things." Scylla glanced up at her and nodded. "You can say no, there won't be any repercussions, Collar."
"I'll think about it. Quick question, would you be willing to tutor me in return?"
"Of course. I don't want to keep you any longer than I already have but I enjoyed our conversation."
"I did, too," she awkwardly phrased on her way out.
Raelle closed the door behind herself then began to Sekhmet. She was glad to have possible help with her class in exchange for labor, but she couldn't get over Ramshorn's demeanor and connections. She meandered around the grounds until she came back to Sekhmet's dorms. There, she spotted her old unit speaking by the stairs.
"Well, you came to," Bellweather commented.
"I- yeah. I am alive, somehow. Um, how was your break?"
"Boring, but I got about an hour with my mom before she was called back on duty. I'm not gonna lie, being home was weird without Charvel. I know she hadn't lived there for a year, but…" Abigail trailed off for a moment until Raelle finished her thought.
"It's different coming home to a place you shared."
"That was depressing," she laughed. "Can anyone lighten the mood?"
"Tal said you were talking with a boy?"
"Shellback, yeah. He's a sweetie and a smartass, I'm glad you guys get to meet him," she informed her unit. "He's got a good pedigree."
"But not as good as the Bellweather line?"
"Nothing compares to it, the Imperitrix said so," she nodded.
"The what?" Raelle inquired.
"She keeps track of our lineage. It's an important task."
"Oh god, I forgot about that," Tally groaned.
"I'm not feeling all that excited about it either."
"Oh, is it because of your new squeeze?" Collar nudged.
"Yes, if you must know."
"How is he?"
"I think he is doing well, but Khalida's been a bit of a blocker since we came back from the dead."
"Dude, that sucks," Tally sympathized.
Raelle chuckled to herself, "How do you manage to get by?"
"Shove it, shitbird," she smiled in response. "Why did you go all catatonic on Tally?"
"I saw our mothertongue prof when that male witch died."
"Shit. Oh, a really depressing start to the semester then?"
"No, she seems nice enough." Raelle regarded the grounds for a moment, "Do you guys want to go to the dining commons? I'm starving after my trip."
"Sure, it's only four o'clock, though?" Bellweather inquired with a check of her watch.
"A snack, then?"
"Our next class, we'll be going over the characters again and some more pronunciation rules," Ramshorn announced as she closed out the class. "I plan to let you out five minutes before we're supposed to end in case you have questions or whatever you have planned after this session," she finished, looking down at her watch. She glanced back at the soldiers who were still in their seats. "This is the part where you get up and either leave or ask me a question." They quickly gathered their belongings, their coven leader going to speak with her with a few other students behind them. "Uh oh, how can I help you?"
M stood at attention, "Don't mean to intimidate you, I don't know what their questions are, but I'm M, the coven leader of Sekhmet. I may ask for their grades on random days just to check-in. If you have any concerns, please come to me and I'll see how I can help them."
"Okay, well, thank you M. I'm glad to see that you're on top of it, you have a very promising young group of soldiers, thank you. Anything else you wanted to let me know?"
"No, that was all."
"Shellback, how may I help you?"
"I'm just a little confused about the book report, I went through your collection and they all seem pretty advanced?"
"I was going to explain your final assignment about halfway through the semester when you understood the language a bit more. So, don't worry about it right now, just focus on learning the script."
"Thank you."
Scylla watched them exit, leaving Collar as the final soldier in the classroom. "And what about you, do you have any questions or are you just dilly-dallying?"
"I was wondering if you still needed- or wanted help?"
"In the near future, that would be nice, but for now, I'm doing well," Scylla assured her. "Anything else I can help you with?"
"No, thank you, ma'am."
Scylla nodded and began to gather her lesson plan in a folder. "How are you feeling about everything so far?"
"I feel like I'm, you know, understanding it a little," she reflected.
"Your coven leader seems a little intense," she chuckled.
"Yes, they are a bit much sometimes, but M has good intentions."
"Mm," she noted. Ramshorn went through a drawer in her desk. "You look like you want to say something else?"
"I wanted to ask a little more about Porter Tippet?"
Scylla nodded and glanced at her watch again. "You have three minutes before I need to prepare for my next class."
"Okay, how did you really know him? When I tried to heal him, I saw some of his last memories and you were there?"
"Porter was an old friend growing up, so when the Male Witches were on base, we reconvened but I hadn't seen him in four years, I had no idea about his mental health."
"That's the thing, I don't think he wanted to do that. I think- I don't know what I think," she admitted.
Scylla mulled over their interaction and wrote something in her planner. "I normally have coffee just off campus around one if you want to talk more, but I have class in five minutes, so I need to get organized."
"Sure."
"Meet me out by the willow by the faculty quarters. I can't imagine what you must be feeling, but I understand why it's still bothering you."
"Thank you," Raelle accepted before grabbing her bag and leaving the classroom. She spotted Abigail speaking with Gregorio about their parents. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?"
