AN: FORTY-ONE WHAAAAAA
Stretch (Klein, Casper, Monica, Laura)
"And this," Klein said, carefully lifting an obviously cramping Casper onto the pool deck as a concerned Laura and Monica looked on, "is why warming up before going all out is a good idea."
"I-I thought I did," Casper gasped, exhaling roughly when his calf muscle stopped seizing. "But I guess I was pretty much tapped out after Instructor Neithardt's seminar earlier…"
Klein closed his eyes, massaging his forehead as Laura winced in sympathy, much to Monica's confusion. "Ah. Let me guess; the Manway Method?"
A weak nod.
"Take the rest of the practice off, Casper. You need to recover."
Probability (Crow, Elliot)
"So, lemme get this straight. You don't actually know if any of our classmates can sing or play instruments."
Elliott grinned. "Nope!"
"Gotcha. And you also don't know if any of them are gonna be quick learners or not."
"Welllll, I have a theory or two but… also nope."
"Cool. Now to make things crystal clear; this concert is basically us rolling the dice on every single member of Class VII and hoping we win across the board?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Good plan?"
"You kidding me? This is a great plan! Time to roll 'dem bones and beat those odds!"
Abyss
You float aimlessly in the void, surrounded on all sides by a darkness without end.
In the distance you think you can hear the sounds of battle intermingling with words that you can't grasp the meaning of, but it all seems so ephemeral, so utterly unimportant. How simple it would be to fade away into the static, ignoring your screaming instincts willing you to rise, willing you to fight –
And a cry pierces your soul like an answered prayer.
"Athelas!"
Above you, a glimmer. Dawn. At long last.
You raise your arms, reaching for the light with all you have.
