Book 2: Chapter 30 - The Prodigal Fox Returns
We use what resources we are given.
Is that always pretty?
Does everyone always love working together?
No. Of course not.
But we can have a working society,
and we can keep our students safe,
or we can be selective.
It doesn’t always work out. I can acknowledge that.
But we use what resources we are given.
—Abel Bouvier, Public Statement
Violet was still sore. Kassie hadn’t been lying about that, apparently. The worst damage had been healed, but that apparently left plenty of room for a miserable amount of pain. She was lucky she’d managed to stop Iris before the hit truly landed. Violet had been within a breath of dying. That pissed her off more than the pain, of course. But the throbbing in her side wasn’t helping her mood, either. Especially after the labor-intensive practical training the day before, followed by the taxing first session with her glaive instructor. And, on top of everything else, Aubrey had been avoiding her.
Everything was absolutely terrible, and she didn’t deserve it.
She—naturally—had several plans in motion to fix everything that had gone wrong. But one of those would take several years at least to come to fruition, and another a few months at minimum. The latter of those estimates was generous and required a lot of luck, too. She couldn’t think about Cyan and Bouvier, however. They both represented a constant threat she had no immediate control over. Both could effectively end her life if they decided she was more dangerous than useful, and both knew enough to actually do it. She’d go insane if she let herself dwell on either creep. She’d think of them when she was putting countermeasures in place, and focus on her more immediate plans otherwise.
Kiera Mulberry marched confidently into the room as Violet was thinking, and both girls’ days immediately improved. Violet had worried the money she’d risked everything for had been wasted. Kiera hadn’t been released nearly as quickly as Violet had hoped after bail had been paid. Of course, she intellectually knew that was a silly worry. Money from one teenage girl alone wouldn’t get an accused murderer out of detention. Realistically, she imagined Bouvier had needed to pull a few strings as well. The man was nothing if not dedicated to keeping promising child soldiers in training. After losing Jade, she was certain he’d greased the wheels to get Kiera back in class while awaiting trial. Otherwise, the bail payment would still have worked, but it would likely have taken longer to be processed and approved, if Violet were being honest.
In any case, she lit up when the fox sauntered in, and nearly bared her teeth when the whispering started.
“Kiera! We’re totally glad to have you back!” Kassie called before any murmuring could get out of hand. “We missed you in class yesterday, and we’ll super need your help on Friday! Everyone has been stressed, but no worries. Spectrum class doesn’t entertain stupid rumors before we have all the facts, right, guys?” Her tone was perfectly friendly, but the reprimand behind it was clear.
To Violet’s surprise, it worked immediately. All the whispers quieted in an instant. The blonde clearly had the respect of the class, even if she didn’t have meaningful control over them. The silent apprehension didn’t fade as the accused murderer smiled at their class president. “Thanks, Kass. No need to worry, though. I'm all good. Just got a jacked up spine and a sore ass from the steel bench they left me sitting on the whole time.”
“Really glad to hear it,” Kassie responded with genuine relief. She paused and cocked her head before sticking her tongue out and knocking against her head with one fist. “That you're good, I mean. Not that your ass is sore. I can totally heal that if you want, though. If you don't mind the rest of the class giving us a weird look for a minute.”
Kiera smirked at the suggestion, but waved off the offer. “Nah, I’m good. You don’t grow a tail of magic fiberglass without getting used to a little tension in your cheeks. I’m fine,” she dismissed. With that, she walked through the classroom and took the desk next to Violet. Kiera cared little for the eyes that followed her, simply sighing in relief as she took her seat. Then, she directed her attention to Violet. “Can you believe they made me come to fucking class today?” she asked.
“I can't,” Violet answered with a sigh. “They were supposed to make you come to class yesterday, when we were actually working. Unbelievable that they let you slack off until a classwork day.” Violet showed real concern on her face, and her voice seemed genuinely hurt. A slight twitch at the corner of her mouth would have revealed the joke, if the statement's absurdity had failed.
