Cater was busy editing some photos for a pamphlet he was being paid by the headmage to make. Crowley had apparently overheard him commenting on the fact that the school didn't have one, and since making them was relatively cheap and might add to their reputation (or attract more high profile students), Cater had been drafted into making it.

Since he did love the NRC, Cater had thrown himself into the project. Naturally, he did get permission from the teachers before showing off the classrooms and only took a picture of the outside of the Mirror Chamber.

After all, Night Raven was an exclusive college and the ceremony was held as sacred.

So it was only natural that he failed to hear the door open. He did take notice when a hand reached out and grabbed one of the other photos he had taken.

"What is this?" demanded Vil.

It was one of several pictures of himself, one taken at a rather candid moment.

Cater paled.

Vil noticed there were a lot of pictures involving him. He was not happy, as he had only thought he had to deal with Rook's fascination with him.

Cater wanted to hide his face in embarrassment. This was not how he ever wanted his not so minor crush on Vil to be exposed.

Vil gave him a harsh stare.

"How long have you been taking photos of me?"

"Since the first month in. Why did you come to my room anyway?" asked Cater. Next time he was locking the door.

"Professor Crewel asked me to pass a message. Something about needing all the volunteers to get up extra early tomorrow to help prune the trees," said Vil.

"Great...I'll set my alarm," said Cater. Once he left, Cater locked the door and groaned. "This is the worst."

The next afternoon

"So Roi du Poison found your stash of photos?" said Rook.

Cater nodded miserably.

"He must think I'm a total creep with how many there were. As if I didn't have a chance already..."

Rook had a look of some sympathy on his face. He knew of Cater's crush, but he had to admit the photos were a tad incriminating.

However Cater only shared them with Rook (he had checked) and never even once attempted to reach out to the many, many magazines who would happily buy them for large sums of money. Rook could appreciate Cater's loyalty in that regard.

Vil was not in a good mood. The photographer for the next session had called in due to a family emergency, and all the ones his agency usually hired were booked solid with other models. He was about to give up when he spotted a certain ginger talking with Rook, likely about an assignment in class.

Vil remembered the level of detail in the photos Cater had taken of him. While they were far from professional shots, they were still above the level of an amateur. And he couldn't afford to lose a session, as he was in a critical stage. He'd fall behind LeBlanche, and that was unacceptable.

He raced outside, hoping to catch Cater in time. He had very little time to waste, as the shoot was in less than two hours and he'd need all the time he could get for the prep.

"Diamond, a word," said Vil.

Cater's head turned, mostly in surprise.

"What's up?" he asked.

Vil explained the situation, hoping Cater wouldn't make this too difficult. He'd hate to have to waste a shoot.

"Sure, I can act as the photographer. If nothing else we can do some post editing to fix anything I miss," said Cater.

"If it's anything like that brochure you put together for the Headmage, then there should be no problems. I've worked with worse," said Vil.

The brochures were well put together, and an excellent way to help settle in next year's freshmen. Crowley was already planning to send them to those who had gotten an acceptance letter before the ceremony. While there were very little details about the opening ceremony itself, there was plenty of good details about the classes, teachers, Sam's special shop, and even the botanical garden. Never mind the level of detail Cater had put into each dorm, explaining their good and bad points in professional detail.

He had gotten permission from each Housewarden before he took the pictures and spoke at length to several students for that.

Cater grabbed a few things, before he followed Vil to the shoot location.

It took a few moments to introduce him to the producers, but they were so pressed for time they didn't bother to question Vil. Too much money had been spent to waste the material they had available.

Cater spent the next hour familiarizing himself with the cameras and filters provided, as well as the theme of the shoot.

Vil was struck by the way Cater focused entirely on doing his job right. Odd habits aside, Cater at least displayed a level of professionalism he could appreciate.

Several hours later...

Vil was tired, but in a good way. He had mostly picked Cater out of desperation and a lack of options, but now he was glad he did. The ginger knew what he was doing, and had Vil adjust his pose a few times to better emphasize Vil's beauty. Sometimes he would add or remove an item that he felt took away from the scene they were trying to create, before taking a few pictures.

He was incredibly patient whenever they had to adjust Vil's makeup and change his clothes, because modeling was hot, tiring work.

"Last break," said the producer. He looked incredibly pleased with the photos Cater had given them.

Vil took a long pull of his water.

"Thanks for doing this. We almost lost a considerable sum because the photographer pulled out last minute," said Vil.

"What are friends for?" said Cater smiling, he looked as tired as Vil.

Vil paused to consider this.

"That reminds me...why haven't you sold those photos you've taken of me at school? I know there are plenty of magazines who'd buy them."

Cater snorted.

"Like I'd lower myself to selling my collection to tabloids. Sharing with Rook is one thing, but I refuse to sell out to people who spend entirely too much time destroying people's privacy for a profit," said Cater dismissively. "I might be broke, but I still have standards."

Vil's estimation of Cater rose up a bit at that. He was all too aware of Cater's financial problems and how he would budget rather viciously to get through the week.

