:Do you want me to ward your bed and let you nap and come back later:

:Yes- no - don't want you to go again...: He tries to take a deep breath to calm down, and winces about it. :Should tell you what happened, no one believed me: 

:Okay, tell me. While I put up wards: She starts on that.

He curls up more. :It was in the class on combat magic. Uh, the optional afternoon practice session, I guess, but everyone went. Over lunch we'd been supposed to go over our notes and write up a sheet to take in the Work Room with us, to cast a force-net, and - there was this shy nice girl in the class, bit older than us, and also some older boys. And they were - messing with her, and changed her notes to something wrong - um, I didn't know that at the time and I swear I didn't read their minds, I - sort of half guessed and then how they acted confirmed it: He takes a shuddering breath. :The change they made would've made it explode, hurt her badly or - killed her - but I saw her casting it, looking all wrong, and I shielded her, and then -:

He trails off, his breath catching. 

:- did they know it'd explode or just think it wouldn't work -:

:...I don't know. I - started trying to ask, but that's when things got, uh. More messy. But they'd've had to be stupid not to notice, it was obvious just from looking at the shape of it, that's - I wasn't even looking on purpose and I still knew to shield her before it actually exploded:  

She shudders. :I assume they did not then thank you for preventing them from being murderers:

He squeezes his eyes shut. :I - no - the teaching assistant wasn't nearby, he'd gone to watch other students or something, I asked if they'd changed it - I might've yelled a little bit, I was mad - and they...got all threatening... Said I was lying and no one would believe me - but they said it in a really guilty shifty way - and, and that I'd better not make them have to teach me a lesson, or something, I don't remember exact words...: He's kind of shaking now. :Her notes got singed a bit so you couldn't see what it'd said, they said everyone would think Illa just made a mistake, but I knew it wasn't, Illa is smart and wouldn't make a dumb mistake copying the assignment: 

:Is that how the teaching assistant saw it?:

:...No, but -: He tenses even more, then grunts in pain again and tries to un-tense. :They were being threatening and - one of them raised his hand, he was moving fast and did the sort of crackly-mage-energy-fingers thing right before someone throws a levinbolt - he told the teaching assistant after he was just kidding around and wouldn't have, but I - panicked kind of a lot - and I...might've thrown one at him first and then. There was a big fight. Which I technically started, even Illa saw that part. ...And she couldn't - didn't want to, I think, a bit - believe anyone would've messed with her that way, so after when the teaching assistant broke it up, she - said she'd probably made a mistake...:

He makes a very minimal shrugging motion. :I think she - doesn't believe in herself much. But I know it wasn't a mistake and I know the boys got threatening because they were scared and I, just - I shouldn't've panicked or started a fight, I should've just gotten the teaching assistant, he might've believed me then...: 

At this point he involuntarily starts crying. 

Even if theirs were more of a hugging relationship Aza doesn't know how to go about it while he's badly injured. She nods sympathetically instead.

:Sorry: He sniffles. :I - decided I'd better not keep arguing, and just wait until you got back and maybe you'd know what to do without making everyone even more mad: Another half-shrug. :I think I'm already kicked out of that class, though: He's not as visibly upset about that part, but mostly he just has no space left for other emotions and he's so tired. 

:Who were the boys?:

:I don't remember all their names - there were three of them in on it, I think one of them was called Conn. I...can think their faces at you if you want to check if you know them?: 

She nods. There can't be all that many awful boys in the Tower.

Ma'ar holds their faces up in his surface thoughts as clearly as he can. 

One of the boys, a tall redhead, is unfamiliar to Azabel, but 'Conn' she recognizes as one of the hanger's-on who Skan pinned in the earlier incident, and the third one is the boy who lost his temper at her and tried to attack with magic after she set-commanded his friend. 

:He's the one who - attacked me hardest: Ma'ar clarifies. :Conn is the one who was trying to scare me first but after I started fighting, I mean: 

:Number three's the one who tried to set me on fire months ago! Conn was with him, didn't do anything just ran off, I don't know the redhead. Who's your teacher, was anyone else involving themselves in the situation -:

:The teaching assistant who broke up the fight is Journeyman Levitt. Our teacher for the whole class is Adept Liora but she wasn't there for the practice session. Some of the other students for the class were sort of - gawking in the background, but no one else talked or did anything: He shudders. :I think I scared Illa a lot: He feels terrible about it. 

:I don't know if I can get you back into the class but they shouldn't just get away with dangerous sabotage and I think them having a track record'll help - is there anything else I should know? Do you know which of them actually changed her notes?:

:I...don't know for sure but I think it was probably Conn, I saw him go by her desk for no reason when she was in the bathroom - I wasn't really paying attention...: He'd been working on his own preparation. Stupidly - well, except, why should he have been expecting it? Students don't normally go around sabotaging each other's work. And it's not like they'd dared do it to him. 

:Okay - anything else?:

:Dunno: He's miserable and in pain and scared, but he doesn't plead for her not to leave, that would be stupid. 

:I'm going to finish up these wards so you can sleep and go talk to people, okay?:

:Okay: 

It feels like he's way too scared to possibly be sleepy, but Ma'ar closes his eyes anyway and tries to get comfortable, which isn't trivial when neither of his arms are that usable. 

The wards he can sense vaguely with mage-sight are soothing. By the time Azabel finishes, he is in fact fast asleep. 

She figures he can Mindspeak her from here if he needs anything else.

She goes and looks for Illa. Hertasi if no one else will know where to find her.