Kiera offered a smug grin in response. “What can I say? I’m good at life hacks. Get out of PT with this one neat trick,” she joked.
“You're so smart for that,” Violet praised. “Maybe I'll try it sometime.”
“I'd prefer if you didn't,” a new voice said. Kiera and Violet looked toward the door to see Guy approaching them. “If anyone in our fireteam should be getting arrested, it’s me.”
“Careful, dude,” Kassie replied. “You just might if you ditch class again. They really don’t like that here.”
“They may not like AWOL students, but Mr. Clay just loves me, so it all evens out,” Guy insisted.
“I can tell. By all the affection in his eyes right now,” Violet said. Guy froze, then turned to see the teacher. Mr. Clay was, in fact, in the room. He looked less than affectionate. Although he didn’t look angry, either. More… generally upset.
“I was hoping you’d deserted. If you are going to attend, I do suggest you attend consistently,” Mr. Clay reprimanded.
Again, Violet rolled her eyes internally. The disingenuous way the man always pushed his students to leave, even knowing it wasn’t a genuine option. Jade had gotten a leave of absence to grieve, but only because her family was rich. Kiera presumably would have been allowed to miss school if she were in prison. But that was it. What were students supposed to do? Live in the mist? Take a job like Iris and her team? It was getting annoying, and not just because everything was a little annoying to Violet at the moment.
“Unless you’re going to make running plausible for him, maybe stop telling him to do it?” Violet blurted. The words escaped before she had time to consider consequences. Once she did, however, she decided to just finish what she was saying. Someone needed to. “As it is, the constant remarks on how we should be here just feel like some kind of weird mind game.”
She got a few appreciative looks from students she didn’t know particularly well, but only resignation from Mr. Clay. There was no reprimand for speaking up. Not anger or irritation at all. Just an emotion Violet couldn’t quite make out. His jaw locked like he had something very specific he wanted to say, but he couldn’t figure out how to articulate it. Instead, he responded with the same sentiment he already did.
“It’s a shame to see such bright students attending such a terrible school. I do suggest you stop attending after today, Ms. Asher. Especially considering Mr. Bouvier’s instructions for the week,” he replied. “Now, if everyone will take your seats, I have an update to the frankly irresponsible announcement I made last week.”
He gave the class time to follow his instructions, which everyone did without question or complaint.
“Can we talk after class?” Kiera whispered as she settled in next to Violet. “I heard about… well. I’d just like to talk.”
Violet looked at her friend and offered a brief nod and a smile. That was all the two could communicate for the time being. Mr. Clay shot an apologetic look at Kiera, but it vanished before Violet could examine it. A moment later, the entire classroom was quiet. Clay turned and rested his forearm against the whiteboard at the back of class, then pressed his forehead against it. Anticipation built on the green walls of the class like condensation, and Mr. Clay groaned.
“Well. None of you are ready for this. Not the students I’ve had all year, and not the new students. But apparently, the powers that be don’t care. We, as a class, will be exploring the mist on Friday. Not just the mist, in fact. Two fireteams will be raiding a red nest,” he said. As he finished this announcement, he turned to face an all-too-excited classroom. Rather than fear, the students whispered among each other excitedly. Even Violet felt a strange thrill at the idea, although it wasn’t as pure as the adrenaline of a kill. She shot a glance at Kiera as the two seemed to share a strange discomfort with their own excitement. They’d both been in a red nest before, and neither should have felt eager to explore again.
Violet wondered if it was simply Mr. Clay’s presence. That would make exploration safe, and it would alleviate any fear tied to the trip. But, at least to Violet, that meant it was a novelty at most. And she’d experienced novelty before. That aside, as she saw Clay’s face, it was difficult to have faith in what safety he could provide. The man looked heartbroken.
“I see none of you are as worried as you should be, and I understand why. Still. You absolutely should be worried, some of you more than others,” Mr. Clay continued. Violet thought his eyes lingered on her for longer than they should have when he said the last part, and she bit her lip as she wondered why. “We will, at least, have more resources than expected when we go.”
