RIEL

Eat unseasoned vegetables, grainy fruits and place the meat to the side with Twyla.

Eat unseasoned vegetables, grainy fruits and place the meat to the side with Winika.

Eat unseasoned vegetables, grainy fruits and give the meat to Acacius.

Eat unseasoned vegetables, grainy fruits and place the meat to the side by yourself.

If you weren’t sick of the Old Miner’s Diner food before, you sure are now.

The same plain meals every day. ‘Does Norlyria not have seasoning?’ You thought you got dressed in your uniform for the day. You didn’t want to eat from the diner but you also didn’t want your stomach growling in class. Talk about a lose-lose situation. Something is better than nothing, you supposed. The school pays for all diner meals and it’s not like you have the money to go anywhere else.

After you were dressed, you stepped outside, not realizing that Magnus was standing right outside your door. You bumped into him surprisingly hard, stumbling backwards a bit. Magnus however, didn’t do anything more than grunt. “Don’t you watch where you’re going before to walk into a hallway?” Magnus sighed, however there was no real anger in his words. “Ah! Sorry Sir. I was lost in thought.” You quickly said as you closed the door behind you. Magnus leaned on the wall. “Where are you off to this early?” Magnus squinted at the large clock at in the wall on the second floor. Your spirit dimmed at the reminder of what you had to do. “Going to the diner.” You said with no gusto. You started to walk past him in the direction of the entrance door. Magnus raised a brow and he quickly caught up to you. “Why do you sound so sad about it?” Magnus lightheartedly scoffed. You looked around the dorm. It was still about an hour before any student would need to head to the study buildings so the dorm was empty. But still. You felt silly at how desperate you were to tell him. You sighed almost dramatically. “Because the food! It’s just…” You shook your head with a solemn expression. Magnus let out a chuckle. “Don’t I know it! I ate there once and that was it. What’s the point, we can’t even eat the meat!” You smiled. It seemed like Magnus wanted to get this off his chest too. The sole agitation made Magnus want a smoke.

Magnus pressed his large hand to the small of your back and started to lead you through the door. “Hence the reason I don’t go there anymore. I’ll show you a better place. It’s actually close to the diner.” Magnus looked over his shoulder. It seemed like he didn’t want anyone to see you two either.

The walk to the new restaurant was longer than Magnus let on. Or at least felt longer. According to the time it took 14 minutes while going to the diner takes 10. Only a 4 minute difference but Magnus took you through some sketchy back roads. “I don’t want you walking through the main streets this early. Everyone is at home but the crazy people.” -is what Magnus said.

The restaurant wasn’t a restaurant rather than a small pop up shop. Some people were already standing to order and to wait for their food. There was one big burly man working over a hot grill and a thin small boy, acting as a cashier. They seemed related. The hot smoke surrounding the tent was a welcome relief for Norlyria cold. All of a sudden, a smell hit you. Peppery meat and lemony vegetables. Your stomach had the urge to growl but you somehow held it in.

“Voila!” Magnus joked and walked to stand in the three person line. You stood next you him and felt silly. You wondered if you looked like a couple and smiled a bit. As if to kill any hope, Magnus said, “I feel like you’re my weird little sister/brother/sibling that I take out to eat after our parents aren’t home.” very matter of factly. You opened your mouth in dramatic shock but quickly closed it and looked away with a silly pout. Magnus chuckled at your performance.

Before you knew it, you and Magnus were up in line. You were finally able to read the menu but before you could even get half way down, Magnus spoke. “Good morning Altric. We’ll get two black pepper steaks, a side of citrus greens and potatoes.” Magnus was already taking out his wallet. The boy quickly scribbled on a note pad and placed it onto a counter near the larger man. Magnus gave the boy a large handful of coins, the boy had to take it using two hands. Magnus didn’t seem surprised at the boy’s lack of response. ‘Maybe they know each other well.’ You figured.

You both stepped to the left of the tent. “Sir, how’d you find out about this?” You asked him. “Well, I couldn’t keep eating at that diner. Had to do some exploration.” Magnus explained. You felt a little too sleepy to continue talking. Or listening for that matter. Magnus described all the different restaurants he went to but you didn’t listen.

“Order for Magnus!” The man called out, a little louder than he really needed to. Did he know that the order belong to Magnus just by reading the order? Magnus went to pick up the tray of food from the ‘Pick Up’ counter. The man looked at you and you felt you needed to smile and wave at him. So you did. He let out a laugh that was more of a cackle. “Magnus has got a woman/man?” You really hope your eyes didn’t glimmer with happiness. “Didn’t think you were his type!” Oh.

Magnus made no effort to correct him. “You approve?” It was probably a joke. “If they make you happy, hell yeah.” The man said and returned to grilling food for the other customers. You looked Magnus. You thought his eyes seemed softer than before but it’s probably your mind playing tricks on you. Magnus brought you to a cold wooden table not too far away and you both sat down next to each other. Magnus used a knife and fork to cut a piece of the steak for you. His use of utensils was surprisingly good. He cut the steak into small pieces. He picked up a piece and held it to your face with a smirk. “Do the honors?” You pulled your head back, “It’s meat.” You stated, obviously too nervous to eat any meat from this world. “Look.” Magnus ate the piece without a care. Your eyes drifted to his sharp jawline and you watched as he swallowed, feeling like a creep.

“See. I didn’t succumb to insanity and die.”Magnus picked up another piece and held it near your lips. You couldn’t look him in the eyes. You noticeably avoided his eyes and ate the piece of meat off his fork. The meat with filled with strong flavors and melted on your mouth. Magnus smiled. “Good right?” You nodded vigorously. You and Magnus ate the whole meal, alternating with the fork. You got full quickly but Magnus started finishing the rest of the meal. You noticed a black crow perched in a tree starting dead at you. It doesn’t take a genius to know that Damian was watching you through the crow. Crows that Damian is watching through act differently than his regular crows.

Maybe on a different day you would care but now, you leaned against Magnus’ body while watching the crow. He turned to you. “Are you tired after eating? I used to get like that too.” Magnus said softly. He finished his food. Magnus looked at his watch. “There’s still time to go back and take a nap. Come on.” Magnus started to stand up but you wrapped your arms around one of his. Magnus sighed lightly. “Alright. I guess you can just lean on me then.” Magnus stretched a bit and got more comfortable. He used the arm that was wrapped around your shoulders to press your head closer to where his neck and shoulders met. Magnus kept his hand on your head. The crow flew away. You closed your eyes contently.

When you awoke, you felt so rested that you worried you slept too much. “Sir, what time is it?” You tried to rub the sleep out of your eyes as quickly as you could. Magnus causally looked at his watch. “15 minutes till classes start. We can start walking then.” You were surprised. You two stood up and started walking in the direction of the main building.