"Just talking about some stuff, we must have gotten caught up," she explained. "What were you talking about in there?"
"Porter."
Gregorio nodded and excused himself before Abigail decided to engage in her friend's plight. "You need to accept the final report."
"I can't stop thinking about him. I've never felt a person die before, ever. I can't help but remember how much he didn't want to go. I'm just hoping she can put my mind at ease."
"Just try not to get caught up in your investigation. Well, we have hand-to-hand combat in about an hour. What do you want to do until then?"
"I think I'm just gonna chill alone, I'll be there on time, though." Raelle sulked back to the dorms in time for a messenger to catch her.
"Izadora would like to speak with you, Private Collar."
Raelle was the first out of their combat class, getting pulled aside by their coven leader before she got too far. M looked her up and down before airing their grievances.
"You were almost late, Collar," they began.
"Yeah, I got caught up with some stuff," she huffed, then yanked her arm away. "I wasn't late though, just so you know and the teacher wouldn't know any better?"
"Don't make it a habit."
"I won't have you screwing up my last year. Imagine this as boot camp part two," M continued. "Everything you do reflects on me as a leader."
"Well, just like I said at the beginning of this, that's fucking stupid."
M shook their head and left her with the rest of their coven. Abigail garnered a similar reaction to the conversation and followed the other soldiers. Raelle glanced at a cage-locked clock between two halls and headed towards the faculty quarters. Hoping she wouldn't be late, she cut through the woods, avoiding any new recruits from that quarter. She jogged around the building until she found the willow tree, ducking between a few branches to stay out of the humid sun. There, she found an old bench made from a petrified log. A few minutes passed before she was joined.
Ramshorn handed her coffee. "I got black and stole some sweetener and cream, I'm not sure what you enjoy."
"If I could, I'd have Irish coffee," she shrugged, "Thank you."
Scylla stood before the soldier. "I figured the subject warranted more privacy than a cafe."
"Yeah, thank you."
"Did you want to ask more questions?"
"Yeah," she warily sighed.
"Or not, I don't mind talking about anything else?"
"I don't know what to talk about."
"Do you want me to just start talking until you're ready?"
"If you'd like."
"Let's see. Did you know that Izadora is a huge geek, like a comic book nerd geek?"
"No," she chuckled.
"Yeah, she's a huge Image fan, really into the Deadly Class and Kick-Ass," she revealed.
"Do you two bond over that?"
"No, she just talks about that all the time. I'm more of a biography fan."
"You seem like someone who enjoys biographies. Autobiographies?"
"Yes, and yourself?"
"I'm not much of a reader. I prefer music, there's just more substance for me."
Scylla glanced through the branches. "You know, I like this spot, it's the one place others don't bother me." Collar studied her for a moment before she continued, "There's a lot of symbolism we've derived from nature. The Willow tree, for instance, is a symbol for rebirth because of the way it grows. They can propagate through their branches alone."
"Really?" Raelle looked up at the dome of leaves and branches above her.
"I know it's a tough subject, but I'm sure you're mostly here to make sense of what you experienced?"
"I'm just not sure how much more of that I'd be willing to handle."
"Did you know that I was a Necro kid in basic?"
"You were one of Izadora's?"
"Yeah, I was her prodigy, she doesn't let it go," she explained. "Do you know what necros do?"
"Work with the dead?"
"That's only part of it, but that is the biggest turn-off for many soldiers including myself. I worked on the dead and learned how to make chemical weapons. Necros and fixers have been working together to figure out how to get around Spree and now Camarilla works. I see your eyes glazing over, so I'll get to the point.
"It's okay to request a different profession in your line of work. If dealing with dying soldiers isn't what you want to do, find another profession in your field that you feel more comfortable with, or you can do what I did and find a completely unrelated career path." Scylla shook her cup. "And now I'm done. Would you like to talk about anything else before I toss this stuff?"
"Does Izadora really pester you about leaving?"
"At least once a month, yes."
"Also, why would you leave if you were a natural at necromancy?"
"Sometimes what you're good at isn't what you enjoy. Life is about balance, you and I of all people should know that in the works we excel in. Some food for thought," she offered.
"Thank you."
"If you ever need help, please go to your Coven Leader. They're a hard ass, but I can tell they only want the best for you all, your unit is just a special case. We also have counselors, just know that there are people here to help."
Raelle tuned out of her final words and got up. "Thank you for the advice, but I don't do that kind of stuff."
"You know, I think you should consider it, if only for yourself." Ramshorn took their cups and waited for her. "What do you have next?"
She pulled a paper from her pocket, "I have nothing until tomorrow. Off-Canon with Major Verger."
"Good luck, she is unforgiving, it's good, really prepares you for combat," Ramshorn commented.
"Any stories about her class?"
"No, not until your first class. Well, I'll let you go."
"Last question, why did you want to meet me here of all places?" she wondered as they passed a discolored patch of concrete.
"I was curious if you could."