Kassie perked up at this last part. “Oh? Are we getting the weapons and armor I asked about?” she cut in.
Clay sighed and shook his head. “No such luck. PT uniforms, as expected. I’m still fighting for my fucking life with requisitions, but they are as useless as everyone else in this godforsaken school. We do, however, get an unexpected boon on this trip. The extremely rare and valuable advantage of potions from an Apothecary,” he explained.
“Oh, Jesus fucking Christ,” Kiera groaned.
“Ah,” Guy said. “Shit.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Clay. Don't you think that's more than a little irresponsible, all things considered?” Violet asked. This question earned her a curious glance from Guy while Kiera rubbed her temples in anxious irritation.
“Did those three hear a different announcement than I did?” Ajia asked from a few seats back.
“I don't know, it made sense to me,” the boy with the smaller wings mused.
“In what way, exactly?” the girl with matching wings asked.
Mr. Clay sighed as his class started descending into chaos. As he spoke, much of the class quieted. “I understand why this may be disturbing, Ms. Mulberry. If you'd like to stay after class, I would be happy to explain the finer details of why—”
“Nah, I think I want to hear this now, actually,” Kiera interrupted.
“If you'd prefer the details of your arres—” Clay started, but Kiera stood and addressed the class before he could finish.
“Hey, everyone! My dad accused me of trying to murder him! No, it's not true! If there were real evidence of it, I wouldn't already be back in class today. In reality, he poisoned himself because he's as terrible an Apothecary as he is a father! If you have any questions about that, you may politely request that I lift my tail so you can kiss my ass. Now that you all know, I would love an explanation for why we are trusting him to supply us in the mist,” the fox announced.
“Oh,” Kassie chimed in. “That does, like, seem pretty precarious. A conflict of interest or whatever, at least, right?” As she spoke, the class erupted into murmurs again.
Violet watched various reactions curiously. It was interesting to see who believed Kiera—and who was obviously skeptical. There was a lot of sympathy, and a shocking amount of vitriol depending on where she looked. All simmering behind different eyes. Or in Aubrey’s shoulders, since the banshee refused to turn around. Only Violet really knew the truth, of course. Violet was certain that Kiera was, in fact, guilty. She was equally certain that her friend was justified, however. Which was why she’d put together a plan to exonerate the fox.
To that end, Violet made a mental note of which students seemed sympathetic—and which seemed either worried or angry. At the same time, she watched Kiera and Guy. She'd known this announcement was coming, and she was curious what the pair would do when faced with it. Kiera was… curiously blasé about it. Irritated, yes. But not panicked or afraid in the slightest. Violet would be worried about being arrested or poisoned again. But Kiera mostly seemed inconvenienced. The woman had nerves of steel.
“I understand, Ms. Mulberry. I even agree. But if this school were going to be responsible, it would cease to exist. Suffice to say, Mr. Bouvier has made a deal with Samuel Mulberry, and we will be supplied with a small stock of potions for our upcoming and ill-advised field trip. He does not know which class is getting which potions, much less which students. Ultimately, keeping all of you safe outweighs the conflict of interest, in my book. In other words…”
Violet stopped paying attention to the long line of excuses. She already knew they were a lie, at least on Samuel's part. More importantly, Kiera was trying to get her attention. So Violet shifted focus and accepted the small, folded note being passed her way. They both knew the teacher would see the note, but it didn’t matter so long as the contents were private. Violet didn’t have a perfect read on Mr. Clay yet, but he genuinely didn’t seem to care about discipline or order in the slightest.
Her eyes scanned the messy scribbles as she unfolded the paper. You know the blue tower in the middle of the academy? Meet me there. I want to talk about something. And… thanks.
Violet looked up at Kiera’s expectant eyes and nodded. She carefully kept both excitement and relief out of her expression as she did. But both emotions washed over her. The blue tower was the most private place on campus she could get to. Whatever they discussed, no one on campus would be able to eavesdrop without being spotted first.
And Violet had more than a few questions for the other killer in her class.