The air was crisp as he made his way to the Hall, waving back to other students as he went.

His first thought had been to check the library; the VKs had been found in there more often than he ever expected so it was a safe guess. However, he got the feeling that after his talk with Evie last Friday he was more likely to find all of them together in Maurice Hall. Especially since Evie was determined to make their outfits.

Making way up to the fashion floor, Ben could hear Evie chatting away with the occasional grumble from Mal. While he didn't hear either of the boys, he knew they'd be there. Which was confirmed as he stepped onto the floor.

Mal and Evie were huddled around a workstation with a collection of different purple and green and black fabrics in front of them. At the neighboring station, Jay glared at an open math book while Carlos looked over his shoulder.

"Evie," Mal groaned as she held her arms up. "You already have our measurements."

"I have to make sure they haven't changed again," Evie retorted, earning a quick glance from Carlos.

"Hey guys," Ben said. "Working on the dresses and suits for the Yule ball already?"

All four pairs of eyes turned to him, grey uninterested, both browns acknowledging, and blue welcoming.

"Hi, Ben," Evie smiled. "And it's never too soon to get started. Especially for a project this big."

"I'll have to take your word for it. I've never been able to do much with a needle beyond stabbing myself."

That earned a smirk from Mal and a laugh from Jay.

"It takes some practice," Evie smiled.

"Maybe someday you can teach me," Ben joked.

"She's a slave driver," Mal told him. When she started lowering her arms, Evie poked her and she rolled her eyes. But she lifted her arms back up. "As a royal you don't have the time to deal with her lessons and rule a kingdom."

"Fair enough. Guess I'll just have to hire her instead of making things myself."

Grey eyes studied him closely for a moment before Mal shrugged.

"I would be honored," Evie said, drawing his attention back to her.

He smiled. "Once things have calmed down, I'd love to commission something."

Her smile was soft as she curtsied. "I look forward to it."

The room fell silent and Ben smoothed his shirt. Why couldn't talking to them be easier? It was tempting to excuse himself, but if he wanted to make any progress, he couldn't leave when things got awkward. "Do you mind if I stick around? I'd love to learn more about your process."

Immediately, Evie lit up and Mal crept away to the boys table the moment the tape measure fell away. For the next hour, Ben was her captive audience. It was…entrancing. All her usual facades were gone, leaving behind an excited young woman who loved what she was doing with her entire being. If he'd thought she was graceful before, then he didn't know how to describe her now. Every movement was fluid, precise, like a dance even though all she was doing was sketching or examining fabrics. Even the way she talked to him relaxed. Less formal and rigid.

…

Carefree. That was the word he was looking for. Right here, in this moment, she was carefree. Alive. In her element. The only other time he'd seen any of the VKs like this was when he watched Carlos with Duke and Checkers when the youngest VK thought no one was watching.

"Gods," Jay groaned, snapping Ben out of Evie's spell. "I'm so bored. There's nothing to do around here. I have free time and fucking nothing to do with it."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"I mean there's nothing to do. Lonnie isn't always free to train, Evie likes to hide away in here to make her clothes-"

"That you like," Evie cut in.

"Carlos can hang out in the stables and Mal has extra homework and this place," Jay finished.

Curious, Ben leaned forward. "What would you do on the Isle?"

Silence fell and he sighed inwardly. He'd hoped that kind of question in this context wouldn't make them clam up like they usually did when the Isle was brought up. Finally, Jay said, "We were just a lot more active. There was always something to do."

More active. There were a few options here at the University that Jay might like. It was too late in the semester for him to join fencing, but next semester he could try out for Siege. There was no question in Ben's mind that Jay would pass tryouts.

"Hey, Jay."

"Yeah?" Jay asked.

"Would you be interested in joining a sport?"

For a moment Jay frowned before shrugging. "I guess. Depends on the sport."

Fair enough. He couldn't imagine Jay doing something like field and track, polo, or soccer. And forget cricket or golf. "The one I'm talking about is Siege. It's a mock battle between two teams. We don't use real weapons or anything super dangerous. But you can definitely get hurt."

Lips pressed together, frowning faintly in thought, Jay shook his head. "Never heard of it," he said.

If Ben was being honest, he would've been shocked if Jay did know it. "It's pretty easy to pick up. And since you're kicking ass in Basic Training, you'll do really well. You have plenty of time to pick it up and learn the rules before an actual game."

"Sounds like it could be fun," Mal commented from where she was sketching and Ben couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. Carlos was openly ignoring all of them with a book open in front of him.

"I think it is," Ben grinned. "I've been playing since I was fourteen."

Jay leaned forward. "How do you play?"

Hmm. How to explain it in terms they'd probably understand. "Well," he started, "there's two teams and each one has an area to defend. Like a territory." The VK nodded slowly. "And they also have flags that the other team is trying to steal. The goal is to steal all of the other team's flags and bring them back to your team's headquarters. It's a lot of fighting, strategy and teamwork. I think it started out as a way to train soldiers for battle or test a troop's teamwork."

"Huh." Dark brown eyes studied him. "And you play?"

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "So does Lonnie. She's actually one of the squad leaders."

Jay smirked. "You guys would be fucking dumb if she wasn't."

Couldn't disagree there. Lonnie was a fantastic tactician. "It starts next semester. Tryouts are the first week after winter break. You should try it." Part of the reason he wanted Jay to tryout was selfish: he'd like to have an excuse to spend more time with the oldest VK and working together, even in a mock battle, was a good way to build trust. Especially based on what Flynn told him. And then of course, it would be good for Jay to have a way to feel like he's part of everything instead of just an outsider trying to fit in.

The VKs exchanged looks before Jay shrugged. "I'll think about it."

That was all Ben could ask for.