#physical post

"Ansell, are you in there?"

She knocks on the door.

- @thedragonstriker

The knocking makes him jump. Everything makes him jump. This is terrible. But that's Ragno so he should probably answer... he moves to the door but hesitates to unlock it.

- Private text @robbed4twentyyears has just sent Naledi

Naledi immediately rushes back into the room the second she sees the text. "Surya!?"

Carefully, she rejoins him on the couch, laying on top of him. Mostly just to make sure he doesn't get up and vanish on her again. Her heart wouldn't be able to take that happening a third time.

She read the card first, 'how the hell did they know about that... DID SKADI SNITCH I SWEAR TO THE HELM-'

he opens the package, jeez theres so many clubs. Its surprising how many gifts he getting, she didnt think people cared that much

She takes a good look at it. It's the same pattern as mites coat... i swear that photo on the News club's board must be why everyone knows...

The bow is very pretty, not her usual style... he never really had pretty things before...

He does not look composed right now.

"Has Naledi returned yet..?" he wonders aloud.

Wira, who's sitting at a table, stiffens at first. He casts Surya a sharp, wary look, preparing for a fight. The tension immediately bleeds out of him upon realizing it's just one of the Goyens. With a respectful nod, he turns his attention back to Asterius, gaze visibly softening.

Asterius, who's busy putting some books back on the shelf, doesn't even look over at Surya. Instead he just calls back to him over his shoulder, cheerful as always, "She's in the back!"

She tries to push herself up. Her veins still feel like they're on fire. Exhaustion leaves her shaking and unsteady. Looking down, she finds bandages wrapped around her arms where…

She shudders at the memories of those icy hands grabbing her. She tries to remember what happened. She faintly remembers snarling something at the thing controlling Casper-

Casper. He's still out there. Have they managed to free him? Is he okay?

How long has she been out for?

She barely cares for the hollow ache in her chest now, ignores the way her limbs scream in protest as she tries to drag herself from the bed. All she can think about is finding Casper.

He doesn't quite know how long it takes him to reach Ansell's door. He knocks. The lack of an answer perplexes him. He hopes he isn't waking the Goyen up.

He tries the door. It's unlocked. He opens it just enough to peer in.

Naledi turns to see what Asterius is asking about, and startles. She stares at him, silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, she blinks.

Well, that just doesn’t look right. That doesn’t look right at all.

Asterius tilts his head to the side when she fails to respond verbally. “You can be honest, I won’t mind.”

“Blonde is not your color,” Naledi finally says. She almost winces at her own blunt tone. She’d meant for that to come out gentler than it did.

Asterius, thankfully, isn’t offended. He merely laughs, and reaches up to run his fingers through his hair. The color shifts, darkening to a blueish-black where he touches it.

“Wira did tell me that darker colors suit me better,” he hums. “I had wondered if that was because this is his color. Good to know he wasn’t just being biased!”

Naledi frowns. Was that a Tama? She didn’t notice any sparks that indicated Tama use. Furthermore…

“I thought your Tama was a calming effect?” she says.

She sees something. A flicker of panic in his face. His eyes widen–

His eyes. What do his eyes look like? She realizes she doesn’t know. She swears she’s seen them before. He’s her friend. He’s been here for weeks, hasn’t he? She tries to look him in the eye, but–

Calm washes over her. She can feel panic trying to claw its way up her throat, a deep rooted feeling of something being wrong. But it’s quickly smothered out by the fog encroaching on her mind. Asterius blinks, and his eyes are… kind. Normal. A lovely shade that shifts between yellow and green, with hints of blue.

What were they talking about?

“Miss Naledi?” Asterius’s voice drags her mind back to clarity. His voice is like a warm cup of tea on a cold day. Grounding. Familiar. She knows him. This is her co-worker. Her friend.

“Yes?” she replies. He tilts his head, smiling.

“Are you alright?” he asks her. “You were unfocused again. Do you need to sit down?”

“No,” Naledi says. There’s something nagging at her in the back of her mind. She feels like she’s forgotten something again.

“No,” she repeats, “no, it’s alright. Thank you, Asterius. I’ll be fine. Did you need something?”

“Oh, I was just checking to see if you needed help packing for the trip,” Asterius says.

The trip. Right. Yes, that’s probably what that feeling is about. She probably forgot to pack something. It’s a good thing Asterius reminded her.

“I’ve got it, don’t worry about me,” she tells him. “Make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.”

“I’ll go do that now!” Asterius turns and makes his way back out of the room, cheery as always. Naledi watches him go with a fond sigh. That man’s too sweet for his own good.

"I have this overdue book." he says blankly. He holds up a book titled If you're an alien visiting earth: Here's everything important about humans "What's the consequence?"

(it was taken out in 1rst year and they're in 4th year)

Asterius casts a look down at the book, blinking at the title. He remembers reading through a copy of this himself. He says nothing about it, instead giving Ri a bright smile. He searches through the records to find out when the book was checked out, his smile faltering when he sees just how late the book is.

"The policy for overdue books is around $1 for each day you wait to return it," he says. "If the book is damaged, or isn't returned within thirty days, you'd only have to pay for the replacement. You should be getting weekly notifications about any late fees you may have to remind you of them.