Harvest 48, 855
Buu yawned as he entered the cafeteria, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the lanternlight. Students milled between busy tables, trays piled high with breakfast cakes or oatmeal as they laughed or raged about unfair assignments. Craning his neck, Buu couldn’t see any sign of Idah. With a sigh, he picked up a tray and joined the line, resigned to eating alone.
The guard had let him back into the school without incident, relieved not to have lost a student on his watch. Buu confirmed with the guard that Tiy and Kijah had returned already and headed straight for the dormitory, tight-lipped and pale as linen. Buu had followed, falling heavily into his bed, for once not worrying about the nightmares and goddesses that might find him there.
He woke early, eyes crusted with sleep, groggy as he found his clothes and shrugged them on. Feeling like one of his risen dead, he shuffled along the breakfast queue, stiff and tired. It seemed that even the wave of vigour his magic gifted him could not withstand the combined powers of a midnight hike and an early morning.
Tuag walked more closely beside Buu than usual. The grimm had a wary optimism to him now, happier, but like he expected it to end any moment. Buu smiled as he met Tuag’s eye, a knowing glance passing between them before they both looked away.
Buu found a table, freshly vacated when its previous occupants saw him coming, and settled in with his hot cakes half-drowned in maple syrup. Perking up as he ate, Buu let his mind wander ahead to the practice clearing, considering what to work on to get closer to his new goal: sending the grimm to that other place — his home, if Buu had to guess. Now that he knew why Tuag had chosen to follow him in particular, he could think of little else.
Buu’s thoughts took up so much of his attention that he didn’t notice Tiy until the older boy clapped him heartily on the shoulder, sliding onto the bench beside him as if he did it every day. Kijah followed suit with more reluctance, sitting stiffly across from Buu, eyes darting to Tuag between bites of his breakfast. They looked like opposites – Kijah bent over his breakfast with dark circles hunkered beneath his eyes and Tiy beaming, too bright and brittle.
“Buu! You made it back — we knew you would,” Tiy half-shouted, the high flush of his cheeks making it clear that they knew no such thing. “What did you even do back there?”
Buu eyed the dark bruises poking out above Tiy’s collar, badly concealed by a lopsided scarf. Did he imagine the reaching curve of a finger, imprinted in purple against the older boy’s skin? Tiy seemed to notice him staring and adjusted his scarf self-consciously.
“I don’t really know,” Buu half-lied. “I just kind of panicked and I guess my magic did the rest.”
“Well, it really saved my neck,” Tiy said with a knowing grin and fever bright eyes. “I guess you’re alright after all.”
Tiy ruffled Buu’s hair, smiling across at Kijah who tried and failed to match his enthusiasm. They ate and listened to Tiy retell the story of their escapade to their neighbours, gravitating towards the excitement while still leaving a respectful distance around Tuag.
When the bell for classes clamoured over the conversation, they dumped their trays and hustled towards class, Tiy glued to Buu’s side, Kijah trailing a step or two behind. Tuag watched them with a disapproving stare.
“Zenya made us some maple drops, we were going to go eat them with her after class in the common room. You want to come?” Tiy nudged Buu’s shoulder, regaining his full attention.
“Who?” Buu asked, eliciting a frown from the older boy.
“Zenya? The girl from Artifice?”
Buu thought for a moment. “Does she guard the wall sometimes?”
“Yeah — that’s her. Her father is a local tree tapper. Nobody makes better maple drops.”
The morning had a dreamlike quality to it — nobody bullying him, people trying to be his friend, piles of snow glittering in the morning light — but Buu couldn’t shake the disquiet building in him. He had wanted this, hadn’t he? Glancing at Tuag, Buu could see the grimm’s disdain for the other boys, and wondered if emotions could pass through whatever strange bond they had.
Turning back to Tiy, Buu avoided eye contact as he answered, “Thanks, but I’d rather not.”
“Really? Well, we don’t have to do that. We could go sledding instead. If you take a good run at it, you can really get flying,” Tiy pushed, nodding to himself as if the decision had already been made.
Buu spotted Idah’s swinging braid ahead, disappearing in and out of sight between students. He tried to get her attention with an eager wave, even though the angle would keep her from seeing him.
“There’s Idah — I should go, we’re studying later so I can’t go sledding, sorry!” Buu hurried forward, ducking and dodging his way towards Idah. Behind him, he heard a brief sound of protest from Tiy, and Kijah’s muttered ‘I told you.’
Idah greeted him distractedly as he joined her, her focus on the book in her hands, but he found her familiar presence much easier to bear than Tiy’s sudden cloying interest. When he glanced over his shoulder to ensure Tuag had followed him, Buu saw the baleful looks the older boys cast in Idah’s direction. Stomach somersaulting, he wondered if he had made the right decision after all.