Room 322, Tuesday Morning

[not_every_mage]

Anders was a man of many talents, and ranking high among them was a talent for self-pity. After the disastrous encounter with Nathan the day before, he'd gone back to his room to mope around for the rest of the day. Lachlan was better company than people, anyhow. At least when Lachlan avoided him it wasn't personal -- it was just part of being a cat.

He'd always known Nathan kept parts of himself shut away; he even understood why, or thought he did. But to be flatly told to go away after being together so long -- it hurt. It hurt deeper than Anders would have guessed it would. And he was determined not to go chasing after Nathan to give him a chance to say the same thing again, at least not yet.

Without class or work to keep him busy, Anders felt his foul mood continuing after he woke up. Determined not to let it ruin a second day, he pulled out one of the spellbooks he'd cadged from the magic shop and opened it to a chapter on the use of Entropy. If he wasn't ready to seek anyone out -- and he didn't think he was -- at least he could distract himself.

[OOC: Cracked door, open post even though he's not in the best mood.]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy had heard about their argument on the radio. It was short on details, yes, but she'd heard enough to know that Anders could probably use a friend today. Or at least a distraction. Or, if nothing else, something rich and decadent to take his mind off things.

So after classes were over, she nipped down to JGOB's for a quick half-dozen oreo cheesecake brownies, and then headed over to the third floor to knock on Anders' door.

"Knock knock," she called softly through the crack. "Special delivery."

[not_every_mage]

Thank the Maker for Kathy; if she hadn't stopped by, Anders might have resorted to tryingthe spells.

"Come on in," he said, sounding a bit flat. "What's going on?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Yeah, no one needed a hex of torment to accidentally hit them while they were walking down the hallway or anything.

"Hey," she said, pushing the door open and slipping inside. "I just figured I'd stop by." You know, for reasons. Whatever. "See if you maybe didn't want some company for a bit. And a bit of a snack."

Opening the lid of the bakery box, she held the cupcakes out for Anders' perusal. "Though if you're busy--" which was Kathy code for 'wanted to be left alone' "--I could leave these here and come back another time?"

[not_every_mage]

"Stay and eat them with me," Anders requested, eyes going big at the cakes. Kathy knew the way to his heart. "I can't promise I'll be good company, but I could use some distraction before I decide to put a hex on the whole dorm out of boredom."

[spin_kick_snap]

His and every other seventeen year old in the building, honestly.

"Well, as a superhero I can't allow that," Kathy said, slipping off her shoes before going to sit on his bed. She let Anders grab the first cupcake before taking one for herself. "So, good company or not, it looks like I'm staying until you're less likely to hex anyone."

Yup, that's right, Anders. Now you were stuck with her.

[not_every_mage]

"So I'm stuck with you?" Anders asked, though the quirk to his mouth that almost looked like a smile suggested he didn't exactly mind. He licked some cream cheese off his fingers before he spoke again. "That's a lucky break given how bad the last few weeks have been, you know. Rapunzel went home, Cassandra's vanished, Nathan doesn't want to talk to me."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh, Anders, I'm sorry," Kathy said. She'd heard all of these things over the radio, but she hadn't put them all together with how they'd effect Anders. And on top of that, she'd missed his birthday--or, at least, she'd shown up after he'd left for the weekend and hadn't managed to catch up with him since.

Kathy was feeling like a horrible friend.

"Why isn't Nathan talking to you?"

[not_every_mage]

"He didn't explain it," Anders shrugged, trying to sound unbothered. "I went to the preserve to find him and he was talking to himself when I got there. Shouting, really. I asked what was wrong and he told me to go away. After he said it a fourth time, I went. Last time I talked to him before that, things were fine."

Not that they'd spent a lot of time together the last few weeks, but that wasn't so terribly unusual for them.

[spin_kick_snap]

"He wasn't very talkative in class today, either," Kathy ventured, unsure whether telling him that would hurt or help. "Seemed--angry, maybe? Polite, but clipped tones. Cold."

She leaned over to take Anders' hand if he'd let her. "It must have hurt," she said. "Being pushed away like that. When you only wanted to help the person you care for."

[not_every_mage]

"You talked to him?" Anders frowned, seeming surprised by that more than by her description of Nathan's mood. "Wait, what did he say? Did you talk about me?"

She wasn't wrong about the whole thing hurting, and he gratefully gave her fingers a quick squeeze before pulling his hand back.

[spin_kick_snap]

"We didn't get that far," Kathy admitted. "I asked if he was okay after he spun out his car. Invited him to talk. He wasn't interested and I wasn't going to push."

[not_every_mage]

"Well, at least know now that you know it wasn't personal," Anders told her. "No, that sounds about right. Sadly. He wasn't hurt in the crash, was he?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Danger Shop," Kathy said. "Not even a crash, just a spin-out. Thorin got into worse every week last semester."

Tilting her head, she asked, "But it's personal for you, huh?"

[dwarvenswagger]

Well, hopefully a dwarf with a moderate level of emotional tonedeafness was right up his alley today. It was, right?

Totally was.

Thorin poked his head into the room, staying at the door even once he caught sight of Anders. "Have I interrupted schoolwork?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders glanced down at the book as if he'd forgotten what it was,then put a marker in it and closed the pages. "No, just some ... personal reading. Mage stuff. Come in if you'd like."

[dwarvenswagger]

Thorin nodded at that, stepping into the room. "So long as it does not involve us needing to move our rooms once more."

School was the weirdest.

[not_every_mage]

"I am short a roommate," Anders said lightly. "But I think I'm done with moves for a while, too. Yurts didn't agree with you?"

[dwarvenswagger]

"The fact that were moved after having barely a fortnight to settle in didn't agree with me," he replied with an annoyed sigh. "Your roommate returned home?"

[not_every_mage]

"She did," Anders confirmed. "The weekend we were girls, so it's been a while. I'm not sure what will happen to the other half of the room now. Lachlan thinks it's his, but he thinks about my half too."

[dwarvenswagger]

"I believe such is the nature of cats," Thorin confirmed with a nod.

That and to puke on things you love.

[not_every_mage]

"Nature of all the cats I've ever known, anyhow," Anders agreed. "I think they expect us to find it charming. Sad part is that I even do."

The beast in question looked up from his perch on what had once been Rapunzel's bed and yawned.

[dwarvenswagger]

Thorin had to snort at that. "You've fallen for the charms of a cat. Regal as it may look."

[not_every_mage]

"I've fallen for the charms of many cats," Anders admitted shamelessly. "Used to drive my father mad dragging barn cats into the house to sleep when I was small, and the tower mouser at the Circle was all but my best friend. It's a weakness."

[dwarvenswagger]

"And you weren't clawed bloody by any of them?"

[not_every_mage]

"Frequently," Anders confirmed, turning his arm so Thorin could see a small, pale stripe of scar running down from his elbow. "This is from trying to give our tomcat a bath when I was too young to know better."