The hoard of mals pours down after them, any side passages snapping shut to forcibly channel them in a torrent down to the girls. 

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck -

- And Luthien snaps out spells, slows their descent enough the fall doesn't outright kill them, fueled by the last vestiges of the malia Jacky gave her - she could steal more from Jacky, she's keenly aware of that, she could kill the other girl and it might not even be futile -

- Except -

- Orion had somehow grabbed mana from mals, and the malia she'd taken from him had been more than usable -

"Shield me," she shouts at Jacky, as if that would help. 

- Except it does, as Jacky throws herself into an intense, reckless defense of Luthien, damn the risk to herself.

- Are they allies now or something -

- No. Focus. 

Luthien takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and feels - 

- Searches for that tempting thing always lurking at her fingertips, the wealth of power to be had if only she reaches out and takes it - 

It burns brightest from Jacky.

But - as she focuses - she can feel, like a dark current under the surface, like something moving in the sludge, a thrum of power from the mals. A power like hunger, like the dark rot spreading through Jacky's core.

It's HERS.

It's worse than sludge pouring into her veins, worse than screaming shattering her ears, worse than fire scorching her skin, worse than ice freezing her heart - 

Worse than hunger. 

And it's hers, now. 

She screams - and a wave of death ripples out through the mals - 

Jacky laughs triumphantly, and then slightly ruins Luthien's building aura of doom and despair and eternal unceasing hunger by grabbing her shirt and yanking her in for a kiss.

Shove! "Will you stop doing that?!"

Thoughtful hum as she regains her balance... 

"Nope! You're too hot."

Huff.

(...Though the horrible buzz in her, that overwhelming tidal wave, has apparently crested and crashed in on itself in confusion. Luthien is confused too. Jacky had made a lot more sense yesterday. Luthien's own mind had made a lot more sense yesterday.)

They're not being attacked right this instant at least,  so...

"Let's get out of here."

"Back to the dorms?" And more tasty snacks.

She pauses, and thinks about that, and...

"No."

"Let's get out."

"To the graduation hall, then?"

"This school can't hold us anymore."