"I'll need your info for later. After all, you still need to be paid for the work you put into this," said Vil.

Cater froze a bit, before relaxing. Vil wondered what that was about.

"Ehehehe...I'll give you the details directly later," he promised. "Let's just get through this today. I feel like I could sleep for days."

Vil felt the same, but at least now he had a few days to relax. After all, he wouldn't be making up for the lost shoot.

Cater would later do a doubletake at the amount of money sent his way by Vil's producer. Apparently they really liked his photos. Of course it wasn't as much as they would have paid the professional to do, but it was still more than he had ever made working minimum wage jobs.

He was even more floored when Vil shared a copy of the magazine with the article in question...and his name was openly credited as the photographer.

"What are your plans for summer break?" asked Rook.

"I'm visiting this animal sanctuary that allows free roam and the occasional tourist bus to drive through for pictures," said Cater absently. "The people who run the sanctuary do allow outsiders to camp there for short periods of time with heavy restrictions."

Rook nodded, as he knew perfectly well what Cater was talking about. His family ran several such sanctuaries...even if they were a clan of professional hunters.

Running a sanctuaries meant that they had ample access to fresh meat, and meant that they could indulge in their hobbies without having to deal with nuisances like permits or with self-entitled idiots who thought they knew best for the animals without doing any proper research first.

"So you're going camping?" he said, with open interest.

"Mostly. I plan to turn off my phone for a while and explore the sanctuary with my camera. While I do plan to pay for limited hunting rights, I mostly want to destress and take some awesome photos," said Cater honestly.

Rook was openly smiling at the idea. While technology was useful, he rarely used it in when working.

"Which one are you going to?" he asked. "I can help narrow down the ones within your price range."

Cater pulled up the pages he had bookmarked.

Rook immediately vetoed three of them on the spot.

"Don't bother with this one. The ones who run it have a nasty habit of looking the other way when poachers sneak in," said Rook without hesitation. "They also tend to overcharge for things that should be included."

"Yikes, thanks for the warning!" said Cater honestly. He had pulled it up because of the cheap price, but he cut that off the list after hearing the part about the poachers.

"The people who run this sanctuary are good, but there's limited space and the amenities are in dire need of maintenance," said Rook, pointing to another option. "There's been talk about turning it into a special preserve for abused or formerly captive animals, so odds are you wouldn't be able to take many good photos."

Cater winced at the thought.

"What about the third option?"

"The third one is good overall, but the cheap package would barely pay for a sleeping bag, the bare minimum of required outdoor gear, and it would put you entirely too close to the predators. They make quite a bit of money off of people looking for an interesting camping trip only to find out they upcharge for everything they can get away with," said Rook. "Of course most of that goes into maintaining the animals, but it's a bad business practice."

"Which ones would you recommend then?" asked Cater. He knew Rook would give him an honest answer at least.

Rook immediately selected three different options. Two of which were either run or sponsored by his family personally.

Cater looked at the three with interest, before narrowing down on one that was as far away from the Queendom of Roses as he could get.

Last time, he had spent his summers bumming off Trey's couch. This time he was going completely off grid so he could let his mask down and just relax.

"What's your opinion of this one?" asked Cater.

Rook looked at it and hid his amusement, as he had picked the sanctuary that was not only run by his family, but was right next door to his family's current home.

The slightly older male was more than happy to elaborate on what he knew of that sanctuary. After all, one of his duties while at home was to help cull certain animals whenever they got too comfortable with humans and started to become a nuisance, or if their population had gotten a bit too big to safely manage.

Cater was nodding and taking notes on his phone. His mind was definitely made up on where his vacation would take place. The idea of letting his family (or at least his sisters) know what he had planned never crossed his mind once.

In the Pop Music Club

"So you're going on an extended camping vacation in the Sunset Savanna?" said Lilia with open interest.

"I plan to hunt for good pictures, rather than normal trophies. Though it's going to be a pain to get all the gear I'd need," said Cater.

"Sounds like a fun vacation," said Lilia. "How long are you going to be in the wilds?"

"At least a week, but no more than two. Who knows, I might be able to sell a few pictures and make enough to visit Briar Valley before summer is over. It would be interesting to see your homeland," said Cater.

Lilia chuckled.

"If you ever do visit, give me a call. I'd be more than happy to show off the lesser known spots. After all, it's not often I find someone willing to eat my cooking," said Lilia.

Left unspoken that the only reason Cater ate Lilia's cooking was due to the fact he couldn't afford other alternatives. After a certain point, he just turned off his taste buds because while it wasn't very appealing taste wise, it was filling.

Lilia was rather happy to share most days, as he found it disappointing that so few people were willing to try his cooking.

"I'd happily take you up on that!" said Cater smiling broadly. Lilia was fun to be around, and Silver was pretty chill as well...even if he did have the habit of falling asleep at random.

Cater could always count on getting some good pics of woodland creatures around the younger boy, because they tended to congregate around Silver regularly. He knew Lilia would appreciate them as well, which was a bonus.