"On top of the ones between the twins - though other seniors have been failing to actually pry them apart, even since the rankings went live."

"And Jiana's going to be looking for her own advantage... We might be able to skim off some of her investigations, too. See where she pokes her nose..."

"She doesn't have that long left in here. Maybe she won't be as careful."

Nod. "She's going to be in a rush for information to take back to her mother - and I don't think her sister is half as good at this game as her."

"We could set up to be in a better place next term."

Smile. "True. We have a lot more time than she does."

"I can try to run the mana exchange through Li Xunyu, build trust there while we skim whatever we can from Jiana."

"Your offer likely saved her girl, too - she'll be appreciative. And that might remind her of the fracture line with her sister..."

She nods. "Sounds like the key."

Smile. "And a good place to start." Her gaze drifts back to the confused shambles of the library. 

Where Daniella is about to go over and check on Luthien and El.

Lu's shaking a little less, but she's still nauseous and so, so unsteady. Still, she glances up when Daniella gets closer. 

"Are-" no obviously she's not okay, stupid question- "-Do you need anything?"

" - No people." El doesn't count. Maybe Daniella doesn't. "No other people," she amends, thinking longingly of El's room and then realizing with a sick feeling that the path there will be packed.

"Somewhere quiet."

Hmmm. "Sometimes there's a hidden staircase down between German and Old English," she says quietly. "One of the maintenance kids told me about it once."

...On the other hand, now that she's faced with actually going to a room, she - doesn't exactly want to. The dorm rooms -

She always feels trapped, and then she has to leave El, nearly every single night.

But if she doesn't go down now, she'll have to go down later, and some people know where their library nook is - but a lot of people know where their room is -

She glances at El, indecisive.

"Easier to defend the room, as long as we get there first." She jerks her head at Daniella, and gently eases Lu up. "Show us."

"Okay." She leads the way.

She clings to her El.

And Shinta quietly brings up the rear.

The stairwell is there today. Daniella pops the hatch and stands aside. "I'll... try to distract people?"

Nod.

She can't talk about it, if anyone else is in the room, she thinks, if it isn't just her and El and the safety between them.

The words are like a build up of pressure inside her. Like a scream caught in her throat, one wrapped up in love, one she can only unleash when she's safe - when she's with El. One she will unleash if she can.

She doesn't want to talk about it.

She doesn't want that scream to rip its way out of her throat. Not yet.

"Maybe - come down?" she asks, voice as raw as if she was already screaming.

"If you want me to," she agrees.

"Then let's go."

Down, then.