"—we arrived late and found an air mage of all things squeezing the breath out of her lungs—"
"—I texted you at four and you got there at six. You literally had one fu—"
"—all this noise isn't going to help—
"—your sister will be fine, I checked her over—"
"—let her get rest, saints knows she needs it—"
Val fell in and out of consciousness, feeling a palm on her forehead and the motion of someone carrying her. Whether she rode in a car was a mystery. At a point, voices came and went until a period of calmness thankfully rotated in. Ensconced in a number of blankets, as soon as she hit the snug embrace of a pillow, Val slipped into intense repose.
…
The loud yawn of an old door opening fissured the numb state of her mind, the sound bringing forth several memories, both pleasant and glum. 'This is Caro's bedroom.'
"Is she asleep?"
Bradley's voice, deep in timbre, carried across from what Val assumed to be the doorways. It was always distinct, nearly monotone, never rising in pitch or tone no matter the topic—the exact opposite of his sister, Caro. Val did them the favour of pretending to sleep, deciding the hassle of conversation was too much right now.
"Yes, I believe so."
Val's eyebrows twitched up. While also moderately deep, the voice was clearly feminine, carrying a lilt of practiced intonation. 'Who's that?'
Creaks reached Val's ears as they walked forward, the bed bending forward as the pair leaned against the frame, taking a seat right in front of where Val lay.
Val felt Bradley pull up the bedsheets to her shoulders. The action warmed her and she reeled in the smile threatening to break out on her lips, convincing herself to fall back asleep.
"I cannot stand some typics," Bradley whispered, and Val could almost imagine behind her closed eyes the scar through his left eye warping as he talked. Though still monotone, Val's ears learned to pick up the slight tint of emotions that edged in now and then. "To stand there as a young, sixteen-year-old girl is harassed right in front of you, just how low would you have to be at that point? For a mage sleeping in FHAs, a mere shout would disrupt her incantation, and do more than any of them cared to do."
"Not everyone's capable of looking out for more than themself, hon. Across all Identification Strains—typic, unbound, and mage," the lady said, "you and your family are largely the exceptions. You know that."
'Hon?' Val repeated internally. That seemed a little too close for friends, especially directed towards a person like Bradley. He'd be the first to shut down any means for assumptions. 'Are they…? Nah,' Val thought, 'my sleep deprivation is finally catching up to me.'
"Still very much irksome," he muttered, unaware of Val's inner turmoil. The conversation lulled into silence for some time, Val almost slipping back into sleep before the lady spoke again.
"Let's talk about something else," she murmured. "Like the trials."
The sudden and unfounded change in topic managed to tug on Val's interest.
"How're the preparations for that going?" Bradley asked.
"Some final touches to be done here and there, but it's pretty much finished at this point," she heard the lady respond.
"That's weird," Brad answered. "With how you've been stressing over the past couple of days, I thought it might not happen."
Val's ears perked up, the sleep all but banished at his words.
"It's not the trial I'm worried about." Her sigh ran deep. "I'm wondering how I'm going to hand out 2500 Aether Artifacts."
"What, there's too many?" Brad asked.
"Too little," she emphasized. "Leave it to the Aether Artifact Allocation Committee to stress me out."
"For you to spell out the full name…" Brad chuckled, which might have woken Val up even if the conversation was about clouds. He never chuckled. "Must be hell."
"Well yeah, anything I say gets lost in a sea of votes," Fiona muttered in return. "It's huge. I'm talking thousands."
"Fiona, I know you hate to hear it," Brad said, "but your family name carries weight—a truck ton of it. No need to add the fact that you're a dual-bound Magus or a military Captain."
Val might've stopped breathing, the information becoming too heavy to bear. The Tripartite Trial was an event to detect those who have the potential to be a mage, that was how it had always been. Now, hearing there was a screening underneath yet another screening twisted Val's gut into an ugly ball of nerves. Not to mention breathing the same air as a dual-bound Magus of all things.
"Let's carry this conversation elsewhere and give Val some room," Brad said as he made headway for the doors, evident by the noises following him.
"I'll follow you out, just checking something on my phone."
"Alright," Brad called out.
With the conversation gone and little to focus on, Val marvelled at the clarity in her mind. Instead of the muddled mess slowing the gears of her brain, it was an expanse of untouched water. Still and calm, with the littlest of things reaching the forefront of her mind.
It made it all the easier to find quite the oddity.