#radicalevent2

It was true that Olya had written to her a few times in early September, checking in and generally being her thoughtful self. But Vera’s last message, detailing Sergei’s atrocious behavior at the Conclave, had not been responded to. She tried not to dwell, but such things deserved quick response, and not getting one was an ominous note. Her face was scrubbed clean but her thoughts remained dangerously fixated on the situation at hand. Grom did his best to distract her as she sulked, meowing loudly for attention then rolling onto his back for her to stroke his tummy introspectively. The sirens wailed into the night and Vera found that annoying. She did not want to report to Karuzos Hall, she wanted to finish her regimen and then sleep in peace. Vera reluctantly dressed, loathe as she was to change out of her pajamas, it was best to be prepared for the eventuality of being stuck in Karuzos for any amount of time-- not to mention she was really not looking for the kind of attention her pajamas would attract. Once again preparing for the eventuality of the sequestration in the other building, Vera grabbed a bag and began packing it. Her extensive nail kit, the Canadian shamans she’d abandoned while talking to Roisin earlier in the week, the rest of her wine, all of it went into the bag. Grom went too, although he really was not too pleased at all. Vera ignored his plaintive cries, assuming better safe than sorry in all situations did not exclude pet ownership. Karuzos was a crowded and ultimately sorry mess, but Vera hadn’t much cause to care. She found a seat towards one of the inner walls-- no way was she taking the chance that any outside noise would stress her out-- and freed Grom from his prison. He sat near her but not in her lap, a surefire sign of his displeasure with the situation as a whole. The Headmaster spoke after a short time, and as the other students scrambled to volunteer within and without, Vera hooked her nail kit out of her bag’s murky depths and set to work. “What are you doing?” a voice inquired, incredulous. “My nails.” Her answer was flat but not forceful, considering she had no idea who she was speaking to. Vera was not at all bothered to drag her gaze from the nail in question that she was filing. “Really? You’re not going to help? In a time of crisis?” Vera finally glanced up, only to have someone she certainly didn’t recognize giving her a look of distaste. Her gaze locked fully on the American, noting unkindly that he looked remarkably like a rodent. “Are you telling me I’m in immediate danger?” “Well, no.” “Right. And I wasn’t the one who let these creatures out to run amok on campus. So let me do my nails while whoever made this mess sorts it out. Have a wonderful morning.” He walked away and Vera went back to her filing. She’d be damned if she was going to be guilted into being miserable for no reason at all.

Since he’d spoken to Yana, Teddy had been hoping that the heartfelt commitment to his life’s work would be rejuvenated but that wasn’t necessarily the case. By now he’d be well into editing, or if he was lucky, finishing up his favorite part, which he always saved for last, choosing the perfect headline. Instead he was spread-eagled in the desk chair, wondering if it would be too time-consuming to count the individual designs in the stucco overhead. The alarm startled, and Teddy’s first thought was to scramble upright, despite being almost immediately knocked on his ass again thanks to the bloodrush. Taking a moment to rest against the doorframe, Teddy was scrambling to get to Karuzos. The other students at the Summit were still entirely unfamiliar with how Salem operated, but this was not in the slightest bit normal. Nudging through the growing crowds being shepherded into the arts building, Teddy looked for someone who looked less dazed than the rest. His height helped peer over the crowd, but the growing suspicion that he could be the first one to be struck by the lightning overhead was not entirely comforting. “Katie! Katie Greene!” She might’ve turned him down by doing a remarkably passable impression of not speaking English, but now the Circe witch met his gaze with gratitude. “What’s going on?” “I don’t know any more than you do, but everyone’s worried,” she informed him, but still sidled up next to him. “Can you see up front?” “Not well,” he admitted, one hand lifting to wipe the rainwater out of his eyes. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.” Dripping wet and murmuring, the crowd didn’t wait long before Tate was speaking, calmly delivering the news of just what was roaming the campus. Teddy was anxiously snapping before Tate was finished giving his speech. The words were coming quickly now, a near endless flow detailing the situation, the worried looks on faces, the thunder that wasn’t quite drowned out by the silencing charms placed on their way in. He wished he was sitting in his dormitory, being utterly useless. Anything would be better than this. Volunteering was an option, and Teddy was going to take it-- any way to get the details he needed for the story that was frantically piecing itself together in his mind. It wasn’t until he was first in line that he got cold feet. Marina Katsaros was sitting at a very unsteady-looking table, looking as thoroughly irritated as she always did when people needed something from her. “If you’re not here to volunteer, get out of the way,” her tone was acidic as Teddy hesitated for a moment, fingertips trailing along the table’s edge. “Ignore her,” Russel advised. “We could use you inside, if you don’t want to go out with Oliver. I know Allan wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on all of us.” “Alright,” Teddy agreed, more readily than was tough or suggested but he didn’t care. There was a chain of events to unravel here, and he could do so better among the ranks of the TAs for his own concentration than he could anywhere else. A good hour passed with Teddy helping the Abbott TAs before the devious visage of Roisin Mulligan made herself known near his elbow. “Hello Teddy. Inside, are you?” That charming little accent brought a half-smile to his face, but Teddy’s eyes were fixated on the Summit’s administrative staff in the corner. When he spoke, his own tone was much more distracted than he normally was. “Yeah, I’m gonna figure out what’s going on.” “Well, I for one, will be outside. Would you like pictures?” Her smile paired with her light tone was so disarming, it took him a second to process what she was saying. “What– Yeah! What?” He didn’t think he’d told that many people about the Pages, but here she was offering. Teddy was not about to say no to that. “Two things, you’re a very good listener, so tell me– What are they desperate for?” Teddy’s brows dropped, refocusing his gaze on Roisin. “What do you mean?” “The school.” The tone was indulgent while remaining passably disinterested. He half expected her to inspect her cuticles. “Things like this, there’s always some immediate type of thing to attend to or just something that’s a bit harder to take care of– What is it?” Lips pursed, he peered over at the gathering crowds. “Oh! I overheard some TAs talk about how there were some Thestrals about and they might just take anyone who can see them?” He could only think of the stoic Shana thus far, and they were definitely low on able-bodied wix there. The one problem, he realized after he opened his big mouth, was that not many people could. “Thank you, sweet Teddy!” She looked ecstatic, giving him a quick peck on the cheek and kindly patting his arm before flouncing off. “Number two, by the way, is I want photo cred.” He nodded after her, more amused than anything. If that was the girl Jake had been talking about-- with a very particular murderous undertone-- that was a decent match for whatever it was they preferred to get up to. There was a frantic gesture with a clipboard and Teddy’s focus was across the room again. What was going on here?